# entertainment center



## dick in ia (Jul 23, 2007)

Question------

How do you remove an item from a basement shop which has the overall dimensions of:
85" wide, 71" tall, and 18" deep??? Even without the outside wings, the width is still 57" and would be difficult to take up stairs and too wide to transport easily.

To see what I am dealing with, see the picture below.
When time allows, I will post a few more pictures of the completed project and how I overcame the size obstacle.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Dig your way out....ROTFL..

This is not an uncommon issue with basement shops.......Sorry, can't help....

Are you able to partly dismantle the unit.

When I got married 43 yrs ago, my wife had a wardrobe that was like that. Every time we moved after that day, we had to pull it apart and put it back together......LOL

On our wedding day we had to move it from her place to our new flat..(up stairs)...Lucky the bridal party and guests were on hand to assist.....


----------



## chairman17 (Feb 2, 2012)

I have sailed smaller boats than that entertainment center. A degree of dismantling is going to be necessary so just bite te bullet. You have learned a valuable lesson and given a few smiles to us all. Many thanks.


----------



## tswift1110 (May 8, 2011)

You do very beautiful work.

Unless you have another way out of the basement, (not pictured) you have a drop ceiling that you might be abel to remove a couple of tiles and frames from near the stairs.
If that buys you the wiggle room you need then that might be a lot easier than dismantling the unit. Do the stairs have a bend/turn/landing halfway up? don't make the mistake I made and get halfway and not be able to get past the bend. LOL

Good luck.

Tom


----------



## mark greenbaum (Sep 26, 2010)

As a kid growing up in Detroit, I had a class mate whose father built a Cessna-like airplane in the garage. Upon completion, he realized the wingspan was greater than the the door opening. OOPS. He had to dismount the wing and then re-attach it outside the garage. I would have cut notches in the door jambs and repaired that, but I am sure I could not build that airplane, either.


----------



## PRDarnell (Mar 21, 2012)

I just showed my wife your photo. She thinks you should create a family room or den in the basement and solve the problem that way. "After all," she said, "the floor is already carpeted!"

Women!!!


----------



## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Bobcat makes a heck of an excavator that can easily go through cinder block. IF you have reinforced concrete them a light explosive is in order, this of course may negate the need for the entertainment center. This of course is an attempt at humor as anyone that builds in the basement forgot the first rule. Move the family to the basement and your equipment upstairs - that way your entertainment center is right where it needs to be.

Very Good Luck - Baker


----------



## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

Quantum entanglement teleportation (real stuff, not scifi, ... of course it doesn't work on anything that size, yet) ... or the new media room downstairs.

GCG


----------



## beemor (Feb 29, 2012)

shades of "measure twice , cut once" . I made a king size bed once - it looked a lot smaller in the shop than going up the stairs. Had to take it apart - always use screws!


----------



## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

My schoolboy trigonometry says at 57" wide, if your stairs are at 42° and the doorway is 6'6" high, it should just barely fit. What you do at the top of the stairs is another matter! I'll be interested to see your solution.

I did wonder about removing floorboards but at 18" deep I guess it would probably not fit between the joists. I'm favouring Paul's suggestion, simply exchange your workshop for the living room!


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I know of a guy that had a similar problem, years ago. His solution was to cut a hole in his living room floor, take out whatever he had made in one piece, then make a trapdoor in the floor, covered with a rug, in case the problem ever came up again. A bit extreme for a lot of people, but it definitely was a working solution. If you decided to go that route, take pictures.


----------



## curly1 (May 7, 2010)

I once built a duckboat in my basement, the 4x8 plywood went down all right but after attaching the 3ft nose on the boat it would not go up the stairs, after a good laugh and a few beers my brothers and I took the stairwell apart and stairs off and lifted it out the opening, might be an option for you, depending on which is more valuable, the stairwell or the entertainment centre


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

PS Dick.

I forgot to mention.....beautiful piece of furniture.


----------



## dick in ia (Jul 23, 2007)

*And now for the "Rest of the Story"*

I couldn't resist starting the post the way I did and over the years I have made my share of mistakes.
I love the comments and other experiences that everyone has brought up! Your comments are what help to make this site one of the best. 

By the way, before construction, I did confirm that it would make it out of the basement if assembled but it would have been heavy and extremely difficult to transport.
The pictures below show a few shots during construction and final assembly.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Dick, are you saying this was a trick question and no one got it right?


----------



## dick in ia (Jul 23, 2007)

jw2170 said:


> Dick, are you saying this was a trick question and no one got it right?


James,
You had it right on your first post.

Thanks for looking.
Dick


----------



## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

dick in ia said:


> I couldn't resist starting the post the way I did and over the years I have made my share of mistakes.
> I love the comments and other experiences that everyone has brought up! Your comments are what help to make this site one of the best.
> 
> By the way, before construction, I did confirm that it would make it out of the basement if assembled but it would have been heavy and extremely difficult to transport.


Good one, Dick! The entertainment center is really nice, too!


----------



## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Companies do it too - Many (many) years ago, during my "Foxboro" introduction we were regaled with the story of the 12' magnetic flow meter and the 10' door, they torched the door, loaded the million dollar mag meter on the truck, only to have a 12 foot overpass 2 miles to the interstate, that the trucker did not compensate for the heath of the truck bed. The moral of the story is even a building full of PhD's can be dumber than we are. True story - now retired.
Baker


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dick, another outstanding project. My hat is off to you.

Richard, save us from engineers! Returning from a canoe trip with the church youth group on the church bus we pulled into a McDonalds for a break. While the refreshments and pit stops were in progress the bus was taken next door to a gas station to refuel. With fueling complete the bus starter failed. Needless to say there were no parts stores open at 10 pm on a Saturday night. Several of the adults on the trip worked for GM and they were trying to figure out a way to modify a Chevy starter to repair the bus. All of us "kids" were restricted to the McDonalds so they would not be distracted. After an hour and a half wait I convinced one of the adults to deliver a message to the engineers: "The bus has a manual transmission and there are 30 of us here."


----------



## dick in ia (Jul 23, 2007)

Mike, I can relate to your bus story. You gave me some chuckles to start off the day.

On another topic, I wish that I lived closer to big "D" so that I could see the Big Routers in motion. You are a little far away for a quick trip. You know about this "retired life and the busy schedule". I have the PC 3+hp and it has performed flawless for the past 8 or more years, but I am still iterested in your findings.
Dick


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I posted my initial observations on some of the 3+ hp routers in this thread: http://www.routerforums.com/routerf...-hp-router-comparison-testing.html#post327434

I have owned a PC 7518 for quite a few years. For the last year or so mine has been mounted on a Betterley Stacc-Vac. The photos show a 7519 (single speed version) and the smaller Stacc-Vac which fits most combo kit routers. The Stacc-Vac units improve balance when edge routing like any offset base. Note the clear plastic shield which helps contain the dust.


----------

