Ok, I had to consolidate all of my threads into one, so here it goes.

I moved into the new house about a year ago and it's time to start finishing the basement. This will be a whole basement build, not just the theater. I knew I wanted a few things... #1) a home theater, #2) a spot for the pool table, #3) a half bathroom, #4) a wetbar.

Here is the floorplan of the basement:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/blue.jpg

And here is the sketchup of what I'm thinking I'll do to it:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/overhead.jpg

Here is a cross section with the theater:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater_plane.jpg

I have a more up to date file with the theater at home, I'll have to remember to post it.

Nick

nice, where will you store the media equipment?

btw did you use google sketchup? I love that program, its very easy to knock out a room after you get use to it.

One of the first issues I ran into was that my main gas pipe was right in front of the only window in the basement (the other one will be closed off in the bathroom).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/DSCN1665.jpg

So I had to change that. I had a contractor come out and he wanted $400 to move it.... so off to Home Depot I went to get the parts to do it myself.

A couple of hours later and what turned out to be a really easy job, I had rerouted it:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/07Mar07/DSCN1703.jpg

We also had a smoke detector in our way that we had to move over into the furnace room. That would have been easy, except the wire attaching it to the rest of the smoke detectors in the house, was barely long enough to get into the room... so it might be code violation since it's right against the wall, but I'm not getting the basement inspected, so it shouldn't be a problem. I plan on adding another smoke detector in the main area and one in the theater, so it's really just an "extra".

Nick

Ok next came the plumbing. I had a seperate post asking for advice, but to make a long story short....

When I had the house built, I paid to have the builder put a rough-in for the half bath. Well, when I went to do the plumbing I realized he installed 1/2" copper for hot and cold, but tee'd off it once to go to the powder room upstairs. Due to this it would be against code to run a second powder room off the cold side (hot would be fine). I'm not getting inspected, but one day you never know and ripping down drywall to fix plumbing wasn't at the top of my list.

So I ran a new 3/4" line over to the bathroom.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1738.jpg

It was a royal pain in the a$$! I had a leak and couldn't get the water out, so I had to cut the new pipe, drain it and attach a coupling. Well, had a leak the second time so had to repeat this process. Really was a nightmare.

I also had to move a couple of pipes to go through beams instead of under:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1708.jpg

They went pretty easily.

Nick

Next was some HVAC. I had two places where the HVAC runs went under the beams. I couldn't cut through my joists to put them through, so I had to reroute them. Because of this, I decided to move the bar from the area shown above in the sketchup model, to over in front of the electircal panel by the bathroom.

The first HVAC run I pushed into the hot water heater closet:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1742.jpg

This left just a "nub" of a soffit bump out in the area which may become an "arcade"... a pinball machine and arcade game maybe...

The next one was where I wanted to put the wine closet. For this one, I ran it as close to the beam as possible, then just soffited around it:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1741.jpg

This job went pretty easy. Finding 7" flex wasn't easy as the box stores didn't have it... had to go to an actual HVAC store. Then it was just a matter of which tape to use... if you haven't checked the HVAC isle at Home Depot... try it sometime. There are about 50 different types of duct tape. I ended up grabbing the black stuff that said it was specifically for flex duct... hopefully it's the right stuff :)

Nick

Framing is almost complete in the basement. I just have to do the soffits around the theater.

Here is the view from coming downstairs and turning the corner:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1723.jpg

On the right is the wine closet, on the left is the hot water heater closet. Not sure what to do with the middle area yet.... it's 5' deep, with the section to the left of the pole 5' wide and the section to the right 4' wide. I was thinking maybe an arcade with a pinball machine and arcade machine in each "slot".

Here is the view down the length of the basement (please excuse the mess):

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1726.jpg

To the left is the furnace room. The rest of it is open area, with 8' width under the soffit and 8' width outside it. The ceiling height under the soffit is 6'7" and 7'9" outside it.

Here's the view as you turn the corner at the far end to head towards the theater:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1727.jpg

On the right where the electrical panel is, is where the wetbar will go. We were thinking narrow cabinets with a countertop and a few stools, then maybe a movie poster to act as the door to the electrical panel.

On the left you can see the door to the bathroom. Across from that is the theater:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1730.jpg

Here is the view from the screen wall looking back:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/19Mar07/DSCN1732.jpg

You can see the equipment room off to the left at the back.

Nick

Here is a more up to date picture of the theater sketchup model.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/theater.jpg

I'm still debating on the use of the AT screen or just a regular screen.

Nick

Looks like a great space. What are the dimentions of the theater area? Look like about 20x12 or so based on the floorplan.

Hey Mike,

The theater itself is 20' x 16' pre drywall.

Nick

I'm looking at working on the HVAC maybe this weekend. I don't want to spend the $ to install a seperate system for the basement, but has anyone tried branching off their thermostats upstairs and installing a second one in the basement. Then maybe use a switch to select which thermostat should be used? That way, when you're planning on being in the theater for a few hours, you can turn the one downstairs on to get the theater to the right temp and the upstairs to whatever... then when you're upstairs turn the thermostat up there on and have the upstairs the right temp and the theater be whatever.

Nick

Has anyone tried using a Tablet PC instead of their remote?

http://www.mytvstore.com/images/product_1_01.jpg
IR Blaster (http://www.mytvstore.com/product_id_001.html)

This is an IR blaster that you can hook up to a PC and use to transmit to components. I'd like to be able to use a Fujitsu or similar Tablet PC to control my equipment. Then use a program like RemoteControlII (http://www.wincesoft.de/html/remotecontrol_ii.html) to program the Tablet.

The tablets only cost about $200 and would give me a 10" screen instead of the 3.5" screen on most remotes.

Nick

Last night I started the waste line run from the rough in drain to where the pedestal sink will be in the bathroom.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/21Mar07/DSCN1743.jpg

Next, I'll have to continue the run over to the drain for the wet bar sink. I also need to add the vertical runs for the venting. There will be a vertical run from each sink up to the vent line that is located just outside the bathroom wall next to the electrical panel.

If you look real close in this picture you can see the 1" run I had to make from the laundry room washer overflow basin. The builder never connected the drain line, instead they cut it off at ceiling height and covered it with insulation... luckily I found it.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/21Mar07/DSCN1746.jpg

Lasty, is the Tee that just refuses to seal. It drips about once every 10 minutes. So this weekend, I need to cut it out and replace it. It's very frustrating.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/21Mar07/DSCN1749.jpg

Nick

I finished up the plumbing for the powder room and wet bar this weekend. It actually went pretty smoothly.

Here is the powder room sink and toilet:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/DSCN1750.jpg

Here is the wetbar spickets and drains:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/DSCN1753.jpg

Lastly, we finished up the soffit over the bar area. Now, the only framing left are the soffits in the theater and the blocking for drywall on corners.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/plumbing/DSCN1755.jpg

Nick

Been a while since I've updated, managed to get some time in last weekend to do some work on the basement.

I put up the soffit around the perimeter of the theater. It's 27" wide by 8" tall. 8" was just enough to enclose the sewer pipes on the left side of the theater. Here's a pic showing them:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1804.jpg

Here's a view looking towards the front of the room, I forgot the wide angle lens so sorry for the lousy pic:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1800.jpg

Here is a shot of the back of the back of the room:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1801.jpg

You can see I left a spot for a projector shelf. Once the drywall is done, I'll add a wood enclosure that will hold the projector. Once finished it will blend right in and all that will be seen is the hole the projector is shooting out of.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1803.jpg

Doing the break in the soffit allowed me to put my main return in the side of the break. This did two things, it made sure all of the hot air from the projector will get sucked out of the room and it hid the large grill from view so it won't be an eyesore in the room.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1802.jpg

If for some reason I'm not getting enough airflow from the project blocking it, I can punch through the soffit from the front and add another grill. Hopefully I won't need to.

I also start laying out the hvac registers in the rest of the basement:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/framing/06Apr07/DSCN1799.jpg

This proved more difficult than expected. Everywhere I wanted to put a hvac line, there either already was one, or there was something the builder installed blocking it's path. Another issue I ran into was that wherever I put the hvac line, that section between beams won't be able to have any recessed lights. So I changed direction and decided to go get my recessed lights and get those mounted (not yet wired) before finalizing the hvac runs. Home Depot had a great deal on a contractors 6 pack. They were air tite IC lights with trims for $50. Unfortunately, they only had one box and no other local HDs have any... so I'm going to check NY this weekend while I'm up there.

Nick

I began the installation of the recessed lights. I've finished the main basement, still need to do the theater though.

I installed 14 6" cans in the main 8' celiing area, two 6" cans in the arcade, 3 5" cans on the 7' ceiling area, 1 5" can on the 7' ceiling area leading to the theater hallway, 2 6" cans in the hallway of the theater/bathroom, 4 4" cans against the wall on the 7' ceiling and 3 4" cans over the bar area.

All the lights will be normal soffit lights, except the 4 4" cans against the wall which will be eyeball lights to shine light on pictures against the wall.

I still need to install the 6 6" cans, 6 5" cans and 5 4" cans in the theater.

I bought a lutron grafikeye 3106 for the theater, which will allow me to control the light levels for all lights with a simple button push on my remote.

The rest of the basement will use dimmable light switches which can also be controlled via remote, just not with as many options as in the theater.

Here is a shot looking down the length of the basement. The flash helps show where all the lights are.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1825.jpg

Here's a shot showing the spacing of the lights in the main 8' ceiling. They are 2' from each side wall and about 4' between eachother.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1823.jpg

Here are the two lights over the arcade area, 2' from the walls and 5' between eachother.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1822.jpg

You can make out 3 of the 4 4" wall wash cans on the back of the soffit in this pic. Once drywall is up, I'll install the eyeball covers and direct them at posters on the wall. They're spaced evenly along the wall, about 4' beween eachother.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1817.jpg

Here are the three 4" cans that will be over top of the bar.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1813.jpg

Lastly is another shot looking down the length of the basement:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1809.jpg

Nick

I've managed to almost finish the HVAC in the basement. I ran out of 6" flex duct with only the bathroom supply and half of the theater supply left to do. Here are some pics:

Here is one of the returns by the furnace. This was by far the easiest to install. I just used a straight 6" starting collar, then connected the flex duct, zip tied it on, taped it and was done.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/hvac/17Apr07/DSCN1844.jpg

If you look closely you can see the supply going out near ankle level under the window. This was one of the few supplies I could get at floor level. The rest will just need to be at ceiling level. Again, I just used a straight starting collar.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/hvac/17Apr07/DSCN1835.jpg

This run across the basement was a bit tougher. I need to mount the 90' takeoff collar on top of the main duct, then connect the flex to it. There was a lot of swearing and a lot of sweating, but I got it done.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/hvac/17Apr07/DSCN1834.jpg

Here's where things got really tough. This is the 8" return in the theater. You can see it takes air in from where my projector will be mounted on a shelf. The issue I had was running it from the main trunk. The builder put in a scrap piece of engineered joist to use as a fireblock I think. It was nailed in sideways between the two joists directly above the beam. It wasn't structural as nothing was resting on it. It was just there to block my access I think ;) There were also two water pipes running through it that I had to deal with. There was very little room to get my arms up there, let alone tools. I managed to get a rotozip in there and take it out piece by piece. It was a time consuming and messy job with sawdust flying back in my face.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/hvac/17Apr07/DSCN1836.jpg

I got the flex duct up there and pulled it through.... which created another problem. The hardwood floor above has a paper under it which is stapled to the subfloor. The staples protrude down slightly and the flex duct wrapping kept catching. I gave up trying to pull it without the outer insulation ripping... I was just at the point where I didn't care anymore :) So I'm sure there are a tear or two in the insulation, but oh well.

Lastly was the ducting for the theater supply. This was a 8" run to a 6" reducer to a 6" tee that feeds two supplies. Here things got messy. Getting the damn run over was even harder since I had to pass it over the supply main duct and the return main duct. Then run it another 5' in the ceiling to the reducer. I finally got that done, only to realize I couldn't fit a T and a boot in my joist cavity. So I used the one outlet of the T as my "boot". I framed around it and installed a piece of aluminium with a 6" hold over the studs to keep the air from going back into the ceiling. Hopefully it will work :)

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/hvac/17Apr07/DSCN1840.jpg

I installed the supplies in the theater as close as I could to the soffit in hopes that when I install the light tray it will block "line of sight" of the grills. Also, I used the only bay that was available to me and I wanted once closer to the front of the room... this one ends up almost in the middle. So I'm hoping the light tray will help block the air from hitting me on the head while I'm watching a movie.

Nick

I got the recessed lights mounted in the theater also. I ended up putting 4 6" cans in the high area of the ceiling and 4 5" cans against the walls that I plan to use as wall washes. I'm going to run wire for 5 4" cans to go as spots against the screen, but I won't install them until after drywall (I don't plan on installing the curved tray ceiling above the screen until after drywall).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/17Apr07/DSCN1842.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/17Apr07/DSCN1841.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/17Apr07/DSCN1838.jpg

I ran the wiring to the 6" cans in the main part of the basement. There are 18 6" cans in total. They'll be controlled by lutron spacer dimmers from the bottom of the stairs as well as the hallway to the theater.

Here is a pic of the box by the stiars. The three gang is at the bottom of the stairs and will control first 8 6" cans (switch #1), second 8 6" cans (switch #2) and the two lights above the staircase (switch #3).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/17Apr07/DSCN1845.jpg

The four gang box is at the small hallway leading to the theater. It will control first 8 6" cans (switch #1) in main basement, second 8 6" cans (switch #2) in main basement, 2 6" cans in theater hallways (switch #3), and the 3 5" cans in the soffit in the main part of the basement (switch #4).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/17Apr07/DSCN1843.jpg

I ran into a problem with the spacers. To fit them in a ganged box with one next to the other, you need to remove the metal fins they have on the sides of them. Well if you do that, they're no longer rated for 600W, they drop down to 500W if you remove one side or 400W if remove both. This is a problem in that two of the switches are each supposed to control 8 6" recessed lights, each having 65W bulbs. Well that equals 520W, which means I can't remove their tabs. So what I'll have to do is put those two switches one on each end of the box, then in the middle of the box put the other switches controlling less lights. It's not the order I'd like to have my switches in, but it will have to do.

Nick

Nice work documenting everything Nick. I'm learning a bunch that's helping my planning. Keep up the great work!!

Thanks Michael!

By all means if you have any questions ask away. And if you see anything that doesn't look right or you're not sure why I did the way I did, point it out, because chances are I messed up! :)

Nick

Great progress. Man there are a bunch of 2x4's there! I am not an HVAC expert but if a thermostat was wired correctly to a relay that was connected to a switch I don't see why your idea would not work. I don't think the system cares where the thermostat is. The reason I suggest a multiple pole relay is that there is more than one wire to the thermostat. Of course a multiple pole switch could do the same thing if you can find one that fits your requirements.

Keep up the great work!

Laters,
Jeff

Jeff,

It's been a while since I've played with circuits, or a thermostat for that matter, but if I remember correctly there are only two sets of wires I'd need to switch, so I think a double pole switch should work. I figured I'd try it and worse that happens is I waste a $3 switch from radio shack :)

And yes a lot of 2x4s, I think overally it was close to 800 and I still have a bit to go with stage, bar, etc.

Nick

I continued working on the elctrical over the last couple of weeks. I got all of the lights wired up (with the exception of the bathroom and arcade). All of the switches are dimmable and the wall wash, hallway to the theater, and bar lights can all be controlled via remote.

Here's a pic looking back towards the arcade/wine closet (on left) and entrance to the basement (right):

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1856.jpg


Here is the same shot, but shows the lights in the lower ceiling area a bit better:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1859.jpg


Here is a shot looking the other way towards the theater hallway (left) and bar (center):

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1863.jpg[IMG]


Here is a good shot of the lights under the lowered ceiling. The main ceiling as 6" cans, the lowered ceiling has 5" on the left side and 4" on the ride side. The 4" will be wall washes:

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1865.jpg


Here is the hallway to the theater:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1867.jpg


Here is the bar area. We plan on putting cabinets below the three lights. There will be enough room to walk behind them and there will be a small sink installed. I wired all the lights and outlet to a GFCI breaker and put all lights/outlets off a GFCI receptacle. I did manage to blow up the first switch I put in there. It was the last switch I installed, so you would think it would have been a no brainer, but for some reason I decided to hook the neutral to the output instead of the hot... a big zap and tripped breaker... a burnt $30 switch to be replaced and all is fine now:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1869.jpg


Here is the entrance to the theater. I ran out of bulbs, so I only have two of 4 installed in the main ceiling and three of 4 installed in the soffit:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1872.jpg


Here is the rear of the theater. On the right part of the soffit is the outlet for the future rope light. You can also make out the two outlets that will be located inide the columns:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1882.jpg



Here is the front of the theater. The outlet in the soffit above will be for lights that will shine down on the front of the screen. The three black outlets will be behind the screen and will be used to light up the speakers so that they can be seen through the screen when desired:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1879.jpg


Nick

I finally got my GrafikEye installed. This controls all the lights in the theater and it is simply awesome! I have 6 zones as follows:

#1 - 4 Main ceiling can lights
#2 - 4 Soffit lights
#3 - Screen lights
#4 - Rope light for soffit
#5 - Behind screen lights
#6 - Column lights

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1876.jpg


I played with the grafikeye last night and it was really really cool!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1878.jpg


Lastly, here's each side of the theater. There are two outlets per side wired... these will be for inside the columns to control lights mounted on/in them. They are controlled by the grafikeye:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1884.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/03Jun07/DSCN1885.jpg

Nick

Out of curiousity ... what type of bulbs is everyone using in their cans? I heard certain lights give off a whiter light when dimmed than others...

Nick

Nice job with the framing. You have quite a sophisticated set-up going on there! BTW, I have a mini-schnauzer that looks just like yours, S+P, long ears and all!

Gotta love the mini schnauzers... by far the best dog we've had. He's a camera hog though that's for sure!

Now if I could just get him to fetch me drinks....

Nick

Ok it's been too long since I last posted. The little things here and there took way too long. The electrical took much longer than I would have ever thought!

I had to figure out what to do on the stairs leading down to the basement. I ended up studding them with 1x3s and foam in between.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2028.jpg


We got the insulation up, that was NOT a fun job

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2029.jpg


This is the outside of the theater wall, it shows the weave of the insulation and the eyeball lights that will be shining on pictures against the wall

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2031.jpg


A lot of wires in the equipment closet!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2033.jpg


And finally some pics of the theater

Looking at the front of the room

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2032.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/insulation/07Nov07/DSCN2034.jpg


We got four estimates on drywall, one was astronimical, two were in the 6k range and one was in the 4k range (and was the company that drywalled the rest of our house when it was built)... we went with the 4k route :)

Nick

this is a basic contruction 101 question for most, but what determines how you place the insulation into the wall and ceilings. meaning paper backing facing out versus in? thanks.

aham,

How I understood it was that if the insulation will be against an outside wall, or against air that is from an outside wall, it needs to be paper faced with the paper towards the inside of the room (the warm side in the winter). If the insulation is not on an outside wall, it should be unfaced. This is all assuming that you are using the kraft paper as your vapor retarder and aren't using any type of plastic sheeting.

Nick

Nice looking project. I am also from Douglassville and doing my basement.

What Forino model do you have? I have a Michigan.

Bill
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=895524

Hey Bill.

We have the Kennedy II model. Looks like you're a bit ahead of us, but we're catching up :) It helps that we hired drywallers instead of doing it ourself. Best $4k I've ever spent, although taking more than a week off and never knowing when they're going to show up has been a hassle.

All the drywall is up and the skimcoat has been put on. They need to come back one more time to sand and then I'll be able to paint.

I'll try to get some pictures up sometime soon!

Nick

Very nice build so far. Very detailed. Thank you.

Question, maybe concern? Do you have access to the electrical panel other than through the poster door you framed? From the picture it appears to be a very tight space. Just thinking, in case you need to remodel later. You want ample space to access the panel. Is there an actual door to this area behind?

Looking forward to your progress.

Mike

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/lighting/11Apr07/DSCN1813.jpg

Mike,

The area behind is about 2' wide. There wasn't enough room to put a door, because I needed to put a vent there. For right now, to access the panel, I've just been reaching in... the front of the panel is only about a foot and a bit from the opening so it's an easy reach. The opening is big enough to get the panel out of. Also, there's enough room that if I need to, I can use a step ladder to go through the opening and stand in the space where the panel is. If I had to do a large remodel, that's probably what I'd end up doing. Worse comes to worse, I can always take down that wall without too much trouble... hopefully it won't ever come to that though.

Nick

I think what Mike is alluding to is that you may not pass inspection the way it is currently framed out. You're not allowed any obstructions 36" in front of the box. I don't know if the wall counts as an obstruction of not. You may need to move the box forward or reframe the wall.

inspection

That word is no longer allowed in this build thread :D

To me, the code stated that the box couldn't be blocked 36" in front of it... it's not, there's a big hole in the wall, so that nothing is blocking it. If I ever need to get this inspected though, and the inspector gives me a hard time (although I'm not sure why he would still?) I could move the box out, or build the wall back so that it becomes a small closet. That would be a pain in the butt, so hopefully this never comes up :) My only concern with putting the wall like that was that I could quickly and easily open the panel door and flip a breaker in case of emergency, which I can do so at least I feel safe.

Has anyone ran into problems with this type of setup before? I'm sorta curious now, it never crossed my mind even that this would somehow violate the 36" code?

Nick

Nice build thread....I always thought you could put an access door in front of the breaker box. Did not know this was against code (Is this a county code or a national one?)....When I start my HT, this will be an issue with me....I will also be contending with my 10x10 pilings.:(

I think what Mike is alluding to is that you may not pass inspection the way it is currently framed out. You're not allowed any obstructions 36" in front of the box. I don't know if the wall counts as an obstruction of not. You may need to move the box forward or reframe the wall.
You wouldn't want an inspector to have to jump through the access panel you framed.

I'm hardly the code expert around here, but I do know that 36" rule affects me here in Northern Virginia. It's also one of those things that is likely open to interpretation by the inspector. Some may see the wall as an obstruction. I really don't know.

A little sneak peek until I can get the rest of the images uploaded...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2053a.jpg

Ok I got all of the pictures uploaded.... here is a walkthrough from the stairs down into the basement to the theater:

Coming down the stairs and taking a left. To the right is the wine closet. Then there is a 10'x5' space with a column in the middle. This was originally going to be the bar area, but then I decided I wanted it closer to the theater/bathroom, so now I have no idea what to do with this awkward space... maybe two pinball machines? Then next to that is the hot water heater room.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2036.jpg


On the other side is the furnace room and what will probably make into a small reading area.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2037.jpg


Continuing through the basement is where the pool talbe will be (under the lower ceiling). There are four lights against the far left wall that will be used to light up posters on the wall. I would really like some cool animation pictures, maybe bleach, naruto, dragonballz and one other... but the gf may not approve and I might have to go with movie posters :) .

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2038.jpg


On the other side is the sump pump closet and the bilco stairs.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2039.jpg


A little farther down on the left is the hallway to the theater/bathroom and the bar area. The purple area is where there will be a wet sink and maybe a small fridge. The opening for the electrical panel will be covered with a hinged picture of some sort.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2042.jpg


Looking down the theater hallway, the bathroom is a few feet on the right, the theater is at the end on the left. Straight ahead is a wall plug for a lighted poster frame or a now playing marquee or a lighted ticket window, not sure which yet.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2043.jpg


Here is the entrance to the theater

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2046.jpg


The rear of the theater

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2047.jpg

Entering the equipment closet

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2052.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2050.jpg

And here are a few different light settings using the grafikeye

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2055.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2057.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/drywall/26Nov07/DSCN2058.jpg


There are light zones missing for now, there will be a rope light around the soffit, lights shining on the screen, lights inside the columns, and lights behind the smx screen to light up the speakers.

Nick

Wow, nice pictures. Are you hiring painters too?

I primed my walls last weekend, and will be painting this weekend.

Bill

Nice looking project. I am also from Douglassville and doing my basement.

What Forino model do you have? I have a Michigan.

Bill
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=895524

Apparently there are alot of people from the area on these forums. I'm in Muhlenberg (currently), trying to find a decent priced new development before I go full out on building a theater.

Good start both of you guys.

No we're planning on painting ourselves... I was hoping to do everything myself, but just couldn't justify the time and effort it would take to do the drywall. I'm hoping the gf can do some priming this weekend while I work on the stage and riser in the theater.

Munky, good luck finding a cheap development, housing just seems to keep going up in this area! Forino makes a well built home, just without the extra frills.

Nick

No we're planning on painting ourselves... I was hoping to do everything myself, but just couldn't justify the time and effort it would take to do the drywall. I'm hoping the gf can do some priming this weekend while I work on the stage and riser in the theater.

Munky, good luck finding a cheap development, housing just seems to keep going up in this area! Forino makes a well built home, just without the extra frills.

Nick

Yeah, nothing is cheap, but new construction is about 20% cheaper as I'm sure you are aware. I've been checking out Forino's current developments because I really like the San Diego model they build; just right now they don't have any decent lots at the sites I've been watching.

If I can build for $225 I'll be happy. Anyways, I don't want to take this thread off topic but I'll be keeping any eye on your progress.

Sounds good Munky, if you ever want to stop by to check out a Forino home just let me know.

Nick

A little bit of work got done this weekend...

We primed the entire theater. On the ceilings and soffits we used GRIPPER grey primer from Home Depot, the stuff was seriously thick. On the rest of the walls we used Behr primer tinted a dark grey. The gripper was $17 a gallon, the behr was $10.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/ceiling_paint/DSCN2065.jpg


We then painted the ceiling and vertical parts of the soffit with Behr Mickey Mouse Ears black. I debated forever on if I should paint the vertical part of the soffit, the vertical and horizontal part, or none. I finally decided to paint the vertical part figuring the only other color I'd want would be a dark blue, I can always put that on top of the black later if I decide. The underside of the soffit, I'm going to wait to figure out the room color scheme before I decide on it's color.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/ceiling_paint/DSCN2083.jpg


We also painted the ceiling and soffit in the equipment closet. I think I'm going to end up painting the walls black also, anyone have any other ideas that I should consider for the closet???

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/ceiling_paint/DSCN2088.jpg


I installed a single light (looks like a track light head) with a flood halogen bulb and pointed it towards where the equipment will be. I figured, if I needed to go in there to do something during a movie, I could turn the light on with limited impact on the theater.

Nick

Wow!!! :eek: You've come so far so fast. Everything looks top notch, Nick. You're really doing a stellar job. You should feel very proud. Do you have an updated SketchUp model of the final product? I'm not 100% sure I understand your plans for the stage. Your equipment closet looks sweet. I'd say I envy it, but I envy just about everything about your basement. :p I can't wait to see what kind of equipment you'll put down there.

Mike

Apparently there are alot of people from the area on these forums. I'm in Muhlenberg (currently), trying to find a decent priced new development before I go full out on building a theater.

Good start both of you guys.

Count me in on your roster of HT locals. :cool:

hey Mike.

I kinda have an update but not really. I haven't been using sketchup as much anymore... it's been more of a just jump right into it type of thing :) We're trying to figure out what color scheme to go with right now... I was trying to avoid red/black and go for more green/white... but that red/black theme just keeps dragging me back in :) We got a good deal on two dark brown leather reclining couches though, so they'll be our temporary seating (temporary probably equals couple of years), so we need to keep that in mind when picking colors.

Nick

looking good. question for you on the paint. did you go with flat or eggshell or something else? another thread has me rethinking that flat, due to its lack of durability, may not be the best option. i ask you becuase yours looks really good. later.

Here is a picture of the sofas that we bought. We got them for $250 each, so we figured they would tide us over for a while. They aren't exactly what we wanted (really wanted two rows of 4 coasters each in black), but they were a huge cost savings.

http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Graphics/Web/Large/2610388_KO.gif

Nick

aham,

We used flat black Behr paint (Mickey Mouse Ears) over grey gripper primer. What you see above is after the first coat... we're at coat #3 now. I'll probably put one more coat on and call it good enough. It's pretty decent right now, but with all the lights at full brightness you can make out one ore two roller marks.. not a huge deal. They also had that new flat enamel... I really think it's just satin. The lady working there tried telling me that it doesn't have any glare or "gloss" either, but I think she was full of it. I took the two samples and tilted them in the light and could definitely see a reflection in the flat enamel. I figure... how often will I really touch the ceiling? So far... a lot :) I've been putting up lights and not being careful to make sure my fingers were free of drywall dust... big mistake, but it wipes off pretty easily.

If you can tolerate the glare, go with the flat enamel. I personally would rather have to repaint every year than deal with the glare. It's a personal choice I suppose.

Nick

I've seen some nice green/white HTs on AVS, so that sounds good. Plus, it would mesh well with those very affordable couches you have lined up. Wow. Those are pretty dang nice for $250 ea. :cool:

haha yeah and we got a beige one for $55 and a reddish one for $50 :eek: It was at a store auction... everyone was waiting to bid on the brown ones! You can only imagine us trying to fit four couches into a 6x12' uhaul trailer though... what a disaster... luckily we found someone who had some tools!

Nick

Apparently there are alot of people from the area on these forums. I'm in Muhlenberg (currently), trying to find a decent priced new development before I go full out on building a theater.

Good start both of you guys.

Add another local to your list. I am out in the Fleetwood/Oley area. Don't have a Forino house those. The VP of Forino does live 4 doors down the steet from me though :D.

Nice looking theater you have there! Great progress.

D_H,

Welcome aboard!

Nick

good news bad news for today...

I made a decision on speakers....

http://www.**********/images_dynamic/speakers_79.jpg

Good news... I ordered speakers. I decided to bite the bullet and go for the rockets from **********. The salespeople have been very helpful and I've read nothing but good reviews.

Bad news... I asked the sales rep if I should go with the bigfoot center or a third RS760. He said to go with the bigfoot. I've been traveling like crazy for work since then and never really got a chance to look into it. I posted a thread earlier about this, but had some free time finally today so I ordered today over the phone and went with the bigfoot. However, then people started responding to the thread and it was pretty unanimous that I made a mistake going with the bigfoot instead of the RS760. So Monday I need to call av123 and hopefully they'll understand and be able to change my order. I did their open a credit card and get free 6 months of financing thing, so hopefully it won't be a major thing to change the order.

Nick

Whoa... Nick, those are some speakers! I seriously hope I get a chance to hear your system when it's setup. Man are you gonna have a kick-ass HT. Have you started thinking about a receiver?

Hey Mike.

Yeah you'll defeinitely have to come over sometime! I doubt I'll get the speakers until sometime in february (if i'm lucky). Which is fine, because I doubt the theater will be ready until then. I probably won't get anything too great for a receiver, probably try to stay under $500. I'll need to buy my surrounds still too... planning on going with the axiom surrounds.

Nick

I wish I had those speakers!

The sad part is that they will be hidden behind an AT screen unless I am skim reading very badly tonight.

Bring those babies out front man!

I'm actually planning to spray paint them black so that light won't reflect back from them.




Just kidding. It is a shame that they will be hidden, but that's definitely what I want. They will be shown shortly before the movie begins when I light them up so the audience can see them.

Nick

Maybe you can be the first to have a somewhat retractable screen wall. I can see it now...

Visitors enter the theater and see a nice set of 3 x 760's across the front with sound treatment behind them. No screen.

You dim the lights and with the press of a button the screen wall rotates down from its flat against the ceiling location. (or maybe something like a garage door would work?)

j/k (or am i?)

Greg... whoa now, let's take this build one step at a time... :D If the significant other ever saw your post, she might hunt you down haha!

I got the stage constructed over the last week. I just need to buy the sand now and fill it, then put the plywood on. I'll wait to do pictures until then. I'm finding that not cutting wood in the basement now that paint is up is a royal pain in the butt. I might have to utilize the future wine closet as a workshop to help contain the dust, yet still be able to cut wood without having to go upstairs, remove shoes, go into garage, put shoes back on, cut wood, go into house, take shoes off, go to basement put shoes on, etc etc.

Nick

Hey Nick,

I can relate to the "go up stairs, remove shoes, go into garage, put shoes back on, cut wood, go into house, take shoes off...routine.

To help keep the house clean and not remove my shoes 50 times a day I purchased 4' by 15' canvas dropcloths. I lay them between the basement and the garage. It saves time and keeps the house clean. HD and Lowes both carry them.

Nice job on the theater.

Russ

Holy cow sand is expensive! I went to home depot tonight to buy sand for the stage... the cheapest that I could find was 60lb tubes for $2.78. I figured I'd need about 100 bags.. at that rate, I'm looking at $300 to fill my stage!!! I ended up buying some cinder blocks to put in the cavities to help fill some of the void for less $$, but I need to try to find sand for cheaper!

Nick

Did you consider contacting one of the local landscape material companies to see if you can buy it in bulk? You might be able to get it cheaper that way. You could even give Berks Products a call and see if they carry it (they used to anyway).

Yeah I was wondering if anyone had tried that. If it was cheaper, I'd have to wait after the holidays to have time on the weekends to shovel it from the driveway into a wheelbarrow and bring it down to the basement.

Nick

For goodness sakes Nick, how big is that stage going to be!?! :eek: I only needed 1600lbs of sand for mine. Your stage must be huge.

The part of the stage that I wanted to fill with sand is 3' deep x 16' wide x 12" high. At the store, there was a chart that said 5 sq ft at 4" deep would require 4 bags. So 4" deep is 1/3 my height, so that's 12 bags per 2x3 cavity and there are 8 cavities, so 12*8 = 96.

I'm hoping my math is wrong, as I really don't want to spend $300 on sand :(

Nick

I checked your math, and unfortunately it's correct. FYI, each bag of play sand is about 1/2 a cubic foot per bag, which is what you said, but easier to remember. :rolleyes:

Are your cavities really 2' x 3'? That seems big, though not a problem. I checked my stage model in sketchup, and it's smaller than your's, but mine also had more wood in it. Another reason why I didn't have to use as much sand was because I had a bunch of flowerbed edge stones (don't know what else to call them) that I didn't need, and threw them in the cavities to take up space. So, I would think that you could use just about anything solid to help fill up space. I'm sure you probably have lots of rocks laying around in your yard. :p

Incidentally, I thought I'd plug SketchUp once more for helping even in cases like this to plan things. Here's a model of my stage...

A lot has happened since my last post...

First off... make sure you clean up the drywall dust after the drywallers leave and close off the intakes AND the outputs. I blocked just the intakes... went away for the holidays and when I came back, my furnace filter had clogged and the drywall dust got sucked through the outputs and all over the first floor of our house. Drywall dust everywhere :(

I finally got the stage done...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2097_fix.jpg

It took 53 of the 60lb tubes of sand. I probably could of used one or two more, but it was close enough. Everything but the bottom step has two layers of 3/4 OSB. The bottom step I said screw it as my back was killing me and cutting the curves was a royal pain in the ass. I started using my new router to curve the lip... what a waste of time. The 3/15" roundover did pretty much nothing... the carpeters will just have to deal ;)

We also found a few carpets that we liked at home depot and brought them home to see what they looked like at home...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2100.jpg

Here are the color choices:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2102.jpg

The second choice was this similar carpet:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2099.jpg

It's half the price of the first one, but has a limited color set...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2101.jpg

I also spray painted the recess light trims... unfortunately I onlyl had glossy black paint, so I'll have to respray them with flat black sometime this week.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2105.jpg

Nick

Your stage looks terrific! Nice work, Nick. :)

I started using my new router to curve the lip... what a waste of time. The 3/15" roundover did pretty much nothing... the carpeters will just have to deal
When I did my stage, I didn't have a router to do anything to the lip. Instead, I attached 2 pieces of 3/4" quarter round, effectively making 1.5" half round. It was easy to install and looked perfect.

Picking carpet took forever for me. It's a tough decision. Does Teresa have any favorites? Are you still leaning towards a red color scheme?

I ended up going for a "thinner" lip on the stage... I overhung only the top layer of plywood so I only have a 3/4" lip. I thought above using a 3/4" half round, but then realized I had already routed half the boards so the half round wouldn't sit flush... whoops :)

Theresa likes the more expensive carpet... it comes in a nice dark brown... but man it's hard to swallow that extra $600! I guess it's pennies in the long run though ;)

We're leaning back towards the green/brown color scheme, but that could change again tomorrow ;)

Nick

I managed to repaint the light covers last night and get them put up. What a difference it makes not having bulbs hanging down anymore!

Ran into a problem in the bathroom... hooked up the lights to the light/fan combo box and the lights don't work. They're getting the hot leg, but not the neutral leg. The fan works fine and it uses the same neutral wire, so there must be something inside the combo box itself that is wrong... I can't see a way to get into that box without tearing into the drywall either. Anyone have any ideas?

Only other thing I can do is cut into the neutral leg on the fan itself and tie that into the lights...

Nick

Could you take a picture of what you can see? Every splice or junction point must be accessible. This should be able to be fixed without tearing off the drywall.

Ray

The junction box is on the side of the fan/light box above the drywall. I can't see a way to remove the plate of the fan/box though. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow to show what I mean... I did buy a plug and receptacle tonight to jerry rig something if I have to...

Nick

When it rains it pours... in this case... from the ceiling above my garage :( It looks like the pan of my tiled shower has a problem. I capped off the shower head pipe so that no water would come out and turned the water on... no leak, which tells me it's not in the supply plumbing. I ripped out a lot of drywall in the ceiling of the garage, looked like it had been happening for a while (house is only 2 years old). I got to the drain pipes and the water wasn't leaking from there. It was saturating the subfloor and dripping from it. What a nightmare.

Anyways... back on topic, I figured out the issue with the bathroom fan/light in the basement. There were three tabs I had to pop off with a screw driver, then remove the fan, then remove a bracket, then bend out a piece of metal, etc etc... but finally gained access to the wire nuts... turns out one wire wasn't seated quite properly (oops).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2136.jpg


I also got some work done on the theater...

First I installed the air vents..

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2131.jpg


I also began laying the laminate flooring in the equipment closet. We brought home three different types, trafficmaster, pergo and dupont. The dupont was the most expensive at $3 sqft but looked much much nicer than the other two. I had to buy another box, hence it's not finished yet...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2135.jpg


I got the screen wall framing done. It will fit a 120"x50" screen (2.40). The 2x4 in the middle of the screen opening is just for support until I can screw everything into the ceiling (can't find my studfinder).

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2134.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2133.jpg


Next was the beginning of the curvature that will go over the stage and will house the recessed lights to shine on the screen...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2123.jpg


Lastly, I could use some opinions on the general color of the basement. I let the gf decide on colors... trying to figure out if they're too dark....

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2120.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2118.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2115.jpg


Nick

Nick

I like the greens not to dark at all and I think with the right carpet it will look real classy. I don't care much for the blue in the little alcove it clashes with the main color but then I'm not women either so what do I know :D

Wooly,

Thanks for the comments, I'll pass them on to "she who makes the color choices" :) Also, I'm planning on laying laminate throughout the basement, which also have me concerned on the color. I was thinking of using something similar to what I put in the equipment closet...

Nick

i really like your stage. it should look awesome when done. very nice. later.

Thanks aham!

I managed to get the screen wall screwed in tonight and removed the center 2x4 support... then of course I HAD to see what a screen would look like, so I hung some plastic sheeting as my screen.... nice!

Here's a picture of the ceiling in my garage.... this really sucks. The house is less than 2 years old... the builder of course says I only had a one year warranty, but if something isn't installed correctly, I don't think a warranty should matter!

The shower is going to need to be ripped out, but I'm having trouble getting any tile guys or plumbers to even respond to my phone calls :(

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/water_issue/DSCN2143.jpg

Nick

The shower is going to need to be ripped out, but I'm having trouble getting any tile guys or plumbers to even respond to my phone calls

Feeling your pain there. When I finished my basement, must have called 6 people to finally get someone to call me back. I would have thought now a good time to have work done given the slow down in the construction business.

that water damage looks fairly fresh? you know your homeowners insurance is just for these types of sudden and accidental events. if the repairs are significant you may want to contact them?

either way, good luck with that.

Run out of light bulbs?

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/20Jan08/DSCN2115.jpg


I also like the green, we used a similar one in my bath.
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/bathtime.jpg

We went lighter in the playroom because we were concerned that we wouldn't have enough lighting and no natural light.
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/playroom-n.jpg
Its a little bland, which is why I was pushing for the green in the main room. I deferred to my wife on that one. I kind of like the blue. . .

Your room looks great, too.

dc... this pic is just for you :D

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/23Jan08/DSCN2151.jpg

The drywallers knocked out probably half our bulbs with their mud, the gf took care of a bunch more while painting ... man those bulbs get expensive!

I got the skeleton of the curved ceiling up over the stage. With the help of a ladder, some muscle, some swearing, some bad marks on the walls, ceiling, soffit and head... I managed to get it in place...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/23Jan08/DSCN2152.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/23Jan08/DSCN2154.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/23Jan08/DSCN2155.jpg


I also managed to get the rest of the equipment room's laminate flooring down.... then realized I need to pull up the row by the door because it's a bit wide and the carpet/laminate transition won't be hidden under the door. And man it wasn't fun to put it in, I can only imagine getting it out!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/screen_wall/23Jan08/DSCN2153.jpg


Also, I talked to my insurance agent earlier in the week, sounds like the shower should be covered. It just really gets me steamed that the house is less than 2 yrs old and they installed it inproperly. Now I need to figure out if I should try taking the builder to small claims court.

Nick

Ok, I could use some opinions on carpet choices...

We found this this weekend and kinda like it...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/carpet/27Jan08/DSCN2158_fix.jpg

The rings aren't nearly pronounced in real life and it has a bit of a green tint to it.

Here it is next to the chairs that will be going in the theater with it...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/carpet/27Jan08/DSCN2162_fix.jpg

Our other choice is this one that I posted earlier...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2100.jpg


The circles one almost disappears completely in dimmed lighting, where as the second carpet stays visible and reflect some light. The only thing I'm worried about is if the circle one is just too busy.

Opinions welcomed!

Nick

i like the second one, if it is not too reflective.

later.

Nick

The wife and I found that exact same carpet with the rings about 6 months ago and was going to go with it. I decided instead to go with a straight color with no pattern just for the fact I was going to be putting a pattern on the walls and didn't want them clashing. I think we made a good choice as the carpet we did install is vary plush and feels great on the feet

Scott,

Yeah we're kinda in the opposite boat in that our walls will be plain, so we wanted something going on on the floor :) Plushness is kinda why we're leaning towards the circles though, they feel "smooth" on your feet, where as the squares you feel like there is divot after divot. But I do like the color of the squared carpet better.

Nick

...I vote for the circle print

I also kind of like the circle print.

Nice work on the bulbs!

Nick

Is that carpet sample the olive Green or the Grey hard to tell. We were going to do the green but found a non patterned green that was really close to the same color.

Damn Scott, you HAD to call it green!!! The gf and I got into an argument over it last night in that I thought it was brown, she thought it was green :) In sunlight I can tell it's green, but in bright incadescent lights it still looks brown to me. In dimmed lighting it turns almost black.

Nick

:D what ever color it may be we liked it enough to choose almost the same color

Two big developments....

#1

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6689/x580txs705bf1xx5.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6168/x580txs705bbbz2.jpg

I saw shoponkyo.com had a refurb Onkyo705 for $499... so I just had to pick it up ;)

Also, I got an email from ********** today saying that my Rocket speakers (L,R,C RS760s) will ship on Feb 11th!!!

Oh and had someone come out to look at my shower... needs to be ripped out and replaced... if insurance doesn't cover it, theater might have to be put on hold while I try to rebuild my shower :mad:

Nick

more to come tomorrow...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2176.jpg


Nick

Nick

Looking good When does carpet go in?

Just found your thread but your theater is coming along very nice. I just gotta say to all those with basements that you guys suck. We don't really have those out in Southern California and I don't know of any other part of a house that screams to become a HT. But seriously, the work looks great.

BTW, I have Rocket 760s that I have been using in a very open living room (paired with a Bigfoot center), and I absolutely love them. I noticed you mentioned getting axiom surrounds. Is there a reason you didn't use the Rocket surrounds or directs. I plan on moving my rockets to my theater and adding the Rocket surrounds on the side and directs in the back to complete a 7.1 setup.

Anyway, look forward to seeing how your theater comes along.

I just gotta say to all those with basements that you guys suck. We don't really have those out in Southern California

You also don't have winter, so quit complaining :) seriously, it's 8 degrees here right now.

Two big developments....

#1

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6689/x580txs705bf1xx5.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6168/x580txs705bbbz2.jpg

I saw shoponkyo.com had a refurb Onkyo705 for $499... so I just had to pick it up ;)

Also, I got an email from ********** today saying that my Rocket speakers (L,R,C RS760s) will ship on Feb 11th!!!

Oh and had someone come out to look at my shower... needs to be ripped out and replaced... if insurance doesn't cover it, theater might have to be put on hold while I try to rebuild my shower :mad:

Nick

I was never a huge fan of Onkyo, but there latest stuff is really impressive - especially for the price. You got an increadible deal on this. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the Rockets using the Onkyo. I am considering Rockets down the line as well.

Ok, sorry for the long delay between updates, but I've been a bit under the weather lately...

I managed to get the riser built, the curved soffit above the stage done, and lights installed in the curved soffit...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2181.jpg


The riser is made out of 2x8s with 2 layers of 3/4" OSB to give a height of about 8". It's only 5' deep to save one space. I tested it out with my two reclining sofas... it's enough for both to recline, but people will have to sit up if the middle person wants to get out.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2171.jpg


On the front of the riser are two openings, one for power and one which will have a HDMI, RCA, and two cat-5s for whatever the future may bring.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2175.jpg


Here's your VIP only "behind the screen" view, the green padding is extra underlayment for laminate flooring that I had laying around, that I will use to cushion the three rocket RS760s...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2173.jpg


Nick

Nick

Looking good When does carpet go in?

I'm waiting on a couple of other quotes and I'm on business travel for three weeks ... so it might be a month or so. I'm also debating on if I should install the doors first, so that might take some time.

Nick

Just found your thread but your theater is coming along very nice. I just gotta say to all those with basements that you guys suck. We don't really have those out in Southern California and I don't know of any other part of a house that screams to become a HT. But seriously, the work looks great.

BTW, I have Rocket 760s that I have been using in a very open living room (paired with a Bigfoot center), and I absolutely love them. I noticed you mentioned getting axiom surrounds. Is there a reason you didn't use the Rocket surrounds or directs. I plan on moving my rockets to my theater and adding the Rocket surrounds on the side and directs in the back to complete a 7.1 setup.

Anyway, look forward to seeing how your theater comes along.


HA! Ever notice that a lot of the builds on this website are done by people in cold climates and almost all start in the winter? That's because it's so frickin cold out there's nothing else to do :) Bears build caves, we build basements :D


I was originally going to go with the axioms because I had heard so many good things about them... but the more I thought about it, the more it doesn't make sense for me. I want to put my surrounds into columns and the axioms fire up and down also, which would be right into the column... just didn't make sense... so I'm going with the Rocket RSS300s... I got one pair already...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2194.jpg


They sure are purdy!!!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2197.jpg


I also received the new receiver and hooked up the rss300s as mains... they sound very nice!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2192.jpg

Nick

If you look at my construction thread, you can see how I integrated the Axioms into my columns. (QS8s)

On the front of the riser are two openings, one for power and one which will have a HDMI, RCA, and two cat-5s for whatever the future may bring.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Feb08/DSCN2175.jpg




Hi Nick,

Very nice work! I just wanted to add my .02 Cents. If your riser isn't already glued, screwed and filled with sand, instead of running any cables now, run a conduit into the second box for true future proofing.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony,

Yeah I agree with you and I began to do that... but then ran into a problem... a big iron beam :) The riser sits on the left side of the room (looking toward screen) and the equipment closet is onthe right. The wires need to go up the left hand wall, across the ceiling, and into the equipment closet. I ran conduit across the ceiling and tried to figure out how to get it down the left hand wall.... problem is there's a steel i-beam that is the entire width of the wall, so I'd have to go around it with conduit, which would mean a bumpout of some sort or making my soffit 4" lower, which I didn't want to do.

So, unfortunately, there was no way to future proof the riser without getting out a jackhammer and digging a trench :( Besides... in the future, everything will be wireless (I hope) :D

Nick

Anthony,

Yeah I agree with you and I began to do that... but then ran into a problem... a big iron beam :) The riser sits on the left side of the room (looking toward screen) and the equipment closet is onthe right. The wires need to go up the left hand wall, across the ceiling, and into the equipment closet. I ran conduit across the ceiling and tried to figure out how to get it down the left hand wall.... problem is there's a steel i-beam that is the entire width of the wall, so I'd have to go around it with conduit, which would mean a bumpout of some sort or making my soffit 4" lower, which I didn't want to do.

So, unfortunately, there was no way to future proof the riser without getting out a jackhammer and digging a trench :( Besides... in the future, everything will be wireless (I hope) :D

Nick

Hi Nick,

That explains it! Cutting a hole through an I beam is a bitch! In that case, if it's not already too late, don't forget to run component video cables for your Wii.

Regards,
Anthony

I just finished our basement and theater room! what a JOB!! I like those speakers you have! Curious to how they perform.

Don

Don,

Those are the two surround speakers, but for now I have them hooked up as mains just so I can listen to them... they sound better than any other speaker I've ever owned... of course I've never owned a speaker that cost over $100 either :)

Nick

Last night I picked up my ********** speakers... three RS760s :)

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2235.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2228.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2218.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2202.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2224.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2233.jpg


I wish my photography skills were better to show off just how beautiful these speakers really are. It's an unbelievable shame that they'll be hidden behind the screen :(

Here's my temporary setup in my living room until the theater is ready for them...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/speakers/19Feb08/DSCN2237.jpg



Nick

I also managed to get the crown moulding up this past weekend... and yes, I still am TERRIBLE at installing crown moulding... I mean really really aweful!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Feb08/DSCN2241.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Feb08/DSCN2248.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Feb08/DSCN2251.jpg


It's hard to see, but at the front of the theater is the curved soffit above the screen... I was having trouble figuring out how to get the moulding curved around it... I ended up getting "flex-trim" from home depot... 12ft piece for ~$100. It came out "ok". It's extremely flexible, which makes it look kinda wavy... I'm hoping once everything is painted it will blend in better.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Feb08/DSCN2246.jpg


Good thing I'm painting the crown, because I'm really aweful at crown moulding.. I'm going to need a lot of silicone!!!

Oh and I was on business travel to D.C. today and managed to find a McCormick insulation supply store down there to pick up a 100ft roll of 1"x47" linacoustic... only $130 :)

Nick

Nick,

Looks great, really. Love the stage. Just make sure that caulk is paintable... DON'T get the 100% silicon stuff. Did you use special crown for the curve or is the radius of the area above the stage slight enough to curve wood crown? I wanted that exact same look, but didn't want the headaches it would have caused me!

Too bad those bad boys will be hidden behind the false wall.

Bud

Bud,

I ended up getting "flex-trim" from home depot... 12ft piece for ~$100. It came out "ok". It's extremely flexible, which makes it look kinda wavy... I'm hoping once everything is painted it will blend in better. You're very right about the curve being one big headache... the worst part is, after all that trouble, no one can even tell it's curved :mad::(:D

Good point on the silicone, I've made that mistake before although it still paints just fine ;) Maybe over time it flakes off or something, but I've had to paint the GE stuff before without issue... now I just use paintable to make sure in 2 years I don't have to repaint everything!

Nick

Beautiful. Amazing progress Nick. I know you've hooked up your new mains. How do they sound? :cool:

What are your plans for sound adsorption behind the screenwall? There's convenient duct board distributer in Oaks that I bought mine from if you're going that route...

Keep up the great work, and pictures. :D

Yeah I hooked up the mains up in the living room and they sound pretty nice!! I'm itching to get them into the theater to try them out... i mean really itching.... mostly because I've been installing the linacoustic :) I put 1" linacoustic behind the screen. I know 2" would have been better, but, oh well :) I found a place down in DC, where I do business travel a lot that had it in stock... the roll just barely fit in the back of my car.

I'm working on getting my equipment rack finished so I can hook everything up in the theater. I decided to try and build my own equipment rack... I'm thinking that may have been a mistake, but we'll see once I'm finished.

Nick

I know 2" would have been better, but, oh well :) I found a place down in DC, where I do business travel a lot that had it in stock... the roll just barely fit in the back of my car.


Nick

Where in DC?

McCormick Insulation
5200 Monroe Place
Hyattsville, MD 20781

The price was better than most I've seen on this board also :)

Nick

Thanks!

Nick,
Theater looks beautiful. You're making a lot of nice progress. I have to ask, how do you like the Rockets? I love mine and can't wait to hear what they can do in a dedicated room.

Beautiful Theater.

Thanks!

I haven't put the rockets into the theater room right now, but enjoying them up in the living room. I have to get some updated pictures up, I got the linacoustic up on the walls behind the screen.

Not sure how I'm going to finish the theater... just spent all my money...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/DSCN7854.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/engagement/2096505873_004_ImageCDglossy1.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/engagement/2096505873_009_ImageCDglossy1.jpg

Nick

Thanks!

I haven't put the rockets into the theater room right now, but enjoying them up in the living room. I have to get some updated pictures up, I got the linacoustic up on the walls behind the screen.

Not sure how I'm going to finish the theater... just spent all my money...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/DSCN7854.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/engagement/2096505873_004_ImageCDglossy1.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/rrr/engagement/2096505873_009_ImageCDglossy1.jpg

Nick


Congratulations!

Another sucker joins the club, BUT IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU!

As far as men are concerned, marriage is a bad idea and only benefits the woman. Your fiancée' looks like a wonderful girl, but like all others, she will change as the wedding date gets nearer.

Take the ring back, get a refund and buy a nice projector or surround processor. After a couple years of marriage, there will be more action in your Home Theater than in your bedroom.

Ring = Bad Investement

Home Theater = A place to escape the constant nagging and the harsh reality of your greatest mistake

wow someone sounds bitter :)

Grats nick :)


Obviously Audiodynamics married the wrong women :(

congratulations, that scene in the background reminds me of the one they always use in projectorreviews.com

Hey Nick, been following your thread for a while but never posted until now, when I see that ring. I too recently spent more money on a ring than I would have on a nice 1080 projector. However, I was told that before I buy another house so that I can build a new and improved theater, my girlfriend and I had to be engaged.

Am I a bad guy fro becoming engaged so that I can build another theater? :)

FactorV, I'm not familiar with that picture, but we were on top of Diamonhead Crater for that pic.

Deewan, that's the 2nd best reason for getting married that I've heard... the 1st is... "well I have to sometime in the next 9 months" :D

Nick

Congratulations! Didn't she see it coming when you showed up in the shirt and tie and she is in a t-shirt? The background makes me want to move!

haha, no she thought I was still back in Pennsylvania. She had left for business trip to Hawaii Sunday morning, I told her I went to my parents house for Easter up in NY, but I left there early Sunday morning and caught a flight out to Hawaii (which was almost cancelled at my layover due to mechanical issues with the plane... luckily they got me on a different plane) ... got to Hawaii late sunday evening, slept in my car, then hiked up to the top of the mountain. She had to attend a meeting monday morning, then her and the coworker went on the hike up the mountain. I didn't put the pants/black shirt/tie on until the coworker called me (he just let it ring once) to tell me they were almost to the top. Then I dressed, lit a bunch of candles, put some rose pedals down and tried not to pass out (from the nerves or the heat).

Nick

Gratz Nick! And great engagement story. :)

Aren't you supposed to go to Hawaii for the honeymoon? Congrats, nice story.

Aren't you supposed to go to Hawaii for the honeymoon? Congrats, nice story.

We plan on it :) Just a different island... the big island probably. But we'll probably get married on Oahu.

Nick

Congratulations Nick. Beautiful woman, and a great theater.

Now hurry up and get back to the theater !!!.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/images-projectors-Q1-08/HC1080UB_dts_beach_large.jpg

This is the one it reminds me of. I see it on that site a lot in their reviews

wow someone sounds bitter :)

Not Bitter! Realistic.

Grats nick :)


Obviously Audiodynamics married the wrong women :(

You would think:) Actually I have a great wife ;)

Hey Nick, been following your thread for a while but never posted until now, when I see that ring. I too recently spent more money on a ring than I would have on a nice 1080 projector. However, I was told that before I buy another house so that I can build a new and improved theater, my girlfriend and I had to be engaged.

Am I a bad guy fro becoming engaged so that I can build another theater? :)


By staying single, you don't have to get permission to buy new houses and build theaters:)

Hey guys, don't beat yourselves up over your marriages and engagements. I myself made the same mistake 12 years ago and I'm still living with my mistake. We're all entitled to at least one serious error in judgment in our lifetimes.:eek: I got two great kids out of the deal and live in day care, so I guess it's not all bad.

Congratulations Nick! I was following up the picture of your stage to this thread.

I have a different viewpoint on marriage- I probably couldn't afford a theater if it weren't for my wife! It's been a great 10 years so far and couldn't ask for anyone better.

CJ

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Apr08/DSCN8036.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/10Apr08/DSCN8040.jpg

Sorry for the messy pictures, but I wanted to get some progress up. I painted the soffits and crown a dark golden brown Behr paint called dried leaf. It's hard to see the color in the pictures though. The rope light are 3 incadescent 18 footers from home depot... just couldn't justify the LED rope light prices.

I got the Rocket RS760s from AV123 downstairs too... man they're heavy! I hooked them up and played a lot of IZ (hawaiian music), some celine dion and some audio from Blood Diamond. VERRRRY NICE!!! The instruments are so realistic it's amazing. I'm not used to the voices being so vibrant and "full bodied" for a lack of better words... I'm used to car stereos and tvs with the tinny voices, so it's actually taking some getting used to, in a good way. I'm not going to bother setting up the speakers too much until I get the rest of the sound proofing up... but as you can see, there are two 2x4s that need to be removed in front of the center speaker. It's really a shame that those beauties will be hidden by my SMX screen!

Nick

Looking good. Matching 3 LCR's definitely have a presence.

Yeah I'm pretty happy with the decision to go 3 across instead of the bigfoot center. I've heard people say that the bigfoot can be distinguished from the left and right speakers during a movie... with the 3 across if you close your eyes it is really difficult to pinpoint where the speakers are. You can tell that certain sounds are coming from the left or the right, but you wouldn't be able to point and say "that's where the speaker is".

Nick

Very nice build. I like the detail of your posts so those of us still working can get some ideas. It is a shame those beautiful wood speakers will be hidden, but I suppose the purpose of speakers to sound nice not to be eye candy.

Congrats on the engagement. I for one am quite happy with my decision to get married and we will be celebrating 22 years next week.

Good luck,

what color/brand gray did you use on your walls??

The grey is the beautiful color of grey primer :) I had originally thought I would paint the walls a dark color, but now I think I'm going to do wood and fabric. In person it's hard to tell it's grey, it looks blue for whatever reason, but if you look at it in sunlight it's defitely grey.

Nick

Nick

Whats the latest update in the HT. I have been working a ton the last 4 weeks and have not had much time to surf through all the threads I have been watching

Scott,

Not much at all to update here. I ordered the carpet "timeless home" in Aspen (green/brown) from shaw. I installed the solid door to the theater and tried to install the door to the equipment closet, but I need to cut it down 1/2". Other than that, I've been so busy ripping out my tiled shower upstairs that I have had very little time on the theater. That and I have been slacking off a lot :)

Nick

Ok need some help here!!!

I have four 4" recessed cans along a wall outside the theater. Each can is spaced about 3' apart and 10" from the wall. I want to put movie posters along the wall (one per light) and light them up. Should I use wall wash trims or eyeball trims though? What would look better?

Nick

wall wash trims as eye balls might give off too much reflection of the movies posters; just my opinion though :)

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/panoramic.jpg

Ok, carpet is scheduled to be installed tomorrow, so I figured I should give an update prior to it! Anyone notice anything different about the room (other than the fact that it's clean)?

Got this mama this week:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/DSCN8124.jpg


She fits in nicely with the triplets:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/DSCN8113.jpg


After carpet is installed she'll go back in the corner... I had her out there just to try her out. I have my dvd player connected to my receiver with just an rca cable right now, but I was a bit dissapointed with movies. Then I put in a bassmaster CD I had...w-h-o-a! My pant legs were actually flapping from the bass, it was seriously awesome. I have a few HDMI cables on order... I'm hoping that will help with the audio a bit.

I began the equipment rack as well:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/DSCN8114.jpg

I made just a couple of measurement errors though :( So it's a bit behind.

I also made a prototype for my colums:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/DSCN8116.jpg

I think I'm going to go with it. This will go halfway up the wall to where the chair rail will be, then from there up will be black fabric.

And one last pic of the back of the room showing the riser and solid core doors...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/18Jun08/DSCN8110.jpg

Nick

Looking good Nick - I'm interested to see how your carpet turns out.

-Ryan

Wow what a difference carpet makes! I'm really happy with how it came out. The carpet is a bit "loose" on the stage edges, like squishy if you put it in... I'm guessing they had to do that to get it to turn around the edges.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Jun08/DSCN8159.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/19Jun08/DSCN8162.jpg

Nick

Wow! I really like that carpet. I'll have to keep that style in mind when I begin my next build.

Looking great! Do you have any closeup shots of the pattern?

-Ryan

Looking sweet! Isn't it a shame to hide those pretty speakers! Well, at least you have some pics to reflect on. Can't wait to see the final product!

Ryan,

Here is the closeup:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/carpet/27Jan08/DSCN2158_fix.jpg


It's really cool how you can't see the circles unless you're looking directly down. From the doorway, all you see are the diamonds. It came out better than the small sample ever could have shown.

Nick

What is the plan for placement with the MFW15??

I still think it is criminal to hide that Rosewood finish! :p

greg,

This weekend I removed a piece of my false screen wall and was able to slide the MFW into the corner. It's now behind the false wall in the same corner it is pictured in, but now it is facing towards the seats. I'm still waiting on UPS to deliver my HDMI cables... using RCA right now, movies are dissapointing bass wise... hopefully it's just the cable ....

Nick

Ryan,

It's really cool how you can't see the circles unless you're looking directly down. From the doorway, all you see are the diamonds. It came out better than the small sample ever could have shown.

Nick

Agreed, that looks very nice!

-Ryan

Has anyone seen a 90 degree plug adapter? My rope light wire (before the bulbs) sticks out and is too stiff to bend so that it is hidden. Do they sell a 90 degree adapter at home depot by chance?

Nick

I've seen this type of thing around. A quick google for flat plug turned up this option:

http://cables.cablesunlimited.com/cables/Flat%20Plug

I'd look for the actual plug and see if you could wire one yourself.

-Ryan

Ryan,

Thanks, I've seen extension cords that are flat and turn 90 degrees, but I was really hoping for an adapter. The rope lighting plug is molded nicely and I'd reallllllly prefer not to have to have a splice up in the open like that... it will be really tough to do it right and hide it. Unless I can find just the plug itself, which so far I haven't been able to do. I went to Lowes last night to look for one, and got so excited about floating shelves to put my rear speakers on being on sale that I completely forgot to look for them! :rolleyes:

Nick

I could take a picture of how I did mine but in lieu of one right now I'll try to put it to words: I have my rope light plug in my soffit. The soffit is faced with black fabric and I used a black outlet and plate. The rope light cord is black too. All of that together means that the outlet is pretty hard to spot unless you know what to look for and where to look for it. I have my outlet pretty close to the moulding at the bottom of the soffit as well. I'm pretty happy with how that worked out.

-Ryan

Thanks Ryan, I looked tonight and if I can't find an easy solution for the rope light, I'll just paint it black and hope no one notices...

Here's yesterday's update that I didn't get around to posting! A big change today with putting furniture in, but I'm too tired to take pictures. So here's last night's pics...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/25Jun08/panoramic.jpg

I got the full speaker 7.1 setup all hung and calibrated roughly.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/25Jun08/DSCN8165.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/25Jun08/DSCN8166.jpg

I found floating shelves on sale at Lowes for only $10 for the pair. I used wall grippers to screw them into the wall. Each gripper was rated at 140lbs, so I think I'm safe for my Reference .5s that are my two rear speakers. The only issue now is I need to put something under them to keep them from sliding off. The MFW-15 vibrates the room so much that they tend to "walk towards the edge"... kinda like lemmings :rolleyes: The RSS300s are mounted to the wall using a single wall gripper.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/25Jun08/DSCN8168.jpg

I'm still trying to calibrate everything... the MFW-15 is getting there. I'm definitely going to need to use another source for playing music though, so that I can have seperate subwoofer levels for music vs. movies. I'm finding that I like the sub a good +5 db with movies. I haven't gotten the MFW-15 to "punch me in the gut" yet, but I have no problem getting it to vibrate my pant legs... this was actually almost doubled once I sat on a chair and decoupled myself somewhat from the floor! I'm thinking there's really no use at all for my buttkickers now! I do wish my Onkyo 705 would allow me to adjust the crossover of the sub lower than 80hz. I'm getting too much "extra bass". I'd like to have the bass be more subtle until there's an explosion and then have it "punch me in the gut". I need to work on this....

Family is over this weekend, but next step is to begin the furring process. I've made a few design errors and have to alter my original plans... which means no wall column on the stage. This is going to be a royal pain, because I have a wall outlet run by my grafikeye that's level with the stage. This was supposed to be used to put a light inside the wall column. Now it's in the way of where my floor moulding needs to go... and I just honestly don't have the heart to move the outlet... besides, I don't think I have enough extra wire to raise it up :o So I need to figure out some sorta fix for that... currently clueless.

Nick

Nick

lowes sells the little rubber stick on feet that is what I used for my center channel and it sticks to the self like glue. they come in square and round

That sounds perfect... I just need to remember to stick them to the shelves so as not to leave marks on the speakers :)

Nick

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8180.jpg

Ok some serious progress to report! I got the couches that I bought almost a year ago into the room. They're not my dream chairs... I would much rather have berklines, but I got them for $50 each as floor models... so they'll work for the immediate future :D

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8194.jpg

The two ends recline like a berkline would and they're comfortable, but I really do wish the middle reclined also! In retrospect, I should have made my riser a bit taller or my screen a bit higher as there is about 2" of the screen that gets blocked from the person in the back row by the person's head in the front row. Oh well, tall people in back, short people in front :rolleyes:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8191.jpg

On the side wall we hung three different fabrice to try to get an idea of what we wanted to go with color wise. Keep in mind that there will be a brown chair rail and a brown 3" moulding frame around each fabric panel.... so a lot of brown to mix up whatever color we go with. We hung the fabric before we put the linacoustic in and we really weren't liking any of the options... when we put the linacoustic in, we liked the black, now we're thinking of going with black for top AND bottom panels... anyone feel like that would be a mistake?

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8190.jpg

Also, a new toy in the rack... a Sony 995 disc jukebox. I loaded it with some music CDs and movies. My toshiba hd dvd player has been having a lot of problems playing music CDs ... a lot of audio drop outs for some reason. The 995 doesn't have any problem. However, not sure if it's a setup issue, but movies on the 995 have almost NO bass... but when I put the same movie in my toshiba it shakes the house... anyone have any ideas??

We also hung a movie poster in the hallway to the theater... sooner or later this will be backlit, but that's wayyy down the road...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8204.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/01Jul08/DSCN8207.jpg

Nick

Just my opinion, I like the idea of of all black panels with the brown trim.

Thanks Dee..

Also managed to find a 90 degree plug alternative. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, but home depot had a plug that went in and then had a connection on the front and each side of it. I plugged that into my soffit behind my crown, then plugged the rope light into one of the side outlets... whalla 90 degree adapter :) It's much nicer now and you can't see the rope light cord hanging out.

The Sony 995 jukebox is very nice. It has it's quirks, but it's a really cool toy. I've been using Titlewriter after I burn a copy of my dvds and it automatically recognizes the titles 100% of the time. Then I just go into the on screen list and pick what I want. I need to burn my music cds so I can add titles to them... it will be really nice to be able to jump from CD to CD knowing what they are. I can also add song titles using titlewriter and then jump from song to song by title on screen... sweet!

Nick

That Song 995 does sound like a nice toy. I have been debating if I should buy a jukebox player like that and basically store my CD collection in the player instead of having to switch 1 of the 5 discs in my carousel player.

One last thought on the walls. Pictures are always a little off when it comes to "looks" of a room, but I would be interested in seeing the pattern fabric below the chair rail and black above it, or vice versa. With my first build, I was thinking about solid colored walls, but I ended up going with a fabric with several colors below the chair rail and a solid color above it. I like it and everyone else seems to as well.

Very Nice Theater Post- Looking Foward To More

Ok, really hasn't been much progress the last couple of weeks... I've been on business travel a lot.

But I did buy a projector. Secondact had Marantz VP8600s refurbished for under 1k.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/projector/DSCN8307.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/projector/DSCN8306.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/projector/DSCN8310.jpg

I read that the projector can do anamorphic without a scaler, but I'm not sure if that is true for only 480 or if that includes 720...

I also have to buy a bulb and machine warranty through MACK still.

I ordered the projector mount from monoprice and it should be here early next week. Hopefully, I can find some time to get everything mounted and the screen built next week!

Nick

Well I got my monoprice projector mount yesterday... problem... the arms aren't long enough to reach the holes in the projector... universal my ass!

So a run to home depot for bolts and nuts and washers last night was in order. I have to cut a piece of leftover oak plywood tonight and should have a pretty decent DIY mount. It won't have the yaw and pitch etc, but it should work. Also, I was surprised by how tall the ceiling mount was. My projector is 6" tall and the mount was another 5", which would have lowered it 11" from the ceiling and put it at the same height as the top of the door right next to it. I wasn't too happy with that. The mount I made should save me 3" or so and I'm hoping will make the bottom of the projector level with my soffit, which would be very sweet.

I also hooked my xbox up to the projector just to test out a DVD. Keep in mind this was an original xbox, not the 360, with the SD version of Monster House... projected about 20' onto a yellow wall... and the image looked fantastic. Much better than the old mits projector I'm borrowing from a friend. I'm hoping to get the proj hung tonight. I still won't have my screen up, so a beige sheet will have to do for now :)

Nick

I managed to finish building the mount last night.... after 2hrs of mounting it, it's finally up there. There are some issues though and I'm trying to figure out if I want to bandaid them or rip it all down and start over...

The monoprice mount just isn't meant for a 30lb projector. It's rated at 44lbs, but not built sufficiently. I used only two parts of it, one is the piece that you screw into the ceiling, and then next part that connects the ceiling bracket to the extension bar. The joint between the two is connected with four small bolts and it flexes slightly under the 30lbs. Because of the flex, my projector slants to the right and backward :(

I'm going to use the bolts to the projector to adjust the horizontal, but the vertical I'll need to jam a piece of 2x4 in to keep it straight... a real pain in the butt!

I did throw a quick picture on the beige sheet I have hung... seabiscuit in HD looked AMAZING! The colors were just astounding! People had been saying 800 lumens wouldn't be bright enough, and it's not when the lights are on full, but when in movie mode (all lights out, but rope light in soffit on) it's actually too bright and hurts my eyes a bit. I'm very glad I didn't go with the HC1500, it would have been way too bright. Comparing to the different demos I saw at BB, I'd say the picture from the marantz blows it away. Granted, they may not have had their projectors setup well, but mine is straight out of the box too.

Nick

I really need to update my thread! The theater has been on hold a bit for my wedding and getting some of the rest of the basement up to speed. But I have started putting the fabric up on the wall ... I'll have to update with some new pics, maybe this weekend!

Nick

Heh, I forgot about this thread for awhile while I was waiting for the house to be finished etc....Funny you bumped it and I just happened to see it this afternoon.

I'm actually in your neck of the woods now. I bought another house (Just moved in a month ago) and am now living in Woods Edge near 562 & Blacksmith -- you wouldn't happen to live in the Forino neighborhood right there on Blacksmith would you?

Small world! Yep just down the road from you. How long until your house is done ... aka basement project begins?

Nick

Small world! Yep just down the road from you. How long until your house is done ... aka basement project begins?

Nick

Probably next spring/summer....The house is brand new and I have an additional 1500 sq ft of living space compared to my last house so I've been trying to fill up the rooms in the main living area first. That and it has no landscaping or deck so those will probably be my first projects once we get some warmer weather.

I figure it'll just give me extra time to come up with a design. On a side note I've subscribed to this thread so I won't forget about it again. Keep us posted.

I finally got the stage done...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/johnnyq627/house/basement/theater/stage/DSCN2097_fix.jpg



Nick-

Love the stage. What are the dimensions?

Nice Job OP. Impressive!