so a while back I created a thread about my old theater, stating that we were in the proces of building a house.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=951151

Well. two years later, we moved.

At this time, i am done with Phase 1 (working order), and am relaxing while contemplating Phase 2 (better working order)

Here is our new house. It is a modular that we chose for its space, and the fact that i get almost the whole upstairs for my HT. We have 6 acres and LOVE every bit of it. Unfortunately, we couldn't swing a garage, but I have my HT, and my wife has her kitchen.
to give you a better idea, the HT is the upstairs section including the center and right dormer. the screen is on the angled wall in the back. the stairwell is on the left as you walk in the front door.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_1759.jpg

I will be reusing all of my inital gear on this HT to help save money, but will be upgrading piece by piece as budget allows. (besides the fact that my Monster Power HTS2500 blew Tuesday as i was doing my first demo with everything calibrated.)

Onkyo 606
Def Tech BP2006TL, CLR 2300, BP1.2x, & Paradigm Mini Monitors
Toshiba A2 HD-DVD via HDMI
Acer PH530 720p PJ with 120" elite retractable screen
Dell HTPC w/ vista Media Center, Dual HD ATSC tuners via VGA

My Room is 26x18.5x9.5 with angled roof sides. I chose to run the HT long ways so that the screen is on an angled wall, this allows me to have more rows front/back vs side to side and also makes it easier to do an AT screen and hide all my gear for child protection (for the child, from the child, you make the call)

the nice thing about this build is that i have complete access to the front wall and the ceiling, so running cables is much easier. I ran some pull string before sheetrock to help in the pulls. this worked ok, so far. I added large metal washers to try to use a magnet for location, but in the end, i had to refer to my pictures to see where they were.

Here are a few initial pics.
Front Wall ( i have access to the crawl behind here)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_1853.jpg
Side/Starwell Wall(I know, i screwed up by not putting insulation in there)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_1852.jpg
Side Wall
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_1846.jpg
Electrical Height (VERY important)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_1848.jpg

My next post will detail a little more of the intermediate project and what i have done so far.

The color we chose was Victorian Pewter with Napoleon for the trim. these are both Olympic colors found at Lowes. I like olympic because it has no odor, covers very well, and is cheap and easy to acquire.
I plan on painting the wall behind the screen, the angled portion, and the flat part of the ceiling the Napoleon color to help eliminate light reflections. Later i may do a star ceiling.

Here are some more pics.
View as you enter from the stairwell.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2179.jpg
The wall directly behind the Rack ( i have my PJ and HTPC on a UPS so they arent effected by power outages.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2180.jpg
Turning directly right you see the screen and another bedroom
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2181.jpg
Here you see my easy screen hanger. It is simply 3 simpson strong ties and a 2x4. i cut the screen off of the retractable roller and simply used (3) 6 inch pieces of velcro to secure it and then snugged the 2x4 into the hangers. the 2x4 creates a nice clean edge, and i can easily prop it up to readjust the screen tension. Not bad for $6.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2182.jpg
Turn right some more and you can see the seating area (ignore the red couch douing double duty as a light blocker, I just havent installed the curtain yet)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2183.jpg
Seating are from the far side of the room
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2184.jpg
view from the rear corner
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2185.jpg

My $50 2 hour platform.
all i did was take (6) 2x12x8, lay 4 down as the lengthwise supports and cut the (2) sides to give me a 6" overhang in back, and a 1.5' step in the front. (sorry I didnt take more pictures). I then had some 3/4 plywood that i cut 2 feet wide for the sides (6'9) and I added 2 scrap pieces to support the center couch feet. I have to cut 2 more pieces as the scraps were 4" short. I left the center hollow as you can see and i put some old ratty blankets in some of the pockets to provide some insulation and dampening. Not much i know, but we were going to throw them away anyway. I will be going to lowes to add some carpet and give it a finished look today or tomorrow.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2186.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2187.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2188.jpg

My PJ Mount. I purchased from Monoprice. it is the new adjustable one. there werent any reviews, but it was great. easy to install, highly adjustable, and solid. you can always not add the extender bars for a flush mount. I also ran the HDMI and VGA cable inside the pole and kept the power cable separate. this allowed me to only have 1 exposed hole in the ceiling and separate the wiring.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2189.jpg

things to do: (phase 2)
sound insulation
IR light dimmer/control
carpet platform
New AT screen with faux wall and prescenium
install rear speakers
rear bar top with stools
secondary lighting in rear to keep cans off

So now i need some help.

1. Rear speaker placement
How can i mount my mini monitors to the rear wall. the knee wall is too low for direct placement, and i have the 2 dormers creating an open space issue.
The speakers are rear ported, so that comes into play as well.
Can i mount them facing up on the knee wall and use the angled portion to reflect the sound?
should i put them on speaker stands facing forward( worried about kid friendly)?

any ideas?

2. sound insulation.

I have a very live room with bad echoes in the middle.
I was thinking about adding a strip of insulation along each side under the surround speakers to help. maybe also in the back.
Here is a picture of a side wall i am talking about.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/hkstallion/HT/New%20HT/100_2190.jpg
I might just put a 3-4' horizontal insulation along it. maybe also in the back, but i cant do that if i end up reflecting the rear speakers off of the angled wall.
I am also thinking about putting some insulation in the corners as bass traps.
any feedback here is appreciated too.

thanks for looking, this build has been fun, and the results so far are pretty amazing. the PJ looks crisp and bright, and i haven't even changed the bulb yet. (1500 hours)

Dave

Another tip i just remembered.
We have round windows in the dormers that i definitely want to cover up.
Instead of trying to get custom rods and curtains, i was walking around Lowes and spotted the perfect solution.

Pex. The water pipe. it is available in many sizes and bend well.

i screwed in one side to the wall leaving 1/4" of the screwhead sticking out for later.
I then threaded the curtain onto the rod, and screwed in the other side after making the curve how i wanted it. i follow it up with a single screw under the pex, through tthe curtain at the top of the arc.
i then grabbed the side of the curtain and hung it up on the protruding screw on each side to let it hang straight.
it isnt perfect, but it more than does the job for $3.

Dave

i will add pics later.