Author Topic: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge  (Read 48092 times)

leonk

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #45 on: March 25, 2012, 09:07:47 PM »
What happens with these concrete homes if new technology is introduced in the future?  For example, what would you have to do if 10 years from now you'd want to install fiber optics throughout the house?

As for sparks .. it's actually more common than you think.  Electrician/plumbers run their wires first, then the gypsum board guys come in and put it up.  Well guess what happens when the electrician pulls the wire to close to the edge of the wood???  You get gypsum board screws that go right through electrical wire!!  Or when a home owner decides to use really long nails to put up a picture, and hammers right through an electrical wire!!  It's actually law now to use special breakers in the pannel that detect this sort of situation, and turn off on its own.

The only time you'd see steel pipes in commercial applications is if you see the wire .. If the wire is in the wall, you don't need to put it in any conduit.  Again, this is safety for fires.  Plastic burns easily, the steel pipes slow down the fire from spreading (try burning a coke plastic bottle .. it will burn for longer and hotter than paper!)

Back in the 1970's, copper was very very expensive.  It was common to use aluminium wire.  Over the years, people tended to tie aluminium with copper (which is a huge no-no as you can't mix copper with any other metal).  For example, in my house, I found this in the basement.  The boxes were all black on the inside (i.e. electrical fire!)  But because it was a metal box, it kept the electrical fire within.

Plastic on the other hand melts at much lower temperature.  Plastic also releases toxic fumes that can knock a person out long before the fire kills them.  This is why, for example, in high rise buildings, it is illegal to use PVC/ABS for plumbing .. it must be copper/brass!  It prevents fires from one unit spreading to the next via the plumbing stacks.

The point of all of this is that electrical fires are a lot more common than one would want to believe .. I'm sure if my house was poured concrete I could have a camp fire in the middle of the kitchen floor.  :)  But instead, it's all wood framing, with gypsum board, and hardwood floors throughout the entire house.



 

level42

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #46 on: March 25, 2012, 11:22:16 PM »
What happens with these concrete homes if new technology is introduced in the future?  For example, what would you have to do if 10 years from now you'd want to install fiber optics throughout the house?
You pull out the copper and draw the fibers through the old pipes. You'll need fibers that can do pretty tight turns though, usually fibers cannot be bend too much or else you will damage it.

Usually fiber just comes into the house and people have Wifi in the house though...

As for sparks .. it's actually more common than you think.  Electrician/plumbers run their wires first, then the gypsum board guys come in and put it up.  Well guess what happens when the electrician pulls the wire to close to the edge of the wood???  You get gypsum board screws that go right through electrical wire!!
Or when a home owner decides to use really long nails to put up a picture, and hammers right through an electrical wire!!
And exactly THAT is the reason why it is mandatory here to use pipes. They protect the wire (of course to a certain extend) from these things happening.
It's actually law now to use special breakers in the pannel that detect this sort of situation, and turn off on its own.
You mean earth-leak detectors. Those are mandatory since 1975 in The Netherlands........

The only time you'd see steel pipes in commercial applications is if you see the wire .. If the wire is in the wall, you don't need to put it in any conduit.  Again, this is safety for fires.  Plastic burns easily, the steel pipes slow down the fire from spreading (try burning a coke plastic bottle .. it will burn for longer and hotter than paper!)
That is why the plastic used for electrical pipes need to be fire retardant and self extinguishing.
In larger buildings, at places where pipes, cables etc. go through a fire section wall (60 minutes fireproof) or floor, ALL the holes must be filled with fireproof sealant like this:


Back in the 1970's, copper was very very expensive.  It was common to use aluminium wire.  Over the years, people tended to tie aluminium with copper (which is a huge no-no as you can't mix copper with any other metal).  For example, in my house, I found this in the basement.  The boxes were all black on the inside (i.e. electrical fire!)  But because it was a metal box, it kept the electrical fire within.
Aluminum wire was never allowed here, it has always been copper. The boxes we use also have to pass fire resistant tests, just like the piping and are also fire retardant & self extinguishing.

Quote
Plastic also releases toxic fumes that can knock a person out long before the fire kills them.  This is why, for example, in high rise buildings, it is illegal to use PVC/ABS for plumbing .. it must be copper/brass!  It prevents fires from one unit spreading to the next via the plumbing stacks.
True. That is an issue. For that halogen free pipes are available but regretfully the governments are slow as always and do not demand that these are used. Plumbing pipes can be plastic here, same stuff fire retardant etc. and when they go through fire section walls and floors need to be made 60 minute fire proof in larger buildings.

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The point of all of this is that electrical fires are a lot more common than one would want to believe .. I'm sure if my house was poured concrete I could have a camp fire in the middle of the kitchen floor.  :)  But instead, it's all wood framing, with gypsum board, and hardwood floors throughout the entire house.

Yeah, wood burns pretty nicely. And it also doesn't withstand hurricanes and storms very well. Like you mention yourself, the reason why you guys choose wood is simple: price.
Wood is probably more expensive here plus it takes more labour to build with wood. Labour is very expensive here.

About needing piles of a couple of meters: In the western part of Holland where I live, the ground is so soft that we need to put in piles (usually concrete, either ready made or poored at the location) that are several tens of meters long.Else our buildings would sink into the bottom within a couple of years. It depend on where the steady sand layers are. To determine that a scan (sondering) of the ground is made to make clear at which heights those sands are.



For my house they used "on the spot" poured piles. They drive in a metal hull with a machine like this:
(chose a picture of a model because that makes it more clear how it works).
you can simply see this as hammering an extremely large nail into the ground. Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1_k4yqoN60

when the metal hull is in, they poor in the concrete and remove the metal hull. The concrete sets in the ground. The model shows a ready-made concrete pile.
There are also very small machines like this that fit through the smallest of paths (like 1 meter wide) so we can do it everywhere neccesary.

Mmmm, I was just thinking.....I hope Bencao doesn't mind our little discussion in his game room thread !!!! Sorry Jörg !!!! :)

« Last Edit: March 25, 2012, 11:32:10 PM by Level42 »

leonk

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #47 on: March 26, 2012, 02:26:55 AM »
You mean earth-leak detectors. Those are mandatory since 1975 in The Netherlands........


I don't think we're talking about the same thing.  There's:

- regular breakers
- ground fault breakers (this is similar to what one has in a bathroom outlet - detects when water splashes on outlet) this has been here for decades as well
- arc fault breaker (this is what I'm talking about) - detects when electricity jumps from one line to another line inside the wall



Quote
Yeah, wood burns pretty nicely. And it also doesn't withstand hurricanes and storms very well. Like you mention yourself, the reason why you guys choose wood is simple: price.
Wood is probably more expensive here plus it takes more labour to build with wood. Labour is very expensive here.

I agree about hurricanes/storms, which are not an issue for most of northern north america .. But strongly disagree with wood construction costs.  It's SUPER cheap.  I've seen an entire house framed in 1 day.  Most new construction has the walls and roof prefab'ed.  A crane puts up the walls and roof in 1 day.  Houses are now build on an assembly line!  Pretty crazy.  Only the basement is dug out (2+ meters deep) and concrete with reinforced steel is used as the foundation (wood doesn't sit on the ground - it sits on top of concrete walls that are in the ground - it's very common to have basements)

In fact, basements are becoming the norm, no different than any other floor of the house.  Even though Canada is HUGE, the population is concentrated in only a few cities.  For example, in downtown Toronto, homes begin at 500,000$ and up.  These homes are tiny; 110 square meters usually. So getting the extra 50 square meters in a finished basement is a big deal.

Quote
Mmmm, I was just thinking.....I hope Bencao doesn't mind our little discussion in his game room thread !!!! Sorry Jörg !!!! :)

Agreed.  :)

bencao74

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #48 on: March 26, 2012, 03:37:01 PM »
never, absolute interesting! I was replacing the electric lines in my house last year and found some old wire installation in my gameroom as well. There are no documents about the building date of the house, I`ve asked the department. The only date is a declared open fireplace in 1930 something ;) But I found an old magazine magazine from 1870 called "Die Deutsche Hausfrau" (The german housewive). :) The old electrical installation had a kind flexible metal shroud like plumb, but it was more lighter. I removed all this stuff.

For the basement I had no clue that in netherland such building action is needed. I saw this kind of machines last time when a bridge was built.

The architect said when inspecting the house it has a fire resistance of 30-40 minutes before the roof comes down.













Floor, skirting boards and sockets are finished.


bencao74

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #49 on: March 26, 2012, 03:41:29 PM »
Finally I was doing some cleaning and light installation  ;D





















- 200m cable
- 250 cm heater with 5m copper tubes
- 75m constructions wood 16cm x 8cm
- 150m wood 4cm x 2.5cm
- 100m 180mm glass wool thick insulation
- 50m insulation protection foil
- 50m foil for laminate
- 30qm laminat
- 28 pcs sockets
- 4 switches
- 3 halogen lamps
- 25m skirting boards
- 500pcs screws for plaster boards
- 500pcs screws for wood
- 30qm plaster boards
- 30l paint white
- 10 kg wall filler
- 20kg Rotband filler
- 15 tubes white acryl
- 4 pcs paint protection tapes
- 2 pcs adhensive tape
- 30 pcs sanding paper
- 100m data cable
- 30 pcs installation plastics for sockets




gyruss

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #50 on: March 26, 2012, 03:48:04 PM »
That looks very nice!!  :spaceace: :spaceace:

Superully

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #51 on: March 26, 2012, 04:21:16 PM »
absolutely amazing job, it looks stunning! now fill it with life :spaceace:
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

Etienne MacGyver

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #52 on: March 26, 2012, 04:44:01 PM »
I Love It !  :spaceace:

ckong

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #53 on: March 26, 2012, 05:05:58 PM »
I Love It !  :spaceace:

+1  :spaceace:

And you know what's the best part of it? Another great arcade gameroom is erected in Europe!! And there are more to come, I'm sure. Who would have thought that 5 years ago?


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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #54 on: March 26, 2012, 06:37:02 PM »
Beautiful ! The ball can be opened with the first dance :):)

leonk

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #55 on: March 26, 2012, 08:14:20 PM »
looks really really nice..

is the floor a laminate, real hardwood, or engineered floor?  I can't tell from the pictures.

level42

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #56 on: March 26, 2012, 08:16:31 PM »
This:

looks like laminate packs...

Gerry

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #57 on: March 27, 2012, 07:35:32 AM »
Great work! Even without any arcade machines in it, your room has a relaxing and friendly ambience.

bencao74

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #58 on: March 27, 2012, 08:26:45 AM »
I decided on laminate. First I wanted to go with real wood, but this was not in my financial scope. As you mentioned for gameroom it must be hardwood like oak or something. I have in the rest of my house some weaker wood. By only placing a cab I had the first scratches. Tiles was to cold in my impression. Laminate is quite cheap and durable.

bencao74

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Re: Yet another gameroom build log : My ArcadeForge
« Reply #59 on: March 27, 2012, 09:07:54 AM »
Okay, the cabs:



I decided to put the Quadros in front of the windows. They`ve little rollers and can be moved quite easy. The OW is not easy to move, nor the paperboy.





My both pinballs.



The Paperboy from Pieter. This one was fetched from the netherlands.



ebay buy.



bougth this one last as a little present for myself when I was finished the 1st phase renovating my house. It`s a 3-in-1 centipede, millipede and missile command. It was built in the states from a company called Team Inc or something



Plain and simple : Operation Wolf.



I`m using the Quadros for my PCBs. No hazzle with screen and with two of them I can put 8 PCB.



My Asteroids project. The Asteroids was given to me from Oliver Knagge. Thanks a lot!



This one is a italian sit down cab. It was customized from PRC. This one has to go.



Jukebox with 100 cd changer. Mechanics for changing cd and playing is visible from outside.

I`ve two hellos for selling. The room is overcrowed with them.

So I`m heading for decoration :)



On the ArcadeLiga Meeting I saw this sheet of steel. It was cut by Willi.O. And the meeting we did some polishing. I was thinking to put blue semi transparent acryl for the TRON. And red for the rest. Second thought was to put clear acryl underneath and make some led action in blue and red. Ot just put it one the wall as it is ;).



For the american diner desk :)
« Last Edit: March 27, 2012, 09:36:44 AM by bencao74 »