Hello everyone I am a newbie to this site but I have read many many of your threads. The wife and I are finishing off our basement to get some more room in the house.

Here is a lay out of our basement the foundation size is approx 30'x30' not a huge house so we are making use of all available space. The utility room has all of the hvac hanging down from the rafters so using that space is not an option.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8581/room1uw6.jpg


Here are some construction pictures

This is what it currently looks like heading into the basement

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8092/room2wl1.jpg

This shot is from the east wall looking back at the stairs. To the left is the theater, to the right is the bathroom and egress and behind me the gas fireplace

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4923/room3rt0.jpg

Although the HT part of the room will be on the south end the room is fairly large being about 22 feet long.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3479/room4yd2.jpg

This picture is looking south from the egress window. The plumbing you see will be cut out and raised into the rafters. Then pushed agaisnt the south wall and built in to a shallow depth gas fireplace mantle along with the stack. Out of site and wont looked boxed in.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8426/room5yv6.jpg

This picture is looking towards the screen wall

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9636/room6sj8.jpg

This picture is of the closet. although we are using it for a AV room we thought we might as well make a closet for selling purposes. Now it can be considered a bedroom.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7371/room7ko2.jpg

This next picture is of the batroom area where the sink and toilet will be. The two will be seperated by a wall

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/716/room9uo6.jpg

The next picture shows the shower area, the previous owner used this space for a closet but we thought it would be perfect for a shower. All three walls are cinder block.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3914/showernw2.jpg


I would love to hear opinions and what you think. I will keep this thread updated with photos.

here is a picture of the egress we put in

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/54/egresswg9.jpg


We had to have one of the supporting posts for the I-Beam moved north approx 4 feet so we could make the main room larger and have all the posts hidden in the walls

Here is a picture of the old footing after it was cut out. The footing was approx 2-3 inches higher then the rest of the concrete


http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/392/oldpostej2.jpg


And here is a picture of the new post location and footing, If you look to the left of the post you can see where the old post location was. This allows us to project the picture into the extra space.



http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4011/newpostbx9.jpg

This picture is of the vent work I had to do. The cold air returns as well as one line crossed over the rafters. I had two lines running from the furnace to two rooms. (dining room/bedroom) I used the line you seeon the left side and made a T so now I am feeding both rooms off of the left line. And the line on the right will now feed the main room. I also pushed all of the cold air returns against the wall so there were no obvious box in's in the middle of the ceiling.

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/6435/ventrw4.jpg

I have a few pictures to update. Just plumbing stuff. You can see how I wanted the plumbing from the main floor bathroom stuffed into the rafters and pushed against the back wall and built in to a mantle for a fireplace.

http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/7452/plumingroughqj0.jpg

Again another picture of the plumbing shoved into the ceiling. The plumbers did a great job. They were able to get the stuff only 14 inches away from the wall. I asked for it to be under 18 inches.

http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/8541/plumingrough2ly5.jpg

The next picture is of the shower and the valve rough in, we are going with two valves. To be honest this might be my favorite part of the construction is seeing the bathroom come to life. Angies taste when it comes to picking out tile, fixtures, vanities, ect, are impecible so I cannot wait to see the finished product.

http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/7861/showerroughvf1.jpg

The place is being wired for electric and lighting today. I will be doing all of the low voltage wiring myself. Cable, phone, computer, audio, video, ect. I will have more photos soon

I have a few more pictures to update this thread. The last two days were spent running the electric and AV cables. We decided against having the AV cabinet in the room so we decided to move all of the AV equipmeht in to the closet so it will be out of the way. We will used a infrared remote control system to relay the signals into the AV room. The receiver for the remote will be above the screen and is only a few inches wide so it will hardly be noticed. Yet still a perfect place to point the remote at.

The first picture is of the room design with the AV cabinet now in the closet and the speaker locations. I am going with a 5.1 set up because of the small nature of the room.

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/8638/room11go1.jpg

The next picture is of the fire place mantle I have been talking about. The framers did a great job achieving the look we wanted. Every thing is nice and tight.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/6350/fireplaceuc4.jpg

The next picture is of the projector mounting position. I need to have the projector as close to the ceiling as I can get it. So using a 2x4's I rigged a pocket where the bracket can fit and the AV cables as well as the power source for the projector. I will be adding a 3/4 inch piece of wood as well as an outlet to cover the top of this and then mount the bracket to the 3/4 inch piece of wood. I ran one hdmi cable 20ft and 3 20ft sections of RG6 cable to be used for componet video. I am debating if I should run a VGA cable and a s-video cable. What do you guys think?

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7034/projectormountob1.jpg

Next picture is inside the closet looking south to where the AV cabinet will go. We will mount the cabinet using the upper half of the wall and use the lower half for storage.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/9157/avroomqr4.jpg

The final picture I have for you is from the south wall looking north. You can see all the electric wired and the cans in the ceiling. Everything is coming along as planed and faster then I thought.

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6028/southlookingnorthpy3.jpg

So now that all of all of the major plumbing, framing and electric is done the sheet rockers start on Friday.

No responses yet I was hoping to hear from some of you vets on how its looking and advice. Please post any comments or questions you may have.

Its coming along nice. I wouldn't bother with S-video connections myself component is the worst I go with now and I would draw the line at component and VGA for analog keep the rest in digital as that is where the future is (IMO of course ;) )
I think the reason your not getting a lot of comments is because it sure looks like you know what your doing and how to go about getting what you want. You will have a lot more people visiting to see the progress then leaving comments nothing to be concerned with. It is the way of the forum.
Looking forward to seeing more myself - I like watching the builds that people do themselves the only downside is I kick myself for not doing my own and these threads are a reminder of why I should have :)
Cheers

Its coming along nice. I wouldn't bother with S-video connections myself component is the worst I go with now and I would draw the line at component and VGA for analog keep the rest in digital as that is where the future is (IMO of course ;) )
I think the reason your not getting a lot of comments is because it sure looks like you know what your doing and how to go about getting what you want. You will have a lot more people visiting to see the progress then leaving comments nothing to be concerned with. It is the way of the forum.
Looking forward to seeing more myself - I like watching the builds that people do themselves the only downside is I kick myself for not doing my own and these threads are a reminder of why I should have :)
Cheers


are there HDMI video cards? If I wanted to add a HTPC I would need to add a VGA cable or if there are hdmi video cards all I would need is componet and HDMI

There are PC Video cards with HDMI outs. Lots of discussions on those over in the HTPC forum. I wouldn't worry about adding the VGA just for PC support.

Looks like you are making great progress! I look forward to watching you complete the room.

I debated the video cable situation myself and I decided to run a cable for every input the projector had. So that was one HDMI, one Component, one VGA, one S-Video, and one composite. It is easy to say that you will never need one but the one time that you want hook up a security camera to the front door to see if the pizza guy is here or Grandpa wants to see that Thanksgiving dinner replay on the "big screen" from a camcoder it will be nice to say sure we can do that. In short the cables are cheap in comparision to ripping the ceiling open or kicking yourself for not installing them in the first place.

Laters,
Jeff

Hey thanks for the replys guys,

well ran a vga cable since my pc currently doesnt have hdmi so what the heck.. Your right shadimar you only get to wire it once. I was reading about the rg6 cables to run for componet wires and I used dual shield cables so I ripped all of them out today and re ran the runs with quad shield. Might as well do it right

I was looking at the back of the projector, where is the hdmi slot. I have not opened our box yet because of the return policy. I just want to make sure I got the right cable, my hdmi cable wire has a is flat and thin connector

Where is it on the projector or do I need an adapter

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/hd70back.jpg

hibbz,
There is no HDMI on that PJ. You have a firewire, S-video, Composite, Component & VGA so I don't see any digital connection at all. I'm not familiar with that PJ either are there any other plugs on another side / bottom of the unit ?

hibbz,
There is no HDMI on that PJ. You have a firewire, S-video, Composite, Component & VGA so I don't see any digital connection at all. I'm not familiar with that PJ either are there any other plugs on another side / bottom of the unit ?


I was thinking the same thing however that big black plug is the hdmi input.. I was thinking too thats the power. but the power is on the side of the unit

Ah, that explains it - I was thinking at first that it may have been the HDMI and then I thought "where the heck is the power then?" so I figured it must be the power cord and there was no digital (was thinking maybe an older model business class Optoma PJ. Glad I was wrong in this case the PJ will work fine.
Cheers

I have some new photos :D

Well I spent the last three nights trying to get it ready for sheet rock. I had to wire the cables twice because after reading what type of RG6 cable to run I pulled out the belden dual and installed zenith quad shield. I ran 4 to the projector and 6 to a wall plate so I can plug in a playstation, xbox, camera, ect with out having to hook it up in the av room/closet

The first picture is of the av room and all of thw wiring I ran. I ended up running a total of 10 coax, a hdmi, vga, 5.1 surround, CATV, ethernet, and remote sensor unit.

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2128/avroom2jm9.jpg

The next picture is of the wall plate terminal that will be next to the couch for portable plugins. I will have six inputs three for componet one video and two audio.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/230/wallplateqf2.jpg

I ended up insulating a the ceiling after reading on the net just putting that upo can reduce noise levels by 3-4db and in a small house everything helps.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4468/insulceilinguc2.jpg

This gadget will control the heated floors in the bathrrom. We had to have this, Minnesota winters can be very cold.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9007/heatedfloorszl0.jpg

I decided with the influence of my better half that the remote control unit sensor should be located in the upper left hand corner of the room facing the screen.

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4562/remoteboxyl3.jpg

Well the sheet rockers came today at about noon and worked a few hrs. they were able to get the bathroom ceiling and one wall done as well as the screen wall and most of the ceiling.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7629/rockceilingfr0.jpg

The next picture is of the seating view looking at the screen wall. Sorry about all the blobs the lens must have gotten dirty on my camera

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/276/seatingviewofscreenrj4.jpg

I decided to insulate all of the interior walls before they resume rocking on monday. a couple -db on each wall should help just a bit. Plus it should only cost about 50 bucks to do.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4241/backwallni2.jpg

ok I have a few more pictures for everyone. The gypsum board is all up and the second coat of mud has been applied. The room is starting to look like a room


http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6493/rockedff4.jpg

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/2096/rocked2ct8.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/6683/rocked3bt5.jpg

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/9103/rocked4lx5.jpg


This picture is of the bathroom I am standing at the threshold of the shower. The shower has not yet been started.

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9764/rocked5fn8.jpg

Nice progress.

Any reason you didn't use some green drywall (waterproof) for the bathroom areas?

Looking good. You are making tremendous progress!

Laters,
Jeff

Nice progress.

Any reason you didn't use some green drywall (waterproof) for the bathroom areas?



we sealed the walls, the grade of the landscaping prevents water from coming in. plus we never had a problem with leaks so there was no need to. The insulation used works as a great vapor barrier. The shower will get cement board then tile

Making so serious progress

Nice work !

hey thanks,


sorry about not updating pictures but I will do so soon. Since the last update there has only been mud work going on. The walls were sanded monday and last night I vacuumed the walls trying to get all the dust off so I can prime the walls.

I think I might have screwed up running my hdmi cable not leaving enough cable to reach the projector. I was an idiot when I looked at the HDMI cable input and assumed it would be on the right side when I hung the projector. I was looking at the projector sitting on a table. I didnt take in to consideration the the projector will be flipped and the input then will be on the left side. I dont think I have enough cable to make the connection.. grrr. Will a 18 inch extension cable give me any trouble with the picture?

We have been pretty busy with priming, painting, painting again, painting again. Too many colors to choose from.

Firstpicture is of the main room. the line you see accross the wall is a shadow from the work light. I needed it on to light up the room.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9509/dcp04527mf8.jpg

opposite side of the room

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/2955/dcp04528ys6.jpg

bathroom (dusty camera sorry)

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5430/dcp04529bk3.jpg

closet

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4918/dcp04530ch7.jpg

Nina, she loves dirty floors.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/9032/dcp04531hs4.jpg

looking down the stairs.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6374/dcp04532ya1.jpg

My remote control system.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8325/dcp04533ul6.jpg

projector mount

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3060/dcp04534hl3.jpg

rca panel next to couch for ps2, cameras, ipod, ect. composite, component and RL audio

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3451/dcp04535wd4.jpg

tile for the shower floor

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6083/dcp04536ct8.jpg

vanity

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3926/dcp04537gg3.jpg

Doors go in tomorrow, tile work starts tomorrow too.

well thats all for now I will update soon

Great progress! I just finished painting my room too. I am very happy that is finally over with.

Laters,
Jeff

Awesome progress. Nice thread. What is the ceiling height of your basement?
I like the idea of your recessed option for your projector. I have a rambler with the same I-Beam and 7ft ceiling. I'm in the process of sheetrock, I'm not sure if I could get away with that recessed option for the projector, WAF. How did you decide on going the recessed way? Did you run conduit to the projector for future upgrades? Nice glass block window, I just put one in to replace the 50 year wooden one. The window is on my screen wall so I will sheetrock over the window. Where are you located? I'm in Bloomington.


James

Awesome progress. Nice thread. What is the ceiling height of your basement?
I like the idea of your recessed option for your projector. I have a rambler with the same I-Beam and 7ft ceiling. I'm in the process of sheetrock, I'm not sure if I could get away with that recessed option for the projector, WAF. How did you decide on going the recessed way? Did you run conduit to the projector for future upgrades? Nice glass block window, I just put one in to replace the 50 year wooden one. The window is on my screen wall so I will sheetrock over the window. Where are you located? I'm in Bloomington.


James


Hi James how is it going. The ceiling height is 7 feet just like yours. The projector will be right above us when we are watching movies or whatever. I wanted the recessed part because I didnt want the projector in the way when someone stands up. I figured the HD 70 has digital keystoning so I can get away with tilting it down just a bit. This way the projector will seem like it is flush to the ceiling. There is enough room and a power outlet if I need to add some kind of cooling later. One thing I wish I would have done instead, is use terminal plates instead of just holes for the wires. Doesnt look very clean. I could probably have a nice wood plate made of oak to clean it up. It would look good to and match the rest of the wood work. Which I just finished putting the first coat of poly on.

fun fun

All the doors have been hung and tile work continues. I will take some photos tonight. err this morning

OK I have avideo update.. small movie of the room. Shows the doors installed and the tile laid out in the bathroom.

Just click on the link below to be taken to the small movie file 10mb

basement update (http://www.flurl.com/item/basement_update_u_205998)

It is coming along great :) Is that infloor heating I see going into the bathroom?
cheers

It is coming along great :) Is that infloor heating I see going into the bathroom?
cheers


thanks Calvin, I like the progress yours is making as well. Yes that is infloor heating. I think we are a few weeks out from completion. Ordered my wall plates and rca rg6 crimpons tuesday. I need to come up with a plan for the closet though. What kind of rack or shelving I shoud use for the equipment. I am thinking of going eith a larger sub and hiding it in the closet as well. I should get deeper lows with more rumbling this way. :D

about 10 years ago I was running some highend pro audio gear and I got into buliding monitors and subs. I built a 18 inch sub into a 36 cubic foot box and hid it in my closet. Had the police called on me more then once because of that thing. :p

I think if I run a 15 - 18" in the closet and a 6" sub in the room I should be able to upset my neighbors from time to time :D

I sold my older HK avr80 a couple months ago. Man that thing was sweet. I would love another HK however I want a receiver that does hdmi switching

Hibbz,

Wow :eek: that sounds like quite the bass you used to pound out :)
I'm not to worried about my neighbors but with the 4 x 10" Thors I'm throwing into the basement I'm a little worried about the wife when she is upstairs and I'm playing " call of Duty" or something similar with a lot of explosions.

I still haven't ordered my rack but I'm getting closer to making a deal with EEAV, Inc / AVscope on a middle atlantic set up. No one in Canada I went to could touch them for pricing even with shipping / customs and the $ exchange. I hope to have my chairs in Dec 1st and then work out a deal on the rack early Dec. If you want the contact name and number of the guy I'm dealing with send me a PM I'll shoot you the info ;)

Looking forward to seeing some new photos :D

You have your carpet coming soon or are you saving that till the very end?

Cheers
Calvin

Hibbz,

Wow :eek: that sounds like quite the bass you used to pound out :)
I'm not to worried about my neighbors but with the 4 x 10" Thors I'm throwing into the basement I'm a little worried about the wife when she is upstairs and I'm playing " call of Duty" or something similar with a lot of explosions.

I still haven't ordered my rack but I'm getting closer to making a deal with EEAV, Inc / AVscope on a middle atlantic set up. No one in Canada I went to could touch them for pricing even with shipping / customs and the $ exchange. I hope to have my chairs in Dec 1st and then work out a deal on the rack early Dec. If you want the contact name and number of the guy I'm dealing with send me a PM I'll shoot you the info ;)

Looking forward to seeing some new photos :D

You have your carpet coming soon or are you saving that till the very end?

Cheers
Calvin

yes carpet will be the last thing we do.. we still have to stone the fireplace, touch up the paint after construction is done and other odds and ends. no need risking ruining the carpet.


I will update photos and probably another video soon

yes carpet will be the last thing we do.. we still have to stone the fireplace, touch up the paint after construction is done and other odds and ends. no need risking ruining the carpet.

Be prepared for touching up the paint one more time after they lay the carpet. My baseboards were painted black and the stretcher used to put the carpet in scratched the heck out of it. If the carpet company wasn't a family friend with a good discount I'd have thrown a huge fit and made them repaint, but it gets a lot trickier with friends and such so I'm just doing it myself.

Mike

update coming soon

hello all, I have an update for everyone.

The main room is way too dusty to take pictures right now. All you see when taking a picture is dust in the air. So I will let it settle before those pics. But I do have some pics for all of you. The first picture is the stairs leading down to the room. As you can see the wall sconces have been added and the electric turned on.

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8311/stairsxo3.jpg

Next is of the sconce we are using in the hall way

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3540/sconcetj0.jpg

next is the stairs going up.. backers have been added for carpet

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/6227/stairsupfx6.jpg

next is the other window in the room finished

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/9194/windowwy9.jpg

And now the real treat. The shower has been tiled and looks amazing. Angie did a great job picking out the tile for this room

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/741/showervn0.jpg

Next is a of the shelf we built into the wall and you can see the shower again

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5953/shelfpo7.jpg

And finally the vanity

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9589/vanmj3.jpg

Thats it for now.. the plumbing will be finished tomorrow (vanity, toilet, shower)

Thanks for looking and any questions or comments are welcome

Hibbz,

Its looking great. I really like the bathroom and the tiles very nice. I especially like the racks for towels and things built into the wall by the shower that is a great idea :) (I should have done that with my place !)

Cheers
Calvin

hooked up the HD70 projector last night.. It displays a 90" screen from 10'6" away using 1.2 zoom and the great thing is I do not have to use any keystoning.

I did not hook up a source to it just mounted it plugged it in and turned her on. Pleanty of brightness even with the lights on.. I cannot wait to get a screen up

I have a few pictures to update..

The room is almost complete we have some painting to touch up, stone the fireplace and finish the AV system. We have added the fireplace and carpet along with all the hardware in the bathroom.

I still get some dust reflecting from the camera flash


Screen wall
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8214/screenwallfi1.jpg

The carpet looks alot better then pictured. Too much reflection from the flash of the camera.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/729/img0545gj6.jpg

HD70 projector
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4754/img0546ei8.jpg

Infinity center channel on shelf
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4825/img0547fq4.jpg

My cheap test system
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4292/img0551kp6.jpg

Nina, she loves dirty floors.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/9032/dcp04531hs4.jpg



I know this is OT, but what kind of dog is that?

I just got a couple of pups a few months back(they are ~6mo. now) and they look almost identical to yours. Mine are part newfie and something else but we don't know what.

The recently lost their 'fluff' and now their hair looks very similar to Nina's.

Would like to see an update Hibbz... hope all is well.

Hibbz, what are the two shelves inside the shower made of?

that shower is wonderful...

i like the idea of the recessed mount for the projector.

I know this is OT, but what kind of dog is that?

I just got a couple of pups a few months back(they are ~6mo. now) and they look almost identical to yours. Mine are part newfie and something else but we don't know what.

The recently lost their 'fluff' and now their hair looks very similar to Nina's.

My guess, if it isn't a cross of golden retriver with a black lab or something, if a purebred, the only breed it could be is a Flat Coated retriever.

Beautiful dogs, smart, and haven't had the brains bred out of them.

To get back on topic, great theatre. Can't wait to see the finished job!

My guess, if it isn't a cross of golden retriver with a black lab or something, if a purebred, the only breed it could be is a Flat Coated retriever.

Beautiful dogs, smart, and haven't had the brains bred out of them.

To get back on topic, great theatre. Can't wait to see the finished job!

Hi all sorry I have not posted in a while. Thanks for the interest. I will get some more pics as soon as I can. I just finished with the Av shelf in the closet. Nothing special just a closetmaid rack, with a drawer for dvd's or whatever.

My location for the remote will not work. (remember the gf wanted in there) :) so I will need to run a new wire to right below the screen and mount the repeater eye there.

I still need a receiver too. The one we have is a POS and I dont have all the funds to get the one we need. So if any of you have a upconverting hdmi receiver cheap let me know.

We got Nina at a shelter and they didnt know what she was. However every place I have taken her for grooming has said she is a flat coat. No doubt about it. The research I have done on flatcoats leaves me to believe she is a flat coat. her temperment is always friendly, always wagging her tail, and always wants to play.

We couldnt believe our luck when we found her. We were looking for a golden retriever, but we saw her and couldn't resist.

We got Nina at a shelter and they didnt know what she was. However every place I have taken her for grooming has said she is a flat coat. No doubt about it. The research I have done on flatcoats leaves me to believe she is a flat coat. her temperment is always friendly, always wagging her tail, and always wants to play.

We couldnt believe our luck when we found her. We were looking for a golden retriever, but we saw her and couldn't resist.

Golden's are great dogs, but your risk due to overbreeding is, in my mind, too great. They are like Irish Setters in the 70's. The brains have been bred right out of them.

Flat coats are beautiful dogs, lots of the same heritage as the golden, but less popular due to the colour. So, you have less risk of hip displaysia or other inbreeding issues.

She is a beaut.
As a further threadjack, we had to put our 15 yr old standard schnauzer down last weekend, very hard on the family. My wife is pushing for another dog. One requirement is a non-shedding. I want a big dog, she wants a lap dog. Come September, we have some talking to do.

Great job on the HT. Looking great. I look forward to seeing more.

some screens

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9531/dcp04555fh6.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7606/dcp04550vw5.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/1089/dcp04551li9.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8885/dcp04554ie5.jpg

looksgood

Looks great. Thats a great color for the walls