Basement Improvements

When I created the peninsula mock up, a problem called the treadmill exercise machine, was instantly elevated to a major problem.

The treadmill was trapped between the layout and a support pillar with barely enough room to squeeze by on the layout side. As I moved toward starting real layout construction I knew this had to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

Trying to move around the treadmill in it's present location during construction or future operations would be a nightmare for myself and guests.

Removing the treadmill from the basement altogether was a no-go as it gets used frequently in the worst of winter and during rainy weather by my wife and supposedly myself. There was also was no room for it anywhere upstairs, or so I was told.

So it was time to get creative.

Here's the treadmill, as seen in an earlier posted photo.

There's the treadmill cramping the peninsula's style.

Next to the basement stairs is an sort of alcove that we have always had a freezer chest in, but could possibly fit a treadmill folded up or down. I realized that next to the furnace was an area that could possibly fit the freezer chest.

A 10 minutes later the freezer had a new home. After test fitting the treadmill into the vacated space and showing the idea to my wife, the plan was approved!

Now the new home for the treadmill needed fixing up to become a pleasing running environment. The old wood structure for the stairs needed a coat of white paint to brighten up that side of the basement anyways. It was one of the last areas to get painted as I prepped the basement for layout construction.

Ready to paint the outside of the stairs!

I painted several coats all Sunday (I'm not so sure about this primer in the paint stuff), then after everything was dry on Monday I moved the TV and associated electronics into the space.

Finished!

A great solution to a problem which was taking up too much space in the middle of the basement.

Part of the layout will pass by the treadmill eventually but it won't be in the way anymore, folded up or down.

Now thanks to a little imagination and an understanding wife, everyone's happy.

Plenty of room now for the peninsula and people. The cardboard hanging off the edge at the end of the peninsula shows the true curve radius of the structure.