Lance Mason talks about building his own ‘Snooker Room’ in Canada?
Background:
Due to local building regulations I built this 24ft X 24FT snooker room as a garage and simply walled off the double overhead door from the inside. Doing it this way it would not affect our property taxes and also I was allowed to build on slab rather than having to add foundation walls.
Concrete Base:
If you look at the photos you will see there is a substantial concrete footing poured as one complete section with the slab. If you plan on doing a project like this you must refer to your local regulations to see what type of structures are allowed and the type of construction approved.
I wanted a room that was big enough for a 6X12 as well as usable leisure space so 24 X 24 worked well and gave me plenty of space to play around the table.
I started out by getting a concrete firm in to do the excavating, forms and to pour and finish the slab.
Our local regs. call for a 1 meter setback, this means I must have my foundations at a minimum 1 meter from the property line.
Plans:
I submitted plans which I obtained from the building supplier, (I purchased the building as a package $10000.00) and obtained a permit. Once you start building you will have a series of inspections as you progress, such as foundation, electrical, framing etc.
The concrete guys set the forms a little over 1 meter from the fences on two sides and I called for my first inspection, the inspector was concerned about the setback and asked for a land survey. This is not cheap and I did not do it originally as I had discussed it with the concrete guys and we expected we would be fine, we weren’t!
Turns out the fence was originally built 2 feet onto the farmland to the rear. This cost me as I had to get the forms moved back 10 inches, it also messed up the size of the building and slab so I had more to do
when framing. I back filled it myself. Total slab $11000.00
Power Supply:
For this build I wanted 220V power supply to power the heating and also for future resale value. I had to obtained a separate electrical permit and a local electrician wired the panels and the building, installed all the outlets and heaters.
This meant I had to have a separate panel installed in the garage as well as upgrading the main feed to the house to 200 amp service and a new panel in the house. Luckily (not!) the panel was on the opposite side of the house so I had to trench a cable all the way around and out to the new building. I also included a cable for TV, phone and internet. This added a lot of costs to the final tally. Total electrical $7000.00
Once the slab is down the framing goes quite quickly and over a few weeks I finished the framing, insulation, roofing etc. I did all the drywall and had a friend do the plastering and finishing.
For the floor I used a cork laminate tile this went down quickly and this stuff is warm comfortable and hypo alergenic. I had all the inspections done along the way and got the final permit signed off.
Snooker Table:
I installed a Riley Aristocrat with No.10 match cloth and enjoyed this room for many years.
My best advice is to make sure you pull all the relevant permits and consult your local council for building regulations.
Total Costs:
My total cost at the end was $32,00.00 Canadian dollars but it added much more in value to the house and the more you do yourself the better.
So let’s take a look at Lance’s build…
Build Snooker Room – Foundation and concrete slab prep. work.
Well here the project starts out, lots of planning and lots of emotion prior to putting that shovel in your hand and starting to dig! Here we can see the start of the project with the promise of a snooker table to come……we hope.
Build Snooker Room – Foundation and concrete slab prep. work.
Here we can see how close the project is to the boundary and how deep it needed to go to get that solid slab in place ready for a structure to sit on top.
Build Snooker Room – Foundation and concrete slab prep. work.
The concrete slab is done in tow stages. Here we can see the end of stage 1 with the re-enforcing bars placed on the top ready for stage 2 of the concrete to be poured. It’s looking like we’re gonna see a firm base at this stage.
Build Snooker Room – Foundation and concrete slab prep. work.
Well I’ve heard of people being enthusiastic but this is a little keen! It won;t be long Lance and you will be standing with that cue next to a snooker table but I think there’s a little time yet mate!
Build Snooker Room – Foundation and concrete slab prep. work.
Now there’s a concrete slab. After all the work we can see the form foundation slab is in place and ready for some walls once it’s dry. If you look carefully you can see some cleverly placed machine threads sticking out of the concrete to secure the stud work to.
Build Snooker Room – Stud Work
It’s always a good idea to have some pre-made stud work if you can get your planning right and as you can see here, this will save time and make the build a little easier. The stud work has that added support form those threads we discussed that were sticking out of the concrete slab.
Build Snooker Room – Stud Work
Here we can see the end of the stud work walls and slowly but surely we can get an idea how large the overall build is. The structure always looks a little weak at this stage until we see those walls filled in. I can assure you it is certainly strong enough!
Build Snooker Room – Stud Work
As we can see here, Lance is using marine ply which is a lot more sturdier than chipboard and is certainly the better material when it comes to water resistance and penetration into the inside area.
Build Snooker Room – Stud Work
It’s funny how angles can change the perspective of how large a structure is; the building looks small from this angle but when you take a look at some of the following pictures that sure changes. Neat job guys.
Build Snooker Room – Roofing
Using pre-formed roofing trusses helps keep the build neat and is a definite time saver. Initially you can see a few braces under the trusses that have been placed to keep them in place until more supports can be added.
Build Snooker Room – Roofing
As you can see from the front, there have been a fair few overhand studs added so the roof can take it’s final shape. All the braces are in place and the structure is now ready to be enclosed.
Build Snooker Room – Roofing
Now this is where the roof finally takes shape and we can see how solid it is at this point! It’s looking pretty cold out there but probably a nice summer’s day if you live in Canada!
Build Snooker Room – Roofing
Well here we get a good view of the finished roofing structure from the inside and wow, that looks solid. You can also see the first fix of the lighting circuit in place.
Build Snooker Room – End of Stage 1
So, here is the end of the first stage of the structure. Remembering the initial concrete pad, this section of the build looks far bigger with a building on top of it. Now this looks like a snooker table will fit on it with space to spare!
Build Snooker Room – Power System
If the rooms going to have some decent lighting then I guess it will need a reasonable power supply so back to the dirt I guess. Best get back to the shovel; here we can see the small trench for the snooker room power supply.
Build Snooker Room – Power System
Here we can see how the power enters the building, not to worry about the water too much as the supply is protected and there’s no power in it as yet! You can drill these holes as you go or put some sleeving in the concrete before it sets; either way is ok to get the power through the concrete but check your regs. on what the requirements are for you locally.
Build Snooker Room – Power System
Here you can see the entry point for the electrical supply. This is a very neat job with not too many power cables. It’ll be interesting to see the final build and lighting system.
Build Snooker Room – Power System
Things are starting to take shape so not too much longer and the electrics will be finished and ready to power up. The first fix is done so it just needs the walls to be complete and then the sockets can be installed.
Build Snooker Room – Insulating the walls
Insulation slabs have been added to the stud work and roofing area to try and trap the heat in. Over the top of the insulation we can see a plastic membrane which will serve as a vapour barrier to prevent moisture entering the building through the fabric.
Build Snooker Room – Letting Light In.
If you go back to the original stud work, there was a space left for the window to be put in at a later date. The building is really starting to take shape now.
Build Snooker Room – Door Area
Well it looks like the building is getting near water tight now that it has a window and door in place. Hopefully that shovel is just for show now as surely the digging has finished!
Build Snooker Room – Roof Tiles
Now that’s a nice neat job the guys have made of the roof area. You can start to get a feel for what the rooms going to look like so this is where the push is to get to that snooker table.
Build Snooker Room – External Vapour Barrier
Prior to the timber being installed on the outside, we need to add a further vapour barrier to protect the inside structure. Easy to fit but also easy to mess up and leave penetration gaps if you’re not careful; definitely one you want to get right first time.
Build Snooker Room – External Woodwork
As you can see, tongue and grooved woodwork has been added to the outside structure and this is really starting to look good. That looks like some wiring by the door to make sure you can find your way when the Canadian blizzards start in the winter.
Build Snooker Room – Final Building Structure
I think we can firmly say that stage 2 is complete and the building is water tight ad ready to start the inside part of the project. Can’t be long now so better order that snooker table before the kids put a table tennis table in there!
Build Snooker Room – Internal Finishing
At this stage, the plasterboard, plastering and decorating has taken place. If you get the guys set up ready you can complete this section pretty quickly; obviously you need to wait a few days for the plaster to dry out. Don;t rush the drying process though or you’ll then have cracks to deal with! Bring on the table!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Build Snooker Room – Snooker Table Cloth
Here’s where you have to decide on what type of snooker cloth to purchase. Do you want hard wearing cloth or a super fast one? Choices, choices, choices. This has got to be the best part of the build as it’s all clean and the table looks like it’s now on the radar.
Build Snooker Room – The Pride and Joy
Wow! What a snooker room. It’s got to be said that the guys have all completed a fantastic job and completed a great snooker room. The lighting will ensure no shadows, the heaters will give you that warm glow and the building will retain the heat; even a comfortable chair for the loser when it’s winner stays on. How good does this look?
Build Snooker Room – Flooring
Here we get a good view of the floor area. What I like about this is you just walk on it; there are no creaking floorboards for that unscrupulous opponent to keep leaning on when things aren’t going well; Lance has thought of everything.
Firstly, I would like to thank Lance for sharing his snooker room build with us, what a great project and seeing every stage certainly brings the whole thing to life.
Many times I have considered building a snooker room and this type of build really does look achievable no matter which country you are in. If you want to save money, you could certainly do a lot of the work for yourself if you have the skills and if you’re looking for a weekend thing, this will certainly reap rewards at the end of the project.
Hopefully more people will share their snooker room builds with us and we will keep posting them on Snooker Crazy.
Good stuff Lance!