Ray,

Thanks for the tip. I will call, I haven't been very happy with the placement but also haven't spent much time trying to tweak it so I've just kind of put it on the back burner. But a quick phone call isn't a bad idea. I'll report back what I find and what I try.

Thanks,
Mike

Very nice looking sconces and quite possibly the best I have seen here, but they are right next to the theater screen if I am not mistaken. :confused: I have mine next to the theater screen but they are textured and flat black. Much like I would never buy a plasma with glowing lights behind it.

Is there a curtain going there? You had considered it effecting the screen and/or viewing but believe it is worth it or perhaps it does not effect it?

I was a bit concerned about how it would affect the contrast and viewing experience given it's metal and can be quite reflective. However, the brushed look turned out to be quite effective in diffusing the light reflection. I can barely see the sconce when the lights are out and the projector is going. It isn't distracting (which would be the biggest downside) and doesn't seem to affect the contrast (there's plenty of dark color between the screen and the sconce -- about 8" in fact). So given that I love the look and the downside is so small I'm going to go with a success stamp of approval :D

Mike

thought you wanted the surrounds to point down slightly if they're up that high. If they were at ear level I would certainly point them at each other but they're 7' off the ground. Won't that just put the sound above my ears? I'll be honest, I don't really know. And it just doesn't quite sound right to me (it feels empty behind me but I thought that was because my rear surround wasn't pointing down enough (I can hear it when I stand up but not sitting down) -- I was going to get a ceiling mount for it and point it down more instead of the wall mount).

No, surround sound speakers are designed for ambient sound, you are making it directional. When they are pointed across the room then the sound bounces off the walls before it gets to your ears so the sound spreads more making it harder to localize, which for ambient surround sounds is a good thing.
Also, 7 feet above the ground is good, that is where they are supposed to be, 2-4 feet above the listeners ears.

Surrounds can be aimed wall to wall, at the ceiling or the floor. But, never directly towards the listener.

P.S. Nice theater. :)

Thanks guys!

I just pointed them up above my head (they are dipoles and I don't have either of the drivers pointed directly at me anyway) and recalibrated. I haven't had a chance test it out yet though, I'll report back when I have results.

Mike

PS. I got the deco fan painted and hope to hang it on the proscenium on Monday :) My wife finished the curtains too -- they're sweet! I was hanging the last panel and as I stepped down from the ladder to get a look at them I had this overwhelming sense of being in a theater just briefly. It was cool :)

Quick update on the surround speaker placement. I pointed them so they were all the same angle downwards. I basically measured my rear speaker angle (with a bevel gauge and a level -- you should have seen my wife's eyes roll in the back of her head when she saw me do that!!) and then transferred that angle to the other speakers. It's a good start at least. They're pointing about a foot above my head at this point. I did notice that the sound is moving more behind me now but I'm still not completely enveloped by it. I think at this point I might have a setting wrong on the Denon 3806. I think the rear surround is only coming on when there's 6 channels of info and not when there's only 5 (which is most of the time). I'll browse through the manual and see if there's a way to change that (I'm sure there is but that manual is awful!).

If there are any 3806 owners out there that have this answer, feel free to share :D

I have a bunch of pics to post later, hopefully I can get to those this afternoon.

Mike

Quick update on the surround speaker placement. I pointed them so they were all the same angle downwards. I basically measured my rear speaker angle (with a bevel gauge and a level -- you should have seen my wife's eyes roll in the back of her head when she saw me do that!!) and then transferred that angle to the other speakers. It's a good start at least. They're pointing about a foot above my head at this point. I did notice that the sound is moving more behind me now but I'm still not completely enveloped by it. I think at this point I might have a setting wrong on the Denon 3806. I think the rear surround is only coming on when there's 6 channels of info and not when there's only 5 (which is most of the time). I'll browse through the manual and see if there's a way to change that (I'm sure there is but that manual is awful!).

If there are any 3806 owners out there that have this answer, feel free to share :D

I have a bunch of pics to post later, hopefully I can get to those this afternoon.

Mike

I have a similar setup to yours with the side dipoles angled down slightly, and experienced the same problem of lack of enveloping surround sound...

Here is a report of this problem I posted on another forum..It may be of some help..
____________________________________________________________ _____
I recently bought a DSE SPL meter to setup the audio of my 7.1 system..

I followed Marks informed procedure, and double checked the settings when I had finished.

I started by setting the trim tabs until I had 0db on the master volume for the left speaker, when the meter was reading 75db,.
I set the sub with the meter swinging between 80db. and 84db.

My setup has Di-poles for the side surounds and Mono-poles for the rears..

The overall sound balance was much better than the YPOA settings on the Yammy AVR...but the surround sound effects were not to my liking..They were lacking in what I call the subtlety's of surround sound.
To hear things like birds and insect noises, I had to strain my ears (backwards) to be able to hear them..
The other thing I noticed was that in a crowd scene, when you were supposedly in the middle of the crowd, e.g. Star Wars 2 when they are in the middle of the Arena and the crowd is cheering, it felt more like I was looking in on the crowd than being a part of it..
In other scenes, if a missile flew from back of the room to the front, I would definitely hear it...
It seemed that the fronts were over powering the surrounds..

I tried increasing the level of the surrounds a couple of notches, which helped overall level, but did not improve the immersion feeling..
So I deduced that something was not quite right..

I remember someone else saying a similar thing with their surrounds..
My surrounds are about 6' above the floor and angled down slightly..but still firing over my head..

I had been using the meter as described by Mark and others by stretching it out at arms length, whilst crouching behind the centre chair..

After a lot of hair pulling ( not much left now), I decided to try a bit of a variation on the normal position for the meter.
This time I mounted the meter on a tripod ( which was done on another previous test) and moved it about a foot further than my arm could normally reach..

To obtain the reference level of 75db. in the left channel, I had to drop the trim tabs by 1db. to get a 0db. on the master volume...which was pretty obvious being a bit close to the fronts...and accordingly drop the centre and right channel by the same amount..
The side surrounds had to be raised 4 levels (2db.) to obtain the same level as the fronts.

The real surprise was the rears.. They had to be raised 6 levels to maintain the balance.. and the Sub. only 1 level up..

I put the same SW2 movie on and was amazed at the difference..
The crowd scene sounded exactly as I thought it should..completely all around you..and the Waterfall scene where they are sitting on the grass, just blew me away..
I could hear every little insect and bird noise, all the way along, from the front speakers to the rear wall..which is 10' behind the front row..and in the background you could hear the low rumble of the Waterfall.

I also put on Jurassic Park 3 and apart from the thumps that nearly blew me out of the chair..the last scenes where they are surrounded by the Raptors, they sounded like they were in the room with me./

It looks like I'm going to have to watch all of my DVD's all over again....Oh Joy !!

If anyone has experienced a similar problem with their setup, then it might just help to give this a try..

Good luck,

Prof..

Quick update on the surround speaker placement. I pointed them so they were all the same angle downwards.
Actually, they are not supposed to ever be angled down at all. The back of the speaker should be parellel with the wall.

Versa,
I think the type/brand of speaker may play into your point. The idea is to aim the speaker at an area of reflection/diffusion, opposed to an absorptive carpeted floor.

Winkelmann

Mike,

I went to the Aperion Christmas open house and talk to them about the 534-SS. They have them mounted about 6'-7' above the floor and said they could even be higher. My comment about down firing speakers was not the correct terminology (not sure why Mike used it)....the way the sound waves come from the speaker must of be what he was trying to explain to me. They did talk about how they are for ambient noise and how the sound bounces around the room just like Versa posted about. They have them mounted flat against the wall using the provided brackets, that is how I have them mounted also.

Ray

Thanks Ray (and everyone else). I'll see if I can't squeeze some time in this week to tilt them up parallel to the floor and recalibrate. I'm trying to finish as much in the room as I can before we leave for our Christmas holiday trip.

Mike

Found this thread on Aperion's forum. Very VERY nice. I can't wait for the day I'm old enough and wealthy enough to afford my own house with a designated theater. My wife on the other hand, isn't in quite as much a hurry. ;)

LOL! Yeah, you definitely have to get approval from the CFO in order to make your theater happen ;)

Good luck and hang in there, it took 12 years to get the green light from my wife :D And it was worth every second!!

[Except I still kind of mess up, I got in trouble "again" last night for spending too much time in there -- but she bought me a new Diana Krall CD and Chronicles of Riddick, I mean what can you expect? :p I've promised to get a timer or something so I come to bed at a decent hour from now on.]

Mike

PS. You buy some Aperion speakers? Which ones did you get? Do you have them yet?

Update for those following my surround speaker experiments:

I tilted them up so they were close to parallel to the floor (as best I could) and that made all the difference. Sure enough, as soon as I turned them on (a little Alison Krauss Live on DVD) I could hear the crowd behind me for the first time. And on other movies I felt more in the middle of the action instead of just on the perimeter.

Thanks to all who pointed out my blunder :)

Mike

Mike,
I've only purchased the 533VAC thus far. Been quite pleased with it, considering it's the only speaker in my setup. :\ (Spending $ is on hold until AFTER Christmas)
However, I've discovered the 634VAC will just barely fit into my given space, I think I may trade up. I'll likely have the same setup as you when it's all said and done. 634-VAC, 633-Ts, and 534-SSs. (Though I may go different route for my sub... SVS or Velodyne, as long as it's gloss black!) Running off a Denon AVR2807. :)

Dane,

You won't be dissapointed with the 634VAC. I felt the 533 was always a little underpowered compared to the 633Ts. Now the sound blends perfectly across the front and dialog is nice and relaxed and I hear it clearly.

Funny you're looking at the SVS or Velodyne. I have a Velodyne DLS-4000R and I love it. My buddie's 12" Aperion had a bad amp and I haven't heard it since it was repaired and he said it is awesome. So I'll do a demo sometime in Jan and get back to you on that. Another friend has the SVS and it's just a bit too boomy (harmonic distortion) for my tastes -- I like quick tight bass.

Mike

Hey, cool! I just assumed your sub was Aperion's. It matches very well! I might have to take a closer look at the 4000R when the time comes.

EDIT: After further investigation and speaking to an Aperion rep, the 634 WON'T fit in my given space. So I'm going to have to settle for the 533. But paired with the 533-Ts, I'm hoping there's a balanced soundfield. Otherwise I'll just up the Center Channel dB to compensate.

But certainly let me know what you think of the 12S when you get a chance to hear it. I will probably be just about ready to make that purchase. Since both subs reach about 25Hz, it's a tossup.

I haven't heard the 533Ts but my guess is that the 533-VAC is better paired with the 533T than the 633T so I can't imagine that you won't be happy with it. I'll keep you posted on the 12-S when I get back.

Mike

Mike,

I have been following your construction thread from the beginning, very nice theater. Any updates? Pics ? Its been awhile :)

Ed

I've been on vacation and then a business trip. I have a few pics that I need to post (maybe tonight??) and then I need to get back to work to add anymore pics.

Thanks for the nudge, it helps knowing I have an audience waiting ;)

Mike

PS. Thanks on the compliment too :D

Sorry it's been so long. No excuses though, just pictures :p !!

Okay, let's see, where should I start? How about the curtains. Looks like those were done on 12/9 :) Woops, kinda slow on the posting ... holidays right?

Here's the fabric. Basically 4 panels to cover a 10' section of windows on the left side of the theater. They're black velvet.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/curt1.JPG

The actual curtain rod is 10'3". I couldn't find any rods that size in the big box stores so I made one out of galvanized 3/4" conduit. Used conduit joiners to add the extra length (took about 6" off the first section and then added 9" to get the right length -- that let me put the joiner piece in the curtain rod holder so you can't see it). No pictures of that -- if you need them, holar.

Here's my lovely wife sewing them together. I pinned them she sewed them, it went pretty fast.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/curt2.JPG

Here they are hanging up.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/curt3.JPG




A while back I had a few requests for photos of the sconces on with the lights off. Here are a couple shots.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/sconce1.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/sconce2.JPG

Mike

Looking fantastic, Mike!

You'll be disappointed in me... I ended up returning my 533VAC. Went with a DefTech setup. Moving and don't have space for the separate sub, so had to go built-in.

Keep up the great work. You must be doing something right if your wife is even pitching in! With all my dreaming about having a separate theater room, I think the wifey's dreaming of building me a doghouse. lol

After a quick lesson in soldering pipes from my father I went to town making the 'T' for the cold water line. One side goes to the sink the other is split between the ice machine and soda fountain. Pay no attention to the burn marks on the melomine ;)
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/Sink1.JPG

Here's the creative plumbing. I had to put in a drain for the soda fountain and the ice machine as well as the double sink above. It all flows downhill and doesn't leak -- that's all you gotta know right? (Well, besides not chewing your fingernails after a repair job :eek: ).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/Sink2.JPG

And the final product.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/Sink3.JPG


Might as well throw in the pics of the door handles/pulls since we're looking at the cabinets anyway. These are the european stainless steel modern kind. Here's a closeup of the top cabinets.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/knobs2.JPG

The entire wet bar.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/knobs1.JPG

Running my normal luck one of the pulls had mismatched feet (if you call them that). That ended up with a fun little trip in the machine shop on the metal lathe at work. About an hour later it matched perfectly (yeah, I'm kinda slow, I don't use the lathe that often but I sure love it when I get the chance).


Mike

Looking fantastic, Mike!

You'll be disappointed in me... I ended up returning my 533VAC. Went with a DefTech setup. Moving and don't have space for the separate sub, so had to go built-in.

Keep up the great work. You must be doing something right if your wife is even pitching in! With all my dreaming about having a separate theater room, I think the wifey's dreaming of building me a doghouse. lol

LOL! That's pretty funny. As long as the doghouse is about 16'x20' you should be okay ;)

You didn't want to try the 533PT? They have the powered woofers in the side like the DefTechs. Not that it matters now :)

Later,
Mike

Well, I had the pleasure of pulling out the paint again. Hopefully the last time. Mmm...actually, now that I think about it it's not. I still have to build the flush door for the equipment closet and that'll get painted black as well. Plus I still have to paint the light rims, the vents and the return. Oh well.

First thing was to finish painting the gray parts of the fan. Can't believe I started that so long ago and never finished painting it.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/paint3.JPG

Then it was time to paint the center portion of the top fan piece. It has a red center section (two of them actually) with a 3/8" black outside (as well as the sides and back). Just before I started taping it up it occurred to me I hadn't thought about how I wanted it to look -- a single section, double section 3/8" gap or double section 3/4" gap? I colored a quick hand drawing (thanks for letting me use the markers kids!) and settled on a double section with 3/4" gap. My wife was once again rolling her eyes when she saw me staring at the picture trying to decide.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/paint1.JPG

Here it is finished. Looks like I didn't take any photos of it when the tape came off. But that's okay because I actually hung it today and have plenty of photos of that :D
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm10/paint2.JPG

So, without further ado -- here's what I've been fretting and looking forward to for a long time -- my Art Deco Fan :)

First thing was to install the base that sort of holds it all up as well as covers the bottom of all the pieces so it looks good hung up.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan1.JPG

I realized a week ago that the bottom fan piece rests on the top level of the proscenial arch and that wouldn't be much space to glue and nail the piece to securely. Each piece is made of 3/4" MDF so as you can imagine the entire setup is pretty heavy and I didn't think a couple of pocket screws and wood glue would hold the whole thing up with just the base. As a result I went ahead and built a 6" block of glued up MDF and glued/screwed it to the bottom arch piece as well as glued it to the base. After it dried the base wasn't going anywhere and I had a lot more real estate to nail the next levels to.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan2.JPG

Here you can see where I scraped off the paint for the top part of the fan piece to glue to the arch. Definitely not a lot of gluing area but with the glue block I have plenty now.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan3.JPG

More photos in the next post...

Mike

So the original plan as I was taking photos was to use the camera on a tripod and shoot each piece as it went up so I could scroll through them and see each level (yeah, I'm that much of a nerd). But somewhere between the stress of focusing on making sure each piece lined up properly with the last I missed a few. Here's the first 3 layers already up.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan4.JPG

Fourth layer.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan5.JPG

Fifth and final layer before the top piece goes on. It was nice and flush with the base piece (worried that I might have pushed the layers out just a smidge too much once I put the glue on but it worked out perfectly).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan6.JPG

Now the tricky part. With each of the previous layers I used glue (wherever you saw the areas with no paint) and 4 18ga 1-1/4" brads. Plenty secure. However, with the top piece I wanted to only use glue -- no brads, I didn't want to have to fill the holes (they fill okay, but not perfectly and if you can't tell by now, I definitely like perfection :rolleyes: ). So to help out with holding it in place while the wood glue dried (which once dry it wasn't going to go anywhere but I couldn't afford to have it slowly slip overnight or something -- that would be miserable!) I built a top piece to sit on the lower layers. It's basically a small block that pocket screws into the back and simply sits on top of the lower layers (with glue of course).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan7.JPG

Then I glued up all the edges that needed glue and put the top piece in place. A bit of tape to hold it for the first 30 minutes or so. I put some paper towels under the tape on the front of it so that it wouldn't pull up the red layer when I pulled it off later (I don't even want to contemplate how sick I'd have been if that happened).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan8.JPG

And finally the finished product -- just like I always wanted it to be :)
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan9.JPG

I'll get some photos of the whole screen area tomorrow when the light comes up, the night time shots are okay but I'm hoping they're better in full light. [Ugh, and maybe put up a full size shot -- the resized ones are leaving ugly compression artifacts in the red area.]

Mike

Mike,

Love the drapes! Wish I knew how to sew curtains like your wife. Lucky guy! Where did you get your velvet? At JoAnn Fabrics, their velvet ran $30/yd. That seemed too steep to me.

At JoAnn Fabrics, their velvet ran $30/yd. That seemed too steep to me.
Get on their mailing list and you'll get 40% off coupons (sometimes 50%) every week. It saved me a bundle on the Velvet for my screen frame.

[EDIT: I updated the photos on my server because the jpeg artifacts were bugging me, they're much cleaner now and I'll resize my photos like that from now on. If you've already seen the pictures you'll need to refresh (F5 or whatever) to see then most likely.]

Just realized that by the time I get home it'll be dark again so I won't get daylight shots until Saturday. In the meantime here are a couple of side shots of the fan and a full screen shot as well.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan10.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan11.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan13.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm11/fan12.JPG

Mike

Mike,

Love the drapes! Wish I knew how to sew curtains like your wife. Lucky guy! Where did you get your velvet? At JoAnn Fabrics, their velvet ran $30/yd. That seemed too steep to me.

LOL! You're gonna love the response I got from my wife when I sent her an email requesting where we got the fabric at:



So my little pancake,
Are you working today or are you lounging on the AVS forum??? :) You need to tell all your AVS friends that most cities have a bulk/remnant/old stock fabric store. That's where they need to go. If they're looking for that special velvet like you got for around your screen, then that might be harder to find, but basic black velvet is always at those stores. I got all of your black velvet for less than $60.00! It was $2.99 a yard. The coupons for JoAnn fabric definitely help, but it can still be super spendy.

Mike :D

That looks freaking sweet! I might download this thread for future reference in a few years, if you don't mind. :)

I got all of your black velvet for less than $60.00! It was $2.99 a yard.
Wow! Nice. Time to find the local bulk fabric store...

Thanks my little pancake! :D

That looks freaking sweet! I might download this thread for future reference in a few years, if you don't mind. :)

I don't mind at all :) Glad you like!

Mike

Wow! Nice. Time to find the local bulk fabric store...

Thanks my little pancake! :D

LOL! You're welcome. (Wonder what my wife will say when she reads this. The phone hasn't rung ... yet).

Mike

LOL! You're welcome. (Wonder what my wife will say when she reads this. The phone hasn't rung ... yet).
LOL! All in good fun! I wont post what my wife calls me... :D

Great work! Love the detail on the symbol thingy above the screen (what do you call that anyway?). Its got great visual depth and appeal! Amazing.

Thanks! I've been calling it the "Art Deco Fan". Have no idea what it's really called but it took me long enough to finish (was pretty nervous about making sure it turned out right). But I'm happy with it and now I've switched my nervousness to the light to illuminate it. I'm not sure if I should go with a track light or a canned light with one of the those pointy eyelid type things to direct the light at it. So many choices ...


Mike

While I'm terribly distracted with other things, I'll throw in a wild-*ss suggestion:
Place some sculpted letters on the center piece for your theatre name. :cool:

Thanks! I've been calling it the "Art Deco Fan". Have no idea what it's really called but it took me long enough to finish (was pretty nervous about making sure it turned out right). But I'm happy with it and now I've switched my nervousness to the light to illuminate it. I'm not sure if I should go with a track light or a canned light with one of the those pointy eyelid type things to direct the light at it. So many choices ...Mike

It screams for a neon border. On a dimmer, of course.

You know, it's funny you should say that...

I've been surprised by how flat it looks (it sticks out 4.5" from the top of the arch and each layer is 3/4"). I don't know if it's the colors, the sheen of the paint, the lack of lighting or what?

My current plan is to put an eyeball light in the ceiling in front of it and point it down across the fan so you can see the depth of each layer. When you said neon I did have a slight image of some sort of light behind it and wondered what that might look like ... my poor wife will not be happy with yet another "idea" ;)

Gonna have to think about that one (neon no, but light behind yes -- though I do admit that neon would probably look cool!). Thanks for the idea :)

Mike

Why don't you install a small flourescent tube light behind, and a projection light in front? Try to have matching temperatures... and as close to real sunlight CRI as possible.

That's my 2 cents. It looks good nonetheless!

Sad news today ... I sold my soda fountain. I'm still sick to my stomach about it, I'd dreamed about having my own soda fountain for years!! But alas, it was not meant to be. Just too danged expensive to keep it operating and the worst part is that my favorite drink is Peach Citrus Fresca which they don't make in syrup -- I also like caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper and that doesn't come in syrup either. So basically I would have ended up with an 8 head machine to run Diet Coke for my wife and Root Beer for the kids.

The worst part of the day? When I came home for dinner and told the kids I had sold it. They started crying!! My oldest was actually mad at me and left the room. Whoa?! Who knew they were so attached, I'd only used it twice in the past 8 months of owning it. Even my brother who helped me get it all unhooked was surprised and a bit annoyed (he almost lost an eye from high pressure Dr. Pepper -- we were amatuers at best working on that thing).

Ugh, I still feel sick about it. Dang. Maybe when the kids are teenagers I'll look into getting a smaller unit for when friends come over or something. Although I have decided I do want to get a "Sonic Ice" machine (i.e. Nugget Ice) up there and use that for ice and just put the pop in my fridge.

Mike

What an awesome account of your theater construction! I just stumbled across this thread and I too love art deco! Great job and although it stinks you had to sell the machine, it's darn cool what you still have.

What's the plan for the SuperBowl?

Rich

Hey Rich, glad you like it!

As for the super bowl ... hmmm ... you may find my answer sacrilegious. I'm not a big fan of the NFL (I absolutely love NCAA football -- in fact I was 20 rows up from the endzone on the 1 yard line at the Fiesta Bowl when Ian Johnson scored the 2 point conversion on the Statue of Liberty play :) I'm a Boise State grad and LOVE my broncos!!).

So what are my plans? Uh, I have church from 3:00pm to 6:00pm and by the time we get home, eat and get the kids in bed for school the next day it'll be over (but I'll scour the web for the commercials on Monday!).

Okay, flame suit on -- fire away (be nice if possible ...)

Mike

Mike,

Haha, nice to know your priorities are so good. I enjoy the NFL so of course will be watching the game, but I don't take anything away from you on the college thing or that you won't watch the Super Bowl.

There is NOTHING like college atmosphere at sporting events. Basketball, football, etc.

Rich

There is NOTHING like college atmosphere at sporting events. Basketball, football, etc.

Rich

I second that. I went with my wife to the Notre Dame alumni band home game (wife was in the ND marching band) a few months ago and it was an eye opening experience. I went to a university with no football team so I had never experienced anything like that!

Mike,

Great looking theater, Way above average!!!

I have a wetbar in my theater room also, how did you make the transition from tile to carpet? Do your carpet installers just butt up against the tile or do you have to do something with the edge of tile that meets the carpet?

Thanks for the help.

James

Thanks!

I went back and forth on that one many times. I ended up just going carpet to tile. The installers just put tack boards up against the tile and the carpet installed perfectly. I think it turned out nice. The only other option that I know of is to put a metal divider that slides under the tile and overlays the edge just a bit. I was concerned it would look tacky.

One thing I probably should have done that you might want to consider is to take a diamond file and run it along the edge of the tile (where it will meet the carpet) to take the edge off the tile -- mine were on a diagonal so fresh cut edges were against the carpet and they're a bit sharp. I'll probably tape the carpet and soften the edges sometime in the future but it's low on the priority list at this point.

Good luck with whatever you decide :)

Mike

For fun my buddy and I stopped by our local hi-end audio/video shop over lunch today. What a treat. They have a super high end room they call their "Wow Room". I think they said they spent something like $300,000 on the room. It was AMAZING. It was setup for movies but 2 channel audio as well. My buddy and I brought our own music to test out their 2 channel setup. The room has $80,000 in sound treatment (you could tell) and all CLASSE equipment with Wilson Audio Maxx Series 2 for LR.

Our tracks (they were all incredible) were:

Diana Krall - Temptation (Girl Next Door SACD)
Gladiator Soundtrack - Track 9
Norah Jones - Come away with me
Alison Krauss - Boy who would hoe corn (disc 2 of their Live concert)
Norah Jones - Sinkin' soon (Not too Late)

Temptation is probably my favorite Diana song but surprisingly my system at home plays it almost as well as the $300,000 one. The Gladiator soundtrack is punishing to lesser systems and the Wilson Audios really pumped this one out, it was great.

I think my two favorite songs were the Alison Krauss song (it starts out with a Dobro solo that's out of this world and then all the others come in -- really felt like we were at the concert) and the Norah Jones "Sinkin' Soon". Kind of a weird song the first time you hear it but if you pay attention you'll hear all kinds of different instruments and their positioning is all over, it's really a fun song to listen to. The Wilsons did a great job keeping everything clear and really producing a wall of sound versus multiple points of sound (hard to explain, but it was impressive).

Mike

I got to demo some Wilson WATT Puppy 8s and Maxx's not too long ago. Truly brings a new meaning to "full range" IMO. Never heard anything like it. Lots of fun, and definitely gets my gears turning as to how I could piece together some equipment like that.

Not in this lifetime, I'm afraid...

Yeah, that's kind of what I came away with from the experience. Wonderful sound but worth $45,000? (Just for the speakers -- I imagine I'd want to upgrade from my Denon 3806 at the same time)

I did come away with a small checklist of future upgrades though:


Sound treatment a must -- I could hear where my room modes are in my music (there weren't over pronounced parts here and there with the sound like in my room). Complex sections weren't all muddled (not that it's bad in my room, just a touch is all -- Audessy probably helps with that).
Better projector. They had a $30,000 1080p Runco and I definitely was seeing things in movies that I don't with my 480p Optoma H31. But that was in the plans anyway once the bulb goes out, probably the new Panny 100x (720p).
Finish my room -- LOL! Seriously. Turns out a completely finished room looks better than a 90% finished one.
Get my surrounds setup better. I think I messed that up in my first attempt.
Second subwoofer. Being above the garage I lose about half my bass.


Not too bad when you really get down to it. I was worried after going and seeing a $300,000 room I'd have room envy REALLY, REALLY bad. But it wasn't as bad as I thought. I love the look of my room still, just a few tweaks to get it where I really want it.

Mike

Mike, I haven't posted here before, but have read through from end to end a few times. Nice looking room!

I totally agree with you about NOT having room envy. In fact, I usually find quite the opposite. I end up with room pride! My brain is wired to appreciate not just the end result, but the value. I've been in rooms that cost 20 times what mine did, and realized that I just wouldn't appreciate the extra cost. Now, I'm just beginning HT 2.0, so you can watch me eat these words. :)

Mike

Who did you order your wet bar cabinets through and what did you pay ball park for them. I am starting to look around for cabinets for my wet bar area. I like that style you picked :)

Mike, I haven't posted here before, but have read through from end to end a few times. Nice looking room!

Thanks! Maybe I'll get off my lazy rear and post some pics that have been sitting in my folder for awhile and not posted yet. :rolleyes:

I totally agree with you about NOT having room envy. In fact, I usually find quite the opposite. I end up with room pride! My brain is wired to appreciate not just the end result, but the value. I've been in rooms that cost 20 times what mine did, and realized that I just wouldn't appreciate the extra cost. Now, I'm just beginning HT 2.0, so you can watch me eat these words. :)

LOL! Yeah, but you'll still probably come under budget compared to what one of those mega rooms cost -- plus you'll be cooler because you've been hanging out here and have built HT 1.0 already! I can't even imagine how much cooler I'd make a second room. Well, actually, probably not that much cooler to be honest, it's more like if I had the money to add more details to it -- which I would have done in 1.0 if I'd had the money in the first place (which when you've hit the limit you've hit the limit so I guess it doesn't matter and that's why we like 1.0 so much).

Good luck on your second build. Let me know if you start a thread I'd like to watch.

Mike

Who did you order your wet bar cabinets through and what did you pay ball park for them. I am starting to look around for cabinets for my wet bar area. I like that style you picked :)

I PM'd you the price but remember that's just the cabinets. I added pulls, the granite tile, and the sink. I got them from a local cabinet shop. I'm sure you can find one in your area. It helped that he's a really good friend too so I got a "friendly" discount and he and his boys helped me install them.

Mike

They look really nice

Mike, see the link on my signature. Please join in.

Oh, yeah. Well -- I've never been accused of being the most observant person out there ;)

Thanks,
Mike

That is one beautiful HT Mike :)

I just found this thread today and have been soaking in all your work. Good job!

Thanks :)

I have lots of new pictures but everytime I start writing up a new post I never get time to put the pics on the server and then work interrupts (sheesh!) and then I'm home and life interrupts and ... well, you get the point. But maybe I'll get my deadline done early this afternoon and I can post some pics before I go home :)

Mike

Cool I can't wait to see the new pics :)

Mike,

We need pics!

I knew this was coming. Sorry guys but last week I started getting massive headaches and couldn't figure out what it was (lack of sleep, poor eating, allergies, what?!). I finally attributed it to sitting in front of a monitor all day long. Get home, an hour later the headache goes away. Turn the computer on and it's back in 10 minutes and feels like something's exploding in my head!!

So I turned the computer off Saturday night and didn't turn it back on again until this morning.

But, well, let me see if I can upload a few pics to the server and post them ;)

Mike

I have quite a few updates. Let me see if I can do them in chronological order. Guess I'll start with the exhaust fan. I bought a panasonic whisper fan for the closet but after watching movies in there a few times with the walls finished it was obvious I needed something for the PJ heat as well. I took an old Jointer dust hood and with a bit of caulk and some screws I attached it to the face of the fan:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0579.JPG

I would have much rather gone with a regular inline model but figured it would cost me another $50-$70 to ship this one back and upgrade and that assumed I could even ship this one back. So I went with the mod instead.

Here's a look at the supplies that went into getting this in the attic:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0582.JPG

Oh yeah, and there's the foosball table my brother bought me for my birthday. It was fun but it just didn't fit in the room. I had to sell it :(

I should get some pictures of the "handy work" in the attic (I'm sure an HVAC expert would have a heart attack). Here's the finished results of the PJ:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0798.JPG

and the closet (I used another Jointer dust hood above the original hole in the attic for the bath fan that my builder put in the room originally -- it sounded like a jet airplane, not exactly conducive to the quiet theater experience I was looking for):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0799.JPG

Even without the PJ hush box in place (I have to rebuild it, I forgot to take into account the space needed for the cables to attach to the PJ when I built the first one :( ) it still pulls enough heat out of the room during movies to make things much more pleasant. I kick the AC down one degree upstairs (the thermostat is in the hall just oustide the theater room so it's easy to click it down one degree as I go in the room) and that does the trick quite nicely. I figure once I get the hush box built if it's still warm I can always throw a PC fan in the opening in the ceiling to draw more air and power it off the DC line on the PJ.

Okay, I gotta get back to work but I'll see if I can't post more pics this afternoon :rolleyes: .

Mike

Just ran across your thread. Love the Art Deco idea. Great job, can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks, I can't either ;)

Mike

More pics :)

These are of the blackout frames I made to cover up the window in my room. It's more like 3 windows all put together in one. Two windows surrounding a really large window (kind of like a fat upside down T). I basically built some reinforced frames really quick and then wrapped them with some blackout material I had leftover from my temporary curtains we used in the room before the HT started being built for real.

Here's the main frame:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0779.JPG

and here are the side frames being fitted with the blackout material:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0780.JPG


Of course in true "Shelton" style I couldn't just do the job right I had to hurry it along and screw something up along the way (of course). And no sense in messing up just one thing, why not blow several while you're at it ;)

The idea was simple (well to me, I realize as an engineer sometimes we like to make complicated seem simple because it's more fun, right?) -- build frames, wrap them in blackout put some velcro on the face of the frames and the window frames and voila, you've got a blacked out window! Except when you're in a hurry because you promised your kids you'd take them to see your brother's rocket launch that Saturday (he had about 40 rockets to launch several times -- it was amazing, or so I heard :( ). I lost the measurement paper I had made but was pretty sure I remembered the height of the window opening (you're already saying, "Doh!" aren't you?) and cut, glued and nailed the frames. I saved the wrapping for that night. Then I spent 2 hours trying to find the stupid launch site and got the suburban almost stuck out in the middle of nothing but desert and sagebrush (we were a bit off trail at that point, I thought I saw them on another hill -- shortest distance between two points is a straight line as my grandfather used to say). Anyway, several hills later we did find the road again and I got the kids home safely but in tears. Oooh, my wife was NOT happy about that one. Doh!

So that night I wrap the frames, attach the velcro and stick them to the windows only to realize that the middle frame is about 2 inches too short. GACK!! Anyway, with the black curtains there's only one teeny spot where the light sneaks through (you can't notice it until your eyes have adjusted to the darkness and I usually turn a movie on anyway so no one knows but me. But man does that bug me!! (And I missed a great rocket launch to boot!)

So, lesson to share: "Don't hurry anything, you'll lose double the time trying to fix it later :( "

Mike

I really love that thing above your screen, really looks cool!

Mike - I hear you about rushing stuff. It takes all of my will power to force myself to step away once I start to feel that frantic need to hurry. I don't always succeed and often then screw up. So yes, feel/share the pain.

I really love that thing above your screen, really looks cool!

My Art Deco Fan? Glad you like it, it's one of my favorite parts too :D

Mike

Can I just tell you how amazing it was to finally get Tivo up in the theater? We've had it in the family room for about 4 or 5 years now and I don't think there's anything better out there (at least not off the shelf, I've never gone the HTPC route so I have no comment there). When we started the room DirecTV was just moving away from Tivo and using their own unit (which isn't bad but nowhere near as good as the HD Tivo they did have -- from a friend). So I settled with our local cable HD DVR box that was a PIECE OF JUNK! Oh my gosh I hated even using that thing. Every single time I used it all I could think was "what moron created this interface" and "even a child could do better than this!!". It was painful.

Then, after selling my soda fountain I had the money to pick up the new HD Tivo from Amazon (oddly $200 cheaper than the same unit straight from Tivo, go figure) and boy oh boy has my life been bliss since then. In fact, I think that's about the same time my wife started watching more HD TV upstairs with me (before that I could only get her up there for movies).

Around the same time I also managed to fanagle some of my birthday money and father's day money for a new DVD player as well. I went for the Oppo 970 HD. Not just because of the great picture reviews but mostly because it got such great 2 channel audio reviews (even in Stereophile -- that's saying something). Anyway, I brought it home, plugged it in side by side with my current DVD player and burned a demo CD of my favorite tunes (one for each player to do A/B comparisons). It was really cool the differences in sound. I really like the Oppo (oh and it plays great movies too ;) ).

Of course getting new equipment meant reshuffling my equipment closet (glad I hadn't built the rack and custom faceplates yet, though I do need to get that going). I also took the opportunity to upgrade some of my crappier cables (and I do mean crapy) with some nice monoprice cables -- gotta love those beefy cables for such a great price :cool:

Here's pre TIVO and DVD hookup:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0795.JPG

A shot from the back -- not the prettiest site in the world :eek:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0796.JPG

Here we are all hooked up and ready to go (I also bought a nice little 13" LCD monitor from eCost for super cheap, think I'll just put it in a drawer in my rack for when I need it -- great for receiver setups and quick Tivo programming without firing up the PJ). Oh, and I have to share a quote from one of my best friends about the "AWESOME" rack I have going on here ... I think it went something like, "you know, nothing says quality and high end like the purple stool". LOL! I'm sure I'll be getting a call from Stereophile any day to feature this shot in their magazine -- can you believe people pay thousands of dollars for granite stands and stuff like that. I'm sure this was $10 at Wal-mart or something :p

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0801.JPG

And a little view of heaven on the monitor after I fired up the Tivo ... ahhh ...
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0800.JPG




Mike

Mike,

I getting one of those $299 HD-Tivos as well. Did you pay $299 or find it cheaper? CC had it on sale last week for about $30 off I think but I missed it.

BTW -- the back of my rack looks just about as bad as yours right now. I'm actually building my own one of these days.

No, they hadn't come out with the $300 unit yet, they only had their larger unit at $800 (or $600 via Amazon). Bummer, I would have gone with the $300 one if I'd had the chance, I've never filled it up and stuff stays on there for a long time so I'm sure the smaller size would be no big deal whatsoever.

Oh well, no worries -- you're gonna LOVE it :D

Mike

After installing the art deco fan it was obvious that I really needed something to help draw your eye to it when you walk in the room. I decided to use one of those adjustable "eyeball" light things. I can't even begin to tell you how painful it was trying to find the right thing at HD and Lowes. Ugh. I probably made 4-5 trips just for those two lights. Initially I started with 6" cans and lights but realized they were probably too big. Then I tried to find 4" cans but none of them came IC capable (they were all non-IC and my attic is just blown insulation). So I opted for a 5" can (I could get that in IC) but the only eyeball insert came with its own can (no big deal right?) -- heh, I'll show you some pics and explain later why it was a bit of a "big deal".

So to start with since these weren't exactly "planned" lights (ceiling was drywalled when the house was built to pass code) I had to kind of cover up my existing stuff to do the little hole drilling in the ceiling action (it's amazing how much white dust drywall makes when you drill a little hole in it ;)).

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0759.JPG

Closeup of hole (very exciting).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0760.JPG

Prep for light above artwork on the wall.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0761.JPG

Halfway cut through. Because the drywall is double layer I wasn't able to cut all the way through on one side. Oh, and since the fan and the art are in fixed locations it occurred to me as I prepared to drill for the can holes "what if there's a joist in the middle of the can location?" or "what if the joist is too close the can and I can't drill from above (the drywall drill hole cutter thing has a large wing on each side that needs clearance)". But what could I do? So I just marked my center point, drilled a hole through the drywall layers and put a coat hanger (unwrapped) through the hole. I then climbed through the attic (about 100 times by the time I was done!!) and pushed the insulation aside to see whether I had clearance. Both times the hole was in the center of the joists. Man, talk about having someone upstairs on your side :rolleyes:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0765.JPG

As seemed to always be the case for me I found that the stupid "eyeball" light didn't fit into the 5" IC can (it was a 5" light but it's non-IC can was probably 1/2" smaller in diameter than the can I purchased). Ugh. So I once again had to modify things to work -- I can't tell you how tired I get of things not working out of the box :mad: . Eventually I figured out a solution -- I screwed the non-IC can to the inside of the IC can and then attached the eyeball light to the inside of that (kind of like a turducken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken)). LOL! Ahhh...nothing like a little DIY to get your blood pressure up.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0766.JPG


Next week ... painting the trim plates and hanging the eyeball lights.

Mike

OK Mike, I think you've had plenty of time to post updated pics this week. I know what you work on and it isn't that important. And don't go blaming some family vacation for lack of continued updates last week. We've heard that a million times.

;)

Love,
Bill

All right Cridler here are a few new pics for everybody...

Here are the results of my fine (hah!) spray painting skills. I must say that I absolutely LOVE the new Krylon Fusion spray paint product. It went on easy and stuck to anything I sprayed it on. I'll definitely be using more of that stuff.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0757.JPG

As a tip for those who would like to spray with a can but haven't before here's what worked for me:

Shake, shake, shake that can before you start spraying. As long as the can says to.
Continue to shake while you spray -- but only between each coat and make SURE you shake it away from what you've sprayed. I found a couple of weird splotches on my can trim plates and thought it was from the sprayer shooting out a glop of paint or something. Then I realized the next time I was shaking it that I had shaken some built up paint from the spray head onto the item I was painting. GACK!!
Buy one of those $3 (or whatever) handle sprayers it will make your life so much more pleasant.
Spray your initial coats like you're just trying to barely dust the item. It'll barely go on the few times you start spraying it. But that's okay after 3-4 coats (which go on super fast with this product) it'll start building up.
Don't rush trying to build the layers up. On things like my vent covers and the eyeball light trims I had to spray inside curves and that was really hard. I would try to get a good angle and sometimes miss. When that happens just wait until the next coat or you'll get drips appearing from too much buildup if you get frustrated and try spraying again because it didn't go where you want it.


I think my favorite part (besides how easy it was) of this paint job was spraying the cover to my smoke alarm. (*Yes, I took the actual alarm out of the case this was just the cover and base piece*) As I was painting it I could make out some text on the cover and it read "Do not paint this". LOL!

Here is a final picture of one of the can trims installed in the ceiling:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm13/IMG_0762.JPG

The corner return vent (I stuck the screws in some cardboard to hold them vertical and sprayed those too):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0775.JPG

Here's a shot that shows an HVAC vent, a can light and in the back you can just make out the eyeball light pointing at the new art piece in the room:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_0776.JPG

Mike

Here are the results of my fine (hah!) spray painting skills. I must say that I absolutely LOVE the new Krylon Fusion spray paint product. It went on easy and stuck to anything I sprayed it on. I'll definitely be using more of that stuff.

That looks like it turned out really nice. I've been poking around on Krylon's website and there are five different Krylon Fusions. Which one did you use and which black is that?

All right Cridler here are a few new pics for everybody...

Here are the results of my fine (hah!) spray painting skills. I must say that I absolutely LOVE the new Krylon Fusion spray paint product. It went on easy and stuck to anything I sprayed it on. I'll definitely be using more of that stuff.


As a tip for those who would like to spray with a can but haven't before here's what worked for me:

Shake, shake, shake that can before you start spraying. As long as the can says to.
Continue to shake while you spray -- but only between each coat and make SURE you shake it away from what you've sprayed. I found a couple of weird splotches on my can trim plates and thought it was from the sprayer shooting out a glop of paint or something. Then I realized the next time I was shaking it that I had shaken some built up paint from the spray head onto the item I was painting. GACK!!
Buy one of those $3 (or whatever) handle sprayers it will make your life so much more pleasant.
Spray your initial coats like you're just trying to barely dust the item. It'll barely go on the few times you start spraying it. But that's okay after 3-4 coats (which go on super fast with this product) it'll start building up.
Don't rush trying to build the layers up. On things like my vent covers and the eyeball light trims I had to spray inside curves and that was really hard. I would try to get a good angle and sometimes miss. When that happens just wait until the next coat or you'll get drips appearing from too much buildup if you get frustrated and try spraying again because it didn't go where you want it.


I think my favorite part (besides how easy it was) of this paint job was spraying the cover to my smoke alarm. (*Yes, I took the actual alarm out of the case this was just the cover and base piece*) As I was painting it I could make out some text on the cover and it read "Do not paint this". LOL!

Here is a final picture of one of the can trims installed in the ceiling:


The corner return vent (I stuck the screws in some cardboard to hold them vertical and sprayed those too):


Here's a shot that shows an HVAC vent, a can light and in the back you can just make out the eyeball light pointing at the new art piece in the room:


Mike

Mike... nice job! I did the exact same thing: light can trim rings, A/C registers, air grills, and smoke detector all black.

When my inspector came out, he was going to fail me for not having a smoke detector... I had to point it out on the black ceiliing :D

Looks like we have very similar color schemes...

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1888.jpg

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1967.jpg

That looks like it turned out really nice. I've been poking around on Krylon's website and there are five different Krylon Fusions. Which one did you use and which black is that?

Don't remember. I still have some at home, I'll post it when I get back tonight.

Mike

Mike... nice job! I did the exact same thing: light can trim rings, A/C registers, air grills, and smoke detector all black.

When my inspector came out, he was going to fail me for not having a smoke detector... I had to point it out on the black ceiliing :D

Looks like we have very similar color schemes...

LOL! That's pretty good. Got any more photos? Looks like a nice room.

Mike

Mike,

Haven't been by in awhile but glad I stopped by. The place is coming together great. I sure like the main screen wall great job there :)

Looking forward to more pics
Cheers
Calvin

Haven't been by in awhile but glad I stopped by. The place is coming together great. I sure like the main screen wall great job there

Looking forward to more pics
Cheers
Calvin

Thanks a bunch! Yeah, I'm hoping if I post more (I've got a bit of a backlog of pictures) that when I run out of pictures I'll be somehow motivated to start working on my equipment rack, center stand, PJ box and theatre sign :D

Mike

That looks like it turned out really nice. I've been poking around on Krylon's website and there are five different Krylon Fusions. Which one did you use and which black is that?

I didn't know there were so many products but I pulled up the website and found:

Krylon® Fusion for Plastic®
Krylon® Fusion for Plastic® Fusion Hammered
Krylon® Fusion for Plastic® Fusion Metallic Shimmer
Krylon® Fusion for Plastic® Fusion Mystic Prism
Krylon® Fusion for Plastic® Textured Shimmer

I grabbed my can and it looks like I'm using the basic "Krylon Fusion for Plastic". It's satin black.

I thought about trying the "Hammered" on my equipment rack and panels but got squemish so I'm going to punt and just go with the basic stuff again. I supposed I should probably try a different product but this stuff bonded to my metal parts just as well as the plastic ones so I think I'll stick with what works.

Should work great for you. Let me know if you have other questions.

Mike

Theater is looking great nice work.

LOL! That's pretty good. Got any more photos? Looks like a nice room.

Mike

Thanks... we are very pleased with it. We love the color scheme and use it ALL the time. I may have to re-think my budgeting for projector lamp replacements! ;)

Incidentally, I had to seperate the ring from the rest of the reflector in order to paint it on some of my fixtures, as I went with a set of gold reflectors for the main room:
http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1616.jpg


I have my picture site here. (http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1967.htm)

I really should take some better "final" pictures.

I lucked out with my lights, the recessed portions were already black, all I had to do was take the trim pieces off and spray just those. Matched really well.

Your room turned out fantastic, I like the look and your chairs are sweet -- still on my todo list to build myself some cupholders :)

Mike

I've been meaning to take pictures of my candy cabinet but every time I'd think of it we were more or less out of candy and I figured that wouldn't be much of a photo (a couple of empty boxes of "Mike n Ikes" isn't all that impressive ;)). But a couple of weeks ago my wife went shopping and came back with a serious haul so I decided to snap a few photos before movie nights depleted the supply again (which are all the time around here these days -- wonder why :p ).

Here's one of how the cabinet looks through the reeded glass:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_1447.JPG

Closeup of the same shot:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_1449.JPG

Couple of shots with the doors open showing the goodness that is within ;). I had a hard time controlling the flash reflection so I took a couple.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_1451.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm12/IMG_1452.JPG

One thing my wife did for me this last time was to pick up those sealable jars and I must say I REALLY like those. In fact, next time she goes out for another candy haul I'm requesting several more. They keep the candy nice and fresh. I love fresh "Sour Patch Kids" and they go stale fast once you open a box. Plus now we can buy in bulk from Costco too :)

Mike

I'll know the place I'll hit first on my visit to "The Deco" house :D

LOL! You're welcome anytime. Though I think you'll have to fight my wife for the hot tamales if those happen to be your thing :D

Mike

Hehe... my wife got some sealable jars with glass that matches our bar pendants as well... also stocked with yummy goodness.

Nice job on the cupboard mike... looks good.

I had no idea there was such a well-stocked candy cabinet! That takes a little of the sting out of losing the pop machine (which I still weep over ;) ). Now I definitely need to get over there and see this thing in person.

You know, I only started coming to this site to watch the progress of your theater. Now I find myself wondering how a screen and projector would fit in my family room (and, more importantly, how I'd convince my wife that it's a good idea). I'm never going to be able to look at another house again without wondering which room would be best for a theater. Thanks!

Bill (Mike's coworker currently experiencing theater-envy)

I showed my wife the photo of the candy cabinet and her only comment was "That looks nice. You want to get fat?" :) I've got a nasty sweat-tooth. That think would be pure bliss, but also pure evil on my waste line.

That think would be pure bliss, but also pure evil on my waste line.

It might also add to your waist line while causing troubles with your waste line. ;)

Mike... nice job! I did the exact same thing: light can trim rings, A/C registers, air grills, and smoke detector all black.

When my inspector came out, he was going to fail me for not having a smoke detector... I had to point it out on the black ceiliing :D

Looks like we have very similar color schemes...

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1888.jpg

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1967.jpg


What sconce is that on the left wall where did you get it ?

Wha?!? No Sno Caps?

That reminds me, I'll have to make a candy run at Walmart this week. We've got people oming in town this weekend and my daughters bday party. Maybe I'll join Costco this week.

Looking good Mike!

Bud

Ah yes Costco I just bought diapers for our first kid. I swear I have so many there would be some left for me when I'm ancient if only they would fit. I think you can buy chocolate syrup there in 50 gallon drums :P

It might also add to your waist line while causing troubles with your waste line. ;)

Harhar. That's what I get for trying to zip off a message before rushing home. :o

I had no idea there was such a well-stocked candy cabinet!

Yes, my wife keeps a steady supply. Each of those boxes is usually 4-5 deep in the cabinet :cool:

Last night she got back from Wal-mart and Costco and had 4 new sealable jars and 4lb bags of Reeses Pieces, Mike & Ikes and Hot Tamales. Let the munchies begin!!

Mike

What sconce is that on the left wall where did you get it ?

Here are some closer shots:
http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_2126.jpg

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_2128.jpg

My bar pendants match:
http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_2011.jpg

http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_1937.jpg

More pics at My Basement Photo Site (http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/index.htm)

They are made by Elk lighting. Here are the exact model #'s and the pricing I found for them online:


406-1ES PENDANT - 46.11 ea.
530-1ES WALL LIGHT - 55.65 ea.

I bought them online at www.LightingOnTheNet.com
(http://www.LightingOnTheNet.com)

PS- The sconce chassis was white, so I spray painted the edges (visible when looking "down the wall") black, but that was specifically to match my color scheme. I left the "reflector" portion of the chassis white.

Great theater and thread Mike.

I just sent you a PM :)

Mike

Wow, I have been out of it. I don't even know what this means (that or I'm still struggling from the Jet Lag to Singapore). Did you know it's a $1000 fine to ride your bike in a walkway tunnel? Or that it's a $500 fine to eat or drink on the subway. Uh, huh. Though I must say the subway is pretty much the cleanest I've seen in the world!!

Mike

Hi Mike,

Greetings from Singapore!! I must say it was a truly fantastic job you did... for your Art Deco Theatre.

I recently bought an Art Deco apartment which is conserved by the government (ie they wont acquire it nor are we allowed to tear it down to build a skycraper though its near the city centre - 5 mins). Read more about that and view pics starting from this post: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=4604556&postcount=5

I like the Art Deco movement and will revamp the insides to match the exterior... pls give me some feedback & ideas (on that forum) as I outline mine in the following forum http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=514291


Check out the exterior
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14901993&postcount=228


& picturesque views at
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14901960&postcount=227

I cried for you too when you sold the soda machine... was planning to add some Coke collectibles in mine...

Anyways, you do have a fan for your admirable DIY job, and I must admit you are really good at it..., any sites that I can visit to get Art Deco DIY blueprints or ideas or forums of detailed progress of DIY like yours & scaesare?

Hi Mike,

Greetings from Singapore!! I must say it was a truly fantastic job you did... for your Art Deco Theatre.

Talk about a small world. Good to hear from you :D


I recently bought an Art Deco apartment which is conserved by the government (ie they wont acquire it nor are we allowed to tear it down to build a skycraper though its near the city centre - 5 mins). Read more about that and view pics starting from this post: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=4604556&postcount=5

I like the Art Deco movement and will revamp the insides to match the exterior... pls give me some feedback & ideas (on that forum) as I outline mine in the following forum http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=514291

Check out the exterior
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14901993&postcount=228


Wow, that's a cool building, I love the curved sides and the 3 vertical "thingees" in the front of the building. I think one of my favorite aspects of Art Deco was all the layers. Very nice. Have you seen "Batman Begins"? I love the furniture in Bruce Wayne's parents' room -- mega sweet! Another cool Art Deco scene is in "The Polar Express" when they're on the train and they sneak into the back of the train there's a high end car that has some incredible Art Deco elements. I would have LOVED to have had seats like the ones in that car -- the chrome elements were really cool. In fact, I'm thinking of doing something similar to that effect on my projector hush box (except instead of chrome I'll just use painted MDF so I can get the shapes I want more easily). I also want to do an Art Deco touch on my center stand (maybe make the legs in an Art Deco shape or perhaps just an emblem on the front, haven't decided). Then there are the doors (closet and room) and on and on. ;)

I cried for you too when you sold the soda machine... was planning to add some Coke collectibles in mine...

Anyways, you do have a fan for your admirable DIY job, and I must admit you are really good at it..., any sites that I can visit to get Art Deco DIY blueprints or ideas or forums of detailed progress of DIY like yours & scaesare?

Yeah, it was a bummer to sell the pop machine but it was definitely the right call, the maintenance costs would have been high and the benefit would have been low (at least for me -- my favorite pop doesn't come in syrup).

As for where I got my deco inspiration I mostly checked out all the books at our library that were about deco art, architecture, etc. Then I went through them and put about 100 or so bookmarks throughout them. After that I just went through each one trying to decide which elements I liked the best and would just sketch out the various parts and then I took the sketches and used them in a number of mockups and ran them by friends and family for input. The final results are probably round 6 or 7 of the drawings.

Good luck with your project!

Mike

Hey Mike, I can't believe I haven't stopped by your thread until now. Just spent some time going through it. Looks great! I love the custom sconces and fan above the screen. You should be very proud of what you've done!!

Hm, now this is my idea of an Art Deco candy stand:

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb101/Arwenmark/fox20ron2.jpg

Hey Mike, I can't believe I haven't stopped by your thread until now. Just spent some time going through it. Looks great! I love the custom sconces and fan above the screen. You should be very proud of what you've done!!

Thanks :D

Funny how great comments like these give you the shot in the arm you need to get motivated to do some more work. Think I might get those books back from the library and start planning my closet doors, the equipment rack, the PJ hush box and the center stand.

Good to hear from ya!

Mike

Hm, now this is my idea of an Art Deco candy stand...

McCall, that's a great pic! I love the round edges of the counter. When I first drew up my theater I had planned on having my wet bar look like that (with the round sides). Unfortunately my imagination outran my pocketbook. Cheapest place I could find to do something custom like that was about $2000 a linear foot :eek: I probably could do it myself but it would have taken me about 5 years given my speed at woodworking :(

Another lifetime perhaps :p

Mike

All this talk of getting back to work and I'm on my wife's coffee table again. I promised her that I'd finish it by the end of September. Maybe she'll let me upgrade to the new HD980 Oppo DVD player when I'm done -- I've read that the audio upgrades are worthwhile. Has anyone picked one up and have they done any audio comparisons with it?

A couple of my friends are coming over this weekend for a few hours of "audio fest" :) One of them just got some 532s from Aperion Audio and the 422s for surrounds. We're going to hook those up and see how well they sound as well as how they compare to the 633Ts. I've also had some nagging doubts about using a dipole/bipole speaker in the rear of my room for my 6.1 and will experiment with his 532s in the back for 7.1 and see if it sounds any better (that'd be a pretty easy upgrade -- maybe even a nice Christmas present!). My other friend is bringing his Marantz DVD player that he raves about for 2 channel audio performance so we'll be doing some side by sides with the Oppo HD970 for kicks.

I did prime the door frame in the hallway to the theater. I'm hoping to hire my neighbor's sister to swing by and finish it with the Xylene based paint our house trim was painted with (I'm not good with a brush and paint). I figure $20 for a door frame is easy for her and really easy for me :)

Mike

I wish that I would have had the extra space behind my back row of seats for a concession area. I have really enjoyed the thread and will keep on looking for updates. Amazing project which looks fantastic.:)

Thanks :D

No real updates lately other than I got the door jam repainted in the hallway from when I pulled the trim off to mount the solid core door. I borrowed my brother's xbox and so I've spent a few hours with that instead of working. But now I have a new kick I'm wanting to try -- sound panels. I've wanted them for some time now and a buddy finally got some and WOW do they make a big difference. So I got the green light from "the boss" and I'll be putting up 3 panels across the front and 2 in the back. Wish I could do some on the sides but I don't know how given there's a window on the left and the wetbar on the right. It'll be interesting to see what the difference is with the 5 panels I'm planning now.

I promised to finish my wife's coffee table I'm making her so it'll probably be November by the time I get to the panels. Plus there's still the center channel stand, projector box, rack, theater marquee and a few touchups. Almost there :)

Mike

Hey Mike,

Any pics of that completed coffee table? I would really like to see more of your handywork!

Mike,

Where the new pics my friend? I know your up to something great you've been to quite for too long ;)

Cheers
Calvin

Hey Calvin! I never even saw this post, and yep, you're right ... I've got quite the story (or stories) to tell :)

Where to begin. Well, how about starting out with a HUGE thank you to my new best friend in the world -- NINTENDO. Yep, that's right -- I LOVE Nintendo. More particularly I love the Wii. And I guess if we are going to get technical about it (when do I not?) I also love my wife!

What does that all mean? It means that a month before Christmas my wife and I started talking about getting a Wii for the kids. I was all for it but it wasn't in the budget -- especially when you throw in all the extra controllers and games. Then somehow she came across a news story about how hard they were to find and that people were selling them on eBay. Which of course brought up the question, "can we do that?" Sure we can I said. So she started driving around town and after being able to snag one here and two there we listed them. The first few netted a decent return and she was hooked. Pretty soon she had all the store phone numbers in town and the town next door memorized, she knew what days the frieght showed up for which stores, she knew which order the freight truck took to deliver at each store. She was calling her mom and brother to help pick extras up (after they limited the items to 1 per person) -- I got calls all the time in the middle of the day, "What are you doing?! Head to this Walmart and talk to this guy, he'll give you three -- go NOW!" I've got to tell you it was the most fun I've had in a long time :)

Anyway, 48 Wiis later (did I tell you she was on a mission!?) I got the green light to not only buy a Wii and controllers and games for our family but I also got the green light to upgrade my projector, I bought a PS3 for Blu-ray, a Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player, DirecTV HD DVR and a ton of HD & Blu-ray movies. WOOHOO!!!

Pictures will be coming tonight :)

As for theater progress that's got the green light again as Rachel from Electronic House asked to do an article on my room and so I set a deadline to be finished by the end of Jan -- imagine my panic at this point ;) I even have the bloody forehead wound to show I'm making progress again!!

Ahh ... it's good to be back :D

Mike

Geez, nice little enterprise you got there, Mike! What projector did you go with?

Bud

No wonder I had to buy a wii on Ebay for my kids for christmas :( I started looking in late october and it always seemed I would miss getting one by minutes

No wonder I had to buy a wii on Ebay for my kids for christmas :( I started looking in late october and it always seemed I would miss getting one by minutes

Ugh, yeah, sorry about that Scott :o

Mike

Geez, nice little enterprise you got there, Mike! What projector did you go with?

Bud

I went with the Panasonic PT-AX100U (last year's model). Figure I'll hold on to that for a year or two until 1080p comes down in price (you can already get the Mits HC4900 for almost the price of the Panny AX200!!). It's crazy how prices have changed. I spent $1200 on my Optoma H31 (480p). It was nice, the colors were awesome and it was a great way to start. But man, these new 720p projectors are mind blowing!! I can't believe the picture quality. I love playing Need for Speed Pro Street on the PS3 -- I feel like I'm really in the car. The details are just amazing!!

Anyway, it's good to be back in the swing of things on the room. I've scheduled the open house for the Saturday before the Superbowl with a little party the next night as well. Combine that with the magazine deadline and the pressure's on. (But that's the only way I ever get something done -- gotta have a looming deadline to get motivated, I like the rush ;)).

I just finished the rolling base for my equipment rack. I'll go take some photos and try to post them tomorrow morning (geez, it's already morning -- I better get some sleep).

Later,
Mike

Here are some pictures :)


This of course is my current rack -- bet you can't imagine why I'd want something different when this is already the most awesomest thing in the whole world!!

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_0801.JPG


So far I've been bouncing back and forth on the design itself and I think I've finally solved the major problems I was facing (I'll talk about those in another post). Here's the basic part of the base. I was blown away at how much this thing weighs!! It'll definitely be able to handle a few hundred pounds no problems.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2334.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2336.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2337.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2338.JPG


Mike

I was just looking at my current rack photo and realized that's a pre-Christmas picture -- where are all the new goodies?! :P

Here's an updated one (the monitor has been taken apart so I can put it in the rack so it's no longer in the photo):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2339.JPG


And of course I couldn't resist a great example of my beautiful wire management techniques (don't try this at home kids!):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2340.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2342.JPG

Mike

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2342.JPG

Mike,

When did I send you this pick of my setup?? :)

All too familiar....all too familiar

Scott

Um, Mike, I would say that rolly thing is a little "over-engineered".

..... be careful when using those dolly wheels. When they turn to the rear they can make things tipsy. Don't go to high...... I would move them closer to the corners. I have them on my cabinet and ended up moving them out.

Mike,

When did I send you this pick of my setup?? :)

All too familiar....all too familiar

Scott

LOL! Yeah, I thought that'd strike a harmonious chord with many of my fellow AVS'ers out there :eek:

Mike

Um, Mike, I would say that rolly thing is a little "over-engineered".

Yeah, I know. And that was the "simple" version I came up with. You should have seen the initial complicated ones my mind came up with. I never could do easy ;)

Mike

..... be careful when using those dolly wheels. When they turn to the rear they can make things tipsy. Don't go to high...... I would move them closer to the corners. I have them on my cabinet and ended up moving them out.

I know, I wish there was a way to make it wider. I might try to move them out a bit more but I am going to install a rail system on the side that should prevent it from tiping forward to the side or back. Basically it'll be an additional 2x4 on the side of the base that runs all the way back into the closet. Then as I pull it forward it will be braced in on the top by some angle iron running horizontal to the closet (I'll send pics). That will keep it from tipping side to side as well as forward. To prevent it tipping back I'll have some knobs on the end of the 2x4 to prevent it from being able to move down.

Once again I've probably TOTALLY over-engineered this thing :p But, as I mentioned to Scott earlier it's all I seem to know how to do.

Thanks for the warning though, I can't imagine having a fully loaded rack tip over on me -- that would be BAAAD!

Mike

Hey Mike, welcome back to work. Missed the updates on your great theater. All that in-house estrogen must have slowed down your "manly" work. Good to see you back where you belong (working on the theater and playing with tools)

Yeah, that must have been it -- no way was it all the great HD movies or PS3 games I was playing in the last month ;)

Mike

Got the rack face painted tonight -- wahoo!! :D

I went online to see what the best was for painting aluminum (non-professional anyway) and found that Krylon High Temp works well so went with that.

First applied a few coats of gray primer. Will need to keep it to one coat I think on the face plates as the primer filled in the brush marks a bit too much for my tastes, bummer but at least I learned on something that will barely show anyway once all the faceplates are in place.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2343.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2348.JPG


Then a few coats of semi-gloss black. Finally starting to get a feel for painting with spray cans -- it actually turned out pretty nice ;)

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2349.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm14/IMG_2351.JPG


Tomorrow morning I hope to tackle the rail system to prevent the rack from tipping and then put the frame of the rack together and mount some shelves. If I can get that done (heh, who am I kidding!) then I'll try putting some equipment in there :p

Probably not, I totally forgot to get the right screws for the rack itself. I might be able to find some at a computer network place in town but otherwise I'll need to order them. Oh well...

Off to watch some Stargate Atlantis -- IN HI-DEF BABY!! Yeah...

Mike

Mike, how about taking off the rotating wheels and instead go for wheels that don't spin? If you need to pull the rack out, it just needs to go straight out and back, right? Or the other option would be to have rotating wheels on either the front or back and the fixed wheels in the opposite position.

I thought about that and probably should have gone with fixed wheels but originally I pictured myself pulling it out and then rotating it to the side so I could easily get to everything. At this point with the rail system there is 0% chance that the thing can tip. My closet is about 4' deep and the rack is 18" deep so I end up with roughly 30" under the rails at all times. Given the way I've over engineered this thing it would take Hercules to tip it over :)

Now if I can just find some poor sap to help me get it up the stairs ;)

Mike

Now if I can just find some poor sap to help me get it up the stairs ;)


I will be happy to play the sucker that helps drag that thing up the stairs. I think we can accomplish the mission with only moderate damage to the walls. ;)

You know the number....

-James

Heh, I almost called. It was about 12:00 or 12:30 last night. My lovely bride helped me lug it upstairs -- it actually wasn't too bad. On the other hand I about blew a hernia when I lifted my receiver to the top shelf!! Man I forgot how much that thing weighs -- it's a freaking tank!

I then spent the next 4 hours working on the rail system -- I should have known better than to even start that part of the project but I made the mistake of pulling out my equipment to make room (that took an hour all by itself) and then there was no turning back at that point.

Made a few errors along the way (is it possible to not make errors at 3:00am??) but I think some minor tweaking and I'll be good to go. Good news is that the design is very sound -- that puppy isn't going ANYWHERE! :cool:

Pictures are on their way...

Mike

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days -- it was "post on AVS" or "work on the theater". I went with the later. I'll see if I can post some pics tomorrow...

In the meantime though I did want to hop on and give two thumbs WAY UP for the Buffalo Electronics IR repeater system. Man oh man is that sweet! I can't believe I haven't done that sooner. I was so sick of pointing the remote over my shoulder for everything, and half the time the Toshiba A3 wouldn't even pick it up. Now I just point it at the front of the room and everything responds perfectly. Ahhh...Nirvana!

That's it for now time for some shut eye.

Mike

PS. The rack is looking really sweet -- got the custom face plates all cut out and edges bent today after work, just waiting on the rack screws so I can line everything up to measure the cutouts for the equipment.

Okay, time for some pictures -- 'cause that's what we like best, right?


Here we are putting the front rails on the rolling base for my rack. The height of the rails makes that base look REALLY puny. And yeah, this thing was easy to tip over in its current state -- but I solved that problem as you'll see later.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2353.JPG


Once I got the back 2x4 uprights on I thought it looked kind of strange. So I went around to the back to look at it and -- "Uh, Houston, we have a problem!"

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2355.JPG


And with a bit of adjustment and good use of a level -- problem solved:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2356.JPG


I utilized not only the base part of the rack (on both the rails and the 2x4 uprights) but also the top cross bars which proved to be quite stable after it was all put together.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2404.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2405.JPG


Up next...shelves.

Mike

I wasn't sure what to do about the shelves. I really wanted to just use the Mid-Atlantic shelves for each component but they were too expensive for my budget (which of course ran out of money over a year ago :eek:). I opted to build my own. Which proves slightly difficult when you're working with both wood and aluminum as your building materials. Namely the aluminum is problematic. So I ripped a 2x4 into strips and attached those to the inside of the rails. Once I had wood on the inside of the rails I was able to easily attach the shelf standards (got those from Lee Valley (www.leevalley.com) for anyone interested). The shelf clips go in every 1/2" so it was plenty flexible.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2407.JPG


I used a combination of 1/2" and 3/4" shelving material due to where the device needed to line up with the face plates and the fact that the shelf clips only go every 1/2" (sometimes I needed an extra 1/4" so I would use 3/4" material instead of 1/2" -- though that worked out really well because things like my 5000lb receiver got a 3/4" shelf).

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2409.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2410.JPG

Up next ... rack install in the closet.

Mike

It took me over an hour to unplug all my equipment and get it out of the closet. I wish I had taken a photo of what it looked like as it was an absolute MESS! But I did manage to take a vacuum cleaner to it (which sounded a lot like the scene where elasti-girl is vacuuming out Mr. Incredible's office and she keeps hitting all these clunky objects).

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2411.JPG

I can't remember the last time I saw that thing so clean! Next up is installing the posts for the rails to mount on. Question is, how do you find studs behind 2 5/8" drywall layers with GreenGlue in between? I bought a deep stud finder but it didn't work so well when we tried to use it for installing the wet bar cabinets. So I turned to good old fashioned physics -- MAGNETS :D I had a collection of rare earth magnets and just lined them up between two pieces of tape. Then I slid that line across the inside of the closet and when it would stick to the wall -- viola, a stud!

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2413.JPG


Here are the rails that attach to the base and stick out behind it. I basically pocket screwed a small end on each with one of those gliding bottom thingees that you put on chair legs for hardwood floors (not the felt but the plastic stuff).

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2414.JPG


Remember how I always over-engineer everything? Here's a fun picture of the bolts I used to secure the angle iron to the support posts. To help get an idea of the size of the thing I put a #8 3" screw next to it. Also, it takes a 3/4" socket to screw it in :p.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2416.JPG


Here's a shot with the angle iron installed on both sides:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2417.JPG


Closeup:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2419.JPG


Mike

Well, it wouldn't be a true Shelton project if something didn't go wrong! Turns out it's not such a good idea to be doing hard things like "measuring" at 2:30am. I got one of the angle iron holes in reverse order, one of the MDF "washers" had the hole in the wrong place and finally when I went to slide in the rack after attaching the rails to the base it went in about 2" and got stuck. Ugh, I'd put the angle iron on too low. I was dumbfounded :confused:. At that point it was about 3:30am and I think I sat there staring at the thing until about 4:00am and finally went to bed (was up again at 6:40am for 8:00am church -- wow was I wiped that day!).

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2420.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2422.JPG


A few days later I was able to work on it again and found that the weight of the rack had caused the base to sit slightly lower than what was originally measured (carpet pad compression) and that by cutting a 1/4" off the length of the small 2x4 at the end of the rail (the small vertical piece) the rails were able to easily slide under the angle iron.

Cool thing is, it actually works like it was designed :) It can't tip side to side. It can't tip forward and doesn't tip backwards -- success!


Mike

looking great Mike!! Man that pull out av rack was a project. All the wires have to be extra long for that to work. that is definitely something to think ahead about! Keep up the great work.

I noticed your counter was granite squares. Is your bar also?
I am going with the envirotex (epoxy) stuff for doing all my counters.

Larry

Thanks Larry :)

The counter is the bar unless I'm not understanding your question. It's just all along the right side wall. The sink is towards the right which leaves the left side for popcorn machine, freezer (for ice) and microwave. It's all the same surface and it's all granite.

Is your counter top wood then? Is that the epoxy you basically pour on the surface or do you roll it on or something? I've always wondered what it would be like to try that.

Mike

Mike,

Nice job on the pull out rack. I have to say after looking at all the work you did I'm glad I got lazy and just bought mine :)

Looking forward the "filled rack" pics which should be coming soon ;)

Cheers
Calvin

I had a few problems that I'll share with anyone wanting to build their own rack:

Yes, using a level will get your rack sides aligned properly and your shelves lined up like you would want.
No, forgetting to level the surface that the rack is being built on first will not help your rails and shelves end up level :eek:. DOH!
I used the metal rails up front and wood in the back. The metal is 1" wide and the wood is 1-1/2" wide. I didn't think about it but I put the extra 1" in combined width to the inside of the shelves -- which was a problem when I added the 1/4" thick shelf standards, I couldn't recess my receiver all the way as it was the deepest piece of equipment (of course nothing I couldn't solve with a few well placed screws and a quick attack with the Sawzall :D).
May I suggest if you have the money to go ahead and just buy either a midatlantic rack or one of the myriad of competitors out there (I found a few that had prices that were close to 50% less than MA).


Now, having given the bad there are definitely a few good things to go with that:

Nothing, and I mean nothing is better than being able to stand up behind all of your equipment and easily plug in all of your cabling. I would design your rack to either slide out or have an access door behind everything -- it is ABSOLUTELY worth it :)
Racks are cool, you've got to have a rack :cool:.
IR repeaters are sweet! Maybe you want your rack in another room -- no problem at all.
Avoid 3' cables they're really hard to work with -- I have mostly 6' cables and they definitely make things much easier.
Did I mention racks are cool?!



Here are a few pics of setting up my rack (well at least the first time, I'm sure I will have forgotten something and have to take it down once or twice before I'm done ;).

Back of the rack (without cables -- about as a clean as that shot will ever be):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2424.JPG

Side shot with some cables in (notice the "slight" lean forward -- yeah, level floor when building is a MUST -- but that will be easy to fix when I secure it in the closet):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2476.JPG

Even with all the equipment in the rack there's still a mess of wires in the closet. When the face plates are all done I'll work on wiring management next.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2477.JPG

Not too bad -- having HDMI do video and audio (where possible) sure simplifies the hookups on the receiver:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2478.JPG

Mmm...definitely could use a zip tie or two (or twenty):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2479.JPG


Mike

Ran out of photos on the last post so here are a few more showing the front of the rack and the rack slid in (yeah!).


Current set of equipment installed (I say current because I've already decided to sell my Series3 Tivo HD and replace the HR-21 DirecTV HD-DVR with an older HR-20 model so I can use the antennae input for local HD channels):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2481.JPG

And finally -- after a few fixes to the rail system so it would slide properly -- the rack is slid into the closet (still need to build the face plates though):
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2482.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm15/IMG_2485.JPG


Mike

Rack looks very nice. I feel our pain on the cost of the Mid-Atlantic stuff. I finally broke done and order some custom shelfs today that hurt the wallet hope my wife does not find out. Looking at all the work you did Finally convinced me.

Todd

LOL! I know it. I'm only half way done too. I still have to figure out how to get all the faces to fit properly -- not looking forward to that part of the process.

Funny thing is, my wife offered to let me buy the face plates from MA if I agreed to take a day off and clean the garage. Not sure if it was the garage cleaning or the cost of the custom plates that did it but I couldn't pull the trigger on that deal. So I'm stuck doing it myself. Can't wait 'till this part is over.

Mike

Mike,

Good thing you didn't jump at the "deal" your wife offered sounds like it would have been a bad one ;)
Heck I just moved and it cost me almost $400 to get dump truck out to clean up my garage after my majority HT construction ended (I think I did spend more on face plates but still - non paid work was involved by myself in the cleaning of the garage before the truck arrived).

Good luck with the rest its looking good
Cheers
Calvin

Thanks, yeah I'm glad I put off the garage. But that's just it -- I'm only putting it off. I'm guessing once I get done with Theatre 1.0 I'll be doing the garage for February and then I can start work on 2.0 stuff (not a full redo, just features that didn't get into 1.0 like sound panels, cup holders for the couch, decorative elements over the sink, behind the door and on the closet doors, etc).

Mike

Its funny that you talked about the garage. I was very firmly informed that I could not get back on the theater this weekend unless she could put her car in the garage. There goes Saturday.

Todd

LOL! Yeah, I always try to keep the garage free for her car. If a car gets sacrificed to the Home Theatre Build -- it's my car :p (which has happened quite often).

Good luck with the clean out -- hope it goes quickly ;)

Mike

The counter is the bar unless I'm not understanding your question. It's just all along the right side wall. The sink is towards the right which leaves the left side for popcorn machine, freezer (for ice) and microwave. It's all the same surface and it's all granite.

Is your counter top wood then? Is that the epoxy you basically pour on the surface or do you roll it on or something? I've always wondered what it would be like to try that.

Mike
love the granite!

The counter is 2 sheets of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood, glue and screw (1.25 inch screws) togeather. I will be using 2 sheets of mdf for the kitchenette.(cheaper)
You are suppose to pour it on and use a flat like surface (like a credit card) to spread it. I found pouring it on in small batches and using a high density 4 inch roller for spreading worked fine.then embedding product (salt,pepper,glitter,copper etc...)as I go along works perty good. The last coat just needs enough to flood and cover. What is good about it is if you did not stir or whip up enough you can always add more. at least in the temperture of the basement right know. In the summer it will cure faster if the ac isn't on.
I will add car wax or pledge to make it slick and more scratch resistent.

If you want a piano finish It is a good way to go.

Lest anyone think I've fallen off the bandwagon and quit working on my room I've decided to post a bunch of photos of what I've been doing for the last week. I was trying REALLY hard to finish by the end of the month but a few things got in the way (like going to the ER with my daughter who fell out of her crib and broke her wrist for example). Mostly I stuck with the "post pictures or work on the room" mentality and work on the room won out.

I just finished spraying my rack plates but I'm getting ahead of myself :)

Okay, let's see, what did I do first since I was last here. Ah, yes, I got all of the rack plates cut (the ears), bent and the holes punched. I put them on the rack for a trial "does that fit". And no, in some cases it didn't. What annoyed me the most was the pieces I purchased had holes that weren't even close to where they should have been. But, that's my luck really -- if I buy something it will inevitably require modification -- i.e. TIME. Ugh.

For example, here's a hole that fits:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2547.JPG

Here's one I had to mod:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2546.JPG

Nice.


Okay, so I get the pieces modified and in the rack:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2491.JPG

Of course now I have to figure out how to properly measure the openings for each device...step one, get my blue tape (I love my blue tape :D).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2493.JPG

I use the tape to indicate where the ears are for the plate. I pull the plate and then use a 90deg try square and a small ruler to measure the distance from top and bottom on both sides to the face of each device:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2494.JPG

Next comes the part I hope no one EVER does again (kids, don't try this at home, only stupid adults even attempt it) -- try to cut out their own rack plates. I think the only way I'd ever suggest doing this for yourself is if you want to pay someone to do it (more than you'd pay to buy the plates most likely) or you have access to a laser cutter. I did not. Instead, I had access to an employee available metal shop. Mostly world war II stuff, but built like a rock and still running strong. I used the equipment to cut the ears, bend the edges, etc. Then I put one of the pieces into the end mill with the idea of simply making a couple of passes with a tiny bit and Voila, I'm done. Not.

Turns out the vice couldn't quite hold my plates (I'd cut MDF pieces to go underneath) and the bits kept shattering as the plate would shift. So I kept going up in bit size: 1/16", 1/8", 1/4". The 1/4" didn't work too bad I just had to go slow. TWO HOURS LATER I'd only done 1/3 of the FIRST PASS!! Oh my gosh, I have 7 of these things to cut and this one's the smallest!!!

I'm totally depressed when one of the guys in the shop comes over and has the greatest amount of pity on me EVER. He volunteers to help me out by programming his CNC and cutting them at his bench. There are angels out there!! So, two nights of extra work for him later and a BIG gift card from me to his favorite restaurant == perfectly cut plates :).

Here's the one for the A3:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2500.JPG

The plate fitted on the rack -- snug as a bug in a rug!!
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2498.JPG

Ahhh...now we're talking.

Mike

Wow, that sounded like a wee bit of work ;-)

At least you are making those of us who bought some of the custom plates feel better about spending the extra ~$50 per component.

How is your daughter? That sounds scary.

Yeah, I told my wife that from now on I just have to add $100 or so to each purchase (didn't realize you could get them for $50 each) whenever I upgrade my equipment because I NEVER want to do that again. In fact, I'm tempted to put that in the "What I'd do differently" thread as a warning to anyone considering it. Not worth the effort or time.


My daughter seems to be fine (thanks for asking). We go see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday, not sure what he'll be doing but that's what the ER doc said we needed to do. She was okay the first day after but yesterday she was like a caged animal with that temp cast on. My wife finally pulled the splint part off and just wrapped it -- her arm was totally red from it rubbing her skin. She put lotion all over it but she was just a cranky pants all day long, even with the Tylenol + Codeine. Poor kid. Poor mom :(

Mike

Yeah, I told my wife that from now on I just have to add $100 or so to each purchase (didn't realize you could get them for $50 each) whenever I upgrade my equipment because I NEVER want to do that again. In fact, I'm tempted to put that in the "What I'd do differently" thread as a warning to anyone considering it. Not worth the effort or time.

A shelf plus the faceplate is around $100. A shelf by itself is usually around $50... hence the "extra" $50 per component... as I am going to buy the shelf regardless. I think you can get the custom faceplates without the shelf, if you already have a shelf.


My daughter seems to be fine (thanks for asking). We go see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday, not sure what he'll be doing but that's what the ER doc said we needed to do. She was okay the first day after but yesterday she was like a caged animal with that temp cast on. My wife finally pulled the splint part off and just wrapped it -- her arm was totally red from it rubbing her skin. She put lotion all over it but she was just a cranky pants all day long, even with the Tylenol + Codeine. Poor kid. Poor mom :(


I've learned that kids are pretty tough, and they tend to heal up pretty nicely. But regardless, they are going to stress the heck out of Mom. Hope she gets better soon.

Mike,

Wow, your a crazy DIY kind of guy going at those face plates on the old metal working machines. I used to work in a metals shop as an apprentice machinist and I wouldn't even attempt that. :) 2 thumbs up for your tenacious spirit !

Are going to powder coat or paint the new face plates black ?

Hope your daughter gets better soon sorry to hear about that.

Cheers
Calvin

Yeah, crazy sums it up pretty well. When it wasn't working on the end mill I had no idea what I was going to do. The fact that Les stepped up and offered to help out was a life saver.

I went ahead and primed and painted them last night. I left a brushed look on the plates before paint using 60 grit sandpaper but the primer all but fills it in. I would have attempted using straight paint (which would have shown more of the brush marks) but was afraid of chipping paint more than I wanted a specific look. My only concern now is whether the finish is too glossy. The paint came in flat black or semi-gloss. I went with the semi-gloss because I wanted a touch of sheen (I would have preferred satin). Eh, at this point I'm so beyond caring it doesn't matter anymore :p

My daughter seems better today (apparently she was a major pill yesterday) but it's early still so we'll see how it goes :)

Thanks,
Mike

You know, I'd probably be done with my theater by now if I didn't have a disease called "Engineeritus-complicatus-extremus". I'm serious -- no matter how hard I try to make things "simple" they just always turn out complicated. It's like I'm addicted to a good idea, I just can't resist the lure of trying to create something new. I have learned to simplify my designs but even still they end up complicated (anyone seen my rack? :p).

A velvet frame, how hard can that be, right? Well, when I get my hands on it -- it gets really hard.

Start simple. Cut 4 pieces of 3/4" plywood with a nice bevel on the inside and 45deg cuts for the corners. Cut strips of Fedelio Velvet (AKA Black Hole Velvet) and start wrapping around the wood. Staple one side first (use your favorite stapling device -- I prefer air stapler vs. manual) -- this part is easy, simply focus on keeping the fabric as straight as possible and generally you're pulling along the length of the wood.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2502.JPG

Flip and staple the other side while pulling the fabric really tight across the wood (I do about 2 maybe 3 staples at a time so I can get a perfect stretch and it's nice and tight). Do this 4 times and you're almost there.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2501.JPG

Hardest part (for fabric) was the corners. I wasn't really sure what to do and I couldn't find much on them in the forum. Basically consider cutting the length of your boards 1/8" shorter than you need to allow for the fabric to fit in between the joint. Especially since you'll need at least one fold point across the edge of the joint. Gently pull it across the pointest part of the miter and tack down (pull too hard and you'll tear through the fabric). Then just start gathering the rest across the miter onto the back. I tend to leave the fabric long to start with until I'm almost done then I start to trim as much as I can before doing the final 2-3 tacks.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2505.JPG

Next comes the complication. How do you attach the frame to the wall. I've heard of other people just nailing the frame to the wall and probably should have done that. But I was concerned that I might want to take the frame off some day for repairs or to replace the screen or whatever. So I decided I needed a way to remove the frame from the wall. What follows next is my hair-brained idea to do that -- I don't really recommend it.

If you look closely in the picture above you'll notice a small silver disc embedded in the wood. That's a rare earth magnet. I combined that with screws in the wall (drywall anchor screws) that slide through holes in 1/2" mdf screwed into the bottom of the frame to allow the frame to be supported vertically (the screw heads just barely fit in the holes) and to the wall itself (the magnet attaches to the screw head and holds the frame flush to the wall).
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2509.JPG

If anyone's asking themselves, "How did he get the screws to line up with the holes in the MDF and the magnets in the frame?" Well, then you've got the crux of the problem. I didn't really know. I tried double sided tape, I tried hot glue, I tried upside down screws. The screws worked the best and I got it more or less "close". Some of the screws don't align with the magnets, some only half do and the frame doesn't quite align with the screws so I have to really force it on in order to get it to mount flush. Which of course in and of itself is how the thing stays on the wall -- I don't think I could get it off very easily even if I wanted to, but it would come off if I ever had the need.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2513.JPG

Eventually I got it on and then I stepped back to look at the final product. It was actually pretty strange -- it was as if the space around the screen simply didn't exist. It is that black. Which of course makes it more or less not noticeable when standing in the room with the lights on but when the lights go off and the projector is displaying on the screen the slight overhang of image is completely swallowed by the velvet and you end up with a perfectly rectangular image with crisp, sharp edges and improved contrast even. Very nice :cool:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2517.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2521.JPG

Of course all of this came at a price once again -- no sleep:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/sm16/IMG_2522.JPG

Yeah, the clock reads 4:27 -- AM.

Mike

Mike,

Once again that is truly great work but man it seems you sure do it the hardway. Your finished product looks as good as my store bought SMX pro-line frame. The major difference been mine took a phone call and then some waiting yours on the other hand looked to be a labor of love (albeit a nice one and certainly cheaper then mine I would hope).

One thing is for sure you prove that is can be done at home for less if you have the spirit and the skill.

Kudos to you Mike.

Looking forward to your next 4:00 AM picture adventure :D

Cheers
Calvin

where does one get this Fedelio Velvet (AKA Black Hole Velvet)????

where does one get this Fedelio Velvet (AKA Black Hole Velvet)????

Try googling for.... "Fidelio Velvet"

http://www.bymichelle.com/fidelio.html

Just purchased some from www.bymichelle.com. Came in five days. I bet Michelle could custom build a HT on all the black fidello AVSers have purchased in the past few years since Sandman posted the link.

http://www.bymichelle.com/fidelio.html


Yikes! I didn't realize it was so expensive! I picked mine up from a fellow AVSer that had leftovers. Didn't realize the sweet bargain I got.

I've also heard of people getting it from Joann's with a 40% off coupon (you sign up for their mailer apparently). But not all Joann's carry the stuff so YMMV.

Now that my thread is back alive, I probably should post some pictures :)

I'm almost done (hah! That's a running joke, right? I think I've been almost done for the past year). I got the rack put together and face plates on. I built the drawers and just need to mount them and paint the drawer face pieces. I need to build the face frame, mount it and paint it for the rack. Get the vinyl done for my Theatre sign in the hallway. Paint touchup and that's it (for round one anyway ;)).

Okay, you've motivated me to get 'er done. I'm hereby swearing myself off of movies and games to get my room finished.

Thanks,
Mike

I just ordered from bymichelle. I heard that the "crushed' velvet from Joanns aint so great. Reflects instead of absorbs. A photographer used the stuff and posted that they did not like it. But what do I know.

I didn't realize that Joann's didn't carry the real "Fidelio" velvet. I would agree that you wouldn't want to use the crushed velvet. I have that for my curtains. It looks great for the curtains but doesn't even come close to the Fidelio in terms of light absorption capabilities.

I just hope I have enough left over for my 2:35:1 masks I'd like to make someday. If not, yikes on the price :(

Mike

Just wondering if you could have glued the velvet to the frame with a spray adheasive or contact cement. I'm getting ready to do the same thing and am having troubles deciding on how to do it.

You can but many of the other builders in the forum that have tried it swear against it. It bubbles and you can't get it to lay down flat. Trust me, it was really easy to just staple it on the back -- although I would hate to use my old manual stapler. If you have an air compressor get a wide crown nailer (I think I spent $40 on mine and it worked great!!).

The only difficulty I really ran into was the over engineered method of hanging the frame on the wall -- should have just done what others suggest and just used an air nailer to secure it with a few nails (not even worrying about hitting studs -- it's not that heavy).

Mike

I was thinking about doing it like this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997938

I have the laminate and hardboard already, I'm just wondering about the frame at this point and how to wrap it.

I wouldn't do it that way if it were my build -- I don't see how you could possibly get the velvet on and have that method work (it was cool but he hasn't finished yet and I think it's going to be tougher to get it black than he thinks).

If I were to do it again I would try a couple of methods:

Do the screen part separately from the frame. Mount the screen to the wall first, then simply nail the frame pieces (4 of them) on to the wall after they were built (just like I did above) with a few finish nails (e.g. 15ga) from an air nailer. Semi-permanent so if I need to pull it off I can with a bit of prying but otherwise it'll stay and not go anywhere.
Build a backer piece for the screen portion (laminate the screen just like normal). The "backer" would be either 1/2" or 3/4" plywood that overhangs underneath the screen buy say 2" (if you had a 3-1/2" frame for example) and then behind the screen itself say 5". Use the "under the screen" part to attach it to the screen -- liquid nails and a few brads should do it. Then when you're making your velvet frame parts you build them up (say two pieces of 3/4" ply for example). You could do a nice bevel on the inside part and then put a rabet on the back so it overlaps the screen. Staple one side of the velvet to the inside back part of the frame pieces. Attach those to the overlap piece that hangs out from under the screen. Stretch the velvet around to the back and staple it from behind (you'll have a 1-1/2" overhang on the frame part to staple the velvet to the back).


Wow, that was a lot of words and not a lot of pictures. I've seen this done several times before. I'll see if I can't find an example of it somewhere so you can have pictures to go with it. Personally I think the top idea is the simplest. But the bottom one works too. Either way I give a 100% recommendation on using velvet and a 100% recommendation to NOT glue it :)

Mike

Ah the beauty of AVSForums never ceases to amaze. Not only do they provide an excellent community with brilliant support from its members but now there's a motivational service included as well -- the super taunting skills of LOGAN. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1014847)

I've taken the challenge and was officially LOGANED on 04/23/08 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13711698#post13711698). It feels great having someone make fun of you as a method of getting you to finish your room. I mentioned possibly racing calbear to the finish line and he pointed out the LOGAN thread and so I dropped by. Logan was kind enough (mean enough?) to lump us both together as the Doublemint Twin Crybabies (stings just a little bit, I can feel it working already).

So, challenge is on and I shall report back often my progress. Here's the official remaining todo list:


Mount rack to closet
Cleanup cables on back of rack
Build face frame for rack
Paint and install face frame
Order sign for outside theater
Install and mount sign
Install rear speakers (go from 6.1 to 7.1)
Seal granite tile on bar
Caulk sink
Mount drawers for rack
Seal electrical boxes
Install EFI box for bar
Wire fan in closet to receiver
Secure items on shelves in rack
Touchup paint
Fix window plug (doesn't quite block all light during day)
Program remote


Seems like a lot but they're actually all really small items. I could probably take two days off from work and knock them all out at once. But I won't. Besides, you've all missed the drama at our house since I last posted. First our youngest decided it was time to graduate from the crib to the big girl bed and threw herself to the floor and broke her wrist in the process.

Not to be outdone by her little sister our oldest daughter went barefoot in the park behind our house (the HORROR, I know!), slipped on some wet grass and punctured her foot on a piece of bark/mulch. 3 ER visits, 8 orthopedic surgeon visits, 1 MRI, 2 X-rays, 1 Ultrasound, 1 abscess, 5 surgeries, 1 hole through the ball of her foot from top to bottom, 4 PAINFUL gauze packings (3 surgeries were packing it under anesthesia), 1 resistant infection, 4 oral antibiotics, 2 IV antibiotics, 1 wound vacuum pump, an allergic reaction to the last oral antibiotic that would work, and 2 hospital stays (the latest was last night).

WHEW...yeah, it's been one of those "earning your parenthood medal" couple of months :eek:

Good news is the infection's still under control and she's more or less healthy and her spirits are pretty good (her friends at school have been soo supportive and kind).

So progress will probably be sporadic as priorities are made in favor of family over room but I'm sure I'll be able to occasionally knock a couple of things out as we go along by just focusing a bit (the LOGAN taunting should help, I'm very competitive :p).

Good news is, I already have photos from stuff I've done that aren't posted. That'll make it easy to seem like I'm doing stuff when I post them :D.

Later,
Mike

Just joined Facebook. I'm tempted to show my thread to my friends from high school but realize I actually need to get my lazy butt off the couch and finish the drawers and face frame on my rack (which would essentially finish the room) before I could do so with a straight face.

Must...find...motivation...

So what have you done in last 6 months or did the Logan curse strike?

Mike - keep going as think of the motivation of the first movie and that big screen/sound feel.

Your nearly there and looking great !

p.s - Remember 1/2 the fun is the journey though :-)

I believe Mike has been enjoying his theater too much. There is plenty to watch on the DVR and there is always a new movie coming out, so he has no time to finish.

What he should do is remove a couple of strategic hdmi cables and give them to me. When he has completed his theater, he can have them back.

Cough em' up Mike! :D

-James

LOL! That's not a bad idea. Although I must admit that now it's Football season I'm afraid that my wife would kill me.

Although...that would also be a good motivator:

Give cables to James
Wife kills Mike if theater not complete by next football game


So basically, I'd need to pull the cables on a Sunday and then I'd (optimistically speaking) have until Saturday morning the following week to be 100% done.

Wouldn't that be nice. I'll have to run it by the boss and see what she thinks...

Post from 4/24/08

Logan was kind enough (mean enough?) to lump us both together as the Doublemint Twin Crybabies (stings just a little bit, I can feel it working already).

So, challenge is on and I shall report back often my progress. Here's the official remaining todo list:


Mount rack to closet
Cleanup cables on back of rack
Build face frame for rack
Paint and install face frame
Order sign for outside theater
Install and mount sign
Install rear speakers (go from 6.1 to 7.1)
Seal granite tile on bar
Caulk sink
Mount drawers for rack
Seal electrical boxes
Install EFI box for bar
Wire fan in closet to receiver
Secure items on shelves in rack
Touchup paint
Fix window plug (doesn't quite block all light during day)
Program remote


So progress will probably be sporadic as priorities are made in favor of family over room but I'm sure I'll be able to occasionally knock a couple of things out as we go along by just focusing a bit (the LOGAN taunting should help, I'm very competitive :p).

Good news is, I already have photos from stuff I've done that aren't posted. That'll make it easy to seem like I'm doing stuff when I post them :D.

Later,
Mike

Very next post... Dated 10/28/08

Just joined Facebook. I'm tempted to show my thread to my friends from high school but realize I actually need to get my lazy butt off the couch and finish the drawers and face frame on my rack (which would essentially finish the room) before I could do so with a straight face.

Must...find...motivation...

And finally

LOL! Although I must admit that now it's Football season I'm afraid that my wife would kill me.
...

Aint nobody playing football now. Where are the pics???

Think I will post this in his thread then again in the Logan thread. Loganation at its best. Get em to talk a little then 6 months of radio silence.:D How's that for a "little sting"?

Aint nobody playing football now. Where are the pics???


LOL! This was nice to come back to. Sorry about the hiatus, you definitely hit the nail on the head with your comment.


GOOD NEWS!! I've actually started working in my room again :) I secured the rack in the wall, I built the face frame for the rack and primed it. I painted the drawers and well, I cleaned up my mess.

I can see light at the end of the tunnel, so I plan to stay on it this time. Though you may be the only person watching my thread anymore ;)

But, you'll have a front seat view of the final stretch in my theater 1.0.

Here's what I want to get done to call 1.0 finished:

Finish rack face frame
Add another face plate for an empty space I may put a ClearPlay DVD into
Cut a blank face plate I already have for my XBOX360 (my wife's Christmas present for me -- gotta love Rockband 2 in the theater!!)
Mount the drawers in the rack
Face plates for the drawers
Secure the shelves in my rack (they can slide back sometimes if the kids push too hard on the devices)


Woohoo!! See, not too bad...

Ahh...feels good to be back. I see Sandman's thread is alive and well, probably has 2 million posts by now :P

Mike

Mike, glad to see you back in the swing of things. Where are the pics?? :D

Scoot over Drew, you aren't alone here, I want to share the front row of watching the push to the finish also.

GOOD NEWS!! I've actually started working in my room again :)

We believe what we can see... Pictures!!!!

I can see light at the end of the tunnel, so I plan to stay on it this time.

Yea... we shall see...

And as for that light... It is another train ready to bring you to a complete stop should you not immediately post some pictures!!!

Wow! Ummmm, guess I'll go take some pictures to post. In fact, the peer-pressure is good, while the girls watch TV I guess I'll go put the final coat of paint on the rack face frame :)

But pictures first of course ... hang on ...

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr79/hanesian/thread_is_worthless.jpg

LOL! That's awesome!

Okay, so I could have posted photos or kept working on my rack face frame. I kept working and took more photos. Funny how a day of work plus a few more hours the next day doesn't always yield a lot (for me anyway) but it's FORWARD PROGRESS and that's what counts, right?

One of the things that held me up from working on the rack face frame was properly securing it in the wall (the rack itself is a little skewed so it doesn't align properly unless I secure it down). Tapped a few bolt holes on the back brackets and aligned and drilled an access hole for each. Thought I'd need 4 (two up two down) but the two top ones secured it enough for an earthquake so I left it at that.


http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4852.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4853.JPG

I also painted the sides & insides of the drawers for the rack. The fronts are not painted because they'll get a matching aluminum front painted like the rest of the rack.

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4855.JPG

Mike

Here are the pics of my rack face frame as well. The bigger holes to the top are for access to the securing bolts shown earlier (so I can pull the rack out essentially).

Primed on the back (just the edges in case you can see it a bit):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4856.JPG

Primed on the front:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4857.JPG

Painted on the back:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4858.JPG

Closeup of the rabbet to allow the frame to overlap the top insert (that holds the TV Monitor):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4859.JPG

Front paint:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_4862.JPG

Unfortunately there were a few spots where the paint didn't stick all the way. I ran out of my good gray primer and opted from some leftover white I had from an earlier project and it isn't as good as the gray stuff was so I'll need to put another coat of black on before I can hang it. I'm shooting for Monday night.

'Til then, enjoy the photos :)
Mike

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_B9cPcJ9cbXs/Ses1goBL9jI/AAAAAAAABiA/K3efpu80MI4/s640/IMG_4857.JPG
Mike,

Are you sure that's not a pic of My garage? I think mine is just as full these days. I need to get my shed built.

You should have seen it before I cleaned up to start working in there again. I could barely find my table saw ;)

You should have seen it before I cleaned up to start working in there again. I could barely find my table saw ;)
I just did a clean-up myself. I could not see the top of my workbench or the floor in front of it. Now I actually have a work surface to "work" at.

BTW - on your previous progress post, only the first 2 pics show up.

BTW - on your previous progress post, only the first 2 pics show up.

That's weird, they all show up for me. Did you try a refresh? Is anyone else seeing problems? I started loading them on Picassa, if that's going to be a problem I'll go back to my cableone account. Not as simple but we've gotta have pictures -- that's half the fun!

That's weird, they all show up for me. Did you try a refresh? Is anyone else seeing problems? I started loading them on Picassa, if that's going to be a problem I'll go back to my cableone account. Not as simple but we've gotta have pictures -- that's half the fun!
I did a reload and they are now coming in. Very strange.

I'm glad to see you making progress on the theater again. You only have a little ways to go to finish 1.0!

Out of the 9 pictures you posted, I only see 4 and I get 5 x's. Refreshing does not cause them to show for me. :confused:

All right, good to know. I'll see if I can move them to the other server and repost them then. Bummer, picassa is much easier. But if you can't see them, you can't see them.

Mike

Okay, so I was totally stoked to get home today because I prepped the last face plate for my rack and the paint would be dry on my face frame and I could get it all put together. But hey, this is the Shelton Theatre, it can't be that simple, right? Right...

Anyone notice a problem here?

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5229.JPG

Yup, that's right, apparently I grabbed the wrong piece of sheet metal (it was in a stack I had cut probably a year ago -- or more) and it wasn't wide enough. Grrr...and I even got the holes spot on! Dang it.

But, not to be set back by that too much I went ahead with the face frame install. That went much better. Perfect even :)

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5230.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5231.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5232.JPG



Of course, the test would be whether or not I could still roll the rack out from the wall or not. I must admit, given my previous error I was a bit nervous. But lo & behold -- it worked!!

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5233.JPG

The key to it all was making sure there was clearance for the securing bolts to have enough room to slide out the access hole and for the sides of the frame to not scrape along the door jamb. Worked like a charm.

Now I just need to find some time to get back to the metal shop and make a new face plate that will actually fit this time.

Enjoy the weekend everyone. I hope to cutout the plate for my Xbox and secure all of the shelves (the girls like to push the faces of the devices in and then I have to pull the rack out to get them back out).

Mike

Mike,

I'M SUPER IMPRESSED!! What a great job on the rack. I wanted to put a display in mine but had too many pieces of equipment. The pullout is very cool.

Did you use a jig saw and metal blade to cut the openings in the plates? Then a file to finish them up? Did you buy your aluminum locally? How thick is it?

I can't wait to see the finished product.

Very nice.

Now measure twice and cut once... :)

Looking great! That rack is sweet. Well done! You should leave that short face plate on. It gives it that "Shelton's been here" look. ;)

BTW, I didn't see "hang new speakers that have been in boxes for months waiting to be heard" on your todo list.

How thick is the metal for your faceplates. I am fixing to do this but dont know what type of aluminum to buy. I was also just considering to buy the MA rack faceplates but dont know if they will mount on my existing shelves

Steve, thanks! I had always wanted my rack to be a point of interest in the room and I'm finally getting there. Now demos won't include my standard disclaimer of "oh, that'll be finished someday, it'll look much nicer when it's done." I got the aluminum locally. They cut it off of sheets that are actually massive rolls. I was able to more or less get mine as "scrap" for a few 6-packs of micro-brews :) The cutting was a bit more complex. Because the edges would end up being so narrow on some of the pieces and the aluminum is so thin and flexible I couldn't just cut it with a saw without tearing the plate to pieces. So I cut it on a CNC. Well, I started out trying to cut it on a Mill but made a mess of things and a friend at the metal shop I use offered to help me in his off time. So he set them all up on his CNC and did it that way. A laser would have been perfect but they don't have one. I gave him a couple of Texas Roadhouse gift certs for his efforts :)

Michael, I know, cut twice and measure when you're done right? Well, I ran back this morning and took care of my mistake :) Problem was I used metal I had cut over a year ago and thought I'd grabbed a piece that was already cut to width. It wasn't, I think it was cut for one of my drawer faces instead. But problem is now solved and the piece fits perfectly.

Cridler, you're welcome to come over this weekend and play "hang the speakers for 7.1" with me -- I'm game, are you?

Shunopoli, the aluminum is 50 thousandths of an inch thick. Find a metal shop and I'm sure they could get it for you pretty easily. Thing is, to be honest, I think you should try and find a place to order them from instead. Aaron Hini referrenced paying about $100 for a face plate + shelf. When I priced them they were closer to $200-300 so maybe he knows of a better place. Check my thread here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12998549&postcount=402. The hardest part will be cutting out new openings for my newest equipment since the guy who helped me before is no longer there :(

Mike

Good morning,

As I mentioned in the previous post I don't have someone in the metal shop who can CNC up my face plates anymore. So now I'm trying to figure out how to do it myself. My first thought was to repeatedly score it with a utility knife hoping that I could get through it sometime this century. But unfortunately I think it gets down about 10 thou and then I don't seem to make any more progress.

So then I tried using a cutting disc on my dremel. I think that will work (again, pretty slow) but I wonder if any of you have a better idea? I'm open to anything, let me know what your creative minds can come up with :)

Here's what I got done yesterday after about 30 minutes of trial and error:

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5248.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5250.JPG


Thanks!!
Mike

Mike,

One other guy did the same thing and he used his jigsaw with a metal cutting blade. Didn't you say you tried this but it kept bending the metal as it cut? What if you put a piece of 1/4" ply or masonite on the top of the metal, clamped it down and cut that way?

I actually never tried it. One of my pieces had about 1/4" left after the cut and I don't see how I could have held it down without it pulling up with the blade. I do have a scrap piece (the "Shelton shorty") that I could try it on though. Nothing lost if it doesn't work and if it does, well then I'm set, right?

Thanks Steve.

Mike

I don't have any experience with cutting sheet metal (except 20 years or so ago on a industrial break on a part time job) but what about compressing firmly between two pieces of wood?

Do you mean putting a piece of wood on top & bottom of the aluminum and then letting the jigsaw run along the edge of the wood (so that the jigsaw sits on top of the wood but then the blad runs along it and goes through the metal to make the cut)? That might work pretty well -- I'll try it out on the test piece sometime this week.

Thanks,
Mike

Do you mean putting a piece of wood on top & bottom of the aluminum and then letting the jigsaw run along the edge of the wood (so that the jigsaw sits on top of the wood but then the blad runs along it and goes through the metal to make the cut)? That might work pretty well -- I'll try it out on the test piece sometime this week.

Thanks,
Mike
Sounds like a good idea. Let us know how it works out.

Do you mean putting a piece of wood on top & bottom of the aluminum and then letting the jigsaw run along the edge of the wood (so that the jigsaw sits on top of the wood but then the blad runs along it and goes through the metal to make the cut)? That might work pretty well -- I'll try it out on the test piece sometime this week.

Thanks,
Mike

Yes, a metal sandwich with wood as the bread. You could cut the wood as well if you can figure out how to cut on the line you want on the metal. Firm compression with clamps should leave you with a good edge. Obviously a metal blade and I would suggest using a higher speed on the saw.

Oh ... my ... gosh! Man, what a weekend. First of all, I'd like to start by thanking my good buddy Bill for coming over and spending 5-1/2 hours helping me convert my setup from 6.1 to 7.1. What a stud! (Well, and a pretty good studfinder too, but more on that later.)

Fellas, if there's one thing I can tell you, it's prepare for 7.1 NOW. Before the drywall goes up. Even if you think you'll NEVER go from 5.1 or 6.1 to 7.1. Wire it anyway. What's that gonna cost, $20? Do it.

Okay, so on to the story. Or, as you all know that have been following my thread, more of a comedy routine ;) First thing we do is move the dipole/bipole surrounds back to my side mounts (chipped some of the finish on the back, that was not cool, but at least my fault, so that's good). Then we setup the speakers on a pair of 6' ladders to see about location. Which of course meant finding a 7.1 disc (thank you Hellboy II) and doing a bit of a demo. It was nice, we both liked it.

Here you can see the right back surround on the ladder that's going to replace the single bipole/dipole in the back above the rack:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5251.JPG

After a quick test we went ahead and started drilling the easy hole -- it goes from the equipment closet to a storage closet and then to the wall. All easy access holes to drill. Halfway through it occurred to me it took 2 hours to get to this point, let's just skip ahead and do the hard one first as I could always finish the easy one by myself.

This entails running a line up into the attic and then back down inside an insulated wall with double drywall/green glue. We drilled our first of three holes in the wall (well first size, all in the same spot, just kept getting bigger). Here's Bill trying to find the stud to run the line against using rare earth magnets because my studfinder won't work on DD/GG:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5252.JPG

Bill ran the fish tape up the wall and I went in the attic to listen for it and try to drill down the ceiling header joist/stud/whatever to get to it. First hole led to more drywall, that couldn't be right. 2nd hole was in the closet (I definitely need to keep my day job). 3rd hole was along the correct stud but I could never get a hold of the stupid fish tape. Back out of the attic, and we decided to run the fish tape from the attic down. Oh, and during the drilling in the attic, I dropped my drill twice -- more on that latter.

Finally we had success and Bill found the fish tape. He wrapped about 2 miles around the speaker cable so it wouldn't come undone and we were in business.
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5259.JPG

An hour and a half later we finished the 2nd speaker line pull and then spent another 30 minutes hanging the mounts and the speakers.

Here are the final pictures:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5261.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5262.JPG


Oh, and what does a nice clean theater look like after 5.5 hours of "work"? Something like this:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5253.JPG

and this:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5254.JPG


But wait! There's more! Oh yeah, the next day I'm putting my daughter to bed and when I go to shut off the light in her closet I notice a weird black thing in the top corner. Oh look, it's a hole into the attic. That was my first drill hole into the "drywall". Doh!

And if you act now, you'll get the BONUS "Dad, come quick! The ceiling is falling on my head in the shower!!" That's right, remember when I dropped my drill on the ceiling, twice, the night before? Well, this is what happens when you do that:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5263.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5264.JPG


Ugh. Only in the Shelton Theatre build would something like that happen. Man, I tell you I probably should have just paid someone to come do this for me. It might have been a wash.

But, on the other hand, I got to hang with Bill for an evening and we'll enjoy some sushi later and have a good laugh about this, so, it's worth it, right? Right?


Mike

Where did you get the custom face plates for your components/rack?
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5261.JPG
Thanks

Read through the thread he made them

That's correct, I did make them myself. Though I had some help with cutting out the original set of face plates (the interior device shaped cuts, I did everything else).

Here are some shots I took the other day of the shop I have access to at work where I built anything with metal in my theater:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5237.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5238.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5239.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5240.JPG


Here's a shot of the CNC doing its thing on one of the original plates I built:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/img073.jpg


Oh, and I did manage to make it back to the shop early Friday morning to fix my "Shelton Shorty" face plate and replace it with the right length:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5236.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5242.JPG


Enjoy the pics -- I'm off to watch the season finale of Heroes!! :)
Mike

But, on the other hand, I got to hang with Bill for an evening and we'll enjoy some sushi later and have a good laugh about this, so, it's worth it, right? Right?
Of course it was worth it. Although I did consider tossing the fish tape out the window on the way home so I would never be tempted to do a project like this again. :D

BTW, that rack looks even better in person. Great job!

LOL! That is so funny. I could totally see you doing that. Then getting pulled over by a cop for littering. Then being taken to the station for drug tests because your story was WAY to crazy to be true ;)

Thanks again!
Mike

As in 1+1=2.

You start with this:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5265.JPG

then add it to a bit of this:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5266.JPG

Mix it together and it equals this:
http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p01/IMG_5267.JPG


Ahhh...so much better. And the best part? It took like 30 seconds and I did it by myself whereas without the tool it took about 5-10 minutes per speaker (I'm not kidding) and I needed Bill's help.

There is absolutely something to be said for having the right tool for the right job.


Oh, and I did some quick channel leveling with my sound meter and I was more pleased with the results than before. I think I still need to tweak it a bit more but the sound stage is more enveloping. I'm getting there. I just wish I knew what the magic formula was for my room. It's so frustrating to have this dedicated room, great equipment and subpar surround sound :(

I will tweak it 'till she sings is all I can say.

I also picked up some heavy duty cutting discs for my dremel and they cut through that aluminum like a knife through butter, I should have my face plates trimmed and painted by the weekend.

Mike

I have a few things that need to be looked at and repaired on my projector. It's still under warranty so I pulled it down and boxed it up yesterday. I can't believe how depressing this photo is (the cables look like the innards of some poor dead animal just hanging there):

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p02/IMG_5362.JPG

I walked around last night practically going through withdrawal. All I could think of was, "No movies, no HDTV, no Rock Band with the girls, no Halo3!!" Holy cow I'm addicted to the man cave!!

Good news is that I only have three things left before the room is finished. Yes, three things :)

Install the drawers in my rack
Cutout and paint the faceplates for the Xbox, Clearplay and drawer fronts.
Secure the shelves in the rack

That's it!!

Oh, and last week we had an American Idol party sponsored by Ford and Fox. It was kind of cool, Ford sent out a Ford Fusion with a rep and everyone got to take rides in the car and Fox sent us a big box of party supplies and the local Fox News came by and filmed it. In prep for the party I finished my "Theatre" sign for outside the door to the Theatre. I forgot how I had it wired up in the wall and it only turns on when the hall lights are off, but that's okay because it looks better that way anyway ;)

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p02/IMG_5358.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p02/IMG_5357.JPG

http://myweb.cableone.net/mjshelton/files/images/ht/p02/IMG_5359.JPG


I have about 4 weeks until my PJ returns from the warranty place and I will have plenty of time to finish up the room by then.

Mike

I have about 4 weeks until my PJ returns from the warranty place and I will have plenty of time to finish up the room by then.
Looks like you now have a deadline to meet. Good luck -- we're all counting on you :D

And . . .

. . . everything worked out in the end, right?

I was hoping for a series of final pictures. Still, nice build -- and a lot of useful information. Thanks for the read.

Well?