Home Gym: Part 3
In the previous parts 1 and 2, I detailed the design and equipment of my home gym when my basement was unfinished.
There were a few flaws in my choices:
- I used pressure-treated lumber as the base. This wood is injected with chemicals to prevent rot when placed directly on the groud. It is significantly heavier than standard plywood, which at the time I thought was a good thing. After a while, the chemicals started to seep through the non-pressure-treated top-layer, causing ugly stains.
- I screwed and glued it all together. At no point did I think I would ever need to unscrew and unglue it. If you read my water leaks post, you saw how a nearby window leaked after a heavy rain. I needed two neighbors to help me lift the platform off the ground dry out the water underneith.
My wife and I decided to finish the basement this winter, which meant I needed to get everything out of the space. I spent an hour disassembling the rack, and another two hours dissecting the platform into manageable pieces. It did not go down without a fight.
The new space is a chance for a fresh start.
Ceiling height was a concern from the beginning, and became even more so after seeing the thick furring strips attached to the joists.
To compensate, I removed all supporting pieces from under the main platform. So instead of 5 total pieces of plywood, there was only 1.
Despite my attempt to save the ceiling, we ended up poking holes into it during rack reassembly. These holes were necessary to get the main support beams in place, and would be needed in case it was ever moved. Luckily, my contractor came up with a nice way to cover up the new openings.
Here’s everything nearly finished:
I plan to put a small border around the permiter to give it a slightly nicer finish. Photos of that later, though.