GranTheaterO is in the middle of development as well as the rest of my basement. GranTheaterO is a play off the acroynm for my other passion, the GTO.

I see that pictures are really the key to getting feedback and input on the project so I will include a bunch.

The first set of photos will bring the project up to about the end of December:

http://images14.fotki.com/v256/photos/8/821852/3067921/GranTheaterO_drwing16Nov05-vi.jpg

I will post more photos soon. Also if anyone is interested in the other rooms (from the drawing in the above link) let me know and I can post more.

I will caution you ahead of time I am not nearly as skilled as some of the members, I am building a solid but basic home theater. Hopefully leverging the skill and expertise of this forum I wont miss anything major. Thanks in advance.

I am building a dedicated HT in my basement and trying to do it right based on what I have read and know. The room (14'x 20' with 8' ceiling) is below the kitchen/Dining Room (w/ Hardwood floors). Going with the 5/8"/ GG / 5/8" on walls and ceiling as Brian recommends.

Currently planning to use the U-boat floaters (EPM rubber shaped in a U to fit on the 1.5" edge of a 2x4) I have for the sub floor combined with double 3/4" floor board. Ceiling will be RSIC-1. Walls are 3" from concrete (2 sides) double wall on 1 side & buffer utility room on the other (1/2" drywall on the utility room side).

I was approved on rough inspection last week for the construction, electrical & plumbing aspects of the entire project so I'm ready finializing some last points, running some last low voltage wires and starting to insulate. Next major step is for the drywall crew to preload the materials & start.

Anyway, I have a few questions at my current state that I'm hoping to get some help on.

1. I read somewhere that I should be adding additional support in the walls (2x4s) horizontally to firm up the wall, I think they were called "stringers"?. I cannot remember where I read it but it seem to make sense and has stuck in my mind. Should I add additional boards? On the one closed wall (drywall on each side) I could see it potentially creating resonance problems but what about the open walls (facing concrete with 3" gap and double non-touching wall)? What do you recommend, is there an advantage to adding additional framing and tightening up the structure?

2. Ducts pipes above? I have at least 5 duct pipes (6" round sheet metal) running from side to side in the rafters above. My though was to use "Reflectix insulation, MLV (I have a bunch) and fiberglass insulation. Any thoughts?

3. Floating floor - I've heard mixed reviews on floating floors. I already have the U-boat floaters, should I use them? If so, any suggestions to minimize negitive impact on sound?

4. Electrical boxes - I was planning to seal each box with acoustical caulk and MLV. Is this ok?

5. Any other last thoughts would also be appreciated. Better safe then sorry at this point, I have a lot invested in this room (at least sitting in boxes ready to be used )

Thanks,

Dave

I'm working on a picture for the left margin, anyone know how to take a higher res photo and scale it to the requirements easily?

I'm also planning to join this forum, Its a great place to get info and a worthy cause.

Here's an idea of what I'll be using in the theater:

Have today:
Speakers
Klipsch RF-35s front (Crossovers improved with (6) French Solen brand Capacitors)
Klipsch RC-35 center
Klipsch RF-35 surround (I know way too much for a surround, hoping to sell the pair on e-bay)
JBL E10 rear surrounds (hopefully only temporary)
JBL E250 subs (I have 2 of these)

Amp/Audio
Rotel RB-985 THX amplifier (5 channel)
Pioneer receiver VSX-914K (Used as a preamp)

OtherMedia Center PC
X-box

Planning to purchase:
Speakers
Klipsch RS-35 - matching surrounds for the Klipsch system
Klipsch RB-15 - Rear surrounds, as the article on the main page of AVS points out these little speakers rock & can be had for $200 new on ebay.

A/V
Sanyo PLV-Z4 Projector - I've wired for it anyway
Toshiba SD-6980 DVD Player - Seems like best bang for the buck
Time Warner HD Cable box
Updated preamp - not sure yet, any recommendations?
2 channel amp for rear surrounds, any recommendations?
Screen - unknown, to start I might just paint the wall

Photo link coming very soon.

Dave

Ok, here are the photos:

Link (http://photos.yahoo.com/kdpettiford)

Dave

I'm having a little trouble getting started tofay but on my way to HD to get a truckload of insulation some more RG6 and some 16-2 wire. The 16-2 is for the rooms other than the HT.

I uploaded a few picts to Fotki but I still do not know how to link to the direct image. As soon as I learn how to do it I will include photos directly in the thread.

Here's the link to the new photos --> New Photos (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/)

Photos show some of the last wiring including:

Wire from cabinet to projector:
1 HDMI
2 Component
1 S-Video
1 composite
1- VGA
(wired for Sayno PLV-Z4)

I also wired (2) component video cables to each of two locations on the main level of the house from the HT cabinet. Those location are the master Bedroom and the Great Room. The 100' component vide cables were only $32 each so I ran 2 to each location. I should be able to stream quality video or audio in either direction. Plus from when the house was built there are other wires already in place to these locations.

I'm about half done with the HT wiring. In front I have:

Left & right sides:
2 14-2 for bi wired speakers
1 RG6 for Sub
1 CAT5e - can't have enought of these (IR, automation, network, etc.)

Center
2 14-2 for bi wired speakers
1 CAT5e

Sides and rears should be done today after a trip to HD.

Bye for now,

Dave

I didn't get back into the HT room but I did wire the bar/TV room for the 7.1 setup I was planning. This room will use all in-walls. I bought some inexpensive 4" speakers to get me started, 2 for the front & 2 for the surround. Eventually I'll replace them and put 2 of the 4" speakers in the bath.

Luckily for me the 2 locations where I need access to vent dampers (code here in my city) is where I will install the rear surround in-ceiling speakers. The inspector asked about it and was ok with my solution.

I also ran audio for music into the game room, the workout room and the bathroom.

I ran a few extra RG6s & CAT5s as well.

All wires go to my utility room along with the 6,000 feet of cable I ran when I built the house, I think I have a problem :rolleyes:

Dave

Dave,
Your project looks great and it looks like you are making fast progress. Are you doing all the work yourself?

I'm not an expert, but here is my input on your questions in your first post...1. I read somewhere that I should be adding additional support in the walls (2x4s) horizontally to firm up the wall, I think they were called "stringers"?. I cannot remember where I read it but it seem to make sense and has stuck in my mind. Should I add additional boards? On the one closed wall (drywall on each side) I could see it potentially creating resonance problems but what about the open walls (facing concrete with 3" gap and double non-touching wall)? What do you recommend, is there an advantage to adding additional framing and tightening up the structure?Unless they are required by code in your area, I wouldn't bother with the stringers. I think you will be fine with your stud walls as they are.

2. Ducts pipes above? I have at least 5 duct pipes (6" round sheet metal) running from side to side in the rafters above. My though was to use "Reflectix insulation, MLV (I have a bunch) and fiberglass insulation. Any thoughts?Do any of these duct pipes have an opening into the theater? If so, it will be a major source of sound leakage to the rest of the house. If they just run over the theater, and go to registers in other areas of the house, I would wrap them in your extra MLV and fiberglass.

3. Floating floor - I've heard mixed reviews on floating floors. I already have the U-boat floaters, should I use them? If so, any suggestions to minimize negitive impact on sound?I don't know about floating floors using U-boats. Maybe someone else will chime in here...

4. Electrical boxes - I was planning to seal each box with acoustical caulk and MLV. Is this ok?Yes, seal these as well as you can. Sound will leak out through the smallest of cracks.

5. Any other last thoughts would also be appreciated. Better safe then sorry at this point, I have a lot invested in this roomIf you are concerned about sound isolation, which it appears you are, I think you may want to reconsider the double door entry to the theater. Double doors are much more difficult to deal with for sound isolation than a single door.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for your imput/answers. I just recently started the thread but the project has been going on for about 1 year now. We built the house and moved in 2 years ago this April. I have been planning the basement for at least a year prior, as soon as I had the plans.

Although the thread is new, I started the work about 1 year ago. I did all of the framing, a bunch of the HVAC, and 1/2 the electrical. Local codes required licensed electricians and plumbers so I had to bring them in. Luckily the electrician worked with his partner and son for one day and let me do the rest. The rest being the HT where I have lots of circuits :)

Stringers, thats what they are called. I think I'll take your advice, the more I think about it I think the structure will be pretty solid with the drywall in place and, as my wife calls it, the "over-engineering" I regularly add to my projects.

Duct pipes only run straight across so I'll seal them and then cover them with the MLV & fibergalss, thanks. Supply and return are accessible from the Utility room and can always be upgraded with more soundproofing if necessary. I bought 2 6" duct mufflers, they seem to work pretty good but we'll see.

The U-baot floaters seemed like a good idea when researching but I think some, including Brian, have receommended against floating the floor. Here's the link to the product:

U-Boat floaters link (http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_uboat/sound_isolation_uboat.asp)

I'll wrap the electrical and low-voltage boxes well.

As for the door, it was a trade off to have a door on the room at all. I also have the bar room as a buffer with double doors to the stairway landing, this should help.

I'm looking forward to finishing the wiring and insulation and then I finally get a crew of workers to help. I did the drywall in my last basement :mad: and I'm letting the experts do it this time :D .

Dave

Dave,
It sounds like we are both about on the same track. I moved into my new home in March two years ago. I started planning my basement project before we moved in, but didn't start building until last July. I also am doing almost all of the work myself, but will contract out the drywall. Just got bids this week.

This is my second theater to build. Technically, it is a media room rather than a dedicated theater. I wanted a dedicated room, but just couldn't fit one in my space and still meet my other priorities for a pool table, bar area, bedroom, bathroom, etc. I'm still very concerned about sound isolation so I am applying all of the sound isolation building techniques to my entire basement. I sure hope it works because I've spent a ton of time and money on it. I've not started a construction thread since it is not truly a dedicated theater, which is what this forum is supposed to be, and also there are so many excellent construction threads already going! (I'll probably post a few pictures when I'm finished. Hopefully you guys with dedicated theaters won't run me off the forum.)

I got a kick out of your statement "All wires go to my utility room along with the 6,000 feet of cable I ran when I built the house, I think I have a problem." I ran almost two miles of low volt cable when the house was built and I ran about another 4,000 feet in my basement. I think i have a PROBLEM too! My wife says I just like the pretty colors of all the wires and whenever I ordered more, she would just ask what color it was this time.

I also chuckled at your reference to "over-engineering" your project. That is pretty polite compared to the descriptions I get... "picky", "anal", "too detailed", "ridiculous", "obsessive", and the list goes on. Even some of the inspectors who have signed off on my worked have looked at me with that look in their eyes that says "I think your crazy". Do you ever get that look when your explaining floating floors and walls, sealing electrical boxes, RSIC clips, hat channel, double drywall, and GreenGlue? :D

Hi Scott,

No work today but I did upload a few more photos. I'd be interested to see what your working on, let me know if/when you decide to publish some photos.

Here's the Marquee entrance, I'm planning to mirror the shape as I build the subfloor into the room.

Marquee Entrance (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/img01671.html)
http://images14.fotki.com/v248/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01671-vi.jpg

Wires from the main and upper floor (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/img01674.html)
http://images15.fotki.com/v266/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01674-vi.jpg

Many of the wires are sensors for home automation. The box on the right is an HAI Omni Pro II Home Automation controller. I was a little nervous to experiment with it on the main floor so the basement will be my proving ground.

The word I hear often is "obsessed". By the time the basement is finished I'm sure I'll have another 4,000ft to add to the number, maybe I'll shoot for an even 2 miles. ;)

I'm hoping tomorrow night to get some more wiring done and maybe start wrapping the ducts. I'll take more photos as I go.

Dave

Dave,

Looks like your coming right along and about the same place I am. I moved in my house in Sep 04 and started working on my basement in March 05. I haven't really done anything in the last couple of months but really need to get back into it. Where did you get your component cables at? And when you say component you are talking about colorstream right? Thanks

Craig,

Dave,
The link to your pictures must be broken now, but I found them at this site (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/).

Your marquee entrance looks very impressive. How are you planning on lighting it? There was a thread here a month or so ago that showed some pretty impressive entrances. The shape of yours reminded me of this one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6665560&&#post6665560), although I don't know if yours will have the same lighting affects.

Your wiring looks like a huge project. I'm not overly familiar with whole house automation and the HAI Omni contoller. Are the sensor wires mostly cat5 or does it use some other type of control wire?

Dave,

Looks like your coming right along and about the same place I am. I moved in my house in Sep 04 and started working on my basement in March 05. I haven't really done anything in the last couple of months but really need to get back into it. Where did you get your component cables at? And when you say component you are talking about colorstream right? Thanks

Craig,

Hi Craig, Sometimes these projects go in phases, I did absolutely nothing from April to July and picked it back up in August and have been working steady since. Good luck with your project.

I bought my component video cables at MCM Electronics (http://www.mcminone.com/). I get their flyers with order and in the mail, their prices are ok but sometimes they have blowouts where you can get a good deal. I believe Toshiba calls them colorstream, should be the same thing.

Jump back into you project, you'll be gald you did when you get a chance to look back, good luck.

Dave

Dave,
The link to your pictures must be broken now, but I found them at this site (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/).

Your marquee entrance looks very impressive. How are you planning on lighting it? There was a thread here a month or so ago that showed some pretty impressive entrances. The shape of yours reminded me of this one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6665560&&#post6665560), although I don't know if yours will have the same lighting affects.

Your wiring looks like a huge project. I'm not overly familiar with whole house automation and the HAI Omni contoller. Are the sensor wires mostly cat5 or does it use some other type of control wire?

Hi Scott,

Looks like I'm having problems with the links. There are 2 circular holes on the underside that will house small can lights with a blue glass ring. I'm actually hoping I can somehow mount letters to spell out the "Now Playing" movie but that's down the road.

Wow, the lighting on your link is impressive but more than I'd want to do right now.

The HAI (http://www.homeauto.com/main.asp) Omni controller is well know in the automation industry, if I remember correctly is the only Security/Automation system that is UL listed. It works off the security system mainly; for example when you leave and set the security system to "Away" it can do any number of things like turn off lights, set the thermostat back, turn off the stereo, etc. It uses If then logic and flags for programming. I plan to mainly use it to save energy, control "scene" lighting in the basement and alert me of activity outside of the house when I'm in my soundproof room. I'll add some info on the hookup and programming when I get there if anyone's interested.

As for your question, all of the sensors are wired with either 22-2 or 22-4. You could use cat5, might even be more economical versus multiple runs. The 22-2 is used for passive sensors (door swiches, window switches, pressure mats, etc.). The 22-4 is used for powered devices like motion detectors and heat detectors.

By the way, I tacked down some wires and fished the bar room TV wires through the wall this evening but cannot do too much once the family goes to bed (no power tools no hammering).

Dave

That is looking pretty phenomenal Dave! Remind me to never try to break into your house! ;) Seriously though, all of your guys' build threads are killing me! If I only had a house and the budget... I have something of a make-shift theater, but I still live in a campus house (rental) so I can't do anything serious like this...yet. Keep the pictures coming, they're keeping my dreams alive!

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

RISC-1 clips for HT ceiling arrived today, all that's left to buy is the channel from HD. This weekend is insulation. I'll make sure my camera is handy.


Dave

Insulation is complete in all but the Home Theater. I also completed a number of small but open items like:

- Magnetic switch installed in front door (above workout room)
- Ran Driveway Monitor wire through Bath to be buried by the driveway at a later date
- Trimmed the demolition at the basement stairs landing area so drywallers can easily merge the new drywall to the old
- Removed the basement light circuit and rerouted it to the utility room
- Assembled a couple of temporary plugs to get light out of the ceiling cans
- Wired an outlet box to each of the treyed ceiling areas
- Wired for some additional lights by the fireplace
- Ran empty conduit from Utility room to basement TV area
- Rerouted the doorbell transformer to the utility room
- Started to caulk (Using DAP Dynafelx 230 - Premium Elastometric Latex Sealant) - This stuff is as close to acoustical sealant as you find for less than 1/2 the cost.

Here's some pictures from the insulation phase: --> Link (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/)

Home Theater is next.

Dave

Sorry for not posting in a few days (ok, a week and a half). I did a lot of work over the last several days. Work and links:

- Insulated all duct pipes running across the room in the rafters above. I wrapped this duct in Refletix insulation and then MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl). The rest of the ducts (2 full ducts and 2 partial ducts) in MLV only. Too thick with both. --> Link to picture (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01701.html)

- Wrapped all oulet boxes in a interwoven MLV wrap. Sealed all gaps with caulk. --> Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01703.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01704.html) Picture#3 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01705.html) Picture#4 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01706.html) Picture#5 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01707.html) Picture #6 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01708.html)

- Created MLV umbrella (for lack of a better term) over the top of the 3 openings in the ceiling --> Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01709.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01710.html) Picture#3 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01712.html)

- Insulated the room. --> Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01737.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01748.html) Picture#3 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01749.html)

- Wrapped the ceiling boxes directly in MLV --> Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01743.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01744.html) Picture#3 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01745.html) Picture#4 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01746.html)

- Built small monitor display niche for behind bar in main room. The idea here is that activity in the driveway, garage or outside will trigger the automation system to 1) Turn on the monitor 2) select the right camera and 3) Display it on the monitor. --> Picture (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01774.html)

- I also finalized countless items throughout the basement that you cannot see not to mention cleaning the entire basement for the drywallers. All of the pictures for the insulation can be found in a dedicated photo album. --> Album (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/)

I have a couple of open issues as I move forward. Any thoughts would be appreciated:

1) Should I build a Proscenium? I never planned this specifically and with the electrical panel on the front wall it may be difficult. Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01736.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01737.html)

2) Acoustical treatments. Looks like Linacoustic is the way to go. What should I do with the 2' x 4' recessed areas on the back wall? These were originally intended for diffusion. Room is 14' x 19' and may be too small for diffusion. Picture#1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01748.html) Picture#2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/insulation_phase/img01749.html)


That's it for now,

Dave

Wow Dave, you are making great progress! The pictures are great.

Personally, I really like prosceniums for dedicated theaters. I think they are one of the features that really set a dedicated theater apart. As for your electrical panel, I think a stage and proscenium may actually help to cover it. Have you seen the front wall and proscenium that chinadog is building here? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7019308&&#post7019308)

For your acoustical treatment, you may want to consider hiring Terry Montlick or one of the other acoustical experts to give you a plan that is specifically designed for your room and setup. I had Terry model my room and I thought his fee was quite reasonable. Due to the large size and non-traditional shape of my media room, I probably have more acoustical treatments than the typical dedicated theater. Terry recommended a combination of linacoustic and FRK foil faced OC 703.

If you don't hire an expert, the typical recommendations seem to be either:
1) Treat the whole front wall and first 3 or 4 feet of the front side walls from floor to ceiling with 1" of linacoustic (or other similar absorption). Then treat the rest of the room with 1" of linacoustic on the walls below ear level. Above ear level, it seems many people use poly batting (all covered in GOM);
-OR-
2) Treat the entire front wall with absorption (Linacoustic) and then treat all first reflection points with 1" or 2" of linacoustic.

In both scenarios above, it seems many people recommend that you put in as many broad band bass traps as you can accommodate. Typically this means OC 703 (or any 3 lb rigid fiberglass) straddeling the wall corners and wall/ceiling corners. The recessed areas in the back of your room may be a great place to install some thicker rigid fiberglass to gain some extra bass absorption. Since it is above ear level, maybe the outer layer of fiberglass should be foil faced so that it does not absorb too much of the higher frequencies.

Obviously, I'm not an acoustical expert and I don't know if the "typical" recommendations would be appropriate for your room or not.

Keep up the good work. I'll look forward to seeing drywall pictures. My drywall goes up next week too.

Thanks for the feeback Scott. I really appreciate the summary. I've read some of the acoustic threads and sometimes its hard to pull out the key items.

I also forgot to mention that installed the RISC clips and hat channel. Easiest part of the whole basement project. Other than the strain of screwing seventy 2 1/2" screws into the ceiling it was a pretty straight forward and fast job.

The drywallers stoped by in the afternoon but didn't start as they only had a few hours and I couldn't meet them due to job commitments. They will be here tomorrow at 7:30am and we'll do a walkthrough. A few concerns I need to share with them and make sure they don't short circuit the double wall in the back and other items.

Carpet guy came this evening and measured for the carpet. In the home theater here's what I'm considering:

1. Stage, I'm planning to build it over the sub floor (or should I build it as a part of the sub floor?). I was planning to carpet right up to it and then over the top of it. The room will always have a stage. Are there any other options that make sense like building it so it can be removed?

2. The riser I'm planning to have as a separate item as it will be in the middle of the room. Could be taken out of necessary.

Am I being non-committal or should I just pull the trigger and make this room dedicated?

After working nonstop for the last month and a half I find myself anxious to do something, its almost like I'm down there looking for things to make perfect.

Dave

I am about to start a new thread but am waiting to take pictures. As you mentioned, I felt that pics. are the key to feedback. I would like to chime in on the "stringers" questions you posted. I am considering doing them as a horizontal fire block in my basement. I feel they are more for fireblocking than strength. But I am not an expert on these matters.

I am also finishing the entire basement in my new house as well. I knew i wanted to do something grand for an entrance and really like what you are doing. I think I will "borrow" from yours...hope you don't mind. :)

I must also say that after you stated that you are not an expert and was going to do something basic, i was surprised and impressed with your results. Keep going...you are inspiring me!

By the way Dave, my name is also Dave. I am new to posting feedback on this forum and are still getting comfortable with the options. I am gong to add my picture soon...you should too.

I also forgot to mention that installed the RISC clips and hat channel. Easiest part of the whole basement project. Other than the strain of screwing seventy 2 1/2" screws into the ceiling it was a pretty straight forward and fast job. I agree.1. Stage, I'm planning to build it over the sub floor (or should I build it as a part of the sub floor?). I was planning to carpet right up to it and then over the top of it. The room will always have a stage. Are there any other options that make sense like building it so it can be removed? I don't follow what you mean by building it over vs. part of the sub floor. ????Am I being non-committal or should I just pull the trigger and make this room dedicated?If I had your space, I'd pull the trigger in a heart beat.

Dave,

What software did you use to lay out your plans. Mine are drawn by hand, I have Punch! software but found it a little difficult to nail all the details.

Dave

I am about to start a new thread but am waiting to take pictures. As you mentioned, I felt that pics. are the key to feedback. I would like to chime in on the "stringers" questions you posted. I am considering doing them as a horizontal fire block in my basement. I feel they are more for fireblocking than strength. But I am not an expert on these matters.

Hi Dave,

I'm not sure about the fire block, it would have to be a continuous solid wall in my opinion to be considered a fire wall. Any exposed wood corners or gaps I would think would disqualify it. I was considering a curved wood fireplace using a thin birch plywood but the facing had to be 5/8" thickness to prevent fire. Also Firewalls and ceiling around here have to be 5/8" firecode approved drywall. (luckily my HT will have 2 sheets of 5/8" :) ).

I am also finishing the entire basement in my new house as well. I knew i wanted to do something grand for an entrance and really like what you are doing. I think I will "borrow" from yours...hope you don't mind. :)

Please feel free. I came up with the idea by looking at theaters, older ones on the web. I also did a drive by of our local Marcus theater. I knew how wide I wanted it, the depth I had way off, my wife was able to steer me in the right direction. Once I had those 2 dimensions I layed out the plywood on the floor (over 2x4s) and connected an 8' 2x4 to the middle. See picture (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/marquee_design.html).

Using a leftover single peice of 16 guage wire, a pen and a long nail at the radius point I was able to trace it out easily as the center of the circle/arc is well inside the edge of the wall. I hope this makes sense.

Then I simply cut it out, traced out another and added 2x4s to the desired height. I assembled it in 2 pieces to get it up on the ceiling. I work alone most of the time and find that ceiling work needs to be planned and thank goodness for those hand clamps, they have amazing hold strength.

I'm saving the plywood template as well so that I can cut the matching subfloor plywood when the time comes.

Good luck with your basement project send me a link when you start your thread.

I must also say that after you stated that you are not an expert and was going to do something basic, i was surprised and impressed with your results. Keep going...you are inspiring me!

My design and plans are very dynamic. The more I read and hear, especially on this form, it seems to make a lot of sense to not cut corners and go the extra mile to have a special HT room. I don't want to regret "not" doing something, especially the minor stuff that I learn along the way. Thanks for inspiring me as well.

Dave

By the way Dave, my name is also Dave. I am new to posting feedback on this forum and are still getting comfortable with the options. I am gong to add my picture soon...you should too.

After messing around with Ulead Photo Express and Paint I have this Avatar. I apologize if it's a little fuzzy (maybe it's better that way :rolleyes: ).

I agree. I don't follow what you mean by building it over vs. part of the sub floor. ????If I had your space, I'd pull the trigger in a heart beat.

Hi Scott, I was wondering if I should build the sub floor in the whole room (say 4" high) and then build the stage on top of it (another 7" high for a total of 11" at the stage)? I have to do a little more research.

The other option was build the stage (say 11" high) and then build the subfloor up to it (4" high). As the stage is filled with sand should it rest on the sub floor or the concrete floor?

I hope that makes a little more sense.

I've gone this far so once I understand the best thing here I'm sure I'll make the right trade offs.

Dave

Dave,

What software did you use to lay out your plans. Mine are drawn by hand, I have Punch! software but found it a little difficult to nail all the details.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I'm not at all familiar with Punch. I used Microsoft Visio for Enterprise Architects, version 10.0 is what I have. I like it a lot, once you know how to use it it's very powerful. I'm planning, now that I have some down time, to design the floor plan in detail in the HT room as well as a front view of potential Proscenium add. When complete I'll post these in the thread.

One other thing I'm considering is being able to add photos (via a link) that show up directly in the thread. I've done some research and fotki charges $50 year to host pictures with this capability. The free hosting service I use now dynamically changes the address (my issue in the first several links). Anyone know a more reasonable solution?

Dave

Met with the owner of the drywall company this morning before he went on vacation (scheduled well in advance). He had his lead guy working alone today.

He started in the Home Theater with the 5/8" 12' sheets! I was skeptible but here are the results --> Pictures of Drywall (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/)

He did the first layer, used about 19 sheets, more than half as they only ordered 34 sheets. I was a little disappointed that they didn't seal the seams so we could start the second layer right away tomorrow. (now we'll have to wait for the compound to dry).

He had a lift but I'm still amazed that he could manage that many 12' sheets of 5/8".

The room looks great, really starting to take shape.

I'll be applying the Green Glue when we get to that stage. Time to brush up on the instructions.

Dave

This morning we have 3 drywallers working in the basement. I helped the lead drywaller mud the HT room earlier to prepare for GG. Once mud drys we will start the GG.

Anyway I went downstairs to look at the work order for a post on another thread and I thought I'd include this quantitative information about the drywall portion to my thread, it may be helpful:

Here's the materials that were ordered.

34 - 4'x12'x5/8" (1632 sq. ft.)
2 - 4'x14'x1/2" (112 sq. ft.)
53 - 4'x12x1/2" (2544 sq. ft.)
5 - 4'x12'x1/2" (240 sq. ft.) Green board for bath
1 - 4'x8'x3/8" (32 sq. ft.) Flex board for Marquee curve HT entrance

Total of 4,560 sq. ft. Included in the quote is installation, rosin paper on floor, mudding, sanding, knockdown finish for all 1/2" work. The 2 layers of 5/8" in Home Theater with a smooth finish. Basic mudding for the first layer and dealing with me installing the GG. It does take a little longer.

Quote was $4,761 or about $1.04/sq. ft. I assume it was $1/sq. ft. but they ordered a little extra. I live in Wisconsin near Milwaukee.

Dave

I'm glad you posted your totals for drywall. I am considering having the drywall done so it is good to get prices from others.

Does the price of 4,700 include the sheetrock?

Did they carry it downstairs or do you have a ground-level walkout?

I do not have a walkout, so I am limited to 8 footers because they have to be carried downstairs. :( Glad to see the progress...

Dave

Does the price of 4,700 include the sheetrock?

Did they carry it downstairs or do you have a ground-level walkout?


Hi Dave, Yes drywall and delivery was included in the $4,761. I have a walkout basement on an angle lot so they boomed it halfway and put down plywood to get the other 30 feet or so to the door. They loaded it on a special cart that carried about 10 sheets at a time and went right in the lower sliding door. Here's a shot of the delivery truck/boom (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/drywall_load1.html).

Also its just after lunch here and they have all the ceiling parts drywalled and just started on the walls in the rooms other than the HT. Looks like the lead drywaller (Jason) and I will work on SuperBowl Sunday to do the Green Glue and second layer in the HT. Sure wish I was having a SuperBowl party instead.

Enjoy the Game.

Dave

That price is not at all bad including drywall,supplies,delivery and fasteners. The total square footage of sheetrock in basement is aprox. the same. I figure that $1400 - 1800 would be supplies cost. If I could get a similar price on mine...I would pay to have it done. Specially since I just found out that my seating (Lazboy theater recliners) have arrived and I must hold-off delivery. If I did the work myself I would probably be spending two months with it. (I work slow!)

The space in my basement that I am finishing is aprox. 1300 square feet. How much are you doing?

Dave

Dave

I agonize over every dollar I pay for labor since I would rather use it for equipment! Luckily I have a very supportive wife. It also doesn't hurt that we are done with all outside landscaping front and back, deck, patio and all the other necessities. Now I get to spend $ on the basement.

Sorry you will be missing the game...but it will be well worth it next year. My wife and I have had a Superbowl party every year since we have been in our new house. I wanted to have the party in the basement (finished) this year but of course that will not happen. Next year for sure! I will clean all debris so I can show our guests what they are in store for next year.

Dave

The space in my basement that I am finishing is aprox. 1300 square feet. How much are you doing?

Dave

Hi Dave, I think our projects are almost identical. I figured about 1,300 sq. ft. as well. But depending on your situation the amount of drywall might not be a direct comparison between the two as I have the bedroom and 2 closets that do not get drywall ceilings (dropped ceiling for access) and then additionally I had the entire exposed wall drywalled when the house was built.

For me it was a no brainer to have professionals do the drywall even if I have to take out a short term loan. I just can't imagine carrying all those sheets, installing them (mostly by myself), and then dealing with the daunting task of mudding and sanding.

Good luck with your decision.

Dave

Uploaded a few more pictures today, see links below:

Today is SuperBowl Sunday. The drywaller wanted a day off when we talked yesterday afternoon and then he will have to do the GG by himself on Monday. I'm a little nervous but I have to be in the office all day Monday and Tuesday.

I'll walk him through it early Monday morning and make sure that he keeps the empty tubes. Also considering giving him a little tip $$ to make sure he pays the attention to detail I would like to see.

Yesterday the lead drywaller and I sealed all the seams in the HT: Picture1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01796.html) Picture2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01797.html) Picture3 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01798.html)

Then their crew of 3 completed most of the basement: Picture1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01802.html) Picture2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01794.html)

I'm going to spend less than an hour making sure the seams are all sealed well in the HT, other than that no work today unless I get some computer time and then I'll start with the detailed floor plan and proscenium design. Not likely though as I have about 3 hours of work for my 9-5 (it always gets in the way! :D ) .

Dave

Dave,

Sheetrock looks great! How many days was it...three? Sure beats doing it yourself.

Dave

Drywall update:

Monday - 1 Drywaller - added the second layer of drywall with Green Glue in the HT. He stopped after the ceiling as he wanted help to lessen the mess of the GG when he did the walls. I told him I'd give him $50 cash to do the GG.

Tuesday - Looks like only 1 drywaller again. I was hoping the HT would be complete when I arrived home from work, but it looks like he completed the rest of the basement and then started mudding. No work in the HT. He must have been alone again.

The rest of the basement is looking really good. Hoping the theater is worked on tomorrow. Pictures to follow soon.

Dave

Drywall update:

Wednesday - Looks like they did some work in the HT. I missed any opportunity to talk to the drywallers as I left early and returned late.

Thursday (Today) - Came home for lunch and found "Need 5 more tubes of glue" written on a 1/2 piece of drywall resting on the wall in the HT. Now I can kick myself as a quick inspection revels that the sides of the soffit (facing the room) and a portion of the back wall are the only items remaining for a second layer of drywall. Critical areas in my opinion.

Had I done the glue I would have made sure to keep an eye on usage and make sure I had enought, but he's not me and that's what makes people different. Actually I did mention it but oh well he's doing the work and I appreciate it and I appreciate that he didn't just finish without GG on the last remaining areas.

So anyway, a quick look to Audio Alloy's web site and find the phone number. Called an left a message. Within 10 minutes I get a call from Ted White and luckily he has a partial case ready for shipment. He explains to me that this is unusual, for him to have a broken case in the office. Not worried too much about the price of shipping overnight we proceed with 6 tubes. I finish the call by realizing that the "the acoustical gods must be shining on me". Audio Alloy was great, thanks Ted.

So a note to the drywaller (where is he anyway?). And a note to FedEx, so I don't forget in the morning, and I think a possible roadblock has been avoided.

Dave

My son has a fever and sore throat so I'm working at home with him today. Green Glue arrived at about 10:30am, thanks again Ted.

No workers today and basement still needs drywall in some areas and 2nd layer in HT in a few areas as mentioned yesterday.

Here's where we are today (Photos):

Workout Room Looking at stairway (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01807.html)
Workout Room Looking at TV niche (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01808.html)
Rec Room from stairs (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01809.html)
Bar Area (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01810.html)
Rec Room looking into HT Room (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01811.html)
Rec Room from stairs (deep view) (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01812.html)
HT room (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01813.html)
Marquee Entrance to HT (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01814.html)

The Marquee entrance really turned out nice once drywalled. Hopefully we'll have a crew here tomorrow as last Saturday we had 3.

Dave

Dave,
Thanks for the updates. I check your thread almost every day. It is fun to see a room come together. Glad to hear that AudioAlloy pulled through for you. Ted is a great guy isn't he?! He has really been a help to me too. Hopefully you will get a full crew on Saturday and the last of the rock will get hung!
- Scott

Dave,
Thanks for the updates. I check your thread almost every day. It is fun to see a room come together. Glad to hear that AudioAlloy pulled through for you. Ted is a great guy isn't he?! He has really been a help to me too. Hopefully you will get a full crew on Saturday and the last of the rock will get hung!
- Scott

Hi Scott, How's your project progressing? If I remember correctly you were at the drywall stage as well.

No workers today so the drywall is at the same stage.

Today, I picked up another 15 tubes of caulk and took the opportunity to fill-in some of the gaps in the HT where they have yet to put the second layer. I used about 10 tubes.

I also turned on the A/C today (even though it was snowing all day) to see/listen for A/C noise. Before I started on the HT I had the HVAC crew move the A/C line out of the HT where they initially positioned it. They were able to reposition most of it but a small portion crosses the left front corner of the theater before entering the Utility Room. A/C Line before framing (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/img01651.html)

I created 2 small angled soffits to cover this area. A/C Soffits (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/img01668.html)

Here's some pictures of these areas after they have been drywalled:
Picture1 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01782.html)
Picture2 (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01781.html)

The good news is that this area only has only one layer of 5/8" drywall (no GG of course) and the A/C noise seems to be very low.

Dave

Dave,

I really love your entrance to the theater. I am happy to see that you have included pictures to the other rooms in the basement since I am also doing the entire basement at the same time.

I finally started my thread! It is entitled Dedicated theater construction begins...I have been trying to figure out how to add a link to my thread for each of my posts. How is it done?

Dave

Dave,
I'm at almost the exact point you are. My first layer of drywall was finished on Friday. We will start the second layer on Monday. This layer is going to be the "fun" one since all of it will include Green Glue (19 cases).
- Scott

Dave,

I really love your entrance to the theater. I am happy to see that you have included pictures to the other rooms in the basement since I am also doing the entire basement at the same time.

I finally started my thread! It is entitled Dedicated theater construction begins...I have been trying to figure out how to add a link to my thread for each of my posts. How is it done?

Dave

Hi Dave, First go to your thread and then copy the web address to the clipboard. Second click on "Quick Links" then "Edit Signature". Third, type the text that will be your link on the signature "MountainAsh Construction Thread" or other and select it. Lastly, Add a link using the World with the chain icon, 2 screens will pop up, ok past the first if your link text is good and paste in your web address in the second box. That should do it.

I'm gonna go look for your thread now. Good Luck.

Dave

Dave,
I'm at almost the exact point you are. My first layer of drywall was finished on Friday. We will start the second layer on Monday. This layer is going to be the "fun" one since all of it will include Green Glue (19 cases).
- Scott

19 cases? Wow! Yes, it will be fun, are you going to be working with the drywallers to apply it?

I'm not sure if you used it before but the stuff is very sticky and tends to get frustrating because it transfers from one surface to another very easily (but stays partially on the first).

Good luck and keep us posted.

Dave

Dave,
Yes, I'll be working with the drywall hangers. I think its a bit easier on the hangers if I prepare and apply the GG and let them just do the measuring, cutting, and hanging. It's messy either way, but I think it will help to keep the frustration level down for the drywallers. Plus, I can supervise and make sure everything is done the way I want. :)

Dave,

In your post to my thread yesterday you stated that your wife has scheduled a party for 3/17. That is exciting! I know we will be seeing a lot of progress over the weeks to come. I will be checking your thread regularly. Good luck with your date.

Your completed sheetrock shots look great. I really like the shape of your rooms. They add visual interest. I wish my basement shape lent itself to such a plan. I love the size of my rooms, but it would have wasted too much space if I made the room shapes more interesting. When you are done you will have something to truly be proud of.

Is the party going to take place in the whole basement or just the theater?

Dave

Monday update - One drywaller again, the HT is finished except one piece of drywall on the inner face of one of the soffits and the 2 triangle pieces for covering the A/C line. He will bring a sheet or large piece for that area tomorrow. The rest of the basement is getting layer after progressively larger layer of mud. Running 2 dehumidifiers right now to make sure its dry for tomorrow.

I also took this opportunity to fill in the outside corners with a lot of mud in the HT. I did not want to rely on a corner bead filling an empty cavity and then a 1/4" layer of mud over the corner bead. Plus mixing and mudding makes me feel like I actually took part in this phase.

Is the party going to take place in the whole basement or just the theater?Dave

The party is a month from Friday and actually it will probably be in all of the basement with the exception of the Home Theater. I cannot imagine having that room done by then. But hopefully I'll be close.

Its a "Bunko" night for the ladies of the neighborhood that rotates houses every month. Unfortunately no mens events here yet although thoughts of starting a Poker Night have crossed my mind.

Dave

Tuesday Update: Two drywallers today. Their goal is to finish the main rooms (everything but HT) by Wednesday, let it dry Wednesday night and then have the sprayer come in on Thursday to do the knock-down finish. While that's happening they will finish the HT. So by Friday they're planning to be done.

Home theater is completely double drywalled and I filled a few more outside edges tonight. I also paid Jason the $50 for dealing with the GG, he did have some funny stories about the GG sticking to almost everything. I'm getting very excited and realizing very quickly that doors will be my weakest acoustical link.

Very interested in the GG Door thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=642708) going on right now.

I'm also considering modifying the double doors I have for the HT entrance to look something like this (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/boman20theater20044.html) in the future. I think this would give a nice look.

The door from the HT to the utility room will probably be an outside door and will have additional layers on it, maybe even green glue.

Dave

Just finished a detail drawing of the Home Theater (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/theater_detail_14feb06.html). I've had sketches but nothing digital until now.

In general I've been planning to have 2 rows of seating with the option to add a pub table and a couple of stools to the rear of the theater. The idea here is that the kids could be watching a movie and the adults could be at the table. There will be internet connections for a laptop in the wall and of course wireless.

I'm a little concerned with the distance from the front row of seating to the screen. I've been planning a 96" diagnal screen. If I build a Proscenium the screen will be even closer to this row.

I think flexibility is something we wanted to achieve in the design. In some cases we may want to have the doors wide open (6 foot opening) so that people at the bar can see into the theater. People walking in, in this scenario, can walk to the back of the theater, sample the movie/video/environment without having to sit down. This would be for a football game for example.

The other scenario is the family is in bed (9pm in most cases) and I'm up watching a movie or playing X-box live with my cousin in Georgia. I'd like to be able to close the doors and crank it up a bit without worrying about creating noise in the rest of the house. I'm not too worried here as in my last house I was almost there with the volume I'd like and that layout only incorporated a dropped ceiling with 2x10 rafters and lots of insulation. I'm imagining that with the sound proofing I've incorporated and a little more work on the doors and the back of the stereo cabinet, I should be in business.

Proscenium is next on the design list.

Dave

Dave,

Here are a few thoughts. Consider a shadow box type setup. This would allow you to keep the screen on the real wall. I thought about it, but decided to go with a false wall because I wanted the speakers hidden. My false wall is out 14 inches from the back wall. By going this route, the compromise wasn't a viewing distance issue, I lost more stage real estate than I wanted. I was able to do that because the Ascends are not very large. The other option is to put the screen on the wall and leave the speakers exposed in the front.

Also, have you considered making the doors in the back of the theater go out versus in? You would be able to slide the seats back a little more to make up the room you're losing on the front wall. Ideally, you don't want the seats against the back wall and in your case that where your entrance is, but having another foot or so may help. With the doors opening in, I'm not sure how much that table will get used, either.

Anyway, something to think about.

Bud

Hi Bud,

Thanks for the input. I'm assuming a shadow box is where you have the side speakers covered with a fabric wall and the center speaker out in the open under the screen? I'll have to seach on this to see if I can find some examples. I'm gonna head down and try to imagine it. Then I probably look for some photos online here.

Based on my entranceway (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01814.html) I don't think I will be able to reverse the doors. Actually I'm really worried about being able to just install the door given the entranceway. What I can do for more flexibility is build the riser for the rear seats as a floating rectangle. I actually had the carpet guys measure it and plan for that approach. That way I can move it around if I decide to. Not only front to back but I could decide to move it to the other wall.

One other thing worth noting is that as you enter the theater the left door will be the swinging door and the right door will be the stationary one. We actually went back and forth on this and you can buy them either way. The prevailing thought (notice the care taken here) was that when entering the theater you can open this door slightly and then head directly to the walkway. Had we bought the other door you would have to enter the theater and then close the door and change direction.

Thanks again,

Dave

Dave,

Take a look at Larry Chanin's setup. Maybe that'll help with the shadowbox concept. He calls it the LarryLand Theater (http://mysite.verizon.net/res8ycu4/id4.html). Hope this helps!

Bud

Dave,

I read Bud's post and liked his idea of reversing the swing of the door. You may not have that option if you already purchased/ordered the doors. If you added a hinge that self closes, (spring loaded) you would not have to close the door.

I expect that I will also be going with a shadowbox on my screenwall. I do not really like the effect of a deep recess, so I plan on keeping it as shallow as possible. I decided that for my theater it is necessary to optimize speaker locations and seating distances. That probably goes for yours as well.

Dave

Dave,

Take a look at Larry Chanin's setup. Maybe that'll help with the shadowbox concept. He calls it the LarryLand Theater (http://mysite.verizon.net/res8ycu4/id4.html). Hope this helps!

Bud

Hi Bud,

Great! Thanks for the link. I really like the way Larry's shadowbox looks. I just measured my RF-35 (http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=633)s and they will need at least 16". My initial concern on the idea was that the screen would be hard to see from slight angles but I don't think that will be the case, plus the room is not that wide. The link is now in my thread so I'll be able to refer back to it.

Thanks Bud, this helps a lot.

Dave

I read Bud's post and liked his idea of reversing the swing of the door. You may not have that option if you already purchased/ordered the doors. If you added a hinge that self closes, (spring loaded) you would not have to close the door.

Hi Dave,

I already purchased the door. Is a generic double swinging patio door. Check it out in my photo album --> Photo of door (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/home_theater/img01672.html).

The problem with trying to swing it the other way is that the Marquee entrance was the same height as the top of the door frame before we added a 1/2" of drywall. I think this option be not be possible anymore.

I'm also worried about the normally simple process of installing the door. I think I might have to do it before I install the sub floor and then install the sub floor under it. I'll take a few more photos of the situation but essentiall I have 2 walls in the back of the theater seperated by about 8" that do not touch and the openings were the same size before we added the drywall. Now the opening around the Marquee is 1" narrower and 1/2" shorter with drywall.

Dave

Here's the latest update.

Wednesday - One drywaller (Jason). I did not get a chance to see him but passed him as I was on my way home. Basically it looks like he continued to add mud to the corners and seams.

Thursday - Big snowstorm (ok only ~8") so kids schools were closed early. I worked at home in the afternoon and spent some time downstairs. Jason was there hanging drywall in the utility room (back side of the left wall of the HT). At the end of the day he still has a little to hang and the HT is completely sealed but needs a few more coats.

The plan is to have the sprayer (knockdown finish) come tomorrow. while Jason finishes the back wall and adds another layer to the HT. Saturday Jason will try to finish up in the HT and utility room and we should be done.

Ok, time to mentally prepare for spray painting.

Dave

Friday Drywall update: With the exception of the Home Theater everything is done. The sprayers came today with a giant truck and a crew of 4. They worked so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to take any photos of their equipment. Basically they ran a large hose through the house to the basement, after they put plastic and paper down, sprayed about the whole basement and cleaned up in less than 2 hours. The final look is what they call a "knockdown finish".

Normally I'd have them park on the street and go through the basement door but with the snow and now the cold weather they needed to minimize the amount of hose outside, to prevent freezing. They were very good and they masked almost everything downstairs which saves me some time when I go to paint.

The basement looks great. I'll post some pictures over the weekend.

As far as the HT goes, Jason is planning to have it finished tomorrow (Saturday). He also said that he was gonna bring a hair dryer to do a fast job in the utility room where he still has about 5 feet of wall to rock.

Dave

I just stumbled onto your thread. looks like I'm a few weeks behind your progress. I just started putting up my first ceiling layer of drywall on today. Could you briefly spell out what you did with the seams on the first layer (both internal and external) and what you plan to do on the second as well. I have RSIC also but I can't remember if I'm supposed to mud the seams on the first layer.

I was also wondering if you could point me to a site or thread that would give some solid STC numbers or dB reduction numbers vs. frequency that GG actually does when placed between two layers. I have a hard time buying in that GG adds that much when used with two 5/8 layers plus the RSIC clips.

If I decide not to go with the GG, have you seen posts stating whether they use construction adhesive or not?

By the way - catchy name. I had to laugh when I saw it. We also live pretty close - I'm in mpls.

Grant

I just stumbled onto your thread. looks like I'm a few weeks behind your progress. I just started putting up my first ceiling layer of drywall on today. Could you briefly spell out what you did with the seams on the first layer (both internal and external) and what you plan to do on the second as well. I have RSIC also but I can't remember if I'm supposed to mud the seams on the first layer.

Hi Grant,

I did a couple of things specifically on the seams:

1) On the first layer we sealed the seams with mud. Every corner, gap and cavity. My goals were to make an airtight seal, add as much mud as possible and at the same time not put so much on that it would interfere with the second layer.

2) The second layer was added so that no seams lined up on top of seams from the first layer (corners being the exception of course).

3) In the process of adding the second layer I calked many of the seams/gaps.

4) Before the metal corner beads were added I made sure to fill those cavities with mud. Most of the time drywallers will get an outside edge close and then add a corner bead and mud over the bead. Underneath the corner bead could be a 3/4" gap. So I made sure all the outside corners were solid before the bead went up.

Seams on the 2nd layer are mudded and finished just like any other wall.

I would highly recommend a quick layer of mud on the seams of the first layer, nothing pretty but for soundproofing sake. Its cheap and my 20' x 14' room with lots of corners and edges took only about an hour.

I was also wondering if you could point me to a site or thread that would give some solid STC numbers or dB reduction numbers vs. frequency that GG actually does when placed between two layers. I have a hard time buying in that GG adds that much when used with two 5/8 layers plus the RSIC clips.

Two links come to mind quickly:

Audio Alloy's site: http://www.audioalloy.com/c10-00_tranmissionTests.html

Green Glue Thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=456614&highlight=Green+Glue

I've done a fair amount of research on Green Glue and I'll be honest I did take a little bit of a leap of faith but many on this forum are believers. I will not really know until the end of my project but at the same time I wont have a double drywall room for comparison. Even at my current stage I can tell this room is isolated and it does seem to be different then just having the first layer, which would seem to rule out my isolation techniques. I've tapped and banged on the walls in this room and the walls in the other rooms at almost every stage of the project. In the end, I did not want to regret not adding it with so many believers.

If I decide not to go with the GG, have you seen posts stating whether they use construction adhesive or not?

I've seen some posts. I also know that when I searched on "Construction Adhesive" in the Green Glue post above there were dozens of entries. I cannot find a specific link right now.

By the way - catchy name. I had to laugh when I saw it. We also live pretty close - I'm in mpls.

Thanks. There are a number of members in the Mpls area in this forum. With the cold weather we are all looking for more indoor activities. What better than to design, build and then enjoy a dedicated Home Theater. And then of course there are the regular upgrades.

Good luck with your project.

Dave

Weekend update:

Saturday: Jason and another helper worked in the HT and the utility room. I know they wanted to have the job finished by the time they left but I went down on Saturday night after being gone all afternoon and there's still some finish work that needs to be done to smooth out the walls in the HT.

Sunday: No drywallers of course but I did start painting. Bought the Wagner Paint Crew (http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/Wagner/product.do?productCode=Paint_Crew) airless paint sprayer a few weeks back and started painting/priming the main room of the basement. Did 5 gallons of primer in about 1.5 hours. The cleanup almost took as long as the painting.

Dave

I did some design this weekend on the front wall. I really like the shadowbox idea to maximize viewing distance for the front row especially.

Here's my current design --> Front wall design drawing (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/theater_front_wall.html)
http://images16.fotki.com/v277/photos/8/821852/3219922/TheaterFrontWall19Feb06-vi.jpg

There's a front view and a top view. The front view is really for proportion and to get an idea of the size of the screen on the wall, etc. The big item for me is the electrical panel. I need to retain access to it. It is highlighted in green. Here's a photo of it --> Photo of electrical panel on front wall (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01776.html). I did not spend a lot of time on the height of the screen and speakers, that can come later.

The top view is where I think I made some progress on understanding how this might all come together. I'm leaning towards a shadowbox design with curved walls on the sides (the depth of the wall makes me believe a 90 degree wall will not work). The false front wall will actually be only in the center of the room and the sides (gaps) will be covered by curtains. This will give me the access I need (at least while the inspector is here). Any feedback and other ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

Two thoughts.
1) Beyond the issue of passing inspection, I would want the service panel easily accessible in case my wife or someone else need to get to it in an emergency. It seems that you still have access but I would practice access prior to completing work.

2) I noticed on the top view you have the subs in a different position than in the front view. I assume the top view is correct based on the position of your mains. Have you tried moving the fronts and subs to see if you can get easy access to your panel?

Dave

Hi Dave,

I didn't mean to imply that I would create an usafe situation. If you look at the drawing you can see that its about an 18" reach standing in front of the sub to the panel. Also if you look to the photo the panel is eye height for an adult. We will be able to access the panel, this is a must. The issue is whether my view of access and and inspector's view of access are the same. I'll even mount that wall on several hinges so it can swing out of the way if I have to, and I might.

Also the green outline on the photos shows the outline of the recess in which the electrical panel is centered in and the panel is slightly recessed relative to the wall.

Front spreakers need to be either side of the screen, subs may be moved around and I showed a few different options. I might even take the sub from the LF corner and try it in the LR corner depending on how it sounds.

I think that a curved wall will look good on the sides of the shadowbox the more I think about it.

Dave

Monday update:

No drywallers today. Called the owner at lunch and they thought they were done. No way. I explained to him that the HT is not done and my expectations are that the finish is the same as the rest of the basement, which was pretty good.

Jason called later (as I'm learning he was subcontracted the work) and he'll be here in the morning. In the mean time I put small peices of masking tape at each spot needing attention, about 20 or so.

I know they wanted to finish but did they really think it was done, or that I wouldn't care? Hopefully a little sanding, some mud, come back in the afternoon and sand again and they should be done.

Dave

Dave,

When I looked at one of the renders, it appeared the Speaker was blocking access to the panel. I understand now how you are planning to do it.

I like the curved wall.

I totally agree with getting everything you pay for when you hire a contractor. I would also insist they come back until the job is completed to my satisfaction. If I were sheetrocking myself, I had decided I was not going to drive myself crazy with the finish in the theater since the walls would be covered.

Are you doing HVAC in the Theater? I am considering doing a separate zone with motorized dampers in mine. I have an HVAC guy coming over tonight to discuss it.

Dave

I did some design this weekend on the front wall. I really like the shadowbox idea to maximize viewing distance for the front row especially.

Here's my current design --> Front wall design drawing (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/theater_front_wall.html)

There's a front view and a top view. The front view is really for proportion and to get an idea of the size of the screen on the wall, etc. The big item for me is the electrical panel. I need to retain access to it. It is highlighted in green. Here's a photo of it --> Photo of electrical panel on front wall (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/drywall/img01776.html). I did not spend a lot of time on the height of the screen and speakers, that can come later.

The top view is where I think I made some progress on understanding how this might all come together. I'm leaning towards a shadowbox design with curved walls on the sides (the depth of the wall makes me believe a 90 degree wall will not work). The false front wall will actually be only in the center of the room and the sides (gaps) will be covered by curtains. This will give me the access I need (at least while the inspector is here). Any feedback and other ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

Is that your entrance next to the stage? I've done theaters like that before... it becomes very anoying to have shadow images as people walk in. Do you have the option of reversing your plan?

David

Is that your entrance next to the stage? I've done theaters like that before... it becomes very anoying to have shadow images as people walk in. Do you have the option of reversing your plan?

David

Hi David,

The door near the stage is to the utility room. It will be rarely used except by me to access the back of the stereo cabinet and for some extra storage. The main entrance is at the rear of the room.

Here's a link to the full HT drawing --> HT Drawing (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/theater_detail_14feb06.html)

Dave

Oh God, not another David on this thread. It's confusing enough with just the two! Ha ha ha.

Dave

At least its a David but yes is can get confusing.

Are you doing HVAC in the Theater? I am considering doing a separate zone with motorized dampers in mine. I have an HVAC guy coming over tonight to discuss it.

Dave

Hi Dave, When we built the house we had the basement zoned out. The entire basement zone is controlled with a manual damper today. They came back to do the returns once I finished the framing. So the basement is ready.

Actually I moved the main basement supply line to go through the untility room instead of the HT as I would have had to add another foot onto the soffits, and I didn't want that. Invested quite a bit into sheet metal tools and such.

For the Home Theater I have a single supply and return and they both are accessible from the utility room so I have some options in the future. I also ran a 25ft section of 4" flexible tubing from the soffits around the fireplace area in the main room. I had the idea that I could circulate hot air that will accumulate in the treyed ceiling in the fireplace room into the Home Theather in the future if it ended up being cold. I stay up late a lot when we turn the heat down for sleeping and I always end up cold. I'm hoping to avoid this in the HT.

Ideally I'd like to zone the HT and control it automatically from the Automation System so it stays comfortable when sensors detect that someone is in there.

How'd your HVAC visit go?

Dave

Dave,

I keep hearing of all you guys moving your trunk lines. I wish it was practical for me to do that. It would have been nice not to have that 5'10" obstruction in my room. Oh well, I'll deal with it!

I think I have finalized my HVAC. Heres what I think I will do:

Theater will have one 7" supply with motorized damper and one return and will have it's own thermo. It was recommended to me by my neighbor, (HVAC guy) that I consider fan to bring in outside air when it is cold. He said when he packs many people into his theater in the winter, it becomes very hot. He thought that since I have an outside wall it would be very easy. Not sure if I am going to go that route. Rest of basement will also have motorized damper and separate thermos.

How are you making out with your deadline? Be sure not to cut any corners just to make the 17th!

Dave

Hi Dave,

Intresting idea with the cold air vent. I have the utility room off the HT that could be a supply of cold air if needed in the future so I'll keep that in mind.

My wife actually canceled the March 17th neighborhood party earlier this week. We have a critically ill family member for a couple of weeks now and the basement has become a lower priority. I'll work on it as much as I can but it will be no where near the pace I was working before the drywall. I'll probably take some vacation days as well to make up some time.

No work today but I bought 15 gallons of primer and we've worked it out that I should be able to spray most of the afternoon and early evening tomorrow.

Dave

I don't have the time to catch up on your thread at the moment, but it looks similar to what I'm planning.. I'll bookmark and come back later.. :)

One thing I was going to mention was how to embed the images in a post. When you click on Post Reply (defaults to Advanced mode), just click on the icon with the mountain and yellow sky, which will Insert Image. Then paste the URL to image in the text field. Like this:
http://images16.fotki.com/v277/free/74484/8/821852/3219922/TheaterFrontWall19Feb06-vi.jpg

One thing I was going to mention was how to embed the images in a post. When you click on Post Reply (defaults to Advanced mode), just click on the icon with the mountain and yellow sky, which will Insert Image. Then paste the URL to image in the text field. Like this:
http://images16.fotki.com/v277/free/74484/8/821852/3219922/TheaterFrontWall19Feb06-vi.jpg

Hi Tim, Thanks for the info. I've actually done this in the past and the link worked for a day maybe 2 then it stopped. I contacted the free service I use, fotki, and found out that the only way to get static links that will work long term would be to become a yearly member, $50.

I'm getting closer and closer to pulling the triggger on that option especially as I get closer to details in the Home Theater. When I do I'll go back and edit a number of posts to embed the photos.

Dave

Sorry to hear about the sick relative Dave.

Maybe I can close the gap between our progress...but not by much. You are so far ahead of me. So I guess i will need about 15 gallons of primer also. How do you like the Wagner sprayer? I think I can hire someone to spray the primer for about $800. Not sure If I think it is worth it.

Dave

Maybe I can close the gap between our progress...but not by much. You are so far ahead of me. So I guess i will need about 15 gallons of primer also. How do you like the Wagner sprayer? I think I can hire someone to spray the primer for about $800. Not sure If I think it is worth it.

Hi Dave,

Thanks.

Actually I sprayed 5 gallons last weekend and I just finished spraying about 13 gallons today. The basement is completely primed. I worked about 5 hours today and maybe 3 last weekend. So that's well over a gallon and a half an hour with clean up. The sprayer rocks! I wouldn't even consider not doing this yourself, its actually quite fun.

Here's a few tips while their fresh in my mind:
- Start in a closet to get the hang of it
- Spend the time to clean it good after each use.
- Buy a full body suit, respirator, gloves & goggles (less than $45 at HD) and you wont get any paint on you at all.
- Wear an old pair of shoes
- Save the 5 gallon buckets from the primer (good for cleaning and mixing paint)
- I wish I had a roller handy for the few areas where I did overspray and created drips. I used a brush but a roller would have been better.
- Seal doors, windows, fireplaces, openings, stairways, etc. with plastic. Use a staple gun to fasten, its quick and easy (staple inside door frames and close to windows where trim will eventually cover the holes.)
- Cover the floor if you like (mine was covered by the drywallers)
- Have everything out of the room (the spray will get everywhere not sealed).

Clean up will take about an hour so its best to spray as much as possible in the shortest timeframe. Ideally I would have liked to primed one complete day and then painted the next. In this situation you could do a 15 minute clean job and store the spray tip in plastic overnight. A few dehumidifiers and the basement would be dry overnight.

I still haven't used colors yet but I'm planning I'll have to do a little taping the transition between the ceiling and walls and also anticipating a little clean up/flushing between colors.

Dave

What sprayer to you use?

What sprayer to you use?

I used the Wagner Paint Crew (http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/Wagner/product.do?productCode=Paint_Crew). Home Depot is running a rebate right now $50 plus a roller attachment by mail. The cost of the unit is about $200.

Dave

Speaking of rebates I pulled the trigger on the Panasonic PT-AE900U today only days from the end of the $400 rebate! I also ordered some low cost screen material (have to make some short term compromises). In the mean time I'm anxiously awaiting the results of the Sandman's material testing!

Dave

Late last week I picked up an amp for the rear channels. It's a Rotel RB-930AX (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/rotel_rb930ax.html). I got it on ebay for $60, which is a steal, I hope it works ok.

From an equipment standpoint I can hook up a complete audio & video system but I still have a short list of to-dos to get to my "planned" setup:

- Sell a pair of my Klipsch RF-35s and buy a pair of the RS-35s (surround) and a pair of RB-15s (Rear surrounds)

- Buy a 7.1 channel receiver with preamp outs OR a 7.1 channel processor

- Buy a DVD player (looking at the Denon 1920 or Toshiba SD-6920) must have DVD-Audio & SACD capability

Dave

No work this week but equipment is piling up. Screen arrived yesterday. FedEx attempted to deliver the rear channel amp but needed a signature and projector should be delivered tomorrow.

Dave

Dave,
Are you doing all of your painting before you put in your doors and trim? Also, is your trimwork going to be stained or painted? It seems that painting might be easier if done before the trimwork, but might involve quite a bit of touch-up after the fact. Painting after trim would involve more preparation.

I might buy one of the Wagner sprayers also. I stopped by HD today and the $50 rebate runs through Sunday I believe. I will need to do a drywall sealer before the texture goes on and then also a primer and the final color. It seems like the investment in a small sprayer might be money well spent.

- Scott

Are you doing all of your painting before you put in your doors and trim? Yes, this allows me to get 90% of the painting done in a very quick way.

Also, is your trimwork going to be stained or painted? I'm gonna have to verify that with HQ but I'm pretty sure we're going with stained birch trim throughout to match the rest of the house.

It seems that painting might be easier if done before the trimwork, but might involve quite a bit of touch-up after the fact. Painting after trim would involve more preparation.

I might buy one of the Wagner sprayers also. I stopped by HD today and the $50 rebate runs through Sunday I believe. I will need to do a drywall sealer before the texture goes on and then also a primer and the final color. It seems like the investment in a small sprayer might be money well spent.

- Scott

Scott, Why the sealer, texture then primer? What kind of texture are you using?

I used a knockdown finish where they spray mud on the walls and then knock it down with a straight edge. This is done on newely finished drywall and then I primed over the whole thing.

I'll be painting this weekend so I'll post the results. I'm hoping I can get it done fairly quickly and move on to some more construction. The sprayer is great especially considering that I don't have trim or doors to worry about.

Dave

Scott, Why the sealer, texture then primer? What kind of texture are you using?
My drywall guy told me that if you use a drywall sealer before the texture that you are less likely to see the seams. He said that if you don't seal it, the drywall will absorb the water out of the texture topping at a different rate than the areas with drywall mudd and that this makes it much more likely that the tape lines will be visible. I did a bit of research on the net regarding this and found other sources that said the same thing. I don't know the science behind it, but the texture will be different over the tape lines than over the rest of the drywall.

I'll use the primer before I paint just to help the paint cover better.

I'm using a knock-down texture just like you described.

Dave,

Did your projector arrive? Did you see my post in my thread about the AE900 articles?

Bud

My drywall guy told me that if you use a drywall sealer before the texture that you are less likely to see the seams. He said that if you don't seal it, the drywall will absorb the water out of the texture topping at a different rate than the areas with drywall mudd and that this makes it much more likely that the tape lines will be visible. I did a bit of research on the net regarding this and found other sources that said the same thing. I don't know the science behind it, but the texture will be different over the tape lines than over the rest of the drywall.

That makes sense. I didn't see any issues with my the drywall when they built my house so I just went the same route that the builder did. But as we all know builders have been known to cut corners.

Dave

Did your projector arrive? Did you see my post in my thread about the AE900 articles?

Hi Bud, UPS rang the doorbell lst night about 5:30pm and it was the T-Shirt from Visual Apex. I checked the tracking email and it looks like the delivery, originally scheduled for yesterday (Friday), is now scheduled for Monday, go figure. The good news is I can concentrate on painting this weekend and maybe even build the frame for the projector screen.

I did read the articles you linked to, thanks for posting them. It really confirmed side by side with the Sayno that I made a good choice especially considering I may be a little closer to the screen in the front row and I may be watching some SDTV once in a while. The Panasonic is better in these areas, plus color out of the box and others. Although like you said before I don't think you can make a bad choice with either of these projectors.

I was also meaning to ask you about your screen choice, I worked my way back though your thread but didn't see how you came to your choice. The $25K recommended system link I posted in your thread went with your screen, I believe. Also wondering what screen ratio you went with?

Dave

Dave,

Bummer on the t-shirt, but probably will keep you focused. I went with 1.78:1 Carada. I went Carada for the bang for the buck. Carada seems to be reasonably priced and I was able to get a discount through a friend. I'm happy with it. I went 16:9 because I expect to be watching HD (sporting events) and SD content to some extent because of the kids. The black bars don't bother me much for 1.85:1 movies. 2.35:1 seem sorta small in comparison to 16:9, but I'm ok with that. Ideally, I would have liked to have gone 2.35:1, but I don't have the room width unless I go microperf. It also opens up a whole new can of worms and cost I didn't want to deal with either at this point. Anamorphic lens, scaling, etc. You might say I settled, but I'm still happy. It may be a consideration for an upgrade sometime in the future though.

Bud

Dave,

Bummer on the t-shirt, but probably will keep you focused. I went with 1.78:1 Carada. I went Carada for the bang for the buck. Carada seems to be reasonably priced and I was able to get a discount through a friend. I'm happy with it. I went 16:9 because I expect to be watching HD (sporting events) and SD content to some extent because of the kids. The black bars don't bother me much for 1.85:1 movies. 2.35:1 seem sorta small in comparison to 16:9, but I'm ok with that. Ideally, I would have liked to have gone 2.35:1, but I don't have the room width unless I go microperf. It also opens up a whole new can of worms and cost I didn't want to deal with either at this point. Anamorphic lens, scaling, etc. You might say I settled, but I'm still happy. It may be a consideration for an upgrade sometime in the future though.

Bud

Thanks for the info Bud. I bought some cheap screen material to get me started. Depending on how it works I may or may not be looking to upgrade. Right now I'm thinking about optimizing for 1.85:1 (movies) but like you, I'd love to have a 2.35:1 theater. The Carada web site does a nice job of explaining each ratio.

Any tips as I move forward? Lessons learned from your experiences as I determine screen size, ratio and build the frame?

Dave

Any tips as I move forward? Lessons learned from your experiences as I determine screen size, ratio and build the frame?
Dave,

Make sure your stage is deep enough to accommodate your screen wall. If you're going via a shadow box, same thing. What little stage I have has disappeared because of the screen wall. I'm ok with that, since I have a door there anyway. Make sure you have enough room behind your speakers for sufficient acoustic treatments and bass traps if you plan to go that route. Make sure you can accommodate the screen size your want with the sub you want. My screen choice sent me scranbling to hide my side. I even considered replacing it. On the ratio, they say 1.5 distance times diagonal, but that's person preference. For shorter rooms, that may not work exactly. Once you get your projector mounted, you can play around with different distances to determine your preference.

Bud

I created a new album with some photos of the painting progress. Here's the link --> Painting Album Link (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/painting/)

So far I've painted:

- Main room - 2 coats on the ceiling (Ivoire color)
- Main room - 1 coat (Its called Pumpkin Bread)
- Workout Room - 1 coat same color ceiling and walls (Its a minty green color)
- Bathroom - 1 coat ceiling (Ivoire)
- Bathroom - 1 coat walls & closet (Blueish purple)
- Bedroom - 1 wall, 1 coat (Dark green)
- Bedroom closet - 1 coat (Ivoire)
- Hallway - 1 coat (Ivoire)

Left to paint:

- Main room - 2nd coat on walls
- Bedroom - 3 walls (different color than the first wall)
- Home Theater ceiling & soffits
- Bathroom ceiling - 2nd coat

Overall I'd say I'm about 75% done. Its starting to look really good although both my wife and I are starting to second guess the colors, mostly transitions from room to room.

So far I've been using an old scrap of drywall or plywood to prevent overspray on the ceiling/walls in the main room and bathroom. I hold it up with one hand and spray with the other careful to spray only in the middle of the board.

It seems to really depend on the paint if you need 2 coats or not when spraying. The workout room went up fine with 1 coat while the main room needed 2 on both the ceiling and walls.

I'd also recommend less colors if spraying. Clean-up and change over take a lot of time. We have 7 different colors. Also if you have a whole afternoon plan carefully, I ran to to the paint store and picked up the ceiling and wall color for the main room not thinking that I could not do one right after the other (wet ceiling seems to attract paint more than a dry ceiling and obviously cannot be wiped). Not knowing I need 2 coats on the ceiling I painted the first coat of the walls, that made the second coat of the ceiling a little more difficult.

Also I still have to "cut in" between the ceiling and the walls in the main room and the bathroom. I'm happy with the progress and should be able to finish spraying on my next free day.

Dave

Bud,

Thanks for the tips, I'll refer back when I start the next phase of construction once the painting is complete and the projector is here. One question I did have, was regarding bass traps, I know I need them and want to incorporate them but given a situation like ours where we have limited space what are the options and how much space do they take behind the shadowbox? What are you going with as far as bass traps?

Dave

Dave,

I'm using acoustical cotton in the corners behind and above the speakers and I think Bryan wants me to do the horizontal bottom corner (stage and front wall). Rooms vary though, which is why I had him run an analysis on the room based on calculations/measurements. We talked about the riser as a bass trap as well, but turns out I didn't need it. You might want to consider doing the same to determine whats required for your room. It's very reasonable to do a calculated analysis. I'm still in the process of doing the traps, working one furring today, but the cotton is about two feet wide and you need it in the corners on an angle, but you can fudge the angle some.

Bud

Panasonic PT-AE900U projector arrived today! No time to test it but I can't keep it boxed up long.

Dave

Remember, VA only gives you like 30 days or so to make sure it's working correctly. Did you get a mount?

Bud

Hi Bud,

I couldn't stand it anymore. I setup the projector on the desk in my office and the kids and I watched Shrek. It looks incredible, even on an off-white textured wall. The projected image is about 72" diagnal Here's a few pictures of the image "out-of-the-box":

http://images16.fotki.com/v285/photos/8/821852/3308786/Img01835-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v290/photos/8/821852/3308786/Img01836-vi.jpg
http://images16.fotki.com/v280/photos/8/821852/3308786/Img01844-vi.jpg
http://images16.fotki.com/v286/photos/8/821852/3308786/Img01850-vi.jpg

My mount is a Chief Manufacturing RPA Series Inverted Projector Ceiling Mount I bought from Projector People early on so I knew how to mount correctly.

What should I be looking for to make sure its functioning properly? Any recommended tests?

By the way I signed up for image hosting so I'll be posting images directly into the thread now.

Dave

Dave,

Cool! Didn't take long, huh? There are some things to check for in the AE900 thread. There are also some recommended movies and scenes to use to verify if you have issues.

Start reading from about here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6781670&&#post6781670

Bud

Thanks Bud. I started reading the official PT-AE900U thread until about midnight and my eyes were glossing over. I will go through it starting from your link, thanks for pointing me there.

I watched Star Wars II - AOTC last night and I did notice a slight horizontal line at the top of the image but it wasn't on every scene so I'm thinking it may be the DVD or the player. My wife and father in-law (and I) were just amazed at the detail of the movie we've never noticed before, I guess when you magnify something from 36" (our current TV) to 72" that happens.

I also hooked up the X-Box last night and tryed out a little Burnout Revenge. It was an incredible image.

I'm also debating whether to wait for the Toshiba HD DVD and be an early adopter or get a nice upconverting DVD player like the Denon 1920 now, I'm leaning towards the former. I've also invested and been gifted a few DVD-Audio and SACD discs that I cannot play today, so I'm considered a the Toshiba SD-6980
DVD player as a short term solution.

Dave

Projector is looking good Dave. I think it is great to take a step back and watch a movie while you are in the construction process. It really helps motivate you for those long nights of construction!. I spent about four hours the first week I got my projector. (Sharp XV-10000)

Enjoy!

Dave

Hi Dave, Really an awesome picture, I still can't believe the detail. Funny thing is that I set my DVD player to progressive scan and forgot to set it back when I hooked it back up to our 36" CRT. No DVD movies for us until I set the projector back up and switch it back to 480i. I sold our last HDTV with out old house so I don't have a source that can accept 480p other than the projector.

Weekend is almost here, time to start painting again.

Dave

Painting Update from Saturday:

- Main room - 2nd coat on walls (Pumpkin Bread)
- Bedroom - 3 walls (Dull Gold Color)
- Home Theater ceiling & soffits (Ground Nutmeg - Orangish)

I also cut in between the ceiling and the wall in the main room. A few touches of ceiling color and I'll be finished in here.

Home Theater ceiling needs another coat so I left the paint in the sprayer (following the directions for overnight storage) and I'll tackle it in the morning.

Dave

I also found this review (http://www.hometheatermag.com/frontprojectors/0106panasonic/) of the PT-AE900U projector for those that may be interested.

Dave

Dave,
Sounds like your painting is coming right along. Based on your recommendation I bought the Wagner sprayer and sprayed my first coat of drywall sealer yesterday. I sprayed 12 gallons in about 4 hours, but then spent about 1 1/2 hours cleaning up the sprayer. It works GREAT, but cleanup is a bear!
- Scott

Dave,
Sounds like your painting is coming right along. Based on your recommendation I bought the Wagner sprayer and sprayed my first coat of drywall sealer yesterday. I sprayed 12 gallons in about 4 hours, but then spent about 1 1/2 hours cleaning up the sprayer. It works GREAT, but cleanup is a bear!
- Scott
Scott,

Sounds like your making progress as well. You're still over 2.5 gallons per hour inlcuding clean-up, pretty good pace. Try not to do the 7 different colors we did or you'll get really good at clean up. I'm down to about 30 minutes, I've got buckets of warm soapy water and waste buckets ready now even before I begin painting.

The good news for me is I'm done with the sprayer. Finished the second coat in the HT this morning, did the final clean up and followed the long term storage instructions on the sprayer and put it back in the box.

Next on the agenda for me are the items I need in place for the carpet installers; Bar, subfloor, stage, riser, fireplace tile and doors.

Dave

Received my DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD player today, Toshiba SD-6980:

http://images16.fotki.com/v279/photos/8/821852/3219922/SD6980SU-vi.jpg

Played around with it for about 30 minutes. The picture seems to look best when upconverted to 1080i, which seems odd. I would have thought 720p would match up best with the projector. Its a nice picture but hard to tell a lot of difference with the projector hooked up in my office against a textured wall.

Also picked up some lumber yesterday to start working on the sub floor and stage for the HT.

Dave

Dave,

I was looking through some of your construction pictures and I was wondering how you "sealed" your electrical boxes. I can't tell exactly what you used, maybe roofing felt and caulk????

This is my last weekend of preparation before insulation and sheetrock starts monday so I down to the final tasks of caulking and sealing everything.

regards,

billmac

billmac,

AVS member Rajeek did a similar sealing application for electical boxes, and discusses it in his thread (basically of the completed project). Here are some links to his construction:

Construction Pictures (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rajeek@pacbell.net/album?.dir=f7fd&.src=ph)

Thread answering questions about his room (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5854905&&)

billmac,

I used MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl) that I purchased here (http://www.soundsuckers.com/barriers.htm#barriers).

MLV they is equivalent to a sheet of drywall as far as soundproofing goes, that's what they say anyway. I can say it's better than only using insulation and easier than building boxes. We know that mass stops sound and this stuff is 1lb/sq ft, is a continuous layer and its flexible.

I wrapped every outlet and all of the ceiling fixtures so that sound would have a hard time getting tthroughthese possible leaks in my walls. Walls are 5/8" drywall/Green Glue/ 5/8" drywall so they will contain sound pretty good.

For the outlets I created 2 peices of MLV that overlapped each other. The layer from top to bottom went on last and was screwed (1/2" drywall screws) to the stud holding the box. Then generous amounts of flexible sealant was added to all gaps and openings (twice, to account for shrinkage).

Step 1: Position the strip of MLV at the top of the outlet and screw into stud:
http://images16.fotki.com/v270/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01705-vi.jpg
Step 2: Use a "t" shaped peice to complete the seal (trial and error to get size)
http://images16.fotki.com/v273/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01706-vi.jpg
Step 3: One end gets wedges bbetweenstud and box:
http://images8.fotki.com/v160/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01707-vi.jpg
Step 4: Pull strip tight and screw bottom to stud
http://images16.fotki.com/v270/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01708-vi.jpg
Step 5: Seal with flexible caulk (repeat to account for shrinking)
http://images16.fotki.com/v276/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01703-vi.jpg

For the ceiling and sconce fixtures I used a little more MLV and some framing to create an umbrella over these areas. While it may not kill the sound completely it will dampen it significantly and force its path to take turns and hit a lot of fiberglass along the way.

http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01710-vi.jpg
http://images15.fotki.com/v269/photos/8/821852/3110048/Img01709-vi.jpg

I added more than is show here before the ceiling went up.

Of course I'll seal the outlet boxes from the front as well. This step took a lot of time but I did not want to seal up the walls and have any regret about not doing it. MLV cost be about $600 but I used most of it on the HVAC lines that cross the ceiling.

I can't tell you how it works yet, but I'll run some tests when the project is complete and try to measure the sound that makes it though the ceiling outlets in particular.

Dave

Dave - What did the inspector say when he saw your sealed electrical boxes?

Dave - What did the inspector say when he saw your sealed electrical boxes?
Hi BritInVA,

I started sealing the outlets as part of the insulation phase after the inspector did the rough inspection. So he never saw them.

Dave

Today I started preparing the basement for carpet. I started in the Home Theater.

First course of action was to make sure none of the drywall was resting on the concrete floor, clean that area out and then caulk the gap with acoustical caulk. This step took a lot longer that I thought. Cutting 2 layers of drywall from floor level was a bear. Luckily there were only a few sections resting on the ground. Here's a few pics:
http://images17.fotki.com/v296/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01865-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v295/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01864-vi.jpg

I also built the front stage. I framed it up with 2x10s resting on U-Boat floaters.
http://images2.fotki.com/v292/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01857-vi.jpg
The plywood on the floor is the template from the Marquee entrance. I mirrored that shape using a 9 1/4" wide 8' long strip of 1/2" plywood scored on the back side to allow it to curve around the frame.
http://images17.fotki.com/v293/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01852-vi.jpg
http://images16.fotki.com/v285/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01859-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v294/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01861-vi.jpg
Marquee and stage both have the same radius:
http://images17.fotki.com/v297/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01863-vi.jpg

There are a few more images in the HT Floor Stage Riser (http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/htfloor_strage_riser/) Folder.

Dave

Dave,
It is really looking GOOD. I like the way the radius of the stage and the marquee complement each other.
- Scott

Dave,
It is really looking GOOD. I like the way the radius of the stage and the marquee complement each other.
- Scott

Thanks Scott, I was a good feeling to be able to pull out the power tools and build something again. My wife and I were down looking at the marquee and the stage and realized that when the chairs are in you won't be able to see them both at the same time like you can in the photo. Although it might make for nice flow when entering the HT to have them the same shape/proportion.

I'm only working about 1 day a week so you should be catching up. How's the painting coming along?

Dave

Dave - Making great progress, like the stage.

Made a comment to you about this in another thread about the U-Boats, but thought I should mention it here as well.

Looking at this post, Brian R, seems to be suggesting that the U-Boats are an RC product. I have seen people post that RC is not recomended in ceilings and walls (not seen anything on floors), but thought I'd bring this to your attention before you do the whole floor.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4957841&&#post4957841

Thanks dc_pilgrim,

I appreciate it. Maybe we can start some disucssion here on the specifics of my application as I'm several days from laying the floor. Right now I have a couple of choices;

1. Do nothing to the floor except padding and carpeting. Maybe a layer of roofing felt. In this case I would have to add additional wall area to make up for the 4" or so above the doors as the 2 door openings are too large.

2. Continue as planned using U-Boat Floor Floaters underneath 2x2's with double 3/4" plywood on top. I was planning to add some insulation but not 100% coverage.

3. Continue as planned except add sand to all of the cavities. I don't know if my back could take it but if it's for the greater cause maybe.

I reviewed the link you sent and it seems to be a slightly different scenario than mine; room above a garage versus room on concrete. Brian does talk a little about a spring and a mass and resonance.

I also looked through the link in Brian's signature and found this post where Brian says that U-Boats are the "tenderloin" as long as the cavity is as deep as possible and you use insulation:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5443054&&#post5443054

I also found this post in the same thread which might add another option (4. Continue as planned except 1 layer of 3/4" plywood with a tile floor covered by padding and carpet):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5501585&&#post5501585

I guess choice #5 could be double 3/4" plywood with Green Glue and no U-Boat Floaters.

Open for discussion. Any opinions of the rank?

Dave

Its a little beyond my depth, I would consider dropping a PM to Brian R, and asking him to look at these posts and comment on your specific application. I was interested in what you had there, and was doing a little searching. Given the warnings about RC, a light went off in my head to at least mention it. Not trying to rain on the product, just wouldn't want you to get an adverse result. Looks like you took it that way.

I will look at your links (dinner soon) in a bit, and see if I have anything else to contribute to the analysis. I have more or less figured out the approaches available to walls and ceilings, but I don't fully grasp floors, and I'll need to figure that out before I get my basement rolling along. Whenever that will be.

Best,

Dave,
I think most of the Dennis Erskine designs that I've seen on this forum use sand in the stage. My understanding is that if you place your subwoofer(s) on the stage, the sand helps to stop the low frequencies from transferring into the floor. Several people report that their subwoofers sound much better with sand in the stage since the bass goes into the room rather than into the floor.

I believe the typical way to build the sand-stage is to frame it away from the walls by 1/4" to 1/2" then fill the frame completely with sand. Then you place three layers of 3/4" plywood on top of the stage with roofing felt between the layers. I think the roofing felt is to stop any squeaking between the layers of plywood.

The U-boats may do the same thing to some extent, but I would worry about the stage resonating if it is not filled with sand (or stuffed with insulation).

I agree with dc_pilgrim that maybe you should drop a PM to Brian Ravnaas, or perhaps you could post a separate question in another thread. Brian seems to be very responsive to sound isolation questions that are posted in this forum. If your lucky, maybe Dennis Erskine, Terry Montlick, and Bpape will also respond to your questions. Their knowledge on these issues is pretty amazing.

By the way, I sprayed another 15 gallons of primer tonight. I'm sealing the drywall texture before I begin painting. Thanks again for the recommendation on the sprayer. I'm TRYING to catch up to you!

- Scott

I just sent a quick PM to Brian.

To summarize I was planning a subfloor in the entire room (14' x 20') except for the stage area. The stage and the sub floor will not touch.

The stage is 2x10s and will be filled with sand on both ends and insulation in the middle. Top will be double 3/4 plywood.

Subfloor is planned to be U-Boat Floor Floaters supporting 2x2s with double 3/4 plywood. I was planning to add insulation under the subfloor.

From what I can gather this is a good solution except that I may have too small of a cavity.

The main reasons for the subfloor were to isolate the sound in the room, particularly the low frequencies that tend to travel through the house and to aid in the in room acoustics. Another reason is that I can't stand a cold room and in Wisconsin basements are always cold so a sub floor will make the room more enjoyable 8 months out of the year.

The more I thought about this realistically, unless everyone thinks I'm crazy I'd either continue as is, do nothing on the floor or continue as planned and add some sand to the floor cavities in strategic locations. I don't think at his point I'd consider more Green Glue or putting down tile just to add mass.

Dave

Dave,

My $0.02 on your floor...

For your stage, I would stick with your current plan. Depending on the stage design you might consider using sand on the whole thing rather than just the sides if you think you might want to have more options for placing your subwoofer if you find that corner placement is not optimal.

For the main floor area, I think you have a good idea regarding the u-boats, 2X2's, and double plywood -- especially since you want to make the room more comfortable in the winter. (I misunderstood you previous post and thought this was your plan for the stage.) This plan sounds like it will work to keep the floor warmer. I don't know how it will work for sound isolation. Brian R is the expert for that information.

(I'm assuming your concrete floor is totally dry and there is no dampness anywhere. If you have any dampness I don't think you should use insulation on the floor.)

- Scott

Dave - Making great progress, like the stage.

Made a comment to you about this in another thread about the U-Boats, but thought I should mention it here as well.

Looking at this post, Brian R, seems to be suggesting that the U-Boats are an RC product. I have seen people post that RC is not recomended in ceilings and walls (not seen anything on floors), but thought I'd bring this to your attention before you do the whole floor.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4957841&&#post4957841

Uboats are exactly akin to RC, or to RSIC, or to spring ceiling hangers, or to floors floating on neoprene pucks or anything else. exactly akin, they all function on the same principle and form the same type of system

the differences between RC and sound clips like ISOMAX or RSIC are that the clips allow a lower frequency of resonance, all things equal. Also, the chances of short circuiting a clip are very low relative to channel

The thing about using UBOATS in a floating floor is this: can you spare enough air space to make the resulting decoupled system have a resonance in a favorable location (frequency wise)?

i wouldn't bother with them if i had less than a 2x4 the tall way worth of air space. the problem is that you simply don't have enough air space to get a low resonance frequency, and you'll wind up worsening low frequency isolation. even with a 2x4, you'll worsen isolation in wahtever direction the Uboats + mass is controlling below maybe 63hz or so. maybe 50hz

you can make up for that with mass, but double plywood isn't very heavy. 4" of concrete is heavy, but practical for about 1% of applications.

Thanks dc_pilgrim,

I appreciate it. Maybe we can start some disucssion here on the specifics of my application as I'm several days from laying the floor. Right now I have a couple of choices;

1. Do nothing to the floor except padding and carpeting. Maybe a layer of roofing felt. In this case I would have to add additional wall area to make up for the 4" or so above the doors as the 2 door openings are too large.

2. Continue as planned using U-Boat Floor Floaters underneath 2x2's with double 3/4" plywood on top. I was planning to add some insulation but not 100% coverage.

i wouldn't bother. the air space is too small. if you did it, you should definitely opt for insulation over 100% of the area.

Uboats are really cool. nice, pre-packed way to get a floating floor for those situations where you need one, ... but 2" of air space (actually 1.5" + the Uboat thickness) isn't enough.

3. Continue as planned except add sand to all of the cavities. I don't know if my back could take it but if it's for the greater cause maybe.

I reviewed the link you sent and it seems to be a slightly different scenario than mine; room above a garage versus room on concrete. Brian does talk a little about a spring and a mass and resonance.

I also looked through the link in Brian's signature and found this post where Brian says that U-Boats are the "tenderloin" as long as the cavity is as deep as possible and you use insulation:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5443054&&#post5443054

uboats are good, small air spaces + decoupled assemblies are bad.

putting sand in teh cavities will accomplish one of two things:

1. if the sand contacts the wood over the floating floor, this will basically negate the mass-spring rseonance. it will also largely/mostly negate the decoupling. not a bad option

2. if the sand isn't in contact, you'll get some weird behavior due to the very small net air cavity, though exactly how this will behave i dunno

preferable to have it in contact with the wood that's covering it.




I also found this post in the same thread which might add another option (4. Continue as planned except 1 layer of 3/4" plywood with a tile floor covered by padding and carpet):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5501585&&#post5501585

I guess choice #5 could be double 3/4" plywood with Green Glue and no U-Boat Floaters.

Open for discussion. Any opinions of the rank?

Dave


Now, over concrete that resonance of small air cavity will be less important than if the room was upstairs, but i still wouldn't bother with the uboats.

Brian,

Thanks so much for your analysis. Looks like I have about 180 U Boat Floaters for sale if anyone needs them send me a PM (anyone with enough room for a 2x4 or larger on edge). :)

I think I'll probably go with Acoustik Mat (or alternative (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=658274)) as I'd like to put something down to keep the room cozy.

Thanks again dc_pilgrim for helping me avoid a potential drum under my feet.

Dave

I am surprised to be of service. I usually just applaud on construction threads.

hey, no problem GTO

good luck

Update from this weekend's work:

Saturday the electrician was here from 8am till 11am. He installed the sub panel and ran the conduit and wire to it. He also installed a box for a double outlet near my low voltage wires and installed a few of the switched outlets, giving me direction along the way so I can do a lot of the final wiring.

http://images15.fotki.com/v263/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01867-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01868-vi.jpg

Here's the main panel (you can only see a sliver of it), the conduit (between the waterheater & drain pipe) and also the HVAC feed. We brought the conduit out low as this was the cleanest path. http://images2.fotki.com/v292/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01883-vi.jpg

Sunday I bought a number of items needed for Wednesday (electrician) and some OSB for the satge. I built the first floor layer of the stage, it was a little more involved than I had hoped as the stage is 4' 2" at its deepest point.
http://images2.fotki.com/v292/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01884-vi.jpg

I'm planning sand and some insulation in the stage.

Dave

I've also started planning for no subfloor. Here's a current drawing of the HT. I've moved the riser back farther and changed the door to swing out of the room instead of into the room.
http://images12.fotki.com/v217/photos/8/821852/3219922/TheaterDetailseatingoptomized-vi.jpg

I was a little concerned about the height of the stage now that I don't have a sub floor (it's now 4" higher than I had planned). I think it will be ok, I'm now thinking that the riser will be the same height as the stage. I pulled up a chair and sat on the stage for a while and it was roomier than I thought.

Dave

Dave,
I thought you wanted something on the floor to help warm the room up during the winter. I understand that Brian R. thought that the u-boats and 2X2 would not help the sound, but have you thought about something like a DRIcore (http://www.dricore.com/en/eindex.htm) floor? I'm not saying you need this, I just thought you were concerned about a cold floor during the winter.

- Scott

Dave,
I thought you wanted something on the floor to help warm the room up during the winter. I understand that Brian R. thought that the u-boats and 2X2 would not help the sound, but have you thought about something like a DRIcore (http://www.dricore.com/en/eindex.htm) floor? I'm not saying you need this, I just thought you were concerned about a cold floor during the winter.

- Scott
Hi Scott,

Yes, I still would like to add something to make the floor a little warmer. I bought a square of DRIcore about a year ago to play with and look at the finished height. I'll have to find it & do a few measurements.

I've also considered some thin rubber matting (~1/8") and the Acoustick Mat alternative which comes in 1/2" and 3/4".

I'm leaning towards going with the best possible padding and/or something thin under the carpet padding and looking at the floor as a possible future upgrade if its really an acoustical problem or if its very cold. The carpet we chose is the same for the entire basement right now, I't would be nice to have a unique color/style for the HT in the future.

Still contemplating,

Thanks,

Dave

The electrician was here doing some of the switches this afternoon. I got some direction from him and started on the switched outlets. We completed the bedroom and started in on the main room and Home Theater.

I'll be doing some of the work on my own and he'll stop by once a week until we're finished.

Dave

Thanks for the help with the floor. After a lot of planning measuring and contemplating I decided to go with the DriCore. I bought all of the materials but have yet to install it.

Over the weekend I installed a few doors and did some minor electrical.

Dave

Dave,

If you don't mind what is the pricing on DRIcore and is it true it takes about an inch of headroom.

Keep us all informed on the installation.

Thanks Mark

Dave,

If you don't mind what is the pricing on DRIcore and is it true it takes about an inch of headroom.

Keep us all informed on the installation.

Thanks Mark

I just got done with a Dricore installation in my basement. Each 2x2 panel was $5.70 from my local Home Depot (so ~$1.40 sq/ft).

As far as headroom, it sits about 3/4 inch off of the slab, and it's warm enough for my wife to walk barefoot on without complaint (no small accomplishment).

-Tim

I am glad to hear about the Dricore successes...I plan to lay that in my basement in a few weeks....about 1500 square feet of it to be exact and I had hoped some others had liked it before I went ahead and bought it. Sorry Dave if I had been keeping up with your thread more regularly I would have suggested it myself...even though my only experience with it is from what I have researched about it.

Things are looking good glad to see it

Robert

Hi,

Sorry I'm a little late to the discussion, I was traveling for work.

The Dricore is awaiting installation:
http://images16.fotki.com/v288/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01885-vi.jpg
I'll document the process and take some pictures of the steps. I'm planning to put a temporary 1/4" spacer around the room and install the Dricore up to the spacer (wall-to-wall). Then I'll attach the wall to the floor temporarily with "L" brackets. I'll cut the Dricor so that the two doors will rest on the floor attached to the room. After the carpet is installed I'll remove spacers and the brackets and seal the 1/4" gap with caulk.

Here's a shot of the double doors I'm installing at the landing of the stairs. This one is from the main room. In this photo you can also see the light fixtures for above the bar.
http://images17.fotki.com/v293/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01886-vi.jpg

Here's a shot of the door to be installed between the Home Theater room and the utility room. Its a solid wood core metal skin insulated entry door. http://images16.fotki.com/v299/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01887-vi.jpg

Dave

I started installing the Dricore floor late this afternoon. I started in the right rear corner of the room (when facing the screen wall). I proceeded to install the first row from that corner to the left rear corner of the room. I wonder if I should have done the room from the right rear corner to the right front corner, lining it up with a wall the entire way?
http://images17.fotki.com/v293/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01888-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v287/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01890-vi.jpg
I cut the first row 5 1/2" short at the corner so that when I hit the doorway I would use the entire square. My goal is to have the door completely rest on the subfloor.
http://images16.fotki.com/v288/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01889-vi.jpg

As you can see from the photos I cut some 1/4" spacers to maintain the 1/4"gap around the room until after the carpet is installed. The second photo also shows a stack of spacers. I've found that simply positioning the next Dricore unit near where it is going to be installed will help you determine how many spacers to use and where. I would add spacers until the tounge and groove edges lined up, install the peice and then add spacers to the outside edge if necessary. I have a dip in the middle of my floor going in about 5 feet from the doorway that required spacers on almost every board in the center of the room.

The last peice is cut 1/4" short and is slid into position along the tounge and groove.

I ran out of Dricore spacers (started with only 2 boxes) and when to Home Depot at 9:10pm but they were closed. I'll start where I left off tomorrow.

I have 2 1/2 rows complete. The instructions say that the first 3 rows are critical. The following diagram shows where I started and where I am now that I ran out of spacers. The second full row is started with a 1/2 of a section to add strength by staggering the seams. All cuts are easy with a skill or table saw.
http://images17.fotki.com/v295/photos/8/821852/3352577/DricoreInstall-vi.jpg

Overall a pretty simple and fast moving job (if you have all the supplies), more tomorrow.

Dave

Very nice work Dave. Your attention to detail is impressive. As you suggested, it might have been nice to go from the back to the front of the room, rather than side to side, but I think you will be fine the way your are doing it. Great job documenting the process.
- Scott

Very nice work Dave. Your attention to detail is impressive. As you suggested, it might have been nice to go from the back to the front of the room, rather than side to side, but I think you will be fine the way your are doing it. Great job documenting the process.
- Scott

Hi Scott,

Thanks. One of the benefits that I didn't mention was that in my current configuration I can "lock" the rows of Dricore between 2 walls. Going the other way I would hit the stage and it might be a little more challening to lock the floor in place, especially as I start to trim around the radius of the stage. I'm on my way to pick up more Dricore spacers and get started.

How's your project going?

Dave

Dave, appreciate the "how-to" shots of the dricore. My project is looking likely for the fall, and this is something I intend to do.

I finished the floor today. Everything worked out really well, the floor was a little bit off as I layed down each consecutive row. I have a few 1/32" gaps but nothing I'm at all concerned about.

Here's a few photo's of some of my progress:
http://images17.fotki.com/v295/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01893-vi.jpg

http://images17.fotki.com/v296/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01894-vi.jpg

Here's a close up of the floor up against the stage:
http://images16.fotki.com/v299/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01897-vi.jpg

Here's a finished shot from the HT looking into the Utility Room:
http://images16.fotki.com/v300/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01900-vi.jpg

Here's a finished shot from the Utility Room looking into the HT:
http://images17.fotki.com/v296/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01901-vi.jpg

Finally a shot from the main room looking into the HT (and my only HT chair) :) :
http://images17.fotki.com/v297/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01899-vi.jpg

There's a few more pictures in my photo album. Overall the install went pretty smooth. If anyone has any questions let me know.

Dave

I bought a few more doors this weekend, the last 2 or so I thought. I forgot the closet in the bedroom so 1 more trip to get one more door is needed.

I was gonna do some work starting yesterday but I thought it was best not to use power tools so close to our vacation so I took the weekend off. I'll be gone for a while, we're taking the kids and heading off to Mexico for 7 days. Here's where we're staying:

http://www.bahia-principe.com/bp/hoteles/tulum_informacion.jsp

Have a great Easter holiday everyone.

Dave

Have a great time and forget about it... it'll be there when you get back!

Bud

I bought a few more doors this weekend, the last 2 or so I thought. I forgot the closet in the bedroom so 1 more trip to get one more door is needed.

I was gonna do some work starting yesterday but I thought it was best not to use power tools so close to our vacation so I took the weekend off. I'll be gone for a while, we're taking the kids and heading off to Mexico for 7 days. Here's where we're staying:


Have a great Easter holiday everyone.

Dave


You'll love the Bahia! We stayed at the Bahia Principe Akumal in Riviera Maya last July. One of the best vacations we ever had! Then again, any vacation where you can have fresh guacamole any time of day is a good vacation in my book :D

-Tim

We got back on the 24th and I did a little bit of work this weekend but its really hard to get back in the groove.

Hi Tim, Yes, the guacamole was awesome. Sorry for the generic link, we stayed at the Bahia Principe Tulum which as you know is part of the larger complex. I'd highly recommend this place as well. I think we'll go back some day, lots to do and the kids really loved it.

Hi Bud, I'm wishing I was as far along as you, especially now that summer is getting closer. Now I've got to get back to your thread for some motivation.

Dave

Dave,

Hope you had a nice time... Stay tuned... in the final push for the HT and concession rooms.

Bud

I've been working on the riser over the last week and the bar yesterday. Here's a few pictures:

The riser is 9.5' x 5' and is made out of 2x8 material with 3/4 t&g OSB for the top. Here's the base frame:
http://images17.fotki.com/v304/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01902-vi.jpg
Here's the additional side peice with the curve and the step. I didn't get a picture of the curve but I used the same technique as on the stage:
http://images17.fotki.com/v304/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01903-vi.jpg
Here's a view from the other side with only the step yet to complete:
http://images17.fotki.com/v309/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01904-vi.jpg


Here's a couple of the finished riser close to its final position:
http://images17.fotki.com/v309/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01908-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v313/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01910-vi.jpg

Dave

Looks great.

Thanks dc_pilgrim, It was hard to get back in the groove but I seem to be rolling again. Thank goodness for this rainy weather that keeps me indoors.

Dave

Started the bar this weekend but ran of of time to post the pics yesterday. Here's the beginnings of the bar frame:
http://images17.fotki.com/v308/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01911-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v312/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01912-vi.jpg

I'm planning to put a sink cabinet and a few 12" deep cabinets along the back wall. The wall is made of 2x6s and is 41" high. I'm planning an 18" wide bar surface with about 10" of overhang on the outside of the bar.

Dave

Installed the Home Theater door last weekend. It's an insulated double swinging patio door. I originally planned to have the doors swing in but in some previous forum discussion and based on the location of where the riser would be located we decided to have the doors swing out of the room. I also planned to have a larger sub floor so I had to extend the top pf the door frame to meet the top of the door. Here's a picture from the main room looking at the Home Theater entrance:
http://images17.fotki.com/v309/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01913-vi.jpg

Here's a picture from inside the Home Theater:
http://images17.fotki.com/v306/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01914-vi.jpg

I also got 10 bags of sand to put into the stage. I'll see how far 10 bags take me and get more based on the results. The sand got pretty wet so I'm running the fan and dehumidifier to dry it out:
http://images17.fotki.com/v308/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01915-vi.jpg

Dave

Take a looksie:

http://images9.fotki.com/v188/photos/6/649633/2311872/DCP_1755-vi.jpg

Got some great ideas for it..

I like the fact the doors go out. Makes it sort of dramatic when you open them.

Bud

Dave,

Long time lurker. Your HT looks great! Can't wait to see more progress pics.

Dave,
Your doing a great job on your theater for sure. Dricore all the way for me as well when i start planning my theater. Nice pics showing how you did it.
Chinadog, your bar design is great and deserves to be emulated whether by accident or on purpose. I plan on making mine in a similiar fashion.
Keep plugin along guys. lookin great!

Take a looksie:

http://images9.fotki.com/v188/photos/6/649633/2311872/DCP_1755-vi.jpg

Got some great ideas for it..

I like the fact the doors go out. Makes it sort of dramatic when you open them.

Bud

Hi Bud, Wow you're right, the bar frames are strikingly similar. I had my design for a while but you certainly had some influence on it. I saw your bar when I started my forum and took a few mental notes. I see you have the sink in the middle, my sink will be at the end by the wall to conserve space. I have some friends that have a bar that has no cabinets at the entrance end and its really great for entertaining because they can fit 2-3 people on stools behind the bar and more in front of the bar, great for games, snacking, drinking, etc. I'm planning to emulate that.

I'm really liking the doors opening out, gives more room in the HT and my back wall is so wide (double walls with gap) that the open doors barely stick out into the main room.

I'll have to get my bar drawn up and posted so we can discuss.

Dave

Dave,

Long time lurker. Your HT looks great! Can't wait to see more progress pics.

Hi Steve, Thanks! I'll keep posting pictures. Right now I'm struggling to dry 30 bags of sand and progress is slooooooow.

Anyone know of some creative ideas? I've spread out some plastic and put 2 bags on it spread out with the fan and dehumidifier. Hoping that greater surface area will help. I'll also do the same outside tomorrow with some more bags as it will be sunny.

Steve, I'm gonna check out your thread but right now my Internet is sloooow too (everything going slow today??).

Dave

Dave,
Your doing a great job on your theater for sure. Dricore all the way for me as well when i start planning my theater. Nice pics showing how you did it.
Chinadog, your bar design is great and deserves to be emulated whether by accident or on purpose. I plan on making mine in a similiar fashion.
Keep plugin along guys. lookin great!

Hi Chris, Thank you. The dricore seems to be a really great product and pretty straight forward to install. I have a few squeaks but I think they will be fine once the padding and carpeting are in (not to mention I plan to drownd out any background noises with many decibels of HT sound).

Dave

Drying sand has become my preoccupation so I can close the stage. Carpet comes on Tuesday morning.

Dave

Your theater looks great. I am almost ready to start on mine and will be posting the intial basement shots soon. Only one thing you are doing stands out to me and that is the front doors. Maybe this is a personal thing but they sould open outward and not inward. Even though you have another door in the room, for fire safety reasons in an enclosed space like this I would reverse them. And typically most people tend to pull on entering a room and push to exit which would match a commercial theater. It would also alleviate having someone open the door too quickly and smack the person sitting at the table near the entrance. I also now see that you show 2 different variation on door swings so I am not sure if this reply even matters now but it is just my 2 cents. Overall a very nice job so far

John

Your theater looks great. I am almost ready to start on mine and will be posting the intial basement shots soon. Only one thing you are doing stands out to me and that is the front doors. Maybe this is a personal thing but they sould open outward and not inward. Even though you have another door in the room, for fire safety reasons in an enclosed space like this I would reverse them. And typically most people tend to pull on entering a room and push to exit which would match a commercial theater. It would also alleviate having someone open the door too quickly and smack the person sitting at the table near the entrance. I also now see that you show 2 different variation on door swings so I am not sure if this reply even matters now but it is just my 2 cents. Overall a very nice job so far

John

Hi John, I've posted drawings and had discussion about the doors swinging both directions, so I can see I've caused a little confusion. I installed them a few weeks ago and they swing out of the room (you pull on the door to open it when entering the room). I had some comments about the benefits of doing it this way but never considered fire safety. Luckily they swing out and safety should not be an issue.

Send my a link to you theater pictures when you get them posted. Good luck.

Thanks

Dave

We've made a lot of progress since my last posts:

Stage: I sucessfully filled the stage with 2,000lbs of sand plus a about 30 cheap concrete patio blocks (didn't have time to dry out more sand). Drying sand took much longer than I thought. In the Home Theater Room with a dehumidifier and a fan took about 12 hours/bag:
http://images1.fotki.com/v6/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01919-vi.jpg
I utilized my two patios to dry about 8 -12 bags/sunney day to finish up:
http://images16.fotki.com/v316/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01921-vi.jpg

I used crossmembers in the end 2 cavities to make sure the weight of the sand kept the stage down. The pipe in the photo is the drain from our wash machine. It used to make a loud noise and now under 6 inches of sand can't hear a thing:
http://images1.fotki.com/v318/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01918-vi.jpg

Here's a shot of the concrete blocks. I used them to take up volume. The rest on sand, are covered by sand and do not touch the edges of the cavities:
http://images1.fotki.com/v317/photos/8/821852/3352577/Img01920-vi.jpg

I completed the stage by filling each cavity slightly over the top, folding the plastic over the top of the sand and screwing the top on. Carpet came on May 30th, and I'm glad to be able to close this chapter. It turned out great.

Dave

I also poured a shower base and got the shower ready for tile this last weekend. Here's a shot of the shower. More pictures are in my album:

http://images17.fotki.com/v5/photos/8/821852/3656428/Img01935-vi.jpg

Dave

Theater is looking great. You have me thinking of things that I will need to do when I start building mine. I didn't think that I might have to dry out the sand. BTW how much did you pay for the 2x2 dricore?

Theater is looking great. You have me thinking of things that I will need to do when I start building mine. I didn't think that I might have to dry out the sand. BTW how much did you pay for the 2x2 dricore?

Hi, Thanks.

Yes, drying out the sand was an unexpectedly long task.

I bought the Dricore for $5.70 per square (2x2) at Home Depot.

Dave

I also bought my first set of trim. Birch casing in colonial style. Birch was hard to find and pretty expensive but that's what we have in the rest of the house and we both like the look of the wood, very elegant look. The trim will be in the basement not in the theater, I think I'll go with painted trim there but we'll see.

Here's the casing before staining:
http://images2.fotki.com/v315/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01930-vi.jpg

Here's the casing after staining:
http://images16.fotki.com/v316/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01934-vi.jpg

We used an all in one stain and varnish product to save time, so far so good.

You can see my borrowed tile cutter in the pictures; it will get a workout this weekend.

Dave

Tiled in front of the fireplace with tumbled marble prior to carpet install. Here are some pictures:

http://images17.fotki.com/v13/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01923-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v303/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01924-vi.jpg

Dave

Dave,

Great to see the progress. I like the look of the doors.

I didn't realize that the sand comes in wet. Is that usually the case? Certainly don't want to seal in wet sand.

Dave

Dave,

Great to see the progress. I like the look of the doors.

I didn't realize that the sand comes in wet. Is that usually the case? Certainly don't want to seal in wet sand.

Dave

Hi Dave, Good to hear from you. Every bag of sand I bought was moist and the plastic locks it in. Be prepared to dry it out. Im in the final push to get most of the basement complete. The Home Theater will be tweaked for months I'm sure.

Dave

I purchased some slightly used Home Theater seating this weekend. I will be picking up some of it today and some early in the week. Based on what I bought I will have a slightly curved configuration of 3 seats in the front row and a straight configuration of 3 seats in the back row.

The seats are black leather Berkline. It kind of figures it hasn't rained here in about 3 weeks but the day I want to pick up some furniture its pouring, so we'll see.

Dave

Dave,

That's funny, you get you theater seats this weekend and so did I. Can't wait to see the pics...

Dave

I've had the Home Theater up and running (electronically) for a few weeks now. Here's what it looks like:

http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01950-vi.jpg

http://images17.fotki.com/v325/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01951-vi.jpg


The lawn furniture will be replaced with these chairs as soon as I paint the walls:
http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01960-vi.jpg
http://images15.fotki.com/v168/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01961-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01962-vi.jpg

Dave

I've been working very hard to get the electrical and plumbing completed.

The electrician came on Monday and we hooked up 4 of the circuits and he showed me a few more things I can do on my own. I installed the last of the fixtures tonight and have about 10 more outlets to wire and then I can call him back to finish.

Bath is tiled and the plumbers were here tonight and finished their work. Toilet is in, bath sink cabinet is in, bar sink is in and most importantly water is back to our refrigerator upstairs (we now have ice and filtered water again). They also ran a water line for the refrigerator behind the bar. Here's an older shot of the bar prior to putting the sink in:

http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01953-vi.jpg


Here's the lights above the bar:
http://images17.fotki.com/v15/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01954-vi.jpg

And here is the light in the main room:
http://images17.fotki.com/v9/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01955-vi.jpg

I'm off to golf this weekend so no work but I'll be back at it next week.

Dave

Looks great so far...your going to have one nice theater when its finnished...

I look forward to following your thread to the end

Looks great. What did you end up doing for cabinets. Where did you get them?

Bud

Dave,

Chairs looking good. Nice shape. Where did you get them?

It looks like your riser is 6" (or 8") can't tell. I am trying to decide my height of riser. Let me know how your height works out.

Dave

what is that embedded in the brown chairs armrest

My guess is its probably heated or has a massage mechinism. The front seats look like they have storage in the arm rests or snack trays?

You said three seats per row in the other post. What are you going to do with the extra two?

Bud

Looks great. What did you end up doing for cabinets. Where did you get them?

Bud

Hi Bud,

These are the Maple cabinets that they stock at Lowes. They were a little bit more $$than I thought they should be but they will work nicely for us.

Dave

Dave,

Chairs looking good. Nice shape. Where did you get them?

It looks like your riser is 6" (or 8") can't tell. I am trying to decide my height of riser. Let me know how your height works out.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I bought the chairs slightly used down in Illinois (about a 50 minute drive for us).

My riser is 2x8 material with a 3/4" OSB deck and carpeting rolled under the bottom and on the top, final height is close to 8.5". I'm excited about getting the chairs down there but I want to paint the room Navy Blue first.

Dave

what is that embedded in the brown chairs armrest


My guess is its probably heated or has a massage mechinism. The front seats look like they have storage in the arm rests or snack trays?

You said three seats per row in the other post. What are you going to do with the extra two?

Bud

Bud you are correct. The end units each have power recline on both rows (4 total). The straight row is power massage and heat on each seat. The straight row also has a female adapter to hold a touch screen controller/monitor on the right end chair. I guess it could also hold a tray, I'll have to do a little research on that.

I wish the curved row had storage but no such luck the armrests are not able to open.

The curved row are the Berkine 083 series and the straight seats are the X194.

I can't wait to bring them down to the HT. Got to run to work, bye.

Yes, I will have 2 extra seats available that I will either sell here or on ebay or put in storage.

Dave

what is that embedded in the brown chairs armrest

Hi Anthony,

Just for the record the chairs are all black. I had an angle shot with some sunlight that made that one picture look like the back row was brown.

Dave

Painted the walls a navy blue color and moved the home theater chairs in. There is still a lot of work to be done but it really feels like a home theater now. Here's some pictures (sorry they are a little dark :( ):

http://images2.fotki.com/v327/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01979-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01980-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v325/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01981-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01982-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/8/821852/3067921/Img01983-vi.jpg

Have a great 4th.

Dave

Dave - looks like you been busy.....coming together nicely. Whats the color you used on the ceiling/walls?

Cheers,
Mark

Dave - looks like you been busy.....coming together nicely. Whats the color you used on the ceiling/walls?

Cheers,
Mark

Hi Mark,

The ceiling is "Ground Nutmeg", an orangish color and the walls are what I would describe as a Navy Blue (Its a Ralph Lauren paint named "Overalls").

The combo looks really good together and with Black (chairs, speakers, etc.).

I painted 2 coats of primer white on the screen wall since the pictures were taken to cover the Ground Nutmeg overspray. The white wall will have to do for my screen for a few more weeks.

Dave

Home Theater:

This week I installed the rear surround speakers, made a nice difference in the sound. I'm using towers (Klipsch RF-35s, same as my front speakers) as side surrounds right now and they sound great but they are a little too big.

I also ordered 12 sheets of FR701 and enough black GOM material to cover them. I'm planning to make my own sound panels and see how it works and looks.

My rails came in for the audio rack. I think I'll need to order a few blanks or shelfs to get the spacing perfect.

Main Room: Started to tile behind the bar and staining the doors and windows.

I'll post some pictures soon.

Dave

Received my GOM fabric yesterday and the electrician finished up the electrical. We put in a 240v 20 amp circuit and plug for the Oneac Power conditioner I bought off ebay about 9 months ago and have been unable to test. I'm anxious to see if it works. I won the auction for something like $35 and then ended up paying like $80 additional for shipping :mad:

Dave

anything happen recently?

anything happen recently?

Sorry for not posting in a while, I have an update below:

Dave

Most of the last 2 weeks I've focused on the bar area.

First I tiled the floor area behind the bar. The outside border is tumbled marble. We originally were going to do the whole thing but I didn't have enought and that gave us the opportunity to rethink the idea. We like the border in the bath so we found some tiles with a shade of blue in them (to match the bar lights among other things) and went with this design:
http://images14.fotki.com/v21/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01987-vi.jpg

Then I focused on the bar and started by adding a 2x6 to the outside edge of the bar to support the tile surface:
http://images18.fotki.com/v24/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01985-vi.jpg

A layer of plastic and then backer board. I purposely left about a 1/16" lip on the outside edge to support the corner tile:
http://images18.fotki.com/v24/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01988-vi.jpg
http://images14.fotki.com/v21/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01990-vi.jpg

I still have to grout the counter area around the sink and then seal the grout, but it's looking good. The tiles are an ivory color and have speckles of blue accent in them.
http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01992-vi.jpg

The one big bummer for me is that the refrigerator does not make the turn to fit into its intended opening. It's funny because I considered making a prototype rectangle out of 2x4s but thought it unnecessary. It's supposed to go all the way back and the door should be about even with the counter. The bar area is big enough that I can leave it angled like it is now without any loss of bar functionality but I will not sleep well until I get it fixed.
http://images18.fotki.com/v330/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01993-vi.jpg

Here's the bar from near the fireplace and a close up of the supports I used to support the bar top to prevent the grout lines from cracking:
http://images18.fotki.com/v339/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01994-vi.jpg
http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01995-vi.jpg

Lastly here's the mantel over the fireplace and tiles. I have yet to grout the tiles and paint the mantel (it will be the same color as the ceiling):
http://images18.fotki.com/v330/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01991-vi.jpg

I'll be getting back into the theater room son to finish up.

Dave

Looking great!

Gary

Wow that looks great, your quite the tile pro by now I assume.

Robert

Wow that looks great, your quite the tile pro by now I assume.

Robert

Thanks Robert. I have the shower left and I've been putting it off. I'll actually be really happy to return the tile saw and rorto-zip I borrowed and be done with the tile work. I'm especially pleased with the bar top and counter, it really turned out nice.

Thanks again,

Dave

Looking great!

Gary

Thanks Gary. I'll be doing more in the theater itself in the next few weeks and I'l continue to post more pictures.

Have a great day,

Dave

deleted double post

Hey Dave,

Looks great. One question. Are the brackets that you have in the front of your bar a functional element or for decorative effect? It seems that the shape of your bar would certainly stablize any movement. Watch those knees!

Great job!

They are probably for both, but for sure are used for reinforcement. I'd actually still be worried, given the weight of tile, and how grout is prone to cracking. It'll be interesting to see how it fares 10 years from now. At any rate, it looks awesome now!

Dave, I'm not seeing how the refrigerator doesn't fit in there? Can't you just put it next to the right wall and slide it straight back? I must be missing something with the angles in the photos.

miltimj,
It looks like there is a slight bump out on his wall next to the fridge. I think he should just rip out that whole wall and extend it out another 20' to add a second theater. ;-)

Hey Dave,

Looks great. One question. Are the brackets that you have in the front of your bar a functional element or for decorative effect? It seems that the shape of your bar would certainly stablize any movement. Watch those knees!

Great job!

The brackets are definetely functional. When I screwed them in they really solitified the structure of the bar and actuall in a few cases raised the front edge enough to make it slightly out of level (spills will roll slightly towards the bartender). I may have "over engineered" it but again I wanted to be sure there were no cracks.

The design and height I copied from the upstairs bar/counter in the kitchen:
http://images18.fotki.com/v24/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01997-vi.jpg

The brackets are high enough on both bars that knees clear them easily.

Dave

They are probably for both, but for sure are used for reinforcement. I'd actually still be worried, given the weight of tile, and how grout is prone to cracking. It'll be interesting to see how it fares 10 years from now. At any rate, it looks awesome now!

Dave, I'm not seeing how the refrigerator doesn't fit in there? Can't you just put it next to the right wall and slide it straight back? I must be missing something with the angles in the photos.

Hi Tim,

Thanks. Because of metal supports that hold up the beams I created a funny wall where the refrigerator is suppose to go. You can probably see it better on this older picture of the bar area:
http://images17.fotki.com/v308/photos/8/821852/3546505/Img01911-vi.jpg

The drawing may help too:
http://images14.fotki.com/v256/photos/8/821852/3067921/GranTheaterO_drwing16Nov05-vi.jpg

Dave

miltimj,
It looks like there is a slight bump out on his wall next to the fridge. I think he should just rip out that whole wall and extend it out another 20' to add a second theater. ;-)

Hi Dave,

Glad to hear your on your final month in the Middle East. Funny you should say that I've already sketched out another Home Theater area in the bonus room above the garage trying to utilize the extra 2 theater chairs I have sitting in the garage. Maybe when the kids get older I'll create a hangout up there for them.

Dave

Dave,
Funny you should say that I've already sketched out another Home Theater area in the bonus room above the garage trying to utilize the extra 2 theater chairs I have sitting in the garage. That's too funny.
Everything is looking great! Kudos on the tile work.
Do you have a planned finish date yet?

Dave,
That's too funny.
Everything is looking great! Kudos on the tile work.
Do you have a planned finish date yet?

Hi Dave,

Thanks again on the Kudos. I'm horrible at finishing projects (just ask my wife), but with that said I'm really gonna put forward a push to get this complete by Labor Day weekend. I'll have 6 days Wed-Mon of that week off to finish up. The big things yet to complete are:

- Baseboard trim (just picked up 300ft of birch base need to stain and install)
- Window & door moulding installed
- Doors (need to sand, stain and hang about 8 doors)
- Grout counter behind bar, fireplace & bath floor
- Seal all grout
- Tile the shower
- Paint the mantel
- Install dropped ceiling in bedroom
- Install shelving in all closets
- Floor in workout room (purchase and install)
- Home Theater
- Find & install real surround speakers (using floor speakers now, way too big)
- Touch up drywall, touch up knockdown & paint above main door
- Install trim on both doors (after insulating the gaps)
- Install door on back side of rack (utility room side)
- Install rack rails and purchase rack shelfs and blanks
- Route wires and organize rack
- Hook up Rotel amps (going through receiver now)
- Build center channel speaker stand (need to get center up higher)
- Touch up paint around entire room
- Build and install room treatments
- Buy & install bass treatments
- Build & install screen (although the white wall gets pretty awesome)
- Connect up the HVAC
- Finialize the automation (lighting, IR, rack cooling, video monitors, etc.)

Not that you're interested in all the detail but it was a good exercise for me to get it down and start planning for the final push.

If your planning to go through Miwaukee on your way back or anytime after, drop me a PM and I'll give you the nickel tour.

Dave

I'm interested in all the building details. I have to start laying out a project plan for the basement. I'm hoping if I set specific time schedules and goals for myself I'll stay on track.
Don't be surprised if I take you on up on that nickel tour offer. We do convoy security over here, so I'm used to being on the road for no less than six hours at a time. Two hour drive down to Milwaukee in a comfortable vehicle would be nothing to me. I could make a weekend of it and stop at all the HTs in the Green Bay HT Meet thread. WI HT Tour 07!!

Any idea what you're planning for your surround speakers?

I'm interested in all the building details. I have to start laying out a project plan for the basement. I'm hoping if I set specific time schedules and goals for myself I'll stay on track.
Don't be surprised if I take you on up on that nickel tour offer. We do convoy security over here, so I'm used to being on the road for no less than six hours at a time. Two hour drive down to Milwaukee in a comfortable vehicle would be nothing to me. I could make a weekend of it and stop at all the HTs in the Green Bay HT Meet thread. WI HT Tour 07!!

Any idea what you're planning for your surround speakers?

Dave,

The offer is open just let me know. On the surrounds I'm hoping to either complete the Klipsch RF-35 set with some RS-35s or I like the size and shape of the newer Reference line like the RS-42 or RS-52 (not sure what size would match up). I really like buying stereo equipment :D

Dave

anything done in the last week or so?

Dave,

Amazing job. Learned a lot in this thread. You have a giant space to work with that is for sure. Can you post the "blue print" in a larger format I can't quite read everything or make it out on the thread or at the Yahoo photo site you've stored it.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing it all finished (as are you I imagine :) )
Cheers

anything done in the last week or so?

Thanks for keeping me on my toes. We had a couple of small parties in the basement this week so my focus was on completing the main room. I finished grouting, staining and most of the trim last weekend and we even bought some furniture. The room looks fantastic and it was great to entertain and see where people naturally hung out.

Unfortunately my old digital camera, the one I used to post photos, broke a couple of weeks ago. I have to start downloading from our good camera which should result in better mages anyway. I'll take some pictures today and see if I can upload them yet this weekend.

Unfortunately I didn't get any new work done in the Home Theater, but I gave a bunch of demos which was pretty exciting, everyone loved the theater.

Dave

Dave,

Amazing job. Learned a lot in this thread. You have a giant space to work with that is for sure. Can you post the "blue print" in a larger format I can't quite read everything or make it out on the thread or at the Yahoo photo site you've stored it.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing it all finished (as are you I imagine :) )
Cheers

Hi calv1n, Thanks, I appreciate the feedback, it keeps me motivated to keep going and finish. It is a lot of space, probably much more than I should have tried to tackle in one shot, by hey I'm so close to being done.

I took the image and posted it to fotki site, you may have better luck with this link:

http://public.fotki.com/GranTheaterO/ideas_and_misc/grantheatero_drwing.html

Or, send me a PM with your email address and I can send you a high res JPG if you want. Let me know.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks again on the Kudos. I'm horrible at finishing projects (just ask my wife), but with that said I'm really gonna put forward a push to get this complete by Labor Day weekend. I'll have 6 days Wed-Mon of that week off to finish up. The big things yet to complete are:

- Baseboard trim (just picked up 300ft of birch base need to stain and install)
- Window & door moulding installed
- Doors (need to sand, stain and hang about 8 doors)
- Grout counter behind bar, fireplace & bath floor
- Seal all grout
- Tile the shower
- Paint the mantel
- Install dropped ceiling in bedroom
- Install shelving in all closets
- Floor in workout room (purchase and install)
- Home Theater
- Find & install real surround speakers (using floor speakers now, way too big)
- Touch up drywall, touch up knockdown & paint above main door
- Install trim on both doors (after insulating the gaps)
- Install door on back side of rack (utility room side)
- Install rack rails and purchase rack shelfs and blanks
- Route wires and organize rack
- Hook up Rotel amps (going through receiver now)
- Build center channel speaker stand (need to get center up higher)
- Touch up paint around entire room
- Build and install room treatments
- Buy & install bass treatments
- Build & install screen (although the white wall gets pretty awesome)
- Connect up the HVAC
- Finialize the automation (lighting, IR, rack cooling, video monitors, etc.)

Not that you're interested in all the detail but it was a good exercise for me to get it down and start planning for the final push.

If your planning to go through Miwaukee on your way back or anytime after, drop me a PM and I'll give you the nickel tour.

Dave

Dave,

I'm curious how far you got on your list the last few days, it's a tall order! You'll get there though. :) Have you made any decisions about your fridge?

Bud

Dave,

I'm curious how far you got on your list the last few days, it's a tall order! You'll get there though. :) Have you made any decisions about your fridge?

Bud

Hi Bud,

My 6 days off turned out to be about 2 days of real work time on the basement. I have however made a dent in the list, updates below:

- Baseboard trim (just picked up 300ft of birch base need to stain and install) - STAINED ALL TRIM, INSTALLED IN MAIN ROOM ONLY
- Window & door moulding installed - MAIN ROOM COMPLETE
- Doors (need to sand, stain and hang about 8 doors) - ALL DOORS STAINED & HUNG
- Grout counter behind bar, fireplace & bath floor COMPLETE
- Seal all grout
- Tile the shower TILED THE FLOOR & CURB
- Paint the mantel COMPLETE
- Install dropped ceiling in bedroom
- Install shelving in all closets
- Floor in workout room (purchase and install)
- Home Theater
- Find & install real surround speakers (using floor speakers now, way too big) ORDERED THE RS-35s I'VE BEEN PLANNING ON
- Touch up drywall, touch up knockdown & paint above main door COMPLETE
- Install trim on both doors (after insulating the gaps) MAIN DOOR COMPLETE
- Install door on back side of rack (utility room side)
- Install rack rails and purchase rack shelfs and blanks
- Route wires and organize rack
- Hook up Rotel amps (going through receiver now)
- Build center channel speaker stand (need to get center up higher)
- Touch up paint around entire room HALF DONE
- Build and install room treatments
- Buy & install bass treatments
- Build & install screen (although the white wall gets pretty awesome)
- Connect up the HVAC
- Finialize the automation (lighting, IR, rack cooling, video monitors, etc.)

Making progress even though its not as fast as I'd like. Pictures are in the camera, I'll post soon.

Oh yes, the refrigerator will have to stay for a while. Luckily the bar area is pretty big and will work for now.

Bye for now,

Dave

Hi Bud,

My 6 days off turned out to be about 2 days of real work time on the basement. I have however made a dent in the list, updates below:
Dave
Dave,

Seems like that is the story for me as well. You have every intention of getting things done and "life" gets in the way.

Oh well, you just chug forward and work a few HUNDRED late eves to get caught up :D I've been doing that for some time and still am not there. Glad "we" love the hobby!

Quick update:

Sorry for not posting in a while. I've been traveling abroad and working like crazy over the last month. When I do find time I have been working on the lower level. I have a taget of Early November to really be done with all construction elements.

More to follow.

Dave

Come on Dave! You mean your theater isn't the only thing going on in your life?!? For shame!
Don't feel too bad. My Theater-To-Be is currently a storage room as I finish the game room and bathroom in my basement. I just received my Ascend speakers, so the boxes look really nice next to my HSU sub box.

A few photos:

Rack in Home Theater:
http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos/8/821852/3067921/IMG_0519-vi.jpg

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos/8/821852/3067921/IMG_0520-vi.jpg

Shower:
http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos/8/821852/3656428/IMG_0516-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos/8/821852/3656428/IMG_0517-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v30/photos/8/821852/3656428/IMG_0518-vi.jpg

The rack has equipment in it and its working pretty well but needs to be reorganized.

The shower was a suprise. My wife hired a contractor to finish it while I was traveling for work, it turned out great. Shower door should be coming tonight.

Dave

LATEST update:

- Baseboard trim (just picked up 300ft of birch base need to stain and install) - STAINED ALL TRIM, INSTALLED IN ROOMS BUT WORKOUT ROOM
- Window & door moulding installed - ALL ROOMS COMPLETE
- Doors (need to sand, stain and hang about 8 doors) - ALL DOORS STAINED & HUNG
- Grout counter behind bar, fireplace & bath floor COMPLETE
- Seal all grout COMPLETE
- Tile the shower COMPLETE
- Paint the mantel COMPLETE
- Install dropped ceiling in bedroom COMPLETE
- Install shelving in all closets
- Floor in workout room (purchase and install) - PURCHASED
- Home Theater
- Find & install real surround speakers (using floor speakers now, way too big) COMPLETE
- Touch up drywall, touch up knockdown & paint above main door COMPLETE
- Install trim on both doors (after insulating the gaps) COMPLETE
- Install door on back side of rack (utility room side) COMPLETE
- Install rack rails and purchase rack shelfs and blanks COMPLETE
- Route wires and organize rack PARTIAL
- Hook up Rotel amps COMPLETE
- Build center channel speaker stand (need to get center up higher)
- Touch up paint around entire room A BIT LEFT
- Build and install room treatments
- Buy & install bass treatments
- Build & install screen (although the white wall gets pretty awesome)
- Connect up the HVAC
- Finialize the automation (lighting, IR, rack cooling, video monitors, etc.)

I also completed a few things not on the original list;
- Hooked up firplace (installed blower, remote, etc) - MUST have fopr Wisconsin winter
- Hooked up all smoke detectors
- Shelves above bar

Dave

great theater, keep up the good work

Heres some pictures of the main "bar" room, the workout room and the bath:

Main room, fireplace area with 50" dlp over the fireplace:
http://images14.fotki.com/v362/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0598-vi.jpg
Close-up of TV above fireplace:
http://images14.fotki.com/v362/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0599-vi.jpg
Looking back from TV area:
http://images20.fotki.com/v367/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0600-vi.jpg
Bar:
http://images17.fotki.com/v12/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0601-vi.jpg
Workout room floor:
http://images20.fotki.com/v369/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0602-vi.jpg
Shower door:
http://images20.fotki.com/v366/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0603-vi.jpg

Hey Dave, that came out great. Congrats on your results...

Bud

Looking really nice. Can't show my wife or she'll want me to redo our shower to look like that!

Bryan

Dave,

What color paint is that in the main family room? I'm looking to do something similar in my family room area in the basement.

Dave - No updates for over a month and now this - Wow!. Excellent workmanship and really great looking spaces.

Looks Great! Everything turned out really nice. And I'm with Bryan -- I cannot/will not show my wife these photos or I'd be working on the Master Bathroom next :D

Master Bath is next years project - wonder if there is a Forum for those builds :D

Master Bath is next years project - wonder if there is a Forum for those builds :D


If you plan it just right, this is the right forum. HT Bathrooms...

Dave,

What color paint is that in the main family room? I'm looking to do something similar in my family room area in the basement.

Hi Rich,

The color is called Pumpkin Bread. We didn't like it at first but it really warms up the area, looks especially nice when the room was filled with furniture. I can't remember the brand of paint but I'm sure I have it in my thread somewhere.

Dave

Hi,

Thanks for all the kind words. I worked pretty hard to get the space ready for a couple of parties and some visitors we had planned in early November. I still have some work to do in the theater and I have to get final inspection one of these days as well. I'm hopeful for the X-mas break but as this forum shows clearly, I am a bit optimistic at times. Off to watch the Packers in HD.

Dave

Haven't posted in a while. Again life getting in the way of the Home Theater. Started playing around with my Media Center PC, pretty interesting but not quite ready for prime time in a HT environment.

Planning to do some work this weekend. Pictures to follow.

Dave

Haven't posted in a while. Again life getting in the way of the Home Theater. Started playing around with my Media Center PC, pretty interesting but not quite ready for prime time in a HT environment.

Planning to do some work this weekend. Pictures to follow.

Dave
Dave,

I completely understand. There are just so many hours in the day to get things done and family must come first (at least that is what the wife says). I've been a little bad myself because the wife wants to put some hours on the projector and I feel inclined to join her for a movie or "Grey's Anatomy" experience :rolleyes: :D

Don't kill yourself trying to get it done. We've all been there :)

Dave,

I completely understand. There are just so many hours in the day to get things done and family must come first (at least that is what the wife says). I've been a little bad myself because the wife wants to put some hours on the projector and I feel inclined to join her for a movie or "Grey's Anatomy" experience :rolleyes: :D

Don't kill yourself trying to get it done. We've all been there :)

I can relate, I watch more HD down there including DVR of Grey's Anatomy and other shows with my wife than I have movies in quite a while.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the link over here. Enjoyed looking at your photos. It's a lot of work, but in the end it's worth it, right?
Speaking of, with all your efforts in sound isolation, what's the end result? Are you pleased? The MLV, is it worth it for me to invest in it? Was thinking of wrapping some ductwork with it and perhaps trying to isolate the ceiling entirely. (Am planning to insulate with R30, dbl drywall, gg in between layers etc.)

I can't say that I'm doing any of it, my contractors will be doing it! More power to you, wish I had more tools and the know how to do it myself!

Thanks,
L:)

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the link over here. Enjoyed looking at your photos. It's a lot of work, but in the end it's worth it, right?
Speaking of, with all your efforts in sound isolation, what's the end result? Are you pleased? The MLV, is it worth it for me to invest in it? Was thinking of wrapping some ductwork with it and perhaps trying to isolate the ceiling entirely. (Am planning to insulate with R30, dbl drywall, gg in between layers etc.)

I can't say that I'm doing any of it, my contractors will be doing it! More power to you, wish I had more tools and the know how to do it myself!

Thanks,
L:)

Hi Lizaloo,

I love my Home Theater, is it worth it, you bet. I enjoyed designing it, building it and now enjoying using and tweaking it and of course giving demos.

The MLV was quite expensive but when you feel it you know it can work (1 lb/sq ft). The vents connected to the ducts running over the theater are pretty quiet, even a few of them run up 2 floors to my kids rooms. I wanted to be sure I could watch a movie after bedtime and I can. You can hear a bit at very high volumes but nothing that would wake sleeping children,

Since I'm not quite finished (there's still some openings to my utility room where the ducts are uncovered) its hard to be certain if the soundproofing could be better. I like to think so but I'll have to wait till I seal those last few openings (vents, door knob holes, back of stereo cabinet).

Take care, good luck and check back, hopefully I'll have those last few items sealed soon.

Dave

Not much to post about lately except the addition of an XBox 360. We bought one for my son's birthday as our XBox died about 2 months ago. Picture is amazing on the 96" screen. I'm currently running at 720p, bought Battlestations Midway, my only true 360 game today.

Dave

Not much to post about lately except the addition of an XBox 360. We bought one for my son's birthday as our XBox died about 2 months ago. Picture is amazing on the 96" screen. I'm currently running at 720p, bought Battlestations Midway, my only true 360 game today.

Dave

Get Gears of War as it is a fantastic game and join Gamefly if you want the best deals on games.

I've really got to get motivated to finish up. Watched "Flags of our Fathers" (very appropriate for Memorial Day Weekend) on HD pay-per-view last night and my daughter, 2 stories up, was asking what the boom noises were when I went up to check on her about 40 minutes into the movie.

I'm hoping its bass seeping into the utility room where the ducts are fully exposed. Both the supply and return vents go directly into the room (not yet hooked up) and I don't have door knobs on either the utility room door or the stereo cabinet access door.

Also watched Babel in HD as a download from the 360, pretty impressive technology but a bit more expensive than an HD cable pay-per-view. I think the HD picture and sound on the 360 was substantially better.

Dave

Dave,

Looking good I'm surprized at how well the DLP looks above the fireplace in the "cove" better then I expected.
Looking forward to updates.

Cheers

Solved the mystery of the boom noises. The HT is soundproof, thank goodness, I just had the output of the HT receiver selected as the input to my whole house music amps and the volume control was left on in the kitchen. Thus the movie we were watching on Sunday was blasting out of the kitchen ceiling speakers, just a few feet from my daughter's room. Too funny! That's one form of leakage I didn't consider a threat to my soundproofing.

Dave

Phew! :D

Bud

Heres some pictures of the main "bar" room, the workout room and the bath:

Main room, fireplace area with 50" dlp over the fireplace:
http://images14.fotki.com/v362/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0598-vi.jpg
Close-up of TV above fireplace:
http://images14.fotki.com/v362/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0599-vi.jpg
Looking back from TV area:
http://images20.fotki.com/v367/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0600-vi.jpg
Bar:
http://images17.fotki.com/v12/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0601-vi.jpg
Workout room floor:
http://images20.fotki.com/v369/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0602-vi.jpg
Shower door:
http://images20.fotki.com/v366/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0603-vi.jpg




Finishing my basement and doing the full bath thing as well.. can i ask where did you order the shower doors and wall from?..

{Not sure if i want to do a full wall like yours or a half wall tiled and then the glass on top.} I would love to know if you order them before of after you finished the tile work on the shower to get a better estimate on shower size?

any help you may have would be appreciated.

great thread on the theater as well.
keep up the good work and the pictures.
Max

Finishing my basement and doing the full bath thing as well.. can i ask where did you order the shower doors and wall from?..

{Not sure if i want to do a full wall like yours or a half wall tiled and then the glass on top.} I would love to know if you order them before of after you finished the tile work on the shower to get a better estimate on shower size?

any help you may have would be appreciated.

great thread on the theater as well.
keep up the good work and the pictures.
Max

Hi Max,

The shower was something I planned on doing myself. Bought all the tile and did all of the setup work myself (cement backing board, pouring the portland cement floor, building the curb, etc). Then during a week long work trip my wife hired someone to finish the tileing the walls, an expert. She thought I'd be upset but I was thrilled, The basement project was dragging on and I was dreading the tileing job. We bought the tile at Lowes. I build the opening planning for a 3' x 3' shower.

The tile guy left his brother-in-law's name if we were interested in a glass door. We called and he came out and measured the opening (took quite a few measurements) and quoted us a glass door. They cut the glass to size at the shop and then installed it. The single glass pane (3/8" thick) on the right is actually resting on the curb and laying up against the wall, held firm with only a bead of silicone on both the inside and outside, it's pretty amazing. He said he gave us a very good deal $750, Its 3/8" glass and quality hardware, I did not do the research to confirm, sometimes you just make a decision and go.

Thanks for the kind words about the thread, I feel guilty for not posting/working more. I guess that's the advantage of creating a thread, it helps motivate you to keep going.

I've done a bit of work here-and-there that I'll take more pictures of soon.

Dave

I build the opening planning for a 3' x 3' shower.

Sorry meant to say "I built the opening planning for a 4' x 3' shower".

Dave

Happy holidays to everyone. I'm still around.

Dave

Hi Rich,

The color is called Pumpkin Bread. We didn't like it at first but it really warms up the area, looks especially nice when the room was filled with furniture. I can't remember the brand of paint but I'm sure I have it in my thread somewhere.

Dave

I believe that is a Behr paint. I had Behr's pumpkin bread paint in my old kitchen and it looked similar to yours. It looked aweful when it was wet but dried to a nice color.

Hey Dave,
Did you ever figure out a solution for the fridge or did you just leave it at an angle?

Hey Dave,
Did you ever figure out a solution for the fridge or did you just leave it at an angle?

Hi Gonzo,

No. I had visions of taking out the corner with the sawsall but never did. The bar area is big, and having the fridge angled like it is actually works well.
http://images112.fotki.com/v584/photos/8/821852/3546505/IMG_0601-vi.jpg

Dave

It is hard to cut into finished drywall. There are things I wish I would of done a little differently, but no way is is worth destruction at this point.

I like the shelves, looks great. Makes me want to go mix up a martini at 9 AM:)

Planning some upgrades to the theater and wanted to get the thread active again. I lost track of it for a while. I'm sure I'll need a few months to soak in some of the new theaters, material & equipment.

Dave

Welcome back. The current trend is towards scope screens.