Introduction: Building a Home Gym During Quarantine
I had begun organizing the gym section and bought some workout mats to lay the equipment on and even mounted the TV (most important part of any gym) back in December.
But the first thing to be remodeled in the house was the horrific office where we went with a black and white theme. I took the excess black paint from the office and smeared it onto the garage wall thinking it would force me to hurry up and remodel this... well... nope!
Quarantine hit and day-care went bye bye. One wild 15 month old child running around was all I could handle, with 1 more kid on the way.
When the second kid was born May 8th, the in-laws came to town and helped out for a week, giving me plenty of time to finish up my home gym!
Who needs sleep?!
Supplies
LED Strip Lights from Amazon
Black Paint from Lowe's
Giant Mirror from Lowe's
Workout Equipment from FB Marketplace
Step 1: Prep the Walls
The previous owners of this house had major drywall screws in nearly ever wall of the home so for this wall, I pulled them all out and applied wall puddy to cover the holes.
There were several other defects on this wall and I wanted to do this right so I skim coated over the bad spots with some fresh thinset - then sanded that down.
All of the dust flew all over the garage so I just wiped it down and leaf blew everything out of the room.
Last step of preparation was to tape off my side walls and ceiling where I don't want to apply paint.
Step 2: Paint the Wall
My office has this modern black and white look to it and I wanted to take that same theme and use it for this gym - plus I had some extra paint. You can see the big black patch on the wall there from when I rolled on the excess paint I had leftover in my paint tray from the office.
First I hit the edges and then the wife came in to roll over everything. I always brush first, paint over 2nd to knock down the paint stroke lines.
Step 3: Mirror Frame
I had this giant pallet that was holding a canvas from our move in December and never knew what to do with it... until now!
I stained, clear coated, and hung this "frame" on the wall where I wanted the mirror to go. Make sure it's level!
Then I just found a mirror that fit the dimension from Lowe's and glued it on with Liquid Nails.
Step 4: Install LED Lights
To really take this gym to the next level, I HAD to install color changing LED strip lights to this. These things even change to the beat of the music. SOLD.
The lights come with a sticky sided back to them and I just ran it from one side of the garage, up around the mirror, and back down to the other side of the garage. Not only is this a gym remodel, it's an entire garage remodel!
Step 5: Setup the Gym Equipment
I had got a ton of gym equipment on Facebook Marketplace for $200 not too long ago (what a steal) and now I set it up in position. Squat/Bench Rack, Weighted Plates and Stand, Dumbells and Stand, and all the attachments.
Last thing to do is turn on the TV to something motivational - maybe some DIY projects (in this case it was Basketball), and Get a Good Burn!