Well I even debated if I should even start a HT construction thread, but I figured "What the hey" I don't have anything to lose and I have lots to gain from you all here at AVS.

As the title states I will be taking my sweet time with this project for several reasons.

1) Like many of you I have a family, job, and other things all clamoring for my time/attention.

2) When it comes to home improvement and home projects I am just slow. It is just the way I'm wired, much to the chagrin of my better half, but I'm not speedy when it comes to construction.

3) Budget limitations due to this being a total finishing out of the basement to include a dedicated HT, workout area, storage, and a kids multi-media "hangout" room.

The actual HT will be approximately 13 x 20 with 7.5 foot ceilings and I am still in the actual planning stages of the HT but have started "banging nails" for the kids area. This alone is getting me excited for the HT part.

There are many things still left to plan regarding the HT and this site really does not help due to the fact my plans keep changing from all the new info I get from here from AVS.

As time allows I provide some pics of what is going on, but first off those of you having built a HT is it better to build a screen wall that is AT and lose some valuable space, or is it better to keep the space and place the speakers on stands or floor next to the screen?

This is the biggest dilemma at the moment. I had just planned on using speaker mounts and placing the speakers to the side and under the screen and after seeing some of the theaters here I have appreciated the clean look of the theaters where the speakers are not visible.

Here I go slowly into this amazing journey. Hopefully I will be done in time for my oldest's graduation party in 2013!

Regards,

RTROSE

Well at the request of a poster later on in my build I have just now (4-23-09) gotten around to putting in a floor plan on this my first post. Sorry for the crude nature of the floor plan but I am in the learning stages of using Google Sketchup. Here ya go.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/basement1.jpg

Ok at the request of the same poster (Drew you pesky devil you) who wanted a stick and paper representation here is a traditional drawing of my basement.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03113.jpg

Hope this satisfies you Drew and all others who are wondering what the basement set up actually is.

Regards,

RTROSE

I'm taking my time as well, but my time frame is more geared towards later this year, early next year. By 2013, all the decisions I make now would be wrong. By then, the audio standard will be 16.1 and my columns would be all wrong...

As time allows I provide some pics of what is going on, but first off those of you having built a HT is it better to build a screen wall that is AT and lose some valuable space, or is it better to keep the space and place the speakers on stands or floor next to the screen?

This is the biggest dilemma at the moment. I had just planned on using speaker mounts and placing the speakers to the side and under the screen and after seeing some of the theaters here I have appreciated the clean look of the theaters where the speakers are not visible.



Well, for me, I didn't want to lose the space. Of course, my front wall is somewhat unique. The top of the screen wall slopes (at the 8' mark) to the ceiling. I put all three of my speakers up there and due to the slope, they're perfectly angled toward the listening area. The front wall and ceiling are painted black and the speakers are also black. The sound is great (center sounds like it's coming right from the screen) and the majority of people that have seen my theater don't even notice that the speakers are up there. Here's a crappy picture, but you get the idea (they're not that noticeable with the screen there and without a flash):

http://www.kellystewart.net/albums/album63/screen_wall.jpg

Stew,

that is a pretty good solution for the room layout. In my basement I won't have the sloping walls like you do and I'm concerned with losing valuable real estate in the basement if it is not necessary. Time will tell.

More on the dedicated HT. I am looking for a screen size of 114" to 120" 16 x 9. I am pretty sure I am going the DIY paint route with one of the "simpler" mixes pairing the screen with a 1080p projector.

I will most likely have the first seating area around 10-11 feet and then a raised bar type seating 2-3 feet behind that. My equipment rack will be at the rear wall with acess from the back side.

I just finished a big time consuming project tonight so I'm hoping this weekend will be a productive one in the basement.

Regards,

RTROSE

This area was the work out area and now will be the kids media-hang out room.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC00621.jpg

On the wall in the photo I'm planning on constructing built in cabinets/shelving to store the kids stuff along with putting a LCD TV, 3.1 surround, VCR/DVD, and a game system.

As you can see there is nothing special about the basement yet. A clean slate so to speak. As the weekend progresses I'll try to take more photos of my progress or lack there of!

Regards,

RTROSE

Take your time in the planning as well. We did our HT room at the same time as the rest of our basement, and just designed things on the fly... not a good idea.

Our room sizes are almost identical. I went with the speakers out in front of the screen, but if I had to do it over, I would probably hide them. I don't mind the look of the speakers, it is that they can become somewhat distracting while watching a movie. I am going to be adding black fabric to my screen wall, which will help them blend in a bit more, and I will be darkening up my side walls as well, which should hopefully negate the shadows that run along the walls during brighter motion scenes.

Before you pick a screen size, you should really spend some time watching some content at the sizes your are thinking, and the distance you plan on sitting from the screen. 114" to 120" 1.78:1 aspect ratio from 10-11 feet seems quite large. I waited until I got my projector and threw images up on the wall for a couple of weeks before I picked a screen size and aspect ratio (I ended up going around 114" diag 2.40:1 with the front row around 12 feet).

Do you have any plans for sound isolation? While you have a blank canvas, this is the time to starting thinking about how you are going to deal with that.

Do you have any plans for sound isolation? While you have a blank canvas, this is the time to starting thinking about how you are going to deal with that.


I am "educating" myself on this issue and I am planning so far to insulate the walls and ceiling with standard fiberglass "pink stuff" and looking into installing the isolation clips for the ceiling. I don't know much about the GG and layers of wall board still doing some reading on that.

I will be taking my time in the design stage too as you suggested. I am working out how I am going to pre-wire for all of the "goodies" I want.

My main goal is to get the basic frame work done so I have some building blocks to work from.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC00620.jpg

Not the best shot and messy to say the least but were all of the plastic shelves are is where the screen is going to be.

On the right side of the picture behind the 2 x 6 wall is where the new work out area is going to be.

I will definitely do some experimenting on screen size to see what I prefer and will go from there.

Regards,

RTROSE

Where do you plan on putting the equipment and the entry door? This is the part that I somewhat pooched in my room. Having double doors opening in... not good, and having the equipment closet where I put it ended up causing some problems.

As far as the sound isolation goes, do some reading on the Green Glue site and look at the various framing techniques that are recommended (staggered studs etc). If you can afford it, two layers of drywall and GG are a good way to go. The other big thing to worry about with sound isolation is w/ the HVAC.

Just a quick update.

Was only able to spend about 4 hours in the basement over the weekend so I did not get very much done. Told you all I was slow, didn't I.

Happy belated Fathers Day to all of you dads.

Does anybody have any suggestions regarding built in cabinets? I'm going to purchase a book on them but wondered if anybody here has built any for a multi purpose room. If so show me your pics.

Got some free time this PM wife at work and kids are with a friend so I'm going to go down and get to work. ;)

Regards,

RTROSE

Have you ever noticed when working on the HT that time is expanded (or compressed) depending on your point of view. I worked four hours yesterday and two today and I felt like I had only been working for just a few minutes. I wonder why that is.

As I progress during the build and become increasingly closer to my goal of a finished HT does time then go the other way?

The past few days have provided slow but steady progress. I have gotten the kids area mostly framed out and am starting to tie in the framing to the other parts of the basement.

Nobody has answered my question regarding built ins. Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated.

Also how many out there have had other home projects "tie in" with the HT build. I am finding other things in the basement I should consider working into the finishing out the basement. I have some older (7-10 year old) equipment furnace, water softener and water purifier that may or may not need some attention. I figured these items are better checked into before anything is completely finished. These items have not been any problem so far, but you just never know.

Regards,

RTROSE

Yes, the space time continuum is drastically altered when one is in the basement. What feels like 10 minutes to you, will feel like 2 days to your significant other :D This will eventually be a point of contention. It is inevitable.

The Master HT Builder has learned to navigate this very treacherous situation. I am not there yet, but I am getting better.

You will also notice that the closer you are getting to being finished, that you are nowhere near being finished. I don't think these things are ever really get finished.

As far as the builtin in cabinets go, I'd spend some time over in the general purpose media room forum, as you might be able to find some good examples there. Then again, what is your purpose for them? Are you wanting them in the room for DVD storage, or for your equipment, or is this for outside the room for your kids or something? Folks might be able to give you some better suggestions if you state your intent.

Yes, the space time continuum is drastically altered when one is in the basement. What feels like 10 minutes to you, will feel like 2 days to your significant other :D This will eventually be a point of contention. It is inevitable.

The Master HT Builder has learned to navigate this very treacherous situation. I am not there yet, but I am getting better.


I am definitely not the master HT builder yet (long, long way to go), but I have learned that while I am busy doing my thing, as long as I also work some on my "honey do's" so she sees progress we have continued to live in harmony...."sigh" :p But is sure is strange how I can go to the basement and not surface for 4 plus hours and it seems as though I have just gotten a good start on things.

Regards,

RTROSE

You will also notice that the closer you are getting to being finished, that you are nowhere near being finished. I don't think these things are ever really get finished.

As far as the builtin in cabinets go, I'd spend some time over in the general purpose media room forum, as you might be able to find some good examples there. Then again, what is your purpose for them? Are you wanting them in the room for DVD storage, or for your equipment, or is this for outside the room for your kids or something? Folks might be able to give you some better suggestions if you state your intent.


I kind of figured as much. When I built my deck and put the decking on I thought I about had it licked, but I was sadly mistaken bout that! The "finishing touches" is what took me the majority of my time and energy!

Regarding the built in cabinets here is somewhat the look I'm going for.

http://common.csnstores.com/common/products/WW/WW1598_l.jpg

I need closed storage for the kids stuff (games, toys, DVD's, VHS) Open shelf space to display the kids awards, trophys, nick knacks ect. and then the center for the TV, DVD player, game system, a/v receiver ect.

The picture is not exactly what I want and I don't think anything affordable is available commercially to fill approximately 13 ft of wall space. The unit pictured is from 2500 to 3000 dollars so I was going to build my own.

1) To reduce cost. Unless DIY is more expensive in this case.

2) Get exactly what I need.

Regards,

RTROSE

RTROSE,

That unit looks pretty nice. I'm not sure about the availability of a commercial unit that will cover as much wall as you need. The other thing you need to consider is whether that unit will fit down into your basement. Your only option may be to build it. You might want to google to see if there are any plans available online.

How is your construction coming along? Curious to see how the build is coming.

Living up to my user name,

dazed

Hello Everyone,

Have been away for a while and thought I would update all. My HT construction has come to a stand still for now. Due to other "projects" in and around the house and work considerations I have not been able to do much in the basement which is a real bummer.

I have also learned that by using borrowed tools you are at the mercy of the lender (the price for saving money). So I will be purchasing some of the construction tools I need vs. borrowing them (framing nailer and air compressor). I guess borrowing would work if I just worked faster or other things did not come up taking time away from my HT build.

dazed,

I have actually given thought to the fact the unit may not fit down the basement staircase. I would ideally have a walkout basement, but this is not the case. I am having quite the time finding something commercially available to fit my space (for a reasonable price anyway), and I have done some "googling" in an attempt to find something close to what I am looking for, but just have not found it yet. I have even looked for plans for such and animal but still no such luck. I'll keep searching, but it is looking like I will just have to build it myself to get exactly what I want.

Another question I would like to pose is how many out there run a second or third zone off of your main A/V receiver? I was planning on running at least two zones off of my primary receiver and was wondering how it works out for everyone or if they have had issues what those issues may be.

I sure hope I can get back to pounding nails soon or it will be 2013 when this thing is done!

Regards,

RTROSE

Your title says that your plan on taking your sweet time, so don't sweat it. I am stuck in the finish up other things before getting back to the HT room as well. The time away gives you time to plan.

Go get yourself an air compressor. I've not used a framing nailer, but have found all sorts of uses for the finish nailer, brad nailer and stapler. The little Porter Cable pancake compressor w/ the bundle of guns has been one of the best things I've bought.

Another question I would like to pose is how many out there run a second or third zone off of your main A/V receiver? I was planning on running at least two zones off of my primary receiver and was wondering how it works out for everyone or if they have had issues what those issues may be.

I wired for 3 pairs of in ceiling speakers in the main area of my basement outside of the theater room, and another pair in the basement bathroom, along with a pair to go out on our deck. I plan on getting some sort of audio distribution system at some point, but for now, I just have one pair of the basement speakers hooked up to the second zone of my receiver.

I love having the music in the main area, but I have to go into the HT room and use the 2nd room remote to control the speakers in the other room. I'd rather do it from a keypad closer to the speakers, or through a remote and some sort of IR distribution. I also plan on switching from 5.1 to 7.1, and my 2nd room speakers are on the amp that will eventually get allocated to my rear surrounds. It would also be nice to have the other sets of speakers hooked up.

Regardless of what you decide, I'd highly recommend wiring for anything that you think you might possibly want before you put up any insulation or drywall.

aaron,

I'm with ya on the prewire for everything and running extra for future applications. Much easier now vs. doing it when all the drywall is up and finished.

Speaking of IR distribution and repeaters is there a favorite brand out there? This is one of the many things that I just have very little info or knowledge about. I know I will probably need one due to the 2nd zone option and the fact my A/V rack will be at the back of the room. I figured I would not want to lift my arm and point backwards at the rack so an IR repeater will be necessary. :rolleyes:

I'm not sweating the build, it will get done eventually. It just seems when I plan on doing some construction in the basement something else needs my attention. That is just life I guess, just too many projects going on at once.

Regards,

RTROSE

Speaking of IR distribution and repeaters is there a favorite brand out there? This is one of the many things that I just have very little info or knowledge about. I know I will probably need one due to the 2nd zone option and the fact my A/V rack will be at the back of the room. I figured I would not want to lift my arm and point backwards at the rack so an IR repeater will be necessary. :rolleyes:

I think Buffalo Electronics and Xantech are the popular ones around here. If you get something for audio distribution, it may have its own solution. Do some searches on here, and you can figure out everything you need.

I am currently just shooting over my shoulder. My projector gets controlled by just shooting the remote at the screen and the IR bouncing back. I will eventually put in something to repeat the IR from the screen wall to my equipment rack so I don't have to go over the shoulder for the other equipment though.

I ran cat5 cable from my closet to the front of the room, and also from the closet to the projector to use for future IR eyes or emitters. I also ran cat5 to keypad locations in the basement and deck for my other zones. If you plan on putting in some sort of lighting control (like a Grafik Eye) that can be controlled via remote, you might want to wire cat 5 to that location as well.

aaron,

Thanks I'll look those up and get to reading. I think you may have said this already, but it is amazing as I plan my HT no matter how I plan, I read around here and discover something else I need to consider! Sheesh.......sometimes I wished I had remained an uneducated goof that would still be happy watching DVD in 480i on a 32" tube TV!

The one thing that is to my advantage is I am so slow the technology is improving and coming down in price that if I had built my HT when I first started thinking about it I would have spent more money than I will now to get less performance and then would need to upgrade at about now! So I guess that is a good thing.

I'm planning on some vacation time coming up in the not so distant future (and I currently don't see any honey do's on the radar screen) so I should be able to get back downstairs and get back to it.

Regards,

RTROSE

All,

I'm on vacation now for a couple of weeks so I should make some progress in the basement. I was able to work today for about three hours down there and it felt good to get back to work.

It still amazes me that the three hours I spent working down there went so fast. I almost have the kids multimedia area completely framed and I am working on framing the wall that leads into the dedicated HT area.

Making some progress, but a very long way to go for sure. When I get some more done I'll post some pics.

I have decided to build my shelving I just can't find a commercial application that fits my needs and is reasonable in price. I have been looking for plans on the net and even that is turning up very few options. Anybody have suggestions where I can look further?

Regards,

RTROSE

What sort of shelving are you talking about?

Anybody have suggestions where I can look further?


For basic white MDF/laminate cabinet boxes made to order at a reasonable price:

http://www.cabparts.com/main.html

You need to pretend that you are in the business, not just a homeowner to buy from them. Take the time to down load the catalog. You will be surprised at the cabinet options and pricing. It hardly pays to try to make your own.

Then get cabinet doors from:

http://www.maplecraftusa.com/

Big,

Thanks for that. I very quickly checked the site and it looks as if it may fit my needs. I'll go back and down load the catalog to get a better idea.

I wasn't looking forward to doing a DIY built in type of thing, especially at the speed at which I do things. ;-)

Regards,

RTROSE

For basic white MDF/laminate cabinet boxes made to order at a reasonable price:

http://www.cabparts.com/main.html

You need to pretend that you are in the business, not just a homeowner to buy from them. Take the time to down load the catalog. You will be surprised at the cabinet options and pricing. It hardly pays to try to make your own.

Then get cabinet doors from:

http://www.maplecraftusa.com/

Thanks big! doh, now I wont have to buy a table saw...

Thanks big! doh, now I wont have to buy a table saw...

What!?! And not get a new tool. Sacrilege!!

What!?! And not get a new tool. Sacrilege!!

Oh No! That won't happen. I always manage to get new tools into any "home improvement" project and the basement/HT won't be any different.

Looking at getting a nice compressor and framing gun as a start to this project. Pounding nails the old fashion way SUCKS! ;-)

I forgive you Big, you were just trying to help and my wife doesn't read AVS (that I know of anyway) so I'm safe!

Regards,

RTROSE

Phew. Tool purchase crisis averted.

And yes, a compressor and assortment of airtools (starting with the framer and then eventually a finish gun) are a must.

After a while you start to run out of major tools to purchase and start having to invent projects that require some new doohickie or another. ;)

Phew. Tool purchase crisis averted.

And yes, a compressor and assortment of airtools (starting with the framer and then eventually a finish gun) are a must.

After a while you start to run out of major tools to purchase and start having to invent projects that require some new doohickie or another. ;)

Amen =), air tools makes things so much easier when your doing things by yourself, I still have nightmares of hanging a door, while plumb, holding a nail and hitting it with a hammer...

Brad nailers are good as well, especially for window sills.

Compressors are good other than the damn noise, IF you don't fall Face first onto them from a ladder. LOL

Compressors are good other than the damn noise, IF you don't fall Face first onto them from a ladder. LOL

OUCH!!!! In all of my home improvement projects I have not suffered any serious injury (nocking on wood). I have been konked on the head by a 2 x 4 while building a deck and smashed my finger with a concrete retaining wall block, but I have yet to "face plant" myself on any equipment. YIKES!!

Regards,

RTROSE

Yes it pays to remember how many steps your ladder has as you are coming down it. I hit face first on the compressor right on my cheekbone. I thought sure I broke the eye socket but no just one heck of a black eye. I also had the gallon of paint that I was using at the time come down on top of me on my head. just to add insult to injury as they say.
I should not have been up there in the first place since I go between being able to stand or walk at all and being in a wheelchair sometimes, but I feel so useless letting my husband and occasionally sons do everything, other than all the planning, designing and decisions, that I just had to try to do something myself to help. BAD IDEA. LOL

I can't believe that is has been over a month since I have last posted. I had to use the search function just to find my own thread!

Well at least I'm living up to my threads name wouldn't want to disappoint all of you. I have been busy with family obligations, work, kids schedules, and all kinds of other stuff. Summer is just a very hectic time and I feel guilty spending time in the basement when the weather outside is nice. The kids are back in school so that should help with time allocation, so I'm hoping I can "get back down there" and start up again. There are still plenty of bare spots needing covered by 2 x 4's 8-)!!

The flip side is however every time I go to the basement I get this twinge of guilt and sorrow and find myself caressing my Dewalt saw muttering words of comfort to it, promising that before long I will be back to basement using her full tilt and back to construction status.

Well it is my goal to get some more work done, post some pictures and not wait a month to post again, at least so I won't have to search for my own thread!:o

Regards,

RTROSE

The flip side is however every time I go to the basement I get this twinge of guilt and sorrow and find myself caressing my Dewalt saw muttering words of comfort to it, promising that before long I will be back to basement using her full tilt and back to construction status.

Well it is my goal to get some more work done, post some pictures and not wait a month to post again, at least so I won't have to search for my own thread!:o

Regards,

RTROSE

How guilty are you feeling today? :)

Well since I haven't posted to or done any construction on my HT for about two months...pretty guilty.

Thanks for brining it up BTW. :D

I have been sidetracked with other home projects and this weekend doesn't look promising either.

It is truly bad when the wife asks you "Honey when are you going to get back to work in the basement?"

Hopefully the following weekend I can get back to work and pound some nails!

Regards,

RTROSE

Long time working on the basement?

I think I can relate. Started on the "Basement Bar and Theater Project" November 21, 2001. Still not done. It was actually going not to bad until I bought...dum dum dum...the keg fridge.

Pretty sure the garage is going to take me to court seeking sole guardianship of my tools.

Cheer-up. It's taken me a year to build my home theater and that's after spending three years finishing the other 1000 SQFT in my basement. I'm mostly done with the exception of the equipment rack with is now half done in the gaurage.

Check out the photos below. I've never gotten around to writing one of these new construction threads.

Cheer-up. It's taken me a year to build my home theater and that's after spending three years finishing the other 1000 SQFT in my basement. I'm mostly done with the exception of the equipment rack with is now half done in the gaurage.

Check out the photos below. I've never gotten around to writing one of these new construction threads.

That is a very nice looking theater! I love the color choice that you made it works very well together.

I too am working on an entire basement project, kid area, workout area, kitchenette, storage area, and last but not least the HT.

Regards,

RTROSE

Does anyone else plan on working on the HT and only when the plan is laid to "get back to work" something else comes up?

I have tried to get things started again in the basement and have been foiled the past two weekends.

I guess I will "not plan" on working in the basement hoping then I can get back down there.

It is bad when you see your Dewalt miter saw sitting patiently waiting to go back to work and you discover (gasp) there is a COB WEB on it. :eek:

I feel so dirty and ashamed!:(

Regards,

RTROSE

You should:)! Sometimes you have to officially schedule the time down in the basement. Just like you would schedule going to a ball game or a movie. Another strategy is to schedule something for the significant other to do. "Why don't you go out with the girls tomorrow?" "We could really use a new bedspread. Why don't you go shopping for one tomorrow?" Instant basement time!

You should:)! Sometimes you have to officially schedule the time down in the basement. Just like you would schedule going to a ball game or a movie. Another strategy is to schedule something for the significant other to do. "Why don't you go out with the girls tomorrow?" "We could really use a new bedspread. Why don't you go shopping for one tomorrow?" Instant basement time!

She just bought a new bedspread! Now what do I do? Foiled again. I have tried the "Honey you deserve a full day at the spa" trick er ah suggestion however as soon as I say something like that she knows I'm up to something!

I guess I will just have to "put my foot down" and tell her the way its going to be!:D

Actually she is wonderful and has said to me she hopes our lives get back to somewhat normal so I can return to the basement to get started again. She is excited about the basement remodel too.

Regards,

RTROSE

Actually she is wonderful and has said to me she hopes our lives get back to somewhat normal so I can return to the basement to get started again. She is excited about the basement remodel too.



Sounds like a keeper to me!

Yup Gonzo, She is definitely a keeper.

I actually worked in the basement the last few days to "clean up" the areas where all of the saw dust and scrap wood was lying around. I like to work in a reasonably clean area since if there is a lot of saw dust and stuff that gets dragged upstairs that makes me less than popular.

I have the week of Thanksgiving off so I am planning on working on some more framing and general construction details. I basically have the "kids area" framed in the way I want so I could also place electrical boxes and wiring for that area.

The only bad thing is I have to "work around" "stuff" the whole time I'm in the basement. That is just the way it is though. I have moved the kids stuff and the exercise equipment more than once while doing this construction thing. Not difficult just a pain and time consuming.

Regards,

RTROSE

Here is something I did that looks similiar to what you want. Click Here (http://swingtownusa.blogspot.com/2007/10/bookself-theater.html)

ssuing,

That is a very nice looking HT. You are correct, and for the kids area this exactly the thing I am looking for. In fact I noticed your link in another thread and made a point to show my wife. She like the look too.

Did you build from plans or just "from the hip"? I am interested in the room dimensions and the size of the wall unit. I'm impressed. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

RTROSE

If you would rather I can shoot you a pm.

I made the plans on Google Sketch Up (http://sketchup.google.com/). You don't want to do anything woodworking related without a plan. I've found Sketch up to be invaluable as a home owner. It helps nail down the design between you, your wife, and anyone else that may get involved in the project. I had my father in law help me, and he always has his opinion. I was able to point to the plans when there were questions on any demensions. I put the plans here (http://www.krasnayadesign.com/BuiltInSecondTry.zip)

The wall with the cabinet on it is 12.66 feet long and the other wall is 13 ft.

The wall unit is 8 ft high on the sides and about 5 ft high in the center.
the bottom sides of the bookcase are 18 inches deep and the middle is 22 inches deep. The top is 12 inches deep all the way across.

It's actually easier that you think to make since you can do it in stages. Basically making cabinet by cabinet, assembling all of it and then putting the trim on in the end.

We've found this room to be plenty big for a bunch of 3 year old kids and a couple wadults. Furniture is minimal, We one couch in this room. and the play table.

Thanks!

I've got Google Sketch Up. I just have not had a lot of time to play with it yet. Again it looks very nice.

Regards,

RTROSE

Hello all,

Been a long time since I have posted here. Thought I would give an update.

I must have been a very good boy this past year because Santa brought me a air compressor and a framing nailer! Whoo Hooo! This makes the construction sooo much easier.

I have got the kids area framed out and ready for electrical, wiring, cabling, and lighting. I have moved on to the main area and started to frame it out as well. I have run into a couple of snags but that is to be expected. I have also come to the conclusion that I am just very slow when it comes to building things. But an hour or two 2 or 3 nights a week and 4-5 hrs on a Saturday is just enough to see steady progress but not so consuming that the family wonders were dad went.

Now the kids area is ready for electrical (this is one of the few things I will have a professional do) I'll hang boxes for cables and outlets probably this coming weekend and have the true professional hook everything up at a later date when I can get the entire basement done at once to save on expense.

The kids area is roughly 13.5 x 13.5 and I was going to go with recessed lighting in this room and was wondering how many I really need. I was thinking of going 3-2-2-3 evenly spaced across the ceiling with the center 4 on one dimmer and the two sets of three on their own individual dimmers. Anyone have suggestions regarding that idea?

It is nice to see some progress even if it is slower than molasses!

Regards,

RTROSE

All,

I'm still trundling along slow but sure. My wife and I were having a debate on whether or not to replace our basement windows from the origional (i.e. ugly galvanized metal ones) to newer better insulated vinyl ones. I wanted to be cheap and my wife wanted to have the purdy ones. Initially I won out and we were going to put some elbow grease into them, clean them up and re-screen them. I pulled them out and she was cleaning them up when she put her hand through one of the panes of glass! Luckily she only received a minor cut on her wrist, it could have been worse!

Well that settled it. We decided to go with the purdy new replacement windows! I am actually happy we did they look very nice even though I wasn't planning on the new windows!

I still am continuing on with the framing in the main area and continuing to make some progress. If I get a chance I'll post some photos of my progress to date.

I am really enjoying this process. I can only imagine how I will feel when it is all done and I am sitting in my HT enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Nobody has chimed in regarding the lighting question I posed in my last report so I'm still looking for suggestions on that question.

Regards,

RTROSE

The kids area is roughly 13.5 x 13.5 and I was going to go with recessed lighting in this room and was wondering how many I really need. I was thinking of going 3-2-2-3 evenly spaced across the ceiling with the center 4 on one dimmer and the two sets of three on their own individual dimmers. Anyone have suggestions regarding that idea?

It is nice to see some progress even if it is slower than molasses!

Regards,

RTROSE

In our exercise room that is roughly 16x12 I'm just putting six 4" can lights. 300 watts of light ought to be plenty.

In our exercise room that is roughly 16x12 I'm just putting six 4" can lights. 300 watts of light ought to be plenty.

Thanks for that. I don't want to be "over exposed" but neither do I want to be thinking at a later date "Gee I sure wish I had put in an extra set of "can lights".

Much easier to deal with now since I have basically a blank canvas.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well it's easy enough to put up the lights and test them prior to drywall. I too will be double checking the lighting prior to closing up the ceiling.

As I get closer to the lighting installation I think I will go with my original plan of 3-2-2-3 and as I am planning on putting them on dimmers and having them switched together with the first three then the 2-2's together then the last three. So if it is overkill then I can just dim the lights! Hopefully this will work!

I will take your advise and give it a whirl prior to buttoning everything up better then than afterwards.

Regards,

RTROSE

I am planning on working in the basement tonight for a few hours! Slow but sure. I need to post some additional pics of my progress since I have not done that for awhile.

Good luck.

I took my own advise and got my lights working this weekend. 6 cans with 50 watt bulbs are perfect for me. I did have a short in one box that took me forever to find. I had pinched a wire when tightening the gasket where it enters the light's circuit box. (no clue what the darn thing is actually called)

With only two more cans then me, you should be fine. Especially if you are planning on using a dimmer.

Great!

Thanks for the info.

Regards,

RTROSE

All,

Well I was able to work about 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the basement last night and finished up the framing in the actual HT area. So now I have the kids area framed up, the HT area framed up and now it is onto the workout/kitchenette area for framing.

I am pleased with my steady albeit slow progress but the plus side is that I have not overrun my funding so far! I have had a mental plan and ideas sketched out on paper throughout this whole adventure but some things still puzzle me or when I get to looking at my idea and how I will implement it I end up scrapping it or making a lot of changes. As I am slow to build this does not really affect my build speed but I just have to laugh at myself for doing this. I'm sure everyone here who has ever done this sort of thing has made changes or has had to rethink an idea or two during the construction phases of the build.

The next step is putting more though into the lighting and coming up with a solid plan for cables, wires, networking etc. and how I want all of that connected. I am currently working out a plan for that now. I have said all along the basement is mine and that I am going to design and decorate it how I want keeping the wife at bay, however I am reconsidering this a little because the wife has very good tastes and a good eye for detail for design so maybe I'll concede somewhat when it come to the lighting design. Just don't tell her I said so!

This has so far been a great experience as I have not ever done anything like this before and there is so much more ahead of me than there is behind me but so far I am enjoying every step of the way.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well worked a couple of hours last night and started framing the kitchenette and workout area. My wife and I are going away for the weekend but she said while we are away we should take the opportunity to look at our lighting options at a couple of different places. God love her! She is really starting to get pumped about the basement and I think she is shocked at my progress. However she still gets that deer in the headlights look when I start talking equipment, Hidef, SD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray etc. etc.

I have sent off my measurements to my "kitchen design guy" for him to come up with some plans for the kitchenette so we will see how that comes out. His goal is to make my wife jealous of my kitchen downstairs since he is the one who designed our kitchen upstairs for her last year!

I really need to get some pix posted so I can show ya all my progress.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well the past two weekends I have been derailed. Was making pretty good progress up until that point. I still have not gotten anything back from my kitchen designer but since he is pretty much working for free at this stage I understand his need to tend to his "paying customers" I have given him pretty much free will in coming up with several designs for the kitchenette.

The wife is planning on working this weekend so with any luck at all I will be able to get back at it.

Regards,

RTROSE

RT -

I've just now read through most of your thread here. They say everyone has a double somewhere. I believe you must be mine. As you can tell from my couple of posts in your lighting thread, I'm 2+ years into my build. I didn't see the value of starting a thread until there was actually something to see and some actual progress being made. I'd gone months in between getting anything done "down there." I made it pretty clear that I was spending this past President's Daylong weekend working. Wife spent all of one day at craft shows. And I got most of the lighting done. LAST President's Day weekend I was plumbing. In between, I cleaned up a lot of loose ends here and there, but that's been it. I find that this is about the best time of year to get things done....no Sunday football, no golfing yet, no vacations or Holidays to go crazy over.

Now, this time, I REALLY think I'm close to moving faster. Once I get the electric and framing inspections, that is.

Just like you, when I put my dricore subfloor down, the room was empty. Now, 2+ years later, I spent two hours the Saturday of the long weekend moving "stuff" (that's the nice word for it) so that I could get to the walls to run the electric I needed. Now it's all in the middle of the room. And I can never find that D!@# something when I need it.

One tip for you at this point in your lighting since you are planning a shopping trip....

Spend another $25 or $30, and buy yourself a tool belt. I hadn't really needed one until now. I bought a small nylon one, labeld "for electricians," and a belt. Then I bought a "nail pouch" and ran the belt through it. Total was about $25. You'll find that you need a lot of different tools while you're working on the electric. Two or three screw drivers, slotted AND philips, the little stubby one, wire strippers, wire cutter (nipper), two or three pliers ("electricicans" and needle nose), razor cutter, circuit tester(s), hammer. And put a bunch of what you need for what you are working on in the pounch...when I was pulling and stapling wire, I put the insulated staples in there. When I started connecting everything, I put a couple of kinds of wire nuts and the bag of wire clamps you need to attach to the recessed cans, and just recently the little nailing plates.

Oh, and buy yourself one of those $1.99 cable strippers. The ones that are just a folded over piece of metal with a cutter on the inside and a hole in the bottom where it's "folded." You slide it over the cable hanging out of the box, dig the cutter into the cable and give it a good pull. It splits the cable really fast and never nicks the actual wire inside. MUCH easier than trying to do it with a razor knife.

Good luck!
Tom

Tom,

Thanks for all of the info. I actually wear the jeans that have the "hammer loop" and actually use it for that! I joke with my wife that my actual goal is to have the room ready when our 12 yr old graduates high school! I am very slow when it comes to this type of thing due to all of the other commitments.

I had high hope for this weekend but got sidetracked with some other things. I did have one highlight. I helped a friend install his new flat panel TV so that was good and I actually think I was able to explain some of the finer points of HD.

My wife was still under the weather so the lighting trip got delayed again and there were some other things that needed my attention this weekend. I am planing on working a few hours tomorrow and some on Thursday.

One day at a time.

Regards,

RTROSE

One day at a time.

And now that golf season is starting, I'm likely to be slowing down even more. If that's possible. Pretty soon I'll be as slow as BigMouthinDC!

I actually wear the jeans that have the "hammer loop" and actually use it for that! I joke with my wife

And I joke with my wife that when I strap on my tool belt, I become....ELECTRIC MAN!!!!

Tom

I agree with the tool-belt-tip. I put mine on the moment I head into the basement. Having my hammer, measuring tape, pencil and a pouch for bit parts on me at all times has been a real time saver. Just need some nifty theme music and a phone booth to complete the transformation process...

I agree with the tool-belt-tip. I put mine on the moment I head into the basement. Having my hammer, measuring tape, pencil and a pouch for bit parts on me at all times has been a real time saver. Just need some nifty theme music and a phone booth to complete the transformation process...

That's funny! I wonder if I can incorporate that into my theater? Super Man theme music playing in the background anyone?

I'll look into the tool-belt deal I think I can take the extra ribbing from my wife! I have been attaching my base plates with the TapCon screws that require the predrilling the base plate using a mortar drill bit then screws. Time consuming but I have been very happy with the result and they seem ultra secure. I am almost done with the base plates now just a few more to go and then on to the final framing. I would estimate I am now about 95% done with the framing.

I still have not heard back from my kitchen designer and "my electrical guy" has not gotten back with me either. Oh well one step at a time I just wish they were more than baby steps.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well finally I (well my wife too) have chosen the lighting for our basement. After several attempts to get somewhere to look at lighting we finally were able to get to Lowe's to look at some options.

I have decided to go with basic "cans" in the workout area, kids media area, and the kitchenette. These cans will have black baffles and white trim rings. I have decided to "go fancy" in the HT area by using a combination of cans with nicer inserts

http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/661209/661209024466md.jpg


and sconces.

http://images1.hdpi.com/product/KenroySconce91052BS.jpg

Thanks to the op of the sconces thread as I have decided to go with the Leonardo sconces pictured in that thread.

I heard back from my electrician and he is coming on the 29th to do the wiring and electrical, phone, networking etc.

I have still yet to finish the framing (almost done) and got to get all of my boxes up so he can terminate. I have been talking with my kitchen guy and he is still doing some design work in between the paying customers and has been asking questions that shows me he is making some progress with the design. I am on vacation next week so I have high hopes that major steps will be taking place in forward progress on the basement.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ladies and Gentlemen may I have your attention Please!!!!!!

Today I have reached a small but very important milestone. I have finished the rough framing of my basement project! I have a few minor "detail oriented" framing issues but the major rough framing is DONE!!!!

I have to focus on getting these minor issues completed (such as the built in component rack framed up) and then I'm on to wiring. I have in the past two days received my HDMI and inwall speaker cables (thanks Monoprice) and my coax cable (thanks Hifi for Less) so I have plenty to keep me busy until the 29th when my electrician shows up.

I still need to post some pics of the work so far.

Thanks everyone for ideas, suggestions, and your support. I know that just getting the framing done is no where near being done, but I feel it is a milestone none the less.

Regards,

RTROSE

Whoot!!

Double Whoot!!!

Today I spent tearing out some old drywall that lined the stairway to the basement. I had forgotten how messy it is to do that! There is just no way to tear down drywall without it going EVERYWHERE!! My wife had also forgotten how messy it was and was not thrilled when my construction/destruction mess ventured up the stairway and traveled throughout the rest of the house.

After finishing tearing the drywall down and cleaning up the mess I had a few minutes to spare so I started the framing for my built in component rack. I am following the lead of YW84U (Tom) and silkd (Kevin). Thanks guys those are awesome looking racks! I don't know if I will go to the finishing standards of the faceplates but it is something to strive for.

I purchased my inserts and cans from Lowe's yesterday and the cans and inserts I ordered from usalighting arrived today so I have those to install and mu speaker cable RG59 and my HDMI cable arrived earlier so I'm all set for running wires.

Tomorrow I'm planning on finishing the component rack frame hanging can lights locating electrical boxes and running wires. Whew!

I have really enjoyed this adventure so far I guess that is the point of DIY though isn't it?

Regards,

RTROSE

All right.....

Well I pulled a brain freeze today and mounted my electrical boxes with the wrong recess. I was an 1/8" off but at least I did not get them all mounted! I'll go back pull them off and remount them. Just a reminder to myself to always measure twice when checking dimensions. I usually do but on this small "detail" I just did not double check. Shame on me.

I was able to get the equipment rack framed up so now there is a place for me to start some "fancy" wood working to make the home for my future equipment presentable. Still a lot to do and Sunday is Easter (He is risen indeed!!!!) and will be spending time with family and friends so maybe in the late afternoon I may get back down there to undo my boo boo and get the rest of my boxes up (this time with the proper spacer!

Regards,

RTROSE

I have been saying for weeks now I need to get some updated photos so maybe in the next few days I can snap some pictures.

Seems like we are on just about the same schedule as I just started doing my electrical last weekend and (strangely) also pulled out some final drywall on the stairs this last weekend. My wife also bitc...errr....commented on the mess I made carrying it all out to the garage where it will sit until I decide to take it to the landfill (which lately has been never).

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how your theater turns out.

-Aaron

Aaron,

This has been a interesting journey so far. Yup I forgot just how messy tearing down drywall is/was and so did the wife. I usually try to do the "messy stuff" while she is at work. She forgets that construction/destruction is messy business!

I am amazed at the pictures some show here where there construction area is cleaner than my house! I am not that "tidy" when I work. I try to keep things as clean as possible but still not as clean as others.

The only thing I would do differently is I would completely empty the basement and not have to work around all of the "stuff" in my basement. I could have hauled everything off to the garage but the prospect of not having her garage for say a year or two did not sit very well with her.:rolleyes:

I have just about finished mounting electrical boxes and the next step is to start running cables, mounting light cans, and electrical wires.

I still need to take pictures of my progress but I have been saying that for a while now!

I think (if I can recall correctly) the framing for my basement has taken just nine or so months! Give or take. Glad the labor is cheap!

Regards,

RTROSE

It sounds like we are working on exactly the same project! I started framing in July of last year and have just about finished the electrical rough-in. As for working around all the stuff....well, I just created a sh*t mountain on one side of my basement:

http://lh4.google.com/longwa/RonK9JJCJvI/AAAAAAAAAyk/CH3A7BfWTP4/s800/IMG_0810.JPG.jpg

My messy nature is the main reason I haven't started a construction thread. I'm just too embarrassed.

longwa,

I'll take a pic tonight to show you we are very similar in our messes as well. It is actually uncanny.

I am still mounting boxes and running wires! The only boxes I have left to mount is for the sconces and the projector. It is very time consuming to drill and pull wires so I can see why my electrician wanted me to run as many wires as I could before he shows up on Saturday. I still don't have any of my fixtures up yet. I am still working out locations for the recessed lighting and the sconces. I am working those out after making sure where the speakers and the projector will go. You have to have your priorities!

I usually don't have any reservations doing home projects (was not always like that though) but the electrical aspect really concerns and baffles me even as I read and try to learn about installation and wiring. Electrical and drywalling are the two things I decided at the beginning of my build NOT to tackle and have the professionals do that.

I purchased my switches and receptacles last night and took my wife along so she could have some input. You know you have a great wife when she says she it is fun to start buying "finishing type stuff" for the basement and we are buying switches and receptacles!

Well I am planning on doing more of the same tonight and hope to get done or mostly done running the speaker and coax cables so I can concentrate on mounting fixtures on Friday so I'm ready for my electrician on Saturday.

Regards,

RTROSE

I had some similar reservations about the electrical initially but once I started doing my homework and getting into it, I've actually found that I enjoy doing it. For some reason, it is satisfying to step back and look at a finalized circuit rough-in knowing exactly how everything is wired. I have 8 circuits in my 900 sq/ft basement remodel and I've been able to get through 6 of them in that last week or so.

The one part that I won't do is tie my subpanel into the main breaker. When I open that main breaker and see those 200A service lines that are an inch in diameter I started getting all sweaty palmed and keep hot testing every single thing that I touch over and over again. Luckily, my dad is an electrician and is willing to come up and do that part for me.

Now plumbing....that's a whole different story. I won't touch plumbing for any amount of money. Everything I've ever done plumbing related leaks.

longwa,

I told you our builds/messes are very similar see lookie here.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01581.jpg

The area behind the framing will remain unfinished and will be storage. Now it is where all of my overflow gets stashed. The wall will eventually be the kitchenette area. I just got a mock up of the first rendering of the kitchenette from my kitchen/cabinet designer. Looks good but I am going to have him make some adjustments. I was going to link it here but alas it won't let me.



Here is another shot of some framing and misc items that I am constantly shuffling/working around.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01579.jpg

The rest of my build/basement is too disorganized/messy now that I do not feel as though in good conscience I could show any more photos at this time.

I was able to get the two cans associated with the stairway mounted as well as the stair lights. I was also able to get the cans in the kids area mounted and I got the locations of the cans in the theater area worked out so now all I have to do is mount them tomorrow. Still much to do before my electrician shows up Saturday.

Regards,

RTROSE

I had some similar reservations about the electrical initially but once I started doing my homework and getting into it, I've actually found that I enjoy doing it. For some reason, it is satisfying to step back and look at a finalized circuit rough-in knowing exactly how everything is wired. I have 8 circuits in my 900 sq/ft basement remodel and I've been able to get through 6 of them in that last week or so.

The one part that I won't do is tie my subpanel into the main breaker. When I open that main breaker and see those 200A service lines that are an inch in diameter I started getting all sweaty palmed and keep hot testing every single thing that I touch over and over again. Luckily, my dad is an electrician and is willing to come up and do that part for me.

Now plumbing....that's a whole different story. I won't touch plumbing for any amount of money. Everything I've ever done plumbing related leaks.

I do not have any issues with plumbing I have done my share of DIY pluming for my 15 years or so of home ownership. I have only resorted to professionals three times during that time (one was a complete bathroom remodel) the other two times were out of convenience and the fact I have only worked with pvc not copper so I was not comfortable with "sweating" the pipes.

Now on to the electrical.

My electrician showed up today (after I had contacted him yesterday telling him I was not as far along as he wanted me to be and warned him of what he was getting into) he assured me it was ok. He said he would just come anyway and would start where I had left off.

Now mind you he has not ever seen my house let alone my basement and the only idea he had of what I actually wanted/needed had taken place through e-mail and phone conversations. I wish I had a camera of his face when he saw all of the boxes/outlets/lights etc. etc. It was truly "priceless"

I told him "I told you so" and he said "You went kidding were you?" My reply "Nope"

After the initial shock (he told me he has people describe the work they need and they really blow it out of proportion) he said it looked worse that what it really was so we commenced on getting started.

He decided that I needed to have 8-9 circuits in my basement. With one dedicated to the actual HT gear. The others split between the lights and outlets in the other three areas. Boy is there a lot of romex to run during these things or what? I am glad I waited to start running romex because I would have gotten it all wrong and run even more than necessary. I was pretty confused by all of the electrical ins and outs but after watching my electrician do his thing and helping out I have a better idea how it all works. I still am very glad I am having a professional do this part of the HT, one because he is much faster than I and two, wont burn my house down (hopefully). :p It is actually very satisfying to watch someone who is good at their trade work and have them pass along some of their knowledge to you.

We worked for about six and a half hours today with 3 trips to Lowe's (my fault bought the wrong supplies two trips) and once to buy more romex. We got the HT proper wired and got a game plan for next weekend when he can come back to finish the project. I have my marching orders to pull romex and drill, drill, drill. Actually it is drill, drill drill, and then pull, pull, pull.:D

As always we are here to pass along valuable information and I would like to do my share (if even a small part) so here goes.

I normally use this type of bit to bore larger size holes is 2x4's etc.

http://images.lowes.com/product/024721/024721200525.jpg

My electrician suggested this type of bit and I must say it is much nicer to use than the typical "spade" type bit. http://images.lowes.com/product/024721/024721092786.jpg

Faster but most importantly smoother ie. easier on the wrist and more precise.

Forgive the long post. I am just really excited to see some "real" progress on my basement project. It is fun to see walls go up but it was a slow process. This stage has seemed to move much faster (and it has) and it is fun to transition to a different stage of the build.

Regards,

RTROSE

I normally use this type of bit to bore larger size holes is 2x4's etc.

http://images.lowes.com/product/024721/024721200525.jpg


Yeah, I have those same bits and occasionally it will get stuck and practically tear the drill out of my hand. I had forgotten how much more powerful a 6A corded drill is vs. my 18 volt cordless drill.

Sounds like you have about the same number of circuits as I do. I just finished the last of my non low-voltage wiring and had about 71 boxes and 37 lights/fans. I ended up using a little under 1000ft of 12/2 romex (at about .30 cents a foot....ouch!).

Sounds like you are making great progress. Looking forward to seeing some pictures once the space is drywalled.

-Aaron

Hello all,

Just a quick update. I have been drilling and running romex throughout my basement since last Saturday. I have now past the 750 ft mark on romex and tonight just bought another 250 ft. and I am not sure if this will end up being enough. I have about 1/4 of the project finished and found out yesterday that my electrician will not be coming on Saturday and is not going to be back until the following Saturday which should give me enough time to get all of the wiring pulled so he can finish wiring the fixtures.

I think I will end up with 10-11 circuits total instead of the earlier total of 8-9. I ended modifying my lighting plan by adding another sconce for a total of four and I added two more can lights for eight total and I axed the cable lights for the HT. Where I was going to run the cable lights would have been directly in front of the rear surround speakers and also saved some money doing this as well.

I am still working on the kitchenette design with my kitchen designer and have had a second mock up presented and we are getting closer to what I really want for the basement.

Loving the journey so far.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well I have now passed the 1000 ft mark on romex at 65 bucks for 250 ft. which comes out about 26 cents a foot. I am not sure if I will get it all done with 1250 ft or not but I can say I did not anticipate having to use so much romex.

Here are a few pics of my electrical so far.

The old......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01586.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01587.jpg

and the new.......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01597.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01595.jpg

I think I can get it all done with 11 circuits which is 3 more than I and the electrician originally worked out.

I changed out 2 separate 1/2" conduits for one 2" conduit. I had to tear into the drywall so we could fish the wires from the conduit into the electrical box. Obviously the mess of wires you see is what runs into the basement and has not been fished through the conduit into the electrical box.

My wife an I also picked out some doors that were on sale this past week for the HT. We decided to go with Oak 6 panel doors. Here they sit ready to find a home in the basement.......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01598.jpg

but it will be awhile before they make the trip downstairs to their final home.

I still need to post some pictures of my progress in the basement but will have to do some tidying up before that will happen.

Regards,

RTROSE

Gonna be a good one. Thanks to you guys, I'm im in the same boat. Everytime I read a thread, I see or read something that makes me rethink my designs. Like you, I am also doing a whole basement.

Thanks for the help last week when I started my thread.

Well,

I finally have gotten all my circuits run for the entire basement. I ended up with 11 that I ran plus the 2 that were there before. Tally so far....5 rolls of romex (1150 ft. approx so far and not done) approx 30 outlets, 13 switches (7 dimmers), 20 can lights, 4 sconces, 3 pendants, and one poor mans power bridge setup for the projector.

I still have to run romex to some of the can lights and outlets but I have predrilled everything (I think) so it is just a matter of doing it. I need to have all the romex run and the can lights prepped so when my electrician comes again this Saturday all he has to do is fish the wires to the breaker panel, make the connections, and run the phone/cat 5 hopefully he can get everything done in one more long Saturday.

On a side note I went down into the basement on Sunday and noticed a small puddle of water under our water softener soooooo...... 527 dollars lighter I come home on Monday with a new water softener I'll need to install in the next few days. Yippie!!! I knew my old one was on its last leg however I was hoping to have it last for about another year. Better to find out it is leaking now before the basement is finished vs. after.

Purchasing the water softener has extended my budget and now I am about 1000 to 1500 over what I wanted to spend up to this point but I guess that is just the nature of this beast.

My wife was hoping we were getting close to drywalling and then I burst her bubble having to tell her before drywall comes insulation and vapor barrier.

On a positive note I believe I have settled on a kitchenette design. If I can get it to load properly I'll share it here.

Regards,

RTROSE

I have been working with and e-mailing my kitchen designer on what I want for the kitchenette area. After many e-mails and ideas/concepts I have narrowed it down to these two final designs. More than likely I will select one of these designs for the kitchenette area. I was able to get the image to load to photobucket so now I can share here.

Behind Door Number One. Candidate number 1.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/ManCave1-Perspective.jpg

Behind Door Number Two. Candidate number 2.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/ManCave3-Perspective2.jpg

Another view.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/ManCave3-Perspective1.jpg

I'm leaning towards number 2 because I want a snack bar and the design is more compact and does not intrude into the workout area and where I may in the future add a popcorn machine.

Give me your opinions, suggestions, and ideas.

Regards,

RTROSE

I had hoped to finish up the basic wiring runs tonight so I could prep the can lights and start to clean up some.

Well wouldn't ya know I was about 50-75 ft of romex short but did not find out until about 20 minutes ago so a run to Lowe's was out of the question....bummer. So if my count is close I have used 1250 ft of romex so far and counting!

Oh and no one has commented on my kitchenette design? Come on guys and gals I need input!

Regards,

RTROSE

The kitchenette is simply divine. It made makes me laugh ... and cry... :p

Dude! It's a kitchenette. Looks a okay by me. :)

The kitchenette is simply divine. It made makes me laugh ... and cry... :p

Dude! It's a kitchenette. Looks a okay by me. :)

Cathan, thanks and using a term like divine.......well you may have been watching too much HGTV!:D

Actually since this is the other feature besides the HT that my wife really gets excited about it is key to keeping her motivated about the project.

Anyone else besides Cathan want to chime in about the "divine" kitchenette?

I was actually looking for adjectives or comments such as That Rocks!....or.....Cool, should look sweet in the basement......or Dude why are you worried about a kitchenette in the basement as long as there is a fridge with beer in it your set!

Hearing that my kitchenette is "divine" is kind of like your wife/girlfriend telling you that your new suit, sweater, NFL jersey, tool belt etc. looks "cute" on you.:eek:

Thanks anyway Cathan!:p

Regards,

RTROSE

Really I just wanted you to know that I'm reading along and following your work, even if I don't comment after every post. :)

But seriously, my thoughts are best captured by your own words -- "Dude why are you worried about a kitchenette in the basement as long as there is a fridge with beer in it your set!" :)

Number 2 would look REALLY cute in your little theater thingy. Fess up...isn't that what your wife REALLY calls it? Your "theater thingy?"

You'll probably find number 2 much more user friendly with the U-shape than number 1 with the L-shape.

My little basement (about 600sf) used over 750' of Romex. I added 7 new circuits and rewired one exisiting. It adds up fast.

Looking good,
Tom

another vote for #2.

The designs allows for an excuse for squeezing by the ladies :D

#1. i like being able to walk right up to it instead of around and into it. later.

Number 2 would look REALLY cute in your little theater thingy. Fess up...isn't that what your wife REALLY calls it? Your "theater thingy?"

You'll probably find number 2 much more user friendly with the U-shape than number 1 with the L-shape.

My little basement (about 600sf) used over 750' of Romex. I added 7 new circuits and rewired one exisiting. It adds up fast.

Looking good,
Tom

Theater thingy??
That is just wrong.

Another vote for #2

I like #2 as well. Just be sure you leave enough room between the two sides.

-Ryan

I vote number 2. Like the bar it does not make it look so much like a kitchen. Add a beer tap and you are set.

I vote number 2. Like the bar it does not make it look so much like a kitchen. Add a beer tap and you are set.

It's my understanding once the tap goes in the construction slows disproportionately to the amount of liquid libations ingested so I'm holding off on the beer fridge or kegerator (for now anyway).:D


Regards,

RTROSE

All,

Thanks for your input on the sigh....kitchenette. I am leaning towards #2 for a couple of reasons.
1. The design is more compact and intrudes less into the adjacent area where the future popcorn machine will hopefully be and the workout area.

2. The snack bar for a place for eats while downstairs.

I was thinking of an undercounter fridge like this one.

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/04699100000?qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0

But at 431 bucks on sale I think this is a little pricey. It is the look I'm going for though.

I also purchased my sixth roll of 250ft of romex and with fingers crossed hoping this will be enough.

And to think my electrician originally suggested one roll should cover my job. To his credit he did not realize I was actually telling the truth regarding what I had planned on in the basement.

I have just a couple of things to finish up with the electrical and I should be all set for Saturday when my electrician shows up.

I am also talking with a plumbing contractor regarding the installation of the rough in for the sink supply lines and the sump for the waste water basin to the city sewer. I have already gotten one estimate for this and it was $850 for the new hot/cold supplies and the sump/pump and the sewer connect. I thought this estimate was on the high side so I am getting a couple of other quotes to see if we are in the ball park.

I have also contacted a couple of drywallers to come by and give some quotes but alas they have not had the time to stop by yet. I have absolutely no idea what a ball park figure is for the drywall so I hope I don't get "sticker shock". Last year I had my small 3 foot by 5 foot half bath re-drywalled and he charged me 150 bucks. I thought that was not too bad until I figured I bought the supplies and it ended up being about 45 bucks an hour for his labor. Did excellent work though and even went the extra mile to help keep the area clean (winning my wife over in the process) so I guess it was well worth it in the long run.

Once the electrical is done I get to move onto running the A/V cables and wires. Whooooo Hooooo!!! More drilling pulling, drilling pulling, drilling pulling drilling......well you get the idea.

Regards,

RTROSE

picked this beverage cooler up from home depot for $299 with a $25 mail in rebate. it is a magic chef and pretty slick looking in person.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2363/2314079838_ccd87cee03.jpg

later.

aham23,

That looks really nice. There is a HD about 25 miles from here so the next time I'm near there I'll go take a look.

If it is not too much trouble what are the dimensions of the unit? BTW I like the looks of you cabinet too.

Thanks,

Regards,

RTROSE

23.4" wide x 34.4" tall x 24.4" deep and it wieghs in at 100 lbs.

HD LINKY TO IT (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?id=100597197&jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&marketID=401&productId=100597197&locStoreNum=8125&langId=-1&linktype=product&storeId=10051&ddkey=THDSiteMap)

the web site doesnt list it as on sale, but i have never seen it actually sale for the listed $349. heck, i have seen it as low as $249 at HD. it is a really nice expensive looking and feeling beverage cooler.

it has a digital thermostat for temp control. a switched interior light. 3 removable glass shelves. they say it can hold 178 bottles! man that's a lot of beer.

while i designed the pictured snack bar i did not build it. our guy did a real nice job with it.

aham23,

thanks for the measurements and the link. Will definitely have to check it out at HD. Being at roughly 34 1/2" it should fit under the snack bar nicely.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well I am finally ready for the electrician. He even called this PM to confirm that we were still on for tomorrow. I have got the circuits run all of the can lights and outlets prepped and spent about two hours cleaning an straighting up. This simple act really pleased my wife since she has been grouching about the mess and the fact she has not had her garage for about two or three weeks now. I am really hoping we can finish up the electrical after this next visit. I have done much more leg work for this visit compared to the first one because I have an idea on what I'm doing now.

I was also able to start compiling a return pile of miscellaneous items that I have over bought or plain did not need. Getting some cash back to funnel right back into the HT will be nice.

I did come home and found a thief in my basement. Stole 527 dollars directly from my HT fund.....

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01599.jpg

Unfortunately I will have to make nice with this thief as I hope it will be many years before I'm "robbed" again!

I found out why my old water softener was leaking. There was about a 1/8 inch hole in the bottom corner of the unit I was just lucky it did not leak more because as soon as I moved it the water really started to flow out.

Well I'll update again after I see how far we get with the electrical.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well.......

I had high hopes that I could put a DONE stamp on the electrical but there was just too much left over from our first day that we just couldn't get it all done. The cans, sconces, and outlets in the HT are done. The outlets and cans for the workout area and kitchenette are done as well as the lights for the stairway. The dedicated circuit for the A/V equipment is done and the light for the equipment closet. We have the kids media area outlets and cans to complete and the storage area to finish.

The only other things needed to do is the cat5 and the phone line tie ins. My electrician left me the cat5 and phone to run before he comes back later this week. He believes he can finish up the job in one more evening. So far I have about 15 electrician man hours and about the same on my own just drilling and pulling wire and cable.

Todays work went much faster than the first visit due to the fact I had everything ran and pulled and all he had to do was double check my runs and prep work to the can lights and then wire everything up.

Only one run to Lowe's today though rather than 3-4 trips we made last time. I think I have about 9 trips to Lowe's just for my electrical parts and supplies but could even be higher (wasn't actually thinking about it until now) who knows.:confused:

I'll probably have about 20 hours total in "billable" man hours at the finish of this stage plus materials. My electrician commented to me today that actually what my basement project/job compares to is a small house job. It then struck me my basement is roughly the same sq. footage (almost 1100) as my first house and that put the job into perspective.

I guess I should have told him I wanted to wire a small house vs. telling him I wanted to wire a basement "project";) He did comment that today went better and it was very nice that all of the "grunt" work had been mostly done.

All in all a good and productive day.

Regards,

RTROSE

Vote #2
Could have the potential to build in a nice candy display Would be a nice feature to the Theater Thingy :)

Is there room for a full up frige? You may wish you had the extra room later.

Keep rocking along, soon as the weather drys up around here my drywall is on the way!
Jeff

I picked up a pair of Magic Chef units from HD. One is a wine cooler and the other a fridge. Each unit was $249. After looking at Marvel etc. these are quite the bargain. The employees didn't even know that there are the two models. The wine version is fully temperature adjustable and they didn't know that either. The fridge version is all glass shelves and the wine version is all wire shelves. I ended up kit-bashing them together to suit my needs. The wine and fridge doors are hinged on alternate sides and are reversible. (The area isn't yet complete and the kids are already partying-hardy!)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=107363&stc=1&d=1208104429

I picked up a pair of Magic Chef units from HD. One is a wine cooler and the other a fridge. Each unit was $249. After looking at Marvel etc. these are quite the bargain. The employees didn't even know that there are the two models. The wine version is fully temperature adjustable and they didn't know that either. The fridge version is all glass shelves and the wine version is all wire shelves. I ended up kit-bashing them together to suit my needs. The wine and fridge doors are hinged on alternate sides and are reversible. (The area isn't yet complete and the kids are already partying-hardy!)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=107363&stc=1&d=1208104429


I like the "candy store" look and idea I would have enough counter space I think I could pull off something like that. Nice touch having two fridges in that location.


Vote #2
Could have the potential to build in a nice candy display Would be a nice feature to the Theater Thingy :)

Is there room for a full up frige? You may wish you had the extra room later.

Keep rocking along, soon as the weather drys up around here my drywall is on the way!
Jeff

Yup, I'm leaning towards #2 as well. I though about a "full up fridge" but thought about about using the under counter fridge as a space saving feature and for a "cleaner" look. I also have a full size fridge in the garage we use for mainly pop as well as the kitchen. I really don't need three full size fridges in the house.

I did not do one lick in the HT today due to some other commitments and was doing some "honey do's" around the house. I have been so busy in the basement the last few weeks I have neglected some of the things I should/need to do around the house. My wife has been very understanding so I wanted to get some things done around the house so she will continue to be very understanding!

Regards,

RTROSE

i could never have that much candy around. i have no self control when it comes to movie theater type candy. me loves snowcaps!!! later.

For me, the decision was where to put the focus. Since my Daughter is 15 going on 21 I didn't want to feature alcohol so I went with light food prep, popcorn, sodas and candy. The center cabinet section will be additional "Theater" food display for now, but later will easily convert to a lighted stair-step liquor bottle shelf.

The best thing that I did was to put in a high cfm Nutone fan in the ceiling overhead with a 6" duct to get the cooking odors out of the basement. I'm amazed how much smell the popcorn machine can produce. It smells good but can be overwhelming after a point.

Initially I installed it with its 4" flex duct and it was noisy and inefficient. I then used a 4"-6" adapter on both ends of the 6" diameter flex-duct run and Wow! what a difference; highly recommended.

For me, the decision was where to put the focus. Since my Daughter is 15 going on 21 I didn't want to feature alcohol so I went with light food prep, popcorn, sodas and candy. The center cabinet section will be additional "Theater" food display for now, but later will easily convert to a lighted stair-step liquor bottle shelf.

The best thing that I did was to put in a high cfm Nutone fan in the ceiling overhead with a 6" duct to get the cooking odors out of the basement. I'm amazed how much smell the popcorn machine can produce. It smells good but can be overwhelming after a point.

Initially I installed it with its 4" flex duct and it was noisy and inefficient. I then used a 4"-6" adapter on both ends of the 6" diameter flex-duct run and Wow! what a difference; highly recommended.

That is a great idea regarding the fan. Just off of the kitchenette I am planning as a future addition a popcorn machine. Never considered the oder of the popcorn machine becoming overwhelming after a point. Will have to check into the fan idea before I close up the ceiling.

I'll just add it to the "to do" list that is slowly being compiled as I am progressing. It seems as though I cross something off it justs creates two more items on the list. :rolleyes::eek:

Regards,

RTROSE

Well since Sunday I have been "detailed" to some other projects around the house that I have been neglecting for quite a while.

I have been working on and building a set of double doors for the wife's laundry area and now that I am almost done she has decided she has come up with a "new" plan. We are the second owners of our home and the previous owner did not really do anything that was too "upscale" so all our doors are the cheap "contractor grade" hollow core doors. Her new plan is to replace all our doors with solid wood core six panel wood doors. This should greatly increase the visual appeal of our house and give me lots of experience when it comes to replacing doors so when it comes to the HT doors I should be a pro by then.

I can tell you that cutting mortises in the doors and the casing is not the most fun thing I have ever done but I have learned to use a chisel pretty effectively.

I'm waiting to hear from my electrician for when he will be available next to finish the electrical. I may call him tomorrow to see what is going on.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well.....

Right now my electrician is MIA as well as the guy who I contacted to do my drywall work. The positive thing is they do answer their phones or return my messages they just don't show when they say they will (drywall guy) or their schedule is so tight they can't fit my small "finish'er up" job into the other projects he has going.

My kitchen guy and I are working on cabinet door styles and color selection. I am going for a look that is not too "kitchenesque " and more "man caveish". I was thinking black doors and cabinets with a black glass tile backsplash and a black countertops that have flakes of copper or reddish color.

I still undecided on the flooring I am going to go with but I'm leaning heavily towards slate tiles.

Once I have gotten my electrician back to finish up I will continue on by starting to run all my A/V and speaker cables. I have them all purchased and I am going to terminate my own coax cables. I'm doing this so I can get the right lengths I need plus I wanted to make my own cables just to say that I did that too. Silly maybe but what can I say? I am also planning on running two sets of speaker cables to each of the front speaker locations in case I ever want to bi-wire or bi-amp the front three speakers. Does anybody have any comments on this. I may never use either of those options but it is nice to have the option. I am trying to educate myself on the whole bi-wire/bi-amping of speakers and I understand that they are two totally different things.

So far (now the following comes as fingers are crossed) at the pace I have been moving I have not overrun the money supply. My wife and I are trying very hard to complete this build on a "pay as you go" basis which so far has worked very well and we have no debt so far in this build but somewhat dictates the slower pace of my build.

I have told my wife that I am willing to proceed in this way for a couple of reasons. One it leaves us able to work on other projects around the home should we decide to funnel the money elsewhere (cringe) and the other is I don't mind waiting for the equipment I really want. I feel if I am patient I will more likely get the equipment I want vs. having to "settle" for something less if I buy sooner because I get impatient.

Sorry for the ramble but I was having some build thread withdrawal and needed to post.

Thanks for listening/reading.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well.....

So far (now the following comes as fingers are crossed) at the pace I have been moving I have not overrun the money supply. My wife and I are trying very hard to complete this build on a "pay as you go" basis which so far has worked very well and we have no debt so far in this build but somewhat dictates the slower pace of my build.

I have told my wife that I am willing to proceed in this way for a couple of reasons. One it leaves us able to work on other projects around the home should we decide to funnel the money elsewhere (cringe) and the other is I don't mind waiting for the equipment I really want. I feel if I am patient I will more likely get the equipment I want vs. having to "settle" for something less if I buy sooner because I get impatient.


I'm doing it the same way. We put in a set amount of money in a "home improvement" fund each month with the additional occasional cash infusion (part of any tax return or bonus checks). It really has taken the pressure off of having to justify ever incremental upgrade. I know that if I want Klipsch Ultra's instead of Advents or buy a new tool it's just going to take a bit more time. No biggie. But I rather do that then worry about making do on a fixed budget. I see this as my hobby as well as a home improvement project.

Ditto, did the same thing, the only thing I did "splurge" on was the carpet. Basically HD ran a $199 install ( as big as your want, including stairs ) + 20% off + 1 yr no payments no interest. I jumped all over that, but my monthly infusion will pay that CC off long before the 1yr is up, and in the meantime, I got a huge discount on carpet. =).

For me, the decision was where to put the focus. Since my Daughter is 15 going on 21 I didn't want to feature alcohol so I went with light food prep, popcorn, sodas and candy. The center cabinet section will be additional "Theater" food display for now, but later will easily convert to a lighted stair-step liquor bottle shelf.

The best thing that I did was to put in a high cfm Nutone fan in the ceiling overhead with a 6" duct to get the cooking odors out of the basement. I'm amazed how much smell the popcorn machine can produce. It smells good but can be overwhelming after a point.

Initially I installed it with its 4" flex duct and it was noisy and inefficient. I then used a 4"-6" adapter on both ends of the 6" diameter flex-duct run and Wow! what a difference; highly recommended.

As mentioned earlier great Idea on the fan. Should of thought of this too. As part of one of our vendor conferences in Vegas we had a popper on the show floor and it filled up the whole convention area! Worked well as the smell brought folks over but by the end I was real tired of the smell, couldn't imagine the house smelling of popcorn EVERYDAY!

I can still get one in and vent into the golf cart garage and will thanks for the tip!

I have finally made contact with my electrician and it looks like this Thursday or Saturday is the completion date for the electrical (I say with every appendage crossed in some manner) and according to him with what I have left to do should be a four to five hour job. If this rings true I will have approximately 20 "electrician" man hours and lordy who knows how many hours on my part. As I have said before I have done the majority of the "grunt work" as far as the electrical is concerned. Very satisfying to see your work pay off.

I have had the day off today due to having to work the weekend so I had the opportunity to do some work on the HT today. I did mostly clean up work and moved some items around to make it easier to work in the remaining unfinished areas and removed the old "bare bulb" lighting fixtures that were smattered around the entire basement with no rhyme or reason to it. I will be recycling some of them to the storage area.

I have still been relegated to "door replacement detail" and the double doors I have built and hung are in need of trim and to top it all off we just bought four more doors on sale at Menards to continue replacing the other doors. I'm hoping that since these doors are pre-hung it will be easier than building a door basically from scratch.

I'm looking forward to running the speaker and video runs but I am waiting for the electrical to be completed so I can avoid any potential problems mixing power and video runs. I am still contemplating the conduit situation. I know that it is the "right' thing to do for any future cable issues however it seems like it will be a big hassle due to where I will need to run the conduit. I think the flex stuff is out just because of cost so I think I'll be working with the rigid conduit if I choose to go that route.

Speaking of conduit does anyone have a rule of thumb of how many coax runs can fit in a 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and so on conduit. I think I can go as large as a 2" conduit without running into very many issues. The max I would have in one conduit run would be 8 coax and one HDMI. Would all of that make it through a 2" conduit? I would guess with out checking it would be a tight fit. I am using RG59 vs. RG6 for that reason.

Regards,

RTROSE

Speaking of conduit does anyone have a rule of thumb of how many coax runs can fit in a 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and so on conduit. I think I can go as large as a 2" conduit without running into very many issues. The max I would have in one conduit run would be 8 coax and one HDMI. Would all of that make it through a 2" conduit? I would guess with out checking it would be a tight fit. I am using RG59 vs. RG6 for that reason.

Regards,

RTROSE

Yes it would be very tight, but that is why you leave the conduit empty at this stage. All of your wiring should be outside of the conduit and you only use the conduit for stuff you forgot or is broken.

Yes it would be very tight, but that is why you leave the conduit empty at this stage. All of your wiring should be outside of the conduit and you only use the conduit for stuff you forgot or is broken.

That makes sense then and seals the deal that I will be putting some conduit in. Also makes it easier that I don't have to shoe horn all the coax, HDMI, into the conduit then worry how I would try to run new or replacement cables through the same conduit. If this is the case I could downsize to maybe 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" conduit. As long as I can get a HDMI cable through it should suffice.

I got a call from my electrician today and he is coming over Friday evening to finish up and he has blocked off Saturday morning "just in case". I also got a call from the plumber who is going to make the connections into the main house sewer line and he wanted to come tomorrow after I called about four weeks ago. If he wasn't such a good plumber I would be ticked about the lack of contact and then calling me at 2000 hrs wanting to show up in the morning. He is great and did the remodel on our second bathroom at a reasonable cost so I'll cut him some slack....this time:p

Looking forward to marking another step off in my build.

Regards,

RTROSE

I would still use the 2" conduit. It really doesn't take up more space. You never know what type of cables you will need to run in the future. In the flex stuff I don't even think there is a size available between 3/4" and 2".

I would still use the 2" conduit. It really doesn't take up more space. You never know what type of cables you will need to run in the future. In the flex stuff I don't even think there is a size available between 3/4" and 2".

I know at Lowe's and Menard's the only options are the 1/2" and 3/4" in the flexible conduit. I think I still may go the rigid route due to availability and cost.

Regards,

RTROSE

I know at Lowe's and Menard's the only options are the 1/2" and 3/4" in the flexible conduit. I think I still may go the rigid route due to availability and cost.

If you need the larger flex conduit, you should be able to get it from an electric supply place. If you don't need a lot of turns though, the rigid isn't all that bad to work with. You can also mix and match.

As of 22:05 hrs. yesterday the electrical in the basement is DONE! Whoo Hooo. The only thing we did not get accomplished was the phone line to the outside box but that will not keep me from progressing in the basement. Now everywhere I go in the basement there are lights, switches, and plugs. Up until yesterday only half of my basement had electricity obviously making it hard to work in those areas.

As I continue to make progress it is very encouraging to see things get checked off of the list however it seems as though as I get one thing checked off of the list I look at the bottom and see that two things have been added.:eek: I guess that is just the nature of the beast!

I am now going to concentrate on getting the basement cleaned up from the assault from my electrician, start running all of my A/V cables, finalize the projector location, and work on a DIY projector mount. Then when all of that is done I'll start on insulation, vapor barrier, and then on to drywall.

Regards,

RTROSE

it is great to see progress isn't it? especially when you clean up and scrap out after some major step and it feels less like a war zone. keep cranking!!!

i am thinking south central...seymour?

g

it is great to see progress isn't it? especially when you clean up and scrap out after some major step and it feels less like a war zone. keep cranking!!!

i am thinking south central...seymour?

g

After each time the electrician left I was worried my wife would go into the basement and wonder what in the Sam Hill happened. She ventured into the basement after the drywall demo and was just amazed(mortified) at the mess.

You are very close when guessing Seymour, think a little more northern south central.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok here are some updated pics of my build so far. Not exciting but pics none the less.

Here is the "front wall" of the kids media area. This wall will be finished off with "built-in" looking cabinetry across the entire wall.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/PICT0259.jpg

What I'm thinking is a 37" to 50" flat panel or projection TV for the kids PS2/Wii and such will also be hooked up to Dish and the HT so you can watch independently or what the HT is showing depending on the circumstances.

If your looking at the front wall this would be the left wall

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/PICT0261.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/PICT0262.jpg

The doorway leads to the storage area. I'm planning on placing the sub on this wall near the location of the orange low voltage box.

The right wall.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/PICT0265.jpg

And finally the rear wall and stairs.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/PICT0264.jpg

The kids media area is roughly 13 x 13. The rear wall is where I am having some second thoughts about how to finish it off. I really want the wall to end where it does because I want the side open to help with furniture moving but I was thinking about some type of half wall. I have some time to decide what I want to do but as always I'm open to suggestions.

I have wired for 5.1 surround for the kids area and I figure I will initially go with a HTiB such as the Onkyo SR 800 or the new S5100 system mainly due to ease and cost considerations.

I'm working on getting the HT area cleaned up so I will get some pics posted of that area when I can shamelessly let you see with out all kinds of stuff everywhere.

Regards,

RTROSE

P.S. I just noticed the date on the camera it is wrong. I used my son's camera because I was lazy and did not want to find the other camera I use all the time. I just did take the photos in the last day or two. Not quite sure what is up with his camera. DOH!

RT -

The pics look great. One thing...you say the electric is done, but it doesnt look like the romex is stapled properly. I can see that it is stapled within 6" of the boxes, but it also needs to be stapled along the studs (particularly in the stairs pic). Maybe it's just the timing of the pics?

Tom

RT -

The pics look great. One thing...you say the electric is done, but it doesnt look like the romex is stapled properly. I can see that it is stapled within 6" of the boxes, but it also needs to be stapled along the studs (particularly in the stairs pic). Maybe it's just the timing of the pics?

Tom

Good Eye!

Yes the romex has been properly stapled along the stud(s) and I appreciate the heads up on that.

In the theater area I am currently double checking staples and putting the metal plates up on the 2 x 4's where the romex goes through the center of the stud. Just as I think I have gotten all of them I see one or two that need attention and then I start the whole looking process over again due to paranoia!

Regards,

RTROSE

HA! So I'm not the only one who is paranoid...

HA! So I'm not the only one who is paranoid...

No you are not alone. Others are watching er ah I mean others can appreciate our paranoia.:D

I think a little paranoia is a good thing but unfortunately right now I have to watch what I say and do because at this very moment there are "black helicopters" hovering about and I know they are trying to intercept my communications and are using high frequency waves to influence my thoughts. Sorry got to go just ran out of aluminum foil.......

Regards,

RTROSE

Hello all,

Just a quick post so my build doesn't get lost 20 some odd pages back. As my signature shows currently my build is on "Pause". I have been busy with some other projects around the house namely replacing our "contractor grade" interior doors with solid wood six panel doors. This "upgrade" sure adds to the looks of the interior of our home and there is a definitely a different "feel" to the solid doors but boy o boy is it a pain and opens up a can o worms regarding how the builder initially put the doors in. Who would have thought that my wife would have gotten "upgradeitis" before me.:eek:

My father-in-law has been a great help but we have had to be creative in some aspects and as always in home remodeling projects have discovered that there is nothing in my house (except MY construction in the basement) that is plumb or square.

I am also working on building a loft bed for my youngest so this is also taking time away from the basement. I'm very hopeful that in a week or two I can get back to the basement full speed ahead. The one good thing about my build being on pause is I have had time to look at a couple of things in the basement and determine my original plan may have been flawed slightly. This is mostly regarding outlet placement and a couple of other small details that are much easier to fix at this stage vs. making the same realization after is is all said and done.

Regards,

RTROSE

you may need some home remodeling (http://www.your-home-today.net) services. :D

Ha! Little far from Denver area and the whole reason I am DIY is for the $$$$ savings and I want to say I DID IT (even if I'm slow)!! If I were to hire anything out to be done it would be for all of the Honey Do's I have been doing for about two months!

I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction though!

Regards,

RTROSE

Sheesh!

I feel so used and violated and in my OWN thread too! Should have known better.

topak you have been reported as a spammer hope your short life on AVS was fun.

Regards,

RTROSE

A quick update,

Well it has been roughly four months since I have set foot in the basement for the purpose of doing anything constructive down there. I have finished replacing all of my interior doors in my house, built a loft bed for my youngest, and some other miscellaneous odds and ends around the house these past few months along with other summer commitments which left me with little to no spare time and also "burnt out" on the whole construction thing.

I am ashamed to admit when I went down there today I had to spend a few minutes reacquainting myself to my project and reorganizing just to work more efficiently.

I spent the majority of time cleaning up and getting rid of cob webs galore that had taken over my space. I realized I needed to double check all of my electrical runs and realized there were several that I needed to staple in several additional locations to tighten things up a bit. I also was in the process of putting the cable guards up when I ran out. I bought a box of 100 and thought I would have plenty. Wrong! I was running out of time anyway so it wasn't too big of a deal.

In the next few days I'll finish up putting up the rest of the cable protectors and then I'll progress to actually running cables!

Oh and thanks to Staffy I'll be coming up with an idea to quiet all of my can lights either by silicone or electrical tape to eliminate the possibility of rattling.

Regards,

RTROSE

Glad you're back to it! It took the basement flood for me to really get cleaned up and organized and, yes, re-dedicated. I've been trying to do a little something at least twice a week at night and SOMETHING on the weekend.

Just take it a little at a time and it'll get done.

I find that when I get to a particular project that I've mentally solved and now just need to do, I tend to be more productive. It's when I'm standing in the basement trying to figurie out what to do next that I don't get anything done. Small bite size chunks. The downside is that you don't see or feel the huge steps forward like when framing goes up.

Try silicone first :) Tape might heat up and relax over time. We even took the junction coverplate off and siliconed that, then snapped it into place.

I am making super slow progress on drywall as I am in the middle of trying to finish a book, so you will catch up in no time :)

Enjoyed the thread! I'll agree with others...consistency is the key. Even if ever so little, getting "something" done twice a week will eventually add up and surprise you! Best of luck.

Staffy,

Thanks for the tip regarding the electrical tape relaxing over time. I wasn't even thinking about that possibility but you are absolutely correct.

logan, staffy, cathan, tony,

I am just going to try to commit to working in the basement a couple of times a week now for the simple reason most of my commitments and honey-do's for the summer have been completed and now I can focus again on the basement.

I just need not get bogged down looking at the whole project and seeing a lack of progress. I just need to look at all of the "little things" and check one thing off at a time and be happy with the progress as I complete each small step.

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Regards,

RTROSE

Well I spent the holiday (Thanks Mr. Christopher Columbus) working in the basement. Had the opportunity to spend about 7 whole quality hours "down there". Finished wire stapling and putting up metal wire guards all over the place so I could move onto running some cables.

I thought it prudent to check my HDMI cables before running them through the walls because I figured my luck I would run them button everything up and then find there was a problem. Both worked just fine so no worries there. The two HDMI cables I have are really stiff and I'm a little concerned how well they will "stuff into" the boxes I have mounted for all my video cables. I did leave a lot of wiggle room with the cables for just that reason so I should be OK. I just may have to get a little creative with the cable management.

My overall plan is to have two different areas in the basement one the dedicated HT the other is the kids hangout/media room. My plan includes running the necessary cables HDMI, component cables with a plan for running cables in the future and then running HDMI, component/audio, composite/audio to the kids area. The main viewing in the kids area will be with SD dish over composite and RCA cables for audio with the receiver in the equipment rack in the HT. The HDMI, component cables are for the main receiver in the HT. The kids area will be served with by a separate HTIB such as an Onkyo 5100 and a upconvert DVD player, and assorted game consoles. I have planned on having the additional cables to use the main receiver in the HT to pass along any hi def sources either through the component or HDMI cables from the main receiver turning the tv in the kids area into a mirror of what is being watched in the HT. Basically the kids area will have two options watch the source in the HT or independently watch dish or their own DVD.

If this explanation makes sense let me know if the idea is sound or if it doesn't make sense or is not a sound idea let me know.

I also remembered that I have got to move an outlet in the workout area. I pulled a boneheaded move and put the outlet in the wrong area. Always something to fix or modify.

I am just happy the electrical is done and I'm moving on to something different.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well just as I thought my honey do's were over we got the custom wood in to replace the last of the old wood work in the entry way between the rooms downstairs. So more sanding, staining, polyurethaneing to take me away from my theater work.

When this adventure started (the doors) I had only thought it would take a mater of weeks to get it all done not several months to complete. Plus in replacing one of the door ways I discovered that what was supposed to be 2 x 6 construction isn't and this has caused me a huge headache in using drywall mud to build out the wall so the edge of the wood matches the edge of the wall. I am hoping to be done (and my wife is requesting) all of this be done before Thanksgiving due to the celebration being at our house.

I have put my foot down and (Staffy you would be proud) told my wife there would no new home projects or honey do's until I get the basement much further along or completed. She has agreed (mostly because she is tired of the drywall dust and my air compressor sitting in the living room) with me a switch for sure but I think she is tired of the main area of the house being in a constant state of disarray.

I have done some little things around the basement and have gotten some additional cables cut to length and pulled. I do have a question regarding how I ran some subwoofer cable. I'll post a pic later and see what you all think.

Regards,

RTROSE

While it can be nice to have a deadline to help move the project along, it sure does add stress. I'm grateful that the wife hasn't added any extra stress.

Anyway, I wish you luck. Post more photos. :)

While it can be nice to have a deadline to help move the project along, it sure does add stress. I'm grateful that the wife hasn't added any extra stress.

Anyway, I wish you luck. Post more photos. :)

I agree with you that a dead line is a good thing and a motivator but alas does add stress to a somewhat stressful situation.

I don't ever like to take on too many projects at once and I think with all that I have done over the last few months has just about put me at my limit.

I'll get this one last project finished up and then I can get back to focusing on the HT.

I guess the reality of home ownership is there is typically always something to do maybe just not owner induced projects. :rolleyes:


Regards,

RTROSE

I agree with you that a dead line is a good thing and a motivator but alas does add stress to a somewhat stressful situation.

I don't ever like to take on too many projects at once and I think with all that I have done over the last few months has just about put me at my limit.

I'll get this one last project finished up and then I can get back to focusing on the HT.

I guess the reality of home ownership is there is typically always something to do maybe just not owner induced projects. :rolleyes:


Thankfully we only tend to have one major project at a time... I guess it helps having new construction. No major 'breakage' or wear and tear projects (yet).

The fence was a biggish project (Spring '06), Painting the interiror of the house was a big project (Winter '06)... the patio was a big project (Spring '07)... the basement was for '08. Besides general landscaping upkeep, we've been generally undistracted, amazingly. :)

RT -

Glad you're back at it and making some progress. A little goes a long way. I found that life gets in the way. But I am getting tired of waching movies on the 34" HD TV. And I'm really afraid that if I set up my outdoor projector in the living room again this winter, I'll NEVER get back in the basement!

Keep plugging away at it!

and the new.......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01597.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01595.jpg



Hey RTROSE, just stopping by to check out your basement project. Noticed these pics and they make me a bit nervous. I was told romex in conduit is a big no-no - it overheats and is a fire hazard. Only unsheathed cable is allowed in conduit, but I know there is some debate about that, and you might be able to get away with romex if there is enough airspace left. But it really looks like there is way too much romex in that conduit of yours. Has this been through an inspection? Maybe you could clarify what's happening in these pics so I don't have to worry for you. :)

Hey sugarbeth,

Not to worry I had a licensed electrician do the work and everything checks out ok. I appreciate your concern though. My electrician made no mention of having issues or problems with romex in the plastic conduit.

Just to clarify these are my new circuit runs from my existing breaker box to the basement remodel and to leave you even less worried about the conduit the romex only runs about 15 or so feet before it goes into the basement and not all the circuits will be active at once.

Thanks for helping my post back onto the front page.:D It needs to see the lime light every once in a while. Lord knows I don't post enough (work enough) on my own theater to get it on the front page.:rolleyes:

Regards,

RTROSE

i am thinking south central...seymour?

g

Just noticed this thread today. I never thought I would see someone mention Seymour, IN on the AVS Forum!

I'll be watching this thread with interest. I had the home theater room framed three years ago and I plan on starting on it after the first of the year. My problem is I plan forever......

Just noticed this thread today. I never thought I would see someone mention Seymour, IN on the AVS Forum!

I'll be watching this thread with interest. I had the home theater room framed three years ago and I plan on starting on it after the first of the year. My problem is I plan forever......

I know what you mean about the planning. Currently I have had the money but not the time. Now I seem to have the time but not the money.:rolleyes:

I have spent the last seven months doing odd jobs around the house and now it is finally back to concentrating on the theater.

Yeah you sure don't see Seymour or Indiana in general for that matter mentioned much here on AVS. Lots of guys on the East coast/West coast though. So it is up to us here in fly over country to show'em how it's done here in "corn country" Yeeee Haawwwww!:D

Yeah you sure don't see Seymour or Indiana in general for that matter mentioned much here on AVS. Lots of guys on the East coast/West coast though. So it is up to us here in fly over country to show'em how it's done here in "corn country" Yeeee Haawwwww!:D

HAHA! At this point I'd just be happy to start on it!

I was going to start my own thread but figured I'd get "Loganed" before I ever hammered the first nail! How sad is that?

HAHA! At this point I'd just be happy to start on it!

I was going to start my own thread but figured I'd get "Loganed" before I ever hammered the first nail! How sad is that?

That is pretty bad, but be careful about being Loganed it can have some strange side effects. After being Loganed I actually SLOWED DOWN. If you get Loganed before you even start you might be doomed from the beginning.

Regards,

RTROSE

That is pretty bad, but be careful about being Loganed it can have some strange side effects. After being Loganed I actually SLOWED DOWN. If you get Loganed before you even start you might be doomed from the beginning.

Regards,

RTROSE

I was under the impression that it was practically a guarantee that you slow to the speed of molasses in the dead of winter surrounded by dry ice when you get loganed. .

You guys make me chuckle.

It's nice to be feared.

Hey sugarbeth,

Thanks for helping my post back onto the front page.:D It needs to see the lime light every once in a while. Lord knows I don't post enough (work enough) on my own theater to get it on the front page.:rolleyes:

Regards,

RTROSE

Not to sound like a geezer, but I remember when I was first starting my thread when active threads stayed on the top page for days, sometimes even a week or more. Now-a-days with all these youngn's and their new fangle build threads, stuff gets buried in only a few hours.

Logan found me. :( I'm doomed............

:)

Sorry RTROSE. I'll quit de-railing your thread now.

Just a little thread CPR. I see posts in other threads but this baby needs some life pumped into it. The electrical rough in photos from months ago are gettting a little boring.

what's up doc???

Come on lets get this theater built already. :) Believe me I know how easy it is to get off track and unmotivated. My Panasonic PT-AE900U is becoming an antique. :)

Wow! Being harassed in my own thread and then saying my thread/build needs CPR! Holy Toledo! Well unfortunately I'd have to agree with you guys. I have finally cleared my home honey do list and I can now start to focus on the theater again. My wife actually commented to me this past weekend she would like to not take on any other projects until we can get most if not all of the basement done.

She even threw the gauntlet down and said she would like to see the basement done by Christmas 09' DOH!

I love that woman! The one thing I know is that if SHE wants the basement done by Christmas then the basement WILL get done by Christmas! We will see how it goes, my only concern is the cash outlay to get the basement done AND equipped the way I want. We will see.

Oh, and thanks guys for the thread CPR.

Regards,

RTROSE

I hear you on the cash issue. As one gets towards the final stages, the purchases start getting more expensive.

Ok guys,

So you all don't think I'm a complete slacker I did over the Christmas break do a little room redo as detailed in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1098801).

Cliff notes.

This is the room before.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02806.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02804.jpg

Room after.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02908.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02912.jpg

Did this as part of a Christmas gift for my children and to give a space back to them that they can call their own. Especially since I evicted them from their basement space and I thought by now they would have their side back. Ha! Joke is on me. At least my kids love their new room.

Just did not want you guys to think I was a total slacker. The good news is all is clear on the home project front and I am planning on spending the bigger part of the day tomorrow in the basement getting to do my "thing" i still have lots of cables and wires to run and a million other things to get started on.

Regards,

RTROSE

I hear ya. Especially with the 0 degree weather we've been having. Build looking good man.

Dseal, Thanks!

I was able to spend several hours in the basement today. I spent about hour or hour and half just moving stuff around and cleaning up after not having been down there working for quite awhile.

If I had to do it all over again I would rent a storage unit and move everything to that to get it out of my way so I would not have to keep moving it from one side to the other and back. Very time consuming and frustrating to boot trying to work around the basement junk.

I do get to check a small "Done" box. The kids media/hangout room is now completely wired electrical, video, and audio. It was nice to finally get one room wired completely. I'll post pictures later of my progress. Few hours of fun work, few hours to myself, check a "Done" box, and a sense of accomplishment, kids cleaned the other two floors for Mom while she is at work, all in all a good day.

Regards,

RTROSE

My plan for the kids media/hangout room is for the kids to have an area of their own and that is comfortable enough for their "old man" to hang out too.

This room will have a 50 to 56 inch TV, 5.1 surround system, dvd player, and some type of game system (either PS2 or 3, Wii, or Xbox) for the kids entertainment. My thinking for this room is to have a room I to can use to watch "regular" TV such as news and such without firing up the pj and to have a room that the kids and their friend can use without concern or fear of messing up or destroying the HT.

I have tried to think of all cabling issues and have to this point run from the "command center" in the "main theater" one HDMI, one set of composite with stereo audio, one set of component with stereo audio, and cat 5. My plan at this point is to have the Denon 4308CI at the nerve center. This handy piece of equipment has 2 HDMI outs and a component out for zone two. This is the main reason why I have done run the cable the way I have. Theoretically the TV in the media room will be able to display what ever is showing in the main HT or we will be able to watch any source I have connected to the Denon. I then ran the composite for the ability to hook up to the TV 2 out on the Dish HD receiver I will be installing in the HT.

Hopefully this all makes sense and there are no holes in my thought process. Especially since I just finished running the cables yesterday!

Here are some pics.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02914.jpg

Low voltage boxes with the cables hanging out.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02919.jpg

Cable clip in use. The ones I purchased had three dividers creating four sections for cables. What I did was to use side cutters and remove the three plastic pieces to create one big cradle for my cables. If you look close you can see zip ties. I used zip ties to bundle the cables together to make them easier to handle and run.

I considered using conduit but for this particular run most of the run is going to be in an area that is to remain unfinished so I will have access to the cable if I need to run different or more cables in the future.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02922.jpg

Picture showing frame out for the DIY audio rack

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC02923.jpg

Close up showing cables for kids room. The area behind where the furnace, water heater, and water softener are located will remain unfinished except for the wall of the theater.

Regards,

RTROSE

move everything to that to get it out of my way so I would not have to keep moving it from one side to the other and back. Very time consuming and frustrating to boot trying to work around the basement junk.

THIS is one of the main problems I have. Even with all of the shelves I've built first. I finally got the backup sump pump installed under my stairs. Now, a little work to quiet a few steps, some insulation and I can drywall that area and move a lot of the "stuff" (that's the nice word begining with "s" for it) back to it's ultimate storage location and out of my way for good.

The LOGANESS has been making those same noises about finishing. But she says things like, "there are SO MANY movies I haven't seen yet...but I want to wait to see them in the basement...." and "so, what are you doing in the basement today?" I'm trying to get her to recognize that MOST of the "stuff" in my way is hers...

Good luck, RT!

Yet another fellow Hoosier stopping in to say hi and assure you that we arent "totally" surrounded by east or west coasters!! Time to get this show on the road though......:p Actually I started my build but waiting on my thread until I am farther along in "real" time so that people wont harass me like they are doing to you, good work keep it up

I completely agree about the whole moving stuff around issue. Thankfully I am not almost past that point. Once I finish my equipment closet I should have full use of my storage area again.

Yet another fellow Hoosier stopping in to say hi and assure you that we arent "totally" surrounded by east or west coasters!! Time to get this show on the road though......:p Actually I started my build but waiting on my thread until I am farther along in "real" time so that people wont harass me like they are doing to you, good work keep it up

You are correct. It seems as though those of us here in "fly over country" are far outnumbered by those on the left and right coasts so it is nice to see another "land lubber" chime in especially when they are a fellow Hoosier.

I understand about the build thread, I considered the same thing but alas "took" the plunge anyway. Some good natured ribbing is ok and even welcomed and it is good to see that there are many who are on the same journey as you even if they are at a different stage of the "trip".

Cathan,

This has been one of the more frustrating things during my build. It may not have been such an issue if I have chosen a build speed faster than that of molasses in January but I am working with what I can.

Regards,

RTROSE

I spent this weekend going over a few things and running more cable, specifically speaker cable. I had to modify my plan for running my cables to the front screen wall. I had planned on running my cables along a soffit to avoid drilling even more holes in my ceiling/floor joists (laziness) and after some head scratching time came to a different conclusion. There were just too many other things/wires already strung up and down the soffit and I thought just to avoid any issues I would just make a few new holes and run the wires in a more direct way.

I don't know if it is over kill or not but I also on the spur of the moment decided to run two sets (total of four wires) to each of the front speaker locations. I decided to do this just because you never know what the future may bring and I figured it was just much easier to do it now. I guess I could use the extra set for biwiring/biamping the speakers, a two channel set up later, or maybe for A/B speaker comparisons that may come my way.

Someone here at AVS talked about just going to their HT during construction and sitting in a lawn chair to "look around" and see issues, problems, or get some ideas. While trying to figure out what to do with my speaker cable I discovered an issue with my side surround speaker and the location of a sconce. Because of this I am also going to move my side surround speaker locations about two feet further forward to alleviate the issue and the new location should provide better sonic performance anyway. I'll post a pic or two to show you what I'm talking about.

In a way it is good that I am proceeding at a snails pace, it sure gives me time to find any issues before they become problems. Hopefully this holds true for the remainder of my build.

To do (short) list:
*Finish running speaker and A/V cables.
*Move side surround speaker locations
*Move outlet in workout area
*Run speaker and A/V cable in workout area
*Finish final framing door locations (rough framing done)
*Build support for projector location

and that is the short list!

Regards,

RTROSE

Went down and did some more mental gymnastics and I need some input from all you all to see if I am over thinking or if my concern is valid.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC01856.jpg

My original plan was to mount the speaker at the location where the LV box is. I decided this location is too far back and was not the optimum. I then thought I would move the location two floor joists forward, but then realized it would be pretty close to were the sconce would be located so I thought this might not work out very well. I think I will just mount in the center of the two and it should work out.

The new location will be approximately 11 1/2 feet back and about 1 1/2 feet behind the primary or first row which I'm planning on at 10 feet. I figure this will work out regardless if I purchase standard book shelf or actual di/bi pole speakers.

Any opinions? Am I over thinking this or should I just leave the speaker location as is?

Regards,

RTROSE

Are you ceiling mounting the speakers? I'm trying to figure out why you have the LV box next to the joist and not on the wall?

Speakers really should be mounted in their ideal location, and then you work out sconce and other fixture locations based off of that reference point. But "ideal" does have a bit of wiggle room based on your seating location.

edit: The more i look at your photo, the more I think you will have problems with that LV box location. it seems too close to the wall. Once you put in 2 layers of drywall on the wall, it's going to be right at the ceiling corner. Why not keep it simple and mount the box on the wall and have it flush with the 2x4. That way you just need to make a hole big enough for the wire and not compromise the drywall with a LV box sized hole. You also want to include some bracing so you have something to attach the speaker mount to.

Are you ceiling mounting the speakers? I'm trying to figure out why you have the LV box next to the joist and not on the wall?

Speakers really should be mounted in their ideal location, and then you work out sconce and other fixture locations based off of that reference point. But "ideal" does have a bit of wiggle room based on your seating location.

edit: The more i look at your photo, the more I think you will have problems with that LV box location. it seems too close to the wall. Once you put in 2 layers of drywall on the wall, it's going to be right at the ceiling corner. Why not keep it simple and mount the box on the wall and have it flush with the 2x4. That way you just need to make a hole big enough for the wire and not compromise the drywall with a LV box sized hole. You also want to include some bracing so you have something to attach the speaker mount to.

I'm still working that out. I had initially planned on putting the speaker on a small shelf or using ceiling mounts. Directly across from this speaker location is the support for the ceiling/floor joists and the opening into the workout room/kitchenette and is not really conducive to wall mounting. I'll post pictures later tonight as it will more accurately show what I'm talking about.

The more I have thought about the install in general the more I'm thinking I'm going to go sans the LV boxes for the speakers and just poke the wire through a hole in the drywall.

I'm also clear on the bracing just haven't gotten there yet and won't until I'm sure where I'm going to put them for sure.

Regards,

RTROSE

In a way it is good that I am proceeding at a snails pace, it sure gives me time to find any issues before they become problems.

And to take advantage of price drop/performance increase in projectors. My original plan was to spend about $2,500 on a projector. Looking at what I WOULD have bought when I started three years ago, I can now get the Panny 3000 with the lens shift and remote lens memory (no additional anamorph lens needed!) that will fit my room FAR better then anything I could have gotten back then.

Hopefully, I'll only see one more price drop before buying. Sounds weird, but that would mean I'm close enoguh that I need to nail down projector placement and screen size. So it's a good thing.

Logan,

I totally agree with you. This is the one advantage of moving slower. We will reap benefits on the other end when it comes to price vs. performance.

Now I'm going to go to the basement to do some work.

Regards,

RTROSE

Looking good! Your HT is significantly more complex than mine. Plenty to give you a hard time over! All that wiring looks intimidating! Anyway I'll be checking in regularly to keep you on track ;-)

docprego,

I really appreciate that! I've got to work out exactly how I'm going to work my surrounds in there is an issue regarding mounting and running wire to one location. I also have some finish framing to do around the doors now I know where they are going to be for sure.

My wife and I are thinking about the workout area, it simply is not big enough for what we want it to do so there is some reworking possibly going to happen with the design.

I agree that at first glance (second glance too) that the wiring is intimidating. That is exactly why I had a professional help me out and guide me (lead me) through the entire process. He was a HUGE help!

I am going to work a few hours this weekend on the HT getting the final framing done, and hopefully figuring out how I'm going to work around my speaker problem. There is still much to do and many things to keep me busy for sure. I am also going to start measuring for insulation so I can get some estimates on cost.

Thanks for stopping by! Now you know where MY build is you can stop in any time!

Regards,

RTROSE

docprego,

I really appreciate that! I've got to work out exactly how I'm going to work my surrounds in there is an issue regarding mounting and running wire to one location. I also have some finish framing to do around the doors now I know where they are going to be for sure.

My wife and I are thinking about the workout area, it simply is not big enough for what we want it to do so there is some reworking possibly going to happen with the design.

I agree that at first glance (second glance too) that the wiring is intimidating. That is exactly why I had a professional help me out and guide me (lead me) through the entire process. He was a HUGE help!

I am going to work a few hours this weekend on the HT getting the final framing done, and hopefully figuring out how I'm going to work around my speaker problem. There is still much to do and many things to keep me busy for sure. I am also going to start measuring for insulation so I can get some estimates on cost.

Thanks for stopping by! Now you know where MY build is you can stop in any time!

Regards,

RTROSE
What type of issue is there mounting and running wire to the surrounds? Maybe the collective minds on here can come up with a solution.

You mentioned 1080p, have you decided on a projector yet?

What type of issue is there mounting and running wire to the surrounds? Maybe the collective minds on here can come up with a solution.

You mentioned 1080p, have you decided on a projector yet?

I need to take a picture of the area where I am planning on mounting the speaker. I owe Cathan a picture of the area anyway he was asking some questions too.

As far as projectors I have the Panasonic AE3000 and the Epson 6100/6500 on my short list.

I am COUNTING on the collective intelligence here at AVS to help me along the way.

With out all who post here I would not have made it as far as I have so far.

Regards,

RTROSE

I need to take a picture of the area where I am planning on mounting the speaker. I owe Cathan a picture of the area anyway he was asking some questions too.

As far as projectors I have the Panasonic AE3000 and the Epson 6100/6500 on my short list.

I am COUNTING on the collective intelligence here at AVS to help me along the way.

With out all who post here I would not have made it as far as I have so far.

Regards,

RTROSE

So where is this picture already? Some of use want to help you get this thing finished during the current decade. ;-)

So where is this picture already? Some of use want to help you get this thing finished during the current decade. ;-)

Jeesh, no kidding. Almost as bad as Logan.

Jeesh, no kidding. Almost as bad as Logan.

Actually even worse.....I think he is too busy posting in everyone elses thread to update his.....what a shame:rolleyes:

Actually even worse.....I think he is too busy posting in everyone elses thread to update his.....what a shame:rolleyes:

He hasn't even showed up here to realize we're giving him a hard time! Yet he posted on my thread 2 hours ago! C'mon Rose! :)

This guy is MIA in the WORST way!!! Lets go Hoosier your makin us ALL look bad here

Wow!

I was here earlier, and well aware of the heckling going on here in my thread. I feel the love here boys......but I need to spread the wealth. If I start posting only in my thread and stop posting in all of yours there will be sadness and hurt feelings all around. I can't have that. I'm off next week for spring break so I'm planning on spending some quality time in the basement.

I may even get around to posting a picture of the area I need to mount my side speaker looking for advise. Just don't hold your breath!

Regards,

RTROSE

Wow!

I was here earlier, and well aware of the heckling going on here in my thread. I feel the love here boys......but I need to spread the wealth. If I start posting only in my thread and stop posting in all of yours there will be sadness and hurt feelings all around. I can't have that. I'm off next week for spring break so I'm planning on spending some quality time in the basement.

I may even get around to posting a picture of the area I need to mount my side speaker looking for advise. Just don't hold your breath!

Regards,

RTROSE

Please continue the heckling in all of our threads...well atleast mine I tend to enjoy it.:D

I have to say I enjoy it as well. I also obviously enjoy dishing it out....

Well I figured I would make my 1000th post in my own thread and give all of you waiting on pins and needles for the "photo" some satisfaction.

Here is an overview of the area where I'm going to mount the speaker.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03022.jpg

This is the doorway from the theater into the workout area and kitchenette.

Here is a closeup of the same area.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03017.jpg

The doorway, framing, etc., were there prior to my construction and it was too cost prohibitive for me to redo the main wall as it is the main support structure for the two floors above. The yellow tube is the gas supply for the water heater and the furnace.

This is originally why I had planned on running the speaker wire out of the ceiling (hence the LV box there) because of the headers for the opening where I need to mount the speaker on what will be the right side (looking at the screen) of the theater. Directly behind the headers is the ducting for the HVAC, previously existing wiring, previously existing soffit, PVC piping, and a couple of water supply lines.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03019.jpg

Not a great shot but the best I can do. The PVC piping is for my sump. Unless I lay down some serious cash none of this is going to be moving soon. I tried to take a shot of the space between the headers and the ducting and I can't get a picture that shows what I want to show. From what I can guesstimate there is approximately 1/2 to an inch between the headers and the ducting. I am thinking now that I should finalize where I want my speaker and then drill (carefully) through the header and run the speaker wire between the header and ducting and not out of the ceiling.

If it helps I had planned on mounting the speaker directly to the wall either with a bracket/wall mount or build a small shelf for the speaker to sit on.

What do you guys think?

Looking for your guidance, ideas, support, and heckles!

Regards,

RTROSE

Post 1000 congrats! I can't believe I'm quickly approaching 2000.

If I understand it correctly it seems like you will be pulling the speaker wire to the face of the soffit/wall your showing on the picture there. I would suggest that once you have the location of the speaker down, definately put a 2x6 or wider piece of lumber, flat towards the sheetrock the width of the stud area. This way once you pull the wire thru you will have plenty of area to mount the speaker to, be it a screw, mount, or bracket.

Post 1000 congrats! I can't believe I'm quickly approaching 2000.

If I understand it correctly it seems like you will be pulling the speaker wire to the face of the soffit/wall your showing on the picture there. I would suggest that once you have the location of the speaker down, definately put a 2x6 or wider piece of lumber, flat towards the sheetrock the width of the stud area. This way once you pull the wire thru you will have plenty of area to mount the speaker to, be it a screw, mount, or bracket.

Actually the open area is the back of the area where I'm planning on mounting the speaker. The first two pictures shows the area were I need the speaker to go (basically on the header) I just included the other picture to show what was behind the header. I just need to decide if I want to drill through the header for the speaker wire or go through the ceiling like I had originally planned.

Yeah it is pretty cool that I have reached the 1000 milestone. 2000 here I come!

Regards,

RTROSE

Ah, I see now. As long as you are certain that the speakers would not pose a problem there with the doors that your gonna put there (now or later in case of upgrades). Though I suppose the same could said of the speaker wire coming down from the ceiling.

IMO it would be a easier to hide the speaker wire coming from the header vs. the ceiling. Good luck.

Ah, I see now. As long as you are certain that the speakers would not pose a problem there with the doors that your gonna put there (now or later in case of upgrades). Though I suppose the same could said of the speaker wire coming down from the ceiling.

IMO it would be a easier to hide the speaker wire coming from the header vs. the ceiling. Good luck.

I am actually leaning towards doing it that way but I just need to finalize the position of my side surround. I (like you) think it would actually be easier to conceal the wires through the header vs. the ceiling.

FWIW I am not planning on putting any doors in that opening. It will be open to the kitchenette so I don't think speaker interference will be a problem.

Regards,

RTROSE

I have decided to just run the speaker cable through the header and just get rid of the LV boxes at those two locations.

No thanks to you Cathan and Docprego! Shame on you and the others for your lack of input especially after I was chastised for so long for not posting a photo of the aforementioned location.

There are several things in the works and some progress will be occurring in the next few weeks.

I have made an executive decision (ok the wife helped) and the workout room in its current location just is not going to be practical in it's current and proposed future location in the basement. We are going to move the equipment up to the spare bedroom where the boys hang out room is now. We are going to relabel the area and use it for additional table/seating space and future popcorn machine area. The area was just too small to be viable as a workout area. I guess this is one advantage to moving slowly, you can modify your plan without too much impact vs. at breakneck speed where you realize too late a mistake has been made.

Some other things in the works in the next few days, weeks, and months.

Estimate for plumbing the kitchenette area. First estimate there was almost 900.00 to run supplies, connect into the sewer and sump and pump to move the gray water to the sewer. I'm hoping this next estimate is closer to 400-500 dollars or maybe even cheaper due to this contractor working in PEX (sp?) and even though he is licensed bonded and insured he is taking this on as a side job for some extra money.

Contacting Dish and having them wire up the basement for HD and a third receiver.

Working out an estimate for insulation and I am going to contact a spray foam contractor to get an estimate for "spray foaming" the basement walls.

Working out a cost of doing a sub floor in the basement either Delta or dri-core and seeing if that fits financially into the build.

Having a HVAC contractor (or several) come in and doing an evaluation on what I need for the basement to provide ample heating and cooling. Special thanks to Cathan and his min-split install for providing me the direction/inspiration on getting this adequately covered and making sure my space is comfortable.

I have been "in negotiations" with a co-worker on buying his 40 ft tower and OTA antenna since he has gone with Dish. I have pestered him relentlessly for about 5 months now and finally convinced him to sell me his nearly new OTA setup lock stock and barrel for about an eighth of what it cost him new just a couple of years ago. I feel badly, but I'm getting over it!

Oh and I have also contacted a couple of drywallers who in the next couple of weeks will set up a time to come buy and give me some estimates for their work.

Finally things are starting to happen or at least moving that way.

Regards,

RTROSE

More pics pls... ;)

All I see is words, words, and more words. What! There have to be close to a thousand of them on this page alone. And you know what is worth a thousand words? Yep, that's right. A picture!

Word.

The PVC piping is for my sump.

Hey RT, as you know Roger Miller lied when he said "It dont rain in Indianapolis in the Summer Time". You may want to consider wrapping your Sump line in pipe wrap before you drywall. Mine sweats like a one armed green glue spreader when the cold ground water gets flowing.

I have decided to just run the speaker cable through the header and just get rid of the LV boxes at those two locations.

No thanks to you Cathan and Docprego! Shame on you and the others for your lack of input especially after I was chastised for so long for not posting a photo of the aforementioned location.

There are several things in the works and some progress will be occurring in the next few weeks.

I have made an executive decision (ok the wife helped) and the workout room in its current location just is not going to be practical in it's current and proposed future location in the basement. We are going to move the equipment up to the spare bedroom where the boys hang out room is now. We are going to relabel the area and use it for additional table/seating space and future popcorn machine area. The area was just too small to be viable as a workout area. I guess this is one advantage to moving slowly, you can modify your plan without too much impact vs. at breakneck speed where you realize too late a mistake has been made.

Some other things in the works in the next few days, weeks, and months.

Estimate for plumbing the kitchenette area. First estimate there was almost 900.00 to run supplies, connect into the sewer and sump and pump to move the gray water to the sewer. I'm hoping this next estimate is closer to 400-500 dollars or maybe even cheaper due to this contractor working in PEX (sp?) and even though he is licensed bonded and insured he is taking this on as a side job for some extra money.

Contacting Dish and having them wire up the basement for HD and a third receiver.

Working out an estimate for insulation and I am going to contact a spray foam contractor to get an estimate for "spray foaming" the basement walls.

Working out a cost of doing a sub floor in the basement either Delta or dri-core and seeing if that fits financially into the build.

Having a HVAC contractor (or several) come in and doing an evaluation on what I need for the basement to provide ample heating and cooling. Special thanks to Cathan and his min-split install for providing me the direction/inspiration on getting this adequately covered and making sure my space is comfortable.

I have been "in negotiations" with a co-worker on buying his 40 ft tower and OTA antenna since he has gone with Dish. I have pestered him relentlessly for about 5 months now and finally convinced him to sell me his nearly new OTA setup lock stock and barrel for about an eighth of what it cost him new just a couple of years ago. I feel badly, but I'm getting over it!

Oh and I have also contacted a couple of drywallers who in the next couple of weeks will set up a time to come buy and give me some estimates for their work.

Finally things are starting to happen or at least moving that way.

Regards,

RTROSE

At what point did you rename this "The RTROSE (contract everything out) HT Construction Thread"?

At what point did you rename this "The RTROSE (contract everything out) HT Construction Thread"?

HA!!

You gave me quite a chuckle! I always knew I would be contracting the drywall and the flooring/carpet. I pitched in and did the grunt work on the electrical and all the framing and so far the running of cables.

It was actually Cathan who made me start to ponder my HVAC requirements and I know that I'm out of my legue regardining all of the requirements for a properly loaded HVAC system.

I'm not afraid of plumming have done many small jobs around the house but the thought of cutting in and joining up to the sewer is just too much for my DIY skills plus I want to be without water for hours not days!

The spray insulation is on sort of a whim, I want to see how much difference in cost it is to the standard pink stuff plus it is much quicker to apply. I already have a suspicion it will be too expensive to justify its use in my limited budget.

I will do the dri-core or delta floor myself. It looks like a no brainer to me. For around a grand I think it is money well spent and will add a lot to the "feel" of the basement.

Rest easy my friend......I haven't completly thrown in the DIY towel....yet!

Regards,

RTROSE

I had my first of four HVAC contractors come by this evening. I have another one coming by tomorrow and two on Friday.

I did get some good news from the first HVAC contractor and that is even though my furnace is just "plain jane" and entry level run of the mill standard general contractor grade nothing fancy furnace is up to the task of handling the basement load as well as the rest of the house.

I am expecting to get the estimate from him tomorrow.

I made contact with one contractor who basically informed me my job was just too small for him to come out to give me an estimate and then quoted me $250 for him to do the job with out even looking at the job. One would think that even if it is a small job in the general economy one would want to keep your people busy even if it is a small job.

I also will have the plumbing guru come by on Thursday for his estimate. Things are a cooking at the RTROSE theater build.

Regards,

RTROSE

More pics pls... ;)

Yea what he said!

Yea what he said!

I'll post some pics when there is something new to show you guys. That is unless there is something specific you all want me to show you.

I did have an unexpected "surprise" two weeks ago. We were doing some spring cleaning and when I backed our 01 Montana out of the garage I was greeted with a two foot puddle of coolant under the van. I got an estimate to fix all that was wrong and it was going to be in the "neighborhood" of 2300 dollars. After sinking that much and more about a year and three months ago I thought it foolish to sink that kind of money into a nine year old van with 120,000 miles. Soooo my family went from this

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/5696149-1-3-87e9fd31.jpg

to this


http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/5715444-1-3-846f345f.jpg

The photos are representative of both vehicles but I don't have actual pictures of either vehicle. Thanks Carmax for the images. 8-)

The Chrysler 300 is a very nice ride. I'm very happy with it as I hated the van with a passion. Granted the 300 is not as fine as Logan's Cat, I'm still very pleased with the car.

Sorry totally off topic, but you guys wanted pics so there you go!

Regards,

RTROSE

I vote number 2. Like the bar it does not make it look so much like a kitchen. Add a beer tap and you are set.:rolleyes:

I was a "Chrysler man" for a long time. First car ever was '68 Dodge Cornet 440 (but only had the 360 - go figure). That only lasted a short while and then I got my Dad's hand-me-down 1970 Plymouth Fury III when he drove a '73 Chrylser Newport off the showroom floor. Fury III was gray, 4-door. It was what the NJ State Police wer using as unmarks. I was in the High School band and our hats looked like police hats. If I put my hat on the dash people used to move over and slow down. The absolute BEST part of that car was that the back seat was 5 feet wide. And so was the front bench seat. In college I used to carry the band's 5 foot column speakers in the back seat....just lay 'em down and close the doors! If you put the front bench back all the way, there was a TON of room, for, well,...you know...going to the drive-in.

Then I got a 74 Cordoba (yes, WITH Corinthian leather and a wider track).

I was considering a 300 when I first started looking a couple of months ago. Always wanted that Jag, though, and this one kind of fell into my lap.

Good luck with it! Not that it should keep you from theater building or anything.

I was a "Chrysler man" for a long time. That only lasted a short while and then I got my Dad's hand-me-down 1970 Plymouth Fury III.....In college I used to carry the band's 5 foot column speakers in the back seat....just lay 'em down and close the doors! If you put the front bench back all the way, there was a TON of room, for, well,...you know...going to the drive-in.

I was considering a 300 when I first started looking a couple of months ago. Always wanted that Jag, though, and this one kind of fell into my lap.

Good luck with it! Not that it should keep you from theater building or anything.

Well what could be better than a car to carry your band's speakers and going to the drive-in to er ah watch a movie? ;)

My wife actually wanted an Altima however she was really impressed with the 300 and it was love at first drive. The only other time that happened was with me!

I worked at one time for a gentleman who had a Jag and they are very nice vehicles. This was one of many he had owned throughout the years. He even stayed with them when there were many and frequent mechanical issues (80's) maybe?

Nope the car won't keep me from the theater and I will post some pics of my progress (eventually).

On the estimate front I now have two of the four for the HVAC estimates and both of my estimates for the plumbing work.

I'll post all the details of each one when I have them all.

Regards,

RTROSE

Hey all,

Since I'm spending time here not really doing anything constructive on my CONSTRUCTION thread I'd thought I'd waste some more time conducting a poll.

Go to my poll thread vote and post if you feel compelled to do so.

I promise there will be more pics on the way SOON!

Regards,

RTROSE

Today I finished obtaining my HVAC estimates, my plumber did just enough rough in so I can drywall and I got an estimate on the spay foam insulation.

First off the HVAC estimates. Really hoping for these to be a grand or lots less and really hoping that my system was up to the task without an entire system overhaul.

Company one. Called to schedule an estimate was told over the phone I would need three supplies, which would cost 250 bucks. I asked him if he was sure he did not need to see the space. He said (I'm paraphrasing here) basically my job was too small and it really was not necessary or cost effective to do a "free" estimate, but would be willing to do the work for said amount just let him know. Yeah ok, don't hold your breath.

Company two. Very pleasant gentleman who spent quite a bit of time listening to me and really trying to give me several options of what could be done to fit into my budget. Option one run total of five new supplies and two returns tying into the existing run blowing from the center of the room sideways and outwards. Option two five supplies two returns using new supplies running to the outside wall blowing down.

Option one $440.00. Option two $665.00.

Company three. Another very informative gentleman (and owner of the local company) who understands a little about HT and that a PJ can potentially put out a lot of heat. He took the time to ask a lot of questions about the HVAC of my entire house. Looked over my existing equipment reassured me that my furnace was up to the task and pointed out that he could make the existing furnace work more efficiently by making some minor ie: cheep ducting changes and help with some of my heating issues on the main level and take care of the basement as well. His solution do the modifications to the existing duct work, and add four supplies and two returns. He also explained that my furnace was being choked off in the return air department and the two additional returns would help this problem as well. The supplies would go to the out side walls blow down and be drawn into the returns place near the floor level. He also pointed out that he could place the returns on the sides of the equipment area due the theater and the noise that can come from a return. At least he was thinking of the theater aspect regarding what I wanted.

His estimate $700.00

Company four. Basically the same set up with four supplies two returns plus he was concerned about the furnace combustion air and wanted to put in a grate for the furnace in the wall in the theater room for combustion air intake. He also basically wanted or planned on taking the return air from the back side of the basement from two sides of the kids area without any of the return coming from the theater side of the build and this also included some fancy ducting around and under the stairs and the water softener.

His estimate was $765.00 and when he asked about the other bids and I responded he then without blinking an eye and went to $715.00. The only thing that bothered me about this guy was his over selling and subtle bashing of other companies without actually naming them.

Company five. This gentleman is in another league altogether. He did listen to me and was very attentive. He also seemed to know some basics about a HT and the possible heating issues with a projector. He also had two different options. Option one was to redo the lower ducts and then run the five new supplies and the two returns, similar to the other guys. Option two was to completely redo the lower ducts, build additional soffits and run two ducts one for the basement and one for the main level of the house and put dampers with independent thermostats turning my system into a two zone setup. If I would have built this house from the start I would have set it up this way from the start with each level being its own zone. Both of the options required me to pull out previously built soffits and replace with a larger one to accommodate the new/revamped ducting.

Option one was $2000.00. Option two $4200.00.

Well after careful consideration I'm pretty sure I have decided which one I'm going to go with, but I would like to hear all of your opinions to see if I am thinking on the right track or totally off track.

Anxiously awaiting all of your thoughts opinions.

Regards,

RTROSE

#3 for me.

I tend to agree with Michael, but it's really difficult without meeting each person. What does your gut tell you about them?

Also, don't forget to do your research about their companies. Heck, maybe you can ask Biggy to dig up some dirt on them. :D

CJ

I tend to agree with Michael, but it's really difficult without meeting each person. What does your gut tell you about them?

Also, don't forget to do your research about their companies. Heck, maybe you can ask Biggy to dig up some dirt on them. :D

CJ

Guys thank for the input. As I stated I pretty much have made up my mind on which one I'm going with. Just seeing if I'm thinking the same as all of you here. I agree with you that meeting with them in person is the best and would lend a lot on the opinion and decision.

Of course it does help that I have had previous experience with two of the companies I obtained estimates from.

I'm still waiting on my spray foam insulation estimate in email form. Fingers crossed that it is budget friendly as I am leaning heavily in that direction.

Regards,

RTROSE

I got my estimate for the spray foam application today. While it is more than what I wanted it is about what I expected. For the ceiling, walls, and the "boxes" around the perimeter of the basement the cost will be roughly 3k. I was hoping it would be closer to 2k but I decided if I was going to do the spray foam I would just go and do it all. This added about 700 to the estimate. Even though it is 3k I am still leaning heavily in that direction as I think for my application it is the best option and at the speed I do things the spray will go up in two days vs. several weeks for me to get my rear in gear.

I also had my drywall guy come today and he will be shooting me an estimate in the next couple of days. I'm hoping that estimate will be more in line with what I'm thinking. So far I've been off even though I have been trying to estimate high.

At least I'm saving half of my original estimate for the plumbing going from 800 to 400 dollars. Got to get savings where I can.

In the HVAC world I am going with company #3. I feel really comfortable with the company and the owner. This is one of the companies I have had some experience with and I also found out he has done some work for my parents and saved them several thousand dollars on a new furnace. I'll be calling them here in the next few days to schedule the work.

Regards,

RTROSE

Company 3, or Company 2 is my best guess.

RT, I would save the money and put regular insulation up. I am getting Rockwool for my HT and ceilings in the entire basement for $350. Plus another $300 for R-13 in all my walls, interior/exterior. Just my 2 cents.

RT, I would save the money and put regular insulation up. I am getting Rockwool for my HT and ceilings in the entire basement for $350. Plus another $300 for R-13 in all my walls, interior/exterior. Just my 2 cents.

I hear ya. This is the one "expense" I'm really wrestling with. Most of the other items on my punch list I pretty much know what I'm willing to spend or whether or not the cost is worth it to me.

The funny thing is my wife is actually the one "pushing/encouraging" me to go with the foam, and she is usually the one that is the most worried about the cash outlay. The one thing I know is that if the basement is not comfortable for my wife she won't utilize the space. Now as wonderful as that may sound for a wife to stay out of the man cave and as much as I claim the basement as "MY SPACE" I would like for her to share in the occasional movie with me and be comfortable. :D

We will see how all of this pans out. Gee, now if I could only come up with an extra 3k. Anyone know of any lucky lotto numbers?

Regards,

RTROSE

Since I had my basement walls framed and the shower installed by the original (mistake) I went with the spray foam in the majority of the basement. The stuff is awesome. Fills every nook and crany. Because of lousy framing, I tore down what they did in the theater area and started from scratch. On the exterior concrete walls I went with 1.5" foam board glued to the concrete and then built and insulated 2x4 walls inside them.

The rim joist area is one of the major areas of heat loss for a home. When the house was built, I just stuffed them with regular insulation but later found that it was a good place to trap moisture. I tore it all out and had the spray foam in the rim joist area even in the theater.

Here is a Link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13873582#post13873582) to the potential problems I would have had if I left normal insulation in place.

Hey wait... Until I see some pictures in here, I still believe you live in a box down by the river. Who needs HVAC and insulation in a cardboard box?

Drew,

You are a doubting Thomas for sure, but I must admit you found me out. After all of this time here posting I will come clean. Here is a picture of my house.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/CardboardboxHouse.jpg


As you can clearly see it is a cardboard house but it should also be obvious that I do have some HVAC concerns to deal with. Luckily my HVAC guys are coming on Monday to fix those issues.

To make you even happier Drew I'll take before and after shots of the work so you won't doubt me anymore.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well I can finally post some pics of progress in the basement.

My HVAC company guy showed up about 9 this am took a look around and made a list of what he needed to do the install. About a half hour later he shows back up and gets to work. He worked from about 9:30-45 until about 2:10, left to go get a couple of items from the shop and was back and done about 2:45. He was the only one that worked on the project. Seemed to work quietly and efficiently and when the boss man stopped in to check his progress and lend a hand he was happy that he was almost done. I only have one issue with the install but I did not catch it until he left and after I signed off on the work. It is not really a big deal, it was completely my fault, and I believe I can fix it without much hassle.

I ended up with four supplies, two returns, and reworked duct work which with preliminary testing seems to have evened out the flow to the main floor somewhat. Time will tell.

Here are some shots of the HVAC.

Before

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03043.jpg

After

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03080.jpg

Before

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03041.jpg

After

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03070.jpg

Before

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03049.jpg

After

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03076.jpg

Here is where the problem is. I should have instructed them to mount it vertically instead of horizontally. The way it is now will interfere with the base cabinets of the kitchenette. The first time I looked at it I spaced it and did not realize what the problem would be until I took the after pictures. Should be an easy fix, I may even call them and see if they could fix it. I am going to have to run some 2x4's in there for a mounting surface before they do that though.

Now I'm just waiting on my drywall estimates. Got one in so far and it was sticker shock so we will see what else develops.

Regards,

RTROSE

Drew I hope you are somewhat happy now.

Drew I hope you are somewhat happy now.

Never!!!

Ok, so you actually have a house that isn't made of cardboard.

So where is the floor plan that should be updated into post 1 of this thread. The lack of pictures makes it hard enought to follow with having to guess at the floor plan.

What room is the return in? If you theater, it seem you might get a lot of HVAC noise out of it. That is a very short run that is hooked directly into the furnace.

Never!!!

Ok, so you actually have a house that isn't made of cardboard.

So where is the floor plan that should be updated into post 1 of this thread. The lack of pictures makes it hard enought to follow with having to guess at the floor plan.

What room is the return in? If you theater, it seem you might get a lot of HVAC noise out of it. That is a very short run that is hooked directly into the furnace.

Sheesh! I was hoping that you would be appeased somewhat but I guess I underestimated your demands.

I don't think I ever got around to doing an actual floor plan, however I think I could whip one up for you and the rest of the AVS'ers here with out much problem.

The return is not directly vented to the Theater room and I have been running it (testing it) and there really is not much noise that comes from the returns. My sump pumps are a lot louder than the furnace return noise.

I'll try harder in the future to please you Drew.

Regards,

RTROSE

I don't think I ever got around to doing an actual floor plan, however I think I could whip one up for you and the rest of the AVS'ers here with out much problem.

Would you actually do it yourself, or contract that out?

ooo.. burn! :-D

would you actually do it yourself, or contract that out?

Ooo.. Burn! :-d



OUCH!!!!! That really cut deep!!

Well...hmmm. I think I could do that myself, but contracting it out would probably get it done faster! ;)

Regards,

RTROSE

Here is a Google Sketchup of my floor plan. I tried to make it bigger but I had issues so the small image is all you are going to get Drew unless you can tell me how to make it bigger for export to Photobucket.

Sorry it is so poor, however I did do it myself and did not contract it out.:p

Theater is approximately 13.5 x 20

Kitchenette is approximately 8.5 x 25

Kids Media/Game room is approximately 13.5 x 13


http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/basement1.jpg

The one change I did make to the original plan was to eliminate the workout area from the basement area and relocate it to the spare room where the kids media/game room is now. There just is not enough room for all of the workout equipment and the area is better served with a pub/game table to go along with the kitchenette. Other than this change I have stuck "with the plan" pretty much from the start.

Drew my first post has been duly updated to include the floor plan for those intrepid individuals who just now have started to read this wonderful thread.

Regards,

RTROSE

OUCH!!!!! That really cut deep!!

Well...hmmm. I think I could do that myself, but contracting it out would probably get it done faster! ;)

I figure someone has to give you some crap back for all that you've said in their threads (can't remember which ones, it was a few months ago).

I figure someone has to give you some crap back for all that you've said in their threads (can't remember which ones, it was a few months ago).

Hey what goes around comes around. I enjoy heckling in others threads and look for it here. It makes things fun and interesting when people keep you on your toes. Don't mind it one bit. At least someone is reading and posting in my thread!

If you visited Docprego's thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1077653&highlight=kick) you saw me give him a lot of grief for being so slow to get some things together. I think I rattled his cage a couple of times anyway. Which reminds me hmmmm......

I have had the fortune to have yesterday and today off which for me makes a four day weekend so I spent the majority of the day yesterday in the basement, and hopefully today too so I am making some progress. I'll update later on with the details.

Regards,

RTROSE

It's always amazing what you can accomplish when you have a block of 3-4 days in a row. I'll be happy if I get 3-4 hours this weekend to get some more trim work done. I may plan to take a week off in June to bust out a bunch of stuff. We'll see. Weather is just tooooo nice to spend it inside right now.

It's always amazing what you can accomplish when you have a block of 3-4 days in a row. I'll be happy if I get 3-4 hours this weekend to get some more trim work done. I may plan to take a week off in June to bust out a bunch of stuff. We'll see. Weather is just tooooo nice to spend it inside right now.

I hear you about the weather. I too a "break" yesterday from the basement to mow the lawn just to get out into the sunshine.

On to the updates.

Yesterday and today I got several things accomplished.


Cleaned up, rearranged, removed miscellaneous unneeded building supplies, and hauled out junk, trash and other items. I realized in this process my circular saw is MIA. Now I have tool separation anxiety. I have no idea where it went, who I lent it too, or if someone "helped" them self to it. I have put out an APB, and fliers all over the neighborhood. If anyone is interested there is a reward for finding my saw. (One free movie night in the completed theater of course!)

Finalized the location of my side surrounds and ran speaker wire to the locations.

Ran speaker wire to the back of the kitchenette where the pub table will be located.

Had the "Cabinet Guy" come by for a final measurement just to double check everything.

Replaced three 2 x 4's that had twisted severely in the past months.

Double checked (ok quintuple checked) all my electrical runs (again) and still found two wires needing wire staples.

Finished the rough framing for the three basement doors reinforcing the framing around each of the door locations.


For the remainder of the weekend to do list.

Finalize the location of the future projector and noodle out a mount.

Run power and video to the projector location.

Reinforce the location in the kids area where the plasma will be.

Finalize the measurements so I can order my Delta flooring.

Measure for subwoofer cable.

Move the kitchenette HVAC return from horizontal to the vertical.

In the next several weeks to do list.

Run coax for OTA HD and Dish to the appropriate locations.

Run one additional phone line to the kids area.

Run IR repeater cable from the front of the theater to the equipment cabinet.

Insulate.

Install Delta flooring.

Purchase OTA antenna from my buddy and install.

Tape all of the joints of existing HVAC ducts.

I'm sure that the list will grow exponentially as time goes by.

Here is hoping the next two days is as productive as the last two.

Regards,

RTROSE

Here is a Google Sketchup of my floor plan. I tried to make it bigger but I had issues so the small image is all you are going to get Drew unless you can tell me how to make it bigger for export to Photobucket.

Ok, so I recently had to introduce someone (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16093291#post16093291) to a ruler so I guess is doesn't surprize me that you need a different yet similar introduction.

Can you say Pencil???

You have wasted more than enough time on everything other than your build so rather than messing around with software you don't know, how about a good old number 2 and a piece of paper??? You could draw in your seating, label your screen wall, identify a riser if any, etc. Snap a pic and call it a day.

Now those fancy 3-D sketch up pictures are nice but a real 3-D picture of progress is far better.

Laundry list updates like post 217 needs at least one picture. I know it is not exciting stuff but pictures=progress no matter how you look at it.

So... 4-day weekend... Were are the pics???

Ok, Ok, Ok,

I'll post some update pics and do a search around the house for some graph paper. Got to be some around here someplace and get you an accurate diagram with dimensions and descriptions.

I spent most of today doing honey-do's not related to the HT build, but I did get some additional things moved out of the basement one of which was my elliptical trainer weighing in at 270 pounds! Had to enlist the help of a co-worker for that one. I also scored a box of telephone line from another friend of mine which saves me the cost of purchasing it from a big box store.

My circular saw is still MIA. I have called all my usual "suspects" so now the investigation widens. Hmmmm.

Regards,

RTROSE

My circular saw is still MIA. I have called all my usual "suspects" so now the investigation widens. Hmmmm.



Well DONT look at me....I dont have it!!! :rolleyes:

I was able to spend about three hours in the basement between yesterday and today. I got the rest of the duct work seams/joints taped.

Before

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03101.jpg

After

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03106.jpg

The fact that the joints/seams were not taped was brought to my attention when I had the other duct work done. I was surprised just how much air was leaking out from all of the seams/joints. This was pretty easy to do, just time consuming but thought I would take care of it while it was still accessible and easy to do.

I was also able to get some reinforcements put in for the wall in the kids area.

Before

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03104.jpg

After

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03109.jpg

I thought this might be a good idea to put some reinforcement on the wall since my plans have changed from a DLP projection TV to a plasma TV.

This was my wife's suggestion, she likes the look of a flat mount on the wall and stated she would really like that look in the kids area. I'm pleased with that because I was going to DLP projection for cost effectiveness so the plasma should be a step up in image quality.

I have also deep sixed the shelving for the kids area as we have decided to go flat mount I'm just going to get a ready made A/V shelf for all the gear and find other storage solutions.

Still plugging away checking off one item on the to-do list and adding two more.

Regards,

RTROSE

Here is a better "traditional" floor plan of my basement. Thanks to Drew for the introduction of a pencil and ruler.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03113.jpg

This was the best I could do with my limited drafting skills. Drew I did my best to get a good pic of the drawing but this is the best one of a dozen or so that I took.

Just for you Drew I'm now working on a floor plan of just the theater so you'll have that to reference from now on.

I have also decided to go with the Platon (http://www.spycor.com/CertainTeed_Platon_Waterproofing_Membrane_Subfloor_p/xsm.htm) subfloor it is the cheapest of the three products and has the same performance of the Delta flooring and it is available locally even cheaper than the online sources.

I have also ordered subwoofer cable from Blue Jeans Cable's other site Raw Cable.com. (http://www.rawcable.com/) I have decided to run cable to five separate locations so that I have several options of where I can place my subwoofer(s) to "fit" the acoustics of my room.

I have been lucky to be able to work for a few hours each of these past few days, but that will come to a screeching halt for the next several days do to other commitments.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok. 222 posts and we finally know what the room will look like. :D

Now a few questions.

1. Why two doors into the eq closet? Wouldn't one be sufficient?

2. What are your plans for the 6 foot opening between the theater and the game room. I have a 9' opening between mine and I still don't have a solution.

Now that you have a drawing I would suggest making several copies. You can write where wire runs are, electrical plans, furniture plans, lighting plans each on their own sheet.

Ok. 222 posts and we finally know what the room will look like. :D

Now a few questions.

1. Why two doors into the eq closet? Wouldn't one be sufficient?

2. What are your plans for the 6 foot opening between the theater and the game room. I have a 9' opening between mine and I still don't have a solution.

Now that you have a drawing I would suggest making several copies. You can write where wire runs are, electrical plans, furniture plans, lighting plans each on their own sheet.


1. There are two doors in the equipment area due to the support pole being right near the center of the room between the door on the right and the one right in front of the furnace. You can see the pole in the picture of the duct work in post # . I wanted to make sure there was unobstructed path to the furnace should there or when there is a need to service, clean, etc.

2. Well the six foot opening is going to remain open between the two areas. I had initially thought about options to close off the two areas, French Doors, Sliders, Pockets, but I think what I'm going to do is use a heavy curtain and have the curtain hang on the long side of the area where the pub table is and then when I want to close off the area slide the curtain over the area. There is only one window in the area where the pub table is and none in the theater area so I could see the curtain only being used during the daylight hours.

Good tip on the copies. Now I have another thing added to the to do list. Mapping all the electrical, cable, lighting runs. Great suggestion and will help me six months down the road when I trying to find something.

Regards,

RTROSE

hey mr. rose! i dropped off the face of the earth for months and when i get back i am expecting to see your completed theater...

molasses is kicking your butt buddy!

greg

hey mr. rose! i dropped off the face of the earth for months and when i get back i am expecting to see your completed theater...

molasses is kicking your butt buddy!

greg

Yup I'll agree, but as the weather warms I'm speeding up just a little (just like molasses)! :D

My wife has given me the deadline of Christmas of having the basement done and usable (or at least the kids area) and the rest of the basement drywalled and painted but not necessarily furnished. So even though I'm working slowly I've picked up the pace quite considerably considering the progress the previous few months. Now I'm feeling rushed! HA!

Don't fear my friend, its coming along and yes at better than a snails pace!

Regards,

RTROSE

Hello all,

Just a quick update. I spent the entire day hauling out the rest of the junk and stuff that I did not get moved out of the basement a couple of weekends ago. With the help of my wife we rearranged the storage area (thanks honey) and moved some of the stuff to that area. I was able to run an additional phone line to the kids area so now I have a total of three phone lines/jacks for the basement.

My cable from Raw Cable (Blue Jeans Cable Co.) came in so I have been drilling more holes and running more cable to the subwoofer locations. I was able to get two done today so I've got three more to go. I also picked up some "standard" RG6 for the OTA antenna and the satellite feeds.

I have decided to go with the spray foam insulation. I'm hoping this will happen within the next three weeks (depending on the spray foam company's schedule) This is a thermal/comfort choice rather than an acoustic/sound isolation choice. I have to make sure the basement is COMFORTABLE and suitable for habitation for a very cold natured family. I know from reading that the foam is not the best for sound, but I'm hoping that there will be some sound deading as a result of the foam. I will be placing some of the "pink stuff" other places such as adjoining walls, equipment closet, and the stair well.

I have also "selected" a dry waller and he is willing to work around my schedule and says he should be able to go to work pretty quickly after the spay foam is done. So I'm looking at the first of June for the spray foam and about two weeks after that I should be in the drywall getting business.

Still lots to do and I'm feeling the time crunch.

Regards,

RTROSE

You'll really "see" the theater once the drywall is up. too bad it really only marks the half-way point.

You'll really "see" the theater once the drywall is up. too bad it really only marks the half-way point.

Yeah, unfortunately I know this all too well. I will be nice to be "half way" though since I never thought I would get this "far" anyway. :o I think it will be at this point my wife will get truly excited about the theater because all she sees now is bare wood and lots of wires and while that excites me she is a different matter. After drywall I can see all of the work that still needs to be done but to her it will be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. (If she only knew)

Regards,

RTROSE

Updates,

I have spent the last couple of days being productive in the basement. I have gotten all of the subwoofer cables to the five different locations. Run RG6 to the kids area, to the main theater, to the family room TV and outside to the satellite and future OTA antenna location.

I thought when I ran the RG6 to the outside I would have to drill through the actual concrete basement wall, however I was able to go through the sill plate which made it much easier. I ran three RG6 runs to the outside and terminated those in the equipment closet and I ran two separate runs to the kids area one for the satellite and one for the OTA.

I ran six runs from the family room to the basement, one for the OTA feed and five for the future TV in the pub area from the satellite receiver in the family room.

Here are some photos of some of my progress in the last couple of days.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03187.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03188.jpg


http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03190.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03194.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03205.jpg

My shortsightedness led me to use F-connectors for the connections vs. RCA for the rest of the video feeds. Will work just fine just not as easy to work with as RCA but I had to get it done prior to Thursday and did not have time to wait for a RCA wall plate to come in from say some where like Monoprice.


Continued.....

My runs to the great outdoors.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03211.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03210.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03206.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03207.jpg

I decided to place the three runs in a trash bag, don't know if it will help keep the RG6 clean but can't hurt anything. My foam job looks like complete crap but that is what I get for trying to smooth it out too soon and having to refoam the hole to fill in the gaps I created by messing with the cables. The white PVC pipe is from the sump that runs out to the storm sewer.

I still have quite the laundry list to get done before Thursday.

* Run power and video to the PJ location.
* Wire staple all of the new cable runs.
* Remove all existing insulation
* Mount lighting boxes for the pendant lights over the kitchenette snack bar.
* Move the rest of the construction tools out of the basement so the foam guys have a clear area in which to work.

The saga continues with my circular saw being MIA I had no choice but to purchase a replacement.

My "new baby"

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/717709008052.jpg

Details here (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=200152-67702-C7SB2&lpage=none).

Regards,

RTROSE

My "new baby"

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/717709008052.jpg

Details here (http://http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=200152-67702-C7SB2&lpage=none).

Regards,

RTROSE

Thanks for the broken link. is it corded or cordless?

Thanks for the broken link. is it corded or cordless?

Sheesh TOUCHY are we? ;) Thanks the link should be fixed. It worked last night but I redid it so it should work now.

It is a corded saw. I still have not made the jump to the cordless power tools yet. I had a few cordless drills when they hit the market some 12 to 15 years ago and was not impressed then with the cordless thing. Yeah I know they are much improved but you know what they say about first impressions. I can't keep track of the stuff I got let alone adding extra batteries and chargers to the mix so I keep it simple.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok, I just spent the time to read this ENTIRE thread, you better get the insulation and drywall in soon!

yay toys!

My circular saw has been idle since the basement was completed. *sigh*

My circular saw has been idle since the basement was completed. *sigh*
You know, I think there should be a forum policy that those who have finished their theaters cannot rub in the fact that they're done.:D

Well, except for maybe Logan. But really, what's the chances that he'll finish. :)

You know, I think there should be a forum policy that those who have finished their theaters cannot rub in the fact that they're done.:D

Well, except for maybe Logan. But really, what's the chances that he'll finish. :)

Right on!!! Right on!!! Right on!!!! However your forgetting one important thing....We are never truly DONE with the theater. It just morphs into HT v. 2.0

yay toys!

My circular saw has been idle since the basement was completed. *sigh*

I always like getting new toys, however I had a perfectly good saw that I just can't for the life of me track down at the moment. So I'm happy with the new toy, but would have liked to spent the money on some "new toy" I did not have already.

Ok, I just spent the time to read this ENTIRE thread, you better get the insulation and drywall in soon!

Thanks for your time and I always welcome new readers to the thread, the more the merrier. Heckling is appreciated and encouraged here just remember heckling goes two ways. The "foam guys" are scheduled to be here Thursday and Friday so you won't have long to wait for that anyway. Stay tuned!

Regards,

RTROSE

Update,

Spent yesterday and today feverishly trying to get things done in preparation for insulation.

Found a wall stud that had twisted, warped, cracked, and was loose so I replaced that as a precautionary measure.

Rran the HDMI and component cables to the future projector location.

Pulled up the old carpet on the stairs (the guys who laid the carpet did a fantastic job there were at least 10,000 staples holding the carpet to the stairs), thanks guys! :D

Removed all of the existing insulation around the foundation perimeter.

Found a use for a left over circuit from the original electrical run to the basement.

Tracking down and wire stapling all of the new wire runs.

The kids media and hangout room is done and ready for the insulation, the other areas are close and should be ready after just a few more hours of work. I have to run some supports for the projector mount, run power to the projector location, mount the appropriate low voltage/electrical boxes and finish the wire stapling.

On top of all of this our washer decides to go belly up so we have a new front loading washer and matching dryer on order from Lowe's and just for good measure I was looking for a pneumatic stapler so I picked up this little gem.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/045564621797.jpg

Seems to work great and is fantastic for bike tires, but a bit on the noisy side for such a little compressor. Well see how well the stapler works but it seems to be of pretty good quality.

Regards,

RTROSE

Someone has caught the tool bug:eek:

Someone has caught the tool bug:eek:

AAAAAHHHHHH CHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Not a bad bug to "come down with" if ya ask me.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok,

I got all of my "must get done" stuff done in preparation for the foam guys to come do their thing. I was really feeling "rushed" to get some stuff done prior to their arrival and going at more than the usual RTROSE pace of doing things. I also wanted to totally clean out the basement so the foam guys did not have to work around all of my junk. I don't think the basement has ever been this empty other than the day we took possession of the house almost six years ago.

The start of the build. Theater area.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC00620.jpg

Now

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03214.jpg

Start of the build. Kids media hangout area.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC00621.jpg

Now

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03229.jpg

Stairway before. You can also see HT v .5 in the photo. :rolleyes:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC00622.jpg

Stairway now.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03246.jpg

My solution for the future projector mount.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03227.jpg

More updates to come and a report on the "foam guys".

Regards,

RTROSE

Stop the press. Someone call Home Theater Magazine. We not only have a little progress but pictures!!!

I was really feeling "rushed" to get some stuff done prior to their arrival and going at more than the usual RTROSE pace of doing things.

Maybe you should hire out every other job in the project so it keeps you moving.:)

I think you will be impressed with the spray foam. The stuff is great.

Post pics of the foam ;)

Post pics of the foam ;)


Well since you asked, here ya go.

Here is a link (http://www.ccsprayfoaminsulation.com/) to the website of the company I used.


Their rig.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03235.jpg


Two different foams. This is the rigid foam which also serves as a vapor barrier sprayed only on the basement walls.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03239.jpg

This is the semi rigid or "soft" foam sprayed on the "band" area and in between the ceiling/floor joists.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03250.jpg

I need to take photos of the "foamed" basement yet and I'll post my initial impressions but since I had a request it was the least I could do.

Sorry Drew I know you hounded me for weeks for updated pics and I did not produce but this time I actually had pictures when requested. Not trying to play favorites.:p

Regards,

RTROSE

Stop the press. Someone call Home Theater Magazine. We not only have a little progress but pictures!!!


Maybe you should hire out every other job in the project so it keeps you moving.:)


HA!

I guess I should have done this from the start. Nothing like a hard deadline to motivate you.

My drywall guy called and wanted to know how I was progressing and stated he could be here next week if I was ready for him.

DOH! I agreed because if I don't commit now who knows when his schedule will open up again. Another time crunch! Working much faster than RTROSE speed. Lots to due before he gets here.

Regards,

RTROSE

All,

I spent the entire weekend working in the basement. I purchased "regular" insulation to fill in where I did not have the foam applied. 13 rolls total 7 R13's and 6 R19's and they will be going up in the storage area, equipment area, and a couple of other places around the basement. I have most of the the insulation up already as I started on Friday after they finished with the foam application. Menards had the doors I needed for the basement on sale so I picked four of them up. Heck fire after replacing all of my interior doors last year I'm now a "self proclaimed" door installation specialist.

I have also decided to go with a subfloor just to cover (no pun intended) all aspects of comfort and have chosen to go with the Certainteed product called Platon (http://certanteed.com/resources/ctplatonflooringbro409802.pdf) which is available at my local Menards. I figured on six rolls of the Platon and approximately 35 sheets of 5/8ths 4 x 8 OSB for the project so I went ahead and purchased the material to get started with that as well. I will also post my impressions here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16264167&highlight=flooring#post16264167) with the Platon product.

All in all a very productive weekend and I'm happy with the progress, although there is a lot to do before next Saturday when my drywaller shows up. More info and pics to come, yeah I know promises, promises.

Regards,

RTROSE

Hey, Howdy, Ho,

I have been a very busy camper here in the past few days. Here are a couple more photos of the foam application.


Overview of the area looking from the kitchenette to the pub table area.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03253.jpg

Photo showing a sample of what the wall and ceiling joists look like after foam application.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03254.jpg

Overview of the theater area from the theater entrance looking towards the screen wall.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03251.jpg

I wanted to comment about my experience with Custom Comfort Spray Foam. When I called initially to schedule a quote I spoke with Jason (who I found out is the owner of the company) he showed up and took great interest in what I wanted to do. He even has a theater in his home so he understands the needs of a home theater. I had only planned on doing the basement walls and the ceiling of the theater with foam. I had him quote everything separately so I could choose what I wanted covered in foam sort of ala cart. Jason left and then I agonized over what to do and after much contemplating on what I wanted to do I just finally bit the bullet and told Jason to just foam everything in the basement that was standing still.

Jason showed up with his right hand man Matt. Both of them took great care in prepping the room(s), and protecting all my items in storage. They even used a tarp to block the door/stairway from the basement to the kitchen and laid tarps down over the flooring in the main level so as not to track anything on our floors. The actual spraying took about three/four hours total with the rest of the time about eight hours in setup/prep/cleanup duties. Very professional and also very personable as well. These two guys were the type of guys you would want hanging out with you at a BBQ. A very positive experience.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok, there is more.

I wanted to post a few pics of the flooring.

Here are the players.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03258.jpg

Laying out the first strip.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03259.jpg

So forth and so on.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03261.jpg

Finished product.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/DSC03264.jpg

There are a few tricks working with the flooring but nothing too complicated just time consuming. The biggest fly in the ointment is the out of square layout of the rooms, but not what I built. The main wall down the center varies in distance from the outside concrete walls. MY walls are closer to square than the "professional builders" so that makes me smile. I would warn anyone doing this type of flooring be sure to get as many of the ripples or humps out of the material as you can. It is impossible to get them all but smoothing the seams and taping as you go helps as well as laying down your OSB sheets temporarily to hold the flooring in place. Due to the out of square condition on the last row I had to cut out a small "v" in the material to get the flooring to lay flat and to lay square at the end of the roll. There is a learning curve but the DIYer should have no major problems installing this type of product. The wife and I have noticed an immediate improvement in the "feel" of the floor and there is no longer that cold feeling underfoot. I have no regrets in deciding to use this type of flooring.

If I had to do it over again I would have put the flooring in first and then built my walls on top of the flooring. It would have just been easier to do it that way.

Cost of the flooring approximately $ 0.37 per sq. ft.
Cost of the OSB approximately $ 0.26 per sq ft.
Total per sq. ft. $ 0.63. I think this is a very affordable flooring option considering the DriCore panels are approximately $ 1.25-1.50 per sq. ft.

I'm very pleased with the results so far.

I also talked with my drywaller this evening and we are still on for Saturday. My drywall gets delivered on Friday morning and my drywaller shows up at 0800 on Saturday.

Still lots to do and the clock is ticking ever more loudly and quickly.

Regards,

RTROSE

Great progress!

You might actually have to rename your "slower than molasses" signature, now. :D

Looks great!