If you haven’t read my post about how to find wood on facebook marketplace then I suggest you take some time to read it (see link below).

The video to the right shows most (but not all) of the wood that I was able to get for $40. When I loaded up the SUV with the wood I wasn’t sure what I would use the wood for but immediate after unloading it became clear that they would work extremely well for the rustic arcade/bar that I was working on.

You can likely find deals like this if you are patient. If you completed part 1 of the bookcase door build then you have a fully functional door that I am sure you love. I started working on the back of the bookcase door about seven months after I finished the front.

Don’t want to wait? No Problem! While the collection in the video featured everything from 100 year old hand hewn board to old bookcase wood it actually had a fair amount of naturally weathered 1x8x8 pine boards. I chose these boards for the back of the bookcase because they were light weight and I didn’t want to put any unnecessary stress on those beautiful Tambee pivot door hinges.  

Dry fitting is critical in the process, this is a swinging bookcase and we need to make sure that the bookcase can still swing!  I brought each board down and measured the fit. 8′ was too long for my door and so I lined the boards up with the bottom of the bookcase and then marked the excess at the top with a pencil. 

As you can see in the picture, I have some hardware to remove from the book latch. 

Whether you have a nail gun or not, hanging the boards on the back of the bookcase is easy. The most important thing is to make sure that you use nails that are long enough to go through the pine board and into the bookcase but not so long that they poke through the other side.

If you have an outswing bookcase door like me, I suggest lining the board that is most visible to the edge. For me, that is the board that has the book latch mechanism attached to it. 

I applied a generous amount of wood glue and put the boards up by nailing putting a few nails in the top and bottom. I then put a few in random places throughout the board. If your boards are weathered then they may be warped, mine were as well. 

The only wall in the secret room that had studs was the wall that bordered reality (aka the finished basement). I lined the rest of the room with other material (that’s for another post) but nothing seemed to click for me with the studs. I considered putting drywall up but it really didn’t go with the vibe of the room.

As mentioned above, I found a pile of old wood on facebook for $40. This picture was my first test to see if I thought the idea would work.

If you already have drywall installed then your process needs one addtional step – you need to find the studs! Using a studfinder, mark the wall with a pencil where the studs are. It’s extremely important that you drive your nails through this wood and directly into a stud.

Also, be sure to cut around any switches or outlets. We will fill any gaps in with dark paint.

I wanted a combination of boards running horizontally and vertically. To achieve this, I measured and cut boards with my miter saw. A circular saw would work fine for the job. Caution if you are using old boards like me, be sure to keep an eye out for nails in the wood. Wear your safety glasses (like you always do). 

I mentioned this above, but this picture illustrates it best. Weathering parts of the wall and bookcase door will really help blend things together. We will use the weathering technique that I mentioned above to cover up both the white strip on the bookcase door and the switch plate (remove the switch plate and weather it the same way as the wood).

This picture is important – for the most part the bookcase door and rustic wall is complete. It doesn’t look nearly as good as the final picture, that’s because of the details. The white switch outlet is like a little field mouse just running across the floor…pounce on it like the craftycatsman you are. There are also gaps on the wall that show the studs, I took a small brush and painted all of those areas with a dark grey paint. The two other major distractions are (1) the exposed beams and (2) the uneven light distribution. 

1) Unfinished ceiling covered with corrugated metal. I mulled over the ceiling design for months, some people talk about painting the beams and of course some people just put drywall up. Neither really suited my design and so I decided to  install old barn corrugated metal roofing that I picked up from a facebook marketplace ad. The entire ceiling was done for less than $100, it was also extremely easy to put up, much easier than painting or drywall.

2) The speakeasy only had two standard light bulbs hanging from the rafters. This created shadows that I couldn’t stand. I didn’t want to hang light fixtures because it would sacrifice space and make the room feel small. To go with the rustic speakeasy design I decided to hang a set of Govee RGB patio lights. These lights have all sorts of cool patterns and can be turned on/off and dimmed via voice commands. 

Next Up: Hiding the AC Duct

Click the picture above to learn how I hid the unsightly metal ductwork.