Home Office Build

Few week long project. Major items are done, fews optimizations still remain with lower priority.

Steel door + steel frame + Schlage digital deadbolt
I do plan to add another deadbolt to the top or bottom for higher security while away for extended periods of time. also need to figure out how to modify a pry-protector plate to work with this set up and DIY dog bolts...

Anyway, installed steel knockdown frame. in addition to mnfr hardware, I secured the frame to the studs with eight 3' x 1/2' lag bolts.




Fortified the deadbolt strike plate area similar to concept of normal wood door. This was done by using drill to tap a hole at the back of the bolt box and then installing longer screws to add another contact point.

Note this is also an outswing door, so at this point kicking in is not a possibility. doing what I can to make prying open more noisy, time consuming and requiring tools.


Installed the door with non-removable self-closing spring hinges and a Schlage digital deadbolt. Boom. Self closing door with a lock I can control from anywhere that I have an internet connection. Now she just needs a paint job and will mostly blend in with the rest of the house style.


Gun wall + ammo storage + gun cleaning space

Using the built-ins, I fortified the shelving with 2x3 studs to ensure the weight of ammo will be well supported. Also put some plexiglass down on the far right side to clean guns and not ruin finish. added steel pegboard for pistol mags.


For the gun wall, used rubbermaid hanger thingys. some track lighting which was then pinned to the wall to keep out of way. some garage shovel hanger tracks which were cut to size and fastened to sidewall of inset to store longer guns vertically. rest are in safes. I do plan on making some type of gun display in the built-ins. have not finalized yet.



8ft L shaped office desk

My previous desk set up was pretty lame for the size of new office. So I picked up 8ft European birch wood butcher block and a 6 ft piece cut to size using circular saw with 60 teeth ASB blade. Wood was then treated with Tung oil. Roughly 5 coats, each with sanding between coats. final sanding with 0000 steel wool followed by 800 grit sand.

8ft L shaped office desk cont...



Wanted to go with steel square tube framing but didnt want to experiment with welding (never done before) for this project which I just needed to wrap up. went with a wood frame.


assembled frame. installed butcher block. and bam. office is nearly complete.





Other than what has already been noted for future, need to pick up a boatload more pegboard hooks to finish storing mags. Make more room in the built-in display case (remove some ammo cans?) to have a showdown with USA vs Russia..Mosin and AK facing AR15 and AR10. that's what im leaning toward now anyway.

Learned a lot from these projects. a first for most. Definitely things I would do differently knowing what I know now. Such is life.

That’s pretty cool man

This thread gave me a bigger boner than the tan lines thread
Well done dude, your office looks awesome

HMP said:

This thread gave me a bigger boner than the tan lines thread
Well done dude, your office looks awesome

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Understood. Quite often my wife walks in and sees me minimizing browsers, pinching my legs and says, while rolling her eyes, “looking at gun rooms on the internet again dear?”

Sigequinox220 said:

Understood. Quite often my wife walks in and sees me minimizing browsers, pinching my legs and says, while rolling her eyes, “looking at gun rooms on the internet again dear?”

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Notice the monitors in the office are positioned such that nobody gets to walk in and see what kind of work is on the screens. Solves that problem, no?

Badass!!

Timfoilhat said:

Notice the monitors in the office are positioned such that nobody gets to walk in and see what kind of work is on the screens. Solves that problem, no?

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Yeah man. Now I can be on BangBangBangBus dot com all day with no worries. (if that's not a gun porn website already, I should purchase the domain name and run with it)

What respectable office would be complete without a gun mounted underneath the desk? Never know when someone might walk into my office and challenge me to a duel.







and as @JimB knows, at minimum, you gotta NIJ Level II soft armor bullet proof your suburban home office chair. (this is joke).

Finally got around to some of the loose ends. Also decided to rearrange some of the room to better utilize space--its difficult to compartmentalize given just 1 large rectangular room.

only remaining projects are:
-DIY dog bolts for hinge side of door (open to creative ideas)...existing products appear to be way too junky and small, so kinda need to reinvent this wheel for my purpose.
-scoring and repainted wall I jacked up
-display case (which now has space after removing a bunch of ammo cans)
-hunting gear storage (will probably just use a bin, but hoping to do better)
-track lighting on opposite wall

• painted door to blend in

• added second deadbolt (did not go with fox lock--expensive, not confident I could install it and had trouble finding one where lock was on side rather than middle of door--keeping with the low profile design) I would have probably went with fox/police style lock if anyone made a digital/keypad lock of that variety (and forgone the common deadbolt altogether, but unfortunately that doesn't exist).
  • Used Ryobi metal door boring kit (~$20 at HD)

• Built shelving for more storage into the recessed wall.
  • reloading supplies, ammo cans etc removed from display case to create more room

• Switched 84" FastTrack rail to opposite wall and utilized the inset wall to build recessed shelving (not yet sure what to do with 2nd 84" track)

• Acquired some additional pegboard hangers and a wall mounted AR mag holder. Also have polycarbonate sheeting on this side for gun cleaning surface.

• Security camera added outside of door

How much monies does it take to get you out to my place??? Have you looked at something like this?

https://www.doordevil.com/

amnesia said:

How much monies does it take to get you out to my place??? Have you looked at something like this?

https://www.doordevil.com/

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those methods all rely on displacing force over wood frame. I have similar upgrades on entry doors to my house.

this office/gun room door is essentially impossible for human to kick in since it is an out swing and the 16 gauge steel frame is bolted to studs with 8 or 10 1/2x3” bolts. For this door, prying would be my concern. I can’t fit a common pry latch guard on this door because of the shape of my digital lock—I don’t have equipment to custom fit it. I did fasten the frame flange on outer lock side to the studs to make it more difficult to get Underneath and pry at the frame....

I’ve gone through this much trouble because I absolutely hate gun safes. Getting guns out of them is almost as dramatic as those 3am infomercials...this way, I my go-to range and home defense guns are easily accessible—and nicely displayed for aesthetic purposes.

Sigequinox220 said:

What respectable office would be complete without a gun mounted underneath the desk? Never know when someone might walk into my office and challenge me to a duel.


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and as @JimB knows, at minimum, you gotta NIJ Level II soft armor bullet proof your suburban home office chair. (this is joke).

View attachment 230925

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I'd have to do something else with the gun, I would be bustin my knees/legs constantly with that hanging down like that. It is your secure room, why not just leave one on top of the desk??

You have done a great job that started with a good plan. The only thing I would change is to mount some shelves some how to the door to make the whole damn door disappear, like No Door..Nothing to see here!! I enjoy having some of my stuff out for me and others to see. Your biggest concern now is to Not let outsiders know you have anything like this. Build those shelves over the door you Obviously have the skills to make it happen. You have Got to hide those hinges from sight. That's you weakest entry point now. Shelves.....think about it!!!

BatteryOaksBilly said:

You have done a great job that started with a good plan. The only thing I would change is to mount some shelves some how to the door to make the whole damn door disappear, like No Door..Nothing to see here!! I enjoy having some of my stuff out for me and others to see. Your biggest concern now is to Not let outsiders know you have anything like this. Build those shelves over the door you Obviously have the skills to make it happen. You have Got to hide those hinges from sight. That's you weakest entry point now. Shelves.....think about it!!!

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the hinges are non removable commercial variety and that side has the least space for attacking the door. I do want to add dog bolts on hinge side though.

it’s tight and out swings toward the near wall. No way concealing with shelves would be option. If anything maybe a mirror or something if were to go that route.

I work from home so anyone who got the bad idea of trying to enter would be identified by my front porch camera and the hallway camera. Y’all would get to enjoy the video of watching his brains turn into mashed potatoes. As far as neighbors and kids friends, it’s discrete enough and if questioned I would emphasize I work with clinical data and have important client info on SSDs as well as computers that have access to HIPAA if breeched so need to take “appropriate Physical safeguards” In addition to electronic....

Look at the size of that dudes hands!!

phideux said:

I'd have to do something else with the gun, I would be bustin my knees/legs constantly with that hanging down like that. It is your secure room, why not just leave one on top of the desk??

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good observation..consistency + child safety...I have a lot of video meetings so want to ensure that (1) there’s not a Glock in sight ever and (2) not constantly moving around table around clutter and possibly not knowing exact location at the worst possible time—though there are quite a few other options lol...

then there’s 3 year old in house who likes to come hang out with me...that holster is level 2 retention Blackhawk “Serpa” I believe

Dude, if you have a kid coming in the room you need to securing those guns better, you should never underestimate the curiousness or creativity of a kid. You have to protect them from themselves till they're old enough to understand just how deadly a firearm can be. If nothing else trigger locks on the rifles you have hanging around and something like this for that glock.
https://www.amazon.com/GunVault-Speedvault-Biometric-Pistol-SVB500/dp/B006OGOHD0

I'm not trying to be that guy and preach at you, just want to point out if your kid is smart enough to get a Nerf-gun up and running they can get an AR or AK running. There's a whole lot of potential heartache you can head off on the cheap.

myst173 said:

Dude, if you have a kid coming in the room you need to securing those guns better, you should never underestimate the curiousness or creativity of a kid. You have to protect them from themselves till they're old enough to understand just how deadly a firearm can be. If nothing else trigger locks on the rifles you have hanging around and something like this for that glock.
https://www.amazon.com/GunVault-Speedvault-Biometric-Pistol-SVB500/dp/B006OGOHD0

I'm not trying to be that guy and preach at you, just want to point out if your kid is smart enough to get a Nerf-gun up and running they can get an AR or AK running. There's a whole lot of potential heartache you can head off on the cheap.

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no mags in the guns on wall. No more dangerous than any other 8lb metal object. What worries me are knives. All my hunting/cAmp knives are well secured, but those damn kitchen knives are a nightmare of complacency waiting to happen. We do our best, but are one spilled milk or a dog poop away from jumping into task at hand without paying attention.

the one gun in lvl 2 holster under desk has nothing in the pipe...when kids are strong enough to rack a slide I will evolve my practices again. Believe me when I say I’m always on that. 1st kid is only 3 and already my routine has changed 4 times. The reason behind digital lock is to ensure I never get lazy about locking behind me when not up there.

I’m also vehemently against trigger locks, even more so after building in this much security and other more subtle arrangements.