"Ideal size for game room? (Likely basement)" Topic
17 Posts
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YogiBearMinis | 27 Mar 2014 5:48 a.m. PST |
The recent threads on table size and lighting in home game rooms got me thinking--what is a realistic ideal game room size, and relative dimensions (rectangular, square, etc.)? We are looking at building a house and my wife and I are putting down dibs on various uses of the basement, and I am trying to figure out just how much I should ask for and then settle for. One way I have approached it is to say, I want a 6x12 table plus room around plus room for shelving, which gets me a 15x20 or so number, but then I know it would also be nice to try and have a separate spot for painting and a separate spot for TV viewing (like 2 club chairs and a TV). |
Tom Reed | 27 Mar 2014 5:52 a.m. PST |
I guess it depends on the floorplan. A rectangle is proabaly the nicest for a long table. A buddy of mine had a L-shaped room with the table in the long part of the L and his painting station in the short leg. |
stenicplus | 27 Mar 2014 5:57 a.m. PST |
Also ensure there is enough room for two to pass each other comfortably between the table edges and any storage units by the walls. Last thing you want is people knocking into each other and potentially dropping boxes of figures. |
Dynaman8789 | 27 Mar 2014 6:21 a.m. PST |
Unless you have a HUGE basement you will want the whole thing. Spaces for painting, gaming, shelving, and a TV area takes up a lot more space then you think. |
cherrypicker | 27 Mar 2014 6:21 a.m. PST |
Go for the biggest you can, if you are building you can¡¦t change it after it¡¦s finished ƒº |
Extra Crispy | 27 Mar 2014 6:33 a.m. PST |
I had (sob!) a 13 x 15 game room in the old house. With a 5.5 x 9 foot table there was plenty of room for a TV area and painting station, and it already had loads of built in shelves. But we had a tiny oddly shaped room with a window that was just the right size for a studio. Best of all you could close the door on the mess. I hate seeing a messy table in my room. Now I'm in a condo I have a very small desk and keep everything very neat and tidy. |
corporalpat | 27 Mar 2014 6:40 a.m. PST |
Mine is a 19x20 room with one wall mostly windows, and 2 walls with one large window each(plus door). It sports a 5x10 foot table with storage beneath, computer desk (L-shaped 4x4), paint station (L shaped with two 2.5x4 ft tables), 3x5 ft work table (for large projects), 2 file cabinets, and 10 shelving units of various sizes (book and utility types). I put utility shelves across the wall with mostly windows, and storage shelves above all windows. There is separate storage for raw materials (foam/foam core & some terrain items), along with a wood shop in the basement, but 90% of gaming material is in the game room. I have about a dozen collections/games that are convention ready, along with a massive lead mountain, as well as many terrain items (finished & ongoing). With all this, the game table access can get a little tight, but really only on the one side. For me, this is about bare minimum. My best advice when dealing with spouses is: Ask for more than you need. Settle for less. End up with what you really wanted all along! Hope this helps. |
Sysiphus | 27 Mar 2014 6:58 a.m. PST |
I have a 20x20 foot basement room under an addition I put on a decade or more ago. With figure storage and a 5x8 foot table it is comfortable but full. I paint upstairs in a spare room. I would try to get as much space as you can. |
Sgt Slag | 27 Mar 2014 7:35 a.m. PST |
We added a game room on top of our garage: 20' x 21'. It is open, except for two closets in the corners, opposite each other. We have a 9' x 5' Ping Pong table for gaming (RPG and mini's), which the wife uses for cutting, and laying out her quilts, and other fabric projects. We installed a gas fireplace for heat, in the Winter, as ductwork would have ballooned the cost by $10,000 USD+. For cooling, we installed a 220 Volt AC/Heating wall unit, same as what you find in hotels -- we only use it for cooling. We also installed recessed can lights. I asked the builder if this would provide plenty of lighting -- "Oh, yeah, sure! You'll need a dimmer, it will be so bright
" Bald lie! We installed Halogen flood lights, and it still needed more lighting. We installed ceiling fans, with lights, to improve the cooling, and the lighting (still not ideal, but better lighting). We also have two large windows on both the North, and the South walls, so during the day, there is plenty of cross-ventilation (if there is any breeze), and there is plenty of lighting on a clear day. Remember that steps/stairways will eat into available space, as will any closets installed. Ventilation, and lighting, as well as heating/cooling, are things to consider now, not later, when the construction is finished
Cheers! |
14th Brooklyn | 27 Mar 2014 8:54 a.m. PST |
I think it really depends on the size of table you have / want / need! If I have mine at its maximum extension there is only a metre (~ 3') on each side between the table and shelving, which I feel is too little these days. 1,5m (~5') should be a realistic minimum IMHO. Plus always leave some room for future shelving or a table extension
Those will come faster than you think! |
YogiBearMinis | 27 Mar 2014 9:02 a.m. PST |
@SgtSlag--that is very useful information about the above-garage issues. Still on the table for us is the possibility of building a second level for the garage and using that space in some manner, but I am concerned about the expense involved in heating/cooling/etc. |
Sgt Slag | 27 Mar 2014 10:43 a.m. PST |
Adding a room to the garage means up-sizing your furnace, and Central Air Conditioner, to handle the additional volume, if you tie it into the main, with the rest of the house. That meant, for us, another $10,000 USD for ductwork (existing home, would need to hack into floors and ceilings), plus upgrading the HVAC, which was another $6,000 USD-$8,000! We did hire an architect to prepare blue prints for us, and the contractor. We kept the room very simple in design, to minimize costs. His fee was $600 USD, alone. By using the gas fireplace ($4,000, installed, plumbed using existing gas lines, just had to add one along the outside rear wall of the house, going up to the new room, and through that outside wall), along with the hotel A/C unit ($2,000?), we saved around $10,000 USD-$12,000. Otherwise, we could not have afforded to do the project. The fireplace, by the way, is connected to a thermostat, so we can warm it up, or cool it down, independently, as necessary; same situation with the wall A/C unit -- this room is completely on its own for HVAC, so when we are not using it, we reduce the heating/cooling. With four large windows, two North side, two South side, we get great airflow, in the Summer -- don't use the A/C very often, but we do use it; the ceiling fans are necessary to circulate the cooled air throughout the large open room, as the A/C unit's fan pushes it out a couple of feet, only, and the ceiling fans, by themselves, do a wonderful job of keeping it comfortable, most days. In the Winter, we get plenty of light, during the day (Minnesota, short days in Winter
). Our only regret is the recessed lighting. We really need a couple of torchiere lamps, even though our walls are a very light tan color, and the ceiling is white. |
Garryowen | 27 Mar 2014 11:02 a.m. PST |
I have a 20'x24' room. It has a 7'x15' table that is on the 20' axis. It can be tough to pass on the ends and even the side closes to the wall. But it works. I would not want it anywhere near that tight if I had shelving with figures around the table. Asking for a disaster. I also have book cases, my paint table, a 4'x6'x13" figure cabinet, plus my weights and a NordicTrac cross country ski machine and a 45 pound stock saddle. I love it. Oh, I also have a sofa with a buffalo robe on it for napping! Tom |
Sgt Slag | 27 Mar 2014 11:02 a.m. PST |
By the way, we have a flat top above the fireplace, which is in a corner of the room. The flat spot is used for a large, flat-screen TV, which is viewable from anywhere in the room. I would suggest florescent lights on the ceiling, four of them. I would also suggest the Daylight temperature tubes (6,000 K) in said lights. That will give you plenty of light (two tubes per light, around 800 Lumens per tube, so around 6,400 Lumens total?). Whatever you decide, draw up some to-scale floor plans on graph paper, and see what you like/dislike. Measure some furniture (including your gaming table configurations), and make scale images of them, then lay them on top of your floor plan, and move them around in different configurations. Now is the time to doodle around and get it right
Cheers! |
Jcfrog | 27 Mar 2014 1:55 p.m. PST |
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Brian Smaller | 27 Mar 2014 2:09 p.m. PST |
My game room is 207m2 (approx 22'x98'). I have a hell of a time keeping my wife from trying to 'store' things in it. |
cherrypicker | 27 Mar 2014 4:53 p.m. PST |
My rooms 19'x19' with loads of storage, 2 8'x4' and 1 4'x4' tables on wheels and storage built in. It works well for me. Jules link |
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