With the excellent picture logs that have been going up lately, I thought I'd add my own. I'm about 9 months into it....hoping to be complete by Feb/March (an hour here, an hour there). It's my own design, mostly with ideas and techniques commonly used here. The interior space is about 15 x 19 x 8.5.

I've got more pictures if you'd like some detail, but these are sort of "milestones".

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/1_before.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/4_wallclip.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/14_wallclip.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/20_walls.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/24_hvac_supply.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/27_hvac_return.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/28_conduit_electrical.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/35_insulation.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/38_drywall_layer1.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/43_drywall_layer2.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/44_soffit.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/47_soffit.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/52_rsic_channel.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/59_ceiling_2nd_layer.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/62_ceiling_prepaint.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/63_ceiling_primer.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/65_ceiling_painted.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/69_stage_build.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/74_riser_build.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/76_riser_build.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/80_stage_build.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/82_lights_rear.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/85_screenwall_proceniums.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/86_front_treated.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/87_wall_treatment.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/91_doors_temp.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/93_ceiling_lights_all.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/94_lights_front.jpg


Thanks for looking. Feedback/input is very welcome.

Looking real good - what are your room dimensions?

Kind of makes me wish that I'd taken pictures as I went along...

Dwight

It looks like you are doing a great job. You must have the patience of Job. You are 9 months in and are projecting your completion date sometime in March.... I'm two months in and I'm aching to recline in my 090's.

BC

Dwight,

Thanks. 15' wide, 19.5' front wall to doors, 8.5' height.


BC,

Yeah. Taking my time (other responsibilities dictate that). February is the completion date goal since my wife and I are expecting TRIPLETS some time in Feb/March. About then, time will be quite a difficult thing to come by I'm guessing. Crikey!

Dan

I've got the exact same ceiling lights as you, but am debating how to space them. My room is 15x24, with about 11' between the soffits. How many sets of the lights do you have through the course of your room, and how long is your room?

I've got 3 sets right now, with three cans in front to wash the screen. Suggestions since you've "been there, done that" with these lights?

The lights are Tiella 5-light Sola Rail Easy Kits. I knew I wanted this style and these were the best of the affordable track/rail systems I looked into (no rattles). I have one 10' section over the seating riser with all 5 heads being used. Then the one in front is 10' also but I'm only using 4 of the 5 heads. I also have 3 sconces on each side wall. I attached a diagram showing light locations and rough orientation.

Very nice HT project, looks very well thought out and neat :)

Steve

Added pic....Wall treatment complete. I still need to treat the soffit undersides and then I'll be ready for carpet!

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/99_wall_treatment.jpg

Why did you build the soffits before putting up drywall? I have assumed that the entire room should be coated in drywall and sealed before building anything else.

I must admit I've just now realized I'm not sure to what I'm going to attach my soffits with this plan, but I think the RSIC clip channel I ran should work.

How wide / high are your soffits?

True. "In a perfect world", you should seal the room and then add the soffits. Although in my case, I had duct work that ran down each side of the room. Because of this, on both sides, my walls could not reach the actual ceiling height. So, I double-drywalled the walls, then added the soffits covering the ductwork, then added the RSIC/double-layer ceiling in-between the soffits. All gaps were then sealed with 50-year flexible caulk.

My soffits are 16" tall and slightly over 24" wide.

FYI for those wondering about how successful my "soundproofing" turned out to be...I can work at night using my power mitre saw in the room and it can't be heard in the bedrooms AT ALL. (two floors above)

It still makes me nervous being loud around midnight even though I know my wife and daughter can't hear a peep. I know a thumping sub won't be 100% contained but I'm thrilled with the results so far.

Good job.

brickie

Dan,

It looks really good and I am about at the same place you are. It seems the Summer yard work and such take my time too. I hope to be done by Thanksgiving. I gotta get busy !

Post more pics as your progress goes !

Chris

Originally posted by DKaps
my wife and I are expecting TRIPLETS some time in Feb/March.

OUCH. As a twin myself, (yes, god made two of me) you can take comfort in one thing, they'll be able to tire eachother out and you'll just get to deal with increased food and clothing costs. (plus the need to shop and cook and prepare said increases, :-) )


And the room looks great! What speakers are those? Monitor Audio? Tyler? Can't quite tell from the pics...

How do you affix the wood strips to the drywall - just screws?

Pap,

I used drywall screws and good old construction adhesive. Course, I got lucky now and again and got a stud lol.

Hope this helps.

Chris

Thanks everyone.....

The speakers shown are Monitor Audio Bronze B2's. They will actually be used for rear surrounds. They've been in the box waiting for about 4 months. IMO...they are a price/performance steal for a bookshelf speaker. My actual fronts are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 10's and center channel, FXi side surrounds and a VTF-2 sub (All on duty in the living room until the room is complete).

My strips are attached via Liquid Nails and drywall screws. I actually have since removed many of the screws (because I ran out), and the strips are going nowhere with the glue alone. I know this because after having one in place for about an hour, I needed to move it about an inch. I could not budge it without serious prying.

Dan,

I have had the same expierence with this adhesive. You better be sure where you want it prior to it setting up for sure !

Chris

Nice work, how much room did you allow on the riser for the Berklines?
What color ceiling paint is that, it looks like midnight blue.

The room that I am working on is 15' X 27', but my height is only 8'. My PJ will sit just above my riser and I am afraid of making my riser to high becuase of this.

Ozzie
P.S.
If you don't mind take some close up shots when you start to do the fabric cover. This is something that I am not 100 % sure on how to do yet. I am trying to avoid using a chair rail I like the fabric only look myself. Thanks :)

The seating plan is a set of 3 Berkline 88's, curved, in front of the riser and an 88 love seat on each side, on the riser. So, when you walk in, you pass between two love seats and walk around either left or right to step down to the front row. The riser height is 9". The riser depth at the loveseat locations is about 5 3/4 feet.

The ceiling color is Behr - Midnight Sky. (1.5 gallons - 3 coats not including the tinted primer)

The projector location will be above and just slightly behind the head of the front row (probably using lens shift to keep the proj. mounted nice and high).

I will have a chair rail as I am going to have two-tone walls - Quartz on top with Baltic below with black screenwall and procenium (or is it proceniums?).

Oswald,

I am making panels for my theater. I am building them right on the wall so each piece matches the location where it will go. For my front wall, I am going to make one large panel and just sew the fabric together. Well, the WAF is going to sew the panels, not me lol. She is GOOD on a sewing machine and can make seams that do not show.

What made me post a response was you could do the same thing. You could sew the two different colors together at the seam. Course this is if you have a sewing machine up to the task and the skills so the seam wont show. I asked my wife if she could do it (I knew she could, she has done it before) and she thought it would be very easy to do.

Just a thought...

Chris

The thing that would scare me about that is making sure that your tension is the same across the panel, so that your seam doesn't rise and fall, or wave left and right.

If I wanted a seamless look, I'd make separate panels where the fabric was stapled to the inside or behind the adjoining strips. IE, doing one panel and then attaching the other strip with the fabric already stapled to that end.

I did exactly as you say...I made seperate panels for the differant colors. However, with my front screen wall which will be behind the screen, will be flat black, and since my wife uses those seam insert thingies that are backed with some sort of reinforcement of some kind, I feel fairly safe there.

To each his own I guess.

Chris

AcroFlyer
I want my panels to be removable, so what I am planning is making individual wood frames with the OC in it, then go ahead and wrap the GOM fabric around the frame. What I am not so sure about is what would hold the frame in place on the wall so that its secure enough not to fall or rattle, but be able to take it down if need be.(ie damaged or stain be the kiddos)


DanKaps
Those wood strips on your wall, are they 1/2" in thickness?

Ozzie

Dan - looks great, thanks for the pictorial!

Oz,

I used industrial strength velcro. Don't laugh, this stuff holds until you want it to let go. And then sometimes it takes some absolute prying to get them off !

Seriously though, I am using this industrial strength velcro and I only did the corners on some of the 4'x4' ones. The larger and more interesting shapes got it in several places.

My other alternative to velcro is the mounts used for pictures that have a screw and a "receiver" that attaches to the frame. This would be good on holding power but maybe not so good on rattles. Thus, I chose the velcro instead. Plus, we can take them down and recover with another color or add/decrease the amount of "stuffing" to suite our listening ears.

I like it anyway lol

Chris

The strips are 1" thick ripped 2x's. So, 1.5" by 1". (The duct liner wall treatment commonly used around here is an inch thick)

For an excellent example of separate frames (and velcro actually), check out what Jerry did in this thread if you missed it earlier:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=435899&highlight=door+velcro

Silly question, but where does one find "industrial" velcro?

DanKaps

What kind of doors are you going to use? I've been looking at various outside doors and don't like the mettle ones as they seem too fake. The fiberglass doors seem nicer but I am not sure which type is best.

Thanks,
Tom

Whats the deal on 1" wood? I was looking for 1" X 2" and when I found it it's more like 3/4" x 1 1/2". Is this what you used DKaps, and just cut the last half inch off?

Ozzie

My doors are called "Safe 'N Sound" made by Premdoor. They can be found at Lowe's. My double door set (two 30" doors) with a custom 6" wide jamb was only $311. Not bad, considering Home Depot quoted me $1800 for an equivalent.

FYI...the 6" wide jamb was because of: 1/2" drywall outside, 2x4 framing, two layers of 1/2" drywall inside, 1" of acoustic treatment = 6" total.

Ozzie,

That's just the way lumber is measured. For example, a 2x4 is actually 1.5 X 3.5. There's a reason behind it, but it escapes me at the moment.

I ripped some 2x3's I had lying around, and then some 2x10's to make my 1" thick strips. So, my strips are 1.5" wide and 1" thick. The only lumber I know of that is readilly available at an actual 1" thick is 5/4 boards used for decking. I had originally planned on getting and ripping those but all of the 2x3's I had were just collecting dust so I changed course. One thing about ripping 1" strips from larger lumber, don't make much more than you will use in a day or so. Mine warped like crazy after a few days. I've got some that I swear would come back if threw them.


FYI...picked out carpet today. I will get measured on Wednesday and install is planned for 19 Oct. I didn't want to spend as much as I did, but it should be beautiful when it's in. We only do this once right? Art not withstanding. :)

Dan

Pap,

I found the industrial strength velcro at Home Depot. There was a section that had nothing but velcro. This is in a box with matching hook and loop sides about 2" wide x 12' (or there about) long.

Hope this helps...

Chris

Thanks DKaps & AcroFlyer

On the link DKaps provided it looks like Jerry had UNFINISHED frames on the wall some how(nail,glue??) and then he used velcro to lay the fabric covered frames on top of that. Is this what it looks like to you? AcroFlyer are you doing this differently?

Dkaps if you have 1" think covered fabric frames plus the wood frame on the wall, then is you 1" OC material not actually touching the fabric?

Ozzie
P.S.
DKaps on this link;
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/99_wall_treatment.jpg
it looks like your upper area of OC is covered with some other white fabric as well. what is it?

Actually, Jerry stretched and stapled the fabric to the frames and then velcroed them to the wall over the acoustic treatment underneath. The frames that are pictured without fabric on the wall were in place temporarily to get the size and location determined. Then, they were taken down and fabric was stretched/stapled over them and they were velcroed in place. He describes this a little in the thread.

The fabric will rest on the materials underneath. The strips/frames surrounding the 1" thick OC/Batting are also 1" thick. The white fabric you see above the future chair rail, is simply cheap bed sheet material. I used it so that when the fabric is applied, you don't see the color change behind the fabric. I attached a closeup to show you how the strips, insulation, batting, sheet idea comes together. The fabric will be stapled to the strips you see there (vertical staple lines will be covered by columns and the horizontal staple lines will be covered by chairail/baseboard).

DKaps

Thanks for the info. I have a 6" jamb as well as I built the wall with staggered 2x4's on a 6" footer.

Also, all dimensional lumber is 1/2" less than stated due to sanding. For example, a 2x4 is actually a 1.5x3.5 and a 2x8 is a 1.5x7.5.

Thanks,
Tom

Carpet installed yesterday.....Added pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/101_carpet.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/102_carpet.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/103_carpet.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/104_carpet.jpg


(The actual color is a little darker than what the picture shows.)

Oh, love the carpet! Nice choice, what colors are you using for the walls again?

Ozzie,

Yes...my frames look the same. I can get a pic today sometime. Right now I am building the frame for the right side soffit.

I am just temporarily screwing the furring stripes to the soffit and building the frame on it so it will be a custom fit. We want to make the soffit frame ONE BIG PIECE !

This means I am using my aircraft building skills to make "gussets" so this structure will be light but strong. If anyone knows anything about building models (R/C) or aircraft "longerones", well, this is the technique I am using to get it light but still strong enough to take the torque of applying the fabric (again, just like covering an aircraft in fabric).

I am also using a French cleat to take the main weight of the structure so the Velcro will not have to do all the work.

I'll get a picture this afternoon and post it back here...

Hope this helps.

Chris

I really like the carpet. It draws you into the room.

How did you determine where your sconces would go?

Thanks,

Very nice carpet!
Give us details on the carpet...Maker, Brand, ect,ect,ect.

Ozzie :D

Wow that is a sweet room!
Question (for anyone) - why would you frame out where the screen goes, as opposed to just hang it on a wall? Or maybe you are using an acoustically transparent screen?

Gig103
Maybe they want acoustic treatment on the rear wall, sometimes it is a space for a microperf screen and speakers go on the back wall. That way when its finished you see the front screen but no speakers(no distraction).

Ozzie

Thanks again, everyone.

what colors are you using for the walls again?

For a while, I was going with Quartz above the chair rail, Baltic below which is a darker blue, and black for screen wall/procenium. I had a tough time fiding carpet in the style that I wanted that went with the Baltic so I went back to my first plan of Quartz above, black below and up front.

How did you determine where your sconces would go?

I am using half-moon sconces I just wanted to make sure that you could not see over the tops of the shells to see the bulbs. (using my height of 5' 11" which is pretty average) I also just wanted to center the sconces between the column locations. Those locations were determined by a pole I wanted to conceal and where the side surrounds would/should be.


Give us details on the carpet...Maker, Brand, ect,ect,ect.

It's Durkan carpet from their tufted "Merit" line. The pattern is Sotheby's and the color is 65960. It can be seen at www.durkan.com. Click "Tufted", then "Products / Patterns", then "Merit Patterns", and finally find select Sotheby's from the drop down.


why would you frame out where the screen goes, as opposed to just hang it on a wall?

Like Ozzie said, I wanted to place my center channel behind the screen so it wouldn't be seen. (It will actually be above and behind the screen. A perfed screen is not in "the budget" right now.)


Pricing GOM as we speak...

I took some pictures of my frames as promised a little bit ago and here they are...

Chris

...and another...

...last one. This is the cleat to hold the weight of the frame. It runs the full length of the soffit.

Chris

Dum question, but whats the purpose for adding soffits?
I can understand if one wants to hide an a/c duct, but are folks adding soffits for any other reason?

Ozzie

Oz,

I am sure Dennis E. could give the technical reasons behind a soffit but I wanted them because I think it is aesthetically pleasing. The rope light looks good from the soffit too.

I guess there are no steadfast rules here. I know Dennis E. uses columns to tune first reflection points so maybe the soffit does the same thing (??).

Chris

More pics of GOM install in progress:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/106_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/107_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/108_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/109_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/110_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/111_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/112_wall_fabric.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/113_wall_fabric.jpg

Nice work DanKaps!
The blue wall fabric you are using comes out a different shade in every pic you have. Funny how that works out. Anyway, I really like your carpet, did you get that online or did you do the actual brick and mortar store to see it and touch it? I want a similar carpet, but I want to do my front stage in black carpet.

Ozzie
P.S. On the stage area underneathand behind the Left & Right speakers, is that left open with no carpet? I have seen it done both way, but not sure the reason behind it.

any particular reason you guys choose MDF for your soffit instead of using drywall?

The fabric is black actually. :) Yeah, the colors never get represented well. Notice the step light cover almost looks dark green compared to the GOM, but they are both 100% black in person. I'm gonna check my camera's white balance to see if I can do something about it.

About carpet, I requested samples from Durkan so I could see and touch before deciding. After I made my selection, I went with a local B&M for the actual purchase and install. I happened to get a pretty good deal on the carpet also since the mill happened to have a roll with only 50 yards left on it. They said if would take it all, they'd knock about $4/yard off. I only needed about 45 yards so it worked out perfect.

Yes, right now, the stage floor is bare under the left and right speakers. I plan to cover it with some leftover ductliner. Once the room is done and tested, I may need to put some compressed insulation back there anyway.


I just updated a few of the pics with adjusted color that doesn't look so blue....

DanKaps will the entire stage floor be carpeted eventually then?

Also the pics now look a lot less blue, but I am sure its still a long way off from what it actually looks like in person. I have had the same problem. My solution was to fix it in photo shop to make it look closer to the real colors in real life. This really says a lot about screen shots we see being taken with actual images.

Thanks
Ozzie

No, I will not carpet the stage sides. I'll just lay down down some ductliner covering the plywood. I tried setting my sub directly on the wood flooring and it rattled horribly. I first thought it was the sub amplifier buzzing and rattling. I was worried that now that I had such a low noise floor in the room, I was hearing little things that I couldn't in my living room. I then layed down ductliner, sat the sub on it and it was perfect.

Whew!

Two more pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/117_left_soffit_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/118_black_fabric_about_done.jpg

FYI...The velcro used to wrap the procenium fabric worked very well. The adhesive on the industrial velcro alone is enough to hold strong to the GOM. When I peel back the GOM, I just make sure that I'm pulling apart the two velcro strips. Putting it back nice and tight is simple as well.

The next step is to finish the ceiling curve above the stage with absorption and fabric covering. I'm aiming to have that done this weekend.

Dan,

Looking good ! I have the same track light. Aren't they GREAT ! Easy to work with, a bitch with X10 though. I had to get a special X10 dimmer to deal with the transformer in those low-voltage jobs.

Keep up the pictures ! I love it !

Chris

Thanks.

Agreed about the lights. Some times they don't respond to X10 commands and other times they do. I too will probably replace my cheap wall switches with better ones which will hopefully make the X10 more reliable. (I had no problems with the sconces and X10 when I tested them)

Dan,

Yessir, all my other lights work well with the cheap-o X10 dimmers (if $20 is cheap ?). What are you using to control your X10 ? I have a copy of Home Seer and although I have not played with it too much; I do have some "scenes" set up that control the theater lights with my X10 remote and it works well.

I need to figure out how to control the lights simultaneously though. Right now, the system dims (or brightens) each address in a serial fashion and it would be nice to get them to all react at the same time in a "scene" :( . Maybe there is a way in this software but time will tell.

Thanks for your feedback !

Chris

I'm using these wall switches: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=980-0193

Of course now I see that are only meant for incandescent lights. (I brought tham over from my last home where they were used for incandescent only)

I "talk to them" via an IR543 unit that receives IR signals from my remote (Pronto).

I've heard that these are decent switches: http://www.smarthome.com/2384w.html

I'll switch over (pardon the pun) to these, which should solve my reliability problems.

FYI...with X10, you can send multiple addresses followed by the dim/bright/on/off commands. Meaning, if you want to dim address 1 and 2 at the same time, send 1, 2, dim.

Originally posted by DanKaps
Two more pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/117_left_soffit_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/118_black_fabric_about_done.jpg

FYI...The velcro used to wrap the proscenium fabric worked very well. The adhesive on the industrial velcro alone is enough to hold strong to the GOM. When I peel back the GOM, I just make sure that I'm pulling apart the two velcro strips. Putting it back nice and tight is simple as well.

Did you do anything special to the edges of the GOM to prevent it from fraying? I need to do the exact same thing myself this weekend!

Thanks,

--curtis

I made sure that the edge that has the velcro on it is the "finished" edge with the white strip sewn within the fabric so that the edge won't fray.

I'll post a couple of detail pics of this later tonight for you.

Here's the pics....It's kind of tough to see the velcro strip on the back of the framing but here's a shot of it:

Here's the velcro on the fabric which can be seen much better:

FYI...the velcro comes in a 2" width so I just cut it down to 1.5" wide so it fits the back of the framing perfectly.

Thanks DKaps for the pics - I'm on my way to HD to get some of that industrial velcro!!

--curtis

Hi DKaps,

Great looking theater! Congrats.

Question on the stage. Am I seeing it correctly that you used sand on the ends where the speakers will sit but regular insulation in the middle?

Any thoughts on this vs using sand for the entire thing? I ask because my theater is going to be on the 3rd floor attic area and I'm wondering if I can acheive just as good results with less sand. I'm not worried about the floor collapsing ;) but don't want to add more weight than I need to.

Thanks.

J

I think I'd be more worried about -me- collapsing trying to carry that much sand up to the 3rd floor :)

I have my theater on the second floor and I filled the entire stage with sand. I did not want to risk having a rattle somewhere that might be hard to get at later. And I did sweat carrying the bags of sand up to the theater but I guess it was good exercise.

All in all, I bet I will be glad I did...

Chris

Originally posted by DanKaps
Added pic....Wall treatment complete. I still need to treat the soffit undersides and then I'll be ready for carpet!

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/99_wall_treatment.jpg

Can you put more pics (details) of HVAC and explain how you solved this difficult problem (air in/out)? Thanks a lot. Looks great.

-mukster

I saw the light you put in for the step up. It looks like its 110V -- I have been searching for a similar light at Lowe,HD, etc. and can't find one. WHere did you get yours?

Tom,

Yes, it's a 110V fixture. I got it at Lowes. You'll find them in the same area as the canned lights. Here it is:

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=60008-337-%20H2920ICT

Joe,

I would be at least a little concerned about having that much sand on an upper floor. That has the potential to easily add to over 2000 lbs. Just my sides took over 400 lbs. of sand.

I only did the sides since, like you said, those would have speakers/subs on them. Insulating the middle seemed good enough for what I have planned.

Dan

I had the same concerns about weight as you. I called a friend of mine that is a mechanical engineer. When I told him the parameters of adding 800 lbs of sand over the area in question, he made the analogy of a California king waterbed and to not worry about the weight (as long as my measurements and weights were accurate in my parameters that is).

I also spoke to another acquaintance that is an architect. He mentioned "live" and "dead" loads and also the waterbed theory so I guess I am safe. Oh ! This guy did mention that my waterbed weighs more than my 800lbs of sand too.

I would check the joists in the floor to make sure ! BOTH these men mentioned that national code would support my stage at the mentioned weights.

Just my .02...

Chris

Mukster,

I had both supply and return lines for one end of the first floor that ran down each side of the room. This can be seen right here:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/1_before.jpg

I simply tied into both for pushing and pulling the air in the room. To try to reduce the amount of sound that would go from the theater, through the new ductwork, I used long lengths of flex duct and made at least two 90 degree turns each. You can see the supply source right here:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/24_hvac_supply.jpg

Here's the return "source". You can also see the 180 degree turn I made with the supply to the left of it:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/ductwork.jpg

Here's another shot of the return line that makes it to the back of the room:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/ductwork4.jpg

If you put your ear right next to the vents on the first floor that are attached to these runs, you can just faintly hear anything loud in the theater.

Also, everything that dips under the joists is concealed in my two soffits.

That's about it. I hope that gives you a better picture of what I did.

3 new pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/119_treatment_over_stage.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/121_over_stage_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/122_upper_fabric_started.jpg

(That's a work light causing the brighter streak across the last picture)

Update pics: Fabric done, sconces up and running, columns built and set in place temporarily to see how they look. I'm oak veneering them as we speak.....

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/131_fabric_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/132_fabric_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/133_fabric_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/134_fabric_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/136_columns_temp.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/137_columns_temp.jpg

A few update pics since the columns are 90% complete.... I still have the rear two to do. Trim will follow and then screen, proj, and seating.


Veneered and Stained Surround Columns (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/139_stained_surround_columns.jpg)

Surround Column Going Up (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/142_surround_columns_going_up.jpg)

Columns Done #1 (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/140_columns_done.jpg)

Columns Done #2 (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/141_columns_done.jpg)

Columns Done #3 (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/143_columns_done.jpg)

Columns Done #4 (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/144_columns_done.jpg)

Looks totally awesome. The baby monitor is a nice touch. Working late into the evening? :-)

(I wasn't going to put columns in my HT, but yours look so good, I may have to. How long did it take you to construct those?)

Building the columns is a piece of cake. It's just 3/4" MDF with 2x2's in the two front corners holding the 3-sided box together. Then, for the columns that conceal speakers, I cut out the openings with a jig saw. I applied oak veneer to the bottoms, finished it, and GOM-wrapped the tops. Finally, pack them with insulation and attach them to the walls.

A few tips...I had Lowe's rip the 4X8 sheets of MDF right down the middle so they would be easier to get home and handle. I just ripped them to the dimensions I needed on my table saw. Also, if you lean a column up temporarily, don't leave it there even if it seems pretty stable. I had one fall down right on my air compressor and break the air intake right off of it. It was a finished column too, fabric and all. Fortunately, the column didn't get damaged. The compressor wasn't so lucky.

DanKaps

Two Questions on your columns;
1. How is it attached to the wall?
2. When attaching the oak veneer at the bottom, how are the corners being done to make them looked finished?

Also as a parent of twin babies I know how hard it is to find time for HT work, how in the world do you find time with triples? CONGRATS!!!


Ozzie

Ozzie,

The columns are attached to 2x2 "support blocks" that are screwed to (and through) my furring strips. The columns are then screwed to the support blocks at the top, middle, and bottom. The screws will then be hidden by trim in all 3 locations. You can see the support blocks in the "Surround Column Going Up" picture.

The oak veneer is hot glued, with an iron, to the mdf. The edges are then trimmed with a tool made for the job. It has flush mounted blades that cut the veneer flush with an edge. Once all 3 sides are done and finished, it looks like a solid piece of oak.

Thanks very much. The trips aren't here yet actually. I'm racing them :) We're in week 26 right now with everything looking great. With the wife being "bed-rested", and our 3 year old, a spare hour is tough to come by so the pace has slowed a bit. Luckilly, we have some wonderful friends and family that come by and give us all some extra time once and a while.

Happy holidays to you and your family. (And to everyone else....)

DKaps

Looking at your front wall, around where the screen will go. I know you use Velcro on the fabric, but did you wrap the fabric around the actual 2X4 supports or did you build a frame?

The top of my 2x4's are attached to the ceiling and the lower is nailed to the stage, how can I tuck in the top and bottom and make it look as neat as the sides with a nice rounded edge?

I also wonder if the corners on the inside of where the screen will be placed, did you use one solid piece of fabric and just sliced the corners, or are all four sides separate pieces of fabric?

Ozzie

Ozzie,

The fabric is wrapped around to the back of the the framing only on the open side. There's no additional frame. The velcro begins about 2 feet down from the top with staples holding it above that two foot mark. It is stapled to the face of the framing across the top and on the side meeting the side wall. The bottom is not attached. It is just stretched a little and will be covered by base board trim (that can be easily removed). The staples at the front top were covered using an approx. 1 inch wide strip of GOM cut and hot-glued over the staples. With normal room lighting, this "trim piece" can't be seen.

The staples on the face side meeting the side wall and under the soffit, were covered with the furring strips for the side walls and soffit underside.

The inside corners of the screenwall is one piece of fabric cut diagonally at the corners to wrap around to the back. I was disappointed with how this (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/113_wall_fabric.jpg) looked at first, but it will be covered by the screen and small blocks holding the screen in place.

If any of this doesn't makes sense, let me know and I'll put together some detail pictures for you.

Dan

Dan

That image explains it all. I was wondering how to do those corners with a more finished look myself, but since it will be covered anyway I guess it really does not matter. I understand what you did, the only part I am still not clear on is the top part of your front wall. The part that touches the ceiling, was that done just like you did on the bottom with Velcro all along the bottom from left to right?

My situation in the front wall is a bit more difficult, I have a large wide window right where my screen will be. I do not want to make a permanent cover on that window. I was thinking of placing my screen with hinges on the top so that I could open it by lifting the bottom of the screen. Then building some type of widow shutters covered with black GOM. That way if I want or need access to my front window I could get to it with a little work, but I could. I have not seen anyone here do something like this, so I guess I am just winging it for now till I decide on how I will actually proceed.

Ozzie

Ozzie,

Actually, there is nothing (staples or velcro) along the bottom of the procenium fabric. It is just taught due to being stapled at the wall and being "wedged" in between the stage and the procenium base. The un-attached bottom will be covered with baseboard trim. Also, the fabric tops of the proceniums are stapled to the face and covered with GOM "trim". This can faintly be seen here (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/117_left_soffit_done.jpg) before the "trim" covering the staples was added. You can also see the staples at the top of the screenwall. Those were hidden when I treated the ceiling above the stage. I talked about that seamless "trick" a little while back.

Good luck with that window. I like your idea about having the screen hinged where it can be lifted out of the way. I assume a pull down/electric is not planned for some other reason?

Dan

Ozzie,

I just read through our little discussion again and I think I may have missed the point of your question by confusing the screenwall and the proceniums, both which had slightly different GOM installs. Here's how the screenwall was covered (trying to be brief but somewhat detailed):

First, I did the bottom half by stapling the first inch or two of fabric backwards to the face of the framing at the bottom (leave enough length on each side to wrap around to the back) Then, I stapled a strip of some linoleum (some people use cardboard strips made for this) over the existing staple line while making sure that the linoleum strip was pressed against the stage floor. Then wrap the fabric up around the strip to hide the staples and create a seamless transition between the stage floor and the screen wall. The bottom half in place can be seen here. (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/112_wall_fabric.jpg)

The top half was done the same way with the start line just below where the bottom half came up the screen wall (a linoleum strip on each side with horizontal framing behind to staple it to). Then I stapled the top to the face of the framing since those staples would be covered once I finished the ceiling above the stage. I did the linoleum trick above the stage just like the screenwall floor. A closeup of this can be seen here. (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/120_seam_technique.jpg)

Pictures?

PAP,

Assuming you mean the pictures talked about in my above post, the links are embedded in the words "here".

Also, here's a quick progress update pic:

Trim Started (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/145_trim_started.jpg)


By the way, thanks for the kind wishes... :)

With today marking the 1 year anniversary from the very first day a hammer was swung on this project, here's an update....

Trim almost done, screen in place (96" Carada Precision BW), doors painted, PJ on a table temporarily to help kick me in gear (Sanyo Z3), seating ordered from rsh with a tentative ship date of 2/21 (7 Berkline 088's in black microfiber - 3 motorized for the front and two manual love seat configs for the back). The two rear columns are about ready to go up also.

Here are some pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/146_trim_almost_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/147_trim_almost_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/148_trim_almost_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/149_trim_almost_done.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/150_trim_almost_done.jpg

One final note for those that have been following this from a little while back, as of January 9th, "The Trips" (Ryan Clifton, Andrea Lynn, and Devon Rene) are here and doing very well!

Congrats on the HT progress and the "trips"!

Hey Dan, your theater's looking great! The way you framed the screen into the wall looks really slick.

I hope you'll send me some photos when you've got everything finished. :)

David Giles

Thanks David! I certainly will.

Seating comes today!! I'm expecting the call any minute now. I'll add some pics of the 99% completed room to this thread, tonight or tomorrow.

Things left to do (in the room):

1. Curtains up front flanking the screen. I have enough GOM left over that I'll do something temporary until I pick out the actual curtains.

2. Stain and finish my game console stand.

3. Add shakers to the front row. (This is planned but not "scheduled")

I still need to put a door on the equipment room and finish the drywall in there. Also need to add a step outside the room; or at least a temporary one for the time being.

Dan

Looking great, Dan! You're an inspiration to those of us who are far behind your progress.

Congrats on the new additions. :)

Welp,

It's finally done!!! (You know what I mean...:) ) It took exactly one year and 18 days to get to where it is now. It seemed like a distant dream a little over a year ago, and now I wonder at how it is nearly exactly as I had pictured it from the beginning. There's just a few little things here and there to do but it's ready for action! Here are the preliminary "final" pics:

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/151_room_complete.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/152_room_complete.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/153_room_complete.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/154_room_complete.jpg

And more.....


http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/155_pj_mounted.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/156_pj_mounted.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/157_back_detail.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/158_back_detail.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/159_chairs_in.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/160_chairs_in.jpg
http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/161_chairs_in.jpg

I'd like to give a MONSTEROUS thanks to everyone here at AVS for helping from the start and providing many ideas and inspirations along the way. Especially, Dennis Erskine, for his contributions to this forum and all of his wisdom that he graciously shared with us over the years. I could not have come close to what I did without his passion for excellent home theater and his willingness to help us here at AVS.

Dan

Very Nice Indeed. I hope my messy looking room comes out as well. Feels like I have tools cut wood, cut MDF and tons of other stuff all over the place here. The entire thing looks like a million miles away, but I keep chugging away.

Congrats!

Thanks Ozzie. One thing I tried to do is keep the area pretty clean while working. Even when I didn't have the time to do any actual work, just spending 5-10 minutes to clean up the room made getting down to work easier next time.

Here's an updated pic with the curtains up front. I can now call the interior of the room "Done".

(front 3 seats have shakers now too)

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/Theater_Done.jpg

VERY NICE JOB

HH

Very nice job!

I think my column arrangement is going to be about the same; my columns are 6"Dx18"W with 5'-4" in between columns.

If you don't mind, what did your dimensions turn out to be?

Tim

Thanks Tim. My columns are 12 1/2" wide, 7 inches deep, with about 46" in between each.

Thanks for the dimensions.

Tim

wow, that looks great!

A sweet ride you have there :cool:

Very nice looking theatre! I especially like the mix of columns and faux columns hiding the speakers. I'm sure most guests will wonder just where those sounds are coming from.
Beautiful job!

Very nice

Thanks everyone. By the way...I posted this to another thread a while back, but I thought it should go here as well. I created a walkthrough MPEG movie of my room (with my dorky naration). It's about 50 meg and 5 minutes long....here you go.....

Theater Walkthru (http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater_walkthru.mpg)

Dan

Dan,

I wanted to thank you for the walk through ! Nice to be able to "visit" someones theater that way.

Our theaters are basically the same except for you are finished and I am on my second year of building lol. Time has really been a factor for me. I am self-employed and business is good but bad for time management :( .

I was/am planning on a Z3 in my theater. Can you give some comments on it ? Thank you in advance for that.

Great work and it looks really good ! :)

Chris

VERY NICE , I am really glad you took so many pic, I am printing them out to show the person thats gonna do my basement, I love your setup, and I got a lot of Ideas from your pics. Great Job . Thanks Again.

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/156_pj_mounted.jpg


Dan, nice job. I have not been in this forum for a while now, but decided to pop in today and found your thread. I have not read all the postings in here, but seeing the above pic, the first thing I can say is go down to your local electronic supply store (or Parts Express) and get some TechFlex and some heat-shrink tubing and clean up the wires some.

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/082-430l.jpg (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=082-438)

I did it on my cables after seeing somebody else on the forum do it. I cleans things up.

Oh, and things like this are the reason why we are never really "Done" with our theaters!

Scott,

Have not seen you posting in quite some time !

You probably do not remember me, but you emailed me some drawings to help clearify some questions I had, oh, say two-three years ago. It came in handy and I really am glad to see you here again.

Not meaning to high-jack your thread Dan !!!!

Chris

Yeah, I have not been spending as much time in here, since I have other hobbies as well, and since the theater is up and running smoothly, I don't have as many questions!

My other hobbies which suck up time: golf, motorcycles, wine

I don't have any cheap hobbies, maybe that's why I don't have kids? :)

DKAPS,

Fine looking theater, very impressive. Can you comment on your soundproofing now that it is all finished? Doesn't appear that you used staggered studs in the walls, I assume double sheetrock throughout and loads of caulk. Any green glue? How sound proof is it, especially to the floors above? Also, what can you tell me about the brackets shown in the 4_wallclip picture on your first post? I assume the help isolate the walls from the concrete, can't say I've seen them before and I've been lurking here for some time! Where did you get them? Oh, one more question - on the lighting, are you pleased with it? Any rattles at all? I had planned on using cans but like the looks (and simplicity) of your lighting choice. Once again, fantastic job and thanks for sharing all of your info along the way!

Thanks Ozzie. One thing I tried to do is keep the area pretty clean while working. Even when I didn't have the time to do any actual work, just spending 5-10 minutes to clean up the room made getting down to work easier next time.


http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/Theater_Done.jpg

Some pretty good advice that I can relate with. ;)
By the way... Nice theater!!!

Craig

...get some TechFlex and some heat-shrink tubing and clean up the wires some.

Yeah, that's something that I'll probably do eventually. I'll just wrap each wire individually instead of the whole bundle though. I personally think a big braided bundle is more of an eyesore than neatly bundled individual cables. I plan on pulling them all and running HDMI shortly anyway. After that, maybe I'll dress them up a bit.

Gambler,

I'm very satisfied with the level of soundproofing that I ended up with. Directly above the theater is a living room where loud explosions and things like that can be heard like a distant storm. The bedrooms are on the second floor and nothing from the theater can be heard there. In other words, I can watch movies at midnight and people sleeping are not bothered at all (I typically watch at about 10 - 15db below reference volume). The wall clips that you referred to are RSIC DC-04's. Like you said, they decouple the theater walls from the foundation so that you can pound on the walls and the vibration does not travel up through the floor above. I also used them to tie the joists on the one wall that runs parallel to the floor joists. Now if I had a bedroom right above the theater, I wouldn't be satisfied with the level of isolation I have. I didn't use Green Glue as it wasn't available yet, when I was at the appropriate stage. I definitely won't hesitate to use it next time though. Double drywall around, RSIC clips on the ceiling, DC-04's supporting the walls, and throughly caulked did me fine...luckilly.

I like the lights very much. No, they don't rattle at all. I tried to make sure they wouldn't by banging on all of the displays everywhere I shopped for them. In the end, I went with them in particular for their apparent build quality, looks, and price.


Chris,

I'm really happy with the Z3. DVD's with good transfers look excellent and HD material is just beautiful. At about 1.5x viewing distance, screendoor is not an issue. It's almost completely silent and setup flexibility is awesome. With my gray screen, it's black level is very tolerable. I was originally using a Carada Brilliant White and then switched out for their gray screen as I was a little bothered by the black level with the white screen. It still has plenty of punch and doesn't look as "milky" as before. I could take a couple of screen shots that would blow you away, although we know that's not a good way to judge true PQ.

Dan

Dan,

Thank you again for the information. It sounds like my family will be happy with the Z3. Hey, any pictures you want to post, please feel free ! :p

I would be interested in seeing a dark scene, although I know to take it as a reproduction from your digital camera.

Hang in there, I am sure to catch up soon on mine (I think ?? :confused: )

Chris

Thanks for the info Dan! BTW, where did you end up buying the lights?

where did you end up buying the lights?


New on Ebay. I ended up paying about 1/2 of what Lowes wanted for them. If you do a search on Tiella and look for the 5 light Sola rail kits, there are usually some there to choose from.

Dan

Thanks for the info. Few more questions for you. For the walls you isolated with the dc-04's, is the bottom 2x4 isolated in any way or attached directly to the concrete floor with liquid nails/concrete fastners/etc.?

Did you use any subflooring/dricore between the carpet and the concrete or is it just pad, carpet directly on the concrete?

Projector mount - is it attached to any blocking in the ceiling, the metal channels, or just into the drywall?

Thanks again for all the info, this thread has been a massive help to my meager progress!

Gambler,

The walls are anchored with no isolation at the floor (liquid nails and fasteners fired with a powder actuated nailer).

No subfloor. Just pad made for concrete installations and the carpet.

The PJ is mounted to a square of 3/4" MDF which is screwed to the hat track channel on one side and drywall anchors on the other. I think the MDF is glued also but I don't remember for sure.

Glad to help. :)

Dan

Very nice looking! what type of seating is that?

what type of seating is that?

Berkline 088's in black microfiber.

Look up AVS user "rsh" if your interested in getting some.

Dan

Dan - I love this room. You did a great job. I've just finished mine as well and hope to get some pictures up in the next few days.

I've got a question about the color of your seats. I ordered mine in charcoal gray microfiber. The color in your pictures looks like the color my wife and I had in mine. What we received is a light gray color with a hint of blue in it. Is your "black" really a dark gray as it looks in your pictures or is that just an illusion?

Since you are being so helpful Dan, I'm gonna keep hammering you with questions! :-) Any regrets on just doing pad and carpet with no subfloor? That is one part of my design I keep going back and forth over. Probably depends on the climate you are located in, I'm in Minnesota, brutal cold winters, the added separation might be a good idea. I've heard contradicting info on whether it improves accoustics, maybe you can shed some light one way or the other! Once again, thanks for all the info.

Stavo,

The chairs are definitely black. They just look lighter when photographed (by someone with my photography skills).


Gambler,

I personally have no regrets not doing a subfloor. We have pretty cold winters in Omaha as well. The floor doesn't ever feel cold and the room stays at a pretty constant temperature. It's just cool enough that my wife usually brings a blanket in, but I don't. I actually prefer it to be slightly on the cool side as when I have a full room of people, I don't want it getting too warm (the most I've had in there for a full length movie is just 3 people, with everyone comfortable). Regarding whether or not there would be any acoustical benefits to using a subfloor in your situation, I'd pose that to the professionals.

My pleasure. Keep em coming as I'm glad to help, when I can.

Dan

Go Huskers!

I'm very satisfied with the level of soundproofing that I ended up with. Directly above the theater is a living room where loud explosions and things like that can be heard like a distant storm. The bedrooms are on the second floor and nothing from the theater can be heard there. In other words, I can watch movies at midnight and people sleeping are not bothered at all (I typically watch at about 10 - 15db below reference volume). The wall clips that you referred to are RSIC DC-04's. Like you said, they decouple the theater walls from the foundation so that you can pound on the walls and the vibration does not travel up through the floor above. I also used them to tie the joists on the one wall that runs parallel to the floor joists. Now if I had a bedroom right above the theater, I wouldn't be satisfied with the level of isolation I have. I didn't use Green Glue as it wasn't available yet, when I was at the appropriate stage. I definitely won't hesitate to use it next time though. Double drywall around, RSIC clips on the ceiling, DC-04's supporting the walls, and throughly caulked did me fine...luckilly.

Dan
First, congrats on the trips this year. Second, beautiful theater you have there, nice job.

Did you use the DC-04's on the walls and ceiling or did you use a different RSIC product on the ceiling? Starting from the joist, how much space do you lose using one of these clips? How do I calculate how many are needed for a 23 x 23 ceiling?

-gary

Thanks Gary. The ceiling was built using RSIC-1 clips and "hat channel". They are distributed by PAC Intl. An installation guide can be seen here:

http://www.pac-intl.com/pdf/Installation_Guide.pdf

You'll find the details that you're looking for, there.

Dan

DKaps,

I have to ask you where you got your velcro for installing the GOM.
Does it seem to be holding up well?
Is is strong enough to hold under SOME pressure?

I really love your french doors.
How well do they seal as far as sound control is concerned?

Craig

Craig,

You can find the industrial strength velcro at Home Depot. It's VERY strong stuff. It's as tight and solid as the day I put it up. The adhesive backing on the stuff is also "industrial strength". I originally thought I would have to sew one half of the velcro to the GOM. But the adhesive alone is strong enough that I dropped the idea of having the sew it as well. When I need to peel back the GOM, I just make sure that I'm seperating the velcro and not simply pulling on the GOM. I'd do it the same way next time.

The doors do a fine job for their price. I added weatherstripping all around and a rubber sweep seal at the bottom, which is mandatory to get any kind of decent isolation. I just wish I did a slightly better job of hanging them. From the outside, the bottom of one of the doors sticks out about 1/8 - 1/4" compared to the other one. I still get a good enough seal but it's visibly "not perfect" from the outside.

Dan

Dan, Absolutely Inspirational!! Great looking theater!
Best 3 page thread (a years worth of work) that I've read in a long time.

Going to look at a house with somewhere around 2k to 2400 sq ft of UNFINISHED BASEMENT tomorrow. This info will help me invision/imagine the possibilities for sure. Watch it be an 8' ceiling though.. Oh well, I'll start jackhammering and lower the floor if I hafta.

Dan,

quick question for you (and a bump for the thread as it has been invaluable to me). I don't see anything on pac's website for spacing of the DC-04's the way you installed them. Mind if I ask what spacing you used and how you made the determination? Thanks in advance!

Gambler,

I think the reason you can't find the install instructions on PAC's site, is that the way I used the clips is not what they are specifically designed for....Keeping that in mind....

For the walls that have the foundation behind them, I spaced the DC-04 clips about 32" apart (every other stud cavity). I chose this spacing based on the fact that since the walls are not under any real push or pull tension, that seemed like a good balance between very sturdy and more than neccessary. On the one wall that parallels the joists above, I spaced them about 16" apart due to the fact that the wall has a door on it, so it would be subject to pushing and pulling. Also, since the occasional force on those clips would be lateral, I wanted a little more there to add stability.

Dan

Thanks once again for the info. Early on in the thread someone asked why you chose to use MDF instead of drywall for the soffits, I didn't see a response. I'm curious as well. Is it just for strength/saving you from having to do an elaborate frame to attach the drywall to or is there a deeper meaning? :-) Thanks in advance!

Gambler,

Honestly, I used it simply because that's what is recommended by Dennis in all of his posts and magazine articles. From what I've gathered, the reason is that its density makes it less likely to resonate (they still need to be insulation filled). Also, building them out of MDF makes it possible to use them for bass trapping. Basically, if your adding an enclosed "box" in your theater the last thing you want is it to ring like a drum.

Dan

Thanks once again, Dan. Guess MDF it will be. Just out of curiosity, how did you go about packing these with insulation, doesn't appear to be easy access anywhere? Another question, the doors you ended up using, are they actual Safe N Sound doors or did Lowes have there own version they hooked you up with? My door will sit on a 2x8 wall so I'm guessing I'll end up with an exterior door just for the width of the jam. So far looking like $700ish and that is just a single (quoted from HD), haven't made it up to Lowes to see what they have to offer.

They are actually Safe N Sound's (the literature that came with the doors said so). I think they were made by Premdoor. The receipt just says "Double Unit Safe and Sound". I paid $311 for the double set (60" wide).

When I did the soffits, I did the vertical sections first and then added the horizontals. As I did that, I stuffed them as best I could.

Dan

Dan,

Did you space your hat channel 24 oc or 16 oc? The literature seems to recommend 24 for 1 or 2 layers of 5/8, so I assume I should follow that but would hate to see it start sagging... :-|

Dan,

Did you space your hat channel 24 oc or 16 oc? The literature seems to recommend 24 for 1 or 2 layers of 5/8, so I assume I should follow that but would hate to see it start sagging... :-|
FWIW, I spaced my at 24".....
Bob

Thanks bob. 2 layers of sheetrock?

Yep, 1st layer was 5/8", 2nd was 1/2". Plus a layer of GG between. No sagging after 4 months, I can't imagine having any problems with that.

Bob

Good enough, thanks for the info!

What are you guys using/do you recommend for gang boxes? The standard el cheapo nail on boxes don't appear as if they'd accomodate 5/8" + 1/2" drywall. The adjustable ones look promising...

If you have time could you do a small write up on your wall treatments, Materials and where you found them and how they went together!! they came out great and I am looking for ideas!! I would appreciate it!!

Thanks, Mark

Did you space your hat channel 24 oc or 16 oc?

I did mine at 16" or shorter, depending on if the track would hit anything below the joist. I think back when I did mine, they recommended 16" only.


What are you guys using/do you recommend for gang boxes?

I used the adjustable boxes. They worked fine on the walls for me since they could extend the 2 inches from the studs that I needed. I used them on the ceiling also but I needed to drop them further since I was doing the RSIC/Channel thing there. To do this, I attached blocks to the joists and then the boxes to the blocks. You can see it here...

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/52_rsic_channel.jpg


Mark,

The room is treated with Certainteed Toughguard R 1" ductliner (purchased through a local insulation supplier)...entire front behind the false walls, up to about 41" on the side walls, a little higher in back since the rear seats are so close to the wall, and finally the soffit undersides and on the ceiling above the stage. Above that on the walls, is 1" loft poly-batting purchased through Batt-Mart. Covering these materials, is GOM FR701 fabric purchased though Fabricmate (black and quartz).

Dan

Dan, is the conduit you ran to the projector flexible? If so, where did you get it, I can't seem to find anything in a flex that is reasonably large...

No, it's not flexible. It's 2" plastic conduit made for electrical. You can see it better in the picture below. The one on the right goes to the front of the theater for speakers and subwoofer. The one on the left goes to the projector. The smaller blue conduit seen to the left IS flexible and they go to the surround speaker locations.

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/28_conduit_electrical.jpg

Dan

Thanks so much Dan I appreciate it!!

Mark

That looks awesome. Much nicer and more involved than my current project.

Dan,

Sooner or later I'll run out of questions to ask you, but not today! I'm curious how you got around using PT lumber in your riser? Isn't this required or is it only required in walls?

I'm curious how you got around using PT lumber in your riser? Isn't this required or is it only required in walls?

I didn't get around it, actually. All of the framing lumber in the stage and the seating riser is PT. You should definitely use PT wherever lumber comes in contact with concrete.

Dan

Gotcha, color of the lumber led me to believe it wasn't. Is it 2x8's covered with plywood? What are the dimensions of the finished riser? Also, curious why you built it after the sheetrock was up? I had planned the same to make it easier to remove if it ever needed to be but plan to run power through it and expect I'd get some grief from my electrical inspector if I add the additional circuit after the initial inspection...

The stage is built with 2x6's and the riser is built using 2x8's. Both have 30# roofing felt under the framing, on the concrete. Packed them with insulation (sand in the stage's sides),then a layer of 3/4" T&G glued and screwed, another layer of roofing felt, and topped with another 3/4" T&G screwed.

The platforms are built after drywall to get the best room seal you can first, then add the other things. I don't plan on ever removing the stage or the riser. Since the room was built to be a theater, as far as I'm concerned, that's what it will always be.

The seating riser is the full 15 feet wide and 7 feet deep in the center. At the sides where the seats are, it's about 5 1/2 feet deep. I wish I had at least another 6 inches of depth there but I had to compromise. The back row can recline just fine but you have to be mindful of not putting feet (shoes) against the backs of the front row. (Let alone the acoustical compromise I choose to make, having the rear so close to the walls).

Dan

Thanks Dan! Stupid question... What is T&G? Also, is the initial layer of roofing felt attached to the concrete?

Tongue and groove flooring. No, the felt is just rolled out and the framing sits on it.

Dan

Dan,

What are the dimensions on your soffits? Did you use any lookouts or blocking within the soffits to support the MDF? I've got some rather wide soffits to build that I don't have the space to sacrifice for blocking. I'm curious how wide a guy could get away with using 5/8" MDF without support...

Sorry, Follow up question to the above, did you put drywall over the MDF on the soffits or just paint the MDF? If no drywall, does the painted MDF 'look' any different than painted drywall?

Gambler,

My soffits are about 16 inches tall and about 2 foot wide. There is no support blocking in them as I doubt 2 foot wide 3/4" MDF will ever sag (with nothing hung from it). The vertical sections are attached to 2x3's which are hung from the joists using RSIC DC-04 clips. 2x2's are glued and screwed to the bottom of those and the horizontal sections are glue and screwed to the 2x2's also. The horizontal sections are glued and screwed to 2x's which are attached to the walls. Here's a simple diagram:

Dan-
Great job on your theater! Looks excellent!

Some areas of your construction look very familiar. -j

No drywall on the MDF. Its screw holes and joints were mudded just like drywall. When painted, it looks no different than the drywall ceiling.

http://www.heartlandcables.com/theater/62_ceiling_prepaint.jpg

Dan

BTW....look at that picture perfect mudding job on the ceiling. ;) I'm sure I took about 4x as long as a pro, but thankfully it came out perfect in the end.

DKaps,

What did you use between your carpet and the concrete slab?

Also, do you have any info on the clips you used between the concrete wall and top plate?

NICE Job!

What did you use between your carpet and the concrete slab?

Just a good quality pad made for installing on concrete.

Also, do you have any info on the clips you used between the concrete wall and top plate?

They are RSIC-DC04 decouple clips. They are distributed by Pac International and can be seen on their site at http://www.pac-intl.com/decoupled.htm. I purchased mine through www.silentsource.com.

Dan

Thanks!

Dan:

I will be building this summer (fingers crossed) and have a few questions.
I have the same walls you have in my basement, the "faux brick" look.
1) Did you require permits to do your HT? Did you say (in your application for permit) it was for a HT or did you indicate some general "basement remodeling?
2) Any "vapor barrier" needed?
3) Why did you need the special clips to hold the framing to the brick walls? I was just planning on putting furring strips on the brick wall, and then putting the iso clips on the strips, then the hat channel, etc. The wall is still isolated, isn't it?

Nice designs, I really like the proscenium and how that turned out.

Best,
China Clipper

Dan:

I will be building this summer (fingers crossed) and have a few questions.
I have the same walls you have in my basement, the "faux brick" look.
1) Did you require permits to do your HT? Did you say (in your application for permit) it was for a HT or did you indicate some general "basement remodeling?
2) Any "vapor barrier" needed?
3) Why did you need the special clips to hold the framing to the brick walls? I was just planning on putting furring strips on the brick wall, and then putting the iso clips on the strips, then the hat channel, etc. The wall is still isolated, isn't it?

Nice designs, I really like the proscenium and how that turned out.

Best,
China Clipper

Thanks Clipper. To your questions:

1. Yes. To "follow the rules", a permit is required in my area. I would personally stay away from the term "home theater" when referring to the space.

2. Yes, vapor barrier needed on all exterier walls (between drywall and studs, with insulation between vapor barrier and concrete).

3. Yes, there's a level of isolation in both cases. It's cheaper doing it the way I did it as there's a lot fewer clips needed and no hat channel. Now which is actually better as far as isolation goes?... I'd ask the pros that.

Dan

Dan:

I think I understand. I've been going back and forth about using the clips versus using the green glue. I can't remember if you used green glue too?

The clips are used to keep the wall "floating" in front of the concrete wall, and also to create a space for insulation. I'm not quite sure how that is done, the website at PAC wasn't too clear about placement and number needed. They seem to use the clips to "float" the framing between the "footer" and the "header" portions of the framing, and you seem to use the clips on the concrete itself. Am I correct or am I seeing things?

Thanks for the help!
China

Hello again China,

No, I didn't use GG as it wasn't available yet (I will next time though). About the clips, PAC just recently added the installation technique of floating between the header and footer. I personally used them just the way you said, decoupling the built wall from the foundation wall. (post #130 in this thread has my spacing information)

Dan

Any new pictures?

I did have some new pictures taken about a month ago. It's REALLY tough to capture the right look and mood. Here's a few of the interesting ones...

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/theater/Complete_1.jpg

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/theater/Complete_2.jpg

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/theater/Complete_3.jpg

Dan

Looks great Dan, congratulations!

That looks sharp, I hope you are able to get an Omaha showing together once you get it all finished up!

Thanks. It's been done for a while actually...I'll work on trying to put something together soon.

Dan

Let us know, would love to come check it out!! Chad

I love the look. We plan to so some curtains on either side of the screen as well. It really helps soften up the front a bit and frame out the screen. Nice job on the room.

Dan,

that looks amazing. :) my wife and i are looking at building a home theatre. did you go anywhere locally to get any guides? i see that you're in omaha. :) do you ever have guests over to watch a movie? i'd like to see what it's like in person before we start making dents in our home.

thank you for the pictures. :) looks fantastic.

jeremy.

PM sent.

Hey All

We need to set a meet and greet for all the Nebraska people. There are alot of us Omaha guys on here. I tried a while back in the area forums but with little response. I think due to the fact not many visit that part of the forums :(

If we had a network of guys who have or are in the process of building a HT we could enlist each others help for the hard stuff like hanging DD & GG :) . Plus if a guy had any left over materials they could pass on the saving to others that could use them. I myself am just about ready to start hanging my Sheetrock.

Regards Scott

Hi Scott,

I agree. I've been threatening to have a meet at my place for quite some time. I'm checking the calendar now to pick a date. I hope to send out the invite in just a few days.

Dan

I'm in Omaha and I'm interested in a meet . I just got my HT rocked Thursday, so still a few weeks left before it is functional.

Dan

That would be pretty cool. I would love to meet some people that have got addicted to the same thing I have :D I need to start hauling azz and get my theater done before the Huskers first game ;)

Go Huskers

beautiful theater DK, my hats off to you sir. You inspire us newbs!

thanks for the time you took to explain and post your progress, i know after a long day of work AND then working on your HT, its hard to muster enough energy to get on the boards and post pics and stuff.

THanks from all of us.

Hello again All,

Welp, I think it's about time for an Omaha get together. I'll host the first meet. How about Saturday, July 14 around 4pm? We can spend a good while getting to know each other in person and I'll demo my room --- that's demonstrate, not demolish :). After that, we can order some pizzas and then if anyone wants to stay longer, we'll do a full length movie or two. I'll have an assortment of chips and sodas. If anyone wants to bring anything else to drink, by all means.

Reply if willing and able to attend so I can get an idea of how many of us will be there.

Dan

That date works for me. If you have an HD-DVD player let me know if I should bring over any movies.

I would love to bring my wife so she could see the theater, but I will hold off until I hear from you how many spots you have filled, you might get so much interest you won't have the room for everybody!

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Dan,

I love to join and can make it. Thanks for hosting this!!!

/Anders

Yes, I have the HD DVD addon for the Xbox 360 which is used in the theater. I only have King Kong and Apollo 13 so absolutely bring a few titles.

Dan

groovy idea.
i should be able to attend. i'll see if my wife can make it due to work.

thanks. :)

MAN thats the weekend of my 11 wedding aniversary :o

Hmm I think she would make a detour for a few. I really want to meet some Omaha AVS peeps. I will discuss it with her over the weekend ;)

Scott

Wow Ive read yor tread before and didnt even notice you in my back yard. I live in Belleuve. Around where in Omaha do you live?

Northwest.

Dan

Dan,
I would really like to be there, but will be out of town on the 14th. Have a great meet and I'll try to catch the next one!

Ron

OK. We're about a week away so I thought I'd shoot out a reminder.

So far, we've got nebrunner, andersa, jeremy, w00lly, and gdasenbrock.

Any others? I'll send the address and directions via PM's to everyone a few days before.

Dan

Dan,

Your room looks great.

I just wanted to tell you that your theater was a true inspiration when I was working on my room. I downloaded your video walk-thru back in 3/06 and all I could think about while watching the video was "I can't wait until I get to this point!" I was about 6mon into my build at that time with much more still to do. I put off buying the projector until the last possible minute so I could stay focused on construction (and get it done). Well, I finally made it and it was well worth it. And I'm sure you feel the same way!

Have fun at your HT Meet. I'm sure everyone will love the room.

NOTE: I borrowed your "curtains on each side of the screen" idea for my room and it worked out perfectly.

Thanks Dan

I look forward to the meet

When you get a solid headcount of who is coming, let me know if you have room for an additional one or two. There are several dedicated (but modest) home theater owners here at work who have expressed interest in joining me at the meet.

PM's with address and directions have been sent to everyone that said they can or may make it. If I missed anyone, let me know. I hope to see you all on saturday around 4pm. I think we're going to have somewhere around 10 people. Guests are welcome too. I probably won't have "fixed" seats available for everyone but we'll just move some in and out as most people probably won't spend all day.

Dan

Dan

Thanks for having us by wish I could have stayed a bit longer. We will have to do it again :) I think that really gave me a bit more motivation to work a bit harder to get mine done.

My pleasure, Scott. It was nice to meet you guys. I look forward to our next Omaha get together.

Dan

Some of you know that I was finally getting around to finishing the rest of my basement. Great timing - as now the house is for sale. Here's some pics of how it turned out:

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base1.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base2.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base3.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base4.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base5.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base6.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base7.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base8.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base9.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base10.JPG

Dan

the basement looks great.
btw, could i come over sometime and check out your setup?

Some of you know that I was finally getting around to finishing the rest of my basement. Great timing - as now the house is for sale. Here's some pics of how it turned out:

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base1.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base2.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base3.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base4.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base5.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base6.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base7.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base8.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base9.JPG

http://www.heartlandhometheater.com/Basement/base10.JPG

Dan

Looks great Dan!

You've been busy the last few weeks since we were over!

/Anders

Thanks Guys. Absolutely. No problem. Do you still have my number?

BTW...you may want to edit your post to remove the pics so they're not just doubled. :)

Looks good Dan! I did that in my last house... hurry up and finish the basement to get it on the market. I expect you have your next theater in mind already. Looking forward to that progress!

Bud

Very busy, yes. It went fast and smooth except for a minor disaster a little over a week ago. We had just had carpet laid and we were finishing up the trim when I noticed something "odd" around a wall switch. Touch it...cold and damp...son of a...remove the cover plate to find standing water in the box. AARRGGGHH!!

After ripping up some beautifully finished and painted wall and ceiling, I discover a framing nail that took a right turn directly into a sump pump discharge PVC run. Luckilly, it was right above where the problem was discovered so I didn't have to go hunting (and ripping) for too long. I ended up cutting out the busted PVC section and replacing it which was a total bear because of its location and not being able to get to it very easilly. The whole wall section had drywall replaced just in case there was any dampness that went undetected. Anywho, it's all back to fine and dandy now so I can look back and laugh at it as "lesson learned" (cursing under my breath of course).

Dan

True, true. There's been SO MANY great ideas around here since I did mine that'll it'll be tough to come up with a particular look I want next time.

Dan

Looks good Dan! I did that in my last house... hurry up and finish the basement to get it on the market. I expect you have your next theater in mind already. Looking forward to that progress!

Bud

Dan
I was in your hood mowing a new lawn saturday and drove by your street and saw a for sale sign up by your house but I didnt think it was your pad. Whats up moving out of town or a bigger house for the clan? If ya need some help whipping the lawn into shape give me a call :)

The sign went in the yard late Friday so it may have been mine. We haven't picked out a new place yet but we're staying close to town. We are actually going to buy down slightly to make it easier to put the two ends together at the end of the month.

Dan

Really sharp looking space. Can't believe the house is being sold already. What was the realtor's reaction to the HT?

Yeah. It's pretty much a bummer having to give it up. About our agent, she's one of the best in town and a friend of ours. I demoed my room for her a few months ago and asked her if she'd help me get in the door with a local builder that she works for. While she appreciates the room and said it's one of the two nicest she's seen, I get the impression it's just not "her kind of thing". I'm counting on the room making an impression during the showings though.

Dan

Yeah. It's pretty much a bummer having to give it up. About our agent, she's one of the best in town and a friend of ours. I demoed my room for her a few months ago and asked her if she'd help me get in the door with a local builder that she works for. While she appreciates the room and said it's one of the two nicest she's seen, I get the impression it's just not "her kind of thing". I'm counting on the room making an impression during the showings though.

While I admire your loyalty and the fact that you're friends with your realtor, keep in mind that, all else equal, a realtor that is excited about such a room (or the property in general) will sell the house much better.

The best thing I ever did was ditch a realtor who didn't think our house could command the price I wanted, because she wasn't enthusiastic about the space. As hard as they try, they can't fake excitement about a piece of property - and excitement is sells better than anything else. It's like public speaking. If you get yourself excited about the topic, the audience eats every word, whether or not it's their cup of tea. People respond to another's passion about the subject, not their own response to the subject.

I get your point and totally agree. However, I'm not worried about her abilities and/or motivation to sell our house for us. Friend or not, she's who you'd want working for you in Omaha. That said, I'll have something playing in the room when showings happen and I'll give her a few things to point out to potential buyers. The market's real tough now in the price range that my house is. I'm hoping the theater adds that little emotional hook into the people that come see the house. She estimates as much as 6 months on the market could be expected. Last time she sold a house for us, it took 2 days. That was after trying to sell it ourselves for about 3 months.

Dan

I get your point and totally agree. However, I'm not worried about her abilities and/or motivation to sell our house for us. Friend or not, she's who you'd want working for you in Omaha. That said, I'll have something playing in the room when showings happen and I'll give her a few things to point out to potential buyers. The market's real tough now in the price range that my house is. I'm hoping the theater adds that little emotional hook into the people that come see the house. She estimates as much as 6 months on the market could be expected. Last time she sold a house for us, it took 2 days. That was after trying to sell it ourselves for about 3 months.

I wish you luck with the sale... 6 months is a long time. :eek:

I live in the wrong part of the country.

Dan,

I would like to ask what brand and shade of blue paint that you used for your theater. I am getting ready to paint mine and I wanted to use a blue and grey color scheme. I really like to look of your room , great job!, I hope mine turns out half as nice.

Thanks, Ed

The ceiling color is Behr - Midnight Sky. (1.5 gallons - 3 coats not including the tinted primer)

Dan

I live in the wrong part of the country.

I was thinking much the same thing.

Dan - Good luck selling the house. My guess is that the theater will generate some interest for you.

Good luck as well, I thought it was a nice house in a nice part of town, I think you should do fine so long as the market doesn't completely melt down.

We had a house on our block go up last week and it sold in a few days.

If you don't mind, after you sell it I think we would all be curious to hear how the theater affected the sale.

Thanks for the wishes everyone. I'll definitely update this thread with our progress. We have our first showing tonight actually.

Dan

Dan
So what are you including in the theater. seats? projector? or everything if they ask for it :)

I'm leaving all in-wall wiring, the side and rear surrounds that are in the columns and all the IR sending gear. If they want the whole ball of wax functioning as-is, that's negotiable.

Dan

Thanks. Here's the MLS listing that just went in today:

House Listing Link (http://www.cbshome.com/Listing/ListingDetail.aspx?Search=a4762443-6aac-4028-8891-6c8c2ebbbd0e&Listing=24600822&IRPAgentID=10273&Image=1&First=1&Last=6&pagesize=10&SearchType=&ListingDistrictTypeID=&FirstLetter=&Sort=1&Cookies=&UseColorBar=false)

Dan
Dan:
Very nice! I was in your A/O last week for a wedding-the reception was at Indian Creek Country Club. Looks like a beautiful area, you should have no problems selling your lovely home.

Your HT was an inspiration to me as well. I think I will do the "walk-thru" video too, for my relatives back in California, so they can see what we do with our "bomb shelter" basements here in fly-over country :)

Best wishes,
Tom
Chinaclipper

Great looking theater, I'm thinking of doing double doors as well. Do you get much sound loss through them?

Thanks. The doors are definitely the weakest point in my isolation but they do a good job for their price. They're well sealed with weather-stripping when closed. I don't have a threshold however. I'm just using a rubber sweep seal at the bottom so I could do better there for sure.

Dan

Dan, did you sell? MLS link comes up empty. If so, any comments on HT + real estate sales? I am in that situation (selling) now myself.

Hey Dave,

Nope, didn't sell. We had about 5 showings in the 3 months we had it listed. As it turns out, we're staying now. :) :)

Everyone that came specfically commented on the theater. I'd definitely recommend having something looping in the theater during showings. I chose The "Meet the Tank Gang" from Finding Nemo. It's family friendly and has eye catching colors. Volume was left just high enough to engage but not heard elsewhere in the house, with both doors left open. Lights were dimmed enough to still be able to see the room details but not wash out the picture too much (I did run the PJ in a "Vibrant" mode during showings to really make the picture pop with the room being somewhat lit)

Good luck to you.

Dan

the second pic from the first post 4_wallclip
i cant post pic yet, this is my first post.

Where did you get those wall clips.
I also have the ducts right at the wall, i was going to use just some L bracket until i seen this pic. Those wallclips are nice.

Hello...uh...Big...Log.....

Those clips are distributed by PAC International. www.pac-intl.com

They are the DC-04 wall clips. I personally got mine through www.silentsource.com but there are now many sources for them.

Dan

Dan has been successfully supplementing his income by beating us at our local poker game :)

A few more wins and it might be time for a new projector!

Dan,

Appreciate the sale tips. I was actually thinking of the same scene for my demo reel, unless I was able to come up with something hi def. I'll have to check the extras on the ratatoule blu ray.

Glad you get to enjoy you work.

Dan has been successfully supplementing his income by beating us at our local poker game :)

A few more wins and it might be time for a new projector!

Hardly. :) I just broke even last time. Great group of guys and a excellent time every time. Looking forward to the next one.

Dan

Dan,

Appreciate the sale tips. I was actually thinking of the same scene for my demo reel, unless I was able to come up with something hi def. I'll have to check the extras on the ratatoule blu ray.

Glad you get to enjoy you work.

My kids just watched Cars yesterday and the animated short "One Man Band" on that disc would also make an excellent demo. It sounds wonderful, it's great looking, and tells an amusing little story from beginning to end -- All the things that make a great demo.

Dan

Thanks for info on the wall clips.

big log is not what you think, just nick name, im a big guy and last name starts with Log, had the nick name for years.