The Completed Theater, updated after the theater was completed:

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/Left-Back-Reef.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/Left-Front.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/Right-Back-Speakers.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/Screen-Close-Up.jpg


First Off,

I want To thank all the people who Posted incredible tips and techniques in AVS that inspired me to get our home Theater started. I studied AVS and many other resources for over a year and learned a great Deal of info. That, plus my building background lead me to get started on our theater.

I will use this Thread as my Journal and update It on a daily basis when possible.
I will post progress pictures, Material usage, cost and time. If anyone cares to add any comments, tips or dont forgets for me along the way, please feel free to chime In.

The Space I am Using to construct our theater is our 2 car Garage which we only used for the past few years to store Junk. The Garage Is Constructed with Cement Walls on 2 Sides, The Garage Door is Metal, The Back wall and Ceiling is Drywall and Wood Studs. The Floor is Cement.

The Idea is to Build a Room inside a Room. Outside Noise is not Really an issue due to the Quiet Neighborhood we are in and the house is a quiet home for my wife and I (No Kids). Keeping noise from travelling out the theater is more of a concern, but the garage as is right now seems to keep noise within it especially well when I run power tools at 2 - 3am, but Bass will be another Story :D.

The Finished Inside Room Dimensions will be 20' x 16' x 8.5" Ceiling

Construction will be Stagger Studded walls all around with 5/8" and 1/2" sheet rock doubled layered on each side of the walls. There will also be Insulation iside the walls.

The Ceiling will Be RSIC-1 Clips and Channel Hats with 5/8" and 1/2" Sheetrock.
The Ceiling will finish as a fiber optic starfield cieling with 4 random shooting stars.

The Screen Will be 140 Diagonal (10 foot wide) Micro Perf Screen. First Row of Seating will be 135" from the Screen.

There will also be a sand filled Stage for the front of the theater. There will be a 10" high Platform for the rear Seating. The Seating will be Berkline 090's with wedges.

There will also be Soffits containing Lighting, VAC and Conduit to run future Wire additions or upgrades all around the theater.

There will Be Columns containing Side Fills and Rear surround Speakers.

All lighting will be low voltage.

Here is a layout of what the Theater layout will look like.

http://loutrixrecords.com/theater.jpg

Here is a Picture of the Actual Garage.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05292.jpg

Here is the Lumber to frame out The room which consists of
110 2" x 4" x 8'
20 2" x 6" x 8'
40 2" x 6" x 16'

Cost of framing Lumber was about $560.00

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05297.jpg

The First Stagger Studded Wall Constructed for our theater. This is the heaviest single wall I ever built at 16' x 8'-3" the rest of the walls will be 8' x 8' walls tied together.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05309.jpg

Here are some close up shots of the Stagger Studded walls for those who ask what a stagger studded wall is.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05310.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05307.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05305.jpg

Here are the rest of the 8' x 8' walls constructed and The final smaller adjoining walls to complete the 20' walls will be completed tonight. After That, its just waiting on Delivery of The Drywall, Sand and Insulation before walls get tied together.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05316.jpg

Stay Tuned, All Comments Welcomed :)

Great pics... hope it goes well.

Yes, excellent! Keep us up to date ... looks like I'll be able to learn a lot from your progress. :)

Looks like a cool project! Good luck with it.

In your diagram, it looks like you have two columns on the other walls in between the screen and front row of seats. Any reason those are offset and not across from each other? Also, I assume the boxed area in the back corner of the room is for the rack? Also, how are you going to cool the rack and the room?

Bud

that's one great looking staggered frame. looks like you got some above-average lumber quality... :)

I don't know what you've calculated your viewing angles at; but, the rear seats are too close to the rear wall.

Thanks for the pictures (esp. the staggered stud). I appreciate that you are including your material costs. Its pretty helpful.

What aspect ratio are you going for on the screen? Is that an outline of the planned screen you've taped on the wall?

I don't know if you live in a flood area but i am now converting a garge into a home theater and this weekend Hurricane Katrina flooded the area so bad that my garage was completely flooded; 6" of water through garage. My area has never flooded this bad. You may want to consider this when buiding. I am going to float the floor higher and try to seal of the garage door form future floods.

Thanks For all the Replies.

I don't know what you've calculated your viewing angles at; but, the rear seats are too close to the rear wall.

Thanks for Chiming in Dennis, What do you recommend as far as the seating from rear walls with the Space I am Working with?

The Seating is not Set in Stone Yet. The drawing is to size but scaled down. My First Mission is to accomplish a Sound Room. Then when it's time to Build the Platforms I will make any adjustments Necessary for seating. That Drawing is just for Show here.

In your diagram, it looks like you have two columns on the other walls in between the screen and front row of seats. Any reason those are offset and not across from each other? Also, I assume the boxed area in the back corner of the room is for the rack? Also, how are you going to cool the rack and the room?

The Columns in that drawing are not lined up, but they are suppose to be. I just did that drawing real quick to Show the layout for those that wanted to see it. I will be seeking more advice on column placement once the framing is constructed and tied together.

The Box in the top back is the equipment Rack. It will be A/C as well as the room. My plan was to run a/c through the soffits unless someone recommends otherwise.

that's one great looking staggered frame. looks like you got some above-average lumber quality...

Suprisingly the wood was pretty good. I just did a build that almost every piece of lumber was twisted to a 45 - 90 degree twist which was bought from Home Depot. Had To use Pliers on almost every peice due to the customer not wanting to return it.

I don't know if you live in a flood area but i am now converting a garge into a home theater and this weekend Hurricane Katrina flooded the area so bad that my garage was completely flooded; 6" of water through garage. My area has never flooded this bad. You may want to consider this when buiding. I am going to float the floor higher and try to seal of the garage door form future floods.

Actually my home is pitched pretty high from the Street level and my street is pitched downhill pretty well. With all the rain we been getting, there has been no chance of any flooding here on my street (Thank God). Even with all the past hurricane seasons and rain there was no issues. But That is one excellent point.

Well today I ordered the rest of the supplies to complete the Walls, Platform & Stage excluding electrical which will be delivered on Wednesday.

What I ordered was
60 - 5/8"s 4' x 8' Sheetrock for Double Layered Sheetrock.
16 - 5/8"s 4' x 8' Plywood For Stage and Platform
1,000 lb.s of Pavers Sand to fill Stage
1,000 SQF of R-19 Insulation for Walls, Ceiling, and Platform
24 Tubes of Silicone to seal the room
1 Roll of Roofing Felt to use between Layers of Plywood on Stage and Platform
and a few other misc. things

Total on all this $1,943.75

Also picked up other random Supplies Like Framing Nails for my Gun and Red Head Anchor Bolts to Bolt walls into the Floor and concrete walls.

Total on That $100.00

Also ordered the Fiber Optic Cables and Light Boxes and Various electronics needed to do the Starfield Ceiling and random Shooting Stars. Total Coverage area for starfield was 12' x 15' or 180 sqare feet.

Total Cost for fiber optic Starfield ceiling was $1,250.00

Next, I am waiting on a call back from Ted White to get my Green Glue Order on. Based on 100% coverage and my Total Square Footage I will need about 5 Cases and I am hoping to get a quantity discount.

Based on the List Pricing on their Site, It would be $887.40 for 5 Cases of Green Glue.

Lets See what happens. I will keep you updated.

Total Spent on Supplies to Date $3,853.75

Hi Ruben,

Keep the detailed info coming! I'm in the design stages of my theater and am soaking it all up!

Do you have a link or more info about the star-field ceiling? I really like that idea.

-Rob-

Hi Ruben,

Keep the detailed info coming! I'm in the design stages of my theater and am soaking it all up!

Do you have a link or more info about the star-field ceiling? I really like that idea.

-Rob-

No Problemo, I wanna try to help people like everyone has helped me. I am learning something new everyday as well.

The best place I found for the Fiber optic stuff was http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Ceiling.htm
they seemed to have the best Prices and were very helpful over the phone. I should receive all my fiber optic stuff by this Friday. They don't sell kits like some places do, they sell you all the materials needed to DIY and it saves you allot of money.

Today, I decided to go all out and do RSIC-1 Clips and Channel Hats on the Walls and Ceilings after reading some recent posts in here. My feelings in the beginning were mixed on wether I should do it with RSIC and Green Glue or Stagger Studded Walls with Green Glue.

Now since all the walls are constructed with Stagger Studs, I will add the clips and then Green glue between the 2 5/8"s drywall. Even though a standard studded 2" x 4" wall is fine with RSIC-1 Clips, I would hope this would give me just as good, if not a better room due to the extra cavity space within the wall.

Now to Order those RSIC-1 Clips.

What aspect ratio are you going for on the screen? Is that an outline of the planned screen you've taped on the wall?

Yes that was the out Line on the wall.
16:9 Micro Perf Screen is what we are Doing here.

Sounds like a great project. I love your detailed posts, construction costs are not often shared and it is great to see it.

It may be too late, and I don't know if it actually makes a difference or not, but, I was under the impression that doing two layers of DIFFERENT thickness drywall was ideal. I figured that it was so that each layer would have a different resonant frequency and fight each other rather than work together to transmit sound, or something like that. I also thought that was the case for platform floors too. Like I said I don't really KNOW, I was just wondering if that was the case or if it doesn't really make too much difference. Even if it does matter, I am sure with your extensive use of other treatments you will have a well isolated room.

Keep up the great work and posts,

Brian

Good luck Sandman. I was thinking the same thing about the lumber. Thats the straightest pile of wood I've seen in a long time.

Just curious, but why are you getting rid of your garage? Do you not plan to ever sell your house?

Sounds like a great project. I love your detailed posts, construction costs are not often shared and it is great to see it.

It may be too late, and I don't know if it actually makes a difference or not, but, I was under the impression that doing two layers of DIFFERENT thickness drywall was ideal. I figured that it was so that each layer would have a different resonant frequency and fight each other rather than work together to transmit sound, or something like that. I also thought that was the case for platform floors too. Like I said I don't really KNOW, I was just wondering if that was the case or if it doesn't really make too much difference. Even if it does matter, I am sure with your extensive use of other treatments you will have a well isolated room.

Keep up the great work and posts,

Brian

Green Glue eliminates the need of using 1/2" with 5/8"s. Therefor it is better to have more Mass. The Green Glue Dampens the Wall so Resonace isn't a problem.

Just curious, but why are you getting rid of your garage? Do you not plan to ever sell your house?

We have not used our garage for over 3 years besides storing Junk. The Garage was the Best place for us to do a theater without interfering with the rest of the home. We are in FL and there are no basements in FL like most other states.

If I sell the Home (which I have no intentions to within the next 10 years), the Buyer has the Option of keeping the Theater and losing the garage or Losing the Theater and getting the garage back (which we will Demolition it for them).

The Theather is Built as a room within a room Design, meaning, It can be demolitioned without effecting the Garage Walls, Ceiling and Floor besides a few 1/2" holes drilled into the Walls and Floor which can be filled and painted. The Garage door will remain in place and the Top tracks and Motorized Garage door opener will be removed.

Yeah, about $6,000.00 in building Materials will be trashed if it gets torn down, but the price of having our own dedictated theater...Priceless.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

I WAS going to add RSIC-1 Clips to the Walls and Ceiling but after talking to a Few Good people, they think adding RSIC-1 Clips to a Stagger Studded wall is way over kill.

So I just ordered My 5 cases of Green Glue from Ted White and called It a Day.

By the way, Ted White is a Great Guy to talk to, he Suggests if anyone has any questions about Home Theater Construction to call him.

Also, he offers a discount on the Green Glue to AVS forum Members.

I ended up Saving $87.40 on the Green Glue. So the 5 Cases of Green Glue cost me $800.00 plus shipping.

Total Spent on Supplies to Date $4,688.75

Green Glue eliminates the need of using 1/2" with 5/8"s.
Well, I haven't done the testing with Green Glue; but, back many years ago with a similar type of CLD material, we found that at extreme low frequencies, the damping material performed better if the backing (layer furthest from the sound) was rigid and the layer closest to the sound was more flexible. (We could test below 31.5Hz).

Sandman: looks like you are off to a good start.

One thing I noticed is 1000 lbs of sand. I hope you ordered it in plastic bags so that while it's sitting around it won't have the opportunity to get wet. Also just a guess I don't think you'll have nearly enough for that stage as drawn.


Another item, I'm not sure what you are planning on under the base plates. At a minimum I would get some of that foam on a roll. That would help fill in any voids, cut down any rattling and help keep those untreated bottom plates a little dryer.

Also plan on some plastic sheeting to use in the stage construction to "wrap the sand" In Fl a sand filled stage that might get a little damp is like an "All you can eat buffet" for your 6 legged friends. You may want to think about treated lumber.

Sandman: looks like you are off to a good start.

One thing I noticed is 1000 lbs of sand. I hope you ordered it in plastic bags so that while it's sitting around it won't have the opportunity to get wet. Also just a guess I don't think you'll have nearly enough for that stage as drawn.


Another item, I'm not sure what you are planning on under the base plates. At a minimum I would get some of that foam on a roll. That would help fill in any voids, cut down any rattling and help keep those untreated bottom plates a little dryer.

Also plan on some plastic sheeting to use in the stage construction to "wrap the sand" In Fl a sand filled stage that might get a little damp is like an "All you can eat buffet" for your 6 legged friends. You may want to think about treated lumber.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Yes, the sand is Bagged and will be stored indoors once it arrives tomorrow. If I need more, Home Depot & Lowes is only 2 blocks away from my house (Lucky me) :)

We are using #30 Roofing Felt/Tar on all the Base Plates and all the Plates that connect to Cement walls and Probably in between the connecting framed walls.. I know quite a few people used this with great results. But I am interested in what you have mentioned. Can you post a link on exactly what your talking about?

We were going to line the Stage with a 3 - 4 mill plastic to hold the Sand. I have not gotten that far into the project yet so I was going to cross that bridge when I get to it.

Thanks
Ruben

Well, I haven't done the testing with Green Glue; but, back many years ago with a similar type of CLD material, we found that at extreme low frequencies, the damping material performed better if the backing (layer furthest from the sound) was rigid and the layer closest to the sound was more flexible. (We could test below 31.5Hz).

According to Ted White, he Said that this was an unproven myth from back many years ago. He highly recommended 2 5/8"s with Green Glue in between and that is what I guess I will stick to.

I also asked Brian Ravnaas about using 1/2" and 5/8"s and his responce was...

"5/8" + 5/8" is preferable

This theory that 1/2" + 5/8" is better because the different thicknesses "stop different frequencies" is like 40 years old and never worked to begin with, really.

so, 5/8" + 5/8", but the other way won't hurt things much at all."

Good luck Sandman. I was thinking the same thing about the lumber. Thats the straightest pile of wood I've seen in a long time.

I actually Hand picked all the Lumber and made sure it was straight. I ended up only having 2 slightly bent pieces. Even the 16 Footers were pretty damn straight.

Sandman

The insulation I'm referring to is from HD. Around here one of the uses is to put it under the sill plate (a PT 2x6 or8 laid flat side down) that sits on top of the poured concrete walls used for BASEMENTS (Ah, the joys of a low water table).

I cut strips and stapled to the edges of the boards I used for my riser and it did a great job of filling in voids and making the structure sit firmly on the concrete. I think it would work great for your walls.

heres a picture:

Found a link

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/foamsealr.asp

According to Ted White, he Said that this was an unproven myth from back many years ago. He highly recommended 2 5/8"s with Green Glue in between and that is what I guess I will stick to.

I also asked Brian Ravnaas about using 1/2" and 5/8"s and his responce was...

"5/8" + 5/8" is preferable

This theory that 1/2" + 5/8" is better because the different thicknesses "stop different frequencies" is like 40 years old and never worked to begin with, really.

so, 5/8" + 5/8", but the other way won't hurt things much at all."

Perhaps i could offer a little clarification, I don't know what Ted said, but:

Dennis was one of the first people on the planet to really know anything about CLD with respect to sound isolation. Long before Audio Alloy even knew what Green Glue could do, Dennis had an idea.

CLD materials vary, and they exhibit different shear properties, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that DE's observations of the materials he worked with are anything but spot-on. However, with Green Glue the use of different thicknesses of drywall isn't an inherent advantage.

My recommendation to you was for an RSIC ceiling. As i stated, the heavier wall will perform better at low frequencies. If one of you opted for 1/2" + 5/8", don't panic, the difference won't be huge.

I would politely ask that my comments not be used to state that any opposing philosophy was wrong, that wasn't their intent, but I stand by my recommendation of double 5/8" for an RSIC ceiling due to mass and it's effect on decoupled walls.

Brian

too add some more perspective to my comments:

using all 5/8" drywall on a ceiling/floor structure assumed to have 2x10 joists and 3/4" plywood sub-floor, with RSIC clips for a net cavity depth of 9.5" + 1.625" = 11.125"


using double 5/8" drywall would give a predicted (including the stiffness of the clips, per data collected at Audio Alloys labs and Orfield labs) mass-spring resonance frequency of ~31hz. that assumes the cavity has insulation.

Moving to 5/8" + 1/2" drywall would give ~32.5hz...

this is worth maybe 1dB for lowering of teh MSM and mass.

my point: don't panic. the selection of either 5/8" + 1/2" or 5/8" + 5/8" will yield good results. I do recommend the 5/8" + 5/8" for an RSIC ceiling, i would hardly put up a big fight if someone else recommended 5/8" + 1/2". :)


to contrast this, with resilient channel on the ceiling, the mass-spring resonance should fall nearly 2/3 of an octave higher in the mid to high 40's. That should be worth MANY dB due to higher frequency of effective decoupling.

i took the liberty, recently, of collecting some 3rd party data to demonstrate this superiority of the RSIC clip relative to RC. and i even had the lab manager validate that the RC in question was 25 gauge metal. Lord knows how wide the margin would get with off-spec channel....

:)

Nice work so far! Good luck on your venture.

Thanks!

Well Today the Dry Wall, Insulation and Lumber Arrived.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05322.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05328.jpg


Thanks to BIGmouthinDC I went to Loews and found the Foam on a Roll. I was suprised that 2 Home Depots I went to didn't have it. So I got it in 5.5 in Wide to do the Walls and Floors where the Stagger Studded Framing attaches to the Concrete. I was originally going to use a #30 Roofing felt but this foam on a roll serves much better.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05321.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05318.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05327.jpg

This is the Foam on the Wall.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05326.jpg

We are now joinging the Framed walls together and bolting them to the Floors.

The framed Walls should be all up tonight.

Stay Tuned, I will Post some pictures once the framing is done.

Ruben you guys are flying! Those anchors are pretty serious looking. I'd say your structure is going to get a hurricane/earthquake certification

Glad the foam on a roll is working.

Quick question, how are you going to attach drywall to the backs of the walls if you put the frames up first. I can see that you have access to the two long walls (well at least one if you can't raise the door with the frame in place) but what about the short walls against the garage side walls?

Keep us monday morning quarterbacks posted on the progress and we'll be happy to offer suggestions.

Thanks,

Well after consulting with Ted White, He informed me not to sheetrock the outer walls that go against cement and to leave space in between the Concrete wall and wood Framing with R-19 insulation inside and just double 5/8's with GG in between on the inside of Theater.

The Wall going against the garage door is going to be the fun part. We will try to double 5/8's the outside and mud It and lift the wall into place like any other big wall. Or, put it up in 3 sections (2 8 foot sections and 1 4 foot Section). Then seal it from inside the wall (the brown Side instead of the white side).

We were also thinking about having the wall Partially leaning upwards (like top half of wall resting on stands while the bottom half is almost in position on the floor. Then apply the first layer of Drywall, Mud it then the Second layer of drywall and mud again (Stagger Drywall of course). Then after that walk the wall the rest of the way up. I may decide to do the 2 layers and rock fast and get it up before it drys, to avoid any cracking in the seams while adjusting it.

A quick glance at your room plans, as I've been in this business doing custom theaters for some time now, as well as an acoustical engineer, say's that you really have a couple of issues that will affect ultimate performance of your theater acoustically.
ONe is that, where's all the excess bass energy going? You'll really need some bass traps with limited absorption in that room, to help the "Q" of the room, from being to bass heavy and slow. I recommend accessing the space above the theater for this (do some research on this). Othewise, this will be a problem with high fidelity ultimately.
Smaller spaces don't absorb enough bass, while larger spaces absorb more bass.
Yes, you can still "EQ" things with speaker and seating, use and EQ, etc, to get flattest response possible from listening positions. STill, reverberation will be long in the bass if you can't get rid of the excess energy there.
Another thing is double drywall inside and out. I recommend double drywall on the outside only! Why?...it's going to be to "hard" sounding if you make the wall stiffer, which also hurts your "reverb" in the room in the bass....just a thought.
Also, the low ceiling in that room (8.5) will dictate etither more "controlled focus" design speakers up front, to limit ceiling interaction between you and the speakers in that setup. Otherwise, back-row listeners will get the worst of it in this respect.
Using typical "tweeter over mid/bass driver" designs, won't help you here, maybe benefited by "first order crossover" designs however. STill, THX, Dappolito's, Horn's, Planner/electrostat's, and other similar will help greatly!
Otherwise, plan on doing some acoustics on the ceiling! I suggest looking at what PMI makes in there "cine-pannels"??? I think that's what
they call em. Anyway, unless you do your own acoustics, these pannels look great, and work fantastic!...just a though. Also, bass traps in all the corners, treating all corner reflection points helps.
Also, I recommend Russ Hershelmann's theater seating/speaker layout scheme for you. That means "no center seat", as that's the worst in the room!!!! (lot's of peaks and dips in the response...not good!).
As things look now, your seating spots are difficult acoustic spots It appears. Also, speaker locations should correspond and compliment the seating possitions.
Do some research???...
Also, doing a 140" diag in that size room? I recommend against.
Even if you're using a 1920x1080 rez, progressive, it's still better smaller around 100-120" max! I think you'll run into seeing more than you want as far as pixles, scan lines, low rez, whatever. That's just me however.
WE all want a big pic, but BALANCE is critical with your viewing distance. I prefer quality over quantity myself. But whatever floats your boat...it's all groovy, you know?
Anyway, your sitting at less than 1x's the diagonal, which most pro's would shun, even with higher rez. To each his own however.
Back to sound, you might want to do some research on speaker placment before you cement things in. Otherwise, plan on some serious "EQ'ing"! Still, the foundation is seating and speaker location, locaiton, location! Don't get that right, and you'll never have serious sound.
Good luck...looks fun

ONe is that, where's all the excess bass energy going? You'll really need some bass traps with limited absorption in that room, to help the "Q" of the room, from being to bass heavy and slow. I recommend accessing the space above the theater for this (do some research on this). Othewise, this will be a problem with high fidelity ultimately.
Smaller spaces don't absorb enough bass, while larger spaces absorb more bass.
Yes, you can still "EQ" things with speaker and seating, use and EQ, etc, to get flattest response possible from listening positions. STill, reverberation will be long in the bass if you can't get rid of the excess energy there.
Another thing is double drywall inside and out. I recommend double drywall on the outside only! Why?...it's going to be to "hard" sounding if you make the wall stiffer, which also hurts your "reverb" in the room in the bass....just a thought.
Also, the low ceiling in that room (8.5) will dictate etither more "controlled focus" design speakers up front, to limit ceiling interaction between you and the speakers in that setup. Otherwise, back-row listeners will get the worst of it in this respect.
Using typical "tweeter over mid/bass driver" designs, won't help you here, maybe benefited by "first order crossover" designs however. STill, THX, Dappolito's, Horn's, Planner/electrostat's, and other similar will help greatly!
Otherwise, plan on doing some acoustics on the ceiling! I suggest looking at what PMI makes in there "cine-pannels"??? I think that's what
they call em. Anyway, unless you do your own acoustics, these pannels look great, and work fantastic!...just a though. Also, bass traps in all the corners, treating all corner reflection points helps.
Also, I recommend Russ Hershelmann's theater seating/speaker layout scheme for you. That means "no center seat", as that's the worst in the room!!!! (lot's of peaks and dips in the response...not good!).
As things look now, your seating spots are difficult acoustic spots It appears. Also, speaker locations should correspond and compliment the seating possitions.
Do some research???...
Also, doing a 140" diag in that size room? I recommend against.
Even if you're using a 1920x1080 rez, progressive, it's still better smaller around 100-120" max! I think you'll run into seeing more than you want as far as pixles, scan lines, low rez, whatever. That's just me however.
WE all want a big pic, but BALANCE is critical with your viewing distance. I prefer quality over quantity myself. But whatever floats your boat...it's all groovy, you know?
Anyway, your sitting at less than 1x's the diagonal, which most pro's would shun, even with higher rez. To each his own however.
Back to sound, you might want to do some research on speaker placment before you cement things in. Otherwise, plan on some serious "EQ'ing"! Still, the foundation is seating and speaker location, locaiton, location! Don't get that right, and you'll never have serious sound.
Good luck...looks fun

Thanks for your thoughts.

Were you thinking I was thinking once I finish drywalling the room it would be all done? I hope not. Just because my quick drawing didn't indicate Room treatments doesn't mean I'm not treating the room. My Drawing just shows the construction layout without the the Soffits.

There will be plenty of spots to incorporate Bass Traps ie. behind the Screen wall, Soffits or Columns. I will be treating the whole room. For the immediate time being, I am just getting the heavy work done with the space I have using the suggestions of my fellow pro Audio/Home Theater people here at AVS and locally. I believe that when the room is done, it should be air tight and contain sound very well. Then once thats accomplished, then It will come time to treat the Room accoustically. My first concern is containing the sound within the room without any leakage.

I have really no space above to treat the ceiling with Bass traps, and I dont care to either. I will seek furter advice on this when I get the walls fully constructed.

As far as a System, I am using a Martin Logan System containing Odyssey's for the Fronts, Aeons for the Rears, Scripts for the Side Fills and The Theater for the Center.
The Sub is a 18" Velodyne HGS-18. The Receiver is a B&K AVR 507 with B&K 200.1 Monoblocks.

As far as Screen Size, Yes I am Doing it Big. It Doesn't mean I have to have that big of a picture if it proves to be bad (Thank god for Zoom and Masking). But The Optoma H79 projector with a 10 foot screen and seating at 10 feet away has to be much better than our last Eiki Powerhouse One LCD Projector that we Sat 10 feet away from with a 14 Foot Screen shot on a white painted wall. I rather have a Big screen now, so in the future if I relocate, I can perhaps have a bigger room for the screen.

Money is really no object for me to complete this the right way. I will seek services of an audio tech to analyze the room once the initial concept is done and plenty of them are right here in Boca Raton. I will not begin major accoustic treatments until the room construction is completed and analyzed professioinally.

Rubin, I've got the 79 if you have any questions.

Been thinking about that wall against the garage door. One thing that I would investigate is if there was any way possible to make the door removable from the outside for construction purposes and for future access if you need to do some maintenance on the door either due to deteriation or careless parking by a visitor eager to see the theater.

I know on my wood doors all the bolts holding it in place are tightened from the inside but if I reversed the bolts maybe I could remove a panel from the outside. If you could modify the top panel mounting so that you could remove it from the outside then you could reach in and unbolt the other panels. Maybe leave the top panel held in place only by the hinges to the panel below and some latches at the very top secured to the door frame. Just thinking out loud.


All said, I don't have a clue what kind of door you have but it's worth thinking about now before it's too late.

If you could do your double rock through the open door that would save a lot of hassle.

Rubin, I've got the 79 if you have any questions.

Been thinking about that wall against the garage door. One thing that I would investigate is if there was any way possible to make the door removable from the outside for construction purposes and for future access if you need to do some maintenance on the door either due to deteriation or careless parking by a visitor eager to see the theater.

I know on my wood doors all the bolts holding it in place are tightened from the inside but if I reversed the bolts maybe I could remove a panel from the outside. If you could modify the top panel mounting so that you could remove it from the outside then you could reach in and unbolt the other panels. Maybe leave the top panel held in place only by the hinges to the panel below and some latches at the very top secured to the door frame. Just thinking out loud.


All said, I don't have a clue what kind of door you have but it's worth thinking about now before it's too late.

If you could do your double rock through the open door that would save a lot of hassle.

Thanks for those ideas. I am going to look further into that. The garage door is Metal.

Had some time to think about that door as I drove around to a couple of different carpet stores today in search of the perfect carpet for my HT.

what if you take everything out, all the tracks

Then put a 1x1 piece of trim moulding around the perimeter of the inner part of the opening. Lay the first section down tight to the ground (assuming you have a good seal at the bottom. At the edges screw through the 1x1 with stainless steel screws holding the section in place. Move up and do each section one at a time, If there are screw on hinges use them to secure section to section if not invent something else.

Man, you read my mind. I was thinking the same Idea. Going to look at it now.

I finally noticed that you actually had some pics of the door (hidden behind your piles of goodies)

I think you'll need to something with the venting at the bottom
I also think the door would benefit from some material glued to the back to reduce sound transfer (like compressed fiberglass panels glued to the back)

Sandman, keep this in mind...
I'm not talking about some bass trap cyliners stuck in a corner here and there! I'm talking about real bass traps that actually do something to your overall reverb and bass response in the room!!!....SERIOUS BASS TRAP ABSORPTION.
This is one of the most overlooked in home theater construction, especially by enthusiests.
Bass waves are big and long(ehem...). They need serios space to absorb...thus the attic/ceiling recommendation.
Anyway, if it's workable, I'd work it into the "build", definitely!
Anyway, these all add up to better and better sound, even dubbing studio quality reproduction in response.
Never the less, at the very least you might strongly consider my seating/speaker placement suggestions as a foundation. Even response and flat response all around is a key core fundamental. It all adds up remember, just like gourmet cooking...only more lasting and worth while if you ask me. The difference between what everyone else ends up with , and world class!
Cheers

The rear platform is a huge cavity filled with insulation. How about Drilling Holes or Making Slots in the front of the Platform/Riser to absorb the Bass?

A few people have done this in the past, do you know anything about that?

Thanks
Ruben

If anyone here has used their Platform for a large Basstrap, let me know.

I am also looking to hire someone in the South Florida Area to come analyze my room. If anyone can recommend someone, please let me know.

Thanks
Ruben

Hello Sandmanx

Great thread keep the info coming. I have a construction question for you.
If you don't drywall the back of your walls do you still need the staggered walls? I was thinking you could just build a standard wall and put it a couple inches a way from the concrete and have the same effect. I'm going to be in a similair situation and just want to know if either way would work.

Also nice to see another Martin Logan theater. I have all ML's and an 18" Vely. as well.

Hello Sandmanx

Great thread keep the info coming. I have a construction question for you.
If you don't drywall the back of your walls do you still need the staggered walls? I was thinking you could just build a standard wall and put it a couple inches a way from the concrete and have the same effect. I'm going to be in a similair situation and just want to know if either way would work.

Also nice to see another Martin Logan theater. I have all ML's and an 18" Vely. as well.
No it was not necessary to do a Stagger Studded wall against a concrete wall if your leaving the back of the wall open. We just happened to construct all our walls first before finding out we didn't have to seal the back side thats against the concrete.

We left a 1" gap between the framed wall and the concrete.

The purpose of a Stagger Studded wall is to minimize the transfer of sound through the drywall by making sure the drywall on both sides does not connect to the same verticle stud. It also increases the dept of your cavity too, to help trap sound.

So a 2" x 4" standard wall would of worked fine too if its running against a concrete wall with a gap between the Framing studs and concrete wall. But also, the deeper the cavity, the better.

Just an update, all the Framing is pretty much done just some minor framing members that need to be added to the equpment rack. The A/C is supply is installed.

The Green Glue came in and the Fiber Optics came in for the Star Field Ceiling. We are insulating the room now with the R-19 and running the Conduits for the Projector, Sheet Rock will go up later today.

To keep the room sealed as much as possible, We will not be cutting any holes in the Sheet Rock for outlets or any lighting. All Outlets and Lighting will all be installed in the Soffits and Columns. The Outlets for the Equipment Rack will be installed inside the rack closet outside the wall. The outlets for the Sub and Speakers Behind the Screen wall will be outside the wall as well.

Here is the Framed Room. Its a bit messy cause I wanted to get these flicks before the Insulation goes up.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05333.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05343.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05344.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05345.jpg

We added a emergency exit window so the room has 2 exits in case of a fire. That will be a removable section of the wall that will be sealed with a light silicone.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05347.jpg

This is the equipment rack we still need to finish the framing on it. You see the HVAC Supply in it.
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05339.jpg

Great work you are really making fast progress. As has been mentioned before that's the best looking lumber I've ever seen used for framing. Those "hand picked"ceiling joists almost look like "furniture" grade. I imagine the next customer got stuck with the crap I usually end up with.

I see that the drywall is in place on the outside of the garage door wall. What did you end up doing about the garage door? and keep the pictures coming.

I see that the drywall is in place on the outside of the garage door wall. What did you end up doing about the garage door? and keep the pictures coming.

Thanks Man,

That wall was a headache. First we Drywalled the 16 foot wall laying down with studs under it to hold one side up a bit, but once it got double drywalled it was absolutely way to heavy to raise without a lift or much more men.

So we ended up cutting it into 2 even 8 foot sections and then were able to get them in place. Once all 3 walls were leveled and lined up we bolted them down to the floors then tied them together with a 16 footer at top. We Siliconed thoroughly between the joined walls and a Layer of drywall is going in between the 2 inside studs where the wall joins on the inside.

As for the Garage Door, we left the Metal one up as is and I just Secured the whole door so it doesn't rattle. On the Outside of the Garage Door we wil be putting up a dummy solid wood Garage Door with Insulation in between the Metal Door and the New Wood Door that will be held in place with Studs.

Today We have to draw out all the Studs and star hole positions on the 10 Sheets of sheet rock that will be the Top layer for the Ceiling. We are doing this so that none of the fibers for the Star Ceiling end up under a joist or get a screw through them.

Today I also ordered my Chairs. Berkline just came out with a New Chair the 075 which we actually love. They are even a little wider than the 090's and we love the modern look of them. Our theater color combination is going to be Black and Red. So I used a picture of the Chair that was in other colors and changed the Colors in Photoshop.

The red we will be getting will be a brighter red than whats in the picture below. The chair will be a Red Leather with a Black Microfabric combination. The chairs will come with Buttkickers installed as well.

I got them from Leather-Direct which gave me the absolute best price I could find online.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Chairs-Revised.jpg

Those seats look like they belong in a $200,000 sports car. I used Leatherdirect myself and was quite surprised when the chairs arrived from the factory in 21 days. They came on a freight truck in these HUGE boxes. The driver actually helped me unpack my 6 and carry them inside and would not take a tip. He would take a cold soda and bottle of water. Let's hope you have the same level of service. You get a phone call from the freight company and then they want to come the next day if possible.

I think I spent about 2 hours cutting up those boxes into sizes small enough for the curbside pick-up. They also come with some pretty durable foam bag packaging which I saved and have used for a number of projects and protection during construction. It's kind of like big bags made with that foam on a roll stuff.

Today I also ordered my Chairs. Berkline just came out with a New Chair the 075 which we actually love. They are even a little wider than the 090's and we love the modern look of them. Our theater color combination is going to be Black and Red. So I used a picture of the Chair that was in other colors and changed the Colors in Photoshop.

The red we will be getting will be a brighter red than whats in the picture below. The chair will be a Red Leather with a Black Microfabric combination. The chairs will come with Buttkickers installed as well.

I got them from Leather-Direct which gave me the absolute best price I could find online.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Chairs-Revised.jpg


Man, those chairs are nice looking!!
I wish I had them instead of my 090's. :(

Looking good, keep it up.

Craig

Updates,
First Layer of Dry wall is up.
We raised the Ceiling to 9' By eliminating the Ceiling Joists and attaching 3 layers of 5/8"s Dry Wall with Green Glue between each Layer to the Existing Ceiling which has a 24" insulated cavity between the Garage Ceiling and the Floor boards above.

I spoke to a few People and they were not really sure on what would be Better Based on my Situation. It was a Toss up between RSIC Clips with Double 5/8's and GG vs 3 Layers of 5/8"s with 2 Layers of GG at 100% Coverage on each Layer. So I did the 3 Layers.

Here is Some Shots of Green Glue applied to a Layer.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05376.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05373.jpg

I currently Got some incredible Renders of the Room from Ryan Kramer being worked on and BPape is Setting up the preliminary Treatments for the Room.

Stay Tuned..

Are you saying that you took out all those "handpicked" good looking ceiling joists and just put 3 layers over top of the one existing layer of drywall?

If yes how did you extend your wall framing up to the ceiling? just curious.

There was a lot of conversation with myself and Brian R. about how to deal with the ceiling. He wanted to move it up to 9' for a more spacious feel.

The options were:

1. Rip off the existing drywall and put up RSIC and hat channel and double DW with GG.

2. Go RSIC and hat under the existing DW - dismissed early on.

3. Go 3 layers of DW with GG in between the layers.

The 3 layers were determined to be probably a wash with option 1 performance wise for less cost.

My intial recommendation was to pull the drywall, use DC-04's to attach the walls to the joists above, and then do RSIC, 2 layers, and GG for the ceiling. This would be the max for isolation purposes. Cost became an issue and Brian said either method would yield good performace so he decided to just do 3 layers on the ceiling.

His main concern is keeping sound from getting to the outside world. Above him are 2 guest rooms that are rarely used.

Sounds good. Still curious about how he dealt with the walls which were a foot short?

Sounds good. Still curious about how he dealt with the walls which were a foot short?

Yep, We pulled those Joists down.

We just Framed out Short Walls to run from the Top of the Existing walls to the Garage Ceiling. So the short walls were like 20' x 9" They got liquid Nailed and Hard Nailed to the Existing 100" Tall Wall.

We Have a 24" Insulated Cavity, so It should be Fine.

Sandman,

Looks good, man you're making some progress! Mine is just crawling along.....

So we Had to order some More Green Glue. Another 2 Cases to complete the Room.
So another $320.00 plus Shipping for that.

Also ended up picking up 18 More Sheets of 5/8"s Drywall to finish the Room, which was another $200.00.

Seats got ordered, The Bill was $4,600.00 for 7 Leather/Microfabric chairs Delivered.

Our cleaning Lady's Husband happens to do Taping and Mudding for a living and Said he will Do the whole Room for $75.00. I hate Taping / mudding so that was good news for me.

More to come

Would he like to come do some work for me!? That's DIRT cheap.

I currently Got some incredible Renders of the Room from Ryan Kramer being worked on


Cool. Care to share the renders with the forum? I'd like to see the work of another 3d modeler. I'm sure he'll embarass my efforts. :o

Are you sure about $75.

I think in the translation he said "$75 a sheet". She heard $75 for that Sheet.

just kidding but I really think you should check man. The going rate around here is $ 200-250 per day for skilled (residency not a requirement) drywall finishing. And I don't see how he can do your job in less than 4 half day sessions with drying time in between.

Are you sure about $75.

I think in the translation he said "$75 a sheet". She heard $75 for that Sheet.

just kidding but I really think you should check man. The going rate around here is $ 200-250 per day for skilled (residency not a requirement) drywall finishing. And I don't see how he can do your job in less than 4 half day sessions with drying time in between.


Yeah Man, The Guy Said $75 to do the First Layer of Dry Wall with one Coat and Tape and Second Layer of Drywall with Tape and 2 Coats all for $75.00 plus a Bag or 2 of Fast Drying Compound which is like $8.00 a bag. This guy said it would take him one hour to do the first Layer and another Hour the following day to do the Second Layer.

His wife Cleans our home so I think he is doing it more as a favor. The Room is 20'-6" x 15' x 9' Ceiling. a little over 300 SQF.

For $75.00 I aint complaining :D Saves me the big headache of doing the Ceiling as well.

Here are there renders I got so Far. What really blows me away about them is the Texture in the Chairs and surroundings.

They are still being finished up as far as Walls and Patterns and Lighting placement...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/1.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/2.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/3.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/4.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/5.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/6.jpg

Wow! Great room SandmanX! I'm planning to rebuild my livingroom this winter and I'm going for the same wall config, 2x4" with insulation and a sandwich of 5/8 + soundboard + 5/8 sheetrock all glued together.

Will be a treat to follow your progress with the room and hopefully it will give me a few pointers too!

Btw. anybody: would it help the dampening properties of my room to add a 1" MDF board inside the room to the sandwich mentioned above ? Or will the MDF be too hard compared with the sheetrock surface, thinking of sound reflection etc. ?

Sandman those renderings are unbelievable. With that motivation I can see why you are still up at 4am.

Would you forgive some questions and comments on the renders? I don't mean to distract from your thread.

Thanks for sharing the renderings. I must admit that some of the effects are very nice. I think I could get closer to them if I use an external renderer called yafray with blender. But I need to upgrade my PC to do that.

The first render looks quite good. He did an excellent job of custom modelling the chairs you plan to use. You should appreciate that. I am sure some work was involved there.

In the second one down, I am thourougly confused by the door. It kind of looks like it is encased in water. Is that just a WIP that will be changed or is that somehow an effect you are aiming for in the actual theater? Looks like he could improve the texture on the top of the columns as well in this image.

The 3rd and 5th images show some closeups of the textures on the chairs. It looks like he applied a nor map to the model to and maybe had the depth a little much. I've never seen a chair that looks like that.

I understand these are a WIP and the final products will probably kick butt. Just some questions and comments from the peanut gallery and another 3d modeller. Great work, it's always fun to see someone else's efforts.

reap

Do you know what software is being used? It looks like 3ds.

Taping and Mudding of the First Layer begins Today.

Pictures to Follow.

Do you know what software is being used? It looks like 3ds.
Hey Reaper, Ryan Kramer is me. :-)

I'm still working on the renders, these are works in progress as we go.

The program is still Cinema 4D for me, one day I might change. :-)

The door has a bump map on it set to high with a transparency that's too severe. Don't worry, it's been fixed since then.

The first render looks quite good. He did an excellent job of custom modelling the chairs you plan to use. You should appreciate that. I am sure some work was involved there.


Awww, you DO know your stuff. Thanks for the nod.

Sandman and I are doing the back and forth game right now. I'm supposed to have final renders to him tonight. Any other questions, just ask. ^_^

Hey, it's Chirpie! I could have sworn that his renders looked uncannily like your own theater models. Funny that I only know you by Chirpie :)

It's cool that we can discuss the models some. I assumed it was some high power theater designer that would have no time for it. Those equipment models on his rack look familiar as well. Pulled straight from your model?

You have to post the finals, guys, K? I am anxious to see your stage area and the updated textures on the chairs. nice job so far. I have some competition now. :)

Hey, it's Chirpie! I could have sworn that his renders looked uncannily like your own theater models. Funny that I only know you by Chirpie :)

It's cool that we can discuss the models some. I assumed it was some high power theater designer that would have no time for it. Those equipment models on his rack look familiar as well. Pulled straight from your model?


Nope, no higher power here. Yeah, my secret identiy is out. ^_^ Oh well.

The equipment rack is a slightly modified version of the one I did for my theater. The columns are from my theater model because sandman had expressed he liked the design. So we used that as a starting point. Everything else is built from scratch since the room is a different size. It's just easier to do it that way than go and select every shape, resizing them.


You have to post the finals, guys, K? I am anxious to see your stage area and the updated textures on the chairs. nice job so far. I have some competition now. :)

It's Sandman's rules, but I'm sure he will. ^_^

Wow! Sandman, awesome concept, progress, and generosity sharing so much info. this is the single best DIY theater construction thread I've seen so far.

I really think you can take - practically word for word - this thread and repackage it into a pdf manual (with the detail I'm sure you're going to add - based on your postings thus far - on the finishing of the project).

One day when I have a job that doesn't require me to move every 2-3 years, I hope I'll be posting about my theater construction!

Again, awesome post, awesome (future) theater!

Thanks for all the great comments!

Update:
The Gilford of Maine Fabric Arrived today. Thanks to The members here at AVS for letting me up on Fabricmate. I got the best price I could find of $12.00 a Yard and the standard Delivery was super Fast!!!

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05393.jpg

Here is the Track system by Fabricmate Used for Framing out the Panels that everyone was wondering about. Basically You cut your 45 - 46 degree angle cuts at the ends to make your frame. Liquid Nail it and Staple it to the Walls and put your 1 " 703 or whatever you use inside the frame for treatment and then use a pizza cutter to put the fabric into the gripping section. This holds the fabric very well and Saves you a Ton of Labor and Staples. They Do however Cost $2.90 a Foot if you buy under 200 feet and $2.50 a Foot if you buy 200 Feet and up. They come in 5 foot Lengths.

I will build a Dummy 12" x 12" Frame tonight to test it out.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05400.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05401.jpg

Drywall Updates:

The 3 Layer Ceiling Is Finished and top of the walls are Being Closed up as I type this. The Guy that is Doing the Taping and Mudding for $75.00 is also now helping put up the final Drywall. Not Bad.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05381.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05380.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05382.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05384.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05385.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05386.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05388.jpg

More Pictures to Come...

The Taping Guy Has Some really Long Funny looking Legs ;)
He should be a basketball Player.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05404.jpg

Some New Renders. I just asked Ryan to make the Towers a little less wide and a couple little other changes before it is Perfect to me.

Now My Biggest Question with my 9 foot ceilings is, if I should go with a Coffered Ceiling like you see in the renders below or without? A coffered ceiling will hide the seams on the star Panels we are making, which are 4' x 4' Panels wrapped in Black GoM.

What do you guys think?

With the Coffered Ceiling...
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-2.jpg

Without the Coffered Ceiling...
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-10.jpg

Here are some more renders of the Room...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-1.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-3.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-4.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-5.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-6.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-7.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Picture-8.jpg

1 vote for coffered ceiling
and

If your taking them

1 vote for grey carpet


Looks great either way, keep up the good work, I am sure you'll enjoy the heck out of your theater when you are done.

Later,
Brian

A coffered ceiling is an architectural design that tends to make the ceiling seem lower. That's why you normally only see it used on 10ft and higher ceilings. If you prefer that lower feel go coffered. I prefer a higher, more expansive "feel", especially with star lights, so I vote for non-coffered.

I also vote for the gray carpet.

Your whole design is stunning. It will be super no matter what you decide.

Patterned grey carpet (not monochrome). Reason red chairs on red carpet makes the chairs kind of "disappear" in the room. And those chairs have style you want them to be "in your face". If everything else is Monochrome. it helps to have some surface with some pattern. Also I'm putting black on my stage steps.

See attached pictures of trim detail for a different ceiling treatment interesting use of "pinstipes" (not mine but it has a high WAF factor)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=38205

Lastly I have the Kenroy "Leonardo" sconces shown in the renderings. After experimentation I discovered the following. They take candlelabra base bulbs. Don't just run out and get the standard clear pointed candelabra bulbs. I found that using the round GE reveal bulbs gives the best light in my blue/grey room. Also if you bend the bulb holders out to a position where the bulbs are the furthest away from the wall you get the best wall wash effect (less wall shadows).

I vote for either no coffered ceilings or smaller, thinner cross-sections so it doesn't come down from the ceiling as far.

Renders are great!

:eek:

I like the coffer too but would agree that something a bit less massive would infringe less on the 'feel' of spaciousness.

Definitely grey carpet. make the curtains and chairs stand out.

I like the coffer too but would agree that something a bit less massive would infringe less on the 'feel' of spaciousness.

Definitely grey carpet. make the curtains and chairs stand out.



The Carpet is Suppose to be Black, but it looks grey in those renders for some reason.

Hi sandman great work!! I was wondering what are the offsets for each stud in the wall is one side 16 Oc and the othe 16 Oc. Thanks for the info!!

Mark

Definitely do the coffered ceiling, gives a entirely different and classier look to the room.

The Carpet is Suppose to be Black, but it looks grey in those renders for some reason.

That's partly my fault in that I changed the levels on the renders a bit in Photoshop. It made them a little more grey than they should have appeared. ^_^;

Hi sandman great work!! I was wondering what are the offsets for each stud in the wall is one side 16 Oc and the othe 16 Oc. Thanks for the info!!

Mark

Thanks, Yes the Studs or 16 on Center both Sides.

Typical HT Rooms, unless your budget is unlimited, are comprised of a great amount of compromises. Taking into consideration the fact that you have a 9' ceiling I vote for the coffered ceiling, maybe you could do as Scott had mentioned and reduce the amount of drop a bit. If you only had an 8' ceiling I would have voted for non-coffered. I think the amount of class it adds to the room is worth losing a few inches of headroom. In the renders it looks like you removed the soffit uplighting with the coffered ceiling which I think is a great idea as well or it might look to busy.

In the renders it looks like you removed the soffit uplighting with the coffered ceiling which I think is a great idea as well or it might look to busy.

That was a bit of an assumption on my part... I felt it'd cover up the fiber optic ceiling too much and left it out. Sorry if I wasn't supposed to. ^_^

You guys... this thing looks awesome!!
I vote for the coffered ceilings. Just make the cross sections smaller like SVonhof mentioned. ;)

Craig

Update:

Double Layer Drywall Is Done on walls and 3 Layers on ceiling with GG in between. Also All finished Mudding. Equipment Rack is the Last to do because the AC guy needs to get in above It to run the Supply and return Lines and make the Duct Boxes to feed the room.

Also finished Pre Cutting all the 3/4" MDF for the Soffits.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05410.jpg

Here are some boring Drywall flicks

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05412.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05413.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05414.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05415.jpg
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05416.jpg

More to Come...

An Update,

We are no Longer going to use MDF for the Soffits, actually we were never planning on using MDF (a misunderstanding on my behalf). The Soffits are going to be framed out with 2" x 2"s and left open to be used as bass traps and will get filled will Cotton Batts or a mix of Cotton/R-19 and the Frame will get wrapped with a paper so the Highs don't get Sucked up then covered with GoM.

The Light Trays will still be made out of MDF and part of the Columns too. The Left over MDF will be used for another project I have to do in our home once this project gets completed.

I been getting a couple PMs from people wondering about how I am treating the room. I recently brought BPape in on my project to consult me on how to acoustically treat my room and he is doing an awesome job.

So Far we Tackled the Bass Absorbtion Issues by turning the Soffits and Columns into Bass Traps and Making some Bass Trap Panels for behind the Screen wall Using Cotton Batts.

We are now working on treating all the reflection points on the Walls & Ceiling. He is a great guy to work with and loves talking about this and thinking out great solutions.

More to Come...

Thanks for the kind words. For those following along, the front corners will have broadband bass absorbers floor to ceiling (gotta love false walls). With the speakers he is using up front, doing too much in terms of soft absorbtion on the front wall is a concern.

Between the main speakers and between the broadband absorbers and the speakers will be wooden sealed resonant panel traps. Out in the room on the wall bottoms, there will be a few more of the panel type traps but tuned to a different center frequency.

Updates...

Its been a slow week due to my helpers grandmother passing away and him having to go to NY to attend the Funeral and Wake. So this week I got the Duct Work installed by a pro (cost $250.00). I Framed out The Platform and Stage by myself this week as well.

I also got my Supplies for the Bass Traps and treatments for the room from BPape which was extremely good priced, he is really working with me.

I am holding Off on doing the Soffits until my helper comes back.

Here are the Cotton Batts for the Bass Traps along with other Stuff That Arrived from BPape. It was allot of Boxes! Boxes were Big but not Heavy, after all its only cotton and fiberglass.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/accoustics.jpg

Here is the Duct work that got done. We used Duct board instead of Flex to reduce sound transmission because the Ducts act like a muffler and pretty much kills sound going through it. I already tested them out by placing a Speaker blasting in front of the Duck openings and went inside the home and Heard absolutely nothing coming through the exchanger or supplies. The Ducts still need to be encased and sealed with 3/4" MDF...
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/duct.jpg

Here is the Platform the Chairs will be on, the Platform was built in 2 parts made out of 2" x 12"s and took about 5 hours to make by Myself. It will contain Outlets and Conduits and will be filled with Insulation. The Widow in the Back will be Sealed once all my materials are brought in. The window was a big convinience, saved walking through the house with everything...
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/platform.jpg

Here is the Stage, which will be filled with about 4,000 lbs of sand. The Stage was built in 4 parts which are not tied together yet in the pictures below.
The stage was made with 2" x 10"s and Took about 4 hours to make.
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/stage.jpg
Front View of Stage
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/stage-front.jpg

This is a Side View of the Room to show the distance between the Stage and Platform
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/side-view.jpg

By the way, taking these pictures was impossible without a Wide Angle Lens, I could not Capture the whole side. I forgot I had one, so I ended up using it :D

More to come Soon...

You are really moving and that framing looks great. I think that the Sandman will soon be hauling that sand to fill the stage.

Let's see if my prediction that you don't have enough holds true.

Also don't forget that you don't want to fasten the stage to the walls. Leave a little gap. That way any vibration created in the stage won't get to the walls.

I may have missed this, but what is going to be the distance between first row and screen? How big is the screen?
I love the stage. It looks like you could actually use it! It really has some character. :)
Also love the way your riser curves as well. You are doing a wonderfull job.

Craig

You are really moving and that framing looks great. I think that the Sandman will soon be hauling that sand to fill the stage.

Let's see if my prediction that you don't have enough holds true.

Also don't forget that you don't want to fasten the stage to the walls. Leave a little gap. That way any vibration created in the stage won't get to the walls.

Thanks for the great comments guys, you guys keep giving me motivation.

From what it says on the bag, it takes 11 50lb. bags to fill a 4' x 4' x 4" area. The Main stage without the little radius sections in front is 43" x 181" x 9.5" tall. After you take out all the Space for the 12 Joists in the middle that takes away 18" from 180" which ends up being 163" x 43"x 9.5" ID

So 163" x 43" x 9.5 is 66,585.5 Square Inches and 11 50 lb. bags is 9,216 Square Inches. 66,585 divided by 9,216 equals 7.2 so 7.2 x 11 bags is 79.47 bags.

I ordered 80 bags (4,000 lbs.) plus I had 2 here already, so I have 82 bags total.

But who knows, my math could be way off?

As far as not attaching the front Stage to the walls, that was my first intention to avoid transfer of vibration to the walls. I even used Foam on a roll all around the sides of the stage that meets the walls and left a half inch gap all around the stage. But after talking to BPape which is consulting me on this project, he said it would be fine to tie the stage into the wall. I still think I rather not tie the stage into the wall and will talk to him further on that. I personally rather keep the stage floating.

The Distance from the first row of eyes to the screen is 120" The width of the screen is 120" or 138" diagonal 16:9. I personally like a Big Picture and will be sitting up front. Second Row of eyes is 185" from the Screen.

The Big Question for Me Now is whether to have a Lip or not on the Stage and Platform. A Lip will be great to run a rope under for accent lighting. I may be running Fiber optics for my rope lighting instead of rope lighting. Its just a Pain in the ass to keep having sections of the rope burning out on you when Fiber is Lifetime with only having to change one or 2 bulbs when they go.

Thanks
Ruben

Ruben, FYI, I have had no problems with any of the sections of rope-light burning out. This is probably helped by the fact that I have a Lutron Grafik Eye controlling the lights and it never goes full-off to full-on instantly, but always ramps up to the level that it is set to. The minimum time for ramp-up I have set is 1 second.

Ruben,

I'm sure you never thought about filling a stage when you picked your moniker ;)

As for attaching the stage to the walls - with the isolated wall construction, I don't see it being a problem at all to attach it. Realistically with all that sand in it - you probably don't NEED to - that's for sure. With all the sand in it, I also hardly think there will be much of any vibration that it'll be passing to the walls. Either way will work. I personally don't think there will be any difference either way. I just prefer to tie everything together and make it as solid as possible.

Way back on the first page:

"What I ordered was

1,000 lbs. of Pavers Sand to fill Stage"

OK so you have 4 times as much as I thought. That should do it.

This is amazing!
it should work out like a charm, because you VISuALiSed everything before doing it in great detail.
I hope your sound mats will keep sound away from neighbors well.
Great work, good luck ! :)

On the lip thing. From my local consultant "Clarence"

A lip aids in installing the carpet. You carpet it with two pieces rather than bending one piece over and down. When the carpet installers showed up at his place he asked them and ended up ripping a 2x4 in half and mounting to the edge of the plywood. (not certain that would work for curved sections).

To SandmanX and Reaper;

These renderings that you guys do are blowing me away. It's almost more exciting to see the drawings that you do, than the finished HT's. Awesome work, and it must be nice to have an almost exact idea of what your theater will look like before it's even started. That'll keep you nailing and drywalling.

I have made some drawings using a program called Corel Draw. It's a good program, for what it is (more of a semi-techincal drawing program, but less technical than AutoCad) and if I were a real ace with it, I could make the pictures more photo-like, but comparatively, my drawings are almost like clip art or stick figures. Still it's handy to be able to plot things out to scale on computer and change things quickly as needed.

Keep up the renderings ! they are really neat to see.

Cheers, Tom Kay, Ottawa Canada.

Way back on the first page:

"What I ordered was

1,000 lbs. of Pavers Sand to fill Stage"

OK so you have 4 times as much as I thought. That should do it.

Yeah, that was some real Bad figuring on my behalf :) You was right.

To SandmanX and Reaper;

These renderings that you guys do are blowing me away. It's almost more exciting to see the drawings that you do, than the finished HT's. Awesome work, and it must be nice to have an almost exact idea of what your theater will look like before it's even started. That'll keep you nailing and drywalling.

I have made some drawings using a program called Corel Draw. It's a good program, for what it is (more of a semi-techincal drawing program, but less technical than AutoCad) and if I were a real ace with it, I could make the pictures more photo-like, but comparatively, my drawings are almost like clip art or stick figures. Still it's handy to be able to plot things out to scale on computer and change things quickly as needed.

Keep up the renderings ! they are really neat to see.

Cheers, Tom Kay, Ottawa Canada.

Thanks for the compliment. They are fun to do, although a lot of work. But in the end, I think it always pays off. Almost every guy I have worked with has improved his design in some pretty signficant manner after seeing the renders... I'd say 90% or more. It certainly kept me motivated during the build of my theater... that's for sure... :)

reap

Looking great! Very impressive so far.

Well Today Marks one Month since I started constructing The Theater. I feel it would of went a bit faster if I had more reliable helpers. But, Looking back at my first Post in this thread, I just realized how much things got changed along the way.

For One, I stated the room was going to be 20' x 16' x 8.5 ceiling
it ended up being 20'-4.5" x 15' -1" x 9' Ceiling.

I Stated I was Going to do Double Drywall with RSIC Clips on The Ceiling
it ended up Being 3 layers of 5/8"s Drywall with Green Glue between each layer.

I stated I was going To use 5/8"s & 1/2" Drywall
I ended up using Double layers of 5/8"s

I stated the rear Platform was going To be 10" high
It ended up being 12" high

I stated all lighting will be Low voltage
Now all lighting will be High Voltage or ?line Level I should Say.

I started with 60 Pieces of 5/8"s Sheet Rock and
I ended up needing 84 to complete the room

I thought I was gonna Need 1,000 lbs of Sand to fill The stage
I ended up needing 4,000 lbs.

I think we have all felt your pain. But I think you will be really impressed with the result. I know we all are watching this thread in anticipation of it all coming together.

I started out thinking a wall with a built in RP and a nice curved sectional.

It's now a FP with sand filled stage, Wall treatments, riser for second row, Berkline 99's and tactile transducers (yet to install), a stand up granite top bar (plan) with four stools behind that. I boarded up two windows that I already had installed all the trim boards. Also had to cut holes in my freshly constructed walls to fish cables to the projector.


Of course my biggest mistake was taking my wife to a model home and letting her see a basement mini spa. What started out as a full bath, now is planned to become a bath with steam and a separate sauna attached. This required the removal of a 10 ft long framed up wall to reconfigure.

We still haven't seen Eye to Eye on the selection of carpet or the tile.

I've SEEN BIGmouthinDC's place....he should change his moniker to BIGProjectinDC!

I know what you mean BIG, I was going to do carpet on half the height of the walls and some simple trim to finish it off, a curved couch and some dark colors to go along with the projector.

I ended up using acoustically transparent fabric over wall treatments, three love-seats with shakers for every seat, a platform in the back, two windows blocked off completly, remote control lights and blinds.... And to top it off, after I had started working on things, my wife almost convinced me to swap sides of the room that the screen would be on and leaving the equipment where I had planned. That would have put all equipment in the back of the room and me trying to figure out how to fit everything...

Well Today was a Gruesome day.

I had to go to Home Depot and get 14 Sheets of 3/4" Plywood to finish the Platform and Stage. Spent 4 hours in Home Depot waiting for them to find someone to Drop the wood and then I had them rip all the sheets to the rough sizes I needed to finish the Stage and Platform.

They had also shorted me 30 Bags of Sand on the previous delivery so I had to pick that up as well. They had previously delivered 20 Sheets of warped 5/8"s plywood I was gonna use for the stages and I decided to return it and get 3/4"s allready ripped to Size.

Well The gruesomeness was having to load all that Sand and 14 Sheets of Plywood on the Home Depot Truck by Myself, Drive home unload It all by myself. Then Load up the 20 sheets of 5/8"s to bring Back, then unload the 20 sheets at Home Depot to return it.

On top of all this it was like 500 degrees out here today and all my clothes were Soaked from sweat like If I jumped in the pool.

After all that work, I was burnt out and called it the Day.

The biggest and hardest part of building is all the Loading and unloading and hours spent at Home Depot. One good thing about Home Depot is that you can return something from 2 years ago without a receipt and get a store gift card.

On a better Note, my neighbor is a contractor and gave me one of his guys to help me complete this project (*wish I would of known this before all the loading and unloading). So I will have a new helper starting Saturday (Today). He will have the awesome Job of Bringing the 4,000 lbs. of sand inside the house and start filling the stage.

Last Night I did Manage to get the Platform Wired up, conduited, and insulated. The platform will have 4 outlet boxes (2 on the Front Riser and 2 on the Back floor) and one double gang box for Cat 5/Phone line/cable.

Ruben, be carefull with the Home Depot returns without a receipt. If you do it too many times, you will get flagged in their system and they will stop allowing you to return stuff. They will assume that you are stealing the stuff and returning it for something that you really want.

If you have the receipt, bring it with you always.

Ruben, be carefull with the Home Depot returns without a receipt. If you do it too many times, you will get flagged in their system and they will stop allowing you to return stuff. They will assume that you are stealing the stuff and returning it for something that you really want.

If you have the receipt, bring it with you always.

Yeah, I am already in the Home Depot System as a Suspend. The managers all know me well there and know I spend lots of money there and see me there almost every day.

I have returned literally Thousands Of Dollars worth of merchandise to Home Depot without the Receipt. Even though I save all my Receipts, it is too Much work too look though all the boxes for them and then try to find that 1 Home Depot receipt I need a few months down the road.

I have a 1 inch stack of HD receipts for my basement project. Every couple of months I staple a batch together and put the big alligator clip around the accumulating stack.

When I return something I have this thing in my pocket. When they say do you have the receipt, I say Yes it's right here and hand them the stack. Never had a problem.

Well the new helper arrived at 2pm on the dot today as I asked him to. We banged out bringing In all the Sand, Plywood, and 2"x 2"s and Got the Stage Lined and filled in under 3 hours. We worked only a few hours today just to do the Heavy Stuff.

About 35% of the Sand was Damp the rest was dry. So I put all The dry sand on the Bottom and the Damp Stuff on Top and got a powerful fan blowing on It now. The Stage ended up using 76 50 Lb bags to level it to the top. So I had 6 bags Left that I will just throw inside some of the cavities in the Radius sections of the Stage and use insulation for the rest of unfilled cavities. I threw those extra 6 Bags on top of the stage for now to dry out.

Here some Flicks, A Bit Messy, but you get the point :)
I took away the 2 radius parts of the stage to make filling the stage easier.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05465.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05466.jpg

Come to find out my new helper use to build boats for a living and he is a very detailed carpenter, so that will Save me allot of work.

We continue on Monday.

I also went to Home Depot today and picked up my outlets and other things for the Platform. I will have a Plate on Front of the Riser of the platform that will contain a Stereo RCA Input, A Cat5E Input, a Phone Line, A SVHS Input and a Coaxial Cable input which will all run to the equipment Rack. I also have an 2" Empty Conduit Running from the Front of the platform riser to the Rack as well. I think that should cover all my needs for front of the Platform for now. This plate will serve usefull for when I need to hook up a video camera or a video game console that a friend may bring over as well getting online with a laptop, etc.

This is what I put together...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05469.jpg

More to Come on Monday.

Any thought to butt kickers?

I thought that they were a gimmick that this 55 year old could pass up until I visited another local DIY HT and Whoa are these things neat. It gives the impression that your sound is literally shaking the house.

The reason I ask is now is the time to put in the wiring. I used plates with speaker banana connections in the front edge and a floor mount plate on the riser. Since I had the chairs before wiring I was able to determine the riser floor locations under the chairs not under an arm and not right under the motor. When complete you won't see any wiring on the riser. Having said that I haven't installed the aura shakers in my berklines yet.

Any thought to butt kickers?

I thought that they were a gimmick that this 55 year old could pass up until I visited another local DIY HT and Whoa are these things neat. It gives the impression that your sound is literally shaking the house.

The reason I ask is now is the time to put in the wiring. I used plates with speaker banana connections in the front edge and a floor mount plate on the riser. Since I had the chairs before wiring I was able to determine the riser floor locations under the chairs not under an arm and not right under the motor. When complete you won't see any wiring on the riser. Having said that I haven't installed the aura shakers in my berklines yet.

I never tried them, and I was going to have 3 of them pre-installed in My chairs at The factory to see if I like them, but after talking To a few people about them, I decided to pass on them. But I am still planningg to install outlets around the chairs for them in case I try them in the future and like them. So I should do the bananna plugs too as well, but like you said, I will not know where to position anything untill the chairs arrive.

So for now, I guess I can leave my floor boards untied untill the chairs arrive. I ordered my chairs on Sept 13 from leather direct so it may take another 4 weeks or so before they arrive due to them being a Leather and microfabric combo.

By the way, leather direct really worked with me on pricing. Their prices were already the best I found online, and they dropped even more off the chairs to accomodate my budget and give me the top grade Leather and Microfabric combo I wanted.

Get Those Bad Boys installed and let me know how ya like them.

Just a quick update The sand looks pretty much dried up already. I shoveled it around and it is coming along quite fast. It should Definately be 100% dried by Monday.

Also, if it is still a Slight bit damp when I close the stage up, won't it still dry up inside?
And if it doesn't, is it really gonna get much mildew in there? I just don't Know how anal I should be about having the dryest possible sand.

Ruben

Sandman, What happened did you fall off a ladder or something?

After starting this great thread and giving us almost daily updates, to leave us hanging for 6 days is like a good episode of Lost. You give us a few answers but raise twice as many questions.

Like how are you going to build those soffits and make them bass absorbers? Can you find enough book shelf projects to use up that MDF.

What screen and projector will he end up with?, Will all the soundproofing work? Will the Florida insects find that garden of eden of sand and wood?

Sandman, What happened did you fall off a ladder or something?

After starting this great thread and giving us almost daily updates, to leave us hanging for 6 days is like a good episode of Lost. You give us a few answers but raise twice as many questions.

Like how are you going to build those soffits and make them bass absorbers? Can you find enough book shelf projects to use up that MDF.

What screen and projector will he end up with?, Will all the soundproofing work? Will the Florida insects find that garden of eden of sand and wood?

Ha, ha, ha,
Thanks for checking In to make sure I'm still alive. :)

The new worker has proven to be rather a slow, but Good worker.
This is what got accomplished this week,

1) We sealed up the front Stage (Double 3/4" Plywood with Roofing Felt in between),

2) Finished Drywalling the Equipment Rack and behind the entrance wall.

3) Got all our Plywood cut for the Platform and stairs (but not tied down yet). We are still waiting for the chairs to determine placement of Banana plates & Outlets for the Top of the platform for possible future Butkickers.

4) We started encasing the Ducts with 3/4" MDF to stop Bass from traveling through the Duct work).

5) We installed all the 2"x2"s on the ceiling that the top front of the Soffits will attach to. The front of the Soffits will be solid 3/4" MDF and the bottom of the Soffits will remain open framed with 2" x 2"s to allow the soffits to be used as Bass traps. We will be Stuffing the soffits with all those Boxes of Cotton you see in one of the pictures I previously posted.

6) The Conduit for the platform got installed and ran into the Equipment rack.

7) Cleaning, (lots of cleaning got done). Almost all my tools were covered with Green Glue and Drywall Dust due to my previous worker being real sloppy. So I spent a half day cleaning off all my tools and re-organizing them.

Most of the Leftover MDF will be used for the Top and Bottoms of the 6 columns. Whatever is left Over from there, will be used for the next project.

The Projector I am going with (unless a better one comes out before completion of the theater) is the Optoma H-79 (like yours). That projector seems to be the best thing since Water according to the tons of reviews I read on it.

The Screen will be a Da-Lite Hi Contrast Micro Perf with a 1.1 gain, unless I learn about a Better Da-Lite Screen. I can't afford or rather won't spend $5,000.00 on a Stewart Screen at this point in my life.

As soon as the theater progresses a Little more, I will post some new pictures.

On another note, the new worker I hired is a 5 Star Retired Chef. He has been cooking some incredible dinners every night after we finish. So his Schedule is 7 Hours of building and 1 hour to cook.

More to Come...

Umm...excuse me for asking, but is your helper being paid?

And can I borrow him next? :)

-Choots

Umm...excuse me for asking, but is your helper being paid?

And can I borrow him next? :)

-Choots

Yes he is being paid, but what I realized is that I am basically paying him to cook instead of work. I been doing most of the work myself and he's been doing the cooking.

Update...

Today I installed all The conduit for the Speakers and Snaked through all the 10 Gauge Speaker Wire for the 7 channels. Also Ran Conduit for the front Sub, Cat 5 and Coax Cable for the Xanatech Remote IR Eye. Also, Finished Building The Frames for under the Soffits and finished cutting My MDF for the Soffit fronts. Also Ran the 2" Conduit from the Equipment Rack to the Projector the other Day. All that's left for Speaker Cable runs is the 8 Cables running in the Platform for the But Kickers.

Wednesday (Today) we shall get the soffits assembled and run all the Romex that will run inside the Soffits and Columns for Lighting and Outlets. We can then (hopefully) begin stuffing the Soffits with the Cotton I got from BPape for the Bass Traps and pop the IC Rated 4" cans in the Soffits.

I will be running 3 lines into the theater. One Dedicated line will power my Sub and outlets in the Columns and Platform, The Second Dedicated Line will power my Lighting and the 3rd Dedicated line will power my Equipment Rack and Projector.

All and All, it's coming along well. I have a friend coming up on thursday that I am going to have help out, things should pick up then.

Pictures to come once the Soffits are completed.

Stay Tuned!

Sounds great. Today I have to paint a bedroom where my wife "stores" her exercise equipment. She picked a "spa blue" Then back to the basement.

Sandman. We'd like to see a picture of a soffit before stuffing and after. We'd also like to know how much weight you are gaining with that new helper?

Hey Sandman, can I see a picture of the equipment rack framed. I'm looking to take out my stand and build a wall in the corner for my equipment.

Hey Sandman, can I see a picture of the equipment rack framed. I'm looking to take out my stand and build a wall in the corner for my equipment.

Basically my equipment Rack is a custom built Closet thats 21.5" Wide x 7' Tall and 30" deep built to spec to house a Mid-Atlantic Rack that Pulls out and Rotates. I'm using either this http://www.middleatlantic.com/enclosure/roll/srsr.htm or this http://www.middleatlantic.com/enclosure/roll/axsr.htm to rack my equipment.

Sounds great. Today I have to paint a bedroom where my wife "stores" her exercise equipment. She picked a "spa blue" Then back to the basement.

Sandman. We'd like to see a picture of a soffit before stuffing and after. We'd also like to know how much weight you are gaining with that new helper?

No Problemo, But I think my worker/chef quit on me. He didn't show up today or yesterday. Well I'm happy my friend is coming down for a month or so and he is going to help me finish this up.

One of the toughest parts to come will be framing the ceiling out to support my starfield ceiling and ceiling treatments and Running all the Fibre Optics. I already have a few ideas on what to do. Basically the Dropped Ceiling Tiles will each be 4' x 4' x 1/4" Masonite/Wood Panels with holes drilled in them for the star fibers and wrapped with Black GoM. They will get tied to 2" x 2" framing on the drywall ceiling. If the seams are real noticable between the tiles, I may Opt for the Coffered Ceiling look.

As far as Dinners...
I Probably Gained a few pounds from them already, but I am sure I will work them off throughout finishing this Theater :)

Update,

I just got confirmation from the Trucking company that my chairs will be delivered tomorrow between 2pm - 7pm. I ordered the custom chairs from Leather Direct on Sept 13 and they are getting delivered to me tomorrow which is the 14th of October. So 1 Month waiting period to receive them which is great time in my book.

Now I'm really going to have allot of boxes in my great room now. Those boxes are probably going to take up allot of Space depending on how big they are. I ordered 7 Chairs with Wedge Arms.

Well now this gives me much more reason to get the Room finished quicker and Now I can finish up the Platform as well.

Back to work

BUMP

Ruben-
Updates/pics? -j

Update,

I just got confirmation from the Trucking company that my chairs will be delivered tomorrow between 2pm - 7pm. I ordered the custom chairs from Leather Direct on Sept 13 and they are getting delivered to me tomorrow which is the 14th of October. So 1 Month waiting period to receive them which is great time in my book.




I think he may have fell to sleep in his new chairs. ;)

Craig

He's resting up till his original helper comes back. Then they can get back to that breakneck pace they started with...

Where's the Sandman ???

From my experience by the time you get all the chairs unpacked you have a literal mountain of cardboard and packing foam. I think in his rush he created a pile and that it fell on him trapping him like an avalanche. I'd say by now he has lost all the weight he gained from having that chef working at his house and someone should go over and help him get out from under the pile.

ROTFL

I have it on good authority that all is well but he's working alone. Electrician was in last weekend and he was working on filling the soffits. I'm sure we'll see more pics coming soon.

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for keeping me On my toes and checking in. Sometimes it Seems like only 3 or 4 people are only watching this thread and I realize its allot more.

Well, Last Week I had a second 125 amp Service Panel Installed for the theater. I ran a Separate dedicated Phase with 2 20 amp Lines to the Equipment rack and one 20 Amp to the front of the Theater for the Sub and front Speakers. We also ran another Separate Phase with a 20 amp for the Lighting so the lighting isn't sharing the Same power for the Equipment (or isn't in the same phase as the equipment, I should say).

I opened up one of the Chairs, and all I can say is Absolutely Incredible. One of the very few things I ever bought blind that way Exceeded my expectations. I took pictures of everything but didn't have time to post them.

We got a lot more cleaning and Organizing done as well last week too.

We got the Soffits completed (without light Trays so far). We did not get the soffits filled yet because of the Hurricane that hit South Florida. My town (Boca Raton) got completely destroyed from it and lost all power. I left to Orlando to stay at a Hotel around Universal Studios until power is restored. South Florida has been declared a disaster area and has over 10 billion dollars in damage. Over 6 million people are without electricity the last I checked, I had to drive all the way up to Orlando before finding Electricity anywhere.

I live in a community which was beautiful until the hurricane completely destroyed it. Thank GOD my home Suffered minor damage (Lost 3 Outdoor Ceiling Fans totaling $1,200), Some Brick Tiles Off the Roof ($ Who Knows?) and Some Trees/bushes got ripped out and completely Destroyed (Couple thousand $$$). My home was built in 97 and is pretty hurricane proof considering. No windows got broke, even with massive wind Speeds hitting them directly.

I am checking everyday to see if power got restored in my area, until then, I am using this time as a vacation up here.

See you Shortly hopefully.

We'll be thinking about you. Glad to hear that apparently you and your home came through relatively OK.

Sandman, good thing your house was well built. That must've been one heck of a wind to pull off brick roof tiles!

We'll be thinking about you. Glad to hear that apparently you and your home came through relatively OK.


Thanks for your thoughts Bryan & John.

It looks like palm beach county which is my county) will be the slowest to get electric restored due to the massive Damage to local Lines and Sub Stations.

I will keep everyone updated.

Sandman,

My brother lives in Ft. Lauderdale and he is at our Cousin's house in Orlando. I didn't even realize that Hurricane was going to hit that area until I saw the news last night. Talked to my brother and he said it looked like a war zone.

Times like this makes a Dedicated Home Theater seem very trivial. But, things will get back to normal and you can rid the stress of other things by working on your room. Good luck.

Good to hear from you Sandman my prayers goes out to You and the people of


Boca Raton.Glad to hear your home came threw without much damage.


KEEP THE FAITH!!!


DARKMAN

Thanks for your thoughts Darkman & Tony.

I found out last night that electricity will not be completely restored until November 22 :(

I am going to have to look into getting a generator that can power my whole home, central Air and all. Does anyone here know about Generators and What's Good?

I was looking at a Generac Guadian Home Standby Generator that's 125 amp - 120/240 volt 15 kW.

Does anyone know if this will do the job?

So, I checked with a buddy who has a generator and this is what he said:

here's is the generator I bought from homedepot it runs on either natural gas or propane, so if he can't get either one then it will do him no good. I was told that you want 15000 kw system to run the house, it has the compacity to run twelve circuit total, so if his theater room is one circuit then he would have eleven more open circuits. it's all auto so when the power goes off the generator kicks on and visa vera it will go off. It also has a self check that you set the will turn the generator at that time every week to keep the battery charged. The tranfer box is not water proof so if he dosen't mount it inside then he needs to build a box around it to keep the water off it.

Here's my Guardian generator info
15000/13000 Watt Home Stand-by Generator
Model 04390
Internet/Catalog 168827
Store SKU # 209 241
$2,995.00

24/7 blackout protection whether you're home or away. Fully automatic home standby generator comes pre-packaged and pre-wired with an automatic transfer switch. Unit operates on either natural gas (13,000 watts) or LP gas (15,000 watts.) 30 HP OHVI Industrial engine with full pressure lubrication. Includes composite mounting pad for quick installation. DUE TO INCREASED DEMAND DURING HURRICANE SEASON, THIS PRODUCT MAY TAKE UP TO 14 DAYS TO SHIP AND UP TO 28 DAYS TO REACH YOUR HOME.THIS ITEM CANNOT BE RETURNED.

• 15000 watts (LP) / 13000 watts (NG)
• Automatic blackout protection
• Automatic transfer switch with built-in load center
• UL Listed 2200
• Includes: 30 ft., 5 ft. & 2 ft. pre-wired conduits, outdoor connection box, flexible fuel line and composite mounting pad
• 30 HP OHVI Industrial engine
• THIS ITEM CANNOT BE RETURNED.
Generator
(http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@0126050710.1130445359@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddaddgdhdgdflcgelceffdfgidgmn.0&MID=9876)

Note the part about hurricane season and delivery times...

Note the part about hurricane season and delivery times...

That was real cool of you to get that info together for me, thank You very Much. Its real funny that this is the same Generator I was looking at, as you will see in my post above.

I was just about to buy it until Home Depot Said I Had to Buy a $5,000.00 Gas Tank and Put it underground Which means this $3k generator ends up costing $10k after that Tank and installation. Can You ask your friend if he had to Spend that much on a LP or Nat Gas Tank? I asked them how long a BBQ LP Propane tank would take to run out and they said 15 Minutes.

Also, I'm using the Generator to do my whole home when ever there is a blackout again, Central Air and all. It Is not just for the Theater, FLorida can get real Hot, and it isn't pretty being In a unAir Conditioned home for a week or 2 out here.

Thanks Again
Ruben

I was in Orlando two weeks ago for a week-long visit and it was hot and humid every day except for the Saturday we were leaving. In the hotel we were staying in, we had the A/C running 24/7.

My buddy lives in a rural area and has propane already. Since he is not in a development, but owns some acreage, he has an above-ground tank to supply the whole house. He was able to simply tap into this. Also, he said that to have the warrantee validated, you have to have the install signed off by a certified Gaurdian Technician. Another note, if you are in a sub-development, with neighbors nearby, you will have to remember that this is not a quiet unit. He said that if the power is out, it is running and if you want to turn it off at night or something, you have to physically flip the breaker so it won't run, otherwise, it runs non-stop.

As for powering the A/C, he doesn't know about that. He needs A/C where he lives, but they got it up and running after it was already cooling off, and then the power never went out before the A/C was not needed at all.

Sandman - Sorry to hear about your hurricane situation - you guys in Fla have taken a beating lately. Hopefully, your project (and the rest of your household) will be back up and running very soon.

BTW - I really LOVE your stage design. I hope you don't mind if I rip it off in my next room :). Keep up the great work.

BTW - I really LOVE your stage design. I hope you don't mind if I rip it off in my next room :). Keep up the great work.

Wait? Another theater? Are you moving again?

Holy cow!

Hi Everyone,

Well I finally got back home Today (Monday) after one week of switching from different hotels from Orlando to Miami. My electricity and Cable Modem is back up and online and I am excited to get our theater completed now. These are The pictures I took last week before the Hurricane that I couldn't Upload...

Here is an overhead Shot of the Room with all the Boxes and the open Chair on the Pool Table. Just to get an Idea how big those boxes are, that's a regulation / legal size pool table.
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05698.jpg

Here are some pictures of the Chair. It is Red Soft top grade Leather with Black MicroFabric. The pictures do not do any justice for the chairs. The Red Leather has a nice mix of shades and is a bit darker than what the pictures show. The microfabric looks real nice and velvety black. The chair in the picture has a regular arm on one side and a Wedge arm on the other to create the radius curve I designed my Platform to.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05611.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05612.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05613.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05616.jpg

Soffits Pre Construction Shots. These are the Soffits without the Light trays. They will be stuffed with Cotton and will be left open on the bottom and covered with GoM.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05712.jpg

In this picture below, you will notice the HVAC Duct Trunk is Encased in 3/4" MDF. This was done to help eliminate Bass from escaping from the room. Also we used 1" Duct board with a 90 degree turn to act as a muffler so sound does not travel through the duct work into the Home. We will also be using 4" x 36" linear grills to help reduce transmission of sound instead of a 12" x 18" Vent/Grill.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05716.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05719.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/frontsoffit.jpg

Here is the 125 Amp additional Service Panel I had Installed dedicated to the theater, part of the Wall above it and below still needs to be closed up. Cost to have this installed was $300.00 Labor and $225.00 in Parts. I have 2 20 Amp lines running to the Rack, one 20 amp line running to the Sub and outlets and the other 20 Amp Line powers the Lights on a Separate phase ...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/DSC05724.jpg

I will get back to work shortly here and update you with some new pictures...

Keep Checking Back!

Yes, Scott - believe it or not, we are building another house. Just got under way so will be a while before my costruction really gets going.

I finally get a basement theater, though. Really looking forward to that.

Hey Sandman - would you mind posting some dimensions on that stage?

Yes, Scott - believe it or not, we are building another house. Just got under way so will be a while before my costruction really gets going.

I finally get a basement theater, though. Really looking forward to that.


Dude, your CRAZY! :p All that just to get a basement home theater?! :eek:
I hope its a good move and you don't loose your shirt on the equipment that you do leave behind. I beleive you did o.k. the last time, so you know how to do it. Maybe you should start a post on how to sell a home with a dedicated theater in it! Or maybe I missed it already?

Sandman, It must be nice to be home finally. Sorry for what mother nature has put you through, although you must have renewed enthusiasm to work on your room.

Man, those seats are fantastic.

I have a quick question for you. How are you going to finish the joint formed where the MDF on their soffit meets your ceiling? Do you mud and tape as usual? I am at the same point on mine and can't decide to mud and tape or just seal it and cover with a crown. I'm worried that this is going to crack over time because of different expansion rates between the MDF and sheetrock.

I have a quick question for you. How are you going to finish the joint formed where the MDF on their soffit meets your ceiling? Do you mud and tape as usual? I am at the same point on mine and can't decide to mud and tape or just seal it and cover with a crown. I'm worried that this is going to crack over time because of different expansion rates between the MDF and sheetrock.

Thanks Rob.

As for the MDF meeting the Drywall on top I will be using a Silicone Caulking to fill the Voids. But Honestly, those litlle gaps will not be seen in my situation because I am doing a Fiber Optic Dropped Ceiling that will drop down 1.5" from the existing Drywall Ceiling. The Star Panel Ceiling tiles are 42" x 42" masonite boards wrapped with GoM attached to 2" x 2"s.

Yes, Scott - believe it or not, we are building another house. Just got under way so will be a while before my costruction really gets going.

I finally get a basement theater, though. Really looking forward to that.

Hey Sandman - would you mind posting some dimensions on that stage?

Sure, in the next few Days I should have some free time to put it together for you.

For the meantime, The Rough Dimensions are 178" Wide by 58" from front to back on the top in the middle.
The curve ends on both sides 47" from front to back. The Stage is constructed with 2" x 10" Joists and has 2 Layers of 3/4" Plywood on top with #30 Roofing felt in between layers. The finished Step is 5.5" high the finished stage is 11" high.

The stage is lined with plastic and filled with 4,000 lbs. of play sand.

Thanks. That's very close to what I eyeballed it at from the picture. I thought your top radius projected about 12" - looks like its 11". Is the lower step about 8"?

The width is almost exactly what I have to work with as well and I like the proportions you have. Thanks again.

Thanks. That's very close to what I eyeballed it at from the picture. I thought your top radius projected about 12" - looks like its 11". Is the lower step about 8"?

The width is almost exactly what I have to work with as well and I like the proportions you have. Thanks again.

Looks like it may be time to start planning a trip to Florida?

Hey Sandman, the seats look really nice, I really like the way the red came out, almost a splotchy look because of the way the leather took the coloring. I like it better than a solid red as it looks like they started with black leather and added red after the first dye process or something.

Sandman,

Those chairs are beautiful!!
Who makes them?
How do they compare to Berkline 090's in regards to pricing per seat!!

Craig :)

Yup, you need to be careful and not put one of those chairs outside. The cops will issue you a speeding ticket. I can't wait to see them in formation and the room all tricked out. Glad to hear you are home and everything looks undamaged.

You are going to need to see if there are some neighbor kids who want to make a fort out of all those boxes. That would make it someone elses problem to cut them up for the garbage man. I think I went trough two blades on just my 6 boxes.

Sandman,

Those chairs are beautiful!!
Who makes them?
How do they compare to Berkline 090's in regards to pricing per seat!!

Craig :)

Thanks for the compliments. The chairs are made by Berkline they are a new model they just came out with called the 075. I got them from Leatherdirect.com and they ran me a little over $600.00 each using the top quality Leather and micro fabric combo.

Hey Sandman, the seats look really nice, I really like the way the red came out, almost a splotchy look because of the way the leather took the coloring. I like it better than a solid red as it looks like they started with black leather and added red after the first dye process or something.

Craig :)

Thanks, I was extremely pleased with the way they turned out. Its really hard to make a decision based on a swatch. I am a big dude and the chairs are extremely comfortable and they are also a bit wider than the Berkline 090's.

Thanks. That's very close to what I eyeballed it at from the picture. I thought your top radius projected about 12" - looks like its 11". Is the lower step about 8"?

The width is almost exactly what I have to work with as well and I like the proportions you have. Thanks again.

Craig :)

The Step is 8" without the lip, with the lip it is 9.5" (1.5" Lip on Step)

Yup, you need to be careful and not put one of those chairs outside. The cops will issue you a speeding ticket. I can't wait to see them in formation and the room all tricked out. Glad to hear you are home and everything looks undamaged.

You are going to need to see if there are some neighbor kids who want to make a fort out of all those boxes. That would make it someone elses problem to cut them up for the garbage man. I think I went trough two blades on just my 6 boxes.

Craig :)

LOL :D Thanks Bud, I will use a Sawzall to chop the boxes up, not a big Deal for Me.

The Good thing about putting the Chair on my Pool Table is that it gives me a better idea on how the chairs will look on a Red Carpet. I think I am going to go with a Dark carpet either Dark Grey or Black with a little pattern. I seen a carpet I liked out here in black that has tan lines running through it, but the tan lines dont match the room.

I need to find a Black carpet with a grey or Red pattern. I do not want a Solid Black carpet, they get dirty way too fast.

Can anyone make any suggestions?

So what's the total cost so far if you don't mind me asking (minus chairs)? This could give me a really good idea what if my $30K budget for room construction is going to cut it.

BTW: I vote for the coffered/tray ceilings. I imagine that adding boxing beams will help to break up frequencies akin to a bookshelf on the wall. And it looks like you're looking through a glass ceiling in something like a atrium/solarium.

So what's the total cost so far if you don't mind me asking (minus chairs)? This could give me a really good idea what if my $30K budget for room construction is going to cut it.

BTW: I vote for the coffered/tray ceilings. I imagine that adding boxing beams will help to break up frequencies akin to a bookshelf on the wall. And it looks like you're looking through a glass ceiling in something like a atrium/solarium.


If you look through my thread here you can total up all my expenses I recorded so far. I pretty much recorded everything I spent so far in here minus a few odds and ends like more Screws and Glue. Once the construction is all done I will total it up myself as well to see what it cost.

I just looked through all my posts and totaled up everything spent so far. Here is what I came up with...

$560.00 for framing lumber

$1,943.75 for Initial Drywall, Plywood, Sand, Insulation, Silicone, roofing felt, etc

$60.00 for Foam on the roll

$48.00 for Red Head Anchors

$100.00 Nails, Screws, Glue, etc

$1,250.00 for Fiber Star Ceiling supplies

$1,210.00 for 7 Cases of Green Glue

$200.00 for 18 More Sheets of 5/8"s Drywall

$4,600.00 for 7 Leather/Microfabric chairs Delivered.

$75.00 for Taping

$720.00 for the GoM Fabric

$100.00 for Renders of Room

$240.00 for 4000 lbs. of Sand for Stage

$250.00 for Ductwork installation

$66.00 for 6 More Sheets of Drywall

$625.00 for 125 Amp Service Box Installed

$75.00 for 200 Feet of Smurf Conduit and Clamps

$200.00 for 500 feet of 10 Gauge High Definition Zip Speaker Cable

$700.00 for Accoustic treatment materials so far

$1,200.00 for labor so far.


$12,972.75 Total Spent so Far which pretty much includes all the materials needed to finish the room

The only things left I need to purchase to finish the room is mouldings, some 1" 703, Carpet, Equipment Rack, Projector and Screen.

If you minus $4600.00 for the chairs and $1,250.00 for the star ceiling
the total spent so far on room construction is $7,122.75 plus or minus a few hundred bucks.

wow...this thread has been SOOOOOOOOOOOOO helpful! :D

Sandman we are waiting for new Pictures, whats going on ? :)

Ultimatum: Post at least one progress picture this weekend or we will all boycott this thread and turn to other more responsible forum members for our weekly DIY fix.

I think the underground bunker has the potential to steal your time slot if you don't watch out.

We don't want pictures of a great looking finished product. We want to see where you had to rip something out because you made a mistake. Or where you couldn't fit the prehung door in the framing, Or the light fixture wouldn't fit in the space you planned.

We're trying to get him another helper....

Hi Guys,

I lost my helper and started getting busy with other projects outside my home. I interviewed a couple workers that are suppose to come finish up our theater after Thanksgiving Weekend. Here is Whats Left to Do...

1) Add the Light trays to the Soffits
2) Make the Columns
3) Install the Fiber Optic Star Ceiling
4) Frame out the Screenwall.
5) Treat the walls and Ceiling reflection points.
6) Fabric the Walls
7) Install the carpet
8) Install the Light Fixtures
9) Hook Up the Equipment & Calibrate the Room
10) Watch a Movie ;)

After the Holiday, I should be taking daily Pictures of the final stages of completion.

Thanks
Ruben

Correction:

10) organize a big spread of snacks

11) Watch Movie

By the way OTA HD by the networks, or cable or satellite HD feeds are the best images you'll see on that big screen. After I got my projector hooked up it took me about 30 long and painful days to be able to feed the beast a HD signal. You may want to get that on the planning critical path. At least think about OTA.

If it's not too late you may want to run a Quad shield rg6 cable to the attic to pick up the ota stuff if your distance works for you for an in attic antenna.

if you haven't discovered Antennaweb.org yet it is useful to let you know what to expect at your location.

Agreed. The HD OTA is definitely better than the compressed stuff you get from satellite or off the cable.

Correction:
By the way OTA HD by the networks, or cable or satellite HD feeds are the best images you'll see on that big screen. After I got my projector hooked up it took me about 30 long and painful days to be able to feed the beast a HD signal. You may want to get that on the planning critical path. At least think about OTA.

If it's not too late you may want to run a Quad shield rg6 cable to the attic to pick up the ota stuff if your distance works for you for an in attic antenna.

if you haven't discovered Antennaweb.org yet it is useful to let you know what to expect at your location.

I already Have HD with Direct TV and I have a Zenith HD-SAT520 Tuner Box that I purchased seperately. Would you recommend me getting an additional Attenna Hooked up to get Local HD channels when I am suppose to get them now with My Direct TV service?

One thing I have to Really think about is How I am going to get my Dish Signal to my Theater. My dish is on the Opposite side of the house and at the other End and on the wall near the roof of my second story. That is one hell of a cable feed through the house or one hell of an ugly cable running around the outside of the house.

Any Ideas?

Thanks
Ruben

Ruben, when you subscribe to the locals on DirecTV, that is for the SD channels, not HD. If you are in an area where your local stations are owned and operated by the affiliates (parent company of that network) then you would be able to qualify for a waiver from that station and only that station. The other way to get a waiver for a station is if you cannot get the signal OTA with an antenna. For me, I am 40 miles from the transmitter, so I can only get one waiver, from CBS, since Viacom bought the local CBS station (Viacom owns CBS or the other way around). If you can get the waivers, you would be able to get the network from the East Coast feed, which is based out of NYC.

This is all changing with the launch of the latest satelites from DirecTV that have the ability to send a "Spot beam" of local HD channels for different regions. This roll-out of true local HD channels is happening as I write this, but they are doing the first (I think) 25 top markets, so you need to find out which market you are in. I happen to be in the #18 market, so sometime in the next year, it will be in my area. With this roll-out is the replacement box that you need to get in order to get these new true local broadcasts which is an MPEG-4 decoding box, instead of using the current MPEG-2. There is more compression in MPEG-4, so they can squeeze more channels into one transmitter. DirecTV will be doing promotions in your area to replace your existing box with the new one for free (probably a rebate to make it free and possibly even a contract agreement for a length of time). So, be patient, it's coming.

I think that is all correct, it's hard to keep up with everything.

If you don't want to wait and also don't want to get an MPEG-4 compression, install an antenna so you can get your locals in HD. The OTA image is the best you can get.

As for your long/ugly coax cable run, do your best and if it gets to be too long, you may need to add a pre-amp to your coax.

Oh, also, if you are running coax, I reccomend running two of them, for the sake of using a DVR so you can have dual tuners.

Ruben:

Right now my HD experience with Directv is that I got waivers for the network HD feeds for Fox and NBC. They come in fine. In fact the NY feed of NBC I get via the satellite has 5.1 sound the OTA version of HD NBC is only 2.0. In summary the only Thing that Dtv can offer me on networks is the added feature of 5.1 for NBC.
Big deal! I have the HD package but wish there were more offerings.

Even though I get the Fox network on the sat feed I usually just pick it up with the antenna. ABC,CBS,WB,PBS are available as well with good signal strength.
UPN is too weak to pick up at this time.

OTA is worth the price (equipment only). I was surprized at how small the antenna was. I got the DB4 bowtie ( antennasdirect.com) and it sits near the peak in my attic.

I'm in one of the first 12 markets with the mpeg4 and the new satellite system. I've been following the posts for the guys in Detroit who are the first market to get the new system.

Right now I can't see any advantage in moving to the new system. You have to install a new larger dish (more problems with wind) and there appears to be a number of roll-out bugs and inadequate experience in the field. For that headache I would not get a single additional HD channel. Ok maybe one if you consider UPN a channel. (The what's in it for me? deal) I would just have a 2nd source of my existing OTA.

However once they start adding additional national HD channels that aren't offered in the current HD package then it's a different story.

Also, for those of us with HDTivos - which record both Sat and OTA in HD - there is pretty much zero incentive to go to the new system (until they start offering more sat HD).

Sandman - sorry to hijack your thread here...now resuming proper topic...

One more point on the whole DirecTV thing. It is my assumption (and only that at this time) that once the rollout of MPEG-4 is complete, they will use the additional bandwidth that was being used for the NYC and L.A. HD locals to add more of the other HD networks such as TNT, USA, Encore....

Once again, it is my assumption only and if it does happen as I am guessing, it will be a while since they have to do the full roll-out first.

Thanks for all that incredibly valuable Information Guys. I heard that Direct TV put 2 new Satelites up in space and we are suppose to be getting 1,500 HD channels pretty soon. Is this true?

Yes,

1500 = 1480 local network channels rebroadcast into the originating market (Local into Local aka LIL)


20 other HD channels like the MTV HD,

Soon, 5-6 years roll-out I'm guessing.

Yeah, it will take a while for them to really get things sorted out and set-up for what we really want, which is all HD all the time.

Too bad we don't have the a-la-carte packages, I would only ask for about 30 channels total since that's all I ever watch. They could drop the channels that nobody wants and then have more room for more HD...

The word is DirecTV is switching from MPEG2 to MPEG4 which has a much higher compression rate so they can get more HD channels into the same bandwidth. MPEG4 is NOT backwards compatible with MPEG2. So all the equipment will eventually have to be swapped out as MPEG2 is dropped.

I can see DirecTV now..."Yes well give you an upgraded receiver or HD recroder for free...for a 4 year commitment..." Man that would tick me off.

Cable TV and Satellite, all a scam, selling you stuff you don't want to rape and pillage - hehehe

Well Last Night I got confirmation from the Workers that they will begin finishing the Theater on Monday (after ThanksGiving)

So I started making the Fiber Optic Star Panels for the Ceiling of the Theater. Each panel is 44.25" x 44.25" and we are Making 12 Panels to seamlessly cover the Ceiling.

Here are Some Pictures and Details...

We started with 1/4" Masonite Board (44.25" x 44.25") and Marked out a Grid with 11" x 11" Squares. This grid is to help place holes for Stars. You really dont want to do more than 4 holes per square Foot to keep it looking realistic. So I printed out a blown up version of the Alfa Centurie Galaxy and used that as Reference for Hole Placement for Stars.

Here you see the Grid and Black dots that represent star placement...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05829.jpg

Here is the Fiber Optics we are using. They have 50 Fibers in one cable which will let us use 1 Cable per panel / 50 Stars per panel which adds up to 600 Stars between all 12 panels (if that made any sense :)

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05827.jpg

So we first drilled the holes for the Fibers in the Masonite using a 1/16 drill bit. Then we framed out each panel Stapling 1" x 2"s to the Back. Then sprayed #80 3M glue to the Masonite. Then Wrapped the Panel with Black GoM and Stapled the GoM to the Sides of the 1" x 2"s. We then fed each fiber through each hole having some stick out a little more than others to make some stars appear Brighter. The fibers stick out from 1/4" to 1/16" on the GoM side which is completely invisable when its up on the ceiling (exept for when the fibers are on). The fibers are secured in place with Hot Glue.

Here is an unframed Panel with fibers ran to it and GoM glued to the front. I did this one panel Backwards because I didn't have any 1" x 2"s here when I started.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05835.jpg

Here is a completed stapled Panel, Just needs to be trimmed. The Air Stapler is the Fastest way to do these panels...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05843.jpg

Here is the Back Panel Framed with 1" x 2"s and Wrapped with GoM.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05844.jpg

I hooked up the fiber cable to a light box to show you how it looks in the daytime. You can see how some stars look bigger than others in the picture. The Stars also randomly twinkle due to a spinning wheel with holes in the light box. When you adjust the cable in the Light Box just right the stars look extremely authentic.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05849.jpg

Here is a Night Shot...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05839.jpg

Here is one of the light Boxes. We have 2 Light Boxes to run the 12 Panels
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05840.jpg

Schweeeet.

Very Nice HT and so far very nice details on the fiber optic ceiling.

I've been this thread all along, waiting for this moment to ask you questions about "how to install fiber optic ceilings". With just a couple of pictures you posted really help my understanding of my limited knowledge in this area.

Just a couple more questions about fiber optic ceilings in general if you dont' mind answering.

1. Is the fiber optic ceilings done before putting up the drywall in ceiling or normally done afterwards?
2. Where are the light boxes normally located?
3. Do you have a more detail descriptions of how to do this that you could share so I won't ask you all these questions :) .
4. I noticed that you used 44"x44" area for doing fiber optic ceiling. Is the rest of the ceiling being painted black to match the gom covered fiber optic panels?

thanks,
jbhungvt

1. Is the fiber optic ceilings done before putting up the drywall in ceiling or normally done afterwards?
2. Where are the light boxes normally located?
3. Do you have a more detail descriptions of how to do this that you could share so I won't ask you all these questions :) .
4. I noticed that you used 44"x44" area for doing fiber optic ceiling. Is the rest of the ceiling being painted black to match the gom covered fiber optic panels?
jbhungvt

Thanks,

1) We did 3 layers of 5/8's drywall on our ceiling with GG in between before adding these panels. So these panels are pretty much a drop ceiling that will drop about 2" from the Drywall ceiling. Some people have a crawl space or attic above them and can drill holes through their existing drywall ceilings instead of making panels like this.
We also used fabric on the ceiling panels because we are treating the ceiling reflection points and want the treatments to be seamlessly built into these panels.

2) The light boxes go Into 2 columns in my case (one in front of the theater and one in the rear). But they also can go into the surrounding soffit as long as you can access them to change a lightbulb and give them Air to breath.

3) I don't Know how much more detailed I can get. I thought with the details and pictures I posted it was detailed enough. If there is any other questions you have, feel free to ask.

4) The 44" x 44" Panels cover the entire Ceiling. You can look at My renders of my theater on a previous page of this thread for more details.

Ruben

Glad to see you have gotten back to work on at least some part of your theater!

I have a friend who is not a member of the forum (still don't get that part) but is following this thread with much interest as he will be building a theater. He is signing papers today to switch from his construction loan to a standard home loan and will know how fast he can start working on the theater based on how much money they have left over (don't have a final number yet).

thanks Ruben for the update/answers.

So I take it that if you don't have access to the ceiling above via attic etc, then the fiber ceiling is normally done after the ceiling drywall goes up.

I actually went back to revisit your render again, man that's beautiful. It's been awhile since I last look at it and forgot that it's this thread. Been through so many HT construction threads that I don't know whom belong to whom. The coffered/beamed ceiling looks cool but seems too complicated to do so my ceiling probably wouldn't be coffered/beamed.

The masonite board you use, is that normally available at HD or Lowes? I guess you could use some other boards besides the masonite?

So it's a drop ceiling of some kind to put up the fiber ceiling afterwards. Now why the 2" dropped? Is it because the mechanism to hold the masonite board is about 2"? I don't know how to install drop ceiling, so when you get to that stage and if you don't mind posting some pictures on how to do it would be really helpful.

thanks again.

Thanks, we all had the jitters from the DIY withdrawl. Looks great can't wait to see all the panels in formation.

So I take it that if you don't have access to the ceiling above via attic etc, then the fiber ceiling is normally done after the ceiling drywall goes up.

Correct.


The coffered/beamed ceiling looks cool but seems too complicated to do so my ceiling probably wouldn't be coffered/beamed.

I may not do the Coffered ceiling if the panels look real seamless like I want them to.


The masonite board you use, is that normally available at HD or Lowes? I guess you could use some other boards besides the masonite?.

Its a common board at Lowes and Home Depot. I used it because it is the stiffest, straightest and Smoothest 1/4" board you can get. Its pretty much pegboard without the holes in it. You can use whatever you want, its all about what the builder wants to use an the results you end up with.


So it's a drop ceiling of some kind to put up the fiber ceiling afterwards. Now why the 2" dropped? Is it because the mechanism to hold the masonite board is about 2"? I don't know how to install drop ceiling, so when you get to that stage and if you don't mind posting some pictures on how to do it would be really helpful.

We dropped it 2" because the Ceiling is getting 1"x2" furring Strips screwed in and the back of the Panels are getting 1"x2" framing. We will Staple Industrial Velcro to the back of the entire Panels Framing and Staple Velcro to the furring strips to hang them. We might Even use a hook and Ring sytem to hang them, depends on how the velcro proves.

Ruben

Glad to see you have gotten back to work on at least some part of your theater!

I have a friend who is not a member of the forum (still don't get that part) but is following this thread with much interest as he will be building a theater. He is signing papers today to switch from his construction loan to a standard home loan and will know how fast he can start working on the theater based on how much money they have left over (don't have a final number yet).

Yeah, it cooled down a bit out here so I worked outside these past 2 days.

Hopefully my thread helps your friend out a bit, Like every other thread here has helped me Out. I really want to see this star ceiling in action, this thing is just too cool!

I also wanted to add to this about the Fiber Star Panels. We are going to be doing random shooting stars as well. They run off another LED device and a separate fibers as well.

I will post more pictures once I add those shooting stars.

I also wanted to add to this about the Fiber Star Panels. We are going to be doing random shooting stars as well. They run off another LED device and a separate fibers as well.

I will post more pictures once I add those shooting stars.
Please do post lots of pictures.

Also, please post pictures of how you're attaching the fiber panels to the ceilings. I'll be interested how the panels turn out, i.e seamless or not.

Can I ask... what program did you use to design your whole theatre?

Plus congrats on the acheivement so far, this is the sort of quality I want to build mine to...the best!

Also very detailed pitctures and explainations, iv been watching since not long after you started the post and can't wait to see the final result!

Well done!!

Can I ask... what program did you use to design your whole theatre?

Plus congrats on the acheivement so far, this is the sort of quality I want to build mine to...the best!

Also very detailed pitctures and explainations, iv been watching since not long after you started the post and can't wait to see the final result!

Well done!!

Thanks!

I did the rough layout (first picture in this thread) with Photoshop doing everything to full scale. The Full color Renders you See 4 pages or so into my thread were done by Chirpie.

One more point on the whole DirecTV thing. It is my assumption (and only that at this time) that once the rollout of MPEG-4 is complete, they will use the additional bandwidth that was being used for the NYC and L.A. HD locals to add more of the other HD networks such as TNT, USA, Encore....

Once again, it is my assumption only and if it does happen as I am guessing, it will be a while since they have to do the full roll-out first.

Don't hold your breath for that to happen - the NY & LA locals will remain on MPEG2 (along with the MPEG4 feeds being added next month) for a while in order to service all the DNS customers nationally.

Sandman - Great job on the theater; even better job of documenting and giving us a great thread to follow.

Kudos.

Awsome work...

I check this thead atleast twice a day for updates....

Why not just subscribe to it so you receive an email whenever anyone posts on it !

Would save you a lot of looking!

Nice theatre btw, very impressive

It has been very useful trying to design my own, I must say I like the drywalling it makes it so easy to run cables etc etc, we in britain are obsessed with bricks though not so easy to thread cables through!

Here are some Updates...

Here is the method we used to run the fibers to the back of each panel. This method was much cleaner looking on the back (even though no one will ever see them).

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC05989.jpg

Here is a Shot of the Front Light Tray. You can see the Star Panels Started going up. Also, Notice the Bass absorbtion in the Front Soffit. The Gap Between the Front Light Tray and Front Soffit is for the Automated Curtain Track (it is an 8" Gap).

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC05999.jpg

Here is the Side Soffit (without Light Tray). Notice the bass absorbtion in there as well.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC05992.jpg


Here are 3 Panels up on the ceiling. Notice the Furring strips we used to hang them. 1"x 4"s and 1"x2"s. We used a Brad nailer to tack the Panels to the furring strips. The nails are completely invisable with the lights on. The panels are almost seamless with the lights on. They are completely seamless under Low light. You will also notice, we applied the GoM Fabric to the Side of the Soffit.

Side Shot
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC05991.jpg

From back of the room (Work Lights on, Fibers Off)
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC05997.jpg

Same Shot as above, From back of the room (Work Lights on, Fibers ON)
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC06017.jpg

Same Shot as above, From back of the room (Work Lights OFF, Fibers ON)
http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels/DSC06010.jpg

Stay Tuned!

Ruben,

Great job! Can't wait to see the end result. Where are you planning on putting the light boxes? I guess you're somewhat limited on the length of the fiber runs? How long are those runs?

Bud

Ruben,

Great job! Can't wait to see the end result. Where are you planning on putting the light boxes? I guess you're somewhat limited on the length of the fiber runs? How long are those runs?

Bud


Thanks!

The Light Boxes Go in the top of the 2 side columns. The front Left Column has 1 light Box that controls 6 panels and the rear left Column has another light Box that controls the other 6 panels.

Wow I just noticed, This is My 201 post on AVS and its in the 201st Post in my thread. How wierd is that?

Ruben

Ruben,
I guess you're somewhat limited on the length of the fiber runs? How long are those runs?

Bud

The Cable runs range from 9 feet to 19 feet on each panel.

those star panels are the coolest thing I have seen in a while:) Keep up the good work.

CD

Ruben,

Great job on the star panel. I'm planning to do the same thing but have it a 3-4 inches from the ceiling with a glow above it. I can now SHOW my wife what it looks like. This should seal the WAF deal :D Thanks!!

Steve

Great looking fiber ceiling.

I forgot to ask you something last time. Are you planning on putting recessed lighting in the ceiling? If not, how does the room look with a dark ceiling in the day time?

thanks

Do you have an update to your HT project?

I saw what you did in your home theater and was very impressed. What I like about fiber optics is the fact that they are visible when there is light in the room.

I own Night sky Murals and what I do needs a very dark room. I have even suggested that people do what you have done when I knew that their room wouldn't ever get dark enough to appreciate the murals that I paint.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I was impressed with your work.

Jeff Stewart
Night Sky Murals
The Best Universe on the Planet!

PS... I am going to attach a picture of a room that we did in a media room for anyone that is interested in seeing what we do too. It is a dark picture on some screens. If it is on your... try to lighten your screen. The only thing that it doesn't show in the picture is the Milky Way.

So, Jeff, how does your system work? Is is reflective paint or glo-in-the-dark paint?

Looks nice. What does a mural cost for some thing like like a 9x12x9 ceiling? Also, hom much light is needed to "charge" the stars? HT rooms tend to be pretty dark, in fact, I just drywalled over the windows, so it won'd get hardly any light during the day, just pre-movie.

Bud

Not sure I like your choice of colors(red/black), BUT I absolutely LOVE the way your HT is turning out! You have some really great ideas, and I will definatley use this thread when the construction starts on my new home. Thanks for sharing...keep up the great work!

I keep getting questions by email and PMs from people asking me to explain in more detail how to Build these star Panels, so I'm going to try this one more time (with Some New additional pictures).

I will also show you how I did the shooting stars in random sections of the Panels as well.

First, Measure your ceiling. Then go to http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Ceiling.htm and give them your measurements so they can hook you up with the Fibers and Light Boxes to build your Fiber optic ceiling.

I wanted all my panels to be fairly easy to put up and be square so I made them 44" x 44" to fit 12 panels on my ceiling (3 across and 4 from front to back).

For my size Panels, I could get 2 Panels out of one sheet of 4' x 8' x 1/4" Masonite Board. So I bought 6 Sheets of 4' x 8' Masonite Board and had Home Depot cut them to size. So now I have 12 44" x 44" x 1/4" Masonite boards.

We then Marked out a Grid with 11" x 11" Squares. This grid is to help place holes for Stars. You really dont want to do more than 4 holes per square Foot to keep it looking realistic.

See the Masonite board with the Grid and Black dots that represent star placement below...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05829.jpg

Next Drill your holes where you marked your stars using a 1/16" drill Bit. We ordered fiber cable that has 50 Fibers in the Cable, so each panel ended up having 50 stars to limit 1 Fiber cable per panel for ease.

Next, we framed out the panels using 1" x 2"s to make the panels more sturdy and to have something to staple the Fabric to. We used 3/4" Staples to attach the Masonite Board to the Framing. We set the air gun so the staples inset a little deeper so they do not stick out and show through the fabric.

Notice the Framing around the edges of the Panels in the Picture below (Ignore the Fibers in this Picture for Now)...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05844.jpg

Next, We pre-cut 12 50" x 50" pieces of Black GoM Fabric to have ready to Wrap the panels. We then Sprayed a light coat of 3M #80 Spray Adhesive to the First Panel and then Stretched the GoM Fabric over the Top of it and smoothed it out by hand. We then pulled the fabric tighly and began stapling with 1/2" staples. Each panel used about 4 refills of staples.

Here is the Wrapped panel (we did 12 of these panels).

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05843.jpg

Next we figured and measured our fiber cable runs and Pre-cut all our fiber cable and labled them. We then cut about 48" of the sleeve off each cable to route each fiber to each hole.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05827.jpg

Then we Stapled the Cable to the framing of the Panel to prevent it from pulling fibers out of the holes (the 3 other cables you see stapled are for the Shooting Star, but we will get to that later)...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06072.jpg

Next you feed your fibers through your holes. Since the Panel is already wrapped with fabric, it's best to twist the fiber as you feed it through the hole to help break through the fabric. Its also easier and faster to have someone on the other Side of the Panel to pull the fiber all the way through as you feed the fibers through.

When your done feeding all your fibers through, you will end up with something like this...

The Back Side...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06061.jpg

The Front Side...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06042.jpg

Next, Hot Glue your Fibers to the back of your Panel. I like to use a small glue gun set on low heat to do this...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06057.jpg

Once all your fibers are glued In place, you can then begin clipping them off on the Fabric side using standard Nail Clippers. You Can make some Fibers Longer than others to get a brighter looking star (instead of doubling up fibers to get brighter Stars)...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06053.jpg

Almost Done Clipping...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06062.jpg

Now Hook it up to your light box and wallah....

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Resized-Star-Panels/DSC05849.jpg

Now to do a shooting star...

http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/ makes an LED Device that can program Shooting Stars, Fireworks, etc. Its a little over $200.00. What you do is buy some 8 Strand Fiber cable and Mark your shooting star placement on your panel using a Ruler and making each hole 1" apart from each other. I did 24 Holes and used 3 - 8 Strand fiber cables to help identify which fiber goes where...

(Notice the 3 thinner cables with 8 fibers coming out of each of them, this is my shooting star on this panel)...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06065.jpg

Here is the other side of the panel before clipping the Shooting Star Fibers...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06069.jpg

Here is the Fibers Clipped. They Range from 1/4" on one end to just below the fabric on the other to give the burning out effect.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Panels-Pt-2/DSC06070.jpg

So Hopefully this helps people understand how to do this a little better Now...

Enjoy!
Ruben

Great looking fiber ceiling.

I forgot to ask you something last time. Are you planning on putting recessed lighting in the ceiling? If not, how does the room look with a dark ceiling in the day time?

thanks

No Recessed Lighting In the Starfield. The Recessed lighting will be in the Soffits around the room. The Room is Pitch Black in the Daytime (No Windows in this Room).

Ruben

Ruben - was never interested in doing one of these until I saw your step-by-step details. Maybe not for a future HT, but may appear in my daughter's room one day. Thanks, and nice work as always.

Here is the FabricMate System I was thinking of Going with. Its a Decision Between this and Stapled Framed Panels for Me. I threw together a Sloppy Fast Sample to show it.

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06113.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06118.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06120.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06122.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06131.jpg

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/FabricMate/DSC06135.jpg

Considering all of the staples I had to put in my theater... it looks awesome. :)

Craig

Sandman...

Hey, that FabricMAte System looks pretty good!! Where did you pick yours up, and how much was it, if you don't mind me asking?!

Sean

That's give me an idea of accomplishing the same thing by using the screen repair kit (sold at HD in the window section) that uses the same technique of pressing the screen material into the frame slot and secure it by the rubber chord. In this case, I should make a 1/8" center cut to a 1x1 stud and jam the fabric into the cut using the roller. Will it fly?

That's give me an idea of accomplishing the same thing by using the screen repair kit (sold at HD in the window section) that uses the same technique of pressing the screen material into the frame slot and secure it by the rubber chord. In this case, I should make a 1/8" center cut to a 1x1 stud and jam the fabric into the cut using the roller. Will it fly?

The stuff that Sandman is using is shown a little better in the early pages of this post and it will grab the fabric pretty well. If you just make a simple slot, you will also have to use the rubber cord to get it to stay...

That is my opinion anyway.

I have one more question about the star panels.

If you put up triple Sheetrock on your ceiling to prevent reverb, won't the Masonite Board reintroduce reberb in the room?
Thanks

The triple drywall was not for reverb control. It was to help stop sound transmission to the rest of the home by making the ceiling much more massive. The masonite will not reflect any more than the drywall. If anything - it will give a little bit. Plus, some of the areas are actually 703 made to look like the rest so that he's hitting the ceiling reflection points.

I have one more question about the star panels.

If you put up triple Sheetrock on your ceiling to prevent reverb, won't the Masonite Board reintroduce reberb in the room?
Thanks

Like BPape Said, the Ceiling is treated to take care of the reflection points. The Ceiling and Light Trays are now finished and look awesome! The Light Trays/Soffits just need to be Paper Faced and Covered with the GoM now.

Pictures coming soon.

Sandman...

Hey, that FabricMAte System looks pretty good!! Where did you pick yours up, and how much was it, if you don't mind me asking?!

Sean

Fabricmate.com is where the track system is from. THey Charge $2.95 a foot for Small orders and the Price Drops to $2.50 a foot when you buy 200 Feet or More.

Here are some Pictures of the Completed Star Ceiling and Light trays as promised. All the Wires and Cables will be all organized and Stapled down as soon as the Columns are ready to go up, It's a bit messy now ;)

Here is a shot from the rear left corner of the theater.
THis Picture is with all the work lights on in the Theater. I took this shot to show how the seams on the panels look when full lighting is on. The Seams are completely invisable under Low light and no light. We may still do a small Coffered look to cover the Seams and to give the room more of a Classy look.
The Angle is kind of funky due to the Wide Angle Lens I was using..

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06154.jpg

Here is the Same Shot with the Lights off...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06146.jpg

Here is a shot from the Side Door of the Theater walking in...

Lights On...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06157.jpg

Lights Off...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06153.jpg

Here is a shot of the Front of the Theater above the Stage with the Lights On..

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06156.jpg

Here is a closer shot of the 2 light boxes that control the Ceiling. They will be hidden inside the Columns that will be on that Wall there...

http://loutrixrecords.com/images/theater-pix/Star-Ceiling-Complete/DSC06159.jpg

If anyone is interested, I have a good amount of Fiber Left from this job and would sell it at a discounted price. PM me if interested.

Ruben

What a great job, I personally think it looks great without the coffered ceiling.

My first thought when you had mentioned that you were going to do this was, "What a great idea, too bad it probably won't turn out that great."

Man, was I wrong! That looks incredible! I agree with thaxx, originally I would have voted for the coffered ceiling, but even with the lights on, it looks great.

Way to go!

Very nice job, Sandman. How much light does that put in the room when only the stars are on?

I can't wait until you put up the coffered ceiling. I think it'll look stunning with the beams which will cover the seams.

If you don't have recessed lighting in the ceilings, are you mainly using the wall sconces lighting in the day time? Is that enough lighting?

Very nice job, Sandman. How much light does that put in the room when only the stars are on?

Thanks,

Not Really Much. But even so, the Light Boxes are dimmable so when a movie is playing we can dim the Stars with the Grafik Eye. We ran a dedicated line to those light boxes to control them. We actually ran dedicated lines to all the Different Lights and Outlets we want to control separately with the Grafik Eye.

Ruben

I can't wait until you put up the coffered ceiling. I think it'll look stunning with the beams which will cover the seams.

If you don't have recessed lighting in the ceilings, are you mainly using the wall sconces lighting in the day time? Is that enough lighting?

Thanks,

Keep in Mind, this is a Movie Theater only and will be only used for Watching movies During the Day & Night and occaisonal Music Listening as well. There is going to be 11 35watt Downlights in the Soffits plus Possibly Sconces on the Columns (If I decide I like that look) also Light in the Light Tray that wraps the whole starfield ceiling.

There will be enough Lighting to clean up, thats for sure. Hey If not, I can always Install a big White 4 Bulb Flourescent Light fixture in the Middle of the Starfield Ceiling and that should handle the job. :D

Ruben

Did you decide to fasten the panels with the commercial Velcro?

Did you decide to fasten the panels with the commercial Velcro?

We used a brad nailer with finishing nails to secure them to the Furring strips on the Ceiling. The Nails are invisable and I cant even find them with all the work lights on.

My first thought when you had mentioned that you were going to do this was, "What a great idea, too bad it probably won't turn out that great."

Man, was I wrong! That looks incredible! I agree with thaxx, originally I would have voted for the coffered ceiling, but even with the lights on, it looks great.

Way to go!


Me Too, When I first Started Building these panels I had no idea what to expect. But I figured if it doesn't work Out, I can always just trash the Idea and lose some money.

But Man, let me tell you, I'm So Happy I stuck with it and it worked out. It is absolutely breath Taking when you walk in the room with the Lights out and the Stars on. There is even shooting stars I set up which I tried Out that make it even more Realistic! The stars also have a slight Twinkle so its not just a bunch of Stars with no life. This will Definately be one of the Main attractions of the Theater and talk of town that's for Sure.

Ruben

Not only does it look great (and I'm sure it's much better in person with the live twinkle), but it gives your theater a nice open look.

Don't ruin it with a coffered ceiling.

Hi there,

Sorry to highjack the thread but I saw in some magazine that ikea had an outdoor lamp that uses fibre optics. I thought it might be useful for a cheap alternative to make a star celing. I have not found it on the ikea site but found some on ebay.

Here is some listings that describe the lamp.

http://cgi.*********/IKEA-SKINA-PATHWAY-LIGHT-FIBER-OPTIC-NEW-IN-OUTDOOR_W0QQitemZ4423973897QQcategoryZ3201QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

I was thinking of using one bundle per panel and since this set comes with 10 bundles it means that you can do a very cheap star celing. Each bundle contains a light unit too. Only drawback I see is that you don't get any twinkle effect. But if this light is dimmable then you could set up some programming in your graphic eye controller for some similar cool effects.

Could this work?

Cheers,

Exipnos

funny I can't seem to put in the link for the ebay listings. Maybe there is a policy to prevent this? In any case either replace the *** in the link with ebay com or do some ebay searches for IKEA Skina fibre and you will see some sellers.

Cheers,

Exipnos

Yes. There is a policy. Too many spammers were putting links to their auctions in threads.

Yes. There is a policy. Too many spammers were putting links to their auctions in threads.

Thats cool. I''m not the seller.

There is not a lot of info about the lenght of the optical cable but it appears that there are three different lengths in each bundle. Lets say you use about 2-3 bundles per panel the total cost for a similar size as sandman might be something like 3 or 4 times 17$. Thats quite cool if it works.

Im not in the US so I can't try it out for now. If somebody is willing to try please let us know how it went. Okay end of my thread jacking. Back to sandmans amazing build.

Cheers,

Exipnos

Ruben, the ceiling looks awesome. I'm curious to see how the seems look with the rope light in the light try shining up on them.

Saturday we will be Veneering the Light Trays Front and Bottom. Going to Stain some Oak and Maple and see what I like Better. I will Post some pictures after the Veneering is done.

Ruben

Well I won my Projector Today on eBay.
I got a brand new Factory sealed Optoma H79 for $4k from a authorized Optoma Dealer.

Saved like $900.00 from what they sell for at a good price.

Welcome to the 79 club!

Welcome to the 79 club!

Thanks, Very Happy to be Part of it ;)

Thanks, Very Happy to be Part of it ;)

Repeat after me, do NOT hook that MOFO up until the very last minute! :-)

Congrats on the win!

Saturday we will be Veneering the Light Trays Front and Bottom. Going to Stain some Oak and Maple and see what I like Better. I will Post some pictures after the Veneering is done.

Ruben
You're a man of many talents. Keep up all the great work and like always, take many pictures

Repeat after me, do NOT hook that MOFO up until the very last minute! :-)

Congrats on the win!

Yes, I know that is the Biggest Mistake of HT.
My Optoma is coming UPS Ground from NY and It will take about a week to get to me. I plan on having my theater room Done by then. I still need to get a Screen and I am still doing research on that. I am also still waiting on my Equipment Rack to arrive as well. Since I allocated some money to pay a couple guys to finish up the theater due to my hectic work schedule, there should be no reason for it not to be ready in time.

Also there was no way in the World I could pass up an opportunity to own the Best DLP Projector for a Discounted price. I was just about to drop $4,899.00 plus Tax plus Shipping on One, until I saw this auction at the final stage. I was willing to go up to $4,500 on the auction, but it stopped at $4k (lucky me). :)

What got done today?

Well today we masked off the whole Star Ceiling and Prepped the Soffits/Light Trays for the Veneer. That pretty Much took 3 hours to smooth everything down and putty the screw Holes.

Monday we will begin the Veneering first Thing, then Stain, then Lacquer Coating. I decided to go with Red Oak for the Veneer. It seemed to have the Best Grain for What I wanted. We shot a Nice Red Stain on a Few Veneer Samples and Red Oak showed the Grain the Best through the Stain. This High Gloss Lacquer will bring the Red out lovely.

For Those you want to know, we are using a Pre-Mixed Stain, and then a High Gloss Lacquer Coating that will get about 3 - 4 Coats with Sanding. The Stain is a Spray on with no wipe off Stain. The Lacquer gets Sprayed too.

We will be using the same process for the Columns as well.

Ruben

Not to be a wet rag but I'd reconsider the high gloss finish. You've spent a lot of time and money to make this a good looking and performing place. I'd hate to see you get a bunch of nasty light reflections off those glossy elements that would compromise the screen image.

Monday we will begin the Veneering first Thing, then Stain, then Lacquer Coating. I decided to go with Red Oak for the Veneer.
Ruben,

I was planning to build my columns out of MDF and then veneer them also. Any pictures of the actual veneering process would be very appreciated!

Thanks,

Steve

Chirpie:

I resemble that remark. I've got 500 hours on my 79 and my theater isn't done yet.