Ok... yet another home theater design and build thread. :rolleyes: What will make this one somewhat unique is that this is my second HT build.

My first HT build, now called the Take1 Theater, was done back in 2001. I joined AVS back in 2000 and trolled the boards for many months before my HT build. It was a small room, only 12' x 17', which at the time I called my shoebox theater. We were only able to fit in a love seat and a couple of chairs, but it worked very well. Some of the same techniques you read about now were done 8 years ago. I treated the walls and used GOM fabric to hide all the speakers. I will see if I can dig up some pictures to show everyone the Take1 Theater.

One huge advantage we got from the Take1 HT was during the sale of our house. We sold our house in the middle of 2008 in just 3 weeks and the HT room was a big draw. The buyers wanted the entire HT room in-tact, all furniture, decorations and all equipment!! We were able to up the bid on our house because of this and of course I get to buy all new equipment for the new house. :D The Take1 HT was will worth the investment!

Now that we have been settled in our new house for over a year, it is time for me to begin the Take2 Theater!! This will be my second time to do a DIY HT room with the help of the AVS community. I am looking forward to it and feel blessed that I can go on this adventure for a second time. And for that sticky thread on 'what I' do differently next time....', well, here are some of my key learnings I will apply to the Take2 Theater:


Sound isolation! I completely ignored this in the Take1 Theater and the main complaint for 7 years was.... "Turn it down!". I won't make that mistake again. Sound isolation will be a top priority.
Speaker Access: Don't ask me why, but once I applied the GOM over some speakers, I had no access to them if a speaker where to fail. This never happened, but I was always worried about it.
Not enough seating: With the limited space, we only had seating for four. This was not a mistake per-se, but something I want to address this time around.
Now from a budget perspective, since I am a big time DIYer, I try to minimize cost and maximize value. I don't have a ton of money to throw into this, but I do have a modest amount I am willing to spend. So many of the decisions I will make will be based on cost vs value. For example, I am already going the discontinued/b-stock/used route on a lot of the equipment to try to get better gear for less dollars. More on this later.

Another goal I have is to document and take you all through the journey, research and the various topics I encounter as I proceed through this process. I am hoping this will be a good resource for anyone in the future looking to learn as much as possible via one build thread. The AVS community has helped me so much over the years and this is my way of giving back to the community.

Here is my design of the Take2 Theater. The room is 14x18 with a strange vaulted ceiling. The builder intended this room to be a dedicated HT so it has no windows and four existing sconce lights. The room sits on the second story above a 2-car garage.

Here is the Take2 floor plan design:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/HT%20Pics/HTFloorplanv1.jpg

The attic space around the room is of limited use. The ceiling rafters touch the top of the HT room's walls and then just angle down to the side of the house. I am able to use one side of the attic space to make a small equipment room. I am hoping to squeeze in two rows of four seats. Space is a little tight, so every inch counts on all walls.

The ceiling vaults up from the screen wall to close to 10' before coming straight down to roughly 8' and then a flat ceiling to the back of the room. In case you are wondering, that ceiling drop is where a large engineered beam is running across the room in the attic. They vaulted the ceiling up as much as possible to give some room, but ultimately this beam and the steep slope of the roof caused them to drop the ceiling down. One of my challenges will be how to build soffits into this ceiling.

See below for the before pics to see what the builder did as an HT room.

I plan to finish up the design by November and then start construction in December. My last HT took me five months, but I think this one will take a lot longer as it will be much more involved.

DISCLAIMER: Please be aware, I am not a professional contractor nor profess to have any professional or mastery knowledge of any topic on his thread. Any advice I give or information I share is just based from DIY research and analysis. Consider all information just to be a DIY point of view.


Build Thread Table of Contents

Take1 Theater Pics (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17390576#post17390576)
Take2 Theater - Before Pics (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17437781#post17437781)
Building Codes (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17584640#post17584640)
Sound Proofing (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17804417#post17804417)
Inwall Speaker Backer Boxes - Soundproofing Style (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17819634#post17819634)
Custom Theater Door (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18219825#post18219825)
Wiring (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18338518#post18338518)
Riser (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18613738#post18613738)
Stage (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18613779#post18613779)
Acoustic Treatment (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18921617#post18921617)
Fabric Walls (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18954970#post18954970)
Rope Lighting (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18955001#post18955001)
HVAC (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19206499#post19206499)
Equipment Room Ventilation (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19366445#post19366445)
Equipment Rack (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20251421#post20251421)
Audio Calibration - TBD
Star Ceiling (Fiber Optic) - Removed from scope. :)
Masking System - Removed from Scope
Robert

Looks like a great project.

Just a couple of quick reactions to the plan:
If the riser is only eight inches you don't need a step up but I would be sure to include a step light on a dimmer for when guests are over. I also assume you've checked the height with the riser calculator.

Looking at the ceiling and thinking about hanging a projector. Have you determined what projector/throw distance/screen size and how to work with that crazy ceiling? If the ideal throw distance falls under that steep slope part, you'll be scrambling for a solution. Just wondering out loud if it would make sense to flip the orientation of the room?

From your design it seems like you are contemplating in wall speakers, which will hamper you isolation efforts. Maybe you would be able to utilize some of that limited attic space to build some MDF back boxes if that is the case. Just be sure to allow enough volume.

Yes I am using in-wall speakers for LCRs due to space restrictions. I have Atlantic Tech's IWCB-626s for LCRS. These speakers already come built with a backing box, but I will also be adding a sound isolating MDF backer box even behind these.

One of my design goals is sound should be heard and not seen, thus no speakers should be visible. The only struggle I am having with this is the sub(s). I can either build out a false wall far onto the stage and then angle the wall back to the screen to keep the screen as far away as possible to the first row seating. Or, my current thought, is to extend the stage into the attic space enough to use that area to hide the subs. I would of course frame it with the same sound isolation techniques I will use for the rest of the room.

Using the attic space behind the screen wall is also the reason I can't flip the design 180. That strange ceiling drop is 14' 11 1/2" from the front wall. My plan is to use an 8' or 9' wide AT screen. The projector placement will be a bit tricky. I have not figured that one out yet. :)

Robert

This looks to be a very interesting build. I would like to see pics of Take1 just for reference. Even though the ceiling is a bit wacky at least the builder was thinking ahead of what to do with the space.

Good luck, I'll be watching.

Regards,

RTROSE

Going back in time to 2001, here are some of my pics for the Take1 Theater. Sorry for the quality, I had to scan 8 year old photos! Plus, the color rendering is not that great.

First pic shows the far end of the room where I built out around some windows to enclose the speakers.

Second pic shows the rear corner of the room. You will see the in-walls for the back speakers (horrible idea as I had no sound proofing!), the equipment room entryway, one side speaker, and a small pocket door to get to the rear of the equipment.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take101.jpg

Next pick shows the front corner of the room with the speakers installed and the wall treatments. The speakers where all NHT SuperOnes. The wall treatment back then was to use Theatershield Plus below ear level, which is 1" rigid, and then poly batting on the top.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take102.jpg

On one side of the equipment room I built a DVD shelving unit out of one sheet of MDF. I painted it all black. Cost around $30.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take103.jpg

Looking in the equipment room, you can see my homemade rack. I purchased one sheet of hardwood ply, routed out channels to flushly install those metal shelving brackets. This let me pop in shelving legs anywhere up and down the rack. The rack was also painted black.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take104.jpg

All trim was stained with Cherry... what a chore that was!

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take105.jpg

Now finished front of room. As you can see, all speakers are concealed - forever. Dumb move.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take107.jpg

Rear shot of room with tight seating. The colors are a little off. This is the Blue Spruce GOM material that is really a hunter green color.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take108.jpg

Other corner. I did the door as well.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take109.jpg

Two columns on each side, with a small custom chair.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take110.jpg

Here is how the rack turned out. I used some of the GOM material over hardboard to make spacers between the equipment pieces. The pyramid was my cheap-o version of IR repeating from the main room.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take111.jpg

Last but not least was my home made projector mount. Basically PVC shower plumbing with MDF. Painted to match ceiling. Behind the projector you can see the hidden pocket door which let me get to the back of the equipment rack when I needed to.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take1%20HT/Take106.jpg

After this, we enjoyed it for 7 years!

Robert

Thanks for the trip back. Ah memory lane....beautiful place. Looks like you did a good job way back when......so we will expect great things on Take2! Is that a SVS cylinder sub I spy in the backgound? Shame you had to leave that behind.

Regards,

RTROSE

Yep, that is one of the original SVS subs when they came out way back when. They shipped them with a Samson external amp. It was great! Like I said, the buyer wanted *everything* in the room. :D

I'd say that further thought about speaker locations would be worthwhile. The attached diagram shows speaker location "windows" per Dolby, assuming a specific money seat. With 2 rows there's room to do things differently. However, here's what I'd recommend assuming that seats 1B and 1C are the prime locations:

1) Move the L/R speakers as close to the screen edges as possible, to get closer to the nominal 60-deg angle.

2) The outside rear seats (2A, 2D) each have a speaker right behind their heads. I'd move these speakers to the room corners to improve the directionality to the prime seats, as well as to maximize the distance to the rear listeners. Mount the in-wall boxes on an angle in the corner. I did that and it works great.

3) At minimum, pre-wire the side-wall columns ahead of the doors for another pair of surround speakers. The front row will not get optimal surround envelopment from the single pair as positioned. Since they cannot be moved forward due to the doors, the second pair can be added and wired in series (or parallel if the amp is happy with that) to give a better side effect. Or, if it turns out you don't like that, you can run them as DSX wides.

One of my design goals is sound should be heard and not seen, thus no speakers should be visible. The only struggle I am having with this is the sub(s). I can either build out a false wall far onto the stage and then angle the wall back to the screen to keep the screen as far away as possible to the first row seating. Or, my current thought, is to extend the stage into the attic space enough to use that area to hide the subs. I would of course frame it with the same sound isolation techniques I will use for the rest of the room.

Using the attic space behind the screen wall is also the reason I can't flip the design 180. With 8 seats in that size room, you'll want to do what you can to provide uniform bass performance over a majority of the room's footprint. That's essentially impossible unless you use multiple subs. If you go with the idea of corner mounting the Lb/Rb speakers, you could put a pair of subs beneath them. The attic space gives you the opportunity to put front subs in the front walls, say, below the L/R or between them, either inwalls, or even full size subs recessed into the wall.

What, 4 subs?? Again, you can simply plan for the rear subs with power and signal prewire, and decide later whether to install them. I can tell you that 4 subs and a BassQ processor is amazingly effective in taming room modes, moreso than any bass traps or EQ.

Speaking of bass traps--the idea is to let bass in, but not back out. I was just thinking that if you could open the front corners of the room to let bass into the attic space, it might make an effective bass trap--if the attic doesn't mind hearing the theater. Maybe someone can comment further on whether this is a viable solution or not.

I did not have the front speakers spread correctly in the Visio floor plan. I would definitely move them much more towards the edge of the screen and actually toe them in towards the center.

The surround and back speakers are all dipoles. With this would I get the appropriate coverage? I thought I would but maybe that was a bad assumption.

The plan is to recess two full size subs into the attic space up front somewhere under the LCRs. I am considering trying to find smaller 8" in/on wall subs I can mount in the bottom of either the two front columns or even all 4 columns. Another option would be to make some simple DIY 8" subs using a simple MDF box to place into the columns. Put one in each of the four side columns and then two full subs up front. That should be plenty. :D

Robert

The surround and back speakers are all dipoles. With this would I get the appropriate coverage? I thought I would but maybe that was a bad assumption. I had not realized you planned dipoles. It ought to help reduce problems for the folks in 2A, 2D as they'll be in the nulls. As for the overall result, I have limited experience using dipoles, and that was a single pair addressing a small seating area. Not sure how they work in a case like yours. Maybe you're already well informed and experienced, so I'll go back to my seat and watch the rest of the show quietly.

The plan is to recess two full size subs into the attic space up front somewhere under the LCRs. I am considering trying to find smaller 8" in/on wall subs I can mount in the bottom of either the two front columns or even all 4 columns. Another option would be to make some simple DIY 8" subs using a simple MDF box to place into the columns. Put one in each of the four side columns and then two full subs up front. That should be plenty. :D Sounds like you've got the basses covered. ;)

If that attic space is really not near a living space you could consider an IB sub

Those IB subs are VERY interesting! I did look at them for consideration, but I think the noise in the attic would flow over to the house too easily, so I am trying to stay within the room.

I still intend to put two full subs recessed into the wall up front.

Now I am currently looking at putting 8 or 10" subs in the bottom of each of the four columns. Sort of like these Triads, but only a DIY version....

http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/iwb6sub.html

Question: Would there be any issue with having the subs in each of the columns? Technically, they would be firing at each other across the room, but with 18' to span, I am not sure if this would be an issue or not. And the back columns would have the seating between them.

I was looking at this amp for the subs: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-750

I would look for some good 10" drivers, build a small MDF enclosure and then I would be good to go. Place them at the bottom of the columns behind GOM.

Thoughts?

Robert

There are two Elemental Design 10" Subs that look promising to fit inside an 8 1/2" deep column:

11Kv.2 Subwoofer - $90 (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?t=2&products_id=30)
or
SQ10 Subwoofer - $70 (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_21&products_id=106)

Four of these plus maybe $150 for each of the amps would give me four additional subs for less than $1k.

Thoughts?

Robert

I would certainly second the motion to not use in-walls. You won't easily stop the sound with an MDF box. Different than the needs of a recessed light and backer box.

Also, I'm not so sure that the sound isn't compromised, being installed in a box. Perhaps that's not an issue.

Ted - I really, really didn't want to use in-walls, but the space constraints was too great for me so this is one area I compromised on. I am hoping I can take advantage of that attic space behind the wall to do something. I can't extend the entire wall for several reasons... one, the ceiling would slope down considerably as we have one of those steep sloping roofs. Second, the mega 10-12" engineered ibeams that support the second floor stops right at the base of that wall. The rest of the attic space uses some smaller 2x6 or 2x8 joists just to hold the drywall up in the garage. So I would need to reframe the floor in that area which is a no-go for me.

Since I do have 3' of attic space behind those speakers, I thought I could do something. Maybe not the MDF boxes, but some sort of framing behind those speakers to preserve the aquarium. :) I could frame out a little around them and then do something like 3/4" MDF + GG + 3/4" MDF on the back (attic) side of the framing.

Robert

If you can tap into the 3' of space behind the wall you can do a pretty good job extending the envelope. I'd probably just recommend damped mass. Layers of OSB, MDF, drywall, etc.

The key will be determining the required volume of these boxes for optimal playback

Here are the set of pictures of the current room. The builder constructed the room as a dedicated HT and they did an all right job.

This is the rear left of the room. The builder installed columns made of drywall. The sconces I will reuse in the theater. The ceiling fan will be gone and those double, hollow-core doors will be removed. You will also see that I have already pulled off the baseboards - so I guess construction has officially begun. :)

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before002.jpg

Full left side. There is a large HVAC return duct in that sloped ceiling. I will probably move that into a soffit.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before003.jpg

Front right of room:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before004.jpg

Left rear of room. That door in the corner goes to the attic space. I will move the door down the wall farther and use it as the door to the equipment room.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before001.jpg

This is the attic space behind the right wall where the equipment room will go. I plan to just floor on top of the engineered ibeam floor joists. I need to check the building code as that pipe is an iron gas pipe. I hope the code allows me to cover that pipe.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before005.jpg

And this is the attic space behind the screen wall. No floor joists, just 2x6s or 2x8s to be able to screw the ceiling into from the garage. I may use this space as an alcove for a sub.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Take2Before006.jpg

Robert

First and foremost, any DIYer should familiarize him/herself with all relevant building codes. These are important for you and your family's safety!! They are not hard to understand or implement, so please read the relevant codes and adhere to them.

Most cities/counties how have websites which lists the ordinances and codes they require. You need to search these web sites to see which version of which codes they have adopted. Most codes are indicated by a year and the type of codes. Here are some common examples:

2006 International Residential Code (2006 IRC)
2008 National Electrical Code (2008 NEC)
2006 International Energy Conservation Code (2006 IECC)
etc...

The IRC and the NEC are the two you probably want to pay attention to the most as they cover most of the items you will need to build your HT.

After you find out what codes your city requires, the next step is getting the code books. If you search the net, you will find that you can purchase these large books for a chunk of change, around $75-$100 each. However, this has now changed thanks to the court case Veeck v. Southern Building Code Congress Int’l, Inc. (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Veeck_v._Southern_Building_Code_Congress_Int'l,_Inc.) Basically this court case was about copyrights and when counties enact into law private copyrighted material, then the copyright no longer applies! :) That is great news for us!

With this ruling, an organization called Public Resources has scanned and uploaded the full set of codes for many cities and states. You can find the list of uploaded files at the below link:

http://bulk.resource.org/codes.gov/

Now, you may not find your exact city listed, but search through and find an intact IRC or NEC book from another city to use. You may have to look through several cities as some have added their changes, usually indicated by change bars, but some cities just use the codes verbatim. Try to stay with cities/states around your area when you are looking. You don't want to look at the Wisconsin set of materials for a Florida HT build!

Most counties usually publish addendums on their web sites if they have altered the base set of codes. You need to check this as well.

Robert

....or should I say destruction! :) I was able to get started earlier than I had planned. First step is demolition of perfectly good drywall - try explaining that one to the wife. :confused: The wife and I have an agreement - she won't look inside the room until it is done and I won't tell her what is happening on the inside.

Here are some pics. The drywall came off really easy, easier than I thought it would. You see all those home shows with folks using sledgehammers to pull off drywall... nonsense, all you need is a pry bar and a hammer. Just tap the drywall from behind to pop it off the nails and it easily comes off in large sheets.

Front Corner:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128005.jpg

Back right corner:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128001.jpg

Back left corner: I am keeping some drywall to patch up the holes in the ceiling once I move the HVAC and outlets.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128002.jpg

Front left corner:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128003.jpg

And of course the magic sauce.... Green glue and noise sealant!
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128004.jpg

Future Equipment room: Gas pipe moved over against the wall and pink fluffy stuff added, R-30:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_11_28/20091128006.jpg

A couple of kudos to our builder... a) they insulated the interior wall next to the bonus room, and b) they ran 2" orange flex pipe from the back wall to the projector ceiling mount. I can reuse that and place it where I need it.

The one builder no-no I caught, they had a low voltage wire shoved back in a 2-gang light switch with 120v wires.

The one question I have. If you look at the attic picture, the exterior side of the HT walls has thin carboard like shealthing. I am going to have DD+GG + staggard studs on these exterior walls. Should I also nail up 3/4" OSB on the exterior walls for more mass or is the shealthing OK alone?

Thanks
Robert

Sound proofing and isolation was one area that I completely ignored for the Take1 Theater and it was a big mistake. The constant issue with the theater was "it was too loud" in other parts of the house. Thus, I wanted to research and improve on this for the Take2 Theater. Here is what I found out....

First, educate yourself by reading every article over at the Sound Proofing Company Library (http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/library/). This will give you a good foundation of all the items involved.

There are two goals for sound proofing and isolation. One is to prevent noise from leaving the room and the other is to prevent noise from entering the room. Both are very important.

The common analogy you will hear is one of an aquarium. Pretend your room is an aquarium completely filled with water and gravity pulling in all directions. If water can leak out - so can sound. You basically want to hold all the water in. Thus, your theater needs every gap, crack, or opening sealed and closed off!

Below is a progression of overall sound proofing techniques you can use. It is a function of cost, space required, and performance. The highest item costs the most, takes the most space, but also is the best performing. You can work down the list to strike the balance of performance and cost.

DD/GG = Double Drywall + Green Glue. This is two 5/8" layers of drywall with Green Glue in between them.

All but the last entry assumes full R13 insulation in the walls.


Room within a room - The ultimate in performance.
Whisper Clips + Resilient Channel + DD/GG - Very common for many builds on this forum.
Resilient Channel + DD/GG - If you are going this far, you may as well upgrade and purchase the Whisper Clips as well.
Staggered Stud Wall + DD/GG
DD/GG
Standard Insulated Wall - Just barely better than the one below.
Standard Interior Wall - You might as well buy earplugs for the entire family because this is not going to do anyone any good! :)


For me, I went with the Staggered Stud Wall + DD/GG. This was a good compromise for cost and performance.

The door is also a huge weak spot in a theater. I am working on creating a custom theater door that is thick, heavy, and very well sealed. I will post the build for this once it is complete. It is a design on the cheap so I hope it turns out. :)

You will need plenty of Green Glue, Acoustical Sealant and other sound proofing gear. Ted White from the Sound Proofing Company is a very active member on these forums and has helped many people with varying sound proofing/isolation questions. He is a great resource for us. They also sell the Green Glue and Sealant at very good prices. Mention you are with AVS Forum to get the best prices available. I am in no way associated with this company, it is just a great resource so please no flames. :)

Robert

All I want for Christmas is..... building supplies from Home Depot. :D The HD delivery truck arrived on 12/26 with all the wood, OSB, and drywall I need to get the HT constructed. Here are some quick picks of my progress.

I pulled all the insulation out for now and removed that card board type sheathing they used and replaced it with 5/8" OSB. There are still some openings at the top of the wall I need to seal off.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_12_28/IMG_5018.jpg

I closed off the attic access door and framed in the door opening to the new equipment room.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_12_28/IMG_5015.jpg

I added the 1" shim to the walls for the staggered studs and layed down a second layer of 3/4" OSB with GG on the floor. I left a 1/4" gap to the walls which I will fill with acoustical sealant.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_12_28/IMG_5017.jpg

I also floored the new equipment room. You will also see the messy pile of insulation I will reuse. :)
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2009_12_28/IMG_5016.jpg

Next up is to finish off the framing of the equipment room and install the staggered studs.

Robert

As I mentioned earlier, I compromised to save space and went with inwall speakers for the LCR. The key for me was to find ones with a backer box as part of the speaker. This way the manufacturer knows how the speaker will perform inside the box. This is compared to many other inwall speakers you see where the back of the speaker is open.

I ended up going with Atlantic Technology IWCB-626s (http://www.atlantictechnology.com/default.asp?NodeId=67). I was able to get these for less than half price. I bought two new ones dirt cheap off eBay from a guy who got them as a gift and never installed them. The other I got as a scratch and dent model from Atlantic Tech. The one scratch I could find was almost non-existent, it looked new.

I wanted to make sure the sound proofing was not compromised by the inwall LCRs so I devised a simulated stud cavity that the speakers would sit in. Below are the specs and how it sits in a staggered stud wall with DD+GG. The material (blue) is 5/8" OSB, white is drywall and green is 5/8" OSB.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/BoxinWall.jpg

There is green glue between the OSB and all seams are sealed with acoustic caulk. You will also note that I installed this on the studs facing into the room. The cavity that is created is exactly the width of standard 16" OC spacing studs. The boxes themselves are 36" tall. The boxes do not touch the back sheathing that is shown as green in the diagram.

Here are the two key supplies. Cabinet screws and what I call the cheap-man's DC-04 clips - "isolation" cups from HD. :) A pack of 4 of these is like a buck or two. They are just rubber cups used for the bottom of furniture or chairs.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5024.jpg

Picture of center channel constructed and installed:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5026.jpg

Close up of "isolation" puck. :) There is a cabinet screw that goes through the box and into the stud.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5027.jpg

Box is offset 5/8" so first layer of drywall will butt up against it with acoustic sealant. Second layer will completely cover it and then I will cut out the speaker opening for the inwall.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5028.jpg

Hopefully this approach will be effective, seems like it should be. :)

Edit: I found a better material/approach for the pucks. Please look at the update in this post: New and Improved Isolation Puck (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18318949#post18318949)

Robert

What is the need for the isolation cups? If your front studs are decoupled already and the drywall for the room will come in contact with both the studs AND the boxes, why use the cups?

In "Theory" I could see some potential benefit to decoupling the Speaker Box from the wall, although actuall clips rather than the pucks may be more beneficial. (I think the pucks are probably too hard and your still screwing directly to the studs). The small speaker cavity would probably have a higher resonant frequency then the wall and decoupling may help keep the wall's resonant frequency lower. Just thinking outloud.

Nice documentation on your build Robert, looking foward to more updates.

Brad

+1 for Brads assessment.

Thanks for the info!

Brad - Thanks for the comment, I am with you on the "theory". It seems like this approach would be better than screwing the boxes directly into the studs, but I have nothnig to prove it.

I think the DC-04 clip recommends the same #10 x 2 1/2" screw, so I imagine there is no getting around the fact that at least four screws couple the box to the studs. I looked at buying some of the DC-04s, but they were pretty expensive if memory serves me right. It would of cost $80-$100 for the 12 clips I would need. The HD route cost less than $6. :)

I am not sure how the rubber compares to the DC-04. One small tidbit I forgot to mention is the contact surface area. There is a raised ring on the puck which is the contact zone, the rest of the puck is recessed. This can only help to decouple. Here is a pic.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5031.jpg

The one thing I may change/add is to put in a rubber washer under the screw head. I see the DC-04 has rubber there as well.

Robert

It's all about vibration transmission. Things like surface area contact and stiffness (durometer) play a role.

The DC-04 has a low durometer Neoprene, making it a poor transmitter of vibration. The highly dimpled profille provide reduced surface area.

All rubber (hard or soft) works well to isolate electrical current. The analogy does not hold for vibration. Most rubber (Butyl, silicone, etc) are quite rigid and conductive.

That makes sense. I guess if the HD pucks have less vibration transmission than OSB then I come out somewhat ahead. Otherwise, good idea but bad execution. :o

Robert

I admire what you've done, personally.

I like what you've done as well. I think it is really interesting to see how people find creative and cost effective solutions. Keep it up!

I finished all the rough framing, sans soffits, over the Christmas break. Here are the pics.

Looking into the equipment room. I framed a door opening for attic access. The existing exterior door I removed from the original room will be cut down to fit the smurf door.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2010_01_08/IMG_5032.jpg

Other side of equipment room, same as earlier pic but without the door.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2010_01_08/IMG_5033.jpg

Staggered stud walls complete. Here is a pic of the back wall with normal stud spacing.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2010_01_08/IMG_5035.jpg

The pic of the front wall is below. All three LCR speaker boxes are up and in place. You will notice the stud spacing on this wall is really odd. Well, it was really odd to start with from the builder. It seems to be a load bearing wall for the angled ceiling of the room as there are two double-stud components. I had to extend the L and R speakers just a hair off the perfect 30 degree angle to avoid moving those double studs. Some of the studs are very close together, but none of them are touching each other. I had to move two of the existing single studs over a few inches to make room for the LCR boxes.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/2010_01_08/IMG_5034.jpg

I am just about done hanging the main entrance custom theater door. It has been quite a project by itself. I will post all the details once it is up and trimmed in.

Progress is slow but steady. After the doors, rough wiring and HVAC will be next!

Robert

Your build is looking good Robert.

I think your extra attention to keeping the sound in will indeed be "Marriage Enhancing." If not for the "U" shaped design of our single story house, I would have had to make this a key priority as well.

One question on your center channel placement, and maybe this isn't even an issue.

Is there any chance that having your center channel firing right into the back of your screen will cause it to vibrate/buffet due to the sound waves? Could this impact a percieved distortion in picture quality?

Keep up the good work!

JC

Wow… it has been a long time since the last update. The HT door took a little longer than I thought it would, especially since I had to paint and finish out one side since it connects to the rest of the house. On to the adventure….

If you use any sound proofing techniques, but completely ignore your door, then you are wasting time and money. The door is usually the weakest link in the room. Most interior doors are hollow core doors with no seals. This is a huge sound issue and you may as well keep the door open if all you have is a hollow core door.

My house came with double-swing hollow core doors into the HT room. I want to get this down to one 36” door, fully sealed.

I ventured out to try a relatively inexpensive, DIY version, of a good theater door. The goal was to use mass, damping, and seals to get a thick, solid door to help with the sound isolation.

First, I started out with a solid core door. I purchased a two-panel MDF solid core door from HD. This style matches the rest of the doors in our house. All I purchased was the door itself – no pre-drilled holes, no built on frame, nada.

Since the door has panels on both sides, I need to fill in the airspace on one side so I don’t create an air gap on the door when I add mass. The trick with the door I got from HD is that the panel height is lower than the rest of the door. Thus, not only do I have to fill in the bevel of the panel, but also on top of the panel to match the height of the rest of the door.

I read on the forums to use Bondo. I tried that stuff and it was horrible. Awful smelling, tough to work with, and it did not even stick to the MDF! On to Plan B…. I had a spark of creativity and came up with using that floor-leveling compound you use under ceramic tile for uneven floors. It is cheap, heavy, and levels itself. First step was to sand down the door a bit and prime with the liquid primer for the compound:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/20091229002.jpg

Next, place the door flat and level it in both directions. Mix up the compound and simply pour it into the recess areas until it fills up to the top. Let it dry and whola!!! Solid as concrete and just as heavy. I bought a 50lb bag, added close to a gallon of water and used that for two doors. Basically adding roughly 30lb to each door. :)

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5037.jpg

Next step was to build up mass and damping on the door. I purchased an automatic door bottom that uses a neoprene seal. The device is 9/16” wide and needs to be recessed in the door. Instead of routing the bottom, I just added one layer of 5/8” MDF with Green Glue on the door, leaving room for the automatic door bottom.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5038.jpg

Next, I added another layer of ¾” MDF with Green Glue again on top of the 5/8” layer. Next step was routing for the hinges. I made one useful, but ugly, jig to use with the router for this....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5051.jpg

Hinges fit great....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5052.jpg

Because of the weight, I went with four hinges instead of three and I used commercial grade, ball bearing hinges.

I drilled the holes for the door knobs next. After standing up the door, I realized one big mistake. When I put on the 5/8” MDF, I did not pay attention to which edge I left for the door bottom because I left the gap on the top of the door! :mad: I had to plug the huge hole I just drilled and ended up having to route the bottom of the door anyway. Lucky I had a 5/8” router bit to use and made a simple jig.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5041.jpg

Result with door bottom shown.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5042.jpg

Next up was to get the over 200lb door upstairs. I will skip all the details, but just say it was me, an out feed roller and my 5’ 2” tall wife. Nobody got killed and we got it up the stairs. :cool:

I purchased a basic, cheap frame kit from HD. It came with two sides and the top of the frame. I installed the hinge side of the door first. I used #12 – 3” screws through the jamb and into the double-stud. I then used #12 – 2” screws into the door itself. I added the rest of the framing around the door. Since the door is so thick, I had to bevel the closing edge inward about 5-10 degrees so the door would clear the jamb when closing without requiring a huge gap.

I used a piece of 1” oak as the threshold so the door bottom has something solid to sit against. I added the seal stops by routing a shallow channel for the neoprene seal in a piece of ¾” MDF. With the door closed, I pushed the seal against the frame and door, then nailed in place. I also added a seal of silicone as well. Then primed and painted everything.

Here is the picture from outside the HT. Door is installed, I patched up the drywall, matched the texture, and painted everything.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5096.jpg

This door is thick! So far, here is where I am at:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5098.jpg

I still will add 1” to the inside to match the fabric wall treatments. You see the inside of the door is still roughed in:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5109.jpg

Here is a shot of the double seal system:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5100.jpg

I actually built two of these doors. This 30” version goes to the equipment room. This door is only roughed in, but built the same way.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5112.jpg

And then there is my smurf door. I took the prior external door from the room and cut it down to provide attic access at the back of the equipment room.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5114.jpg

Here is the part list for the door. This will run you around $100 - $110.


Commercial Ball Bearing Hinges (http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=4369)
Automatic Door Bottom (http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=259392)
Neoprene Seal (http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=259989)
Silicone Seal (http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=260000)


Link to how I handled the door hardware for a thick door: Extended Door Hardware (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18760016#post18760016)

Final Door Pics – coming when the HT is done!

Lessons Learned

If I had to do this again, here is what I would change.


The door is probably a little *too* heavy. I added two layers of MDF to avoid routing the button, but I had to route it anyways since I screwed up the first layer. The route was really easy and probably one layer of 3/4" MDF would be fine.
Hinge location. With four hinges, I created equal distance between each hinge. I learned after I routed all the hinge locations that the top hinge should be 5-7" from the top, the bottom hinge 10" from the bottom, and the rest equal distance apart.
Add the mass and layers UPSTAIRS! :D Makes the door a whole lot easier to move around.
I thought a smooth sponge roller would work the best for the paint on the door. I used an oil based paint to match the rest of the trim in the house. The finish is good, but I should of used my HVLP sprayer to get a perfectly smooth finish.


Update: With such a thick door, I had to bevel one of the sides (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18613848#post18613848) so it would clear the door jamp OK.

Now… on to rough wiring and HVAC.

Robert

Robert, not sure why you couldn't get bondo to stick ot MDF. We used it religiously when doing work on custom car stereos. Regardless I think the self leveling compound was the better way to go anyway.

Thanks for sharing - I have a couple of those to build down the road as well.

Mike - For the Bondo, I think that was my bad. I took the fully primed HD door and just added Bondo to the top. It did not stick to the primer. I bet it would of stuck if I had sanded down the door first.

If I had to do it over again, I would stick with the leveling compound. It was very easy to use and less expensive.

Robert

It's all about vibration transmission. Things like surface area contact and stiffness (durometer) play a role.

The DC-04 has a low durometer Neoprene, making it a poor transmitter of vibration. The highly dimpled profille provide reduced surface area.

All rubber (hard or soft) works well to isolate electrical current. The analogy does not hold for vibration. Most rubber (Butyl, silicone, etc) are quite rigid and conductive.

After reading this tidbit, I started to search for other ideas to reduce vibration in areas like in wall (similar to OP) speakers, a PJ hush box, etc. What I found were these 4 items:

Waffle Washer (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4MZP6) -Durometer rating = 70 - possibly used to isolate PJ from ceiling?
Sealing Washer (httphttp://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/5XY39?Pid=search) - Durometer rating = 50-70 - same as above or with backer boxes?
Neoprene Rubber Sheet (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1DXF9) - Durometer rating = 30 - maybe sandwiched between OSB/MDF on top of stage/riser?
Synthetic Felt Strip (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2HVF4) - Durometer rating = 20-30 - same use as above, has "ultra high" vibration absorption.

Has anynody tried these products or something similar?

Spec4 - good catch on the other options, I had not gone down that path.

Grainger's web site looks like you have to be a "real" business before you purchase with them. I did some more looking and saw this as well...

http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/-strse-168820/Rubber-Neoprene-1-fdsh-2-In/Detail

I am picking one of these up to see how it works. It has a Durometer rating of 30A. If it looks good when I get it, I will replace my HD pucks with this material.

Does anyone know the durometer rating of the neoprene on the RSIC-DC04 clips?

Robert

Robert_S you're correct about grainger being a wholesaler, but their site is really easy to use and I figured it would be a good reference. So did you order from Radford Brothers, from what I read they are a wholesaler (http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/Page?template=about) as well? Also going with a sheet means you can cut your own shapes and it has a low durometer rating, which I assume is good. I wonder if you can sandwich the rubber with a felt (http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/-strse-199726/APPROVED-VENDOR-2DAD9-2DAD9/Detail) and produce the same effect as when you use 5/8" DW with 1/2" DW to differ the vibration in a wall?

I found these guys (http://sutherlandfelt.com/index.htm) that do custom sizes/colors of felt, has anyone used felt for wall treatments?

You'll find that rubber, while itself a damped material, does not effectively damp what it is in contact with. It's also quite expensive. Used as isolation pucks, etc is fine, but in a wall there's no way for it to bring benefit.

Excellent, just the person I hoped would comment, thanks. :)

Instead of hijacking Robert_S's thread I'll forward my question about wall treatments to the correct sub-forum.

BTW, I will be using you're door solution when the time comes...

Thanks
Justin

You're certainly quite welcome

How did the door turn out? I am currently doing research on how to beef up my doors and had read your thread about the self leveling compound. I was going to use bondo, resin, or the self leveling compound. Although I was going to have a staggered effect with my second layer to the door similar to staggering drywall. That way I could add more seals.

Robert_S you're correct about grainger being a wholesaler, but their site is really easy to use and I figured it would be a good reference. So did you order from Radford Brothers, from what I read they are a wholesaler (http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/Page?template=about) as well? Also going with a sheet means you can cut your own shapes and it has a low durometer rating, which I assume is good. I wonder if you can sandwich the rubber with a felt (http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/-strse-199726/APPROVED-VENDOR-2DAD9-2DAD9/Detail) and produce the same effect as when you use 5/8" DW with 1/2" DW to differ the vibration in a wall?

I found these guys (http://sutherlandfelt.com/index.htm) that do custom sizes/colors of felt, has anyone used felt for wall treatments?

Yes, I went with Radford Brothers. It was easy to order from. Going with Grainger, you have to setup an account as a company, which I did, but it was a hassle. I got the sheet in and will post updates in a few.

Robert

How did the door turn out? I am currently doing research on how to beef up my doors and had read your thread about the self leveling compound. I was going to use bondo, resin, or the self leveling compound. Although I was going to have a staggered effect with my second layer to the door similar to staggering drywall. That way I could add more seals.

Functionally the door works great, is very heavy and solid. I won't know how it performs acoustically until the theater is done which is many months away. :( But if this door does not help with the sound isolation, then I don't know what will. :)

I would highly recommend the self leveling compound. Extremely easy to work with and levels perfectly. I would also argue it is much heavier than the equivalent amount of bondo which is great for adding mass to your door.

Robert

Based on Ted's feedback and Spec4's location of low durometer material, I redid my isolation pucks and approach for mounting the speaker boxes.

I ended up going with this:

http://secure2.data-comm.com/servlet/RBIS/-strse-168820/Rubber-Neoprene-1-fdsh-2-In/Detail

However, 1/2" was too thick. This stuff is very hard to cut and smells like a tire. I had to use a band saw to cut this and rip it down to roughly 3/8" for the puck and 1/4" for the washer under the screw. I would recommend getting two sheets for this.

I went ahead and placed a piece of the sheet as a gasket under a large washer for the screw head and then replaced the HD pucks with the neoprene.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5184.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Inwall%20Boxes/IMG_5187.jpg

Thanks for all the feedback!

Question... filling that small gap between the box and the stud, I was thinking of using either insulation lightly stuffed in there or acoustic caulk. Any thoughts on which is better?

Robert

All the wiring is complete, pretty easy task.

My room came with one circuit on a 15A breaker. I know I need more power than that, so I ended up adding more breakers. I now have six 15A circuits in all. If I am going to add one, I may as well add five. :) Here is how they break down:


A multi-branch circuit (2 x 15A) for the room outlets. I plan on having two main subs, each sub will plug into it's own side of the circuit.
A multi-branch circuit (2 x 15A) for the stand alone amp.
A single branch 15A circuit for the equipment rack.
The existing circuit for all the lighting. I am using a Grafik Eye 3106 with at least 5 zones in use.

The multi-branch circuits use a 14/3 wire, and a double pole, common trip 15A breaker. This double breaker has to span both phases on the electrical panel since they share a common neutral.

The hard item I had to find was the proper cable for a wall control switch for the Grafik Eye. Most places only sell it by the 500' or 1000' spool. I just needed 50'. I finally found it here by the foot:

http://www.hankselectric.net/detail.aspx?ID=402

Here are the other items I wired and what I used:


Sub - Ran two RG6 coax to be used for the sub input up on the front wall.
Spare Low Voltage - ran a spare low voltage wire on the front wall in case I want to do something fancy in the future like a masking system.
Speakers - Ran wires to 7 speaker locations using Monoprice's 12AWG (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2) in-wall wires.
I am going to have built in subs at the base of the back two columns, so I ran 12AWG speaker wire there as well.
For the projector, I used Monoprice's Recessed Pro Power Kit (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042505&p_id=4652&seq=1&format=2) which will let me run the projector off the power conditioner in the equipment room.
To the projector location I also ran 2 HDMI cables, from Monoprice as well, and 3 RG6 cables for component video.
Ran all the wires for the lights, outlets, riser lights, etc.

Here is a pick of one corner of the room with some of the wiring:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Wiring/IMG_5116.jpg

Here is a pick of the lutron control station wire in an outlet box:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Wiring/IMG_5197.jpg

Note the outlet box.... these are the ones from HD which has a screw on the side which lets me move the outlet box out by turning the screw. These are extremely helpful since I am using DD and 1" of acoustic treatment on the walls.

Robert

I also got the insulation back up...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Insulation/IMG_5194.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Insulation/IMG_5193.jpg

I was able to use the existing insulation by just cutting it into strips to fit between the staggered studs. I always hate working with insulation, those glass fibers go everywhere and itch like crazy!

Now the drywall process begins!

Robert

It has been a while since the last post, but I have been making slow and steady progress.

Drywall is pretty easy to do. Nothing too special here. Here are some pics of the first layer on the sides and the second layer on the ceiling:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Drywall/IMG_5207.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Drywall/IMG_5204.jpg

I used acoustic sealant in all the joints between panels.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Drywall/IMG_5208.jpg

I finished the second layer on the sides. I will post a couple of pics once I finish cleaning up the mess.

Robert

Any HT room with people & projector will get very warm, very quick. To me, it is vital to have not only supply and return vents, but also a thermostat in the room. In the Take1 theater, there were times when it was 30 degrees outside yet we were running the A/C for the HT room. :)

The technique I picked up from Dennis is to have two supply vents high and at the front of the room, and then two rear return vents mounted high at the back of the room. This will create a nice front-to-back airflow.

My room already had two 9" supplies and one 10" return. I split the 10" return to two 8" returns and located them in the lower ceiling at the back of the room. I sized the 9" runs up to 10" for about 15' feet each to slow down the air flow, but maintain volume. I moved the two supplies to the front of the room. Here is a pic. Eventually part of the front soffit will act as a plenum to drop air to the front of the room.
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Drywall/IMG_5205.jpg

The stat I have seen Dennis E use is to lower the airflow to 250 cubic feet per minute to eliminate air flow noise. I measured mine with the two 10" supplies and got to the 250 level.

For the thermostat, it is easy to move a thermostat, but our entire upstairs is controlled by one thermostat. So if it is just in the HT, it will not go off if another part of the upstairs needs cooling and vice versus. I went with a multizone kit where I can run two thermostats for one A/C unit. Here is a link:

http://www.cleanairsystemsinc.net/product-340.html

Eventually, I may even install the full zone-damper system. But in the south, the plenum on the back side of the A/C unit has all the runs coming out of that like an octopus. Thus I would need something like 10-12 dampers to really run a true multi-zone system. For now, I am just using the unit to have two thermostats drive one A/C unit.

Robert

Just want to say, I can't wait to see the finished product. Lookin' great so far.;) This looks to be a sound tight room when done.
Old.

Do you have any problems with the door catching the jam on the handle side being such a thick door?

Your build is looking good Robert.

Is there any chance that having your center channel firing right into the back of your screen will cause it to vibrate/buffet due to the sound waves? Could this impact a perceived distortion in picture quality?

JC

JC - Sorry, missed your question. The recommended distance is to have the AT screen a minimum 2-3" from the speakers. Sort of like a speaker grill.

Since the material is AT, it should not be an issue. The only impact is some of the high frequencies are rolled off because of the AT, however the speakers I selected have a compensating control for this. I will measure it once everything is installed to see the real difference.

Robert

Do you have any problems with the door catching the jam on the handle side being such a thick door?

Yes, I did. :) I had to add a 5-7 degree bevel to the end of the door. The bevel starts at about the middle of the door and then heads in toward the back of the door. Worked like a charm. The bevel still hits the stops I put in place so it is still sealed.

Robert

Finished the second layer of drywall. No really fun pictures here, once you've seen one layer of drywall, the second is pretty boring. :)

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Drywall/IMG_5221.jpg

Just a note... none of the joints are taped or mudded yet. Everything has been sealed with Acoustic Sealant. Some of the joints look dirty because the first order of sealant I got was a tan color. I ran short, ordered some more, and then I got white. Strange.

I will eventually tape and mud the ceiling. Everything else will be covered with fabric. Ted mentioned it would be fine just to leave everything with sealant behind the cloth, no need to tape and mud.

Robert

I am adding a small riser to the back of the room. Mine is built out of 2x6s with two layers of 3/4" OSB on top. I can attach the framing to the wall since the floor and walls are all treated with GG.

You are suppose to use GG between the layers of the riser, but I ran out of GG with the last sheet of drywall I hung. :( So, I read some older posts which listed 30# roofing felt. I put the felt under the 2x6s and between the OSB. I did this rather than buying more GG ($$$$).

Here is the framing with the wire run for the step lights:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Riser/IMG_5226.jpg

Close up of one of the IC rated step lights. I found a light which uses a normal 25Watt light bulb. I read others were having bulb issues with halogen or other types of lights.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Riser/IMG_5233.jpg

Filled the riser with insulation:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Riser/IMG_5234.jpg

Top with two layers of 3/4" OSB with roofing felt in the middle:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Riser/IMG_5236.jpg

I don't have a lot of depth to play with, nor ceiling height. My stage is small and mainly for looks. The construction is very similar to the riser with two main differences:


You are NOT suppose to attach the stage to the wall. Leave a 1/4" gap between the stage and the wall and loosely fill with insulation. This isolates the stage from the wall so the bass does will not transmit to the walls.
You are suppose to fill the stage with sand for mass to absorb the bass transmission so it does not go to the floor.

Since my HT is on the second floor, I decided to break rule #2 and just use insulation. I didn't want to add another several hundred pounds of sand to the structure. This is a trade off, but the subs I am planning to use have custom isolation pads which will help.

Stage framed, small curved front, and filled with insulation:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Stage/IMG_5239.jpg

Top added:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Stage/IMG_5248.jpg

Gap to wall filled with insulation:
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Stage/IMG_5251.jpg

Robert

Robert, nice progress. You got through the dry-walling much faster than I did..

I noticed that there were comments about the thick door catching on the jamb. Too late for you but one possibility is to use wide throw hinges that move the pivot point out from the plan of the jamb. I'm using these hinges to prevent my acoustic treatment from catching.

Yes... how to clear the jamb with a thick door was a real-time decision. :) The hinge is another good idea. Since there have been a couple of questions on how I solved it, I put together this easy diagram to show the approach:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/DoorBevel.jpg

Basically, I beveled the door to clear the jamb and the acoustic treatments will sit inside the door stops. This door opens into the adjacent room, not into the HT so this design should work.

Robert

I have been making some good progress on the HT but I have not had a chance to post any updates. I finished the soffits and am working on the taping and mudd for the areas I will paint. In the mean time, I never shared how I solved the door hardware for a very thick door.

I could only find door hardware that goes up to a 3" or so door which is not enough for me. You can go with commercial stuff or custom hardware, but I did not want to spend the $$$. I ended up getting two hardware sets from HD and splicing the necessary pieces together to make it fit a very thick door. This only cost around $80 for both sets.

I used a door hardware kit that has a very thick bar. Some of the door sets have one that looks like stamped tin. The one I picked is around 1/8" thick. I cut off part of the bar from one set and wanted to add it to the other one. I don't weld, so I asked a friend to weld the splice for me. Here is how it turned out.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5252.jpg

I also could not find any screws longs enough so I made long ones using a female-female coupler and some JB Weld.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5258.jpg

Everything worked great and you can't tell the difference once it is all installed.

Robert

You are moving right along looks great :)

Looks great!

Thanks for the comments! It is coming along slowly but surely.

Like I mentioned, I have the soffits up and installed. I did not take a pic during the framing of the soffit, so I will just have to describe it. I mounted a 1x1 to the ceiling for the soffit's vertical face to attach to, and then a 1x1 against the wall for the horizontal surface. The is also a 1x1 where the vertical and horizontal faces meet. This is one of the soffit designs in the Sound Proofing Company's soffit build doc.

The tricky part was the double-sloped ceiling. Along one part the ceiling angles into the room and another part of the soffit it angles towards the back. I used a chalk-line to snap a straight line on the ceiling to help me line up the 1x1s on the two different ceiling slopes.

Here are some pics. I am in the middle of mudding the ceiling so it looks a little messy. The cutouts up front are for the HVAC supply vents. There are two up front, you can see one of them in the picture.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5295.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5297.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5299.jpg

I am working on picking out all the colors and trim approach.

I also picked up a great deal AVS was having on clearance SMX AT screens! Saved a TON! Thanks AVS!!!!

Robert

I completed taping and mudding the ceiling and then painting it a deep blue color. I plan to have blue rope lights shining up on the ceiling.

Just a note on the paint - I would recommend flat so you reduce the amount of light shine on the ceiling. I would also avoid Home Depot's Behr flat paint. Not that the paint is bad, but their flat is not really flat - it is probably closer to a satin sheen. I went with Sherwin Williams as their flat is truely flat. I have seen the same color flat paint (via color matching) side-by-side with Behr and Sherwin Williams and the sheen difference is huge.

Here is a pick of the ceiling painted. I have a 500watt work light shining up on it so it is much brighter in the picture then you would see in normal conditions. The dark bars on the ceiling is just the shadow from the light protective grill.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5311.jpg

In the equipment room, I went with a basic skip-trowel texture and then painted it a gold color with a brown glaze. Here is how it turned out...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Equip%20Room/IMG_5314.jpg

For the room color scheme, I landed on the following:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5324.jpg


Guilford of Maine - Anchorage - Mulberry (http://samplecenter.guilfordofmaine.com/servlet/ProductView?productId=5808)
Guildford of Main - Anchorage - Goldenrod (http://samplecenter.guilfordofmaine.com/servlet/ProductView?productId=5826)
Guilford of Maine - FR701 - Black (http://samplecenter.guilfordofmaine.com/servlet/ProductView?productId=3418) (Not shown in pic - it is just black. :) )
Carpet is Lake Constance - Midnight (http://www.stantoncarpet.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=382&SKUID=1585)
Trim stain is Minwax Red Mahogany (http://www.minwax.com/products/stains/wood_finish.html#Colors)

The fun work begins as I get to start installing the finish material! I plan to work from the ceiling down, with the carpet being last. I have all the materials on site and just need to squeeze in the time to finish it out.

I will post updates as the finish takes shape.

Robert

I made some good progress over the 4th of July weekend.

To get ready for the acoustic treatments, I put up 1" wood furring strips. Basically, I just ripped down a whole bunch of 2x4s into 1" strips on the table saw. I installed them using Liquid Nails and 2" coarse thread drywall screws.

To get ready for the fabric, I ran an orbital sander on all the front pieces of the strips to smooth down any rough spots and also to make sure the transition between pieces was smooth. I rounded off the corners with a palm sander for those edges which I need to wrap fabric around.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5326.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5329.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5330.jpg

Next up is acoustic treatment installation....

Robert

Looks like its coming along great!

Note the outlet box.... these are the ones from HD which has a screw on the side which lets me move the outlet box out by turning the screw. These are extremely helpful since I am using DD and 1" of acoustic treatment on the walls.

Robert

D'oh, wish I had seen those, I'll be making do with box extenders.

I got the acoustic treatments up. This is one area I really could not find a definite answer on what material to use. The basic materials you see used are:


Owens Corning 703 (http://www.owenscorningcommercial.com/docs/datasheet/Fiberglas700Series.pdf) (OC 703)
1" Linacoustic RC Duct Liner (http://www.specjm.com/products/ductliners/linacousticrc.asp)
16oz Poly Batting with 1" Loft (http://www.batt-mart.com/site/490194/product/AT-1696-ROLL)

I looked at a lot of build threads and comments on this topic and found a lot of different answers. There is also the 217 page Acoustic Treatments Master thread I probably could read, but I don't have that much time on my hands. :) Once you get a master thread over 200 pages, you have to wonder if it is really useful to anyone. :confused:

I have seen some builds use OC 703 on every wall in the room, some use all linacoustic on the walls, etc. I can't see any rhyme or reason to what is selected. Of course the professionals probably have good sound measuring equipment and then determine what is needed based on the room.

I went with the same approach as I did in the Take1 Theater - Linacoustic up to ear level and then 16oz poly batting from there up to the top. Pics below...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5349.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5351.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5353.jpg

You will see in one picture that I also started building up the bass traps in the front corner. I wanted to use OC 703 but I could not find anyone in Dallas who carries it. So I went with the JM equivalent which is JM 814. Looking at the product data sheets, the sound absorption coefficients are different, especially on the low end. So I would definitely recommend the OC 703 if you can find it. I just settled with the 814, it has to be better than an open drywall corner. :)

Robert

Haven't visited for a while, but it is looking good and coming along nicely. The colors and the skip trowel paint job looks fantastic. I really like the Mulberry color will blend with all of the colors nicely.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,

RTROSE

Thanks for the feedback. I feel like the finish line is near, so I am hoping to wrap this up as soon as possible... so is the family since I always disappear into the media room when I get free time. :)

Robert

As I did in the Take1 Theater, I am using Guilford of Maine for the walls. I used the FR701 line in Take1 and it looked good, but once I saw the Anchorage line, I liked it much better. The FR701 is acoustically transparent so I will still use it in front of any speakers.

IMHO, FR701 looks like burlap close up and is much harder to install than the Anchorage. The 701 has very visible horizontal/vertical lines which you need to line up just right when you stretch and staple during installation. The Anchorage line has no visible lines, more of a random pattern, and is very easy to install.

In the Take1, I used the Porter Cable 1/4" Narrow Crown air stapler which uses 18g staples. I started using the same gun for the Take2, but I did not like how the staples would sometimes pull the fabric threads. I researched and decided to try the Porter Cable US58 upholstery stapler. This is a 3/8" crown stapler and uses 22g fine wire staples. All I can say is - HUGE difference! The upholstery stapler was faster, uses less staples, and was perfect on the fabric with no thread pulls.

After some trial and error, I found this was the easiest way to install the fabric on each section.


Tack up the top right side of the fabric with a couple of staples.
Stretch the fabric down on the right hand side about one foot below the tack staples. Staple the entire foot. Repeat until the entire right side from top to bottom is stapled. I leave the bottome 2-3" not stapled for now.
Grab the fabric on the left side and pull it. You want to move it up and down slightly while pulling to find the spot where the fabric is perfectly perpendicular to the right side. When you find this, pull and staple two staples on the top left side.
Next pull down and across on the left hand side, one foot at a time, and staple all the way down the left hand side, leaving the bottom 2-3" not stapled.
Starting at the top right, slightly pull up on the fabric and staple across from right to left on the top. Always pulling up as you go.
On the bottom, I start by pulling down in dead center and tacking a couple of staples. Then pull down and right to complete the bottom right. Then go back to the middle and pull down and left to finish stapling the bottom left.
Now finish stapling the bottom right and left 2-3" you skipped above.

BTW... don't feel bad if you have to pull out staples and redo parts. This was my second room to install fabric and I was still pulling out staples here and there. If you can install an entire room without pulling out staples, then you are my hero! :)

I finished all the fabric installation. Here are some pics.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Fabric/IMG_5379_upld.jpg

Here you can also see the underside of the soffit. I treated it with the gold fabric.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Fabric/IMG_5377_upld.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Fabric/IMG_5382_upld.jpg

Here is a shot of the underside of the front soffit where you see it transition to the black FR701.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Fabric/IMG_5384_upld.jpg

For some reason, the fabric was much easier to install than I remember in the Take1. I think it is the combination of the Anchorage fabric and US58 stapler.

Robert

I had a recent design change on my soffits... :) I was going to build an upside down "U" channel with a rope light hidden in the channel to provide a soft down glow and then have blue rope lights for the ceiling. I mocked up the U channel and it provided only a very little amount of light, and for the complexity to build it, I decided it was not worth it.

Thus, I changed design to do a basic up lighting with blue rope lights. I am not using the LED variety because of cost. I heard the regular blue lights was not very bright so I decided to install two lines of rope lighting to help with the brightness. I also painted the shelf they sit on with Kiltz white primer to help the reflectivity.

Here is the shot of the MDF jig I am using to hold the lights and get ready for the crown molding. I needed to extend out the shelf an inch or so to make room for two rows of lights. I will add a trim piece on the bottom side of this later.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5385_upld.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5394_upld.jpg

And here is a shot with the two rope lights installed on top of the shelf.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5388_upld.jpg

You will notice some dust of up there.... still need to clean! :) I plugged the lights into a receptacle that I have hooked up to a Grafik Eye zone so I can dim the rope lighting.

Robert

damn very nice hope you can give us an update :) would like to see more pics ebcause im startiung to plan my theater out

I got all the speakers installed in the room, except the front subs. Here are some pics:

Side surround column:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5401.jpg
I built the sub in this column. It is a driver from Elemental Design, who by the way is fantastic to work with as they will help you design the right size box. This is a 10" driver mounted in a 3/4" MDF box. Here is a close up:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5404.jpg
I mounted the speaker on a small stand. The stand is sitting on neoprene mounts and the screws are using neoprene as well. So the sub is isolated pretty well from the wall, the riser, and the columns.

Pick of back surround:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5405.jpg

Pick of Center/Right Speaker with the wall also painted flat black.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5406.jpg

I also changed my mind on the sconces and decided to go for a two-bulb variety since my other lighting scheme did not work out:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5402.jpg

Progress is slow but steady....

Robert

I built the sub in this column. It is a driver from Elemental Design, who by the way is fantastic to work with as they will help you design the right size box. This is a 10" driver mounted in a 3/4" MDF box. Here is a close up:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5404.jpg
I mounted the speaker on a small stand. The stand is sitting on neoprene mounts and the screws are using neoprene as well. So the sub is isolated pretty well from the wall, the riser, and the columns.


Do you have any more info about your side subs? (I may have missed something)

I'm curious about the sub builds themselves, as well as anything related to the columns. Care to share?

Sure, I can give the scoop on the sub build. Overall, it was really easy. Brett at Elemental Design was the brains behind the operation. I just gave him my constraints and he steered me to the sub/amp combo that would fit and then sized the box for me. I just put it all together. :)

I don't have pictures of the build process for the sub, but I can describe it pretty easily as it is very straightforward. My column dimensions are 18" wide by 8 1/2" deep. They are made out of 5/8" MDF, so subtract that from the column size and you get the interior space I had to work with.

Sub Parts List

11Kv.2 Sub woofer (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=30) - This is a 10" Driver that only requires a 5" mounting depth using a flush mount.
LT.300 Amp (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_106&products_id=821) I have one amp per sub. I got lucky as I actually purchased LT.200s and they called me up asking if I wanted some B stock LT.300s that just had some cosmetic issues for the same price. I said absolutely!
Binding Posts (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=091-1245) - Solid, good quality binding posts
About $20 worth of 3/4" MDF
16oz Poly Batting (left over from room treatments)

The outside dimensions of the sub are 14 1/2" W x 18" H x 7 1/8" D.

I cut the MDF pieces to size and glued them together using brad nails to hold them while the glue dries. The subs come with a template for cutting out the circle for flush mounting the sub. Easy work to trace and run a jig saw over.

Purely for looks, and I am anal, I put a 1/4" round-over on all the edges and painted it flat back. The subs will be hidden in a column so why I did this is anyone's guess. :) I then lined the box with the poly filling, installed the binding posts, wired and installed the sub. The internal speaker wires are soldered to the binding posts and the sub has those spring-loaded connectors. The subs have two voice coils and they are wired in series.

My LT.300s will actually be in another MDF box in the equipment room. This way I have the controls to the sub out from behind the column. I don't have these built yet, so no pics for now.

Overall, it was really a very easy process. It took me roughly a couple of hours to build two of them.

Also, these are not my main subs, just some I wanted to add to the back of the room to help even out the bass response. I will see how this turns out in the end, because right now it is just a guess on my part. :D I saw several Dennis E. designs that call for subs in the columns so I am blindly replicating that concept which may or may not be the best move. :o All in, each sub costs $250, so to me it was worth the risk to put them in to see if it helps in the end when I go to calibrate all the subs.

I hope this helps.

I am 80% finished with the columns and am waiting to have them mostly complete before I post pics. This should only be a couple of days away.

Robert

I hope this helps.

It was VERY helpful. I'm planning four subs - each at the mid point of each wall. So something like you've done really looks enticing. Thanks again for sharing!

Interested in the inwall subs too. Wonder how these will compare to a commercial sub such as Triad. Planning my build too and was going to do the same thing, two main subs behind front false wall then two rear in wall subs (triad silver/bronze)....subscribed to see results of build and subs....! Might change my mind.

Keep us updated and lots of pics.

Please keep in mind the sound isolation limitations of in-wall or in-ceiling speakers

To Ted's point, I would not use inwall speakers unless absolutely necessary. In my case, the three front speakers are inwalls and I deemed it absolutely necessary in order to get two rows of seating based on my desired screen size.

tbraden32 - Just to clarify, the subs I built are not inwalls, but rather free standing subs that reside in the columns. The Triad's are great speakers but I could not afford an entire set as I am pouring the money into the room. :) Even if you want to buy a true "inwall" sub, you can still mount it inside the column to avoid cutting a hole in your drywall.

Robert

I meant putting them in the columns like you, sorry about that. Love the idea of making the speakers disappear and only hearing the sound itself.

Hidden speakers are great. There's some illusion of sorts that impresses.

Great progress Robert_S. Hope you dont mind, but I may mirror many of the techniques and methods you use to build my theater. Thanks for your input on my thread, you've shed some light on some important things to consider when planning a build. Keep up the great work.

Great progress Robert_S. Hope you dont mind, but I may mirror many of the techniques and methods you use to build my theater. Thanks for your input on my thread, you've shed some light on some important things to consider when planning a build. Keep up the great work.

Thanks. I don't mind at all you copying me. Pretty much everything I have done I have copied from someone else. :D

Robert

I don't have the columns completely finished yet, but I will post the construction so far. I have been scattered-brain working on several different things in the HT room at one time.

I must of changed my columns design about two dozen times since I started designing the HT. I wanted all the columns to be identical, I needed to support dipole speakers for the surround and back, and subs on the side.

Since I don't have finished pics yet, here is a Google sketchup of the concept:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/column.jpg

The black is GM FR701 and the rest is wood. I will use some trim molding to cover the staples on the black fabric.

I started out building the basic column from 5/8" MDF.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5397.jpg

To save some money and time, I used three large cross pieces between the sides. These cross pieces use biscuits and glue to attach to the sides.

For the wood on the columns, I went with a paper back Mahogany veneer. This stuff is awesome! I used a pure wood veneer in the Take1 HT and it was much harder to work with. The paper back variety cuts with scissors, easy to apply, and looks great.

I used contact cement to attach the veneer and then flush trimmed the sides with a router bit. I did the sides first, then attach the cross brace pieces, and then attached the top veneer pieces. This gives a good edge. The bad part about the column build was working inside the garage in Texas during 105 degree weather - yuck! :mad:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5399.jpg

I cut out holes for those columns with speakers and stained the wood and put the columns in place.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5418.jpg

One design element that I conceded was to have a small piece of wood in front of the di-pole speaker. I know folks will gasp at this, but I could not come up with any other column design that I liked without something like this. Plus, since the side and back sound stages are suppose to be disperse, that little piece of wood would only help disperse it more. :)

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5455.jpg

I have not finished the acoustic treatments inside the columns nor the fabric, but you get the idea.

For the front stage, I am making two large columns to surround the bass traps. Here is how it is framed out. Simple 2x2 frame towards the screen that will be painted black and covered in FR701. The front is a large piece of 5/8" MDF with two square holes cut out. I veneered the front of these as well.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5433.jpg

Then with some Anchorage fabric applied:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5452.jpg

I will put molding around the staples on this as well.

I ended up having to attach the side columns to the front wall which is a no-no since the subs will be on the stage. I didn't have too much of a choice on this for how I wanted the columns to look. To help decouple the column from the stage, I ripped a cut in the stage next to each column and filled with acoustic sealant.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5434.jpg

This is not a perfect decoupling, but it should help tremendously.

Robert

I had left over MDF and veneer from the columns so I built a quick box to hold the two amps to power the subs in the column.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5461.jpg

Basic MDF box with two square holes cut out for the amps. I have the binding posts mounted on the bottom of the box. The box is attached to the wall with felt in between. This box sits low to the ground and will be behind the equipment rack so nobody will every really see it.

Ignore the wire mess for now, I was just test driving the amps. :)

Robert

I also started the trim work and was able to install most of the baseboards.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5442.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5443.jpg

The pics don't show it, but the baseboards sit 1/2" off the floor for the carpet to be tucked under.

I had to change my approach on the stain. Even with a wood conditioner, I was not having any luck getting good coverage with the Minwax oil based stain. Here is the approach I ended up going with and I really like the results:


Apply General Finishes' Clear Satin Topcoat Gel Stain - Wipe On Urethane
Apply General Finishes' Georgian Cherry Gel Stain - Nice red base
Apply General Finishes' Brown Mahogany Gel Stain
Topcoat

This gives the wood a nice dark brown look with an amber/red base undertone.

For the topcoat, I tried the GF Clear Satin Wipe On, but it looked really cloudy. I ended up using Minwax Clear Sating Polyurethane. However, I turned it into a wiping varnish by adding 25% Mineral Spirits. This made it super easy to apply, I just wiped on 3-4 coats. This went very fast.

Robert

I finished one of the columns and the wife and I thought the design would be too much with all the other trim work in the room. We made an on-the-spot design change and decided to make the columns mostly black. Basically, we eliminated the wood portion that was going to cut the column in half. The top, edges, and bottom are still wood, but the majority of it is black. Here is a pick of the column without the final trim.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Columns/IMG_5469.jpg

I also finished trimming out one of the doors. This was a bear as the wall is crooked, but I had to hang the door perfectly plumb so it would not swing by itself. :) Thus, the trim had to be cut more narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, at the same time making it look seamless. Here are a couple of pics. The side molding is a fluted molding, which caused a strange pattern to appear when I resized the image, but the bottom picture shows what it looks like.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5465.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5467.jpg

I still obviously need to install the inside door fabric panels, but that is a task for later. And none of the nail holes are filled yet either.

More updates posting soon.

Robert

I got some of the crown molding up and a little bit of the other trim. I took some pics without the flash to try to get a better sense of how it really looks in the room. These pics are pretty accurate on how the room looks. In the first pic you will also see I got up the black 701 fabric on the inside of the front column to finish covering the bass trap.

Front of room:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5497.jpg

One of the back corners. You can see where I stopped the trim at.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5499.jpg

I still have to put some trim on the underside of the upper crown molding, and of course fill all the nail holes.

I did alter my stain approach. I found the appearance changed dramatically based on the type of trim I was staining. For the base boards, I got away with a wash coat, one coat of cherry, and one mahogany, and the satin top coat. I found out the hard way that this did not work for the crown molding. I had to redo six entire pieces. :(

I ended up skipping the wash coat of varnish as it actually made the stain pickup uneven and worse. I ended up going with two coats of cherry, and then 3-5 coats of mahogany depending on how the piece looked. Some of the areas I had to put the stain on really heavy to cover the pine. Overall, it has worked out well.

I have a lot more staining to finish up the trim. I have over 500 linear feet of trim to stain... argh! :)

Robert

Now that I have the upper crown molding on, I get to see how the double row of blue rope lights look. Here are some pics I tried to grab of the blue light. It was a little tricky taking a pic of this, but you will get the general idea.

Back right corner. The vertical part of the ceiling is black 701.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5489.jpg

Front corner:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Soffits/IMG_5491.jpg

The sloped and angled ceiling make an interesting effect. There actually is a sort of black hole in the middle of the ceiling on the slope where the light does not hit which is pretty cool.

Robert

Looking good Robert. I'm loving the crown molding.

Thanks Jon, I want to finish it up soon as I am sort of getting tired of working on it. :)

For the HVAC, IMHO you must have at least one supply, one return, and a thermostat in the room. With people sitting in the room and the projector, it will get hot, even in the winter.

Dennis E. recommends two supplies up front, high mounted, and two returns in the back, also high mounted. Most of his designs I saw put the supplies up front on the side in the soffits.

My room came with on 10" return, and two 9" supplies. I split the return into two 8" returns and moved them under the back soffit. I physically could not put the supplies in the side soffits, so I placed mine in the front soffit, over the screen. Here is a pic of the right supply followed by a pic of the right return. I have the exact same setup on the left side as well.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5501.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5502.jpg

For the supply grill, I used a wall variety which has straight bars. I angled a few of the bars on the inside to move some of the air to the center of the room. All the air drops straight down, no angles toward the seating nor walls.

I have one large AC unit controlling all my upstairs - three bedrooms, media and bonus room. I wanted a thermostat in the media room and one in the other part of the upstairs. To run two thermostats, I used a multi-zone control panel. Super easy to install, it hooks up multiple thermostats and controls the main unit based on what the thermostats are calling for. Here is a pic of the panel mounted in my attic. The second one includes the cover.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5463.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5464.jpg

What this also allowed me to do was change the amount of airflow to the media room based on need. My two 9" supplies are fed from a 12" flex duct off the main plenum. I installed a zone damper in the 12" flex that is controlled by the control panel. When the HT is not calling for air, the damper is mostly closed, but still allows some air to flow into the HT. When the HT calls for air, it fully opens the damper and I get the full A/C in the room. This makes it so I don't cool down the HT unless it is in use.

Back to staining, staining, staining....

Robert

After many hours of staining and top coats, I am happy to report all the trim work is complete! I tried to create some panorama shots of the back and the front so you get an idea of the overall look. The light dots on the trim are the places I still need to fill the nail holes. :)

The first shot of the back is with a flash and the second one is without the flash. The second pic is more like how the room looks in real life.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/HTBackPanorama2.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/HTBackPanorama1_edited-1.jpg

Here is a shot of the front. Photoshop had trouble matching the black front wall on the pics, so there is a little distortion.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/HTFrontPanorama1_edited-1.jpg

Here is a standard pick of the back left corner with flash:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5504.jpg

And I wanted to show my official trim staining station....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Trim/IMG_5514.jpg

I spent many of hours sitting on that riser staining trim! Glad that is over.

I forced myself to finish this step as two weeks ago I called the carpet installers and scheduled to have them come out today. I had a late night putting up the remaining trim. I also fished a romex cable from the front of the riser to the top back so I can install a power bridge for the front recliners. This was a design miss I had that I am working around.

I had to get up extra early to clean up the entire room and be ready for the carpet guys at 10am. They are finishing up the carpet install as I type this. I will have some pics later on today or this weekend to show the carpet.

I feel the end is near.... :D

Robert

Wow Robert! I take back what I just said in my thread about stained wood ;). Very very nice. I see you are using the mullberry anchorage fabric on the walls.. people are trying to convince me its too pink but it looks great with your trim. Are you happy with it?

Cheers.

Thanks Moggie, I am happy how the trimmed turned out overall. I was really worried about it mostly being pine. The pine is a little darker than the mahogany on the columns, but it is not too much of a difference.

Anchorage Mullberry too pink??? They have got to be kidding or their computer monitor has really bad colors. There is nothing pink about it. It is a deep, dark burgundy/maroon. We love it... especially being Aggies! I way over estimated my fabric needs, so I have a lot left over that I would be willing to send your way really cheap. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Robert

If you don't mind me asking, what was the approximate yardage that you used for the entire room? Maybe a breakdown on the amount of fabric used for columns, panels, soffits, etc. that would be extremely helpful.

TIA
Justin B

Very nice Robert! The trim looks great and your panels blend in great with the color scheme. I'm going to be trying something similar with my panels and the "reveal" area between those and the columns. Could you advise how wide your reveal is? Looks like about 6" or so?

Keep up the great work.:)

Outstanding Robert !!! nicely done.

The Mulberry and Goldenrod combination works great with the dark trim to create a very elegant look.

Impressive results getting the pine to match the Mahogany, for me the staining has always been the most difficult part of any project, particullarly for the softer woods.

One question, will you be adding an additional band and trim for the door headers or are they complete?

Your definately in the home stretch now, and it looks like your real close to finishing at the 1 year mark. Looking foward to the Carpet pics.

Congratulations....

Brad

If you don't mind me asking, what was the approximate yardage that you used for the entire room? Maybe a breakdown on the amount of fabric used for columns, panels, soffits, etc. that would be extremely helpful.

TIA
Justin B

I don't mind at all, however, I don't have the exact breakdown by component in the room though. For the my first HT, I cut it way too close and ended up having to order another batch of fabric. This time around, I way over estimated - not necessarily on purpose though. Here is what I ordered:

52 yds - Goldenrod
35 yds - Mulberry
36 yds - Black

If you want, you can go through the exercise to figure out the exact amount since you know the width of the rolls and what you want to cover. I just roughed it and added some extra in case I messed up a panel or two.

I was pretty close on the black, have 6-10 yds left of Goldenrod, and I was way off on the Mulberry, I only used half.

Robert

Very nice Robert! The trim looks great and your panels blend in great with the color scheme. I'm going to be trying something similar with my panels and the "reveal" area between those and the columns. Could you advise how wide your reveal is? Looks like about 6" or so?

Keep up the great work.:)

fotto - Good estimate on the reveal. It is 5" all the way around.

The trick was putting the furring strips up to space it correctly. The columns sit next to the edge, so that is easy, but I had to account for the size of the crown and baseboards. So the spacing on the furring strips looked odd when they went up, but after the trim was added it evened out.

Robert

...

One question, will you be adding an additional band and trim for the door headers or are they complete?

Brad

Thanks Brad, I am hoping, and so is my family :), I get finished by the 1 year mark.

It is hard to make out in the pics, but the top of the doors is trimmed out in a dentil crown molding. The fluted trim on the side butts up against the bottom side of the crown. I need to add the mulberry panels to the door, that is my next task.

Robert

The carpet was installed yesterday. Three guys worked for 4 1/2 hours to put it down. They did a terrific job on the installation. I was worried about scratches and dents on the baseboard, but I haven't noticed any at all.

Here are a couple of close up pics showing the carpet pattern.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5576.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5566.jpg

And the room pics....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5574.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5564.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5571.jpg

The gold in the carpet matches the goldenrod on the walls. It looks a little busy right now with nothing else in the room. Once I have all the chairs in and finish building out the stage front, it should tame it down a bit.

I also finished filling all the nail holes. What a pain in the rear that was! Dull, boring work.

Robert

Robert,

Very nice. I really like how it is all coming together. Do you happen to remember what color your ceiling is? I am at the point of choosing a color and am curious to the color you chose.

Thanks,
Kyle

Very classy looking carpet Robert. I'm glad they didn't ding up your baseboards.

Coming together nice!

Robert,

Very nice. I really like how it is all coming together. Do you happen to remember what color your ceiling is? I am at the point of choosing a color and am curious to the color you chose.

Thanks,
Kyle

Kyle,

The color is Behr Nocturnal Sea. However, I got the paint matched at Sherwin Williams because their flat is a lot flatter than Behr. IMHO, the Behr flat is more like a satin or eggshell.

Here is the SW formula..

BAC COLORANT OZ 32 64 128
W1-White - 26 - -
G2-New Green 2 59 - -
L1-Blue 4 - 1 -
R3-Magenta 4 16 - -

The base was ColorAccents/Interior Latex Flat, Ultradeep Base Y10T154.

Good luck!

Robert

WOW, Looking fantastic and coming together very nicely. Lots and lots of work, but sure looks as though your efforts are being rewarded. Keep plugging away.

Regards,

RTROSE

Carpet looks Sweeeeet!!!!! Nice Choice Robert.

Great looking theater, and love the carpet! Excellent choice!

Thanks for all the feedback.

I just ordered the theater seating and it should be here next week. I will post some pics once they are setup.

The long pole in the whole process will be the projector. I am on the pre-order list for one of the new JVC models and that won't ship until Nov/Dec. :( Oh well, it gives me some time to finish everything else up without rushing things.

Robert

Robert, this is coming together great and looks amazing with the attention to detail....can't wait to see finished product.

The chairs came much sooner than I expected. I ordered them on Monday and they were delivered and set up today! Pretty impressive turnaround, I thought I was looking at 6-8 weeks easy. :) Lucky for me they had what I needed in stock.

Pics without flash and with flash....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5592.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Carpet/IMG_5588.jpg

Still working on the inside door panels. Should have one finished up tomorrow.

Robert

I was finally able to completely finish one door this week. It took me longer to make the inside panel than I had expected - the story of my entire build. :rolleyes:

I made the panel frame out of 1" thick MDF to avoid any warping issues, used the same treatments that are on the walls inside the frame and covered it in fabric.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5610.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5604.jpg

On the second pick you will notice the white line at the top of the door. This is the white of the door showing. It normally is not visible too much, but the camera flash brings it out. I may eventually paint the backside white parts a mulberry color to match the fabric. A task for a future day.

The door ended up REALLY thick. Here is the official measurement....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_5598.jpg

3 7/8" inches, feels like a small vault when you open/close the door. :D The extended door handle I showed earlier in the thread has worked out great. Fits perfect with no issues.

I have one more panel to complete for the other door and then the doors will be done.

Robert

I finally was able to complete the second door panel. Here are some Photoshopped panorama pics. The first two are shots of the equipment room door and the last one is the main door. My goal was to have them look the same within the room and blend into the fabric panel style.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_EquipDoor.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_EquipDoorB.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Theater%20Door/IMG_MainDoor.jpg

I have finished the equipment room venting as well. I will work on posting that update soon.

Robert

Looks great Robert, in fact in looks so good that I get the impression that you have done this before. ;) I am really impressed with the door. Thanks for the inspiration.

Looks great Robert, in fact in looks so good that I get the impression that you have done this before. ;) I am really impressed with the door. Thanks for the inspiration.

Thanks Jon. Hopefully this one will last me another 7+ years! I can't take building too many of these, they are very time consuming for sure. :)

Robert

I am finally able to post my saga of my equipment room venting approach. I ended up having to redo some of the work which I will share with you all.

My equipment room was built into unused attic space. I needed to provide a way to pull the hot air out and let cooler air flow in. I did not have the luxury of having HVAC lines close, nor could I use an adjacent room to exchange the air with. Thus, I needed to exchange the air with the main HT room which is not ideal, but doable.

For the equipment, my first approach was to use a Panasonic Whisperline FV-20NLF inline attic fan hooked up to a Grafik Eye zone so I can control the speed. I had all this installed and working. Then I learned three important lessons:


This fan is not designed to be speed controlled. :eek:
I would need to buy another $100+ Grafik Eye module to allow the GE to properly control a motor load. :eek:
Without a thermostat controlling the fan, the room would get very hot during the Texas summers when not in use. :eek:

So, bad design all around.

I switched the equipment approach to use the following:

Fantech FG6 Inline Fan (http://www.bathroomfanexperts.com/product.php?p=fantech_fg6&product=137122)
Line Voltage Thermostat (Close on Rise) (http://www.drillspot.com/products/1321084/Line_VoltageThermostat_803A_Line_VoltageThermostat)
Fan Speed Controller (http://www.bathroomfanexperts.com/product.php?p=fantech_scd5&product=112148)

I have the thermostat wired before the speed controller then to the fan. With my new approach, I have a Panasonic inline fan available for sale real cheap if anyone is interested. :)

The back wall of the equipment room has the exhaust vent mounted high with the thermostat and speed controller underneath. I got lazy and did not paint these black, so ignore the white trim. The vent I sponge painted to try to match the wall.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5614.jpg

The other end of the room has the cool air intake mounted low toward the floor. This vent is purely passive meaning when the fan pulls the air out of the room, the cool air can be pulled in via this passive duct from the HT room. This hopefully gives me a nice draft over the equipment.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5426.jpg

I hung the fan in the attic using some isolation mounts. The black flex duct is 6" QuietFlex.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5617.jpg

To try to hide the air exchange inside the HT room, I used the back corner column to make two chambers. The top one is where the hot air comes in and it will exhaust next to the ceiling HVAC return. The bottom chamber is where the cool air will be sucked in from.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5409.jpg

Once the columns were done, I attached black floor registers to the column to finish the look:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5633.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/HVAC/IMG_5632.jpg

To help reduce the sound coming in/out of the room, I used the muffler design from the Soundproofing Company. Basically, each 6" duct line coming into the column expands out to 10" duct for 12' feet, then back down to 6". I did not go the full dead vent route yet, but may in the future if the sound becomes a problem.

Both of these fans are vortex machines! At full speed, they move a TON of air. Based on the size of my equipment room and using 8-10 interchanges per hour, I needed just 1.3 Meter/sec air speed at the vent. When I had the Grafik Eye controlling the panny fan, I was able to get this low flow. With my new speed controller, the lowest it will achieve is 2.0 meter/sec. I will live with this for a little while to see how it performs and if it is audible inside the HT room.

Next up will be finishing up the screen wall!

Robert

Great looking room Robert. Quick question. What is the brand and name of the carpet you used in your room?

Thanks baron. Carpet is Royal Dutch Carpets - Lake Constance (http://www.stantoncarpet.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=382&SkuID=1581).

I found it on the net and then found a local dealer who ordered me a sample.

Robert

I have a little bit of A.D.D. going on by switching between working on my screen wall and the subwoofers. Here is a sneak peak at the twin subs I am working on..... :D

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5660.jpg

Robert

How high are you planning on mounting your screen? Just curious of the dimensions you are going to use? Room is looking fantastic so far!!

I took a small detour and got my subs built. I used this kit from Elemental Designs: Dual 13Av.2 Sealed DIY Kit (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_136&products_id=849)

This is a very small footprint sub with a lot of power. The guys at Elemental Design are great to work with. They moved the feet for me to the side so I can place the sub on it's side on the stage. The price was lower several months back so I picked up two of these! This will hopefully help smooth out the in room bass response. :)

These were super easy to put together. If you can build an HT, you can save money and put these together. The kit comes with most everything you need. You just need to buy screws and some wire materials. Here is my build out....

All the earlier builders of this sub used clamps to put the kit together. I started down this route...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5645.jpg

Then ED posted a video of the entire assembly process and they just used a brad nailer. I switch to that technique and it was super easy. Took me 1.5 hours to put the box together with glue and the nailer. I put a 1/2" roundover on all but the front face. Here is the shell....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5660-1.jpg

Since these are going to be behind FR701, all I did was paint them flat black.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5662.jpg

Unboxed the subs.... 60lbs EACH! :D

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5666.jpg

Subs installed ready for amp. I hot glued the wires down for better wire mgmt.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5674.jpg

The biggest challenge was how to securely connect three 12 AWG stranded wires together. I tried to solder them, but that was almost impossible and I did not want to go the twist-nut route with all the vibrations that would happen in the enclosure. I went searching HD and found this cool little connector...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5678.jpg

It is a water proof, heat shrink, solder connector. The metal band is solder the plastic is thick heat shrink material. So I borrowed this from the kitchen...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5696.jpg

Good for creme brulee and HT work. :) With some heat, here is how it turned out...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5690.jpg

I then added one more layer of thick heat shrink tubing just to be safe:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5694.jpg

Fully installed, each sub weighs 210lbs!!! I assembled them all upstairs and then slid them into place up on the front stage.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5707.jpg

Down side is I have no equipment installed, so all I can do is sit and stare at the possibilities. :)

Robert

I got the screen wall finally finished.

I started by hanging the screen mount. I used a simple 2x4 to get the screen about 4" away from the wall. I took many of thes pics with the black paint still wet, so you will see some shine in the photos.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5671.jpg

The bottom of the screen has small stops to rest against, with velcro on them for attachment to the screen.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5703.jpg

I wanted to be sure to completely hide the subs on the stage, but still wanted isolation of the subs so they don't touch anything on the main wall. I came up with a design where there is a horizontal panel coming off the wall into the room. I made this frame out of oak to make it more rigid and covered it in black FR701.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5673.jpg

The front of the covering is going to hang from the horizontal piece via velcro and be just off the stage floor. I created braces to help with the weight and installed horizontal beams so the front panel can attach in a few key areas.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5667.jpg

I really had a hard time deciding on the front wall treatment. With in-wall speakers, Dennis E suggested to leave 2.5 feet around each speaker untreated. With regular speakers, you use 1" Insulshield, 3mil plastic, and another layer of 1" Insulshield. I ended up using both techniques but not placing the treatments too close to the speakers. I hope this works out...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5701.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5702.jpg

Bottom area where subs sit....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Acoustic%20Treatment/IMG_5699.jpg

Next up is mounting the screen!

Robert

Finally, the main HT room is DONE!!!!! I finished the screen wall.

I picked up a clearance SMX AT screen from AVS at an incredible price. I put it together and hung it up.

First, here is a pick of the front panel hanging off the horizontal panel to cover the subs.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Screen%20Wall/IMG_5749_edited-1.jpg

Those panels only touch the back wall. Not the side columns nor the stage. Hopefully this will isolate the sub.

Couple of shots of the final front view of the room with screen installed...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Screen%20Wall/IMG_5738_edited-1-1.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Screen%20Wall/ScreenWall1.jpg

Couple of shots of the back of the room.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Screen%20Wall/IMG_5746_edited-1.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Screen%20Wall/IMG_5744_edited-1.jpg

I want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone here on the forum. This HT room was built solely from knowledge I acquired from this forum over the years! You all ROCK!

Now, if only I had a project to view a movie... :( I hope Santa brings the new JVCs really, really soon!

Robert

Looking good! Can't wait to see the end product, love the color choices.

Great job, Robert. The room looks great. I have a few questions on your screen wall.
1. How wide is the recess where you placed the screen (distance between corner columns)?
2. How far apart are your front speakers? I'm going with three Atlantic Tech 727s in a similar size room (a little narrower actually) and am hung up on putting all 3 behind the screen vs. L & R to the sides.
3. What size screen did you end up with?

Hope you enjoy it.

Everything looks great Robert. Nice job on the area around the screen, looks very clean and a virtual black hole to boot.

Great job, Robert. The room looks great. I have a few questions on your screen wall.
1. How wide is the recess where you placed the screen (distance between corner columns)?
2. How far apart are your front speakers? I'm going with three Atlantic Tech 727s in a similar size room (a little narrower actually) and am hung up on putting all 3 behind the screen vs. L & R to the sides.
3. What size screen did you end up with?

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for the compliment. Here is the info for you...

1. Recess is 119" between columns.
2. The speakers are roughly 3' apart.
3. Viewable screen is 100" wide, but including frame it is 107" wide.

Robert

Everything looks great Robert. Nice job on the area around the screen, looks very clean and a virtual black hole to boot.

Thanks Floyd.

The biggest challenge was how to securely connect three 12 AWG stranded wires together. I tried to solder them, but that was almost impossible and I did not want to go the twist-nut route with all the vibrations that would happen in the enclosure. I went searching HD and found this cool little connector...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5678.jpg

It is a water proof, heat shrink, solder connector. The metal band is solder the plastic is thick heat shrink material...

Here is how it turned out...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Speakers/IMG_5690.jpg


This is great to know about. My installer ran my center channel speaker wire coming out of the wall about .5' too short. I might try one of these to extend it.
The idea of simply twisting wire together never did not sound very solid.
Nice room by the way.
Rastus

Well do you have the projector set up yet? Nice job on the theater I may be stealing some ideas from you.

Wow.... I can't believe it has been so long since my last post!! :o Everthing is done and up and running! I will post some updates I missed to catch everyone up.

First... the equipment rack. I did not want to spend the big $$ on a brand new rack since it will only be sitting in an equipment room with nobody looking at it. I searched craigslist for a while and found a good candidate in an old, circa 1970 :) , computer rack:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Equip%20Room/IMG_5777.jpg

Very ugly and very blue!, but it was only $40. I also found a public storage place selling off the goods to a storage unit that used to be owned by a telecom company. They were selling 3U 50lb vented rack shelves for $4 each. I picked up a full stack of those.

I used some black enamel paint to give the rack a new look and then turned the back into the front since it had a smooth face. Here is how the front ended up, loaded up in the equipment room. The pictures are at an odd angle since the room is small and it is hard to get the full view of the rack.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Equip%20Room/IMG_5900.jpg

Since I am starting the wiring from scratch, I tried to do some level of wire management. Here are the pics of the back:

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Equip%20Room/IMG_5903.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Equip%20Room/IMG_5917.jpg

The bottom of the last pick shows a network switch to provide net access to all components.

I just had to purchase a few rack parts, face plates, and screws. All in all, very inexpensive.

I will post some projector pics in a few minutes.

Robert

It was a long wait, but the JVC RS-50 finally arrived in mid January.

Here are the pics of the mounted projector....

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Finals/IMG_5921.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Finals/IMG_5922.jpg

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Finals/IMG_5920.jpg

I made a custom plate to pass the cables through to the projector. Here is a shot of it...

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy128/RobertS_Tx/Take%202%20HT/Finals/IMG_5923.jpg

We have really been enjoying the theater for the past couple of months. The sound proofing was well worth the effort and additional expense. I have yet to run into a case where the noise can be heard in the bed rooms.

I will see if I can work on some projector screen pics and show off the RS50, it looks really good.

Robert

B E A UTIFUL!! Your theater looks amazing Robert, great job!

Thanks xzener, I am glad it is over now as I was getting a little tired of working on it after a year... :)

Robert

What model of sub drivers are those from eD? They look really nice. What are you powering the subs with?

The subs up front are model 13Av.2. Each pair is driven by an LT/1300 amp. The subs in the column are model 11Kv.2 with an LT.300 amp driving each one. So I have a total of 3,200 watts driving the subs. :)

I watched Unstoppable the other night and the bass response was incredible, with no hint of any sort of strain or limit on what the subs can produce.

Robert

They look like great subs.