I am starting this thread to document my dedicated theater buildout. I am building out my entire basement at the same time so its been taking a LONG time to get through, but its coming together nicely thanks to a lot of help and inspiration from the AVS community. I am at the two year mark right now, but the rest of the basement is about done so I can get back to focusing on the theater room shortly.

Some of the basics...

Dimensions

11.5' wide in the front, but bumps out to 13.5' wide in the back.
23 1/4' long

I am planning on around a 106" 16:9 screen, but I have been following Rubens construction thread lately so that may change depending upon the results of his screen testing.

2 row of seating.

Ok enough talk on to the pics....

And in the beginning....

This is what it looked like about 5 years ago.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/1_In_the_beginning_Future_Theater_.jpg

At least some progress has been made since ;)

Framing...

Staggered studs on common walls. Walls along foundation are conventional 16"oc.

Theater entrance

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/2_Framing-Door.JPG


Front left

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/3_Framing-Front1.JPG


front right

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/4_Framing-Front2.JPG


left wall.
This was right before I decided to knock it down and widen the back of the room by 16" and add an in wall rack. The WAF went negative at this point. :)

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/5_Framing-Front3.JPG


Back of the room

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/7_Framing-Theater_Back.jpg


"draft house" and theater entrance

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/6_Framing-Bar_and_Theater_Enterance.JPG

Insulation...

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0929.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0930.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0931.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0952.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0953.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0959.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0970.JPG

More isulation...

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0971.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0972.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0973.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/IMG_0974.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/mid_ceiling.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/rear_ceiling.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/stage_ceiling.JPG

Drywall...

Two layers of 5/8" drywall inside and out with GG on the inside studs and "between the sheets". Outside layers use conventional drywall adhesive. Everything is screwed down with caulked seams. Ceiling and soffits are of the same construction.

This one I still have nightmares about!

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Lots_of_drywall.JPG


http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/back1.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/front1.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/front_left1.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/front_right1.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/rack.JPG

Just finished up the trim work for the rest of the basement including the entrance to the theater! I am really pleased with how it came out although the soffit got in the way a little. Oh well what can you do.

Theater door installed (before trim work)

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Theater_door_is_installed.JPG

After :)
I need to get a camera with a wider angle lens it was hard to get back far enough for a good shot.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Theater_Door_1.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Theater_Door_2.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Theater_Door_3.JPG
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Theater_Door_4.JPG

Full shot of the South Riding Cinema and Draft House

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Outside_Trim_Done.JPG

Bar

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/Bar_After_2.jpg
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/bar.JPG

The room has been taped and mudded although I have some touchup to do on the ceiling area that will be painted. I am going to do fabric panels much like gpowers theater for the walls.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I hope I can help some others out, god knows the information I have gotten here has been invaluable.

Mike,

Looking good dude! Love the double door entrance. Mine was framed out originally for double doors, but had to give it because of the riser. Nice trim work! Whats up with that one vertical pipe. Is there are reason you didn't frame around that?

Bud

Mike,

Looking good dude! Love the double door entrance. Mine was framed out originally for double doors, but had to give it because of the riser. Nice trim work! Whats up with that one vertical pipe. Is there are reason you didn't frame around that?

Bud

My room is almost the same size as yours so to go with the double I had to make it open out instead of in. I was kind of disapointed at first because I wanted to make it look hidden on the inside, but I am really happy with the way it turned out.

The lolly pole in the back was left that way intentionally. I bought 2 cherry veneered lolly pole covers. One will go around that pole and the other will be placed on the other side to make the room look symetrical in the back. I used some paint grade ones for the rest of the basement and they came out pretty well.

I picked them up here... pole cover link (http://www.architecturaldepot.com/CTGY/lally-columns)

They are kind of plain, but sitting on top of a square base that I built for them they look good and I didnt want anything to elaborate that would take away from the rest of the room. I will try staining the cherry ones in the theater and if it doesnt come out I will just paint them black.

Here is a pic of one of the finished paint grade column covers. It will just be painted white to match the trim when all is said and done. Plain and simple.

Gotcha. Good link as well. I'll be looking for some corbels in the near future for the bar and they have some nice ones.

I was going to have the doors open out as well, but the riser just would have been in the way. My HT door is out as well, but it'll work.

Bud

Looking really good! What are the gray boxes in the cieling for? Multiple projector locations?

Looking really good! What are the gray boxes in the cieling for? Multiple projector locations?

Exactly. I wasn't sure what projector I would be using and wanted to make sure it was future proof in terms of mounting location so there are 2 runs of 2" conduit that run straight down the center of the ceiling and connect straight through all 3 6x6 boxes. One of the two runs continues down the back wall to future proof the riser when that goes in.

I will take some pics of the mudded drywall tonight and post. Now that its mudded the boxes are basically flush with the finished surface of the ceiling and once the covers are painted to match you wont even be able to see that they are there. I will just cut out a notch in one cover for wires to exit and it if I ever have to switch mounting locations I will just swap the box covers around.

Other details:

Surround Sound
-------------------------------
Room will be 7.1
I have an axiom setup that I got for the holidays that is sitting in boxes awaiting the theater (its killing me). I also have a HSU VTF-3 MK 2 for the low end.

Door
-------------------------------
48" wide double door
Safe & Sound
1.75" thick version.

Rack
-------------------------------
Dual 20amp breakers for power
2 runs of 12g wire to all speaker locations
2 runs for the center with a cat5 so i can mount ether below or above and use the extra for an IR repeater
The big empty box in the top of the rack is an old structured wiring cabinet that I had. I drilled holes in the top and ran the 5 2" conduit runs into in. It is not a distribution hub for the conduit from the rack (and it has a cool smoked glass cover).
8 runs of speaker cable to the riser for possible shakers later on.
lots of coax and cat5 feed from my main structured wiring panel that you can see in the bar area.

I also have 1 conduit run that goes to an unfinished area behind the structured wiring cabinet in case I want to run new feeds into the room in the future. The outside of this run terminated in an air tight box.

Very nice work! Looks like it will be one amazing theater. You definitely have to hold a meet when it is done ;)

Looking great Mike! I really like the trim work outside especially the entrance door. That's something I'd like to upgrade later on. What model home do you have?
BTW I already submitted for HOA approval to use 'South Riding Cinema and Draft House' as my theater name. LOL j/k!
My basement/HT room project is nearing completion and you've inspired me to get pics online. Stephan (srabb) is also in South Riding and finishing up his home theater. We should start our own Dulles South Multiplex!

I found these renders that I did before the framing was even complete. Kind of fun to see it turned out looking just like the preview!

The style in these renders will not match the final. I decided to go with the fabric panel look instead and the rack will be hidden behind a fabric panel door that blends into the wall.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/theater-_back_to_front.jpg

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/theater-_rack_proscenium_shot.jpg

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/theater-_front_to_back.jpg

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/theater-_seating_risor_lally_column_covers.jpg

Very nice work! Looks like it will be one amazing theater. You definitely have to hold a meet when it is done

Thanks. A meet would be a lot of fun to do.

Looking great Mike! I really like the trim work outside especially the entrance door. That's something I'd like to upgrade later on. What model home do you have?
BTW I already submitted for HOA approval to use 'South Riding Cinema and Draft House' as my theater name. LOL j/k!
My basement/HT room project is nearing completion and you've inspired me to get pics online. Stephan (srabb) is also in South Riding and finishing up his home theater. We should start our own Dulles South Multiplex!

jbhungvt just moved out here as well. I have the Richmond, but I sure wish I had gotten the 9' instead of the 8' foundation poured when we had it built.

Great trim work Mike,

I definitely should drop by to look at your space before it's done.

couple of questions.

1. Have you tested how well you sound proof your HT?
2. Did you do anything extra to cover the existing ductwork in your HT?
3. When you framed the 4 HT walls, are they touching either other or are they framed independly, ie. 4 walls not touching each other.

You said you have 2 rows of seating, is the bar included in the rows of seating? The render didn't have the bar so I wasn't sure where the bar is located in the room.

Oh, since I live in South riding also, does that mean i'm too late to use the same HT name? :D

Great trim work Mike,

I definitely should drop by to look at your space before it's done.

couple of questions.

1. Have you tested how well you sound proof your HT?
2. Did you do anything extra to cover the existing ductwork in your HT?
3. When you framed the 4 HT walls, are they touching either other or are they framed independly, ie. 4 walls not touching each other.

You said you have 2 rows of seating, is the bar included in the rows of seating? The render didn't have the bar so I wasn't sure where the bar is located in the room.

Oh, since I live in South riding also, does that mean i'm too late to use the same HT name? :D

1) I haven't really tested it formally, but there is definitely less noise coming through the ceiling in that room than in the rest of the basement in terms of footsteps and such. and even knocking on the ceiling and walls compared to the other walls down there is impressive. The HT walls and ceiling are like a rock compared to a bassdrum if you knock on the ceiling just outside the door.

I also have a good size air compressor (not a pancake one) that i ran just outside the door and when I closed the door the noise level dropped considerably. I did that before I even had the casing up and almost all of the noise seemed to be coming from the gaps around the perimeter, bottom and handle hole that still need to be sealed.

Based on my initial impressions I think I will be very happy with the results. That GG is great stuff! Due to the amount of ductwork above that room I knew going into it that I wasn't going for perfection there, but I think so far the results have exceeded my expectations.

2) Packed around them with R13 and put on a little dynamat that was left over from my car stereo days.

3) Touching, but they are seperated from the foundation wall a little.

Bar is outside the room. Two rows of seating around the 13-15' and 18-20' marks if I recall correctly. I was thinking 2 rows of berk 88's singles on the outside with loveseats in the middle. They are smaller so I can fit that with approx a 30" isle down the left side and the right side away from the wall a little.

Man I should have put a little TM or copywrite mark on the name when I started this thread ;)

Hey Mike I have a Richmond also. Do you have a floorplan as to how you laid out your basement? I've attached mine. The theater is under the foyer/living room area. Measurements are about 13x21 with the rear having a small alcove for my candy case. I did get the 9' pour it was so darn expensive but knew I was finishing the basement.

Oh, since I live in South riding also, does that mean i'm too late to use the same HT name?

We'll form the Dulles South Multiplex....Mike's theater is South Riding Cinema A, mine Cinema B, yours C, Stephan's D.....lol

derek,

Mine is in the same location, but I have the mirror image of your floorplan and layed it out a little different. I modified you image to match my layout and the dimensions that I put are pretty close. I attached a couple images if your interested.

couple more...

Here are a couple shots of the theater with the drywall mud 95% done. Just need to go back and do some touchup here and there where paint will go.

(Yes thats the kegerator for the draft house back there :D )

Can't wait to visit some of these new HTs that are popping up all over SR.

Mike,

I've got one row of 88s in the setup you describe. Wife likes to cuddle.

Have you decided on a PJ?

Here are a couple shots of the theater with the drywall mud 95% done. Just need to go back and do some touchup here and there where paint will go.

(Yes thats the kegerator for the draft house back there :D )
Everything is looking nice! I see the kegerator, but what is the second box?

Can't wait to visit some of these new HTs that are popping up all over SR.

Mike,

I've got one row of 88s in the setup you describe. Wife likes to cuddle.

Have you decided on a PJ?

Cool! I checked out the pics of it in your gallery. I like the look! Have you been happy with the 88s?

I see your out in Haymarket. My folks moved out there a few years ago so we make it down there a lot. The in-laws are out that way as well.

Everything is looking nice! I see the kegerator, but what is the second box?

The second box is a beverage center for the bar as well. Its the same one as Mr. Poindexter has pics of in his thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640853&page=2&pp=60). (scroll to bottom)

Mike,

Might have missed it. Where did you get your fridge and kegerator? Did you buy them local or order them online? You're cranking. I'm in super-slow mode!

Bud

Mike,

Might have missed it. Where did you get your fridge and kegerator? Did you buy them local or order them online? You're cranking. I'm in super-slow mode!

Bud

They were both great deals (at least in my opinion). The fridge I found at home depot for $299. They had just got a shipment of various similar products in and I saw the beverage center. Glass door and shelves. Not stainless, but has a cheap trim that looks similar. I asked the guy how much because everything similar I have seen online was min $500-$600 and up. He said it wasn't a product that they normally stock and I saw it in their weekly add a couple weeks later as a special buy or something.

The kegerator I did a bunch of looking into because I wanted something that could hold a normal size keg or 3 5 gallon kegs+the air tank. I thought about building one from a sanyo dorm fridge, but then read about this one. The only problem I found with it was in some old threads online talking about it not getting cold enough with the factory setting on the thermistate. Turns out that is easily resolved by adjusting a set screw on the back of the unit.

This model comes in 3 flavors, stainless, black and a gray plasic fake stainless look. The cheapest I could find it online was over $600 for the black and then I found a post about random sales on it at best buy. So a little surfing over to that site and $450 later I have a stainless steel kegerator! It was very odd though because they had limited availability on it. Only half the stores in my area had it in stainless and those stores only had 1 or two in stock. The site also listed the black one for $600 and no stock anywhere. Not sure why that one would be more expensive.
keg link (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6376405&type=product&id=1077624868180)

When I was planning my HT room I made a few drawings of the viable choices I saw to fit in the Richmond basement (see attached.) Choice 'C' was alot like with what you went with. I liked the length of the room and the availability of a connecting space for a pool table/wetbar/etc. and that it was still somewhat separate from the rest of the basement. My major concerns were the width of the HT room...and the HVAC runs. I saw you made large soffits over them. In end I felt I had to also take advantage of that 4.5 x 12ft extension space under the living room. In my case its part of a small media storage room where I'm hoping to eventually squeeze in a lounge chair and maybe even a pinball machine.

(I just noticed in the figures that the HVAC runs should be moved 'south' a few feet in all pics.) This was a reason I didn't go with B (off symmetry soffits/walls..plus that stupid pole.)

I have a drawing that matches B at home also...lol I nixed it for the exact same reasons. I would have loved to put the HT where my pool table area is going, but didnt want to cover that usable casement window (that option didnt pass the WAF). In the early framing pics I posted it matches C but I made the room about 2' longer. I then decided more width was needed and knocked that wall down took 16" from the bar area and decided to put an aisle down the side.

The other big advantage of putting it under the living room is that its carpeted and gets very little foot traffic as opposed to being under the kitchen, family room or foyer.

Cool! I checked out the pics of it in your gallery. I like the look! Have you been happy with the 88s?



We've had them for a couple of years and yes we're happy with them. I would have preferred the 90s, but I wanted four across and this is what worked in my 12.5' wide room. Power recline is sweet and we've put bass shakers in the loveseat.

Wow, there are other people from Richmond around I can't believe I didnt find this thread sooner. It's looking really nice! Your flying !

Ok, you guys are making me feel bad that progress has slowed on mine. I need to keep up with the neighbors. I have been waiting for a warm day to stain some more trim, but I just need to get on it. :)

I just took some more pictures and will be updating my construction thread.

Don't let me lmake you feel bad, if I was going any slower, my daughter who's 3 would have her theatre done before me....

Hey Mike,

No wonder why you say it's taking you a long time to do your HT. You're doing everything else in the basment by yourself.

I see that you have a bunch of gang boxes in your equip rack. what are they if you care to share.
thanks
jbhungvt

Hey Mike,

No wonder why you say it's taking you a long time to do your HT. You're doing everything else in the basment by yourself.

I see that you have a bunch of gang boxes in your equip rack. what are they if you care to share.
thanks
jbhungvt

A picture to say it all... Let me know if you have any questions about it.

A picture to say it all... Let me know if you have any questions about it.
Good stuff Mike :cool:

It may be a couple weeks until I get back to the theater room, but I thought I would post a pic of the structured wiring panel that feeds into the rack in the HT Room. When the house was built it had a verizon "advanced" wiring package. Way overpriced crappy equipment, but the wires got in the walls. Anyway when I redid the basement I ripped it out and replaced it with what you see here. There was no way all this stuff was going to fit in the old verizon box. The verizon box went on to become the conduit distribution box in the back of the rack.

I posted this pic a long time ago in some other thread so if it looks familiar thats why.

We'll form the Dulles South Multiplex....Mike's theater is South Riding Cinema A, mine Cinema B, yours C, Stephan's D.....lol

I want in on this fun as well! I'm right down the road in Stone Ridge.

I'm finishing my HT over the next couple of weeks. Drywall, paint, and carpet are in, now I just need to finish some wiring and move in the AV equipment and furniture. Mine's not quite as large or ornate as these, but it's a dedicated HT nonetheless.

Someone should organize a Dulles South Multiplex bar/theater crawl for the spring!

Wow, nice to see all the Virginia people in this thread. Once we get our theaters done, we need to have a Virginia Theater meet. I think I am about 2 months out, drywall goes up Saturday (2 months could be ambitious).

I will start posting my pics and start a thread once drywall goes up, the stuff before that is just boring ,except to the buildier, we get excited about running 100 feet of conduit:)

Keep up the good work and I like you theater name, I am still pondering mine.

J-dubb

It may be a couple weeks until I get back to the theater room, but I thought I would post a pic of the structured wiring panel that feeds into the rack in the HT Room. When the house was built it had a verizon "advanced" wiring package. Way overpriced crappy equipment, but the wires got in the walls. Anyway when I redid the basement I ripped it out and replaced it with what you see here. There was no way all this stuff was going to fit in the old verizon box. The verizon box went on to become the conduit distribution box in the back of the rack.

I posted this pic a long time ago in some other thread so if it looks familiar thats why.
Hey Mike,

Would it be possible for me to stop by sometimes in the evening this week to take a look at your HT?

Maybe I can learn a lot more in person :D

I hope to be ready by the SuperBowl 2007, but I am all about a meeting and greet in VA.

Hey Mike,

Would it be possible for me to stop by sometimes in the evening this week to take a look at your HT?

Maybe I can learn a lot more in person :D

I am kind of learning as I go myself, but feel free. I will send you a PM. Just give me a ring.

jbhungvt you PM box was full. Just give me a ring tonight. If you dont still have my number PM me.

Hey Mike,

Sorry i've been busy haven't had time to call you to check your HT out. Would like to do it when I find some times. Moving in a new house...many things to do.

How is your theater coming along? Any more updates progress? Have you bot those Berkelines seating yet? Bot any projector yet?

thanks,
jbhungvt

Mike - Just came accross your thread. Looking Great!

Can't believe how many people from NoVA are on this forum and building such great HT's.

I'm trying to see if any NoVA folks want to get together for a beer and trade ideas & tips. I've suggested in my thread 2pm Saturday at Kirkpatricks in Ashburn......be great to see some of you!

Mike, those renders are pretty impressive! What program did you use to make those?

Mike,

No pictures in three weeks? I hope you're so busy working down there that you just haven't gotten to it? :)

Bud

Mike, those renders are pretty impressive! What program did you use to make those?

I used the Punch! home architect suite to do them.

Mike,

No pictures in three weeks? I hope you're so busy working down there that you just haven't gotten to it? :)

Bud

Well a week in Vegas, then a week catching up when I got back. In order to satisfy the WAF I have to get the rest of the basement ready for paint before I get back to the theater. So only about 800 l/ft of moulding to caulk and nail holes to fill and I am back to the theater.

Mike
I love what you're doing with the basement! Please let me know when it's finished so I can move in...Ha Ha
I'm working on my "temporary" HT. When I retire from the USAF in 4 years, I'll be able to set up a dedicated HT. I'm sooooooo addicted to this site. I'm just compiling alot of info in the meantime.

Good luck with the rest of your theater.

Rob

that is cool so there are OTHERS here in va beach...I'm in Suffolk in the midst of building an attic HT :)

Well its been quite some time since my last post, but i finally have gotten back to moving things along. I have finished framing the stage and will be trying to complete the sand and plywood top this weekend.

If anyone has any tips on cutting the plywood for the curved edges I would love to hear them. Especially for the front step that is curved front and back. I think I am just going to make a cardboard template for that one and then use that to cut the plywood to fit.

For the top of the stage I figure just lay it on there, trace the curve, add a 2" lip and cut.

Mike,

Glad to see you back in action.

The way I cut my stage ply was to lay the ply on the stage and use a peice of 2" lumber to trace the stage outline on the underside of the ply (to give a 2" lip). The 2nd layer I stagered the ply joints, used previous layer for outline and then rounded the top of the lip with a router.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi Mike,

Glad to see you're back working on your HT again. I know you had other priorities other than the HT.
How did the bar counter top turned out?

It came out great! For everyone that had been following along I had to put a hold on the theater room to get the rest of the basement done for the WAF. Attached are some of the final pics.

couple more near final pics

Yes - it did come out great - love the panelling and the kegerator (you sure that was for the wife :D ). Are those granite tiles on the bar top?

Cheers,
Mark

It was Black Galaxy Granite. Basically Black with copper flecks in it. I wanted to do slabs but it would have been 3-6k. I subscribe to a magazine called The Family Handyman and it had an article a while back about doing granite tile countertops and some jigs to make it painless. I found the exact granite I wanted on clearance at a local stone yard for $4.99 a sq foot. Got the granite for all 3 countertops and the total was about $300. It was a lot of labor to do it, but I was really happy with the results.

If anyone is interested I have seen the article online somewhere buried on the readers digest web site.

Mike, in the pictures of the granite tiles I don't see an overlap for the edges.....did you cut 45degs, get special edge tiles or does the picture just not show the overlap?

Is this the RD article? (http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=17870)

Cheers,
Mark

Yep, thats the correct article. Yes the tiles that line the edges are all beveled at 45 degrees and I used 1/16 space between them. I also used epoxy grout over the entire installation. For cutting them I just bought a cheap $80 tile saw from lowes and it cut through the 3/8" thick tiles like butter. The hardest part was leveling them to near perfection so it had as smooth a look as possible. I used a quarter and went over the grout lines as i was laying them down to check the level as i went.

Made some good progress on the stage!

I got the front step near complete. Just need to go back and add some rounded moulding to the front lip. I filled the front step with fiberglass.

For the top I got the first layer cut and its just resting in place. I still need to cut the second layer. The main stage I will be filling with sand. I picked up 20 bags so far. I am estimating that I will need about 54 bags when all is said and done so I have been getting 10 at a time as I happen to pass the hardware store.

The stage should be complete tuesday night if all goes well and I will post some updated pics.

This is just a quick post to rant about sand. What a pain, but should be worth it. Hauled 38 bags down to the theater 16 to go. Should have the stage wrapped up tomorrow night. My back is killing me.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who hasn't made much progress over the last several months. I was sure you and Derek were going to be done before me. Once we are all done we will have to do a trilogy progressive going from theater to theater. :)

This is just a quick post to rant about sand. What a pain, but should be worth it. Hauled 38 bags down to the theater 16 to go. Should have the stage wrapped up tomorrow night. My back is killing me.
Hey Mike,

I can help with the remaining 16 bags if you want. Let me know.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who hasn't made much progress over the last several months. I was sure you and Derek were going to be done before me. Once we are all done we will have to do a trilogy progressive going from theater to theater. :)

That sounds like a great Idea! If we can round up a couple more folks we could do all 6 star wars movies round robin!

Hi Mike,
Just wanted to drop a line and and say your HT/basement looks awesome so far. Great work. Also, I am in South Riding as well, Fairways, York model. We finished our basement last summer and did my HT earlier this year.
So if you need any help, just holler...would love to check out your progress as well.

Thanks.

That sounds like a great Idea! If we can round up a couple more folks we could do all 6 star wars movies round robin!
If I was local -- I'd give you a hand as well. Watching all (6) SW movies back-to-back would be fun. It would be a LONG day ;)

Hi Mike,
Just wanted to drop a line and and say your HT/basement looks awesome so far. Great work. Also, I am in South Riding as well, Fairways, York model. We finished our basement last summer and did my HT earlier this year.
So if you need any help, just holler...would love to check out your progress as well.

Thanks.

Nice work on yours! Would love to see it in person some time as well. As soon as this room gets done I will definitely send some emails around to get a group going. There sure are enough of us at this point to start one in the neighborhood.

If I was local -- I'd give you a hand as well. Watching all (6) SW movies back-to-back would be fun. It would be a LONG day ;)

thanks! I appreciate the support. I have been playing catchup on your construction thread as well. There sure are a lot of talented DIY'ers on this board.

I finally got it all down to the theater room. For anyone that was wondering what 54 bags of sand looks like see the attached pic. Now just have to fill the stage and put the top on. Should have completed pics later tonight!

You get the sand delivered, or schlep it home yourself? Eitherway, I'm sure it was a back-breaker.

Mike, your project is very interesting and I will be stealing some of your ideas for my HT that will start soon. I live on Evergreen Mills Road close to your place :-).

I've been mostly going around model houses to get some ideas for my HT. Just ordered the JVC RS1 projector from AVS which is expected to be released in Feb. So, I have time to do more research.

What rack system are you getting? I am thinking of Middle Atlantic Slim 5 or ERK installed inside wall so the back side is accessable from a storage room.

WOW! It's great to see so many NoVA members doing HTs now. I live on Everygreen Mills Road close to Brambleton. I myself am doing my ground work reading every thread possible to get my basement work started in couple of weeks. Just holding to make sure I get my dream project all RIGHT in first try.

The first step I took is to pre-order JVC DLA-RS1 projector from AVS's Jason.
Next, I want to decide on screen so I can plan the front wall layout. Almost, decided to get Theater seats from elitehts.com before their sale ends on Dec 14th. Soon, I will decide which Middle Atlantic Wall rack to get and then the projects begins. Those racks are so confusing. Just when I decided on ERK rack I learnt about Slim5 rack. For light control I am going with Lutron GRAFIK Eye system.

Room dimension will be 16'X29'.

Milke, any tips from you are fellow NoVAs I should know before I begin my project?

I will start my thread when my project begins.


Mike - Just came accross your thread. Looking Great!

Can't believe how many people from NoVA are on this forum and building such great HT's.

I'm trying to see if any NoVA folks want to get together for a beer and trade ideas & tips. I've suggested in my thread 2pm Saturday at Kirkpatricks in Ashburn......be great to see some of you!

You get the sand delivered, or schlep it home yourself? Eitherway, I'm sure it was a back-breaker.

Unfortunately I didn't want to wait for the delivery so i did it myself. To add insult to injury I ended up with 9 extra bags i have to take back even though i did the calculations twice and had someone else double check me on it. I think it was because there is slightly over .5 ft^3 in a bag.

Mike, your project is very interesting and I will be stealing some of your ideas for my HT that will start soon. I live on Evergreen Mills Road close to your place :-).

I've been mostly going around model houses to get some ideas for my HT. Just ordered the JVC RS1 projector from AVS which is expected to be released in Feb. So, I have time to do more research.

What rack system are you getting? I am thinking of Middle Atlantic Slim 5 or ERK installed inside wall so the back side is accessable from a storage room.

I was origionally thinking of going with the mid atlantic pull out rack, but lately i am thinking of just going with the slim 5 and making a pull out base for it to mount to for half the cost. rockler has some heavy duty sliders that can take hundreds of pounds.

Milke, any tips from you are fellow NoVAs I should know before I begin my project?



Spend twice as much time planning as your think you should.

also in terms of local ...

if you are going to get most of your supplies from lowes and home depot take a day and just drive around to all the stores that you are willing to drive to and note which ones have the best selection for various departments. I found that some stores had much larger departments for various things than others even in the same chain. I think HVAC and lumber selection where the bigest differences. One of the stores I went to, don't remember which one, basically didn't even have any HVAC ductwork supplies.

Also make sure you register at the home depot and lowes moving web sites. Use variations of your address and name, etc and you should end up with several 10% off coupons in a few weeks.

Wouldn't you know it. I finally get the stage done, run to post a pic and ... attach file isnt working. Oh well I will get them posted tomorrow. I also have some corner detail shots for those that were interested in how the granite tile on the bar was cut.

I'm very interested in the corner detail shots of the granite tile after seeing yours and Steves (scaesare) I think this is what i'm doing on my bar counter.

Bummer about the extra bags of sand - you could always spread it over your lawn.

Cheers,
Mark

Ok here are the pics. Only thing left to do is put the front rounded lip on.

The second layer of plywood really gives it a nice sturdy look compared to the single layer. There is also a noticeable difference even between tapping on the sand filled main part of the stage and the fiberglass filled front step. If I had known that I was going to have so much sand left over I would filled the front step also.

If anyone is curious about dimensions its 11.5' wide and the main part of the stage is 4' deep at center. The diagonals on the end cut in 1' and the depth of the step is a little under a foot. Height wise the step is made of 2x4 on edge with 2 layers of 3/4 ply for a total height of 5". The main stage is made from 2x10's ripped to 8.5" + 2 layers of 3/4 ply for a height of 10".

if you are going to get most of your supplies from lowes and home depot take a day and just drive around to all the stores that you are willing to drive to and note which ones have the best selection for various departments. I found that some stores had much larger departments for various things than others even in the same chain. I think HVAC and lumber selection where the bigest differences. One of the stores I went to, don't remember which one, basically didn't even have any HVAC ductwork supplies.

My experience is that neither the HD at Cascades nor the Lowes by Dulles Towne Center EVER have everything I need to complete a project. Particulary for plumbing and HVAC. IF HD has 1.5" PVC, they only have 1 90-degree elbow connector. If Lowes has a 12" HVAC return box, it has an 8" connection, but they only have 6" flex duct.

Anyone live around here long enough to know about Fischer's Hardware (there was...maybe still is one) in Springfield? I'd swear that thier buyers used to go to Hechingers and Sears and buy whatever they didn't have. If Sears and Hechingers didn't have it, then I would just go straight to Fisher's.

Tom

I dont think I every posted an update on what I was doing for the screen wall.

I ended up ordering a bunch of Rubins SMX720 material way back when he had the first run of the stuff. The plan right now is to go 2.35:1 with all the speakers behind a false screen wall on the stage.

Here are some up close pics of the granite bar tile corners for those that asked about them. The last one is of the beer tower I put together and built into the bar top along with the DIY draft handle on the right.

Here is the 100% complete stage. I am really happy with how it came together. There is also a pic of the rounded nosing. I used two pieces of 1/4 round, but they were 11/16 so together they left a 1/8 height difference. I doubt it was necessessary, but I attached the top one with glue and a nail gun and used 1/8" shims while attaching the bottom. I then just pulled the shims and caulked the gap. Total overhang is approx 2 1/4 inches.

Hope everyone out there has a great Thanksgiving! Maybe I should be building a bigger theater we are having about 25 people over and that number is down from last year!

Mike - how sharp is that Tile mitre? Looks like you may have rounded it off a little.

Cheers,
Mark

Mike - how sharp is that Tile mitre? Looks like you may have rounded it off a little.

Cheers,
Mark

That close up pic came out a little blurry so I made a diagram that shows it a little better. The result is a 45 degree beveled corner between the two adjoining tiles that is approx 3/16" wide. I believe all granite tiles come with that slight microbevel around the edge of the polished surface.

Ok made a ton of progress on the riser yesterday and today. Here are some of the framing and insulation pics. The riser is 8' deep (2 feet of it will just be empty space to keep the back row off the wall). Its a hair over 10' wide leaving a 30"-32" isle down the side of the theater. The top is 10" high with a 5" step which matches the dimensions of the stage. I used the riser calculator and depending on how high I mount the screen I may boost the chairs up an additional 3"-3.5". I almost built the riser higher, but was worried about the head space. As build there will be 6' 8.5" of clearance on the riser.

The second pic is the access panel area. There is a conduit to the equipment rack, prewire for shakers and 2 electrical plugs for rope light and whatever else is needed (power recliners). There are three conduit runs in the riser. One to the front row, one to the top for the back row, and one to the side for the rope light power run. I used two inch conduit for all the runs hoping that would surfice for all future needs including power so i passed on hardwireing power through the riser to save on the floor boxes.

I actually got the top on it tonight as well, but didn't have a chance to take a picture. Once I get the rounded nosing on tomorrow I will post some pics of the complete riser.

Mike,

Just stumbled onto this thread. Great job on the build. I love all the trim work you did around the bar and around the theater door. Very elaborate and very worth it!

sds

Mike,

Just stumbled onto this thread. Great job on the build. I love all the trim work you did around the bar and around the theater door. Very elaborate and very worth it!

sds

Thanks a lot sdspga. Most of the trim that was used were from the fireplace surround moulding section at the hardware store. A couple pieces like the taller columns around the theater door I ordered from an unfinished furniture parts place.

Riser is finished! Pics attached. I actually still have to go back and build an access door for the back, but close enough.

Next stop columns!

Mike,
Very nice work on your HT and basement, I now have a new favorite thread. I have a question about your bar specs. What is the finished width and height of the upper and (lower) marbled area? I am currently framing and I need to borrow some ideas.
thanks

Brian

The finished height from the floor to the top of the counters is 46.5" on top and the lower counter tops are 36.5". The counter tops themselves ended up 1 7/8" thick when I was finished with them. The back counter and the front lower counters are just the standard counter height and depth. The top counter is 2' deep to exactly fit 2 granite tiles without having the cut them. The width ended up being a little under 6'. I originally built it almost 8' long but ended up moving the side wall to enlarge the theater and took 16" off the bar area.

Looking very nice. Question about he edge of the riser: Is that 2 pieces of quarter-round nailed/glues for the edge? Do you plan to carpet around this? I have thought about doing the same, but was concerned it may not hold up if someone accidentally steps right on the edge.

Looking very nice. Question about he edge of the riser: Is that 2 pieces of quarter-round nailed/glues for the edge? Do you plan to carpet around this? I have thought about doing the same, but was concerned it may not hold up if someone accidentally steps right on the edge.


Yes thats exactly right. I used construction adheasive and a finishing nailer to put them on. They are very sturdy and are not going anywhere.

Made good progress today. I got all of the columns done and mounted. Yes they are the worlds narrowest columns at 2" deep, but I like them. I basically just did them for looks as I wanted to save as much space in the room as possible. 8 total (4 for surrounds and 4 for sconces). I also recessed 1" on the face of them to allow for treatment. They are 13.5" wide.

Couple more column pics...

Next up is the screen wall. I just got all the lumber for it and I did the old blue tape mock up. Plan is for 2.35:1 10' wide screen.

Got the screen wall finished up today. I ended up leaving 24" of space behind the wall. This will put my viewing distances between 11.5 and 12 feet for the front row and 17.5 and 18 feet for the back row. I also left approx 1/2 a foot gap on each side of the outermost studs that I hope to do a DIY masking system in.

In the second picture you can see three can lights that I had originally put for lighting the screen. These ended up behind the screen wall since I changed my plans and went with the AT screen. I was fretting having to move them at this point when I saw Rubins posts lighting up his speakers IMAX style which started me thinking. I went back and looked at some of my pre-drywall pics and figured out a quick fix.

I have an extra receptacle I put in on the ceiling behind the screen and the power like runs right along the same path as the romex for the can lights. I am going to do a quick rewire to put the now "behind the screen lighting" on that other power circuit along with an IR dimmer and route the power currently feeding the cans (hooked to the GE) to a low profile track light in front of the screen. This should result in very little drywall work and I get cool back screen lighting to boot.

Mike - your certainly moving along swiftly. That lights behind the screen effect does look really neat. Alls adds to the additional experience.

So your going with a 2.35:1 and then masking for 16:9 content - not going for anomorthic lens? In a way I wish I had not gone with the proscenium look and gone 2.35:1 but hey - thats another ugrade later :D

Cheers,
Mark

Actually I hope to use an anomorphic lens. I will probably just start off with zooming the projector, but I guess I will just see what the prices look like when I am ready to buy. Trying to hold off as long as I can because I have seen how a projector purchase can bring progress on construction to a crawl.

Actually I hope to use an anomorphic lens. I will probably just start off with zooming the projector, but I guess I will just see what the prices look like when I am ready to buy. Trying to hold off as long as I can because I have seen how a projector purchase can bring progress on construction to a crawl.

If price is holding you back, check out the Optics forum at diyaudio.com. They've gotten some astonishing results from readily-available crystal trophies. It's a long thread (125 pages or so), but you can start at about page 70, when they discovered crystal trophies would work. The last few pages have one member's comparison with the H600 and H1200.

Thanks for the tip Lindahl! I will definitely have to remember to check that out.

Mike,

I love the design of your "shallow" columns. I considered doing the same in my room as well. Part of me wishes I did. I like your idea of putting treatments right on the columns. That really helps with sound reflection on an area that normally does not get treated.

Great thread, I've missed this one up to now somehow.

The detail work in your theater door entrance and rec-room/bar area is superb.

Theater is coming along nicely as well. Kudos.

Sent you a PM about a few things as well "mmmkam".

Mike,

I love the design of your "shallow" columns. I considered doing the same in my room as well. Part of me wishes I did. I like your idea of putting treatments right on the columns. That really helps with sound reflection on an area that normally does not get treated.

Thanks swithey. I debated wether or not to recess the front since it would have been a hell of a lot easier to just build the 3 sided box. I did a quick mirror check and thought one of the columns might be a first reflection point so I decided to make the front treatable without any more loss of space. In the end they were fairly easy to build anyway. Now at least I have the option to put treatment there if needed.

Hopefully I will get the treatments figured out in the next few weeks. I contacted bpape to get on his calendar for a room analysis. He is booked up for at least another week. Thats just as well because I have about 3-5 small construction tasks left to finish up.

Great thread, I've missed this one up to now somehow.

The detail work in your theater door entrance and rec-room/bar area is superb.

Theater is coming along nicely as well. Kudos.

Sent you a PM about a few things as well "mmmkam".

I checked out your theater pics as well and you did a great job yourself! I cant wait to be able to sit back and watch a movie after all this time.

I just pulled the trigger and ordered the Panasonic AX100.

Earlier this week I also ordered a few feet of various fiber optic cables and a cheap led illuminator to play with. If I can do a proof of concept for a star ceiling that takes up 1/2" of space or less and the led illuminator works well I am going to do the star ceiling over the seating area.

Mike,

I just came aross your thread. What a great project you have done so far! I am in Nova area as well. My HT will be finished in a few weeks. BTW, have you decided which equipment rack to get? I am in the process of searching now.

Merry X'mas,

--Tom

Mike,

I just came aross your thread. What a great project you have done so far! I am in Nova area as well. My HT will be finished in a few weeks. BTW, have you decided which equipment rack to get? I am in the process of searching now.

Merry X'mas,

--Tom

Right now I am thinking I will just get a mid atlantic slim 5 rack and build a custom slide out rotating base for it to bolt down to. I found some heavy duty parts for the base on rockler that are made to support as much or more weight than the rack itself so should work out and be a hell of a lot cheaper than the slide out racks that you can just purchase.

Just another quick note for anyone following my progress...

I got the fiber optic stuff that I had ordered and the cheap LED illuminator worked out great! At some point fairly soon I will be ordering the fiber and doing the star ceiling. I will post some pics of the LED illuminator and the cables I tested later tonight.

I will also be finishing up my screen frame this morning some time and will get pics of that posted later as well. I got all the parts for it fabricated earlier this week so now I just need to assemble it.

I also sent a bunch of info about my room over to bpape for a room analysis. So once I get the results and recommendations back from him I can start the treatments and finishing.

lastly thanks to Lindahl's post above I ordered a couple prisms to try out making a DIY anamorphic lens. They should be here next week hopefully and the fun can really begin!

Here is the pic of the LED illuminator that I got. It worked fairly well when I tested it at least for what I want to do with it and it twinkles as well. You do have to play with the distance of the fibers when you hook them up because if you get them to close they look a little blink. Adjusted properly they look great though.

I basically built a panel to test it out using the same technique ruben did in his thread. I ordered a few feet of the combo side cable from fiberopticproducts to test along with a cheaper cable of .5 size fibers. The combo size fiber looked great but has 10 1.5 size fibers in it that just looked to big to me at least for my ceiling height. The .75 and .5 size fibers were right on the money. Now I just need to finalize what cable to order for the ceiling and I am good to go!

Got the frame for the screen complete! I just need to actually put the fabric on it now. I may add some cross braces later, but I think I will see how it does as is.

I used 2"x2"x1/8" aluminum for the frame and cut the corner braces from 2x2x1/8" aluminum angle bar. Pop rivets were used to secure everything and I used a product called screen tight on the back to provide a mechanism for attaching the fabric. To keep the aluminum from reflecting through the fabric I covered the front and inside edges of the frame with a product called Gaffer Tape. Gaffer Tape is used in Theater Sets and Photography. Its basically a matte black non reflective cloth tape and it worked really well! It was much easer that gluing on fabric to the frame or spray painting it. I will be putting a velvet border around the screen wall frame opening when everything is complete.

Frame corner fabrication and assembly...

Frame together and screentight going on...

Gaffer tape on frame and we just need the fabric put on. I have the SMX fabric sitting here so hopefully tomorrow I will get that done.

Mike, where did you get the 2x2 aluminum? I've got a roll of SMX in storage for my HT2.0 redo.

Looking forward to reading how that screen fastener works for you instead of stapling to the canvas stretcher bar method.

I'd like to know more about where you got your light ceiling parts. I am thinking of making a small 4x4 foot section of the ceiling into a star ceiling but having trouble keeping the costs right. Any info would be great.

Mike, where did you get the 2x2 aluminum? I've got a roll of SMX in storage for my HT2.0 redo.

Looking forward to reading how that screen fastener works for you instead of stapling to the canvas stretcher bar method.
I'm interested in this information too.
I ordered 5 yards of SMX last week to replace my existing AT screen. I used a wooden frame but wasn't thrilled on how it turned out.

Thanks

--curtis

Mike, where did you get the 2x2 aluminum? I've got a roll of SMX in storage for my HT2.0 redo.

Looking forward to reading how that screen fastener works for you instead of stapling to the canvas stretcher bar method.

I got them at posner industries (posners.com). Thay have a place in Chantilly right by the auto mall. Their store most of their stuff in MD, but gets trucks in on Tuesdays and Fridays I think. Nice guys and they can get you just about anything you want.

The splining method did work and I got the fabric attached and stretched properly. That being said it was a PITA and I would go the velcro route the next time.

I will post some pics later if I get a chance. I also got the projector out and WOW! Even the wife who has been on me for taking so long with the constructions was impressed and I was feeding it a composit singnal from a crappy portable DVD player.

I'd like to know more about where you got your light ceiling parts. I am thinking of making a small 4x4 foot section of the ceiling into a star ceiling but having trouble keeping the costs right. Any info would be great.

I ordered it from Fiber Optic Products. They have a version of it that only does the twinkle pattern for the ceilings for approx $49. The expensive part is the cable, but for a small panel like you are talking you should be able to do the whole thing with the led illuminator for less than $100 including the panel material and fabric.

I'm interested in this information too.
I ordered 5 yards of SMX last week to replace my existing AT screen. I used a wooden frame but wasn't thrilled on how it turned out.

Thanks

--curtis

I would use the alum again in a heartbeat. That part came out fantastic. I would just ether glue furring strips onto the back for stapling or use velcro the next time. Maybe it was just my technique, but the spline was a pain.

To be honest if you were making a frame and splining the material without wrapping it around this method would have worked fairly well, but wrapping the fabric around the frame and splining on the back was not easy.

Thanks for the info. I did see there sight and may give it a go. Also can't wait to hear your impressions on the SMX screen as I am ordering one myself this week.

Mike, how do you like your AX100? I am thinking to get 12 to 13' wide CIH screen for my theater. 13' is better and not many projectors out there are powerful enough if I go with AT screens. I am debating between High Power screens or SMX. With High Power, I can go with many of the new 1080p projectors from Optoma, JVC, Sony, or Panasonic. But then I am wondering if I should wait for 2nd generation 1080ps and go with 720p for now and I find AX100 should be powerful enough for SMX screen.

Do you need a scaler to achieve CIH or does the projector have vertical squeeze built-in?

Thanks1

I only fired it up for a couple min last night, but based on what I was seeing with the crappy video feed and lots of ambiant light we were very impressed with both the screen and the projector. I will do a bunch more testing over the next couple weeks and give you guys a much better review (from my inexperieced untrained eyes) :)

kits I dont think you will have any problems with this projector and a screen that large. I was shooting it at a 10' wide screen with ambiant light and it was plenty bright.

Any updates on AX100? Did you do 2.35:1? I got a 139" wide 2:35 DaLite High Power screen and thinking to order this projector. Initially, I will zoom to 2.35 later, i will use the projectors Vertical Stretch mode and use an Anamorphic lens.

Thanks

Any updates on AX100? Did you do 2.35:1? I got a 139" wide 2:35 DaLite High Power screen and thinking to order this projector. Initially, I will zoom to 2.35 later, i will use the projectors Vertical Stretch mode and use an Anamorphic lens.

Thanks

Really have not played with it to much since I am still building, but what I have seen I love. I did do 2.35:1 on a 120"x51" screen. I think I posted some shots above, but may not have put up the final. I finished the screen, but need to add a couple of cross braces. Came out awesome!

Its been a while since I posted a status update. I will post some updated pics to go along with the below later this week.

My SMX screen is done with the exception of crossbraces.

I ordered and received some optical glass prisms for a DIY anamorphic lens, but haven't really tried to do anything with them yet.

I had been waiting on BPape to do a room analysis for me and I now have the results of that. Based on his suggestion for doing a 2" treatment on the rear wall I rebuild my rear columns to accommodate it. I had originally built them assuming a 1" treatment.

I have also completed the soffit over the door side of the room. It's mostly filled with fibergass, but contains an access door with a switched plug. This will house the LED illuminator for a future star ceiling although I will be putting that projected off until the rest of the room is complete.

I ordered and received some optical glass prisms for a DIY anamorphic lens, but haven't really tried to do anything with them yet.

Mike,

This is a piece of cake. A few minutes fooling around with them in the light beam and you will have no problems!

sds

Mark, how did your DIY Anamorphic lens come out? I decided to order Aussiemorphic lens from CAVX as he is currently having a powerbuy.

I got AX100 from costco and waiting to setup up once the carpet is installed on 10th.

Mark, how did your DIY Anamorphic lens come out? I decided to order Aussiemorphic lens from CAVX as he is currently having a powerbuy.

I got AX100 from costco and waiting to setup up once the carpet is installed on 10th.

I got the Prisms but haven't played with them yet. Here are a couple pics of the them. Hopefully some time in the next two months I will get to actually build the DIY Anamorphic Lens with them.

To all of those that have been following my progress I apologize for the infrequent updates lately, but hopefully the next few posts I am about to put up will make up for that.

First I redid my rear columns in order to accommodate the 2" OC703 treatment that bpape recommended. They are basically just an inch deeper than the old ones.

Here is a couple pictures of the new ones...

Next I build an additional soffit over the door side of the room. This soffit is mostly filled the R13 insulation, but has a small access panel and cavity to house the LED light unit for the future star ceiling. The light swith in the last picture switches the outlet in the soffit and will be replaced with an IR unit at some point since it wasn't integrated into the GE wiring scheme earlier.

Its really hard to see in the second picture with the flat black paint, but the access panel is directly over the light switch on the bottom of the soffit.

The next thing that I got done was to paint the ceiling and soffits flat black. I looked around at several "black" paint colors, but they all looked grayish or a little blueish to me. So I ended up at Duron and they recommended an exterior color ironically called just "Black" that they could mix as an interior color. Worked great!

I also had to paint the trims of the light baffles. I used lightolier cans, but they didn't make a black baffle with a black trim. Fortunately the black interior snapped out, then i lightly sanded the exterior white trim. I used some high temp black spray paint that I found at lowe's and Fortunately it was flat black and a near perfect match to the Duron paint color. They came out great!

I also put in black outlets and plates for the electrical over the seating area. They were glossy black so I hit them with a quick coat of the ceiling paint and voila.

The picture below is a really bad one. The flash made it look light gray and streaky. In person it is very black and looks great much like the soffit pictures posted above.

I also hit the screen wall framing with a coat of flat black since I had all the painting equipment out.

Here is a pic of all the boxes of acoustic treatments that Bpape shipped me. My wife got home from work and couldn't even see the front door with all the boxed stacked on the porch. Then more showed up two days later :)

Here are some pics of treatments applied to the fronts of the columns. It worked out great that the recessed portion of the column fronts were 12" wide. All the treatment panels I got from Bpape were 2'x4' so I was just able to cut them in half. The sides columns received 1" acoustic cotton and the rears 2" oc703. The brown facing you see on part of them is the FSK glued on with 3M 77 adhesive.

I have a couple more pics to post, but have to run. I will get them up later today.

Mike - you have been very busy. Nice work.

Cheers,
Mark

Here is a pic of the finished screen frame with the smx material on it. I still need to put the cross braces on it, but realistically it only sags about 1/4" in the middle. This pic is with it taken off of the screen wall since I had to do some painting.

Here is a pic of the column GOM I ordered. Its the Anchorage fabric in the Onix color.

Well I got tired of all the drywall dust and I was worried about getting the dust on the fabric I am about to put up so I decided to put a quick coat of paint on the walls. I figured it didn't cost anything to tint it so I got them to tint it to a color that matched the fabric I am getting for the walls. Besides taking care of the dust this would hide any gap between the panels and provide a nice preview of things yet to come. The walls will be Anchorage Mulberry which is a deep burgundy color.
The pics dont do it justice and I really need to get a wider angle camera but here are the pics...

Have a bunch of updates to post so here we go...

First I got the columns wrapped in fabric and the sconces up.

and another...

I also put down some black carpet behind the screen wall and trimmed out all the electrical back there as well.

In the corner shot you can see the double gang receptacle box. The left receptacle is on regular 15 amp breaker. The right one leads back to an inlet at the rack that can be hooked to a power conditioner, UPS or just straight to one of the two dedicated 20amp circuits for the equipment.

The speaker plate is bi-wired. I don't plan on bi-wiring the speaker, but figured I should run the extra cable to give myself options when i had the walls open. There is also an RG6 feed for the sub. There is an identical setup in both front corners.

The floor shot with the single gang box is for the center channel. It also has a cat 5 run that I will use for an IR pickup. There is an identical run at the top center of the front wall.

This is the maestro IR dimmer that I put in the ceiling to control the back lights for the IMAX effect. (Thanks to Rubin for the great idea). Since this was an after thought I used the IR dimmer since it was to late to wire it into the grafik eye.

I finally started installing the front wall acoustic treatments. Due to poor planning up front I located the speaker plates and power in the front corners. To work around this I installed a corner bracket of 2x4's to support the bulk of the corner traps. They are cut from 2" oc703. This allows me to pull out the bottom of the trap to get to the outlets without having to remove the whole thing. Worked great!

This pic shows the top part of the corner trap in place.

Here are both corner traps complete.

The remainder of the front wall then was treated with 2" oc703. I used 3 3/4" long nails with fender washers to attach it. That method seamed to work very well. I also went back and added a dab of constriction adhesive on the nail heads to make sure there wouldn't be any rattling between them and the washers.

I got the muslin up behind the screen wall. This was another tip I "borrowed" from Rubins buildout. When I was putting it up I wasn't sure what I was going to do on the ceiling back there so I wanted the staples hidden just in case. I used the hidden seam technique.

In the first picture you can see the 2x2 nailers that I attached along the ceiling in front of the oc703. I then stapled the fabric to the nailer upside down so it flowed back over itself hiding the staples. I then used the 1/4" strips over that and nailed through. This pushed the fabric up tight to the ceiling and sandwiched it between the two strips of wood. Much overkill for something very few people will ever see, but I know its there ;)

The second pic is of the finished Muslin backdrop.

I also got the back lighting can trims painted and installed. The white line around the trim is just glare from the camera flash.

I also got 2 of 3 acoustic ceiling panels build and installed. I need to get a couple more pieces of wood for the last one that runs along the back wall between then.

The first picture is the left side frame filled with oc703. There is a cutout when the panel will fit over the IR dimmer for the back lights. I didn't want to take any chances of it overheating or anything. I will run a IR repeater wire to it later.

The other two pics are of the left and right ceiling panels covered with black 701 GOM and installed with velcro.

Here is the end result (minus the last ceiling panel).

Next up is the front of the screen wall!

Mike you sure did a nice job of something thats going to be hidden behind a screen. I'm assuming you will be doing some lighting effect like Ruben.

Great workmanship.

Cheers,
Mark

I'm assuming you will be doing some lighting effect like Ruben.

Great workmanship.

Cheers,
Mark

Exactly. Also I used the panels to get a feel for the technique since the rest of the room that is currently painted dark red will be hidden by fabric panels similar to GPowers room.

Wooo Hooo...

The Grafik Eye arrived!

Here are a few pre install shots of the 3106

Here is a shot of it installed before the cover plate was put back on and a shot of the finished install on the column.

The install was very easy. I used a tip i got from another thread and picked up a couple push in wiring connectors to use instead of wire nuts. They worked great and saved a ton of space.

I also installed some rear screen braces in the screen wall. When the screen is inserted into the wall they act as stops to allign it in the correct position and keep the screen from falling out the back. They are completely behind the screen frame so i didnt need to paint them black.

I also picked up the moulding for the screen border today. Here its all cut to size and mitered. Just ready for some black velvet.

I got a smoking deall on the Fidelio Velvet. If anyone in NoVA needs some G-Street is having a 25% off sale and there is a coupon on their web site for an additional 25% off of that. It came out to $16.85 a yard!

Here is a shot of the screen wall framing around the screen coved in velvet. This will hide any gaps between the screen frame and the velvet border and also protect the screen from the raw framing when being put in and taken out. As a bonus it will also make the fit for the sceen nice and tight so pressure alone will hold the screen in the wall.

Here is a shot of one of the screen border pieces covered in the velvet.

Since I got the grafik eye installed I was able to get all the lights on in the room. I appologise for the crappy pics, but here are a few showing the sconces, down lighting, and screen lighting (without the screen).

Here are a couple more closeups of the installed GE 3106 for those interested. You cant really read them it in the picture, but it comes with a ton of pre-printed labels you can apply behind the face plate to label the zones which is nice. They are in the rectangles right below the "zone #" writing in the second pic.

Well thats the last update for the night. Hopefully this week I will get the rest of the screen wall trimed out and I will post a pic with the screen mounted in there. I had it in place today, but unfortunatly forgot to get a pic before I took it back out.

Did you do a room mode calculation to determine if you need those bass traps??

Did you do a room mode calculation to determine if you need those bass traps??

I actually used forum member BPape to run a model and analyse the room for me. I sent him all the room specs and he came back with treatment recommendations. If you are doing a buildout I would highly recommend getting in touch with him as early in the process as possible. It was very affordable to have him do the analysis.

Hey Mike.

Looks like you're coming right along. Sorry for not following closer - been buried.

You'll be watching movies in no time.

Bryan

Thanks Brian.

It has definitely been a long road, but I love how things are coming together.

As you can see from the pics I only have the front wall treated with the corner traps in, but I have already noticed a big difference in the room. This may sound silly, but when my air compressor kicks in it used to be deafening. Now that those front treatments are in its still very loud, but doesn't kill you anymore. Its a much less boomy and a clearer sound you hear from the motor.

Like I said kind of silly analysing the sound of the compressor, but It was VERY noticable difference in how the room behaved and right along the lines of the descriptions I have been reading of what that type of treatment is supposed to accomplish.

I cant wait to get the rest of the treatments done and actually listen to something more enjoyable than the compressor :)

I just placed an order with Roman thru the power buy for 6 Berkline 45003's. I got them motorized in the black leather match. I had originally planned on going with 2 rows of 4 088s with loveseats in the middle, but after checking them out locally I found the 090s to be a little more comfortable and provide better head support. I then read a few threads discussing that the 45003 were basically the same chair as the 090, but the head cushion provides better positioning when reclined for viewing. That was the one thing I noticed when I sat in the 090 was that it would have been nice if the head cushion was just a little more forward and the 45003 seems to have addressed that.

I got them in two rows of 3 with a 2 arm chair in the middle and single arm chair on each side. This allows the motorized controls to be placed on the arm for each chair since all pieces will have an arm. The other advantage is that each row can be reconfigured into a stand alone chair and a loveseat.

Lastly from a room design standpoint, while I have scaled down the seating capacity slightly due to the larger size of the chairs vs the 088 I will be able to perfectly center the rows on the screen and I think the scale for the room will be more appropriate.

Great work Mike. Thanks for providing so much detail.

Mike,

Glad to hear you went larger than the 88s. I don't think they would have worked for me after tryign them out. The 90s are sufficient for me (6'4" 250ish) and you're right, the head support reclined could be a little better, but for the most part is sufficient for me. I'm not sure if the 45003s existed when I ordered them through Ben Harper anyway.

The acoustic treatments sure make a big difference!

Bud

I actually used forum member BPape to run a model and analyse the room for me. I sent him all the room specs and he came back with treatment recommendations. If you are doing a buildout I would highly recommend getting in touch with him as early in the process as possible. It was very affordable to have him do the analysis.

Thank you mmmkam!!

I finally got the velvet border done! I used a 3 1/2" molding I found at the hardware store wrapped it in velvet using staples and attached it to the wall using velcro. Worked great and looks awesome. Its so black that it hard to see in the pictures, but I guess that was the goal :)

Here is a pretty good pic of one of the corners of the border. I really need to go back over it with a lint brush to clean it up a bit.

I also got the cross braces for the screen built, but not attached tonight. I couldn't find 1" square alum tubing when I went to the hardware store today so I got steal. Way overkill and the two cross braces feel like they weigh as much as the rest of the frame, but I just wanted to get them done already.

I cut the tubing to the correct length with a metal cutting blade on a jig saw and them pop riveted some metal tabs to both ends. The tubing will span inside the frame between the top and bottom members and the tabs will get pop riveted into the back side of the top and bottom.

I also covered them in gaffers tape to kill any reflection.

Should finally have a cool picture of the screen finished and in the wall tomorrow night if all goes well. Hope to have the rest of the screen wall done this weekend.

I finally got the cross braces put on the frame. It only bowed in about 1/8 to 1/4" at the most, but it was very noticable to me anyway. I used a quick grip clamp that I had that reverses into a spreader/stretcher to get the cross braces in place and then pop riveted them in.

It came out great and tightened up the fabric a little as well.

Here are a couple pics with the screen in the screen wall. One with the lights up and one with them dimmed down. The front screen lights are on in both pictures. The screen is 51"x120" and if my math is right thats approx a 130" diagonal :)

The next few posts are some screen shots.

Please bear in mind the following:
- Used zoom method for 2.35 stretch
- DVD player was a crappy travel model that wouldn't freeze the frame on pause very well
- DVD player was hooked up using a composite video cable
- The projector was just put on a table in the back of the room and turned on without any adjustment other than centering the image on the screen.

That being said.... Some of the shots were pretty good and it was pretty F*&%^n cool to see! I am still smiling :)

More screen shots...

Next on the to do list is finishing the screen wall with panels covered in black 701 GOM. Hopefully I will have that done sometime this weekend.

Hey man, looking great. you're getting real close. What did you decided on seating?

Bud

A couple posts back I mentioned I ordered from the powerbuy. Went with 6 Berkline 45003's in 2 rows of 3.

That's right, I even replied to that. Man, I'm losing it. Got caught up in your pictures.

Bud

That's right, I even replied to that. Man, I'm losing it. Got caught up in your pictures.

Bud

It must be your post build depression affecting your memory :)

Schwweeeeet!

Schwweeeeet!

Thanks mmoeller!

Looking great. I had to go back to refresh my memory of what projector you had. You mentioned that you were on the list for an RS1. But then you mentioned the Panasonic. Not clear, what you are using for those screen shots, but you might have mentioned and I didn't catch it in my quick re-read.

Reason I ask is I have a roll of SMX in waiting and been thinking about a projector upgrade at the same time.

I have the Panasonic ax100. I think it was "kits" who ordered the RS1. If you want to swing by and check it out some time just PM me.

I got the screen wall completed and it turned out awesome. It even passed the WAF! It was really hard to get a good picture of since everything is black, but here they are. The velvet border was surrounded by 6 fabric wrapped panels in black 701 GOM. They are all attached with Velcro so i can remove them to get the screen out or get behind the screen. I also wanted them removable in case I want to modify the screen wall to add a masking system in the future.

There are two panels on the sides floor to ceiling (left a 1/2" gap for carpet). Then 2 panels each top and bottom fill across.

I never posted a pic of the track light that I retro fit for the front screen lights so here it is. I cant remember if a posted this before, but the reason I had to retro fit it was because I originally had planed to have a solid screen on the real wall and not an AT screen. I figured out a way (using all the pictures I took) to do a slight re-wire and utilize a track light on the Grafik Eye zone. I then put an IR dimmer the cans that were supposed to front light the original screen design. This gave me the ability to do the IMAX lighting effect with minimal rewire and minimal drywall cutting (i didn't have to move any lights).

The second pic is the IMAX effect lighting for lack of a better term. I have adjustable baffles in these cans that need some angling, but I think it will work. I also want to replace the bulbs with blue I think.

I really need to get a wider angle camera or something, but here are a couple more shots from as far back as I can get.

Got some of my soffit detail done which includes the crown to hide the rope for cove lighting. The red trim is the wall fabric wrapped around a board that has the top and bottom edge mitered at 45 degrees. The top is a baseboard backer upside down with crown attached. The base and crown were spray painted gold. The gold part is a little larger than I really wanted, but it looks pretty good.

Let me know what you think.

Also when I tried to put the rope light in the casing of the rope light gave off almost a feathered shadow pattern. If anyone has any ideas on a rope that will give off a smoother looking light please let me know.

Got some of my soffit detail done which includes the crown to hide the rope for cove lighting. The red trim is the wall fabric wrapped around a board that has the top and bottom edge mitered at 45 degrees. The top is a baseboard backer upside down with crown attached. The base and crown were spray painted gold. The gold part is a little larger than I really wanted, but it looks pretty good.

Let me know what you think.

Also when I tried to put the rope light in the casing of the rope light gave off almost a feathered shadow pattern. If anyone has any ideas on a rope that will give off a smoother looking light please let me know.

Hey Mike,
It's beginning to look real nice. You're really moving fast.

Where did you get the rope lighting at? Would a different color rope light gives off and different pattern? I don't really know and can't really provide more input. Maybe someone with more experience will help you there.

I really like the trim fabric to wrap around the board, it matches your wall nicely.

Btw, are you working on the HT again this weekend? I would like to see in person your HT. I could definitely learn something from you.

Thanks Hung.

For the rope light I got a tip from the other thread I posted with that issue and ordered a short strand of a rope light that has a white as opposed to clear jacket on it. Hopefully that will work out and I will order a larger strand for the entire ceiling cove.

The fabric soffit border should match even better once I get the fabric panels on the walls!

Feel free to give me a shout this weekend if you want to swing by. If you don't still have my number just PM me.

Here is a shot of it installed before the cover plate was put back on and a shot of the finished install on the column.

The install was very easy. I used a tip i got from another thread and picked up a couple push in wiring connectors to use instead of wire nuts. They worked great and saved a ton of space.

Looks great, good job!

2 questions:
1. for the Graphik Eye, you mentioned push in wire connectors... Do you have any pics or links to what those are?
2. How did the glass prisms work out for you? Have you been able to play with them at all yet?

Looks great, good job!

2 questions:
1. for the Graphik Eye, you mentioned push in wire connectors... Do you have any pics or links to what those are?
2. How did the glass prisms work out for you? Have you been able to play with them at all yet?

1)
Here is a pic of push in connectors (not sure if this was the same brand i used). I think I ended up using two connectors that took 8 wires each (the black one in the picture) which was perfect for the 6 zone GE3106. I used one for the grounds which took 6 (one for each zone) + a pig tail from the unit. I then did the same for the neutrals. They had several different sizes where i bought them from 2 to 8 wire connectors. I would recommend using traditional wire nuts in most cases, but these did work very well. I pulled on the wires to test the strength of the connectors holding power and the wires didn't budge.

2)
Haven't had a chance to play with them yet. That will probably be one of the last things that I get around to doing.

Super job Mike. Looks like a real winner!

Thanks Mike. I knew they had that on the back of switches, and outlets, but had never seen them as stand alone. Learn something new every day here...

Thanks Charles. I should have the soffit detail/light tray done by the weekend so I can start the wall panels.

Woo hoo I just saw we passed the 200 post count on the thread!

In regards to the rope light problem I tried the suggestion of putting reflective tape in behind the crown moulding and that didn't really help at all. I did however wrap a white piece of paper around a small section just to see how a diffuser or the white cased rope light I ordered might work and it seemed to do the trick. I will post an update once I get the new rope light with some comparison pics, but I think it should work out.

I got the soffit trim finished this past weekend. Here are some pics of it.

Here is the first of the four surround speaker columns with the speaker plate mounted.

I designed the columns so that the speakers would cover the plate, but didn't realize until after the columns were complete and covered with cloth that the plates with binding posts would stick out to far for the flush wall mounts on my Axiom QS8 surrounds. I tried to use a dremel to widen the hole in order to recess the plates, but that didn't work very well. In the end I figured if I couldn't modify the columns to fit the plates I would mod the plates to fit the columns by trimming them down to fit inside the single gang hole in the column, but still fully covering the electrical box. I also used stackable 1/8" spacers that I found at lowes to achieve the setback that I wanted.

In the end it turned out great.

I might have missed this in all the posting when I skimmed (sorry if I did...) but it looks like the kegerator you have stores a 3.5 gallon keg with Co2 ? I couldn't see that it would store 3 home brew kegs and Co2. I am curious as to what you have in your kegerator given you have 3 taps? Any chance of a picture of the inside? The draft taps look awesome! I need to find a place to put that in my house!

Matthew

Mike, I like how your trim came out. Great job. Oh and congrats on reaching post 200+ :D

Bud

Mike,
What is your axiom setup. I see you have QS-8, but what else. I couldn't find with searching for "axiom"

I am in Manassas and in paint stage of my basement project. I am trying to decide on M22 vs M60 with EP 500.

Your thread is awesome. I am just lurker with no time for a build thread of my own :(

I might have missed this in all the posting when I skimmed (sorry if I did...) but it looks like the kegerator you have stores a 3.5 gallon keg with Co2 ? I couldn't see that it would store 3 home brew kegs and Co2. I am curious as to what you have in your kegerator given you have 3 taps? Any chance of a picture of the inside? The draft taps look awesome! I need to find a place to put that in my house!

Matthew

It is build to store a full size 1/2 barrel keg. I got rid of the stock tower and put a larger 3 tap tower on top of the bar. The inside of the kegerator is large enough to house 3 5 gal kornie kegs that are used in home brewing along with the 5 gal co2 tank OR 2 commercial 5 gal kegs with he co2. The other thing that will fit in this setup is 1 commercial 5gal keg + 1 commercial tall 1/4 keg (yuengling comes in these) + c02. Since I really don't do home brew anymore I just bought a splitter that will route 1 of my keg taps into two of the faucet lines. It all works great! I will take some pics and post some more details of the entire setup along with were I got the parts and stuff later this weekend for anyone that is interested.



To be honest I didn't realize there was a size difference between the two until I had my setup already in place.

Mike, I like how your trim came out. Great job. Oh and congrats on reaching post 200+ :D

Bud

Thanks bud. I havnt posted in a while, but have been busy working on the room. I will post some updated pics later this weekend. I have about half the wall panels up and it is comming out great IMHO, but then again I am a little biased on this buildout ;)

Mike,
What is your axiom setup. I see you have QS-8, but what else. I couldn't find with searching for "axiom"

I am in Manassas and in paint stage of my basement project. I am trying to decide on M22 vs M60 with EP 500.

Your thread is awesome. I am just lurker with no time for a build thread of my own :(

Welcome yellohj! I have two pairs of the QS-8 surrounds for the sides and rear. M60s for the front and a vp150 for the center. I got the speakers before I decided to go for the SMX screen with a false wall. If I had planned on that from the start I would have probably used 3 of the same speaker across the front. I also have an HSU VTF-3 MK2 for the sub

Kegerator Parts detail and pics

Kegerator: Haier Kegerator (Stainless Steel Version) From Best Buy ~$450
Tower: 4" 3 hole Stainless Steel tower + Stainless Base and Drip Tray From American Coffee & Urn acumetalfab.com ~$160
Faucets: SS Ultra-Flo-vm Faucets from Vent-matic 414-217-8406 ~$37 each
Other: Flow-gate from Vent-matic 414-217-8406
Taps, tubing, regulators, misc: Micromatic.com

I got a lot of great info from the guys at the NorthernBrewers forums when I was looking into putting it all together.

I got the flowgates with the faucets together for one price as a kit with tubing and couplers, but I an not sure if they still offer that or not. It was an intro thing when they came out with their revised faucets at the time. The Flow-gates go in line between the tap and the faucet and supposedly helps take the guess work out of temp/pressure/line length for a perfect pour without all head and stuff. Since this is my first keg setup I dont really have anything else to compare it to, but I have had 0 issues.

The co2 tank is hard to see but is in the back left of the kegerator.

Here is another pic of the secondary regulator to control individual pressures to each keg.

Speaking of kegs, this weekend we took a drive to Old Dominion for lunch and to fill the growlers. I asked about keg availability. It turns out they are no longer selling kegs to the public. Instead you have to special order anything beyond the standard ale and lager from Total Beverage. Also, the stout they sell via keg to distributers is the crappy one. The true bourbon barrel stout is only available in their pub via growler.

Speaking of kegs, this weekend we took a drive to Old Dominion for lunch and to fill the growlers. I asked about keg availability. It turns out they are no longer selling kegs to the public.

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't know that. That must be a change since they sold out to Anheuser Bush recently.

Also, the stout they sell via keg to distributers is the crappy one. The true bourbon barrel stout is only available in their pub via growler.

That has always been the case. They brew the real version in barrels from Virginia Gentleman whiskey and can exactly match the taste from barrel to barrel so you can only get the good stuff at the pub. That has to be one of my favorite beers. It even passed the WAF with flying colors! Unfortunately they don't sell the commercial version of it in the 5 gallon kegs ether though. I could always get a Cornie Keg and tap to hook up to my setup and fill it via growler to get the good stuff on tap! I will have to measure... maybe I can fit 2 commercial 5 gal and 1 cornie.

I knew that the stout they sold in bottles was made with artificial flavors, but I hadn't realized that the keg stuff was also done that way. The pub version is my favorite fall/winter beer. We make regular growler runs during football season. I only wish we lived a bit closer as it's just too far away to be truly convenient (45 minutes in normal traffic).

Well its been a long time since I posted any updates, but I have been working on the room.

Today I passed the final electrical inspection!

Good deal! What's left?

Bud

Very good news!!

The whats left list...

1) Couple small pieces of baseboard that will be done today
2) Install threshold for future drop seals on door
3) Install equipment and enjoy!
4) Get Carpet
5) Couple of wall panels still not done
6) Install door seals
7) A little touch up here and there.

Thats it!

I am off through tuesday to knock out a bunch of the above. I hope to get through a bunch of stuff by then.

Not much left at all then.

Not much left at all then.

You wait till your on your final items - amazing how the little things take once the HT is usable.

Cheers,
Mark

Who are you kinding. I'm at the early stages and it seems to be taking be forever to get stuff done. But yes, point taken :) Now back to work Mike!

Got a lot of the little things knocked out so far.

- I pulled the doors off and added a 1/2" plywood extention and a bottom gasket that I found at lowes. This provides a good seal against the threshold that is there so I dont need to order the drop bottoms at this point.

- Durring framing I made a design change and moved a wall that I had framed out 16". This left a bunch of divits in the slab so I patched them in preperation for carpet.

- Cut, assembled, painted and installed a bunch of the column top trim. This hides the GOM staples at the top. I just used some 1.5" stop moulding and flat black spray paint for these. I will also install them on the bottom after the carpet goes in so they dont get dinged up durring the installation.

- Got the 4 speaker mounting brackets for the Axiom QS8s installed

- Did some painting of the door and door frame

- Baseboard is now complete with the exception of the 2 pieces that will be attached to the door

Tomorrow I am going to pull the screen out and get the speakers put in. I will probably end up building some speaker stands to elevate the towers slightly and for the center channel. I also need to get an IR repeater system so I can put an emiter on the IR dimmer that runs the behind the screen lighting. That was a late addition to the room so its not tied into the GE for dimming.

I still havn't purchased a receiver yet either, but am leaning towards the Denon 3808ci. Might have to run out to see if I can beat the odds and find one in stock locally for a good price. Would be a shame to get the speakers in and not be able to play with them.

Mike,

You got some more details on your threshold (pics)......its one of the things I need to do also.

Cheers,
Mark

Mike,

You got some more details on your threshold (pics)......its one of the things I need to do also.

Cheers,
Mark

Mark,

My doors were installed a little higher off the ground that I should have put them in so I added a strip of 1/2" plywood to shrink the gap down to approx 1/2" or a little under which was the perfect fit for the weather stripping i found.

In the first pic you can see the threshold that is under the door from the bar area. I was originally planning on putting some type of additional threshold in so that it would protrude inside the room by less than an inch and provide a good seal for surface mounted drop seals on the theater side of the door. That’s when I found the "hidden" weather stripping that mounts under the door at lowes.

The second pic shows the bottom of a door with the strip attached (door open)

The last pic shows one of the doors closed producing a nice tight seal.

The product I used was basically an aluminum track with a rubber strip that slides in. I cut the track to length, cut the plywood spacer the same size at the track, took the door off, screwed the strip to the door bottom, put the door back on. I also put caulk between the plywood and door, and between the plywood and alum track.

When I was at lowes I noticed another side mound (vs bottom mount) product that had a slightly different gasket with fins protruding from a round tube rather than just a round tube that slides into the track. The fins version was slightly taller and would fit the track of the first so I bought both. Since the slab below the door was not perfectly level I ended up using the round tube stripping on one door and swapping the rubber strip with the fins onto the second door to make sure I had a good seal along a high spot. I did use a razor knife to slightly shave down the fins along an 8" strip of the door so that the seal was tight, but didn’t make the door hard to open and close.

The next post has a pic of the two different strips.

The gray round strip is the one that came with the track that I used on the bottom of the doors. Its just a flat aluminum track that screws on and the gray strip slides in.

The white one comes with a white strip that has the exact same profile as the gray, but has fins protruding from the round part. This strip fits the flat track from the gray perfectly.

The strips were made by a company called MD.
The gray one was the "Hidden Door Bottom".
The White one was the "L-Shaped Door Bottom".

I found them near the end of the isle with all the door knobs and other door hardware.

Thanks Mike, Appreciated.

Cheers,
Mark

Here is a pic of the column top trim installed. This is just to hide the staples. The same trim will be installed on the bottom of the columns as well.

I have begun installing the sound system. I am using Axiom towers and center up front, but the lower drives on the towers needed to be elevated a little so they were not blocked by the frame of the screen or screen wall framing. I constructed a few quick and dirty speaker stands so solve the problem.

For the side towers I just built MDF boxes painted them black and they will be filled with sand. The center is the same, but uses a 3" pvc pipe and a couple flanges to elevate a shelf that the center will sit on. The PVC pipe is filled with insulation.

These stands result in the tweeters of all 3 fronts being lined up at a hair below center of the screen.

Pic of the new toy I picked up today...

and a couple random room pics.

Excellent! Where did you end up buying the Denon?

I like your speaker stands. May have to steal that.

How do you like the HSU? I wanted the VTF3, but couldn't fit it behind my screen, so I went with the VTF2. Does it have the Turbo?

I also went with Axiom and have been very pleased so far.

You wait till your on your final items - amazing how the little things take once the HT is usable.

Cheers,
MarkThat is soooo true.

Excellent! Where did you end up buying the Denon?

Ended up stopping in at Audio Buys in Manassas on yet another run to the hardware store. Got the only one they had in stock :)

I like your speaker stands. May have to steal that.

How do you like the HSU? I wanted the VTF3, but couldn't fit it behind my screen, so I went with the VTF2. Does it have the Turbo?

I also went with Axiom and have been very pleased so far.

I only hooked it up to test it out when I first got it (and that was a long time ago). I did some A/B testing between it and an old Infinity sub that I have had forever. Long story short... I loved it! I cant wait to try it out in the theater room.

That is soooo true.

Yes it is... I will keep it to myself though because there isnt a chance of passing the WAF.

Just finished getting the front speakers in place. Here are a couple pics (they are black, but the flash made them look silver/white). If anyone has any tips for a starting position for the toe-in of the front towers I would appreciate it. I just went with a point mid way between the rows for now.

Nice work Mike! So what is the height of the tweeters all the way across?

Nice work Mike! So what is the height of the tweeters all the way across?

54.5" from the floor
44.5" from the stage floor
approx 24" from the bottom of the screen (which is just below the midline).

54.5" from the floor
44.5" from the stage floor
approx 24" from the bottom of the screen (which is just below the midline).

I'd turn your speakers upside down and align the tweeters at ear level. If you were to measure their response, you'd probably have a huge LR suck-out at the crossover point, sitting so far off axis - not to mention the high frequency roll-off.

54.5" from the floor
44.5" from the stage floor
approx 24" from the bottom of the screen (which is just below the midline).

Thanks. It seems kind of high. Have you had a chance to listen to them like that?

I have not had a chance to listen to them yet. Probably will get the receiver hooked up later this week to at least test everything out.

I agree it does sound a little high, but I would rather have them high than low. I also read an article recently that suggested raising them higher to anchor the sound higher in order to simulate the screen being more elevated as in a real theater. Unless of course you like the top seats in a stadium theater ;) Worst case I can redo the stands.

I will report back after I get a chance to test it out.

raising them higher to anchor the sound higher in order to simulate the screen being more elevated as in a real theater.

Turning them upside down would do the same. ;)

I got the surrounds wired up on the columns last night. I will post some pics later this weekend.

I still haven’t hooked up the receiver yet (maybe later tonight :D), but I have been thinking more about the feedback on the height of the fronts. I also emailed Axiom to see what their suggestion would be.

Overall the general consensus I have gotten is to just ditch the side stands and lower the center channel to match. This will put the tweeters right between ear level of the two rows. This will result in the lower 6.5" driver of the towers ending up partially behind the lower frame of the screen. Axiom suggested that the framing shouldnt affect the bass throw greatly and the base management of the receiver combined with the sub should handle the majority of the bass information cleanly.

Seems to make sense, but I will report back once I have actually heard the results later this weekend.

Hi,
I've been following this thread, your room looks great! I was wondering if you received your rope lighting in the white tubing, and if you've put it up? I am thinking of putting rope light in the crown molding and would like to see how it might look. I hope the white took care of the problem with the clear tubing. Thanks!

Hi,
I've been following this thread, your room looks great! I was wondering if you received your rope lighting in the white tubing, and if you've put it up? I am thinking of putting rope light in the crown molding and would like to see how it might look. I hope the white took care of the problem with the clear tubing. Thanks!

I did get it, and it worked great! I ordered the 3/8" from 1000bulbs.com. It got rid of the feathering shadow effect of the clear stuff. Even passed the WAF once I put the new stuff up there.

That's great! I couldn't find any pictures of that, do you happen to have any?

I will take some tonight of both types so you can see the difference.