Oblivion Inspired Office Build

I am behind on my posts. I just finished a run and have also been traveling for work and the holidays. Things have slowed down a bitt on the office build.

I was able to finish out the door to my crawl space area on the east wall of the office. The door is just an access panel to the crawl space where I have storage for coolers and empty boxes.

The only doors I ever saw on the Skytower are in Vica's command center and the door to the shop on the lower level used for bringing in drones for repair. There is also the glass door for the main entrance. As a result, I want the doors to look like the cabinets and am using the same design elements from those.

I switched the handle on the door to a vertical one that you see on some of the cabinets in the shop area. When I was drawing everything out, I felt that the outlet in the wall was too close to the trim. I thought it would look better if I could incorporate it into the frame itself. If you look in the movie there gadgets incorporated into the panels on the wall and this will follow that theme.

I need to make an insert still that goes into the pocket.

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Good stuff; btw, I prime my MDF first (no sanding) and then, when dry, I'll use 300 grit sandpaper to remove the roughness, then the first coat of paint will go on smoothly.
Are you gonna use snap-on face plate for your wall plugs and switches? Much sleeker than the one with the screws. Great job on that window trim btw!
 
That's awesome. Looks like you got a mini-split hvac up there now too. nice.

I had that installed this Spring. For a workshop, I have only need to run it on dehumidify. Once it becomes an office, I will probably need to do more than that. I am very happy with the purchase.

-Eric

- - - Updated - - -

Good stuff; btw, I prime my MDF first (no sanding) and then, when dry, I'll use 300 grit sandpaper to remove the roughness, then the first coat of paint will go on smoothly.
Are you gonna use snap-on face plate for your wall plugs and switches? Much sleeker than the one with the screws. Great job on that window trim btw!

I have been playing with lacquer primer that Philip has recommended. It has been much better than the Shellac I had been using in the past. I look forward to getting them painted to see it all finished out. It does a much better job sealing the edges of the MDF.

I am going to get some more modern outlets when I get to the point of finishing. I saw some real sleek ones at Lowe's the other day.

-Eric
 
Trying to get back to this project. The holidays and work dragged me to a complete stop. This last week I started working on the banisters and railing for the space. While the Skytower had just metal rails and was pretty much non-existent, I had to improvise a design that would be functional and still look the part. One of my goals for this design is to block some of the noise from downstairs.

I modeled my design from from contemporary designs that typically use glass panels and basic railings. However, I am going to use wood instead of glass. It's cheaper and something I can work with.

Here is the space where it will go:

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and the pieces of I cut so far.

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The piece with the Tet(sp?) cut into it will be the one of the panels that will hold up the railing and then the piece running length wise will be three layers thick. The panel will be centered between the back and front layer. All three layers will mount to the wall. You can see the screw holes pre-drilled. I made it extra deep so there will be a large surface area for the panel to be mounted. That depth also matches the depth of the ceiling of the first floor/ flooring of the second floor. My intention is for it to be symmetrical for the other side of the stairwell. (not pictured)

I ordered more wood and should be able to get everything cut this weekend when it arrives. However, I have to travel this week for work and that could slow me down again.

-Eric
 
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Good idea to use the wood as sound barrier as well as a kind of banister. Lookin' forward to the next update!
 
I was able to get all of the stair pieces cut this last weekend and then start assembling the ones I could. There are three layers to the skirt that mounts to the wall. The gap you see in the first pic is filled in by the panel that will also act as the baluster and hold up the railing. You can kind of get an idea of what I am going to do in the second pic.

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I only had a few long screws in the shop to get what you see above installed. I ordered some Powerhead screws from FastPac. They are 4" long and have a 9/16" diameter head to hold everything together. Their primary use is in cabinet construction, but they should do the job here.

They don't stock longer than a 3" screw around here and I had to special order mine. Once they arrive, I'll get the rest installed. Hopefully, this weekend.

-Eric
 
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Looking interesting for sure. Aren't you afraid of having to deal with some warping over time?

It's always a possibility. What you see here is just a WIP. It will eventually have panels on the front and then tied together by a railing across the tops of the panels.

-Eric
 
It's always a possibility. What you see here is just a WIP. It will eventually have panels on the front and then tied together by a railing across the tops of the panels.

-Eric

I've never had MDF warp indoors unless it's not vertical, even if unsealed. A flat panel will droop in time if not supported though, but that's not a warp.
 
I can't wait to see how this turns out! love the "Kosinski look", if there's a name for it - the whole TRON legacy/oblivion sci-fi clean look. Definitely looking forward to seeing the final product!
 
For those following, here are the screws I mentioned earlier. I am using to hold the skirt and banister to the wall.

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They provide plenty of holding strength for this application.

In the meantime, I have been able to get everything fastened to the wall.

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The wall isn't flat. It flares at both the inside and outside corner due to the drywall compound. I am going to pull it all apart and shim it out in the center to keep the skirts flat. While I have it apart, I am also going to prime the panels.

-Eric
 
I haven't check in on the RPF in a hot minute and this thread is making me happy that I did today. So incredibly inspiring! Such an amazing job!
 
Appreciate the comments! It keeps me motivated to keep going.

This is not a "sexy" update, but progress is always a good thing in my book.

What I spent the last two days doing is tearing apart the banisters and skirts and reassembling them. I mentioned in my previous post is that the wall is not exactly square or flat. I ended up adding a trim piece to the inside of the skirt to keep it from flexing. The I put the banister panels back in and applied pressure to snug it up as close to the wall as I could with out bending anything.

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Not a lot of progress, but the end result looks a lot better than it did.

-Eric
 
I was just looking at your work and found the space to be dark as a result of using MDF for the banister...I know, that budget-wise, glass panels would be more expensive, but they would surely add to the modern look of the movie and more light. (my 2 cents of course). I love your dedication and in the end it's what makes you happy.;)
Keep on building.
 
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