Happy Campers

Why so happy? Well, this area in which we're sitting (in our den) used to look like this:

Eek! I still remember the day. We had just taken possession of the house, and not twelve hours later, we were hammering holes in the wall to make space for an aquarium. In our heads, the finished space will look something like this (built into the wall, however we're thinking more moulding and cabinetry around it):

But back to Day 1. We inherited a somewhat dated wet bar. The already-there plumbing made it an easy choice for the future aquarium! Here I am ripping into our new house.

And there's the wet bar in the background before we "expanded" : )

He also had to relocate some of the studs so we would end up with a nice rectangular space.

Next came lighting.

And drywall!

Then FRP on the inside for protection from water, and drywall on the outside (Max is spackling over it right here).

Finally, it was time for texture and paint!

I have to say, I was very impressed with the hubby's work! I kept insisting we needed help, and looking back I can't believe he did it all himself : )

This past weekend, Max made the stand on which the aquarium will sit. He didn't like the stand that came with the tank, so he decided to make a more sturdy one to hold all 2,000+ pounds that the tank will weigh once filled. Here we are bringing it in. I'm not so great as the "muscle help" - all I had to do was carry one side of the stand, but I kept asking for breaks every three or so feet. In my defense, the stand was bigger than I was (and I'm sure it weighed more, too!). I told Max this was a "picture break" (but really I was just resting my arms again!).

Max sealed the stand with an outdoor protectant as it's sure to get saltwater on it at some point. The stand of course will be hidden with cabinetry and the facade that will go around the area, but I have to give props to my husband that it was very well built!

Here's Max showing how long the aquarium will be. Yep, we're pretty excited!