The LOGANESS posits that I have NOT Done It Myself.

HER reasons:

Last Saturday prior to drywall installatin, BigmouthInDC and BritInVA came over to help out and actually pounded nails (well, more like pulled the trigger on the framming nailer) and ran in screws and took measurements (that I STILL mis-cut two or three times) and came up with some great ideas and design work.

Then the drywallers showed up and ran in a LOT of screws.

And now the drywaller finsiher is working away and it will even be primed.

So, LOGANESS says I haven't done it MYSELF.

What say you?

If you have done at least some of the work, then I say you have done it yourself. But if all you do is stroke a check, then no.

Ive done LOTS of demo thus far.

Im sure my dad and uncle will be making me work my arse off this weekend as well. This aint gonna be no free ride for me :P

Don't worry we don't plan to take away your NoVA theater builder membership card. Besides we already taught you the secret handshake.

I hired a guy to finish my drywall and another to put in the flooring and I don't have a problem telling people I built my theater myself.

We all have our limitations, and we know by your Bath efforts drywalling was obviously one of yours. Most builds will have some aspect of bringing in outside help whether its carpet, electrical or drywalling.

So I think you can still call it a DIY effort but I voted you as a girly man anyway :D

I voted you a girly man too! Another guy touching your tool:eek:

To the extent though that the design is mostly yours and you did framing, dricore, electrical and probably other chores, stand proud and be counted as one of the DIY'ers!

If your heading up the basic design and you are playing the "general contractor" role (and at least run the broom at the end of the day when the real men get done making progress) I guess you can say you did it yourself.

-Suntan

It depends on how much of the next stage you do on your own. Stage, riser, lighting, treatments, etc. Lot's of work there. If you do most of it on your own, you definitely get credit.

If anyone else did something you were unable to do on your own I would caveat that work whenever discussing how it was built.

If they merely assisted in something you could very well do yourself to help the time go a bit quicker than I'd say you did it yourself.

Ex: If a buddy came over and helped me paint I would still say I did it myself. However if I had a buddy come over who had more painting experience than me and he did painting jobs that I wasn't capable/comfortable with I'd say I did everything but some painting work on my own.

To me it comes down to this: was it casual help or was it required help?

I tell people I built my HT myself with the disclosure that I hired out the mud & tape and carpet install.

So much work and so many phases go into building these projects, I don't think hiring out a few pieces of the project diminishes the DIY status. Just dealing with the water and dricore (3x) scores big for DIY here. Buddies (who know what they're doing) helping out is icing on the cake. Interesting point by Cathan - it may be a bit early to vote.

Despite that, I chose "B". By far the best (who cares about being right) answer of the four.

I usually say "I did most of it myself" and have no problem listing the aspects that I hired out, or detailing which projects my wife, dad, or buddy helped out with.

For the record, I hired out:

Drywall (install, mud, sand, ceiling texture).
Electrical (except for low voltage and conduit)
Plumbing (MA requires a licensed plumber and since I pulled permits...)
HVAC install
Carpet
Granite counters

If anyone else did something you were unable to do on your own I would caveat that work whenever discussing how it was built.

If they merely assisted in something you could very well do yourself to help the time go a bit quicker than I'd say you did it yourself.

Ex: If a buddy came over and helped me paint I would still say I did it myself. However if I had a buddy come over who had more painting experience than me and he did painting jobs that I wasn't capable/comfortable with I'd say I did everything but some painting work on my own.

To me it comes down to this: was it casual help or was it required help?

I agree with this logic.

You're not done yet?

I'm of the school of full disclosure. If you did it all yourself, you can say that. If you did everything but carpet and countertop, say that. If you were smart and hired out the drywall finishing cause your stupid friends who did it themselves pleaded with you to do so, say that. I have done everything so far. Do I get a special medal? Nope...just a lot of pride and satisfaction knowing I could pull it off (I do wish I had hired out the drywall finishing).

The only think that I had outside help with is the tile around the bar. I had a friend over who wanted to learn how to lay tile, so I had him over for a few hours so he could get some experience.

Oh, like a few others here, my wife helped me with the entire thing. Some times as a gofer, sometimes as a framer, sometimes as a drywall sander (OK, she did ALL of the sanding), but she was always there beside me.

In the end, find a level where you feel comfortable getting your hands dirty, but don't lie to your friends about how much you did.

Tom, your stuff is looking really good!

CJ

Ummm why wouldn't you do everything yourself?

It's just a theater!

For some, it's not just a theater. My theater build is part of an entire basement finish job. I've got about 1600 SF of space that I have been working on including the theater.

I know Michael, Big, Brit, Old, and Craig (StrangeBrew) all had builds that included other parts of the basement at the same time. I think Tom's is that way too.

CJ

I don't think it really matters. You are a long way from a finish. I don't think anyone will think of you as a lesser man because you contracted some steps out.

For some, it's not just a theater. My theater build is part of an entire basement finish job. I've got about 1600 SF of space that I have been working on including the theater.

I know Michael, Big, Brit, Old, and Craig (StrangeBrew) all had builds that included other parts of the basement at the same time. I think Tom's is that way too.

CJ

My wife and i were just talking about that last night. She commented that building the theater was a one time deal and that it wouldn't happen again because she didn't want to have me sacrifice 3 summers to build another. I told her that given what I learned, I suspect I could finish just a theater from scratch in under six months assuming I still hired out the drywall. The fact that i finished an entire basement is what took me so darn long. And next time I wouldn't necessarily do all the wood work. Either way I still take credit for doing most of the project, but do list that i paid to have the drywall finishing and flooring done.

Another point...

Even if you hire out most of the construction, just acting as the GC should get you some DIY points. Getting quotes, scheduling everything, staying on top of the subs, etc... it takes work too.

Shamless bump. Only three days left to vote!

Only part I hired a contractor was for the flex gas line to the fireplace because you need a permit to buy it, pool table install, and the carpet. The sheetrock, tape and spackle phase took forever. I kicked around having someone do the sheetrock. Or better yet paying Stu Pedaso's roundtrip expenses for a couple days...I mean a couple hours of his time.

My 4 year project is now almost 6 year project.....whole basement + HT.
(still finishing bathroom for basement and HT needs side wall 1st reflection acoustic panels)

I hired out the drywall + carpet, did all the rest by myself, with a few "dad/brother" days thrown in.

btw, is the 90%:
-time based?
or
-$ based? (and figure some composite $ for your time)

I voted 90%

Logan,

As if you really had time to start another thread, let alone a poll? I call you a girly man just for having to ask the question. I guess here in print I'll admit that you can call your build a DIY project (barely) but for the actual poll definitely a girly-man!

Regards,

RTROSE

I am at 90%plus on the labour.

The only thing that was hired out was the carpet install.

I had a bit of help in hanging the drywall from my Bro-In-Laws, and my dad.... I had probaby 20-30man hrs help in total from them.

I had help from my wife in the painting stage, and she came down for 5 -10 mins here in there to hold a wall / door frame / or 2 while I tacked it in. Otherwise, she was busy single parenting.....

It's more a soundproof HT room, with an exercise bike and kids /dog running around.....

btw, is the 90%:
-time based?
or
-$ based? (and figure some composite $ for your time)


I'd have to say time based. Paying to have the drywall done more than doubled the dollars I've put in to it so far. Even accounting dollars for my time and the money it would have cost me for the drywall + materials. I'd say in the overall real-world timeline (as oppsed to Dimension X wher I'm already done), I've done 90% and the drywallers and finsihers have done 10% of the work.

By adding up the receipts for materials and the carpet install.... I would say my 450SF room cost about $15,000cdn after taxes.

Take into acct, this includes the following expenses (figures in Cdn $)
$700 for tools (new Ridgid Finish nailer, Makita 18V Li-ion set)
$1300 - Epson HC720 projector
$2400(?) - Coaster 4 seat HT seating.
$800 - new Paradigm Center Channel and Sub

I figure I saved probably $15-20,000 of after tax money by doing the labour myself.... about 4 months of take home pay at my deskjob....