Well, after the "Great Erase" that AVS had a few months ago, I have finally had time to re-post my thread: Below I will post all of [I]my[I] old posts and then take it from where I left off.

Post #1:
Aug. 4, 2008 04:45 PM

Well after about 6 months of research and countless hours reading threads here on AVS, I am ready to begin my own journey into the home theater world.

Here is a little background on my space:
- 8ft foundation walls (This means its in the basement. Here in Wisconsin, you consider your basement to be part of your home, not just storage space)
- Will include a small bar. Probably dry, but the hook ups for a wet bar are available to that is still an option.
-Also includes 10' X 12' "Bedroom" (No egress window so it will actually be a bonus room that happens to have a bed in it), and a full bath with whirlpool tub
-The important stuff...what I am thinking for AV equipmant:
• Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 PJ
• 92" Premium Elite Tab-Tension electric screen
• Onkyo HT-S5100 7.1-Channel Home Theater

Pictures and Floor Plans will come tonight.

Please share any and all input (good or bad) w/ me

Post #2:
Aug. 5, 2008 09:14 AM

Well, the 720 PJ is due to budget. Also, I have a shorter throw distace so hopefully the 720 will sufice. The Onkyo HTIB has a possiblility of being replaced with a Klipsch/Polk Audio Set Up with Klipsch Synergy III towers in the front. I have to spend some more time listening to them and see where the budget is in a few months.

To everyone that checked in last night, sorry the pictures never got up. I ended up finishing my insulation and starting the rough framing last night. Give me a few hours to get a floor plan and renderings up and tonight I will post pictures of the space.

Thanks!

Post #3:
On: 08-06-08 08:46 AM

Here's the renderings and floor plan so now you don't have to click the links above:

Floor Plan:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/Picture1.jpg

Looking at the bar: (note equipment rack above bar)
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/Bar20Corner.jpg

Looking at the screen from behind the bar:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/Screen20from20behind20bar.jpg

Looking at the post and screen from bottom of stairs:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/Screen20from20bottom20of20stairs.jpg

Birds eye view show entire basement:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/Birds20Eye.jpg

The walls will actually be a darker color. Sketch Up was giving me trouble with colors. I am thinking a dark rust color. All of the trim is cherry stained maple to match the rest of the house.

I forgot to mention earlier that I have a 42" Fujitsu Plasma for the back bar. It is three years old but I got it free a few weeks ago and it works great and has a fantastic picture!

Let me know what you think and feel free to give me any and all advice you may have

These are from a few weeks ago. Pictures of the insulation going up. Nothing too exciting. I know its not the best for sound and acoustics but its better than nothing.

Bedroom Area:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00626.jpg

Theater Area:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00628.jpg

Bar Area #1:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00630.jpg

Bar Area #2:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00631.jpg

Bar Area #3:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00632.jpg

Towards Bedroom and Bathroom Areas:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00633.jpg

Well now that I have brought everyone up to date after the "Great Erase". here is what I have been up to the last couple of weeks. I have spent a few nights a week and probably one solid weekend doing this. Unfortunatly i can't lock myself down there. the wife said that she has no problem with me finishing off the basement as long as she gets to see me once an a while. if it was up to me I would spend every free minute I had down there.

Looking at the bathroom (Gotta turn your head for this one):
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00651.jpg

At the base of the stairs (Looking into the bedroom):
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00646.jpg

Art Niche (for the Mrs., sorry to all the cinema buffs, its not a ticket window...) (turn your head for this one too...)
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00652.jpg

Screen Wall (Note the screen location. It will be a 100" Elite Tab Tensioned Electric Screen)
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00647.jpg

Bar Corner:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00648.jpg

Bar Corner (again):
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00649.jpg

Looking towards the bathroom and bedroom:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00650.jpg

Looking into the Bedroom:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/Basement/DSC00653.jpg

I look forward to everyone comments on the Mile Long Lounge...CHEERS!

Dude, I'm so jealous.

Living in Texas does not allow for basements. What you are doing down there is exactly what I'd do if I could afford it and had a basement.

Kudos to you; it looks awesome.

(How'd you do the mock up drawing?)

Dude, I'm so jealous.

Living in Texas does not allow for basements. What you are doing down there is exactly what I'd do if I could afford it and had a basement.

Kudos to you; it looks awesome.

(How'd you do the mock up drawing?)

Yeah, the basement is a great feature. Its nice to be able to finish it myself.

The mock up rendering came from free software from google called "Google Sketch Up". Its a little cumbersome but is a nice free program.

The room should be very, very nice.

The pictures make it look like such a BIG AND HARD WORK PROJECT I'm so glad I just pulled the projector out of the box, put it on an existing shelf and plugged it in - projector part done with the hardest part of the HT setup being getting my bride to let me permanently mount a big fixed gray wall screen smack over a living room window and then - shaaazam!! - Home Theater had arrived installed in our living room - all completed in under two hours including assembly and mounting of the screen. The arcade and pinball games where our dining area used to be were already there with the bar and stools.

Your Home Theater will be a wonderful addition to your home and I'm sure you will get a lot of pleasure from it. You will be VERY glad that you chose the complication of a front projector cause Home Theater just can't be had with a TV of any consumer size.
goodluck

The room should be very, very nice.

The pictures make it look like such a BIG AND HARD WORK PROJECT I'm so glad I just pulled the projector out of the box, put it on an existing shelf and plugged it in - projector part done with the hardest part of the HT setup being getting my bride to let me permanently mount a big fixed gray wall screen smack over a living room window and then - shaaazam!! - Home Theater had arrived installed in our living room - all completed in under two hours including assembly and mounting of the screen. The arcade and pinball games where our dining area used to be were already there with the bar and stools.

Your Home Theater will be a wonderful addition to your home and I'm sure you will get a lot of pleasure from it. You will be VERY glad that you chose the complication of a front projector cause Home Theater just can't be had with a TV of any consumer size.
goodluck

Thanks for the message. Yeah, I was pretty surprised when the wife gave me the go ahead. She's all for the idea of having a "movie theater" in the basement. She even lets me splurge on my toys cause she knows she's getting a 6' x 4' whirlpool.

Can you guys give me some advice...

Since my projector is only going to be a 720p, Is it really worth spending the $$ for a blu-ray or can i just buy a high quality upconvert DVD player?

An upconvert player on a screen that size isn't going to look very good. 1080p downscaled to 720 is still going to look worlds better than 480p upscaled to 720.

My two cents...

I have a 150" 16:9 screen in my living room with an Epson HC720 and use a "crappy" Toshiba upconverting player. It looks fine to me, but not as good as cable HD. I'm shopping for Blu Ray players with profile 2.0 and I'm sure there will be a significant difference. But, I think the upconverted material looks close to HD source quality. However, it really depends on the disc transfer. Some standard def DVDs when upconverted look better than their HD/Blu Ray counterpart...go figure. :rolleyes:

But, yes the money for Blu Ray is worth it! Especially as you can now get discs from Blockbuster (limited) and Netflix (tons) if you aren't looking to build a collection of your own.

Well, sorry about the delay. It has been one hectic month. I have been working on the basement when I get a free hour or two. We had a lawn put in a few weeks ago and that has taken up most of my time.

I got my permits last week so now I am legally able to work...

The Mrs. has been out of town the last couple of days so I have been able to kick it into gear and get some stuff accomplished.

I am on my 4th, post-initial material purchase, Menards trip to buy 2 x 4's. I am now up to 350+. That comes out to just about 80 trips up and down the stairs. I am really dreading the 50+ sheets of sheetrock. I think that is where the family IOU's will be paid up.

I will update progress as I go through the following pictures.

Looking into the bedroom. Not much has been done here. Closet is framed and some of the wiring is run for the outlets.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00653.jpg

Looking down the stairs. Furring strips and insulation are up. The Mrs. came up with the idea of putting hardwood flooring on this wall running horizontally. Something funky. We'll see. I'll keep you posed on that one.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00654.jpg

Bedroom again...
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00655.jpg

Soffit and column are framed in. Just finished that tonight. On the backside of the column is a box with the wiring for the sub running to it and also an outlet for a powered sub.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00656.jpg

Shot of the soffit. Those are the boxes for the PJ. One for the HDMI feed and one for and outlet.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00657.jpg

The component rack...
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00658.jpg

Better shot of the rack. Yeah its small, but it will fit everything I need plus a few more components. That is 14ga speaker (white) running for 7.1 and also a HDMI to DVI cable (black). My 42" Plasma (See later pictures) only accepts DVI not HDMI.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00659.jpg

Back bar area. Note the DVI end of the cable coming out for the feed to the Plasma.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00660.jpg

Bathroom Area.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00661.jpg

Closeup of the whirlpool base. Needed to do it like this to avoid busting out concrete to move the pre-existing plumbing. It works out well because the floor needed to be leveled anyways.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00662.jpg

The 42" Fujitsu Plasma. Can beat the price. FREE! A Dr. that my mom works for was going to throw them (did I forget to mention that I got 2 for FREE) away because he wanted to upgrade to something w/ a black case. The silver didn't match his decor. Hmmm..I can "dispose" of them for him. My father in law got the other.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00664.jpg


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00665.jpg


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00666.jpg

Here are the bar stool that we picked up. 4 of them. Yes those are 2 brand new Polk R50's in the background. Some audiophiles out there may not like them but for what I paid for them...$50 ea...they sound pretty damn good to me. I am now looking for 4 surrounds. I am looking to you guys for advice on those. What are a good set of surrounds that are reasonably priced?
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/bchristo01/DSC00663.jpg


Well that is where I am with construction. I hope to keep the updates coming more frequently. Sorry for the delay this last time.

I am ordering the PJ setup this next week. It is:
- Epson Power Lite 720 PJ
- 100' Elite Electric Tab tensioned Screen
- Mustang Mount

As always, I value everyone's advice. Please keep the comments coming.

Cheers!

Where did you get those stools?

Where did you get those stools?

The stools came from, don't laugh, ... Mills Fleet Farm. They were on clearance. $50 each.

Sorry all that it has been so long since I have posted anything. A few forks were thrown in the road but I am once again back on track.

Construction Progress:
All of the framing is complete (well almost, I still have to frame the colums that will flank either side of the projector). All of my wiring is run, including speaker wire and various video cables. I am waiting on one more monoprice cable to install. I decided to run a VGA cable to the PJ. Figured it would be nice to be able to patch my laptop into the project to surf the web and host fanstasty draft parties.

The bar is about 25% done. Going to start puting the sub base on the top tonight.

Plumbing is in. That went super quick as it is all PEX. Crimp and you're done.

Christmas Came Early
So my projector package is here! I got the Epson 720 pkg from ProjectonGuys.com with the 100" Fixed frame. I highly recogment these guys. Ask for Brian. he won't steer you wrong.

I will post picture tonight.

As always, I appreciate any and all feedback.

Great PJ choice - I love mine! Best bang for the buck IMHO. And good decision to run VGA. I wish I had done that now...

Did you run any conduit?

It is surprising how similar your basement is to mine. Sounds like you got a deal on those speakers, have you put any thought into what receiver you are going to use? I just got some larger speakers and am researching what receiver to pair them up with.
Good luck with your build, I will be watching closely.

Did you run any conduit?

Nope, no conduit. I am going with a suspended ceiling so the entire ceiling will essentially be giant wire run. I probably should have run some down the wall going to the equipmewnt rack but Thats why I am trying to fill that space with all the wire/cables that I could possibly imagine that I would ever need.

It is surprising how similar your basement is to mine. Sounds like you got a deal on those speakers, have you put any thought into what receiver you are going to use? I just got some larger speakers and am researching what receiver to pair them up with.
Good luck with your build, I will be watching closely.

Not sure on the reciever. Onkyo would be the assumed choice (Best bang for the buck). But I really like the Denon's. The only problem with the Denon was that I have heard that they don't respond well to HDMI switchers. And I have to put a 4 in - 2 out HDMI switcher in to split my video signal going to the PJ and the Plasma. Do you have any advice on reciever choice (Or HDMI switchers)?

Thanks and I will be sure to follow your build also.

Nope, no conduit. I am going with a suspended ceiling so the entire ceiling will essentially be giant wire run. I probably should have run some down the wall going to the equipmewnt rack but Thats why I am trying to fill that space with all the wire/cables that I could possibly imagine that I would ever need.

I suspected as much, seeing the water lines running under the floor joists.

Nice to see some more Wisconsin builds here on this forum! You're basement looks like it's coming together nicely. I'll be watching your progress!

Hey I really dig your screen and how you are framing it. I may have to do something like that with mine. Please post more pics! :)

*subscribed*

Any more progress here?? I bet its a case of "Got the PJ and progress has come to a complete hault"........happens alot.......R.I.P. Progress.......lol

Ok, Ok, Ok, I know I have been a horrible poster. I have been working non stop in the basement. Its at about 80% complete. I will post current pictures tonight. I have been taking progress photos as I have been working so once I get a chance, I will do a MASS upload of construction pictures.

Here is what has been completed:

- All inwalls are complete. All electrical wiring. 14 ga speaker wire pulled for 7.1 surround sound.
- Sheetrock is completly installed.
- Whirlpool in (and tested by the wife :D)
- All tile work in bathroom is complete (tub deck, tub surround, floor)
- All tile work in bar area is complete
- All tile has been grouted
- Double coat of skip trowel plaster has been applied. (If you need the name of a guy for plaster work, let me know. My guy does a ton of work for Green Bay Packers Players and is still really reasonable. All my plaster came out to $900)
- All walls were primed
- All walls were painted (2 coats)
- Theater room had faux finish (Venitian Plaster-ish) applied
- Ceiling grid is installed
- 75% of accustical ceiling tiles are installed
- Carpet has been installed
- Doors have been installed and are in the process of being stained
- In wall speakers have been hooked up and installed
- 100" Elite Screen has been assembled and hung
- Furniture was bought and carried downstairs
- Projector was hung and tested (No Iusteve, I haven't even watched a movie on it yet. Just turned it on to hang the screen...My parents told be "Patience is a Virture"...but DAMN its hard!)
- All final electrical copnnections have been made
- Both electric heaters have been installed

Here is what I need to do:

- Stain and install baseboard
- Finish ceiling tiles
- Finish insulating divider wall
- Finish Bar
- Install Bar Top
- Buy and install bar rail
- Cover bar in maple ply
- Install all trim on bar
- Buy and install back bar cabinets
- Buy and install back bar counter top
- Install hardwood flooring on bar top
- Pour Envirotex
- Install fridge
- Install vanity/marble counter/sink/mirror in bath
- Install toilet
- I'm sure there is more I will find...

The additions I have made since...?...

- Sony Blu-Ray Player
- Sony STR-DG720 7.1 reciever (got it cheap. will work for now but I am hoping to upgrade in future
- Magic Chef Under Counter Beverage Center.
- 19" LCD HDTV over the whilpool

So once again I apologize for the delay. Tonight I will take and post current pictures.


...I'm not getting LOGANED yet!...