MichaelC[AP Moderator]
18904
PART II - "don't forget about structure, jackass!"
Jan 24, 2021,10:38 AM
Aaahh... one nasty bi-product of not knowing my room design before building the home. You would think an architect, on his own home!, would have remembered that one. When I ordered all the stone for the inside and outside of the room, and figured in my cement board, wine racks and other things, I realized I am adding around 3500 LBs to the space. The black marble Gothic arch pieces were about 750LBs already. This is a stout area. So I pulled out my structural plans and emailed my engineer. "Probably good if you can stiffen along that wall". Damn it, I knew that would be the answer.
I have an unfinished basement with an 11 7/8" thick floor structure. Wires, HVAC, and fire sprinklers abound. The span between steel beams is 19'-6". I ordered a few 22' LVLs, not knowing what I could get in there. I knew it would be a battle to get these positioned, but I did it with the help of my brother and a 6-pk for him ;-) I was able to position a new 9.5" LVL directly under the opening to the wine room, and added a 2nd 7.5" LVL as a sister to an adjacent joist. It was about a full day to get these 2 members installed.
M4, your keen eyes will spot your addition to the home ;-)
With that nasty task down, I was able to resume the build. I ordered the marble tiles to exact dimensions to minimize the cutting and brainwork for the tile layout. This is the only aspect of the job I outsourced, having my regular tile guy install the pieces. I did the wall prep and layout, and left him the easy part (which I reminded him, of course).
Inside the room, I wanted to use a charcoal limestone to pair with the black marble. This material is referred to as "thin veneer". It is real Texas limestone, face cut and chopped to a nominal average of 1.5" thick +/-. I did not want to use mortar between the pieces, and therefore the stones are installed as tightly as possible to create a "dry stack" look. I had ordered black marble wall base when I built the home, and needed to fur them out for the limestone to sit on.
My man Vinny is a solid installer, and had no issues facing the outer wall.
I originally intended to use the same travertine crown moulding atop the new marble, but scrapped the idea and instead took the tiles evenly to the ceiling. This is a great point to consider before ordering material, and if you use custom cut stones, you can account for joints and size the tiles precisely to have an even number of courses along the wall.
I am still mulling a few ceiling ideas for the bar, and I'll get to that once the wine room is finished.