Resolution Numero Uno: Fixing Up The Home Office

The first order of the new year is straightening out my home office. Here’s what I have in mind …

My home office is in a sunroom off the back of my garage. I would have put it in the basement, but ranchero indebto has the tendency to submerge when the big rains (ie: hurricanes) roll through. While a good basement waterproofing project would straighten that out, I didn't want to risk a bunch of floating computers in the meantime.

I originally had my home office in a spare bedroom, but with the advent of kids, that spare bedroom wasn't spare for long. I got kicked out of the house, so to speak, back in the 90s. At the time, we didn't have a bunch of change (and we had a bunch of bills to clear up). So I took out a home equity loan.

After I paid off those bills, I didn't have much cash to put on an office addition to the ranch. (Every builder I spoke to wanted fifty grand to add a single room!) I decided to have a sunroom addition built. The sunroom company used a metal frame and foam sandwich panels, rather than conventional construction.

I've had to live with that decision, ever since.

On nice days during the spring and summer, it's wonderful. But in the dead of winter, it's insanely cold. I've gotten by with a pair of heating ducts and an aging oil-filled electric heater, but I need to add some real heat to the room. A bunch of insulation wouldn't hurt, either.

I'm planning to finish the inside walls with a bunch of tongue and groove cedar planking that's sitting in the attic. When I do the planking, I'm going to kill two geek birds with one stone, and add a cable management solution to the baseboards.

A warmer room and less wire clutter? Brilliant!

Once I get that done, I'll look to pick up an inexpensive desk and one more ergonomic chair. And to clear up the clutter, I'll get all of the extra junk out of the room and into the garage (after I dig up some more garage storage shelves, that is) ...