This project actually started 4 years ago.

My wife and I decided to build a new home theater starting from the house up. We owned the land next to our current home and began the project. Due to the size of the home and the small lot that we had to build it on, we couldn't get permitting to allow us to include the finished theater in the plan, so we had to leave the room unfinished and marked on the plan as "unfinished storage space". We got the final CO on the home back in February this year and have been living in it ever since. After 3 years of construction and dealing with all of the subcontractor nonsense, we were all "constructioned out" and decided that we didn't want another subcontractor in our home ever again so the room has sat empty since then. Ironic since we were really building a new theater with house around it :) It was such a pain in the ass that we even named the house PiaCasa (Pain in the ass house). The house even has it's own website, but since this is my first post, the forum won't let me post the url, but it's PiaCasa com.

So now it's time to start building and I guess it's going to be me doing the build out. At least I know it will be done right and I won't destroy the rest of the house in the process.

The room is 18' 6"W x 25'D x 9' 6"H and is all 2x4 stud construction with Icynene insulation in the 4 walls. It is on the second floor of our home and the wood sub floor has a 3/4" product poured over it called Gypcrete which makes it almost like having a concrete second floor. We are planning on having 2 rows of 4 seats with the second row on a riser of about 8". I've used the riser calculator from one of the posts which helped me confirm what I had already calculated. The riser construction is pretty straight forward, but I was curious what others though about the flooring material on the top of the riser. Should I just use 3/4" plywood? Should it be glued to the top of the joists and are nails acceptable instead of screws? I also am confused about how far over the edge the plywood should hang to allow for rope lighting and a nice rolled edge with the carpet. I will be doing a small stage as well and would think that it would be constructed similar to the riser? I've seen some pictures in other posts of risers, but none that would answer my questions; can anyone help?

I'm sure there will be many more questions to come and hopefully we don't take another 3 years to finish this.

David

Welcome to the board! You and I are in similiar places right now. My foundation goes in monday for my house. Home theater included of course!

The room is 18' 6"W x 25'D x 9' 6"H and is all 2x4 stud construction with Icynene insulation in the 4 walls. It is on the second floor of our home and the wood sub floor has a 3/4" product poured over it called Gypcrete which makes it almost like having a concrete second floor
Good move. We did the same thing with our 2nd floor, but put 1 1/2 inches of the lightweight conrete. It really makes the floor ROCK SOLD and helps a lot with sound leaking. Also it adds 1 1/2 hour fire rating from the 1st to the 2nd floor also, which is a nice saftey feature.

How similar the construction of my house and yours is amazing. We've also

owned the property nextdoor to our house, and three years ago we started

building our own mega house. The old property (which was burnt down) was

bought from the county for about $20,000 in 1985 and as it stands now, not even

complete, it could easily sell for just under 1 million. With just about $100k

already spent in construction costs (we are doing the building) it will be one hell

of a profit.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/th_house4.jpg (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/house4.jpg)


3 years later:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/th_housenew105.jpg (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/housenew105.jpg)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/th_housenew123.jpg (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/housenew123.jpg)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/th_housenew104.jpg (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/crackyflipside/housenew104.jpg)


Some facts on the house. 3700sqft 4bed/3bath. All interior walls on first floor are

concrete block. The foundation is 48" wide around the entire house. The stairs

are poured concrete, 10" thick at the thinnest point. We went with a steel truss

system to hold up the floor of the second story. The floor of the second story is 4"

thick of steel reinforced concrete with fiberglass threads in the concrete.

Well, the construction started on Dec. 26th 2005 and here are a couple of before and after shots of the room so far. Actually we're further along than this, but the latest images are still in the camera. As of today, the riser and 8 columns are complete and the stage is framed and stuffed.

Empty stud wall room with Icynene insulation between studs.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/143_4314.JPG

Building the boxes for the ceiling detail

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/143_4330.JPG

Installing the first box.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4418.JPG

A few more boxes go up

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4422.JPG

And a few more

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4435.JPG

My wife needed evidence I was actually doing this myself

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4440.JPG

Connecting it to the side walls

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4448.JPG

The first level is framed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/144_4449.JPG

The start of the soffit

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/145_4592.JPG

More soffit

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4616.JPG

The start of the drywall - This was fun by yourself!

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4622.JPG

Drywall on the wall behind the screen is done

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4631.JPG

New doorway cut on the left is for access to the home automation rack and the back of the theater equipment. the doorway on the right will be sized down for the equipment rack.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4634.JPG

More drywall complete

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4647.JPG

Drywalling the ceiling detail - this was easy but tedious. Putting up big sheets makes you feel like you're getting more accomplished.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/146_4656.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/147_4723.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/148_4810.JPG

A space in the soffit for the DPI Mercury HD

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/148_4846.JPG

Cutout for the equipment rack - the 100 amp panel in the back is on another wall and is for dedicated power to the theater.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/148_4848.JPG

Drywall is complete. This image is looking towards the screen and the 2 openings on the right are a doorway that leads back to our home automation rack and will also allow access to the back of the theater rack which will be in the other smaller opening.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/149_4988.JPG

Starting on the columns

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5006.JPG

A couple of them done

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5009.JPG

More pictures to come as soon as I get them off the camera.

David

Very nice. That ceiling is going to be beautiful. Its scale seems perfect for that room. Keep the pictures coming and write-ups coming.

Very nice. That ceiling is going to be beautiful. Its scale seems perfect for that room. Keep the pictures coming and write-ups coming.

I forgot to mention above that each of the 12 boxes in the ceiling gets a 30" hand painted medallion (http://www.artfulmedallions.com/) with a 4" can light in the center. I saw a Theo theater that had this and I liked it.

Oh man! That's looking great!

Coming along pretty quickly it seems too.

Question; why are the sides of the columns open like that? Are you using dipoles?
I've always wondered that. I'm going to be building my HT soon so I have lots of questions, sorry. :o

Awesome Job! I Love Coffered Ceilings! That is going to be a great room. Keep those pictures coming!

Ruben

The ceiling detail is something. Can not wait to see the lighting and the medallion.

Yes, I work on it about 10 to 12 hours a day, everyday.

The speakers are Axiom's QS8's (http://www.axiomaudio.com/qs8_main.html) and although they don't recommend them being installed in columns, I think mine should work fine.

Oh man! That's looking great!

Coming along pretty quickly it seems too.

Question; why are the sides of the columns open like that? Are you using dipoles?
I've always wondered that. I'm going to be building my HT soon so I have lots of questions, sorry. :o

Awesome Job! I Love Coffered Ceilings! That is going to be a great room. Keep those pictures coming!

Ruben

Sandman, thanks for the praise; coming from you that means a lot. Unfortunately I don't think my theater will be anywhere as nice as yours.

The ceiling detail is very nice...great job! http://members.shaw.ca/wenpigsfly/smileys/thumb.gif

Riser construction

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5082.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5091.JPG

First layer of 1/2" plywood

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5095.JPG

Second layer of 3/4" plywood over 30lb roofing felt and yes, I did use a level and a square :)

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/150_5099.JPG

Riser complete

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5102.JPG

Riser with rear speaker columns installed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5114.JPG

Our 3 month old kitten, Skooter - Isn't he cute?

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5115.JPG

Stage construction

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5119.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5122.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5125.JPG

Since this last picture, I have added the sand to the ends of the stage. Whoever came up with this idea probably didn't have to carry their sand up 21 steps. I'm a competitive cyclist and even in the shape I'm in it was quite a workout, especially after my 55 mile ride this morning at an average speed of 21 mph.

I'm also not convinced that adding sand in the stage on an upstairs theater will do much good, but I did it anyways. I think for it to do any good, the box with the sand in it would have to be completely de-coupled from the entire room, floor included. When we designed this house I wanted the theater on the ground floor, but after the architect had to shoe horn it into the small lot we're on we had no choice but to put it upstairs.

http://www.piacasa.com/New_Folder/131_3137.JPG

In the above picture, the theater is behind the 4 square windows on the upper left, but they are in a hidden hallway or dead space outside of the theater. You can see them in some of the earlier shots inside the theater when looking at where the equipment will go.

Nice house, actually it's beautiful..

Very nice theater, house and driveway. :cool:

Gosh, I don't know which one I like better, the house or the theater.

Love the coffered ceiling - and the entrance to the house.

Nice work.

Fantastic house. Florida, am I right? The coffered ceiling look should be fantastic!! What are you doing color wise for that? I noticed that in none of the pics you had cable bundles coming out of the openings for the speakers etc. Are planning on pulling afterwards?

BTW is competitive cycling your fulltime job or are you doing that while working elsewhere?

Fantastic house. Florida, am I right? The coffered ceiling look should be fantastic!! What are you doing color wise for that? I noticed that in none of the pics you had cable bundles coming out of the openings for the speakers etc. Are planning on pulling afterwards?

BTW is competitive cycling your fulltime job or are you doing that while working elsewhere?

Yes it's in Florida - Mount Dora

It is mostly black with 40" panels of a decorative red, black and gold patterned fabric. All moldings will be gold. We haven't decided on what to do with the medallions in the ceiling yet.

If you look closer at the stage pictures and the riser pictures with the columns you'll see the cables; they are all pulled.

Cycling is just my license to eat and I've been doing it for about 30 years. I own a landscape company (http://www.kayebros.com) and a website business (http://www.kayetech.com).

Nice! I thought that yard was little too polished for a new house :) Helps when you have the right connections ;)

You have the benefit of living where things grow year round. Anything I plant has to be hardy enough to deal with freezing cold permafrost (at least during the winter) and alot of snow.

Did you plant over the sand or bring in topsoil? I had almost no topsoil, my parents had 4.5 ft of it (yep, FEET) and we both live in similar climates.. (Me minnesota, parents S. Alberta). They have grassland (no trees), and I have tree land (no grass, until I laid sod).

Nice! I thought that yard was little too polished for a new house :) Helps when you have the right connections ;)

You have the benefit of living where things grow year round. Anything I plant has to be hardy enough to deal with freezing cold permafrost (at least during the winter) and alot of snow.

Did you plant over the sand or bring in topsoil? I had almost no topsoil, my parents had 4.5 ft of it (yep, FEET) and we both live in similar climates.. (Me minnesota, parents S. Alberta). They have grassland (no trees), and I have tree land (no grass, until I laid sod).

The right connections? My crews were so busy I thought I was going to have to hire one of my competitors to landscape my yard. I wound up doing most of the landscape and irrigation myself, but I did have sod layers for the sod. We had to de-muck our entire site, so most of the soil was brought in and it is mostly sand. Sand is OK as long as you fertilize on a regular basis and don't over water which just leaches the nutrients to a level where the plants and sod can't get to them. Shouldn't this be in the Landscape thread?

Landscape thread?? There's a Landscape thread?? ;) I laid sod over sand so I was curious what you did as you have ALOT more sand than I did.

I was thinking last nite, how amusing it is that they name someplace that is a flat and a couple feet above sea level "Mount" Dora...

We're making progress! The stage with rope lighting is now complete as well as the framing for the screen wall and proscenium.

Stage complete - testing rope lighting

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5150.JPG

Linacoustic going up behind screenwall

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5152.JPG

Building the screeenwall and testing the fit of the DIY screen frame. The frame is 2" x 2" aluminum screen enclosure material which has 2 spline tracks - one for the blackout material (black speaker cloth) and the other for the screen material (Dazian CCC). When complete, the frame will be invisible as I am wrapping the blackout and screen material around to the back side of the frame for a "frameless" look.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5156.JPG

A closeup of the front side of the mitred frame - the spline tracks are on the other side. The frame corners are held together with simple inside corner L brackets (not shown in this image).

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/151_5157.JPG

Like others have said, beautiful house. And I love the ceiling, though I can imagine the taping was not too much fun ;)

I am not a construction specialist by any means, but is there any concern for the weight of all the materials used for that ceiling?

On another note....Beautiful House and Job on the HT!!!

I am not a construction specialist by any means, but is there any concern for the weight of all the materials used for that ceiling?

On another note....Beautiful House and Job on the HT!!!

Truss systems in Florida (and other regions prone to hurricanes) are engineered well beyond what you might see locally. Our building codes here are very strict and part of the reason the cost to build here is so pricey. The only way those trusses are coming down is if the walls are falling with it.

Jeff

makeit57 - BTW great job so far. I'm interested in seeing it progress.

Wow - looking terrific!

Randy

Like others have said, beautiful house. And I love the ceiling, though I can imagine the taping was not too much fun ;)

I guess I didn't mention that I hung the drywall but didn't do the taping or finishing. Actually I had requested an estimate from the drywall company that did our home and while waiting for them to come out to give me the estimate I decided I would hang the end near the screen so I could start work on the stage and proscenium but the next thing I knew I was hanging the whole job. When I was putting up the last board the drywall company knocked on my door to give me the estimate. :) I showed them what I had done and asked if they were still interested in just doing the finishing and they agreed (thank god) because that would have taken me 2 weeks and it never would have looked as good. It was well worth the $780.

The start of the proscenium

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5248.JPG

Proscenium framing complete

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5258.JPG
http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5259.JPG

I finally found something my wife could do besides holding the dumb end of the tape measure. Actually, she's pretty handy and could probably have done everything that I have, but I'm usually too sturborn to accept any help.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5260.JPG

The new kitten wasn't interested anymore, especially after he got into the paint and my wife had to hose him down.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5261.JPG

Proscenium painted - it still needed a little touch up at this point though.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5262.JPG

Well, for the past 2 days I've been wearing my electricians hat. I've installed the Grafik Eye, pulled the wires and installed the can lights in the coffered ceiling and over the stage as well as finishing up the remaining receptacles and step lights.

Holes cut for can lights

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5276.JPG

Wires pulled for can lights

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5290.JPG

Cans installed in coffered ceiling with 3 can lights on over the stage

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5293.JPG

Done! Let there be light!

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5299.JPG

Riser light

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/152_5297.JPG

I have one more zone of can lights to do in the soffit and I'm done with the electrical. The next step is to put in the a/c ducts and then a little painting and then I can move on to the fabric.

The Mercury HD projector is due to arrive in about 2 weeks (right Alan?) and the seats in about 4 or 5, so I think I'm right on track.

Nice lighting. How bright does everything get when its all on? Are they halogen? There are 15W flourescent replacement bulbs (for the 65W) Halogens, that last 4 times as long, are 3x less expensive and are just as bright as the halogens.

Nice lighting. How bright does everything get when its all on? Are they halogen? There are 15W flourescent replacement bulbs (for the 65W) Halogens, that last 4 times as long, are 3x less expensive and are just as bright as the halogens.

It's pretty bright with all of them on and I've got 8 more to install around the perimeter of the coffered ceiling. They are 50w halogen, but I only pay $2.79 for them. I use a lot of those flourescent ones around the rest of my house though.

Awesome...absolutely awesome...oh and I also love that ceiling!

<Edit>...I had about 3 comments to make and all were tasteful and respectful, but I chickened out as I didnt want anything to be taken the wrong way.
So all I will say is just Awesome!

:)

The mud job on the ceiling must have been something :eek:

Beautifull HT.

Wow, everything looks fantastic. Love the ceiling. I wish I had the height to do something like that. Can't wait to see this one finished. Great job.

DUDE, I love your ceilings!!!! It is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! I'm thinking of doing the same. Would sound perform well with that type of design?

AWESOME!

Nice lighting. How bright does everything get when its all on? Are they halogen? There are 15W flourescent replacement bulbs (for the 65W) Halogens, that last 4 times as long, are 3x less expensive and are just as bright as the halogens.


It would be a crime to use any kind of fluorescent light in that room.
Stunningly beautiful! :eek:

The theater too. ;)

The suspence is killing me, any new pictures yet?

The suspence is killing me, any new pictures yet?

Here you go.

Ceiling paint - the white area is where we didn't cut it in since we'll be adding crown molding.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5309.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5316.JPG

Furring and fabricmate strips for the first wall panel

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5319.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5322.JPG

Linacoustic and poly batting

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5324.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5326.JPG

My first attempt at GOM

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5333.JPG

Adding the "fancy fabric" - these will get a picture like frame around them painted with Modern Masters Olympic Gold paint.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5340.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5343.JPG

Start of the second panel

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5344.JPG

Surround speaker mount

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5346.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5349.JPG

And speaker

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5364.JPG

Two down, six more to go

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5369.JPG

More panels - I'm getting confident so I'm doing 2 at a time

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5374.JPG

One wall done - sorry for the fuzzy image

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5390.JPG

This panel was a little tricky - It's actually going to be on a hinge and made to look just like the fixed panels in the rest of the room. Behind the panel is going to be our equipment rack.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5393.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5395.JPG

The back of the rack from the equipment room

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5396.JPG

It looks just like the other panels, but it's a door

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/153_5399.JPG

The one on the left is also made like a door for access to the equipment room

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5401.JPG

With doors cracked open

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5414.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5415.JPG

The other 3 surround speakers installed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5423.JPG

The right and back walls almost done

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5437.JPG

Poly batting on the last 4 panels for the pillow effect

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5478.JPG

The hidden door panels with the fancy fabric

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5483.JPG

Yesterday I spent all day priming and painting about 800 lineal feet of trim and it looks like I'll be doing that all day today as well. I've hired some help to install the trim and they should be here this morning.

Amazing job. I think this is my favorite theater. I love the ceiling, and the paint job makes it look even better. Love those hidden access doors as well, very clever. Excellent job. Please keep the pictures coming.

I love the roof you have built. Very nice. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

Kjelli

Great look you have going on there! Coffered ceilings are nice and add so much to a room. The hinged doors are a nice idea and I've only ever seen them on 1 other room so far. Very nice!

Are you putting the "pillow effect" on all of the panels? You picture comment said on the "last four". Just curious, because I was thinking of doing something similar with mine.

Are you putting the "pillow effect" on all of the panels? You picture comment said on the "last four". Just curious, because I was thinking of doing something similar with mine.

Yes, all of the fancy fabric panels have that pillow look. It's just a single extra layer of the same 1" poly batting used throughout the room. I tried just doing the fancy fabric with no extra padding (just flat), but it didn't look very good.

Your room is looking great! Nice job!!

Shawn

David,

I've been lurking in the Dedicated Theater Design forum trying to rapidly absorb as much information as possible before our new house breaks ground. We will have a dedicated theater above the garage in our new home and I'm trying to assimilate much of the new ideas I'm picking up daily. There are many nice theaters out there and yours is the first that compels me to respond. Maybe it's that we have some common tastes or that we both live in Florida or maybe its that you're doing it yourself or whatever.... but I really like just about everything you've done and it offers inspiration in the design of my theater!! Keep up the good work and PLEASE continue updating this thread with your tremendous progress!

Cheers,
Joey

Hi David

Terrific looking theater. I'm most impressed by the detailed work on the ceiling, I mean the individual boxes. I've always felt the the average room with no ceiling detail looks too much like a hollowed out sugar cube. Not yours !

Walls look great too. What kind of insulation is that in the stud cavities? (excuse me if you've already mentioned this, as I haven't had time to fully read all of the posts in your thread).

Thanks, Tom, Ottawa Canada.

That build is truely impressive. The ceiling was interesting to start with with but the red and black paint made it look awsome. You are doing a great job.

Love it! Keep the images coming! This is like a picture story book!

Hi David

Terrific looking theater. I'm most impressed by the detailed work on the ceiling, I mean the individual boxes. I've always felt the the average room with no ceiling detail looks too much like a hollowed out sugar cube. Not yours !

Walls look great too. What kind of insulation is that in the stud cavities? (excuse me if you've already mentioned this, as I haven't had time to fully read all of the posts in your thread).

Thanks, Tom, Ottawa Canada.

Tom, the insulation is Icynene (http://www.icynene.com/) and it's used throughout our entire home so I figured while they were out here spraying it in, they might as well shoot some into certian places for sound deadening, like mechanical rooms, in the subfloor, in the knee wall where our dishwashers are so the sound doesn't get out to the family room, etc. and the theater.

Amazing HT - you must be very proud. I am curious though, why you decided not to insulate above your ceiling? Did I miss something?

I also have the axiom QS8's - did you have any trouble with the brackets? I had to bend most of mine to get the speaker to fit into them - poor design!

Keep up the great work!

Amazing HT - you must be very proud. I am curious though, why you decided not to insulate above your ceiling? Did I miss something?

I also have the axiom QS8's - did you have any trouble with the brackets? I had to bend most of mine to get the speaker to fit into them - poor design!

Keep up the great work!

Since our house is insulated with Icynene it is not necessary to put insulation on the ceiling of the theater or any of the rooms in our home. Icynene is sprayed onto the underside of the roof sheathing and then keeps your entire attic cool and in fact it is usually only 5 degrees wamer in the attic in the summer than it is in the rest of the house. I considered adding insulation over the theater ceiling, but only to trap the sound from getting to the rest of the house, not for insulation purposes. This is not a priority though since only my wife and I live here and when we're watching a movie there is no one in the rest of the house to hear anything.

I had no problem with my QS8 brackets, but I did notice they were a rather light gauge metal and were easily bent.

Dude I have got to say, I am new to this also, but man I am absolutely pumped now...You've done an awesome job, I cannot wait to see when it is done!!!

Trim Work:

Some of the molding during the finishing process

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5495.JPG
http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5496.JPG
http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5497.JPG

Closeup of the crown primed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5500.JPG

Closeup of the crown painted

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5501.JPG

Closeup of the baseboard painted

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/154_5499.JPG

Me painting with my $28 spray gun I bought on eBay - it works great!

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5526.JPG

Closeup of the crown installed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5531.JPG

Crown in the coffers

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5549.JPG

Overall shot with hidden doors partially opened

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5550.JPG

A few more overall shots

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5554.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5557.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/155_5558.JPG

There is still some small 3/4 x 3/4" outside corner molding to go on around the bottoms of the coffers and the outside corner of the soffit which will seperate the black and red paint. Then we still have the medallions to go in the middle of each coffer and the trim will be done. Oh, and we still need to hang the door to the theater.

Carpet is scheduled for March 7th and the seats should arrive about the same time. Then with any luck, the MercuryHD with the motorized Isco III anamorphic lens should arrive about a week later.

That looks friggin sweeeeet!

Man, what can I say? Beautiful House, Beautiful Wife and the Theater is not looking too shabby either ;) :D What an incredible build! Your attention to detail is incredible! Your design is Incredible! It looks like a Florida home, maybe around Orlando?

Keep up the awesome work, your gonna be done in like 2 more days it looks like.
Your Freekin moving at light speed!

Ruben

Wow... looks really nice.
Pictures never do anything justice but your room looks wonderful. I am sure it looks even better in person.
So when are you having a meet? :D

Craig

Wow!!!! Now thats IMPRESSIVE.

Makes me want to do a coffered ceiling.

Very nice work and detail.

Ronnie

Wow... looks like a million dollars! Love it. Makes me want a ceiling like that too!

Now that's was I call IMPRESSIVE!!!. Looks like you are doing a fantastic job.

I can picture slot machines up against each one of those fabric panels. :D

Yes it is looking great it looks like it will give years of fun.Have you thought of going with a 2.35 screen down the road.

Yes it is looking great it looks like it will give years of fun.Have you thought of going with a 2.35 screen down the road.

John,

It is a 2.35 screen. 130" x 55.3"

Truly one of the top 10 theaters I have seen on here ! You do wonderful work ! Very classy it matches your home ! John

That is a gorgeous ceiling. I really like the red mixed in to make it 'pop' like that.

WOW! Great work. Man that is a lot of 45deg cuts. Can't wait to see the final product.

Your HT reminds of a local stores showroom.... The fact that you did yours by yourself still speaks volumes about what you can do on your own. Here's a pic of it by the way.

Nice work! What type of paint did you use for the trim? I like the metal sheen.

Your HT reminds of a local stores showroom.... The fact that you did yours by yourself still speaks volumes about what you can do on your own. Here's a pic of it by the way.

Jerrod,

That is one of the Theo theaters that we got our inspiration from, although the one that we really like has medallions in the coffers as ours will, but I can't find any images of it other than the ones in my Theo books and since my flat scanner is on the blink I can't scan it to show you. Your picture is the best one I've seen of that theater. It is a cheaper version of the Theo line and has been done many times with slight variations due to the rooms they were being installed in.

Nice work! What type of paint did you use for the trim? I like the metal sheen.

Chad,

It's Modern Masters Olympic Gold (http://www.modernmasters.com/metallicpaint.asp).

Wow! Can't wait to see it finished.

Beautiful House, Beautiful Wife and the Theater is not looking too shabby either ;)

I was gonna say the same thing. What a cutie. ^_^

And of course I'm partial to the red and black scheme. Must be that nostalgia for the traditional theater look.

:-)

You cycle, do lawn work, build websites, have construction knowledge, run your own electrical, and paint...what DON'T you do?

Fantastic job all around, including the wife!!!

You cycle, do lawn work, build websites, have construction knowledge, run your own electrical, and paint...what DON'T you do?

Fantastic job all around, including the wife!!!

You forgot snow skiing - we're in Breckenridge right now. And what about "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound"? :)

My wife is blushing over the compliments, but thanks.

Jerrod,

That is one of the Theo theaters that we got our inspiration from, although the one that we really like has medallions in the coffers as ours will, but I can't find any images of it other than the ones in my Theo books and since my flat scanner is on the blink I can't scan it to show you. Your picture is the best one I've seen of that theater. It is a cheaper version of the Theo line and has been done many times with slight variations due to the rooms they were being installed in.
Yeah, it's a sweet room! Last time I was there, they had a $25,000 Fujitsu DLP projector, full Crestron controls, etc.... Still, love the look you have going on and some of the uncommon things you're doing. The hinged panels being one of them!

I love the coffered ceiling look! I was going to do this in the den of my new house, but I want to try the wood trim/finish look. Would it be constructed in a similar manner, but just clad in wood instead of drywall?

I was dreading having to install the trim and molding as well as the skin of my bar in my media room, but after seeing all that you had to do, I don't feel so bad.... :D

Your home is great. You've given me some great ideas for my future indeavors!

Absolutely incredible room ! I like many many things about it but, as others have said, the incredible ceiling has to be the topper. Thanks very much for the great chronicle.

Art

Man, what can I say? Beautiful House, Beautiful Wife and the Theater is not looking too shabby either ;) :D

This whole post shows a total lack of class... , I wish I had said it first ! :D

Art

This whole post shows a total lack of class... , I wish I had said it first ! :D

Art


What do you mean shows no class?

What do you mean shows no class?

I think Art was implying Sandman was being crass. And then he said he wished he did it first. Basically it was pretty funny. :-)

I thought it was funny. I was thinking the same thing. SandmanX just happened to say it first.

You sir, are a DIY GOD!

I am a big DIYer myself and believe that if another man can do it, so can I. I am still in the middle of constructing my home theater as well, but I think I am going to change up a few things after being motivated by your work.

Please don't forget to post the final pictures. It would be like watching the Sopranos all season long and then missing the season finale!

Nice talking with you this morning, now wheres those pics you promised? Well, maybe you didnt promise but I will make you feel guilty anyway.

Equipment installed (most of it)

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5720.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5724.JPG

Back side

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5725.JPG

Carpet has arrived and padding is down

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5769.JPG

The stage carpet is black and the rest is satin red

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5784.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5785.JPG

Checking the right speaker and right sub fit

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5792.JPG

Proscenium and screen wall without GOM. The trim is finished on the ceiling coffers and the lower soffit.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5794.JPG

Seat Assembly - They are Palliser Eastwood's in dusk (their name for black) and they have the motorized option. I'm only installing the front row at this time since I have to still install the projector.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5795.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/157_5800.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5802.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5803.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5804.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5807.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5810.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5814.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5816.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5818.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5828.JPG

All front speakers installed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5829.JPG

Screen assembly - putting on the black backing. The frame is 2" x 2" aluminum screen enclosure material with 2 spline grooves. The corners are mitred and held together with simple 90 degree L brackets.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5837.JPG

Corner closeup

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5839.JPG

Corner closeup finished (trimmed)

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5844.JPG

Laying on top of the white Dazian CCC

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5846.JPG

Putting on the CCC

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5847.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5848.JPG

The excess white was not trimmed - I left it in place in case I need to tension the material.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5850.JPG

With vertical supports

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5851.JPG

Installed

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5857.JPG

The upper right hand corner - "Frameless Look". This image has a shadow so it doesn't look like the screen is flush with the GOM, but it's perfectly flush all the way around the screen.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5858.JPG

Proscenium wrapped with GOM and finished. It now looks like a white screen on a flat black background, which is exactly what I wanted.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5865.JPG

The Mercury HD

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/158_5867.JPG

The projector is now installed but I can't finish the hush box until I get the motorized anamorphic lens that DP is releasing in about 1 week (I hope).

Preliminary veiwing of this DIY Dazian screen looks great and with my setup at least, there is no moiré. I'm awaiting the final results of Rueben's new material and I'll certainly take a look at it to see if I like it better. I have no other source of reference at this time and it has been almost a year since I had my own theater which used a Stewart non-AT screen. My only other source of reference right now is my 65" Panasonic plasma and that picture could not be more perfect so it's really not fair to compare it.

If my eyes don't fool me those looks like Outlaw audio preamp/amp components. Are they the 990/7700 combo? If they are, and they're strong enough for that gorgeous, huge theater of yours, I think they might be a bit overkill in my little room :). Anyway looks awesome.

If my eyes don't fool me those looks like Outlaw audio preamp/amp components. Are they the 990/7700 combo? If they are, and they're strong enough for that gorgeous, huge theater of yours, I think they might be a bit overkill in my little room :). Anyway looks awesome.

Yes they are the Outlaw 990/7700 combo and so far they sound great, but I haven't even done ANY speaker calibrations yet. The subs are Axiom's and they are connected through the Velodyne SMS 1 Room Correction Device and they too have not been touched. Basically all of the equipment was plugged in and turned on and I've been listening to it that way for about a week now and it already sounds great. I can't wait till I have the time to adjust and tweak everything.

great set of pics today thanks.

I was curious where you picked up the aluminum material for the screen frame. I'm about to build one myself and looking at sources. I really liked the way yours turned out.

billmac

great set of pics today thanks.

I was curious where you picked up the aluminum material for the screen frame. I'm about to build one myself and looking at sources. I really liked the way yours turned out.

billmac

Down here in Florida that material is really prevelant and I got mine at a place a few minutes from home for about $40.

White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

I would also be interested in more specific information about the screen framing material!!

I would assume there is an abundance of this material in Florida due to the fact that almost everyone has screened in porches???

the dual spline grooves is the cool part. One for the screen material and one for the darker light control layer.

billmac

Simply amazing theater...I just saw your thread today and that is truely an inspiration!!!

Love the ceiling as does everyone...its really a work of art all its own!!

I noticed you went with the Axiom 80 500 system (or at least I think you did). If so, have you cranked it up for the home theater yet...whats your opinion? I am not far from starting my build and was considering that very system for my theater along with 2 centers and 2 subs.

Keep it up it looks AMAZING!!!!

Robert

Wanna build my theater?

Or can I at least buy tickets to watch movies in yours?

Awesome job.

Simply amazing theater...I just saw your thread today and that is truely an inspiration!!!

Love the ceiling as does everyone...its really a work of art all its own!!

I noticed you went with the Axiom 80 500 system (or at least I think you did). If so, have you cranked it up for the home theater yet...whats your opinion? I am not far from starting my build and was considering that very system for my theater along with 2 centers and 2 subs.

Keep it up it looks AMAZING!!!!

Robert

Yes that is the system, but as I said above, I haven't tweaked it yet and it already sounds great. My previous theater had about $150,000 in audio equipment alone and although it sounded great I swore I would never do that again as I wound up selling it for about $10,000 when I moved. It was all Mark Levinson components and Lexicon with B & W 801's in the front B & W surrounds. After reading some of the reviews about Outlaw's products and comparisons of them to Lexicon's MC-12 and the reviews of the Axiom's I decided I would give them a try. My original plan for this theater was to use a JBL Synthesis system, but then I started thinking about how I swore I'd never make that kind of mistake again (spending ridiculus money). Yes, maybe just maybe the Synthesis or my old Levinson / Lexicon system might sound a fraction of a percent better, but is it really worth it; I think not. The cost of the Outlaw / Axiom system is about the amount of the sales tax on the JBL :)

When it's all said and done I should have about $65,000 in the entire theater, build out and all.

I would also be interested in more specific information about the screen framing material!!

What else would you like to know? The material is 2" x 2" and it comes in bronze or white. It is used primarily for the chair rail height piece running horizontally in most Florida screen enclosures. It has 2 spline grooves and I was told to use the flat spline with it. It also is available in deeper sizes, like 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8. These deeper sizes are usually used for vertical supports in the screen enclosures. It can be bought in lengths at least up to 24'. I have some pieces that are that long in our screen enclosure.

The place I bought it from cut the 45's for me at no additional charge; I just gave them the exact outside dimension and told them I wanted the corners 45'd and they did it. Total cost for the aluminum, corner L's and the spline was 56.74 tax included.

It came from:
White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

Your theater really is outstanding. You should be very proud. These types of installs/theaters are what pushes the industry forward.

Great job!

I think that DIY screen looks great. Whos material did you use? Have a website by chance?

Thanks....Robert

Amazing theater, and even more impressive that you've done most of it by yourself. I have to say though, that your front speaker setup, IMO, will not generate the prodigious SPL's that your theater deserves. Besides that, you've done an amazing job and should indeed be very proud.

David,

Great job on your theater. It looks great.

I had a couple of questions:

1) The boxes you made, are they 2 pieces of 2x4 on top of each other nailed? Or are they 2x2?

2) What are the inside dimensions of the boxes (30" x 30")?

3) What are the height dimensions of the soffits?

4) You mentioned Fabricmate and furring holding the GOM to the wall. Do you know the style number of the Fabricmate system you used? Also, if you can explain a bit more in detail of how you installed the fabricmate and the GOM. From the few pictures I saw, you put the black fabricmate piece on the corner, and had the GOM attach to these (this is my guess). How long of a run can you have with the GOM between putting a fabricmate "holder"?

5) I am assuming the ceiling you painted black, can you advise the brand and name color. Is it matte or semi-gloss?

6) How are you opening the door that is covered with GOM? Is there a knob for the door? I will have two doors that I need to figure something out for.

Sorry for inundating you with all these questions, but you have done an amazing job, and I would like to learn more about your techniques.Thanks in advance for your answers.


Carlo

I think that DIY screen looks great. Whos material did you use? Have a website by chance?

Thanks....Robert

White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

I don't think they have a website though.

David,

Great job on your theater. It looks great.

I had a couple of questions:

1) The boxes you made, are they 2 pieces of 2x4 on top of each other nailed? Or are they 2x2?

2) What are the inside dimensions of the boxes (30" x 30")?

3) What are the height dimensions of the soffits?

4) You mentioned Fabricmate and furring holding the GOM to the wall. Do you know the style number of the Fabricmate system you used? Also, if you can explain a bit more in detail of how you installed the fabricmate and the GOM. From the few pictures I saw, you put the black fabricmate piece on the corner, and had the GOM attach to these (this is my guess). How long of a run can you have with the GOM between putting a fabricmate "holder"?

5) I am assuming the ceiling you painted black, can you advise the brand and name color. Is it matte or semi-gloss?

6) How are you opening the door that is covered with GOM? Is there a knob for the door? I will have two doors that I need to figure something out for.

Sorry for inundating you with all these questions, but you have done an amazing job, and I would like to learn more about your techniques.Thanks in advance for your answers.


Carlo

1) They are 2x4's stacked, with a 1/2" space between them making them 7 1/2" deep.
2) The inside dimensions are 42" x 42".
3) The bottom of the boxes or coffers are at 9' and the perimeter soffit is at 8' 2"
4) FS-150BL (black). I mainly used the fabricmate material anywhere I wanted to have easy access to something, like on the surround speaker columns, but the stuff works great and if I did it over again I'd probably use the stuff everywhere. When I found out about it I had already bought and ripped enough 1 x 2's for the entire job, so I felt that I had to use some of it. I still have a ton of pre-cut furring that will probably become firewood. Horizontally you can run the fabricmate stuff forever, but if you're using GOM, you're pretty much going to stay at less than 66".
5) The ceiling paint is just plain old Glidden flat black and I got it at Lowes (it only comes in flat).
6) The door is opened by just putting your fingers on the side of the molding that surrounds the fancy fabric and pulling. The molding is just some chair rail also bought at Lowes and it opens effortlessly so I see no need to booger it up with a handle. I still need to put a catch on each door because when you close one door the other wants to open just slightly from the air pressure created.

White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

I don't think they have a website though.

Actually, this looks like their web site:

http://www.whitealuminum.com/

I bet they are doing more out of state business then ever before, perhaps you should ask for referral fee. :D

For those who can't get those, Home Depot sells 1" square aluminum pipes (look in hardware section - $10 for 8'). It's not as good as 2" with grooves, but still strong enough for frame. Most DIYers are using industrial strength velcro to attach the fabric.

BTW. Absolutely love you HT, I am going to "steal" some of your ideas for coffered ceiling as I have a beam running through the middle of my HT that needs to be taken care of. Keep up the good work and always looking forward to your pictures !!!

Thanks, Davie.

White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

I don't think they have a website though.

David,
I think rsberg34 was wondering about the screen material and Its Dazian CCC if I understood correctly. you may want to pay attention to this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640385&page=30&pp=30 for a couple days and see what happens with the audio properties . Supposedly the Dazian is the best you can get for audio but compare it to the video of the other fabric which almost appears to have gain ( the lab says it does not but it compares to Studiotek 130 pretty well from my testing)

Sorry for the Hi-jack David but i think he was wondering about the actual screen material , not the framing

David,
I think rsberg34 was wondering about the screen material and Its Dazian CCC if I understood correctly. you may want to pay attention to this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640385&page=30&pp=30 for a couple days and see what happens with the audio properties . Supposedly the Dazian is the best you can get for audio but compare it to the video of the other fabric which almost appears to have gain ( the lab says it does not but it compares to Studiotek 130 pretty well from my testing)

Sorry for the Hi-jack David but i think he was wondering about the actual screen material , not the framing

Ah, yes Mark I think you are right about his question and yes mine is the Dazian CCC. For the record, were you aware that Dazian's CCC is a specifically designed fabric for projection screens? Although they make this fabric for other applications, the white is used for those jumbotron type screens you might see at a concert. When I ordered mine they gave me the option of just the regular white CCC or the white for a projection screen. They said that it's the exact product only the projection screen material goes through an additional inspection process to check for possible defects in the fabric. Anyway, you probably knew all of that.

I too as you know have been awaiting Rueben's final results although I must say that I was not impressed by his most recent screen shots. I guess it’s because when I compare the image of his desktop with my actual desktop which has the same image, his looks washed out. Also, in his image, the Dazian material looks blueish grey (at least on my monitor) and other things on my monitor that are supposed to be white look white. When I view my Dazian screen, it is white either in person or in an image on my PC. I started tweaking my projector / Lumagen today and after making just a few adjustments to brightness, contrast, and resolution it already looks incredible. Depending on the source, some of the HD cable stuff looks as good as my 65" plasma which I thought would be impossible, but the source seems to vary a lot even on the HD cable broadcasts. At this point it's hard for me to imagine that Rueben's new material can make that much of a difference but strapping a piece of it against the Dazian in my own home may prove otherwise and I am anxious to see it.

Makeit,

Excellent job on your theater. I am very suprised at how fast you built it. Great job, excellent attention to detail, and thanks for sharing this beauty with us all!

but the source seems to vary a lot even on the HD cable broadcasts. At this point it's hard for me to imagine that Rueben's new material can make that much of a difference but strapping a piece of it against the Dazian in my own home may prove otherwise and I am anxious to see it. And I have not seen the Dazian but maybe I should, My audio guy told me I would probably not like it, hes an audio nut and wants the audio properties but he also has a very low lumen/contrast PJ. I saw that you screenshots ( of the BB game) were pretty sweet even when your wire was disconnected. That blue-ish gray has me wondering as well in the screenshots but remember Ruben stated he did not have the black backing behing the Dazian in those shots, too me it looked like it was layed right on the Shearweave which probably causes the Blue? Ruben should have a serious scrap peice left over, I wonder if he could get it to you but I think when looking at this stuff you have too look at a large sample no matter what it is. I had a sample of a commercial AT screen that Ruben has compared to the Dazian and I had results i wouldnt use but I was in econo mode, Do you use econo mode or normal on the dazian? I am almost forced in to using econo because of where I mouted PJ.

Where I noticed the big difference was HD programming like HDnet/Discovery/ Sports. When you get your sample , You an I's gotta talk ( in a Tony Soprano like voice)

By the way did I rave and babble on about how great your theater looks? I probably did on the phone. Best looking ceiling I have seen in any theater anywhere , hands down.

Wow, truly remarkable theater. One of the best I've seen. Excellent job.

And I have not seen the Dazian but maybe I should, My audio guy told me I would probably not like it, hes an audio nut and wants the audio properties but he also has a very low lumen/contrast PJ. I saw that you screenshots ( of the BB game) were pretty sweet even when your wire was disconnected. That blue-ish gray has me wondering as well in the screenshots but remember Ruben stated he did not have the black backing behing the Dazian in those shots, too me it looked like it was layed right on the Shearweave which probably causes the Blue? Ruben should have a serious scrap peice left over, I wonder if he could get it to you but I think when looking at this stuff you have too look at a large sample no matter what it is. I had a sample of a commercial AT screen that Ruben has compared to the Dazian and I had results i wouldnt use but I was in econo mode, Do you use econo mode or normal on the dazian? I am almost forced in to using econo because of where I mouted PJ.

Where I noticed the big difference was HD programming like HDnet/Discovery/ Sports. When you get your sample , You an I's gotta talk ( in a Tony Soprano like voice)

By the way did I rave and babble on about how great your theater looks? I probably did on the phone. Best looking ceiling I have seen in any theater anywhere , hands down.

I haven't tried econo mode yet. Did you tell me you had to use it because of heat concerns? My projector is mounted where the top side of the hush box (when it's finished) will be completely open to my attic space. Since we used Icycene as our insulation the entire attic is insulated and the temperature never gets any warmer than 5 degrees from the room temperature in the house, so for the most part it is never over 80 degrees which is well within the operating range of the projector. Also, the location of my projector is against the wall that divides the theater from the theater lounge and in order to have access to clean the filter and change the bulb I had to cut a 13" x 24" hole in the wall behind the projector which is in the lounge. To cover the hole I'm using an A/C return register because it looks like it belongs there and also has the benefit of allowing a natural convective flow of cooler air to get pulled from the lounge in and past the projector. In theory it should work great, but I'll run some temperature tests once the box is built just to be sure.

If Rueben DID just lay the Dazian over the Shearweave then the screenshots are of no use and a real life test wouldn't be either. The fabrics should both be applied by themselves either with or without the black fabric, although in my opinion the black fabric must be there and it needs to be there not because of the black levels or the loss of brightness or whatever, but its ability to hide anything behind the screen fabric that might be seen through the it. In my case, everthing behind the screen is completely black except the cones of my speakers which are silver looking and would clearly be visible without black backing. Yes, I could have just left the black speaker grills on and that would have worked, but the speaker box has a gloss finish and that would not have been good. Also, the Lineacoustic being a fibergalss material has millions of those reflective pieces of glass in it and even though it is black that glass causes reflections as was evident in hundreds of bad photos that I took (bad because of the reflected light from my flash). Anyway at least in my case I need to have the black backing, so a real fabric test for me would have to include it. If Rueben hasn't posted how those 2 fabrics were layed up, maybe he will now that we've discussed it here.

I still can't wait to try it in my own home though because every individual application is going to create different results. Unless everyone used the same projector and everyone used it in a completely black room with walls, ceiling and carpet all being black (the same shade of black too), then they will all see somewhat different results. Just as every room has its own acoustic properties, it also has its own properties that affect the image. OK, I'm done rambling. I'm not really an engineer (although I did play one on TV) (not really).

Makeit57:

Incredible Theater! Nice to see a fellow Merc HD owner posting on the forums (I think that makes 3 active posters on AVS, that I'm aware of including Mark P).
It seems that most Merc HD owners stop posting once they own one. Too busy enjoying it I suppose...:)

Best of luck with your project. Post some screen shots with the Merc/Dazian combo when you have a chance.

Truss systems in Florida (and other regions prone to hurricanes) are engineered well beyond what you might see locally. Our building codes here are very strict and part of the reason the cost to build here is so pricey. The only way those trusses are coming down is if the walls are falling with it.

Jeff

makeit57 - BTW great job so far. I'm interested in seeing it progress.


do you know of any way to make a "form" if you will for the drywall squres that aren't so heavy?


BTW: the paint and the molding and the design makes your theater better than any i have seen yet so far, plus, your 2.35:1 screen is HUUUUUUGE! i like, good job...how long from start to fin?

do you know of any way to make a "form" if you will for the drywall squres that aren't so heavy?

You could make the forms for the coffer out of 1x4's or 1x6's but I wouldn't bother. The weight of each of those coffer inserts can't weigh more then 20lbs a piece. Your looking at maybe 4x 8ft 2x4's that are light weight dried pine. The drywall weight will be higher but you could offset that using a thinner drywall. ie: use a 3/8's instead of 1/2 or 5/8's.

Another option if your really concerned about truss strength is get in the attic and do some additional cross bracing. You want right angle bracing in 3 directions. Horizontal with the ceiling joist, perpendicular to the roof joist and perpendicular to the ceiling joist tieing in to the roof joist. In most cases that would be over kill unless your dealing with a really old home.

Jeff

What else would you like to know? The material is 2" x 2" and it comes in bronze or white. It is used primarily for the chair rail height piece running horizontally in most Florida screen enclosures. It has 2 spline grooves and I was told to use the flat spline with it. It also is available in deeper sizes, like 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8. These deeper sizes are usually used for vertical supports in the screen enclosures. It can be bought in lengths at least up to 24'. I have some pieces that are that long in our screen enclosure.

The place I bought it from cut the 45's for me at no additional charge; I just gave them the exact outside dimension and told them I wanted the corners 45'd and they did it. Total cost for the aluminum, corner L's and the spline was 56.74 tax included.

It came from:
White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135



Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

Unfortunately, they don't ship out of state. I just hung up w/a Jeff, and no go...:(

How high did you say your ceilings were? Doing what I do and living in the house I live in I can't about to begin to build anything as beautiful as this and am a little jealous. No, a lot jealous. This is just fantastic. People come in to my theater and go ooh and aahh. No one around here as anything as nice as mine but it pales in comparison to yours. I will get all the finished pics up when everything is done. I didn't take pics as I went as I didn't do anything as detailed as many have. It still looks pretty nice though. Do you ever go to work at your real job? You have many wonderful skills. Keep us all drooling with your pics.

David,

I just stumbled across your build thread. Well done on the HT!! I love the coffered ceiling and the DIY screen. I may steal you idea on the "flush mounted / frameless" screen idea you used. I was thinking about that but could not picture the finished product.

do you know of any way to make a "form" if you will for the drywall squres that aren't so heavy?


BTW: the paint and the molding and the design makes your theater better than any i have seen yet so far, plus, your 2.35:1 screen is HUUUUUUGE! i like, good job...how long from start to fin?

Well, we're not quite finished, but I started on it the day after Xmas 05'. I'm still waiting on the new anamorphic lens system from Digital Projection which they tell me should be another couple of weeks. We also have a lounge outside the theater that is being worked on and is holding up the finishing of a few pieces of trim in the theater, but we have been watching movies in it for the past 4 nights. Oh, and the ceiling is not finished yet either; it still gets some hand painted 28" medallions in the center of each one. We think we have made the final decision on the medallions, so now we just need to get them in hand and have them painted.

Unfortunately, they don't ship out of state. I just hung up w/a Jeff, and no go...:(

Staged, where do you live? Surely this type of aluminum is available in your area. I know that these type of screen rooms are a lot more common in Florida, but this isn't the only place they use them. Anywhere someone would have a screened in porch there should be a supplier.

Well, we're not quite finished, but I started on it the day after Xmas 05'. I'm still waiting on the new anamorphic lens system from Digital Projection which they tell me should be another couple of weeks. We also have a lounge outside the theater that is being worked on and is holding up the finishing of a few pieces of trim in the theater, but we have been watching movies in it for the past 4 nights. Oh, and the ceiling is not finished yet either; it still gets some hand painted 28" medallions in the center of each one. We think we have made the final decision on the medallions, so now we just need to get them in hand and have them painted.

David,

Sorry for the real newb question, but did you use screws or nails (how long ?) to attach your squares to the ceiling ? Any other info how you attached/constructed squares will be a big help -- never did any framing in my life, this will be the first :).

BTW. Since you are into skiing and biking you need to think of moving to Colorado :).

Thanks, Davie.

How high did you say your ceilings were? Doing what I do and living in the house I live in I can't about to begin to build anything as beautiful as this and am a little jealous. No, a lot jealous. This is just fantastic. People come in to my theater and go ooh and aahh. No one around here as anything as nice as mine but it pales in comparison to yours. I will get all the finished pics up when everything is done. I didn't take pics as I went as I didn't do anything as detailed as many have. It still looks pretty nice though. Do you ever go to work at your real job? You have many wonderful skills. Keep us all drooling with your pics.

The highest part of the ceiling which is inside the boxes or coffers is 9' 5". The coffers are 7 1/2" deep and the soffit around the perimeter is another 9 1/2" deep. These dimensions were dictated by my need to enclose the projector in the soffit at the back of the room. The design I wanted to do required a 12 to 14' ceiling because it had a curved soffit area, but if I would have done the curved soffit my columns would have been too short and squatty looking for my room so we had to settle for what we did.

My "real" job is doing stuff from my PC here at home, but the answer to your question is no, I haven't done any real work for about 3 months. Up until about 4 days ago I was working on the theater 7 days a week and about 12 to 14 hours a day. Sometimes the time was spent doing research for things I needed to do or gathering all the parts and pieces, but I didn't do much else during a normal day except squeeze in a few meals and about 5 hours of sleep. I did manage to get in a week of skiing though :)

I'm glad I don't lead the rough life like you. If you want I will come and take your place for awhile so you can have some rest.

David,

Sorry for the real newb question, but did you use screws or nails (how long ?) to attach your squares to the ceiling ? Any other info how you attached/constructed squares will be a big help -- never did any framing in my life, this will be the first :).

BTW. Since you are into skiing and biking you need to think of moving to Colorado :).

Thanks, Davie.

Everything in the coffered ceiling was screwed with 3" deck screws and I used the Deck Mate brand from Home Depot. They are a more expensive screw, but you wont strip them or twist the heads off. Each box comes with it's own hardened bit too. Lowes also carries another brand, but they're very similar. I wound up using some of each and believe it or not, the phillips head is different on the two brands so I would have to keep changing the bits in the screw gun when I went from one brand to the other (when using other sizes in the room). You can see all of the pictures I took here: http://www.piacasa.com/theater/theater-all.htm. It's not very organized and it has some poor quality pictures, but it's everything I've taken from the entire project. I tried to put the best ones in my thread so people wouldn't have to weed through the bad ones but there are more pictures of the construction of the coffers there if you need to see them.

I have 2 timeshares in Colorado and my wife and I were talking about a second home out there instead (of the timeshares), but its just talk right now. I don't mind going downhill on skis, but I hate fast descents on my bike. I'd rather go uphill all day long on my bike than come down; crazy huh?

I'm glad I don't lead the rough life like you. If you want I will come and take your place for awhile so you can have some rest.

I really don't want any rest; I'd rather be riding my bike than building theaters or working :)

Staged, where do you live? Surely this type of aluminum is available in your area. I know that these type of screen rooms are a lot more common in Florida, but this isn't the only place they use them. Anywhere someone would have a screened in porch there should be a supplier.

Makeit: I live in the NYC metro area of NJ. You are probably right. I'll have to do some searching. I went to Lowes last night, but I didn't see anything.

Have to say it again: Stunning theater. Enjoy it in good health. :)

Makeit: I live in the NYC metro area of NJ. You are probably right. I'll have to do some searching. I went to Lowes last night, but I didn't see anything.

Have to say it again: Stunning theater. Enjoy it in good health. :)

Staged, I was unable to find any of the 2x2 screen enclosure aluminum here in Kansas City. I tried manufacturer rep firms to locate distributors or retailers. Luckily, I had a trip planned to Disney World with the grandkids and my son drove his mini-van down and hauled my screen frame home on top.

I purchased the materials from Mike's Aluminum, a small, family owned business in Orlando. Both Mike and his wife Hope were very helpful. I purchased materials for a 108" (96x54) frame including corner "L" clips and screws for $40.41.

The flat spline was at Lowe's for $9.98 per 100'. They also had 10' sections of the same 2x2 aluminum for $19.91 each. Since Lowe's has it in their inventory maybe you could special order it at your local store (but it would not be mitred).

I spoke with Mike about doing some sort of package for folks North of the snow/no snow line and he said he could fabricate and ship kits within UPS shipping specifications. Larger screens could be fashioned by joining the mitred 2x2 aluminum pieces with smaller 1 1/2" aluminum hand rail sections (slipped inside the 2x2). You might e-mail or call and see what they can do for you.

Mike's Aluminum
10901 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837
404-438-1127
www.mikesaluminum.com

Simply beautiful!

Hi, I'm new in the site. I'm from Chile, south america.
I'm acoustic engineer dedicated to design and build cinemas in private homes and buildings.
I wish you can describe me a little more the materials that you use. For example the cover of the walls. What do you use to cover the sorround speakers columns?, it looks too dense to allow the sound to cross that material. I'm looking for a material with such properties.

Thank you and congratulatios for your extraordinary job.
Just for curiosity, what is your profession?

White Aluminum

Phone:
(352) 383-7135

Address:
18040 US Hwy 441
Mount Dora, FL 32757

I don't think they have a website though.

I hope I"m not being repetative in these questions but this screen set up looks very nice.

Is the material 2x2 boxed aluminum or just an L shape?

This may sound like a stupid question but how is the material attached to the aluminum? Do you just tuck the material into the splines and if so can it be removed?

Could I use regular screen material (Da-Lite, Draper, etc) and would it fit into the splines?

Could this 2x2 material be used to make a bordered screen without any additional aluminum? I.E. a different wrapping configuration.

Sorry for so many questions

Thanks for your input.
Rob

Staged, I was unable to find any of the 2x2 screen enclosure aluminum here in Kansas City. I tried manufacturer rep firms to locate distributors or retailers. Luckily, I had a trip planned to Disney World with the grandkids and my son drove his mini-van down and hauled my screen frame home on top.

I purchased the materials from Mike's Aluminum, a small, family owned business in Orlando. Both Mike and his wife Hope were very helpful. I purchased materials for a 108" (96x54) frame including corner "L" clips and screws for $40.41.

The flat spline was at Lowe's for $9.98 per 100'. They also had 10' sections of the same 2x2 aluminum for $19.91 each. Since Lowe's has it in their inventory maybe you could special order it at your local store (but it would not be mitred).

I spoke with Mike about doing some sort of package for folks North of the snow/no snow line and he said he could fabricate and ship kits within UPS shipping specifications. Larger screens could be fashioned by joining the mitred 2x2 aluminum pieces with smaller 1 1/2" aluminum hand rail sections (slipped inside the 2x2). You might e-mail or call and see what they can do for you.

Mike's Aluminum
10901 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837
404-438-1127
www.mikesaluminum.com


Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the info!

You're welcome. Heaven knows how much help I have received from this forum. It is nice to finally be able to give a little back.

Please post your experiences with Mike's Aluminum. They were very helpful to me and I would like to see one of these places put an inexpensive screen frame kit together. A frame kit along with Sandman's screen weave would be really nice.

Very Nice, I read the entire thread and the photos are great!!!

What are the actual room dimensions lenght and width??? I saw the height listed at around 9 feet.

Thanks, Brett

...late to the party...

SWEET looking HT!!

Again... very nice HT!!
Can we see some more pictures please..... :D

Craig

makeit57
May I ask where you got your "black riser lights", I've looked everywhere and can't find them puppies.

Thabks; Jessica :)

This project actually started 4 years ago.

My wife and I decided to build a new home theater starting from the house up. We owned the land next to our current home and began the project. Due to the size of the home and the small lot that we had to build it on, we couldn't get permitting to allow us to include the finished theater in the plan, so we had to leave the room unfinished and marked on the plan as "unfinished storage space". We got the final CO on the home back in February this year and have been living in it ever since. After 3 years of construction and dealing with all of the subcontractor nonsense, we were all "constructioned out" and decided that we didn't want another subcontractor in our home ever again so the room has sat empty since then. Ironic since we were really building a new theater with house around it :) It was such a pain in the ass that we even named the house PiaCasa (Pain in the ass house). The house even has it's own website, but since this is my first post, the forum won't let me post the url, but it's PiaCasa com.

So now it's time to start building and I guess it's going to be me doing the build out. At least I know it will be done right and I won't destroy the rest of the house in the process.

The room is 18' 6"W x 25'D x 9' 6"H and is all 2x4 stud construction with Icynene insulation in the 4 walls. It is on the second floor of our home and the wood sub floor has a 3/4" product poured over it called Gypcrete which makes it almost like having a concrete second floor. We are planning on having 2 rows of 4 seats with the second row on a riser of about 8". I've used the riser calculator from one of the posts which helped me confirm what I had already calculated. The riser construction is pretty straight forward, but I was curious what others though about the flooring material on the top of the riser. Should I just use 3/4" plywood? Should it be glued to the top of the joists and are nails acceptable instead of screws? I also am confused about how far over the edge the plywood should hang to allow for rope lighting and a nice rolled edge with the carpet. I will be doing a small stage as well and would think that it would be constructed similar to the riser? I've seen some pictures in other posts of risers, but none that would answer my questions; can anyone help?

I'm sure there will be many more questions to come and hopefully we don't take another 3 years to finish this.

David


Indoor pool ? thats just sick. Your barrel tile roof cost more than our entire home.. :( The MRS really likes your Theater Powder room.

thank you for sharing with us.

DL

Again... very nice HT!!
Can we see some more pictures please..... :D

Craig

Craig,

All pictures can be found here:

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/theater-all.htm

Craig,

All pictures can be found here:

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/theater-all.htm


Nice. :)
But I was looking for new pics. ;)
I have seen all of those.

Craig

David-
'Love the theater and your home as well!

Quick question...I'm planning an HT at the moment, and I really like the way you hid your L/R speakers and subs behind those frames. What specific product did you use to cover the frames, and how did you attach it? And the frames are made of what size material?

Thanks!

Harry

What is the make and color number of the paint you used for the moldings?

Thx

What is the make and color number of the paint you used for the moldings?

Thx

It's Modern Masters (http://www.modernmasters.com/metallicpaint.asp) Olympic Gold

makeit57
May I ask where you got your "black riser lights", I've looked everywhere and can't find them puppies.

Thabks; Jessica :)

I got them at Dale Electric (http://www.dale-electric.com/search.php?itemnumber=P6803-31&description=&results_per_page=25&x=16&y=12) but when I bought mine, they were only $44 each, they look like they've gone up considerably. They are made by Progress Lighting and you might try googling for them at a lower price. The Prgress Lighting part number is P6803-31.

Nice. :)
But I was looking for new pics. ;)
I have seen all of those.

Craig

I'll be posting more soon. The cabinets in the theater lounge are going in right now and the curtains should be done in a couple of weeks. I'm still waiting on the anamorphic lens assembly from DPI; they are testing their 2nd prototype and feel confident they will have a production model to ship to me on May 1st. Once that goes in I can finish the hush box and the trim around it.

Very Nice, I read the entire thread and the photos are great!!!

What are the actual room dimensions lenght and width??? I saw the height listed at around 9 feet.

Thanks, Brett

It's about 18 1/2' wide by 25' deep.

Hi, I'm new in the site. I'm from Chile, south america.
I'm acoustic engineer dedicated to design and build cinemas in private homes and buildings.
I wish you can describe me a little more the materials that you use. For example the cover of the walls. What do you use to cover the sorround speakers columns?, it looks too dense to allow the sound to cross that material. I'm looking for a material with such properties.

Thank you and congratulatios for your extraordinary job.
Just for curiosity, what is your profession?

It's all covered with black GOM.

I own a landscape company (http://www.kayebros.com) and a website hosting and promotions (http://www.kayetech.com) company.

I hope I"m not being repetative in these questions but this screen set up looks very nice.

Is the material 2x2 boxed aluminum or just an L shape?

This may sound like a stupid question but how is the material attached to the aluminum? Do you just tuck the material into the splines and if so can it be removed?

Could I use regular screen material (Da-Lite, Draper, etc) and would it fit into the splines?

Could this 2x2 material be used to make a bordered screen without any additional aluminum? I.E. a different wrapping configuration.

Sorry for so many questions

Thanks for your input.
Rob

It is 2x2 boxed with 2 spline grooves on one side. I think you should be able to use regular screen material as the spline groove looks large enough, but I haven't tried it yet. Yes, it can be made like a traditional framed screen just by not wrapping the screen material all the way around to the back side. You would just lay the screen material across the side with the spline groove and roll the spline in. That method would be much simpler than wrapping it the way I did it, but I didn't want to see the frame.

What is the dimension for each of the boxes that forms the coferred ceiling. I noticed that it is 2 (2x4s) with a gap in-between them held together by 2x4 blocks. Thx

What is the dimension for each of the boxes that forms the coferred ceiling. I noticed that it is 2 (2x4s) with a gap in-between them held together by 2x4 blocks. Thx

Check post #111 on page 4 of this thread.

Well. it's been a while but we're finally getting things wrapped up. The last phases of this project have been taking the longest and they involved finishing the theater lounge and choosing the medallions for the ceiling. I'm still waiting on my anamorphic lens from DPI and now they're telling me it will be available at the end of this week, but I've been hearing that since January so I'm not holding my breath.

Here are the latest photos.

The medallions from the Medallion Factory.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6232.JPG

Spraying on the primer.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6238.JPG

Priming the trim rings for the 4" can lights.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6239.JPG

Painted medallions

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6243.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6245.JPG

Finished trim rings.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6284.JPG

Close up of ceiling medallion installed.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6289.JPG

Entire ceiling shots.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6287.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6291.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6304.JPG

Ceiling shot looking towards the back. Notice the missing hush box around the projector and the unfinished crown molding due to the hold up on the anamorphic lens and sled assembly.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6315.JPG

The Theater Lounge

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6293.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6301.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6302.JPG

My Oscars for Home Theater Achievement - I didn't even know they had a category for this but my wife seemed to think so. She spends way too much time on eBay.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6297.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/162_6299.JPG

I have a few more pictures to hang in the lounge and then it will be complete. That's all for now.

Looks fantastic. The one area I admire your taste most is attention to detail. It's quite obvious throughout your entire house you take time to ensure architectural details are everywhere wheater is be niches, moldings, or materials. It really makes for a beatiful and unique home. Congrats.

Jeff

WOW! What a Fantastic job! Looks totally awaesome!

The fabric you used in the panels is the style I'm considering......where is you get it from?

Cheers,
Mark

WOW! What a Fantastic job! Looks totally awaesome!

The fabric you used in the panels is the style I'm considering......where is you get it from?

Cheers,
Mark

Mark, the fabric is actually some curtain panels I found at JCPenny's. I bought them on sale and the sale price was about $28 per panel. Each panel was 84" long and 44" wide. After looking at other similar fabrics at the local fabric stores and getting prices of around $80 a yard, this was a bargain.

Your theater continues to impress....very deserving of the Oscars!!

Have you fully tried out the Axiom system yet? If so whats your opinion? I will hopefully begin on my basement theater in a few months (had planned to begin last month but life happens)...Anyway, my space is close to yours...18 wide by about 23 to the back wall. Thats why I was wondering about your opinion of the Axioms, do they fill the space nicely with good even, flowing sound from front to the sides and to the rear surropunds?

Your theater is simply amazing...will probably be stealing some of your design.

Robert

OK, we're almost to the end of this saga. Since my last post I've been waiting on the anamorphic lens and sled assembly that was being built by DPI. I've been waiting for it since January when they told me it would be done at the end of the month. This has been holding me up from finishing the hush box, molding and installing the second row of seats.

In mid June it finally showed up. When I first contacted them about this new device I was told that it included an ISCO III lens along with the motorized sled assembly. I also had been quoted a price of around $7000 for the complete package. I thought this sounded too good since I knew that the lens alone was near $7000, but since I had just bought my projector from them and they knew I would have bought the lens and sled at the same time I assumed they were just giving me a good deal. I also thought that since they were such a big company with a lot of buying power, they could possibly be getting the lenses at a great discount.

I opened the box and the sled looked great, but the lens it included was an ISCO II, not the III. This was a problem. The ISCO II has a magnification of 7% which means you would have to readjust the projector each time you moved the lens in or out of position which defeats the whole purpose of the motorized sled. I contacted my dealer, who quickly sent me an ISCO III, but what do you know, the ISCO III doesn't fit on the DPI sled! After a few phone calls I found out that the company who manufactures the sled for DPI was working on "revision 2" which would accommodate the ISCO III, but after being told that the first version was going to be ready at the end of January and then not getting it until mid June, I wasn't about to play the waiting game again. I also did not know how much this new sled would cost; heck I didn't even know what the old one was going to cost me since we had sent the ISCO II back to them and they couldn't even give us a price for just the sled by itself. The number that seemed to be thrown around though was $5000 just for the sled and this was for the one that wouldn't fit the ISCO III; who knew what they would ask for the one that would actually work.

During this entire wait (since January) I had been saying to myself "I could build that damn thing in about 2 weeks, what's taking them so long", so I decided to put my money where my mouth was and just build it myself. I went down to our local government surplus store and walked out with about $65 in parts and pieces and a plan that was only in my head on how I was going to do this. A trip to my local machine shop to get the "Screw Drive" machined for about $90 and an internet order for an IR remote controlled relay which cost $108 (shipping included) and I was ready to go. I actually built the thing in about 4 hours, but I had to wait a week for the relay to come from California. Total cost $263.

Below are the latest photos and I've included some of the DPI version of their sled. It is a much slicker looking system than mine but doesn't work any better; actually I guess it didn't work as good as mine, as it wouldn't work with my ISCO III lens :)

DPI Lens Sled (Revision 1)

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6400.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6393.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6398.JPG

DIY Lens Sled (Final Release)

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6525.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6530.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6523.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6524.JPG

Actually, it's really not a hush box as the fan noise was minimal and not my main reason for building it; it was more for aesthetics than anything else.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6531.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6532.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6534.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6536.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6542.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6551.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6556.JPG

Now that the lens sled and hush box are complete we can finally get the second row of seats out of our foyer and into the theater.

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6558.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6562.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6560.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/165_6565.JPG

What brand of chair are those?

This is the motorized curtain controller I installed, it was purchased from Don at HTIQ (http://www.htiq.com) and it works well but it's more like a curtain controller kit as it needs a lot of assembly and at least in my case I had to fabricate some aluminum standoffs so it could be ceiling mounted. It's not as slick as my old Makita curtain controller, but the Makita doesn't let you set exact stopping points like the one from HTIQ. Now when I hit the 16:9 aspect ratio button on my MX-3000, the curtain opens to the correct aspect ratio and the anamorphic lens positions itself accordingly. Changing to 4:3 or 2.35:1 is just as easy.

Now if I could just get my system to recognize the source material, determine the aspect ratio and then change it based on what it determined, that would be really cool! Maybe just another trip to that surplus store? I'm sure our tax dollars have already paid somebody to develop this technology :)

The 3/4" aluminum standoffs

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6335.JPG

With toggle bolts through the track

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6336.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6337.JPG

The motor assembly

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6341.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6342.JPG

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6343.JPG

The track mounted with standoffs

http://www.piacasa.com/theater/163_6345.JPG

The curtains are installed, but I don't have any good images of them yet. They are black velvet so they're not real visible but I'll post the images when I get some good ones.

Very nice! I'm been anxiously awaiting an update on your room. Looks like it is pretty close to being wrapped up.

Very impressive!

Andy

What brand of chair are those?

They're Palliser (http://www.palliser.com/) and I got them from Discount Leather Chair (http://www.discountleatherchair.com/). They all recline, but the front row is motorized and the back row is not. I also purchased them in full leather, they offer them in leather match which is somewhat less expensive. I paid $6720 delivered for all 8 seats.

Easily one of the top-3 DIY home theaters I've seen here. Eagerly look forward to the updates.

i could stare at your coffered ceiling for hours. that is an absolutely amazing theater. all your hard work has definitely paid off.

Easily one of the top-3 DIY home theaters I've seen here. Eagerly look forward to the updates.I dont think that ceiling will be out of the top 1 for a long long time. Very nice sled for the ISCO 3, dosent it kind of disappoint you not to pay 7K for a doo-dad? Do you seem to notice a difference between the lens there and not there? Using the Lumagen scaler, I could barely tell.

I dont think that ceiling will be out of the top 1 for a long long time. Very nice sled for the ISCO 3, dosent it kind of disappoint you not to pay 7K for a doo-dad? Do you seem to notice a difference between the lens there and not there? Using the Lumagen scaler, I could barely tell.

Hey Mark,

I too use the Lumagen and when I first looked at 16:9 with it I thought what the heck do I need the lens sled for, but after moving it in and out of place a few times I decided that the image looked a little softer to me, maybe less crisp or sharp then without the ISCO in the path. I've still never tried my PJ in econo-mode, so maybe that too would make it seem like less of a difference; I don't know.

Anyway, my DIY sled works great and it was certainly cheap enough. It takes 1 minute and 24 seconds to move from one position to the other. The motor I used is a 6 to 24v DC motor that I chose to run with a 12 volt power supply since I had no idea how fast it would travel. I could easily change the power supply to a 24 volt and speed the process up.

I sat there for hours and had the ole friends ( the more beer you feed them, the more science they provide) over for blind testing while I slid it in and out and we just couldnt seem to get enough difference. This was using HDNet, Discovery HD and other 16 x 9 goodies including some of the movies I have in that scope on the server via TT, DScaler, AVISynth and others.

If I remember correctly, your using Danzian? You think this may soften a little?

Wow, that looks awesome. It's amazing that they would charge that much for a sliding mount. Very nice job to build one yourself. Where did you find the motor and IR controller?

I've been considering HTIQ's curtain controller as well, but does it seem like you could use it with a curved masking? In other words, curve the track and still have it work? I'm very interested to see some pics of your masking system in action... I spent a while pondering an approach today, and noticed yours seems similar to what I was thinking (but for a flat screen). Unfortunately, that controller seems a bit expensive for my likely budget.

That just goes to show you what a motivated DIYer can do!

I may have to try to get the plans fomr you on that when the time comes...im motivated but dont know how to build it, lol
I also like the curtain as well...are you working some kind of regular red curtain as well or just the black as a masking system? I dont know enough about the lens you are using but I am assuming it is used to go between 16:9 and 235:1? What does the lens itself cost if you dont mind my asking?

Looks great and Im sure we all want to see more pics especially of the system working together and some screen shots as well.

Robert

I sat there for hours and had the ole friends ( the more beer you feed them, the more science they provide) over for blind testing while I slid it in and out and we just couldnt seem to get enough difference. This was using HDNet, Discovery HD and other 16 x 9 goodies including some of the movies I have in that scope on the server via TT, DScaler, AVISynth and others.

If I remember correctly, your using Danzian? You think this may soften a little?

Mark, I am using the Dazian, but I think the picture looks incredible both in native 16:9 and anamorphic 2.35:1 with it. Anything is possible though and I still have a good size sample of Ruben's material that I haven't tried since getting the ISCO in house. I'll give it a look to see if there's as big of a difference.

Wow, that looks awesome. It's amazing that they would charge that much for a sliding mount. Very nice job to build one yourself. Where did you find the motor and IR controller?

I've been considering HTIQ's curtain controller as well, but does it seem like you could use it with a curved masking? In other words, curve the track and still have it work? I'm very interested to see some pics of your masking system in action... I spent a while pondering an approach today, and noticed yours seems similar to what I was thinking (but for a flat screen). Unfortunately, that controller seems a bit expensive for my likely budget.

I got the motor and most of the small parts, like the drawer slides, limit switches, power supply, etc. from a place in Winter Park, Fl called Skycraft. I don't know if they have their own website, but they do sell on eBay. It's a pretty unique place with a flying saucer on the roof.

The remote relay came from Motron Electronics http://www.motron.com/cgi-bin/motronstore.cgi?product=relay. The IRX-1 is the one I saw on their site, but when I called them with questions, they suggested the IRX-2 which is not shown on their site yet.

HTIQ's curtain controller uses a belt drive and some cable that pulls or pushes the curtain masters back and forth and in my installation the cable rubs against the top of my curtain. It's not a problem and it works fine, but I couldn't see how it could be used in its current form with a curved track. Don is a nice guy though and if it can be done, I'm sure he would know how. The price is another subject and after building my sled assembly I know I could also work our a curtain controller if had to (sorry Don).

Your ceiling has really inspired me to work more on my ceiling. I may take some or your excellent ideas and apply them to my project.

Thanks for sharing.

That just goes to show you what a motivated DIYer can do!

I may have to try to get the plans fomr you on that when the time comes...im motivated but dont know how to build it, lol
I also like the curtain as well...are you working some kind of regular red curtain as well or just the black as a masking system? I dont know enough about the lens you are using but I am assuming it is used to go between 16:9 and 235:1? What does the lens itself cost if you dont mind my asking?

Looks great and Im sure we all want to see more pics especially of the system working together and some screen shots as well.

Robert

Plans? What plans? I went parts shopping with only the dimensions of the area that the unit needed to fit into when it was done; 11" x 28". That was it, everything else just morphed into place as I went along; kind of like the rest of the theater.

It was really quite simple though. A couple of pieces of Lexan (Plexiglas) one for the base and one for the carrier, a threaded rod, a couple of limit switches, a 24v DC motor, a coupling to connect the threaded rod to the motor (I had a machine shop modify the rod so it would work with the coupling), 2 heavy duty drawer slides laid sideways, the remote relay, a few feet of #16 speaker wire, a handful of 6-32 and 8-32 screws and nuts, and a few nylon spacers.

Our curtain is just black velvet and mainly for masking. We considered using other colors or even using some fancy gold bullion on the bottom of the curtain but I believe that when looking towards the screen, nothing should detract you from the image itself so we kept everything black. I even stopped the heavier fancy crown molding on each side of the proscenium from going across because of this too.

The lens is for switching between 16:9 and 2.35:1 and it sells for around $7000, but if you contact Alan I think he can get you a better deal.

Ouch....7k

Just doesnt seem right to spend more on a lens than I plan to spend on the PJ (5K or so) lol

I may have to research this more as I would like the ability to easily switch between the two but not sure I want to spend that kind of money to do it. Things that make you go hmmm.

Robert

The curtains need to be hung below the track, unlike a typical window curtain. Then they won't rub on the belt. A valence made from the curtain material or a piece of MDF covers and hides the track.

I'm going to be doing a curtain/masking system on a curved screen next week.

Vern

Please allow me to commend you on a tremendous achievement ! The work is just top notch and as others have stated that ceiling is just incredible ! I hope you get many years of enjoyment.

Art

Been meaning to ask you....how do the QS8's sound in the columns? Everything I have read on them says not to do that. My opinion, If your gona build a true "dedicated" theater then I think the speakers should be hidden. I just wonder if them being in the columns affects thier sound and if so how much? Did you listen to them in the columns prior to covering the columns and then after for a comparison?

Thanks
Robert

Been meaning to ask you....how do the QS8's sound in the columns? Everything I have read on them says not to do that. My opinion, If your gona build a true "dedicated" theater then I think the speakers should be hidden. I just wonder if them being in the columns affects thier sound and if so how much? Did you listen to them in the columns prior to covering the columns and then after for a comparison?

Thanks
Robert

Robert, I was told the same thing, so I designed the columns where they would not be adversly affected. There is no obstruction of the speakers by any part of the column and there is plenty of air space above and below them as well. They sound great!

the gold trim is so awsome, cant wait to see how it looks in my theater.. haha

makeit57,

Hope you see this post. Love your design. For the fabric "pictures" on the walls (the red/gold pattern), is that AT material? Or doesn't that matter? I would think it would, that's why we use GOM right?

I'd like to do something similar, so I'm wondering where I get AT material in a pattern like that. If it's not AT, then there's probably lots of places to get it.

Thanks,

Ed

As I said in an earlier post it is simply beautiful ! The lens rail is ingenious ! Johnathan

Your craftmanship appears to be impeccable! Any chance I can get you to work for me in Minnesota. We're looking for a few good men.

Awesome theater!
I may have missed it somewhere... but... what is the name of your "fancy fabric" pattern. I'm looking for something similar.
Thanks,
Cam

Awesome theater!
I may have missed it somewhere... but... what is the name of your "fancy fabric" pattern. I'm looking for something similar.
Thanks,
Cam
Actually, they're just curtain panels that I bought from JC Penney; they were much cheaper than buying fabric by the yard. I think I paid $28 a panel (on sale) and one panel was enough to do each of my framed panels. This was much cheaper than the $105 a yard stuff that looked similar at the fabric stores. I don't recall the pattern name though.

Man, I love the colors. Very roman-esque.

Very, very cool!

I have to say that as cool as it is, it all comes down to time and money. Most people who don't have this nice a setup simply don't have the 10 to 12 hours a day to put into it nor the money.

Congrats on figuring that side of life out as well.

Greg