CR's Frag Shack

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So a little background: The wife and I purchased some land (9 acres) as a future site of our "forever home". The land had two access points from the street, so we subdivided one access point into a lot and built a small home to live in while we pay off the land and save for the construction of the new home. We're on a 5 year plan, but we'll see how that goes. Kids have a way of changing things LOL!!!

Our house is a cozy, but comfortable, sized 3B 2B, but it lacks any "extra" space and, if we add a second kid to the mix, my tank is getting the boot from where is sits now...

My father in law had a 8x16 portable storage building that he wasn't using and asked if I wanted it...
And with that a plan was hatched!

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Coastie Reefer

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The "Shack" truly lived up to its name...

After I had the building moved to my place I got to inspect it a lot more closely and I started to reconsider said plan:

The aluminum siding was paper thin and had several holes.
The base had severe rot and termite damage.
Several of the studs needed to be replaced. In fact the entire front wall had to be reframed.

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I've spent several weeks in the LA heat after work and on weekends, but I've made some progress on bringing some life back into this shack.
The good thing about building your own house means you have a lot of lumber left over.

I replaced the floor joists and added some 16' 4x6 skids. Even added some 4x4 "joists" simply because I had them left over from building a fence. I could literally park a truck on this thing and it wouldn't move.

I replaced the rotted studs. Replaced some of the plywood flooring and added another layer of subfloor.

Ripped off the aluminum siding and replaced it with a good OSB coated and primed siding. You may notice that the old windows are gone and a new one has been placed in the end.

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Coastie Reefer

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Things will slow down after this post as this will get you caught up on the current status of the shack. If any of you have never hung and floated drywall... it's worth paying someone to do it!!! I haven't done it since I worked construction with my dad many moons ago. Hated it then, and hate it now, but the wife has me on a budget. Hanging it isn't the bad part really, but the floating and sanding, and sanding, and sanding, and sanding... SUCKS!

Bonus: I was cleaning the gutters out this weekend and managed to get a bird's eye view of the shack.

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NY_Caveman

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This is very cool even if it is a ton of work.

 
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Coastie Reefer

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No real updates. I should be able to get a coat of primer and paint on the interior walls this weekend. If I manage to get some of the trim done that'll be a bonus, but the goal is paint for now.

I've found a program online to help me figure out the layout. I have standard reef ready 75 that I'll be using as a main display, and another standard 75 that I'll be plumbing into the same sump and using as a frag tank. I know a standard 75 isn't your typical frag tank, but I already have it, so might as well use it. My current tank is a 40B and so I've included that in the mock up, but I may not use it. If I do, it'll probably be an isolated system.

Everything in this layout is to scale. If you have any advice or suggestions feel free to share.

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Coastie Reefer

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Moving right along. Got a couple coats of primer and paint slapped on this weekend. Installed the new lights and added all the outlet covers. Need to trim out the window, door, and AC. Need "crown" molding (probably just rip down a 1x4 to about 2 inches). Then I have to add flooring and baseboards. I also have to run the plumbing for the sink. Sheesh... and I thought the list was shrinking. Maybe I'll be able to get some corals in this thing by the end of the year LOL.

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It's been your typical Louisiana weather for this time of year... either raining, or hot and super humid, or just too cold to paint.

I've finally gotten all the interior trim painted and installed some blinds in the window. I also got all the exterior trim and siding painted. It's not a drastic color change from the primer that comes on the siding when you buy it, but I had left over house paint. My shack now matches the house and that makes the wife happy!

Next items on the list:
• Tie into the water line I ran for my garden and then run a drain line. Luckily everything I need to tie into is only buried a few feet away.
• Install/finish flooring
• Clean the metal roofing and trim (covered in sap and algae from being under pecan trees for years, much like the front door was)
• Drag a box blade to level up the ground in front of the shack.
• Build a small porch probably 3x5
• Plant some rye grass till I can get some sod in the spring (it'll bring the deer in too :))

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Coastie Reefer

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lo0ks really great! I used to live in sterlington (monroe) haha
My wife is the assistant principal at Sterlington elementary.

And I used to live in St Pete. Just down the road from Orlando. Small world!
 
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Well... figured out my door isn’t very insulated. Ran the heat and got it up to 70 and turned it off. This morning when I got up it was 45 outside and 47 in the shack. I know there’s no air getting in because I ran about 5 tubes of caulk sealing it up nice andtight. Nothing a little Ingenuity and foam boardinsulation can’t cure.... 1” thick R5 should help agood bit. I have a 1/8” sheet of plywood I’m going to paint white and cap the foam board with. Should look like a regular wood door afterwards. An extremely thick wood door lol.

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Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

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  • None.

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