Well I have been bouncing around from thread to thread for about a month now gathering as much info as possible. Thanks to everyone for all the great information and help. I am now at the point of starting to frame the cinema and need to dedicate my own thread for opinions and assistance. The name comes from a freind of mine who has been bugging me to finish the basement to create the man cave where we can slip away from the wife and kids during our long gaming sessions. The only problem is the cave part is more in theory than reality as the room is open to the rest of the basement as you can see from the plans.

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/basement.jpg

Unfortunately due to space limitations and my wife's desire to keep the space open, the room is not isolated, but because the space is dedicated for the theater only, I think this is posted in the right section. I am currently working with Bpape for acoustical treatments. Here are some of the pictures from the last few weeks of prepratory work.

New Outside Entrance with precast stairs and Bilco Door
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1246.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1253.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1254.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1256.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1257.JPG

More to come!

Bathroom Rough In Work

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1260.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1262.JPG

Gas Line Moved

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1268.JPG

Water Heater Moved and placed in pan (It is 10 years old)

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1267.JPG

Grundfos Comfort System Installed

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1269.JPG

Miscellaneous Plumbing
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1270.JPG

Here is the current state of the bathroom rough in.

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1272.JPG

I am now ready to start framing next week, but still have some design issues to work out. I am having difficulty visualizing how to work the walls on the left side of the cinema area as well as behind the theater seats especially as the longest length of contiguous wall is only about 5 feet. I was thinking to copy the royal cinema's "false" column design found here with one column and sconce centered along each wall section. The one change I would make is to make the overhang larger and bring the board further from the wall to allow for rope lighting behind. What do you guys think or do you have a better suggestion?

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r287/jikkjack/Royal%20Fortune/DSC150.jpg

Here is a link to the sconce I like http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Wall_Sconce_II_with_Frosted_Glass_Shade/450/

Hey Cherokee,

Looking good. Have a look at Buff Bakers layout since your basement is open. You can see all of the images of his beautiful open theater/bar area here:
Jeff's Theater (http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/)

On the columns, would the rope light be on the same circuit as the sconces or different?

Has anybody considered going with one of those tankless water heaters as a space savings? They're supposed to be a money saver as well, but I'm just thinking about being able to reclaim space.

Well, this is assuming I had a basement.

Has anybody considered going with one of those tankless water heaters as a space savings? They're supposed to be a money saver as well, but I'm just thinking about being able to reclaim space.

Well, this is assuming I had a basement.

I looked at them as a supplement to my tank so we wouldn't run out of hot water. I also had a friend look at one to replace his undersized water heater. In both cases I found that they were quite expensive. I can't recall exact figures, but here in the Denver area we were talking over $3000 for a tankless water heater installed. Part of this is the venting material which I think is a different product than you use for a regular water heater. I think you'd need to create a new vent exit from your space with this new material, and I think that's a large portion of the install cost.

-Ryan

Hey Cherokee,

Looking good. Have a look at Buff Bakers layout since your basement is open. You can see all of the images of his beautiful open theater/bar area here:
Jeff's Theater (http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/)

On the columns, would the rope light be on the same circuit as the sconces or different?

Thanks jikkjack,
Your theater is a real inspiration. I will check out Buffs for ideas as well. I just want that glow effect around the columns, so I was planning on putting the rope lights on their own circuit. All the dimmers in the basement are going to have the new Leviton Z-wave dimmers (that are supposed to release in a week) so I can control everything from my new Harmony 1000 remote. I might have to buy a $60 separate Z-wave light remote until Harmony gets the full programming done including the scene and activity based triggers. I will probably ultimately just end up finding the right level to ratio them with the sconces and then control together with scenes. It may be nice, however to leave them on ever so slightly when the movie is on, like a real theater. That is the beauty of making everything Z-wave compatible and then playing with it through programming.

We are really focusing heavily on using a lot of mood lighting. We did some work in our kitchen about a year ago tiling the backsplash and putting in dimmable hockey puck lighting. It turns out that the kitchen glows with this amazingly warm orange glow when on the lowest setting and just gets you in a great mood. As you come down the stairs in this design, we are knocking out the left side upper wall to open it up to the sitting room. We are also cutting in (3) shadow boxes with recess halogen lights directly in front where we will have this water wall in the center box. http://www.homedecorators.com/pop.php?img=large%2Fl3414410130.jpg&type=large&parentId=3414410

Thanks to everyone for all the help and comments. This really makes doing a project like this so much more enjoyable and ultimately my Wife and Son get to benefit from a much nicer basement. I really appreciate everybody's time and help!!!

That looks great. My father and i did a very similar thing in his basement. Its a lot of fun doing those kinds of projects.

I looked at them as a supplement to my tank so we wouldn't run out of hot water. I also had a friend look at one to replace his undersized water heater. In both cases I found that they were quite expensive. I can't recall exact figures, but here in the Denver area we were talking over $3000 for a tankless water heater installed. Part of this is the venting material which I think is a different product than you use for a regular water heater. I think you'd need to create a new vent exit from your space with this new material, and I think that's a large portion of the install cost.

-Ryan

I looked hard at it as well. There are only a few brands that are any good. A lot of them suffer from control oscilations. It was going to be just about $3000 installed. I chose not to do it mostly as I would need put it in the same general area as my normal gas heater, and the pole was there anyway, so I really would not have gained much usable space. I also would have had to pay an arm and a leg for the stainless steel exhaust pipe. There is one major advantage though, as they are direct vent and take the entire water heater out of any calculations for confined space combustion air requirements. I have to have two 120 sq in vents in my wall to the furnace area to join it to the main room from a combustion air perspective. I still would not have enough air if I did not have my 6" fresh air pipe which is barely visible in my water heater pan picture above.

Hey my Harmony 1000 remote just came in from USPS as I was writing this post, I am really psyched now to fire it up.

Here are the newest rocks for my cave!

Harmony 1000 RF remote. I am still waiting on the RF Extender.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1276.JPG

First impressions are amazing touch screen speed and accuracy. Fast IR signals. Software decent but still slightly crippled. Best high end cost to performance ratio if you can pick up for $380 like I did off of Ebay. I was extremely worried about how easy it was to channel surf and control my DTV HR20-700 DVR, but the speed and accuracy of the touchscreen really makes it a non issue. In many ways it is actually easier than the poor ergonomic design of my Harmony 880 remote I use upstairs.

I need to find a flexible mount solution (maybe a Universal PDA style car mount) so that I can mount it so it comes up in the front middle of the 3 theater chairs. If anybody can think of something or has already solved this problem I would love to hear from your.

I also picked up my Mitsubishi 1080p HC-5000 BL projector.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1277.JPG

I chose the Mitsu for the extremenly low price I was able to pick it up for relative to the other new 1080p sets as well as the low sound level and unbelievable sharpness for gaming performance. I only fired it up so far in a make shift setup on my tan walls in my family room, but the picture is amazing with a PS3 feeding it a 1080p signal through HDMI.

I still need help soon with the wall design, but I purchased the sconce linked above this weekend as well. Now if I could only get my contractor in here to help me.

Cherokee - looks great. My bathroom rough-in is to come, soon I hope. I put a similar device on my water tank. They forgot the pan though. Better than nothing.

On the tankless - two problems besides costs. 1. convenience - apparantly it takes a while to deliver warm water to the faucet. 2. sizing - I guess its hard to get them in sizes to handle many many applications running at once (e.g. dishwasher + laundry + shower). I think the efficiency of space and energy makes the appealing, but last time I looked those two issues made it not worth pursuing.

Cherokee - looks great. My bathroom rough-in is to come, soon I hope. I put a similar device on my water tank. They forgot the pan though. Better than nothing.

On the tankless - two problems besides costs. 1. convenience - apparantly it takes a while to deliver warm water to the faucet. 2. sizing - I guess its hard to get them in sizes to handle many many applications running at once (e.g. dishwasher + laundry + shower). I think the efficiency of space and energy makes the appealing, but last time I looked those two issues made it not worth pursuing.

DC, See my other post on the heater issue. I would call them back and get them to put in the pan!!! It only takes less than 1 hour to cut the main feed pipes, raise up the heater on 3 blocks and stick the pan under there. If you are worried about spending too much more money, just limit them to 1 hour and finish doing the PVC piping yourself. Your condnsate line from your Furnace is inches from that heater. No sense dumping the contents of that heater onto the floor as 50 gallons could still do a lot of damage to carpeting, especially if you are on vacation or something. My heater is 10 years old and it is not a case of if, but simply when. I almost replaced it as part of this job, but figured I needed the cash for other things on the project.

I have a tankless hot water heater. They are expensive, and do take about 30 seconds to run hot water. The idea is your not keeping 30, 40 gallons of water hot all the time. My gas bill is very cheap. I live in Colorado and my gas bill this winter has been average of $35 a month. Thermostat set at an average of 68. 2000sqft house.

DC, See my other post on the heater issue. I would call them back and get them to put in the pan!!! It only takes less than 1 hour to cut the main feed pipes, raise up the heater on 3 blocks and stick the pan under there. If you are worried about spending too much more money, just limit them to 1 hour and finish doing the PVC piping yourself. Your condnsate line from your Furnace is inches from that heater. No sense dumping the contents of that heater onto the floor as 50 gallons could still do a lot of damage to carpeting, especially if you are on vacation or something. My heater is 10 years old and it is not a case of if, but simply when. I almost replaced it as part of this job, but figured I needed the cash for other things on the project.


Actually the pan was supposed to be put in by my HVAC guys who were going to fabricate it. They messed up the delivery (there was a death in the family), so they are going to put it in afterwards. I had my doubts that they'd do it, but they say they will. My utilities aren't near my sump. The condensate is pumped out by small pump.

The jack-hammering I mentioned in the other thread is for an ejector pump and roughing in my bath. I have a lot going on these days!

Oh, and we are about 20-30 minutes from Fall River, just up Rte 24.

I have a tankless hot water heater. They are expensive, and do take about 30 seconds to run hot water. The idea is your not keeping 30, 40 gallons of water hot all the time. My gas bill is very cheap. I live in Colorado and my gas bill this winter has been average of $35 a month. Thermostat set at an average of 68. 2000sqft house.


30 seconds isn't bad at all. Are you on a geothermal heat pump or something to keep your bills so low?

No no geothermal heat pump, would be nice though . The builder i had build the house has won some awards for the most efficient homes in Colorado. Extra insulation above and beyond code, super efficient windows, tankless water heater etc.

Hey guys, I really need some help with some suggestions for my walls to the right and left of the door into the storage area, as well as behind and right of (3) theater seats. Will columns work with separate acoustical panels framed in the middle under the sconces or are the areas just too small. What about covering the entire wall and doing Jason's "false column" trick? I really some suggestions from guys who have seen what looks best with this type of room.

Cherokee - BPape is the right person for that question for your acoustics. I did a quick mock-up of column placement for you on your original blueprint. I added a blue square for the room and columns are in red. Ignore the size of red, they are just for visualization. I believe the only faux (or floating column) you need is the back wall behind the seats. I would expose the other 3 columns like Jeff did here (http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/bar__home_theater/img_1694.html) in his open basement design.

My only concern with your layout is the door on the left wall and equipment access makes it hard to add another column on that wall so you may be limited to 4 columns instead of 6.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r287/jikkjack/Royal%20Fortune/basement.jpg

Thanks Jason for the suggestions, Talking to Bryan more today, I think I am coming around to the fact that even false columns on the walls are probably not a good idea with such limited wall space. The current design from Bryan has me fabricating bass traps in the corners, which will basically take up 18" with trim of a wall that is only barely over 3'. I will probably need to go with 12" wide panels and use combinations of two on the larger walls with approximately 6" spacing and one on the smaller walls. I was thinking of making a nice square stained wood piece for behind the sconces, which would be generally centered between the two panels or directly over a single panel. I will probably use the thicker 2" panels.

Can somebody point me to a construction link where somebody else used 2" panels to see how they look? Hopefully somebody else has some good ideas to spruce up the look a bit.

Here is the latest update.

Finished basic framing and HVAC work. Ran surround sound an A/V cables. Electrical starts tomorrow. All acoustic treatments, bass trap materials ordered from Bpape. Cabinets and Granite Ordered. I am still waiting on the RF receiver for the Harmony 1000 remote control so I can pre-test the extension cable for the IR blaster so that it reaches my HC-5000 projector before I burry it in the ceiling. I also found a nice adjustable mount for the remote for use in a cup holder of the Theater seats. I also ordered a cinema restroom sconce from Ken at StargateCinema, thanks for hooking me up Ken!!! My sconce lights come in Friday. Here are the framing pics.

Look from the Theater into the wet bar area. 2 person bar area in front of door and 8' worth of Cherry cabinets with wine refrigerator and granite tops behind.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1278.JPG

Refrigerator Area
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1279.JPG

Sitting Room which will have big L couch.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1280.JPG

Back side of stairway looking from sitting room. Wall will be cut back to a half height knee wall with cap wood below ceiling to open up the stairwell to the sitting room. I ran a 35' HDMI cable to this area and will probably install a 42" or 47" plasma on the wall here. I do not want to spend a lot of money and saw a 47" 720p Vizio unit at Costco for $999, does anybody have this TV?
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1281.JPG

Shadow Light Boxes. Center box will have a water wall in it.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1282.JPG

Continued.

Small Powder Room with Pedestal sink to right and toilet to left. Lighted Movie Poster Box will be on the left outside wall and specialty restroom sconce on the right.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1283.JPG

Mini stage area for screen. 6 1/2" soffit with three recessed lights above. Speaker false wall is inside where framing is and will be built after drywall. Pipe on right is also inside right speaker area. Screen will be a Carada 106" I was actually standing directly behind where the 3 theater seats will be. I was thinking about putting the theater posts with red velvet rope behind the seats to add to the theater scenery since the seats stick out into the area anyway, what do you guys think?
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1284.JPG

Looking from the stage back at the area for the theater seats. You can see the pantry in the background
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1285.JPG

Looking from the bar area back into the Theater room with the unfinised area in the background. You can see the open ceiling where the rope lighting will go around infront of the soffits.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1286.JPG

Utility Area
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1287.JPG

Looking back at powder room. Bass Trap in corner with built in A/V Rack on right.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1288.JPG

Looks good, you're ahead of me (well, my guys).

Does your furnace have fresh air being fed in for combustion purposes, or need it?

Looks good, you're ahead of me (well, my guys).

Does your furnace have fresh air being fed in for combustion purposes, or need it?

Yes to both. Look just to the right of the left door framing 2x4. That is a 6" make up air duct directly from outside. I have to put a 120 in2 duct top and bottom into this room to meet code and connect to the rest of the basement. At the end of the day, this was another of the major noise flanking paths that just proved too much to economically overcome to try to isolate the entire basement for noise. Instead I am doing only the basic things - 5/8" drywall on the ceiling, Insulation everywhere humanly possible, Air tight IC rated recessed lights that are sealed with acoustic caulk and solid core doors in strategic places.

I am not sure about being ahead of you, but we are darn close to each other. We need to communicate more if we find some primo sources for stuff. Have you decided on the model seats yet? I am torn between cost savings with the Studio Series and Quality with the Berklines. Can anybody comment on both seats? Are the Berklines worth twice the price?

Here is an update on the Mancave Cinema:

Well we are basically done all the electrical we can do at this point. What a mess we had to fix from the original builder. It turned out that the brother of the builder was a licenced electrical PE, so he was able to sign off on the drawings without inspectors every double checking things. He had the basement 15 amp lighting circuit feeding my garbage disposal in my kitchen, outlets upstairs as well as my Kitchen island. They even broke code by putting too many wires in a standard outlet receptical for the light and then running 12/2 wire out of the 15 A circuit up to my Kitchen Island just to make it look like it was properly on a 20 A circuit! Anyway, I think my contractor was about to kill me because I had 4 separate 3 way circuits in this basemnt as well as all the other lighting runs. He said at the end that he had as much wiring in this basement as he had installed in several homes.

My upstairs Dining room is also being used as a storage space for all the building materials, including lights, 703 fiberglass boxes, fabric, carada screen, etc.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1289.JPG

Theater room with 2 recessed lights and stage rough in with thee recessed lights
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1290.JPG

Bathroom with lighted poster box with light switch activation on the left side of the door and a specialty cinema restroom sconce on the right side of the door above the 4 gang box.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1291.JPG

Wet bar area with 2 recessed lights and 2 boxes to the left for the ceiling pendants over the bar counter
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1292.JPG

4 gang box which will have (4) Z-wave dimmers installed to control the lighting for the entire theater
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1293.JPG

Water Wall
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1294.JPG

Water wall goes at the bottom of the stairs in the center shadow box. The wall to the left in the stairs still has to be cut down to a half height railing wall
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1295.JPG

Next week we finish the bathroom lowered ceiling, rough in plumbing and exhaust fan. Frame bar area, cut out stair wall, etc. and then insulate. We should be ready for sheetrock in another week.

Dave

Holy cow. Awesome stuff going in the Cave! Question: Will you be able to control all of your A/V AND your lighting with the Harmony 1000 RF remote? All of your theater lighting will be on one Z-wave control? I'm new to this and just overwhelmed ... seems like an awesome idea, though.

Also, I would LOVE to eventually have that type of set up but can't afford it now ... what kind of special wiring or conduits should I put in to accomplish that (controlling everything with one remote)?

Dave in case you didn't see it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020900084.html

Holy cow. Awesome stuff going in the Cave! Question: Will you be able to control all of your A/V AND your lighting with the Harmony 1000 RF remote? All of your theater lighting will be on one Z-wave control? I'm new to this and just overwhelmed ... seems like an awesome idea, though.

Also, I would LOVE to eventually have that type of set up but can't afford it now ... what kind of special wiring or conduits should I put in to accomplish that (controlling everything with one remote)?

I purchased (5) Z-wave Dimmers and (1) Z-wave scene controller from Leviton that just released on Thursday. The dimmers work just like normal dimmers with preset memory etc. for local mechanical control, but they also all network together to get full scene control capability. The big question with the Z-wave is not the capability, but Harmony's programming on the 1000. At this point I expect to simply get crude control over the lights and scene controller. In the future I expect Harmony to allow scenes to be triggered in activities, so that you can for instance call up scene 2 when you pause a DVD. IMHO everything is still theory until I get it working later this month. To answer your other questions, no special wiring other than normal electrical wiring is necessary and yes it will control my entire A/V rack and lights. I elected to use RF for everything instead of IR so I purchased the Logitech RF extender.

Dave in case you didn't see it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020900084.html

LOL, Thanks Bigmouth I was laughing the entire article. :D This quote especially struck a nerve :

"Others wonder whether some men are reacting to a sense that women are too dominant in their home lives, with their puttering and decorating and desire to slap a doily, knickknack or family photo onto every inch of open tabletop"

My wife drives me crazy with all the damn crap she puts everywhere. I have told her repeatedly that my A/V equipment, TV, etc was off limits but she had to learn the hard way. She put some knick Knacks on my speakers once and I threw them away. She got pissed, but never did it again, lol.

Looking good man. Are you doing the drywall or contracting it out? If you are doing it yourself, I recommend using a new dust control mud they sell at HD. It is in a light grey container with blue lid. It applies better than standard mud and doesn't hang in the air like regular drywall mud when you go to sand it down.

Thanks. I have a single contractor doing the basement. I am doing parts of it and doing all the design etc. A freind of mine who is a master plumber did all the plumbing. My next concern is to make sure it gets insulated fully, especially the ceiling to help with sound control. There are too many flanking paths to affordably soundproof the room, but I am just doing the basics. I will ask him if he has used that type of mud as that would certainly help the family a lot while they are sanding. I have another freind from high school who is an interior decorator. She is going to be doing a very nice faux finish paint job on the walls in the cinema area to make it really stand out, especially since I did not have enough wall space to go with columns and I decided to do the 2" thick acoustical panels on the wall. We need something to make it look special instead of looking like an audio recording room.

Dining rooms have to earn their keep when it isn't the holidays.

We dont' have a formal dining room, so we have a small pile with four cases of green glue, a faucet, the grafik eye, an under counter light I am thinking about using, the bathroom sconce and light/fan, a few other things. . .

I'll look forward to the reports on your lighting controls. My electrician is on vacation so I am a week or so out. Plumbers should finish up roughing the bath today (or come close), so that's my next update.

Keep the failth Dave. Yes, formal dining rooms are very useless except to keep the wife happy, twice a year. I just started to schedule the final work (painting, carpet installation, theater seat delivery) and it looks like we are shooting for the end of the 1st week in April. I will still have another weeks worth of work to do after that, installing the bass traps and acoustic panels on the walls. I just ordered the rotofast snap on fasteners today to attach the acoustic panels to the walls. I am only going to post a few more pictures before it starts to look finished.

Here is a long overdue short update to the mancave construction thread. Framing, plumbing, and electrical are all done now. Insulation is 80% finished and sheetrock has started. I hope to be done all sheetrock and mud work by the end of next week, but it may slip into the following week. Theater seats have been ordered and I am about to buy a popcorn machine from Stargate cinema as their power buy starts soon. I also recieved my 2" custom made acoustical panels from Bpape this week as well. My dining room is full of nothing but construction junk. Here are a few pictures:

Theater ceiling which will have crown molding with an LED rope light behind it.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1310.JPG

Looking into the messy wetbar area from the theater
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1311.JPG

One of my favorite modifications was knocking down the upper part of the stairway wall at the bottom of the stairs to open up the view to the sitting room and the shadow box wall which will contain the water wall I showed earlier in this thread.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1312.JPG

Here is a picture of the horizonal boxes for the LED step lights
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1313.JPG

I got the step lights from here

LED Step Lights (http://www.pegasusassociates.com/NightLightLEDLouverHoriz.jsp)

Here is another quick update; Sheetrock is all hung and taping is finished. My contractor is about 1/2 way through mudding the room and it is starting to look great. I will post new pics after the tile work and cabinets are going in hopefully by next week. Painting is scheduled for next weekend.

I got in the new Vizia RF dimmers and am very happy with the Z-wave dimmers and controls! I think this is definitely a system to compete on par with the dedicated lighting controllers, with the big advantage being ultimate expandability and no dedicated wiring required. I purchased 5 dimmers initially but am buying another 3 units today to put every single dimmer in my basement system on the same network. My scene controller comes in today as well, which will be able to store 4 scenes for all the lights in the basement or rest of the house for that matter. Cool new stuff.

You are cruising. Rope light up the stairs - I don't think I could get away with that, as it would reveal a bolder move to encroach on the rest of the basement. I'll have to bide my time on that. . .

LOL, They are actually LED lights, but I get your drift. My wife has been real good to let me run with most of the basement design. I let her help pick carpet, paint color etc. I had some real fun tonight as I decided to paint my refrigerator black as it was white. If I knew how nasty this Rustoleum appliance expoxy paint was, I never would have started!! It seems to work great, but I probably cut 2 years off my life breathing that stuff. It also seemed to paint the drywall dust on the floor black. I decided to do this before the finish sanding so that if anything got anywhere it would just get burried under the primer coat of paint. I have also been stockpiling all kinds of junk. My buttkicker QCP and amplifier came in today. I also got my restroom light and poster light box in this week as well. After going to Home Depot and seeing how much good non Zwave dimmers cost, I decided to make every single dimmer in the basemnt Zwave for a total of 9. I just bought 2 warmly yours carpet heating pads and controller today and will buy the popcorn machine on Monday. Anyway here are some pics of the mess with drywall dust and all. I can't wait to see your pics soon as I know you have made some good progress.

Powder room with tile down and lots of drywall dust
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1315.JPG

A/V rack and sconce light locations
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1317.JPG

Previously white refrigerator. Notice all the black drywall dust on the floor.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1319.JPG

Vizia RF Dimmer
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1322.JPG

Shadow Box area at bottom of stairs
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1323.JPG

Sitting Room
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1324.JPG

Wet Bar Area with pendant light boxes
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1325.JPG

Another quick update... I just got in my contempo 4 oz popcorn machine and fired it up last night for a movie. Nice machine. Things are going real fast now. The painter is in and should finish by tomorrow. Baseboard trim is now in and door hung with the first coat of paint on them. The powder room is nearly finished except the baseboard still needs paint. I just picked up the toilet and sink and they should be installed in the next few days. Wet bar tile also down now. Carpet comes in next Thursday.

Contempo 4oz
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1332.JPG

Webar tile area
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1328.JPG

Powder room
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1326.JPG

Theater stage for 106" diagonal screen with toilet and sink boxes now in front
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1330.JPG

Cool looking popper!

This is where the updates get fun as things are really progressing now. Painting is almost done as I still need faux painting in the theater room completed. Crown molding is also getting installed today for the rope lighting in the theater room. Lots of work still left in the wetbar area. My favorite parts of the basement so far are the stairs with the lighting, the shadow box area, and the wet bar, Oh Yea!

Stairs still missing stained cap piece. Show really cool LED stair lighting. All (8) lights pull 0.06 amps, so they are wired in to be on all the time when the lights are out

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1335.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1334.JPG

Sitting Room
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1336.JPG

Wall controller box for under carpet Warmly Yours heating pads
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1337.JPG

Wet Bar Area with wine refrigerator
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1338.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1339.JPG

Theater Stage with lots of work to do yet
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1342.JPG

Ceiling where crown and rope lighting will go
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1344.JPG

Powder room Sink

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1347.JPG

Shadow Box Area

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1348.JPG

Still lots of work to do, but it is going very quickly now.

Looking good dude. Where did you get the popcorn machine?

Call Ken at www.stargatecinema.com and he will take care of you. There is currently a powerbuy on popcorn machines in the items area of the forum that he is running.

The only thing that I do not like about the machine is the fact that the light is tied to the heater element, but I believe all of them work like that. In one way it is good as you know the unit was left on, but since mine will be visible in the theater, I will need to unscrew the lightbulb if I want to keep the heating element on, but not see the light during the movie. A better design would have been to use illuminated switches and add an independent light switch. I will probably make the modification myself.

The theater is looking great. I'll be waiting for an invite up to see the finished product in person!

Ken

That space is looking TOO good. You may have a hard time keeping the WOMANS garden club from wanting to hold their meetings there.

I'm going to look into those dimmers you used where did you find a good price?

Those riser step lights look real, very movie theater like.
I want to use them, but they don't work with my setup.

Is that a tin ceiling? Looks nice.

I was thinking the same thing. The false tin ceiling is an interesting touch that provides some visual interest.

Bryan

Cherokee,

Things are looking great!!!

I gotta share a story and a picture. I had some guys over for the Superbowl game. One of the guys stepped into the basement and said "My God Joe, you built yourself a MAN CAVE!!"

So we decided to call it that. "The Man Cave". I found a guy on E-bay that makes signs out of rocks. I had him make me a Man Cave Sign that we are going to put on the stairs going down to the basement. I have attached a pic of it laying on my kitchen counter. I have not installed it yet.

His name is Timothy Michael Kelly and his web site is http://tmichaelstudios.com

Joe

That space is looking TOO good. You may have a hard time keeping the WOMANS garden club from wanting to hold their meetings there.

I'm going to look into those dimmers you used where did you find a good price?

I got them from smarthomeusa.com, but they were not the cheapest. Once I saw how well they worked I went back for another order and made them match the price of another website, which I believe was something like ashihome, that had them for $60 ea. They work very well, but the harmony 1000 is not up to the task of properly controlling them yet.

Is that a tin ceiling? Looks nice.
No, it is a paintable wallpaper that is painted dark maroon with gold dusing on the raised parts. Here is a few up close pictures with the crown molding in now and the rope lighting installed. The crown still needs to get painted with a dirty gold brushed look.

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1349.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1350.JPG

Note that the walls and crown get totally redone. The walls will be like a parchment paper look and the crown brushed gold.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1351.JPG

Wetbar hanging pendant lights now installed
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1352.JPG

Bathroom now complete!!!!! YEA

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/IMG_1354.JPG

I am off on travel for a week now for work, so nothing will get done until next week. I hope to get the A/V rack done and then start on bass traps, acoustical panels, and the PROJECTOR!

Those riser step lights look real, very movie theater like.
I want to use them, but they don't work with my setup.

Yea, those little lights are one of my favorite touches so far to the basement. The ultimate cool thing about them is that you never need to worry about having no lights left on when you exit the basement as they light up a good section of the wall behind the theater. You can then easily see all the way up to the top of the stairs. They were very cheap at $13/ light from here:

Pegusus Lighting (http://www.pegasusassociates.com/NightLightLEDLouverHoriz.jsp )

Cherokee,

Things are looking great!!!

I gotta share a story and a picture. I had some guys over for the Superbowl game. One of the guys stepped into the basement and said "My God Joe, you built yourself a MAN CAVE!!"

So we decided to call it that. "The Man Cave". I found a guy on E-bay that makes signs out of rocks. I had him make me a Man Cave Sign that we are going to put on the stairs going down to the basement. I have attached a pic of it laying on my kitchen counter. I have not installed it yet.

His name is Timothy Michael Kelly and his web site is http://tmichaelstudios.com

Joe

That is awesome!!! I don't think it goes to well with my decor though. My friend always says the same thing, hence the name. I am really a gamer and play a lot with my 14 year old son, who is just starting to be able to beat me at some games. I will have the Xbox360 and PS3 hooked up down there and may even eventually move the Wii down as well. Hell, I may never exit the cave at all, lol.

The theater is looking great. I'll be waiting for an invite up to see the finished product in person!

Ken
You can bring the family over for a Disney night out. Your wife can be the designated driver and we can celebrate with a few drinks! Thanks for all your help.

Dave

That is awesome!!! I don't think it goes to well with my decor though. My friend always says the same thing, hence the name. I am really a gamer and play a lot with my 14 year old son, who is just starting to be able to beat me at some games. I will have the Xbox360 and PS3 hooked up down there and may even eventually move the Wii down as well. Hell, I may never exit the cave at all, lol.

Wh have a xbox 360 and I gotta tell ya it is amazing playing the games on a 10 foot wide 1080p screen. You actually get pretty dizzy until you get used to it.

Joe

Can't wait to find out! If you have the X360, the HD DVD drive is fantastic for it.

Can't wait to find out! If you have the X360, the HD DVD drive is fantastic for it.

I actually bought the HD-DVD drive before I bought the xbox. I have it connected to my htPC and we watch HD-DVD DVDs through that method. I agree though, it is amazing!!!

Joe

Hey guys I need some suggestions for how to run the fabric for the (3) bass traps. Should I just brad nail in 1"x2" rectangular pine stock vertically on the walls and then staple the fabric to the front edge and finish off with 1/4 round molding to hide the staples or do I need to rip in a 45 degree angle and then try some other molding to cover? I am going with the 17"x17"x24" traingles of 703 fiberglass in the corners.

Here is the latest update. The room is really coming together now and I have commited the cardinal sin of finishing off the projector/electronics before completing the room. We had a big B-day party for my son and the kids loved playing guitar hero on the X360 on the big screen. I still have to hang the acoustic panels, finish the bass traps, paint the shadow boxes and A/V rack as well as finish the lighting and tile work in the wet bar area. I am very happy with the installation so far and the Mitsubishi HC5000 together with the Carada 1.4 gain 106" screen are incredible together. I also love the butt kicker option in the Berkline 40003 series seats and highly recommend them. There was a few quality problems with the Berkline seats, but I fixed the issues myself. I may even be able to squeeze another seat in the row for a row of 4.

Shadow boxes without painting and stain on trim
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1356.JPG

Star Wars poster coming down stairs on first landing
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1355.JPG

Restroom Sconce light (from Stargate Cinema) + Faux painting on wall and A/V rack in background
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1359.JPG

Lighted Poster Box with Gladiator Poster (From Stargate as well)
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1358.JPG

Berklines and screen from behind
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1361.JPG

Harmony 1000 with cup holder mounting system for RF A/V control and Z-wave RF lighting control
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1362.JPG

A/V rack with missing acoustic panels to the left and right. Note that this needs to be painted black inside and also stained on the trim.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1360.JPG

Update continued.

Screen Wall (note that I need to take a better picture to show detail of panel construction). I am very happy with how this turned out. Thanks Bpape for all the advice and help on this as well as the acoustical panels.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1363.JPG

Berkline 45003 seriew from the front. These are the most comfortable seats and the power recline is great. The coolest part is the butt kickers !!!
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1364.JPG

Berklines again. I actually have more room then I thought on the left side, so I may go back and purchase another center chair if it leaves enough room to walk around on the right side. I will play with this configuration in the next few days to test.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1366.JPG

Lastly the wet bar area that is currently in disarray. I still need to do the natural stone tile backsplash as well as all the counter lighting. Note that we liked the Faux painting so much in the theater room that it looks weird to not have it in the wet bar area. I paid my painter friend a bit extra to extend the faux into the wet bar area as well. This should be done this week.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1365.JPG

There is still a lot of work to do, but boy am I happy with the product so far. Please post if you have any questions.

Very nice work!

Where did you get the RF cup holder?

Looking real good.

I agree with the decision to extend the faux finish into the bar.

The painted side soffit was a conversation I was having with my wife this morning. We not sure whether to wrap them in fabric or paint them. There really won't be any paint in my room except the ceiling and trim, so other than trying to match the fabric, I am not sure what else to paint them.

Looking forward to the installed water wall pic. What's going in the adjacent shadow boxes.

Oh, and I was looking at your pre-cast stairwell. Watch the gaskets and seals. It was determined that either the join of the stairwell to the foundation (gasketed) or the seals of bulkhead above failed me and led to my water intrusion early in the process of my build. I need to figure out which it was. One contractor said it wasn't unusual. Took 2-3 years for mine to fail.

Dave,
The theater is looking great. You made some great decisions on the colors and finishes. It all looks really good together and I also agree with continuing the faux finish. I could tell in our conversations that you tried to think of everything and all of the preparation and thought definitely paid off in your (almost) finished product. I can't wait to see the finished product and to see what's going in the other shadow boxes.

I especially like the Berklines, Popcorn Machine, Illuminated Poster Case, Restroom Sconce and Poster Frame! ;)

Ken

Very nice work!

Where did you get the RF cup holder?

It is a Bracketron unit from Best Buy that is normally used for the car. It fits the cup holders OK, but they are very oversized holders, so I may make a rubber piece to tighten up the gap a bit.

Question on popcorn machine. I am looking at getting one for wet bar in my theater and am wondering on what size machine to get. Do you have a guess on how bags of microwave popcorn your 4oz would compare too. Also your theater is looking great. Thanks for the help and keep up the good work.

Looking real good.

I agree with the decision to extend the faux finish into the bar.

The painted side soffit was a conversation I was having with my wife this morning. We not sure whether to wrap them in fabric or paint them. There really won't be any paint in my room except the ceiling and trim, so other than trying to match the fabric, I am not sure what else to paint them.

Looking forward to the installed water wall pic. What's going in the adjacent shadow boxes.

Oh, and I was looking at your pre-cast stairwell. Watch the gaskets and seals. It was determined that either the join of the stairwell to the foundation (gasketed) or the seals of bulkhead above failed me and led to my water intrusion early in the process of my build. I need to figure out which it was. One contractor said it wasn't unusual. Took 2-3 years for mine to fail.

The water wall is actually in the center picture if you look closely, but is almost totally lost in the unfinished wood of the boxes.

I have not decided what to put in side boxes yet so I am up for any and all suggestions. I thought about putting in movie related stuff, but may opt for a more upscale vase look. What do you guys think?

Thanks for the warning on the pre-cast stairs, but I don't think I will have a problem (famous last words!). The contractor who did the work is the only certified Bilco door installer in the area and they do 90% of the new home installations as well as retro fits. They spent an incredible amount of time and detail on the sealing work. They ground down the original wall to the block, then resealed everything. Used both a gasket and additional sealer on the seam, and then sealed along the inside as well. I also used a hammer drill and angled a hole from my block wall at the bottom into underneath my basement slab to act as a drain hole if anyone ever leaves the door open or something fails. The water should collect at the bottom and then enter into my rock drainfield under my slab. I am about to seal the entire doorway at the bottom with polyurethane sealer to make sure the water goes down the drain instead of on top of the slab. The only way I think I can get water damage is for the primary sump to fail and now my battery backup watchdog sump system would also have to fail. At least that is what I hope.

Question on popcorn machine. I am looking at getting one for wet bar in my theater and am wondering on what size machine to get. Do you have a guess on how bags of microwave popcorn your 4oz would compare too. Also your theater is looking great. Thanks for the help and keep up the good work.

I am not sure on bags, but it really depends on the size of the bags. I am currently using the 85oz buckets that are the exact same size you normally see in the theaters and the 4oz unit only fills (2) of those. I wish I had more money allotted for that purchase as a 6 oz unit would be better for my family. We only have (3) people but tend to each finish one bucket during a flick (my son is a growing 14 year old monster when it comes to eating). I simply make two batches now. Somebody else posted recently that you can get away with using 6 oz packets in a 4oz machine, which I tried and worked a bit better. You certainly have more uncooked kernals, but you also get more popcorn / batch. The 6oz packets only cost a few dollars more than the 4 oz ones, so it is probably the way to go.

Very nice work!

Where did you get the RF cup holder?

These were exactly the first two thoughts I had after seeing the new pictures. :D

-Ryan

I say you put some movie props in the boxes, maybe with a shelf or two depending on the props. Heck with the vases in my humble opinion! :)

Looks like I am following your lead and going with the rope under crown approach. I sent my wife your pic where you matched the side-soffit color with the ceiling (minus the design). Progress.

Looks like I am following your lead and going with the rope under crown approach. I sent my wife your pic where you matched the side-soffit color with the ceiling (minus the design). Progress.

I don't think you will be disappointed. I will post some better detailed pictures as the painting came out much better than the original pictures show with only the base coat visable. I checked the new pictures I posted and none of them show the crown molding very well.

I found out a very important thing today about the buttkicker arrangement with 3 seats. It is the worst for power if you use the QC package to hook up the seats. They run all 3 in series which drops the power greatly. I was having problems feeling the effect very much. Instead I ditched the package and ran the wiring myself to hook up the end two seats in series and then parallel those seats in the circuit with the middle seat. This raises the total power available by 4x although it is not split evenly between the seats (The center sees more power). What a difference this makes!!! If you go with a three seat set up, do not use the QC package!!

Here is a good picture

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/websize/IMG_1370.JPG

Well, the old saying about not hooking up your projector until the job is entirely finished is 100% true. I had to throw everything together for my Son's 14th B-day party two weekends ago and now everything has slowed to a crawl. My son and his friends spent nearly the whole party playing a game his friend brought over called Guitar Hero on the Xbox 360. It was pretty amazing on a 106" screen with the killer sound system and buttkickers all working.

I just finished up the mounting block installation for the side panels that cover the speakers last night. I also pulled all the A/V equipment back out of the rack to paint the inside black. Talk about a bit scary, try having pitch black paint overtop of your new carpet and faux painted walls even with a drop cloth down, I was scared to death. Anyway I finished the inside of the rack and now am going to stain all the shelves and trim. I also hung half of the acoustic panels using the Rotofast system, which is fantastic, in the last week. Lots more to do and I think I will wait till later in the week to show pictures of the final product as I am sure nobody wants to see interim photos.

Lastly, I have sort of become a weird type of mad scientist when it comes to playing with this popcorn machine. I have purchased all types of brands of the pre-packaged packs and now have bought coconut oil, flavorcal, and store bought popcorn in search of the perfect recipe. Has anybody else had this experience after getting their machine? I am up for any suggestions as I still do not have the right answer yet, I only know I am getting closer. I didn't care too much for the benchmark popcorn paks and I am now testing megapop and Naks, which look like they both come directly from Weaver. Not sure if there is any difference yet.

I somehow missed that update with the closer pic. Looks tremendous, especially with the faux paint. Nice transitions. The color of the crown will be something for me to decide down the road (blues and gray in the room - either one of those colors or black or silver come to mind). Need to get rid of the contractors, and buy the fabric for panels first.

That popcorn popper stuck has with me - might be a down the road purchase. Keep us posted on the kernel quest. BTW - glad you added a link to your thread in your sig - I have been meaning to suggest that for a while.

Yea, I highly recommend the popper if you have the room. I picked it up from Ken at Stargate. Give him a call if you get ready and he will hook you up. The smell alone makes it amazing when friends come over. It is also a breeze to clean. I do suggest a 6oz unit though if you can afford it. I went for the 4oz unit due to available space and funds and always do at least 2 batches. I actually switched to using 6 oz packs in my 4 oz machine, which actually works out pretty well, except you get a bit more unpopped kernels.

I was knee deep into staining the A/V rack trim and shelves tonight. That was also a bit scary over the rug and wall, but nowhere near as scary as the pitch black paint. I kept thinking that one bone head move would cost me thousands of dollars to replace the rug. Got that all done, now I will be coating everything in polyurethane tomorrow. The acoustic panels look much better than I thought in the custom GOM Anchorage fabric. Pictures to follow this weekend after the mess is cleaned up.

By the way Dave, your theater is beginning to Rock.

Here is a quick set of pictures of the A/V rack, which actually came out much better than the pictures show. The flash shows off much more than you can see with the naked eye as the inside is pitch black. This was my first stain job and it came out great although it is a real pain in the butt.

A/V rack with acoustic panels now mounted to each side.
Equipment list:
Denon 2807 HDMI 1080p switching receiver
Buttkicker Amp
DirecTv HR20-700 HD DVR
PS3
Xbox 360 w/HD DVD Drive and Ravens faceplate

http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1372.JPG

Faux painting finished today in the wetbar area (still drying). My bar stools are going to go right here.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1378.JPG

Stanley Cup playoffs. What really sucked is that I could only get on the VS channel in SD tonight. It still looked pretty good in all 106" glory.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1375.JPG

Outstanding job!! Looks great man. Keep the pictures coming.

Ditto

Thanks guys.

I am going to take a picture of the back of the rack that has the 110V fans from Radio Shack mounted to improve cooling once I clean up the area and wiring a bit. These fans work well, but do give a bit more fan noise then I wanted and I can hear them from my seats. Does anyone know of a cheap thermostat contact type switch that I might throw in series with the 110V power so that the fans only run when the temperature gets above a given setpoint? Right now the power is directly plugged into the switched outlet in the back of the reciever so it goes on and off with the RF command from the H1000 remote.

Attic fan thermostats should work you can get one at home depot are lowes.

Just wire an attic fan thermostat to your cooling fans. They are easy to find at Lowe's or Home Depot and are only like $15. The fans will run only when the temperature exceeds whatever limit you set it at, and they will turn off whenever the temperature has cooled.

OK, Here is a small update. Things have slowed to a crawl now that I made the mistake of getting the system operational for my son's B-day party in late April. I am using the room 20X more than finishing it. I have decided to get disciplined and make a list of 2 items to complete each weekend. I now have 3 of the 5 acoustic panels mounted, but need to build the entire bass traps. I still need to stain and paint the shadow boxes and back door. Lastly I was an idiot for not running VGA cable for a computer upfront, so I bought a 25' cable for monoprice and will have to fish it through the pipe that I put in the wall. The Leviton Z-wave stuff works fantastic, especially the controller, however the Harmony 1000 is a piece of Junk and locks up every 4 days or so.

Here is the picture of the fans installed for the rack. You can see I still need to do some cable management.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1396.JPG

Here is the Leviton Dimmers with 4 scene controller
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1386.JPG

Here is the Leviton Remote
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1395.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1394.JPG

Seats with Great Theater Blankets from Stargate Cinema (Thanks Ken). I still need to buy one more for the third seat. Don't know what I was thinking. You can also see one of the two remaining acoustic panels on the floor instead of the wall behind the seats.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1390.JPG

Good view of the room lighting in theater section with the enter scene enabled on the 4 scene controller.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1391.JPG

I highly recommend using the Zwave system instead of a dedicated lighting controller as there is no practical limit to the number of circuits or lights and there is no special wiring required. You can also easily branch out the system into the rest of your house, which I am about to buy dimmers for my upstairs family room to control on the same network. I have had no failures or missed commands either.

Any comments on the change in audio performance as you add the panels?

It appears to me that the biggest difference is the clarity on the center channel speaker during movies. I assume this is due to the absorption of the high frequency reflections off of the drywall surfaces that no longer create time delayed reflections that hit your ears a few milliseconds after the direct sound wave. I have not done the bass traps yet, so no comment there.

I have spent a great deal of time lately setting up a HT PC for the room and ran into a problem trying to do remote sleep and wake up functions in Windows Vista. I finally solved the issue so if anyone else is having problems getting Vista into and out of sleep mode properly they may want to check out my posts on the subject.

Well I have'nt posted on the theater in here in ages, so I thought I would just upload some 95% final pictures. I still have a few acoustic panels to put up and two bass traps to build and that is it.

Finished Wet Bar Area. Lights above crown moulding and under counter as well as under counter bar front facia in front of stools. All controled with Zwave dimmer.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1933.JPG

Close up of bar area.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1934.JPG

Counter Bar/Popcorn machine area.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1935.JPG

Sitting Area. Final Acoustic Panels will be ordered next week to cover water meter and electrical box holes. I will mirror panels on the left wall on the right to make look like it is a pattern instead of hiding stuff. We still need some art work on the walls in this room after I put up the panels.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1950.JPG

40" Sony LCD on wall. Mounted with Monoprice swing mount. Fed from the other room using Optima 4x2 HDMI Matrix Switch. In reality you can not see the HDMI feed in the back.
http://photos.imageevent.com/rapplebee/davesmiscphotos/forumdiscussionphotos/large/IMG_1951.JPG

Well I love my basement!!!! My advice is to take your time and do it exactly how you want to as it is very worth it in the end. By the way thanks to others on this forum who recommended the Next Generation RF extender system which is the best $38 I ever spent.

Welcome back! Looking good.

Quick question - I am working on the design for v2.0 (long story). I will be in a space sized comparable to yours. Are you at your max size for your PJ throw? Did you pick the Mits for its throw? How has the performance of the PJ been over time?

I am not sure if it is 100% maxed, but it is close. I would not go bigger as it would lose a lot of pop on the picture quality plus I am only 11'6" from the screen. I love this projector, but not sure if there are better now for the price. I love the 5000 hours for the bulb on low setting. I am already over 2800 hours and I already would be out $300 for a new bulb on a lot of other projectors. I use the system almost 100% when I use a computer which I never really thought about going into the project.