hi all,
as you can see by my join date and lack of post i've mostly been a lurker. I did n't think i had much to contribute, at least intelligently, to the conversations. i've been reading and reading for 2 years now. i think i have aquired enough knowledge to really screw this project up.
i have to thanks Sandman X, China dog, BocoPimp, Art Sonnenborn, VideoCam, Average Joe, for the hard work and attention to detail they placed in their theaters. Reaper at Reality Renders for his expertise and patence over the last 4 months of design changes. I thought i had planned the refit of my basement down to the last detail, but boy was i wrong. hirering Joe (reaper) as the best money spent. He saved my thousands of dollars. by rendering in 3d my ideas. i could see what worked and what didn't.

so, welcome along. i hope you enjoy my theater build. i think it will look cool when completed. i should have lots of pics to share. any input, advice will be welcomed.
alan

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/0d35fc00.jpg

this is the cad of my basement.
the room is 13' x 22'
ceiling on screen side 10'
celing on seating side 8'6" lower here do to mechanicals (ducts, pipes etc)

the room is a refit. it is already finished.

i'm not to worried about sound control, leaks etc, as the back entrance will closed only with a heavy curtain. so, i did minimal sound proofing. ie: no room within a room configuration.

i have had my humble former system in place for 2 years now with no complaints from up stairs. (wife, kids etc...)

my current very humble systemhttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/77e6ab66.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/77e6ab66.jpg

here is one of the renders done by Reaper. (Render Reality) i'll post more pics later as the build continues.http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/0dd1eec5.jpg

the equipment.

runco cl-610
screen 140 diag SMX AT
denon avr 4308 vs. integra dtr 8.8
klipsch thx ultra II's
htpc (i will most likly run Main Lobby when i get the htpc built.)
dishnet hd sat
currently pioneer elite cd ( i forget the modle number)
xbox 3d
ps3
wii

mmmmmmmmm.--runco

Alan,

Good luck with your build. What aspect did you go with on the SMX - 16:9 ? or are you using the new masking system ( I sometimes wish I would have waited for Ruben to finish that before I ordered mine - oh well)

Looking forward to the updates.

Cheers
Calvin

calvin,
i'll go 16:9. i m planning to do a dyi mask. i saw cool dyi mask in another thread, i'll need to look for it again and link. it is simalar to an idea i had. i would n't mind one of ruben 's masking system. maybe in the ALMAX.2 version.

whiskey a,
is that a good mmmmm or a bad mmmmm?

here are the renders of what my theater will look like. reaper (Render Reality) did an awsome job on these.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/b4912b91.jpg
[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/d0a13577.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/e56f72ad.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/c8f6270a.jpg

the wood for the columns and trim came from my property. i had my woods select cut 3 years ago. i had remnent wood left over in a pile. i took it to a friend saw mill, had it milled into boards. the boards wwere 5/4 thick. they were then kiln dried. i have since taken them to my partners wood shop. ( she does this for a hobby) to be sawn, moulded and built. the wood on the columns will be red oak. it is old growth and has a beautiful grain. the trim , crown moulding will be spaulding maple. a lighter grain wood. they should complement each other well. i haven't picked a stain yet. i need milled and finished pieces first.

the columns will b 25" wide x 87 inches tall. i am going to use klipsch ks-7800-thx in wall speakers in the columns. given my narrow room, i feel these will be the best fit. they sound great also.

Looks great - love the columns. The first thing I thought was if you were going to put the front on a hinge like BigMouthinDC did for his equipment rack. If you hinged doors on your columns you could have easy access for speaker replacements. Maybe that is too over the top. I wonder if anyone else has ever done it.

audi,
hadn't thought of hinging. would be easy to change out speaker though. good idea.

the dyi mask i was looking to do was done here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=941076

scott0007 did this in his theater. looks like it will be easy to automate.

Here are some new renders with a different carpet pattern. I sent these to your e-mail as well, Alan.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9494/grillopass120001ei0.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9494/grillopass120001ei0.jpg)
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8296/grillopass120002fg9.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8296/grillopass120002fg9.jpg)
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/20/grillopass120003vc0.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/20/grillopass120003vc0.jpg)
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5062/grillopass120004cm0.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5062/grillopass120004cm0.jpg)
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4929/grillopass120005xy9.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4929/grillopass120005xy9.jpg)

thanks joe. great job!!

here are the renders that reaper finished up.the carpet is a star pattern as opposed to a more geometric pattern. its a busy patrtern but adds some depth to the room.

what your thoughts on which one looks better?

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/500ed29e.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/b488c0d5.jpg[/IMG]

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/0036a206.jpg

[IMG]http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/cfeb2d39.jpg

The new carpet looks good.

thanks steve.

got the old celing out. insulation ready to go in. pics coming.

her are some pics of the downd trees i am using for my columns and trim.

i needed my tractor to move these.

i moved these the end of this past october.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3184.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3182.jpg

while moving this stump. it is a piece of red oak, i estimate it weight 2500-3000 lbs. it was big enough and heavy enough to pop the bead on the front tire of my tractor.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3193.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3192.jpg

these are some other red oak and spaulding maple

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3188.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3187.jpg

this is thee aftermath of popping a tire. i was at the far end of my property. about a 1/4 mile from the house. i have no spare tire. my solution, i put the bucket down enough to get the front tires off the ground. drove backwords to the house, i would put the tires on the groung long enough to turn the tractor. in the process of returning to the house. the valve stem on the popped tire was torn off and ended up inside the tire. it took a while to fish it out.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3194.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3195.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3196.jpg
i couldnt seee the vavle stem but i could here it rolling around. i had to actually stick the flashlite into the tire. i was able to blindly grasp the valve stem with a reomte grasping tool.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3197.jpg
valve stem out!!

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3199.jpg
new air going in....back in business

these are some maple i had to skid out of the woods. these were laying on a narrow ridge. this made it difficult to get them out of the woods. i had to rig up a winch to get these up to the tractor. took alittle while but they came without much trouble.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3201.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3202.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3203.jpg

Dude - I don't think I've ever seen anyone on AVS source their wood from their own property! This is great!

i don't know either. i've seen some pics of site clearing but no mention of them using the wood.
the trees have been milled and are at the wood shop. they have to dry a little longer to avoid the dreadded shrinkage. ( i hate it when your wood shirnks)...

Looks like it will be a beautiful space.

I do have to say I've read a lot of threads and heard a lot of horror stories about things happening while construction was going on - but I'm pretty sure that's the first time someone has popped a tire!

Bryan

bryan,
i' ve move a lot of boulders, trees, dirt etc with that tractor, but that was the first time i've ever had that much weight on the front tires. it sounded more like yetty yellling than a pop. a real loud skreach. i had no idea what had happend until tried to move back.

ceiling out.

i put up the smurf tube. ran some extra "just in case" tubing.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3487.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3489.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3490.jpg

i put up the framing for the soffit this weekend. pics to come. i should have the fiber optics ordered this week.
wood for the colums still in need of some drying. moisture content needs to near 9%. currently around 15%. if milled now, it will shink to much causing twisting and worping. thats not a good thing.

Very cool pictures. Two of my buddies have saw mills and own about 14 acres a piece. One of them built a huge 4 car garage and a barn for his horse from the trees he cut down. Nice to see there are other people out there making use of trees on their property.

thank tony,
i know the colums and trim will look great when milled an stained.
i m glad i could make use of the left over wood. hated to see it go to waste.

got some questions on fiberoptics.
i found thru a search star ceiling designer out of canada. it is a module system. i m not quite sure how it is powered. is it hooked thru a computer or a step down transformer, i see swithy had used it. i saw star ceiling designer was going to start a thread on avs, i did a search and came up blank.
i was also looking thru sandman x thread again, he used fiberopticproducts, more traditional set up.

i'm curious as to everyones opinion on the best setup. night mares, trials and tribulations...
thanks

That's hard core DIY when you grow your own wood for your theater. Like the new carpet more than the first one by the way. Keep up the good work.

trees being loaded, off to the saw mill
it was early december, 6-8 inches of snow, wind chills near zero,,,buuurrrr...

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3335.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3336.jpg

seems all the post i put up yesterday crapped out...server??

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3539.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3540.jpg


framing for soffit up.i calculated the radious on a 21ft circle.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3541.jpg

i did the temporary facia board in 2 pieces. i needed to get the measurement correct. i will have the finished facia done in oak with a mohagany inlay. should look realy nice.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3570.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3571.jpg

http://http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3572.jpg

with the exceptions of a few screws this is the finished temporary facia.

i had quite a time setting the proper radious. the left wall is about foot shorter than the right wall. i had adjust the frame and facial support to compensate. it was tough getting it symetrical.

all the fiber optics are ordered. i'll put up the links to the online stores soon.

this is the raw wood back from the mill.

redoak, old growth, it has a deep grain. should be beatiful when finished
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/01-17-08_1044.jpg

the other pile is th spaulted maple. i did n't get a close up pf though. pic quality sticks,this was my cell phone. my wife took the memory card out of the canon, lost it..it was irritateing...

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/01-17-08_1045.jpg

these are the links for the fiberoptics. i did quite a bit of shopping to find the best deals.
http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Endglow.htm eg-48. 48 strand fiber optic. the cable has .75mm, .5mm, and 1.5mm strands.

led shooting star effect generator ordereed from here. They had the cheapest.
http://www.wiedamark.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=shooting+star&Page=1


i ordered 3 of these 75 watt light boxes, 2 for the stars one for the side glow fiber that will encircle the ceiling, i went with the 75 watt boxes so i dont over power the room with light.
http://http://trinorthlighting.com/Store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=90&products_id=603

also thru trinorth i ordered sv8eg, end glow fiber , this is 8 strand, i'll use this for the shooting star.
sv32, side glow, this cable has a clear sheath so all the fibers are exposed, i'll usee this in place of rope light. i like this effect better than rope light.
all should be in this week.
http://trinorthlighting.com/Store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=79

http://trinorthlighting.com/Store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=80

all of the companies we easy to work with. fiberopticproducts call right away to say the had a delay on shipping do to low inventory.
the shooting star effect generator arrived in 3 days.
trinorth lighting shipped everything the after my credit card placed a hold on the charges until they could authorize the purchase. i'm glad they did that though.

i got the end glow cable today from fiberoptic products.

i am waiting for the light boxes to arrive. shipped a few days ago, o paid thru google pay, they, appearently don't have the ups shipping info, so i don't no when it will arrive.

i'll have pics up soon.
sorry for the delay in getting pics up.. i only have dial up in the boonies. can get sat intenet here, but can't see paying the price. the t line at work is what i use.

i had difficulty finding black drop ceiling tiles. so the solution. valspar paint from lowes. i used a kettle black, in eggshell. i had a touch of purple placed. looks like a black hole. i am in the process of laying out the star pattern. should be easy to install the fiber optics in the drop ceiling. very litte sound leak up stairs with the insulation and drop ceiling.

got an update from my partner who is doing the coulmns. the red oak is still to wet to use. it will need to be re kilned. i should be able to get to that this week.

the drop ceiling is painted and up.looks really good.
the light boxes and remaining fiberoptic cable will be here monday. i hope to have the star ceiling in this week.

i have more pics, should get them uploaded tomorrow.

got the pics uploaded today.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/21e87186.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/f9f4fe7e.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/8f37e49e.jpg

my friend, a HVAC guy and fellow home theater enthusiest installed the duct insulation. its 2 in, sound resistant. really deadend the furnace. my furnace is right next to the theater.

70ft of eg-48 fiber optic cable. this will be the stars. the small metal wheel is the twinkle effect thet goes on the light box.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/d4c4bc4a.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/84506bb9.jpg

this is a close up of the fiber optic, the cable contains different sizes of plastic fiber.

this is close up of the twinkle wheel
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/b90d9aa6.jpg

ceiling tiles are being layed out for painting

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/087bba3c.jpg

painted,
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/f3d52a3e.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/6d32527a.jpg

textured tile. these took one coat of paint with out any trouble. some of the tiles have a few speaks of white showing thru, i left them in, they look like stars also. no need to cover them up.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/d8118829.jpg
paint came from lowes.
kettle black eggshell. has very little sheen. the tiles are about 12 feet from the screen. very little light splashing in it.

after re-installing the tiles. i have excellent sound absorption. i have very little sound transfer thru the floor. i have to turn up the vol in the theater to a painful level to here it thru the floor.
the black look great, excellent light absorption. the stars should realy shine.

i'll start the fiberoptic runs this weekend.

Wow, you're really moving now. When do you plan to start building the fabric panels for the walls?

the tiles look sweet. the ceiling is going to rock. later.

joe,
should start the panels in the next few weeks.

last box for fiber optis will be in on monday. i need to get that in first.

some eletrical to be done this weekend.

thanks for checking in.

aham,
thank you,, the texture really looks better than i though it would.
if you look at the renders reaper did, he added texture to the star field, looks very similar.

i recieved all the fiberoptics yesterday. i'll get some pics up soon.
should be starting the star ceiling build this weekend.

i will be picking up the red oak this weekend also, i need to have it re-dried in the kihln. the moister content is still to high to allow for building.

busy week at work.
i started on the star ceiling this weekend. these are the inital panal fabrication.
4x8x1/4 masonite, i needed to limit the drop fromthe ceiling, so i ripped some furring strips, 1 1/2 x 7/8 for the frame. screwed together.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3659.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3660.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3661.jpg

i left a small notch in the frame to pass the cable. i'll have pics of the rest of the panals this week.

i have to get the electrician out this wek, the contractor that wired the basement has me all confused. i'm pretty good with regular straight forward wiring, but this really has me confused. so i'm going to hire that part out. i don't need any fires do to a cobble job.
so that should be done next week.
more pics to come

i have about 90% of the star panels built. i have lots of pics stuck in my camera, the battery crapped. i should get them out this weekend.

my oak is at the kihln. should be a couple of weeks before it is ready. it consitantly measures 20-28% moisture. that is way to wet to mill.
so, it will be a while before i get the colums built.

i re-did the star layout. i ultimatly ran short of 8 strand fiber cable.

now that i know how to work with the fiber optics, i opted to go with raw fiber. i ordered from here bulk fiber http://www.thefiberopticstore.com/FOS-mainpage.htm

combo pack 600, http://www.thefiberopticstore.com/purchase/endglowfilament.htm#combo

i' ll lay it out to length, cut it and bundle it myself.
the fiber is very easy to work with.

easy to dyi...

i had the electrician out. the area of confusion was do to the original basment wiring were all on one circuit. then the circuits were separated at the light switches. so i had him do a dedicated circuit from the fuse box to the theater. this was all very convienent as the fuse box is 20 feet from the theater. i ran all the wire my self, to code, he hooked it all up.
worked out great.

the electrician had never seen fiber optics before. he had lots of questions, i gave as many answers as possible. he wants to experiment on my system and add fiber optics to his product line for his customers.
should be a good for me, as he is willing to barter his time for future electrical work.

i'll edit these today, i wanted to get them uploaded.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3662.jpg

raw panal, prior to putting in the cross supports.
4x8x1/4 masonite. braces are 1x2, screwed into place

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3683.jpg

balck felt,
i got this from wal-mart. i compared this to the fideilio velvet everyone is now using. i couldn't see much of a difference when compared side by side. however, 21 bucks /yrd for fidelio vs 2.49/yard could beat it. i got the whole bolt for around 40 bucks.

this stuff is black.

not fire proof if thats an issue. not so in my theater.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3684.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3685.jpg

in full sunlitght.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3686.jpg

this pic is in medium sunlight, well lit room.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3687.jpg

this is the false wall that separates the mechnical room from the theater. i place a temporary shelf to hold the lite boxes.
i have since insulated and dry walled this room.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3691.jpg

supervision 75wt halogen lite box. i dont really care for the haolgen lite. i will probrably change this out for a led lite. the lite is a little to yellow. i would like a more natural blueish white color to the stars.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3692.jpg

this is the finished raw panal. to get the right amount of fiber i layed the cable out, stretched it to the furthest star and trimmed back the cable houseing.

the star lay out was done at this time. i do astronomy as another hobby, so star placement was importanat to me. i did the layout at this time. i simplely mark what constilations i wanted witha piece of chaulk, drilled the holes for the stars. then moved onto applying the felt.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3694.jpg

i used a utility knife with a new blade. tip... you need to be very carfull when you cut into the cable jacket, the knife should pass smoothly thru the jacket. if you feel any resitance, stop, you may cut the fiber optic. i found this out the hard way.. luckily the fiber i cut was at the end of the cable, it didn't cost me any cable.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3695.jpg

after measuring the cable, i layed down drop cloth. (plastic sheeting).
placed the panal on the sheet.

prior to star lay out. during the fit of the panal to the ceiling, i traced the outline of the soffit as to avoid placing stars where they wont be seen.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3696.jpg

i layed out the velvet. i needed to leave the side long as to cover the distance between soffit and the ceiling. the width of the felt is 54 inches. i layed it out lenghtwise, tucked the felt around the outside and stapled one edge to the frame. ( as below)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3698.jpg

stapled to frame.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3699.jpg

litely sanded the panal, the hole for the stars had some raised areas that needed to be smoothed out. 3m super 77 spray glue, applied to the face of the panal. youo have about 5-10 min to work with the glue. smoothed out the material with my hands. very easy to work with.

then stapled the rest of the material to the frame.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3700.jpg

i used the eg-48 multi size cable from here. http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Endglow.htm

48 fiber/panal.

i had to trimm the larger fibers at an angle to allow easy passage thru the material, needle point like.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3701.jpg

one finshed panal. 2 more to go.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3703.jpg

fiber poking out of the finished side. i left them long, and trimmed to fit and for asthetics after installed on the ceiling.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3705.jpg

uninstalled panal with lites out. ( sorry for the shackey pic ) timed photo without tripod. i'll take some good pics with the tripod after all panals installed.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3707.jpg

installed on ceiling. i attchated to joices with 2 1/4 in nails from nail gun, counter sank as not to show thru the material.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3708.jpg

second panal done the same ay. this one has 2 shooting stars. i used eg-8 fiber cable. 24 inches and 16 inches. requires 3 cables to stretch the 24 inches, and 2 cables for the 16 inch one.

i glued the fiber with elmers glue. hot glue gun was to hot and wanted to melt the fibers.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3709.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3710.jpg

long fiber trimmed off. i did leave several inches of fiber exposes and did the final trimming on the installed panal. i adjusted the lengths of fiber for effect, shorter fiber, dimmer star, longer fiber, brighter star.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3713.jpg

2 panals installed. dusty air caused the orbs in the photo.


i have the third panal built, however i ran short of fiber do to layout change. i have ordered bulk spooled fiber. it should be in this week. i have it on the ceiling but not install yet.
looks really good.
its a black hole in my basement now...

very little light shine from all the stars. no lite on screen, soffit does its job in blocking stray star shine.

i'll have more pics up soon.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3714.jpg

snow was alittle deeper than i thought.
burried my truck trying to drop off drywall at the basement backdoor

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3715.jpg

snow was about 2-3 feet deep dispite an ongoing thaw.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3716.jpg

i had to make a road from the drivway to my truck. took about 2 hours to get to my truck.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3717.jpg

pulled it out with my tractor.

ah, the things we do for this hobby...

this is the bulk spool of .75mm fiber. 300 feet.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3722.jpg

the pic hosting siite does not let the new images load. i'll put more up later. site mantainence

i dont see any pics, only red Xs. i think you may have pasted the URL in wrong?

http//i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3722.jpg

later.

sorry,
but as earlier, photoucket site said "system updating"
i'll work at it later

site back up, re posted pics...3-16-08

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3724.jpg

i ran short of pre-fab fiber cable. so, i made my own fiber cable. i used plastic tubing, measured the bulk fiber, cut it to length, fed the fiber thru the plastic tubing. this tubing will hold 20 strands of .75mm fiber without any binding.

i used this home made fiber cable for a 27 inch shooting star.

i bundled 2 pieces, 1-14 strand, the other 13 strands, dilled the spaces 1 inch apart.
you can see the home made cables next to the comercial 8 strand cable.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3725.jpg

panal with shooting star, and regular star layout.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3726.jpg

fiber runs prior to glueing. (elmers glue)

completed panal.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3727.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3729.jpg

i fixed the cables from the preceeding 2 panals to to the ceiling dry wall with platic straps. this secured them and kept them in line for the cut outs on the last panal.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3728.jpg

i cut a small hole in the ajoining mechanical room for the fiber cables to pass thru.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3730.jpg

finshed star panal ready to install.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3733.jpg

3 sec photo from the floor lookin at the completed star panals.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3734.jpg

i'll do a better job of photos when i'm closer to completion.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3736.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3687.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3739.jpg

light box up.
i insulated and drywalled this wall.

before an after pic.

light box and shooting star gen
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3740.jpgerator

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3741.jpg

on the shooting star generator, each fiber had to identified and placed in order.
i took a flash light, shined down each fiber for identifacation and placed into the generator receptical.

i was very dissapointed at the brightness of the shooting stars.
i figured out that the fiber, when placed thru the panal bent slightly away from the seating position. therefore its light as shinning twords the screen, i had to gently heat the fiber with a cooling down soldering iron and re aim the fibers back to the seating position. i wish i would have tested the brightness of the fiber prior, and i would have used a larger diameter fiber. 1mm as opposeed to a .75mm. i think it would be brighter.
it still looks ok...

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3744.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3745.jpg
completed and installed star panals

the little white smudge is a cotton ball, i was playing around with effects, i would like to have some nebula intermixed into the ceiling.

stay tuned, i have some ideas i will try to spice up the stars...

i met with the saw mill. the oak i had to have re kilhned, dried to around 10%, we pulled it out of the kihln, it cracked, badly. so, i won't be able to use the red oak as the colums. i do have some walnut, i was planning for another project. so i will most likely use the spaulted maple for the frame of the columns and the walnut for the raised panals. those different woods should look stunning together. i will still have the maple trim around the perimeter of the room.

i will also have to modify the ceiling one more time. i don't know if i will use the wood inlay in the ceiling. i may just extend the drop ceiling forward, and place fiber optics in them. i should end up with an open sky feel.

Too bad about the red oak. Was any of it salvageable? Looking forward to see how all that comes together. Star ceiling is coming together nicely, sorta glad I took the easy way out!

Bud

bud,
i should be ablee to use it for trimmed/inlay work, but not for the panals.
my partner, who has the wood shop, she could work with it to make the panals, but it wouldn't be cost effective. while i would have loved to have had that wood, i need to be practical about things.
i hope to put it to use elsewhere...

the star panals were a little tedious, but i think they came out loooking good. i cant see the seems from the sitting areas. it was important to me to get a good fit. so i spent a lot of time fitting them properly...

i can't wait to see the led, system your putting in...

This is an amazing ceiling. What can't of cost are you talking about with this?

bdoyle,
thanks for your comment.

the cost of the labor to cut, piece and build the raised panals for the column would be extreame. the cost of red oak by the foot is around 2$. so the addition of labor cost would put each column well into the 1K$ range, as opposed to the $300 dollar range, and the quality will not be as good. lots of joints to glue, increased risk of cracking, shinkage etc.

i put up the side glow fiberoptic lighting this weekend. looks good. pics to follow.
met again with my partner. the spaulted maple looks great.
i will have her build the colums out of walnut, ( for the panals ), and the maple for the frame.

i have the oak back from the kihln. it really cracked. i do have enough left that is salvagable. i'll use it for some other projects later. (bar build most likely)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/GrilloPass120005editied.jpg
hi all,
need alittle advice on the screen sizing.
in the render the orginal screen is sized at 140diag. its a 16:9/2:35 hybid, i will mask for the 2:35 but like the 16:9 for HD.
so my delema, now that i have the soffit and arch i dont like the look of the orignal screen. dimentions are (veiwable) 68x129 in 40"rad. this places the screen outside the curved of the arch. astheically it looks odd.

original screen in render is 140 diag.

pink border is 2:35 125in diag.

red border 16:9/2:35 hybrid with room for masking. 130in.
these are rough dimentions.

i need your advice to see what looks beter.
i threw some ms paint rectangle up, see what looks better. i haven't measured exactly, just looking at options

i think i want to downsize for a more asthetically pleasing look, but i really like a huge screen.
should i do 2:35 or 16:9. mask/no mask
i was palnning on going CIH anamorph (iscoIII)or runcos cinewide.


any thoughts?

anyone know a way to get photobucket to link from a networked computer. (work computer)? links fine from home, and the other place i work at... any computer whizzes?

hey,
i can't seem to link the images or direct link from photobucket to avs, done what i've always done.
any thoughts???
i'm on my lap top, no network.
whats up with that?

Are you locked into using photobucket? I always use imageshack.us

Drag about the oak. Still very cool that you get to use wood off your own property.

I used to have an Uncle who ran a sawmill, had him cut up a huge wild cherry that had been laying on a friends property for years unrecognized (I found it while cross country skiing and I sat down on it to rest a while!). My Uncle refused to kiln dry that wood, said it should air dry for a year before we attempted to plane it. Still have the chess table I built from the cherry :-)

hi joe,
not locked out, the pisc just won't link. i was going to try it from my other work computer, if that does'nt work , i 'll switch to imageshack.
this is the second or third time this would n't let me link.

scien,
cool, that cherry must look great.
i should have enough of the red oak for some end tables. i'll have them custom made . so i will still get to use them in the theater. i'll let the oak slow dry the next few months inside.
thanks for your interest....

i got the pic in post #126 to link to photobucket, i have no idea what the problem was.

so if you guys/gals would give some feed back on which looks best i would appreciate it.

i'm in a holding pattern with my build , waiting for the trim and colums to be finished.
thanks

what size looks best?
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/GrilloPass120005editied.jpg

while i'm waiting for the mill work to be done, o messed around with the clear cover on the twinkle wheel on the star light box.
i decrease the bulb to a 50 watt halogen.
i had some plexiglass left over from a prior project, i cut the blue protective film witha xacto knife, peeled it off and placed it on the clear wheel. the stars are now dimmer, and have a saphire blue hue. i left some clear patches those allow areas of the ceiling to be white.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3771.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3772.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3773.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3774.jpg

some pics of the ceiling.
these range from 10-15-20 sec exposures.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3775.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3776.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3777.jpg

i had to order custom cut walnut for the facia boards around the soffit. that should be in next week. it will be specially milled to fit.

the maple from my property for the trim and columns look great, really milled nicely.

hope to restart the rest of the fiberoptics for the rest of the ceiling in the next few weeks. now that spring is here, the outdoor honey-do-list is growing...

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3955.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3954.jpg

i got the walnut back for the special order mill. cut to length, sanded.
i prepped the wood and added a satin clear poylurethane fro lowes.
sanded with 0000# steel wool.
looks great. smooth with a little shine. very little lite from the screen hits it.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3957.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3959.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3960.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3962.jpg
this is the 12 foot piece along the top of the facia. i had to cut reliefs in the back side to allow for the curve. 21foot radious.
went up with out cracking.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3963.jpg

this is the process of installing the cureved 12 foot piece. clamped on the ends.
i drilled pilot holes, back screwed with corse drywall screws.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3964.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3965.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3966.jpg
http://http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3967.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3968.jpg


side peices went up the same way.
i didnt miter the corners, do to a complex angel. i wll have to trimm a little bit, and fill with wood putty.

after putting up the facia , i moved onto the recessed lites.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3969.jpg

these are led 2 1/2 in cans. these are cool running, almost no heat. low voltage. these will mount right to the dry wall.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3970.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3971.jpg

12v step down transformer.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3972.jpg

low voltage wire i picked up at menards. local big box store, it is outdoor landscape lite wiring. i wired the lites in series. worked well.

Nice job. Coming along well. The wood looks fantastic. Love the dark stain.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3973.jpg

the lites are hanging curently. i'll get the drywall, and sound absobing stuff on the bottoms of the soffit soon.

met with the colum maker, the spaulted maple is beautiful. i will add walnut for the frames of the colums. should have those in 4-6 weeks. spaulted maple trim is done. i just need to pick it up and install it. hope to do it this summer...

thanks joe,
i had to change some things around from the original renders. for the most part, it is lookng as you drew out.
the walnut is clear coated, the color is the natural wood., it does look beatiful..

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4189.jpg
hi all,
we had a bunch of crappy days, t-stroms and such, early in june. we couldn't get outside. so, i finished a few things that i needed to get done.

i layed the drywall under the soffits. these were complex as i had to fit them around the curves. to simplify, i made cardboard patterns and traced those patterns onto the dry wall. fit very well.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4193.jpg

this corner didn't go as well, i was screwing the dry wall in place after the initial fitting, i slipped off the ladder, the drywall came crashing down in two pieces. dented the wall. so alittle more mudding to do...easy fix...no injuries...

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4192.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4192.jpg

pic of the finished corners. the white spot in the lower rt hand corner is the dent.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4191.jpg

the center piece went up with some difficulty. it required several fittings to get it correct. as you can see it is a large piece. 7foot by 4 foot. we were able to lift it up to the soffit, reach over the soffit and trace the outline of the soffit. several fittings and trimming were required.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4197.jpg

finished dry wall.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4198.jpg


after drywalling,
we next measured and cut the black felt, tucked it into the soffit edges with a wide putty knife and stapled. i also applied the 3M spray adhesive to the dry wall. smoothed by hand.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4199.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4201.jpg

just prior to the fabric application, i layed out the low voltage LED soffit lights and using a 2 1/4 inch hole saw, installed the pre wired lights.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4196.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4202.jpg

repeated the same process on the other side.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4203.jpg

this is the completed sides.
i trimmed the excess material. i left about 7-8 inches extending down the wall. this will be the finished height for the wall daffels. i will build and install this fall/winter.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4204.jpg

the center material was also a pain to install. it was a large single piece. it was applied in the same manor. however, the glue was a pain to work with. with such a large area, getting the material to lay down really sucked. however, it really turned out great. smooth, no seams.
i have not finished the corners yet. there are seams still. i have left redundent material there, however, when it get ready to do the wall panals, i will take care of all the seams. i want the fit to be perfect.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4200.jpg

close up of the corner.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4206.jpg

finished soffit with lights on. the lites will shine onto the new screen.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_4207.jpg

same view, longer exposure.

i 'll keep chugging away at this project. busy during the summer, most likely as fall, winter approaches, i'll get at it again.....
stay tuned....

The way the star ceiling is recessed and framed out it really looks like a skylight and direct view of the starts (at least in the pictures) great job.

b.
thanks
the ceiling really came out fantastic. i do like the skylite effect.

i will be doing the rest of the ceiling in fiber optics. i have been experimenting with different designs, small galexies etc.
i will get back at this project when the weather gets crappy.
stay tuned...

Love the renders and your color choices.

I think the weather got crappy...any updates?

question on the walnut trim... did you apply any stain or was it just a clear coat of poly?

audi,
yup, start'n at it agian, just got my started on my klipsch ultra II's... i think my wife might have pitched the rest of my fiber optic cable, so i gotta order some more.
gonna finish the stars soon.

i'll start posting pics when i get at it next week.

poco,
the walnut is not stained, just 2 coats of clear, sanded in between coats, that is the natural color of the grain.

Looks like it was a bit of work to acheive, but I love the effect. Nice job!

poco,
the walnut is not stained, just 2 coats of clear, sanded in between coats, that is the natural color of the grain.

It looks beautiful... I'm always a sucker for nice wood finishes. I'll have to try walnut on my next project. I can't wait to see the maple columns/trim.

That is one awesome star ceiling!

after putting up the facia , i moved onto the recessed lites.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/dr350x/IMG_3969.jpg

these are led 2 1/2 in cans. these are cool running, almost no heat. low voltage. these will mount right to the dry wall.

Who makes these cans? Do you have a link?

Great job and good luck!

access,
i got them from http://www.lightingfx.com
these are low volt led lights used on yachts. the parent company is apex lighting, their from deefield beach fla. 220 lock road.

http://www.lightingfx.com/item--Gimbal-Trim--1te90
, i just got onto the site, looks like they changes the design alittle, but should work great. they are $2 cheaper too.
hope that helps.

Looks like it was a bit of work to acheive, but I love the effect. Nice job!

thanks jason,
labor of love...

That is one awesome star ceiling!

thanks queen,
i'll be laying out the rest of the stars this week. hope to get laying fiber next few weeks.
post pics when i get them

I have the suspended ceiling tiles in my theater now, and I'm just getting ready to paint them black. I was going to then install the fiber stars directly into each 2x2 tile.
Has anyone done that, and is there a reason I shouldn't?:confused:
Thanks!

monkeyman,
yup real easy to do.

use a dremmel or other HIGH speed drill motor. it should be high speed as to not tear the fibers of the ceiling tile. this will leave you a real nice smooth hole.
i experimented on an old tile with differnt speed drill motors, the hi speed and very small bit worked the best.

tip: let the drill bit do the work, put just enough pressure to make the hole. if you push to hard, you will tear the tile when the drill bit reaches the other side.

i started the hole on the finished side, therefore, if the bit does tear the tile, it won't be on the finished side.

check this link http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Install.htm

i am in the process of laying out the stars on my tiled ceiling. i used a piece of white chaulk to put the stars where i think they will look the best.
i'll get some pic posted when i can...good luck

Thanks,
I'l give it a whirl, and post some pics when I do!

.