Hi everyone. I'm in the process of completing my 2nd theater and was looking for some ideas on color schemes. My first go around was a burgundy/black split, but I want to do something this time around that's more of a mix between Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and the Mummy, if that makes any sense. I'm thinking somewhere in the brown/black/amber family of colors. I've attached a picture of the sconces I'm considering using, and I'll be putting a yellow LED rope light in the cove of the ceiling to project that amber glow. Hopefull these two things will help drive the paint and carpet colors.

I'm very open to ideas at this point, so feel free to suggest. I'll be happy to add additional pictures as well once the room starts to take shape. Currently I'm framed out and have added Dricore to the floor. Next up is electrical.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3449/3254655620_f446cee723_o.jpg

Jason
I see a castle in your sconce!
I like the colors you are considering. Today I saw a door at the lumberyard that would be just right. It had a heavy wood plank look with a round top.
I am trying to find a link and if I do, I will post it.
Rod

Ha! I immediately thought Temple of Doom when I saw it. What initiall drew me to the sconce was Jurassic Park. It was on the other night. The character of John Hammond carries a cane with a ball of amber (mosquito inside) as a knob on top. I really liked the color. Also, if you pay attention to the decorating inside the main building, they have similar colors. I think one of the colors we'll end up using will be a chocolate brown. I was thinking of doing a leather or suede finish to it, to give it that worn look.

Your query reminds me of that faucet commercial where this german architect is showing this obviously rich couple all of his accomplishments and when its time for him to ask what kind of house to draw up the wife tells him to design a house around a bathroom faucet.

That said, I'm drawn closer to a Raiders motif rather than the mummy simply because of the its got that search for holy grail sorta iamgery. But I can understand why the color of the light reminds you of the tree sap from Jurassic park

Victor

Looking at that sconce my first reaction was you need to look at the textured faux finish paints with multiple tones rather than just a flat color.

Sanded , suedes, glazes etc.

Maybe even one or more surfaces textured like rock (like a cave) with a LOT of relief. I'm sure you could make it work acoustically since this can be done from ordinary plaster or even foam products that go on top of drywall. That would give you a real over the top look...

Cool theme and you will have the whole gamut of earth tones to work with. Maybe you can bring some beat-up leather into it somehow? Like the Indy jacket look?

Leather and suede was definately something I was thinking of. Something with some depth and a little character. I really like the rock idea, but that might be a little too adventurous this time around.

I'm not 100% sold on the sconces yet, but they're growing on me.

I'm in the process of setting up my webpage to track costs, as well as pictures showing the progress. Until that's up, here's a link to some recent pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7279360@N05/sets/72157602812896394/

Currently, I'm a little over $3900 into the project. This was for framing, 50% of the DriCore, and moving some pipes around in the basement.

hey MN_hokie where did you get that sconce?? how much was it??

I haven't ordered them yet, but here's the URL:

http://www.bearsinthewoods.net/shop/tiffanylampsm23956.html

$64 each.

thanks ;)

Leather and suede was definately something I was thinking of. Something with some depth and a little character. I really like the rock idea, but that might be a little too adventurous this time around.

I'm not 100% sold on the sconces yet, but they're growing on me.

I'm in the process of setting up my webpage to track costs, as well as pictures showing the progress. Until that's up, here's a link to some recent pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7279360@N05/sets/72157602812896394/

Currently, I'm a little over $3900 into the project. This was for framing, 50% of the DriCore, and moving some pipes around in the basement.


Its coming along! nice!

Thanks. I'm hoping to get a pic of where I stand with the DriCore up later today.

Here's a picture of the DriCore down in the theater area. I need to finish the other half of the basement next before getting the riser and stage built.

I was originally going to use a 2X10 for the riser (which I used the last time around) but now I'm leaning towards a 2X12 with a step. I'll need to start searching the forums for some cool designs now.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3386/3253847171_9c16be3e6b_o.jpg

I also have an issue that I identified early on. As you can see in the attached picture, I have a water meter in the basement that I still need to read on a monthly basis. We were able to reroute several of the water pipes in the ceiling to clean the room up, but the city would not let me move the meter.

The solution was to build a column around the meter. I framed out an additional column equidistant from the front wall. I'll be mounting a sconce on each column, but I'll still need access to the meter and the shutoff valve above it. The picture should explain things a little better.

The two ideas I've had so far are to (1) frame the entire column in wood while creating an access panel on the bottom half for getting to the meter or (2) cover the section where I need access in a fabric panel that can be removed.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or have similar issues they may have run into? If so, how did you tackle them?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/3253850391_da894a8d60_o.jpg

Does anyone have any suggestions? I could really use some feedback on this one.

I'm still up in the air about the columns (any takers??) but I have another choice that I'm looking for some opinions on.

I went to the lighting store today to look at sconces. I saw a few that were interesting, but none that caught my eye more than the one I saw online:

http://www.bearsinthewoods.net/shop/tiffanylampsm23956.html

I'm still thinking about this Indiana Jones type color palette, but as of right now all I know is that I will probably do some brown suede or leather paint for the walls. I really like what I've seen from Masland carpet

http://www.maslandcarpets.com/Broadloom/Broadloom_main.htm

and I'm currently leaning towards something in a black, brown, or burgundy. I think we've decided to limit the black in the room to the front wall, seats, and possibly ceiling. The wife had talked about doing a brown/burgundy combo on the wall, but I'm not seeing it yet.

Does anyone have a theater they've done or see that uses something similar? I'm really having hard time visualizing the look. I'm also wondering if a brown might go better on the ceiling. Considering I'm pulling the theme out into the hall and up the stairwell, have most people painted their lobby area ceilings dark or just left it white?

Thanks a bunch for the comments. I'm really starting to dig in to this (electrical going in in less than 2 weeks) and the feedback really helps.

Lots going on in the build of theater 2.0 right now. I PROMISE to post pictures before the weekend.

Electrical rough-in is now done. I decided to go with the Lutron Spacer system for lighting control. The equipment rack, projector outlet, sub outlet and popcorn outlet (yes popcorn!) are all on their own 20 amp circuit now.

My sconces are on order and hopefully will be here soon.

I nixed the idea of a rope light for riser lighting and instead decided to use 3 step lights (1 in the step and 2 on the front of the riser) to light the way. These are the same lights that I've installed going down the stairs to the basement as well (pics soon).

The dricore is just about finished and I still need to run my low voltage. Insulation is next and I'm in the process of getting bids to hang, tape, and mud the drywall.

Oh, I ran an HVAC line to the theater as well.

Seeing as how I need to run my low voltage now, I have a few questions about what I need to run for future proofing.

I picked up a 500 foot spool of 14/2 wire for all speaker runs. I'll be running this from the equipment closet to all speaker locations. I'm also running the 14/2 through the riser to each seating position. Does anyone have a diagram showing how to wire up 6 shakers? I did 4 the last time so I'm assuming i can just daisy chain one more on to each row like i did before?

I'm planning on running HDMI, Component (2 maybe), VGA and CAT5 to the projector. I'll install a PVC conduit as well and keep it empty for any future wiring I need to do. All current runs will be outside of the conduit.

For the riser, I was planning on running RCA, USB, CAT5 and termintating it into a plate either on the floor of the riser or on the front edge.

Two questions I did have were regarding the front of the room. I need to run a cable to handle an IR repeater and would like to eventually install a Wii in the theater. I see people mounting sensors up front for the Wii. Is this something I need to prewire for? Also, could someone steer me in the direction of what I need to look for in terms of IR repeaters?

Am I missing anything on my runs? If not, I'm hoping to get my cable order in tomorrow so that I can get busy once I'm done with the Dricore, which hopefully will be wrapped up this weekend.

Hokie - sconces are set to leave NY via UPS ground on 3/14. Let's get some pictures up!!! I'd like to see the progress!

Thanks Mike. You guys are great to work with.

Hokie - the url under your signature on these forums doesn't work. What's up with this monkey bidness????

Hokie,

I think as long as you have coduit installed, that is the best way to future proof the room. You never know what the next big thing is going to be and conduit is the easiest way to update. I don't think you need to install the current wiring outside the conduit. If you run it in there now, then you can use the existing wire to fish through any future upgrades.

I don't know much about some of the other things you mentioned, but there are a couple of different wireless sensor bars for the Wii. Bud has one that plugs into a standard outlet, our you can a battery operated one. For my HT I am going to make sure I have an outlet close by and get the plug in one.

Thanks. The general feeling in the forums seemed to be to run new wire outside of the conduit and keep the conduit open for new wiring. I can always install a fish line to provide easy pull through.

So, I ended up ordering a handful of things tonight from monoprice:

HDMI 1.3a Category 2 Certified CL2 Rated (In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) - 25ft (Gold Plated Connectors)

PREMIUM 25FT 3-RCA Component Video RG-6 18AWG 75Ohm CL2 Rated Cable

25Ft SVGA Super VGA M/M Monitor CL2 Rated (For In-Wall Installation) Cable w/ ferrites (Gold Plated)

25FT Triple RCA Stereo Video Dubbing Composite Cable (3 x RG59U)

25FT 350MHz UTP Cat5e RJ45 Network Cable - Orange

100FT 350MHz UTP Cat5e RJ45 Network Cable - Purple

HDMI Male to DVI-D Female adapter

DVI Male Digital/DVI Male Digital Dual Link (24AWG) Cable - 3FT (Gold Plated/Black)

The DVI cable and adapter are for my TV and cable box upstairs. The 100 foot network cable will go from the equipment closet, through the basement, under the crawl space, and up in the router in the office. This is how I'll get wired internet into the theater.

I still need to get some bare CAT5 for various drops, but I think that covers it. I also need an RCA jack for the wall (black) so people can plug in ipods, game devices, whatever while seated.

Thanks for the comment on the Wii sensor. I'll check out Bud's thread and see if I can research it more. I just don't know enough about the technology.

BTW,

If you don't mind my asking, what did the Dri-core end up running you? I am on the fence about whether or not I want to spend the extra money for it.

In my opinion it was relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. I have a little bit more to put down, but I'm looking at roughly $700 to cover the entire 480sft area I'm doing. The theater was about 60% of that amount. I picked it up at Lowe's for $5.98 a sheet (2x2 square). Even without the carpeting in yet, I can tell a dramatic difference between standing on the Dricore and standing on the bare concrete.

Man.. my thread is getting no love.. dissapointing :(

Hopefully posting some pics this weekend will help.

pictures will help :)

Ok, time for some pictures :)

I'm in the process of puttin together a Visio floor plan so everyone can get a better idea of the room. It's hard to get the jist of it from a handful of pictures.

Here is the view from the top of the stairs. I've already completed framing and electrical rough-in. My wife and I wrapped up the Dricore this weekend (save 3 more pieces I need to finish a corner) so the next step is to get the low voltage wiring ran.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2339942196_264bb553b5_b.jpg

Here's a close-up of the step lights I went with. I have two in the stairwell leading down to the basement, and decided to use 3 more in the riser. One will be in the step going up the riser, and the 2 others will be in the front of the riser.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2272/2339100777_b3808e2734_b.jpg


Here's one that shows the glow from the lights:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2339118639_e7ff06408d_b.jpg

The sconces should be here in a few days. I'm mounting them 23 inches down from the ceiling. Two will be on the columns in the theater, with the 3rd being mounted to the wall directly across from the rear one. The 4th sconce will be mounted in the hallway next to the popcorn machine :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2338/2340028700_4f9451f0de_o.jpg

From the bottom of the stairs, the theater entrance is on the left (I swear..floor plan coming soon). The wall you see in the below picture is the left hand wall when seated and facing the screen. Two columns have been framed out on this wall. The rear column contains the water meter and water main shutoff, as well as the housing the transformer (see blue conduit) to power the LED lights in the soffit. I framed out a matching column up front so that this doesn't stand out.

The city wouldn't let me move the water meter, and we are still required to read it manually, so it will need to be accessible. I'm considering covering that area with a fabric panel on both columns so that it can be hidden.

You can also see the sconce mounts at the top of each column.

Finally, the blue tape on the floor indicates where the riser will go. Yes, I realize that step looks small. I've since moved the front edge of the riser forward 6 inches to allow for a longer step. One of the step lights from above will be mounted in this step. Riser will be 12" tall with a 6" step.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2210/2339116999_013d998d6e_b.jpg

Here is the rear wall of the theater. The box hanging down from the soffit is the power to where the projector will eventually be. I'm planning on building a box below the soffit to hold the projector, so I haven't decided if I need to frame it out now and mount the power inside, or if I should put it up once the drywall is up. Any ideas?

I went with 2 3" cans above the rear seating. I'll install black eyeball trim so lighting will be availble in the back row if we're gaming or just need some light. A dimmer switch will be installed on the wall to the left to control rear seat lighting.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2152/2339101961_f26a9ce274_b.jpg

Moving towards the front of the room, this is the wall to the right of the screen. The door on the right of the image is the entry to the theater.

My initial plan was to have cabinetry along the rear wall of the theater, but this would have pushed seating too far forward. As a compromise, I decided to move the cabinets to this wall. They will be recessed flush with the wall, with a countertop on the opposite side. The wall above will be finished on the left, but open for the equipment rack on the right. I have a seperate 20 amp service going to the cabinet. Sub outlets on the front wall, projector outlet on the back, and a popcorn machine in the hall are included on this circuit as well.

Two 6" cans are installed in the soffit above the cabinet area. These should provide enough light when picking out a movie. Switch to be installed to the left.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2339104817_cd4a88f848_b.jpg

View from the backside of the equipment closet, accesible via the laundry/storage room.

I'm interested in knowing more about the Mid-Atlantic racks. I downloaded the Racktools software. It seems pretty slick, but I have no idea which base unit I should be starting with. I don't need sliding or rotating shelves, so if anyone has an idea on a model I could look at, please let me know. As you can see in this picture and the previous one, the rack will not be a full one. I'd like to install the rack, a dew shelves, and the custom faceplates for each piece of equipment.

The box mounted to the left wall of the rack will house the Lutron Spacer system:

Zone 1 - Wall Sconces
Zone 2- Poster Lights
Zone 3- LED Ceiling Lights
Zone 4- Stage Lights

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2339946118_579f9d4417_b.jpg

Here's the carpet we decided to go with. "Miami" by Couristan. The store was having a sale, so we decided to bite early. Assumming we stay on schedule, I'm targeting an install between May 1st and May 15th.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2340092480_a213b273b8_b.jpg

I included the below shot to give everyone an idea of how it looks in a room. Repeat information if provided here as well in case anyone is interested.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2119/2339259827_d7924ae248_b.jpg

Jason,

Things are looking pretty good. I like the carpet pick.

Have you considered adding som blocking to the top of your bottom plate? With the thickness of the dricore, you don't have anything to nail your base board to other than studs, and having to locate them while installing trim can be a real pain. Plus, if you nail the trim too far apart, there is a very good chance that it will 'wave' on you.

Unfortunately, I thought about that after that fact. Otherwise, I would have framed another 2X4 on top of the base plate. No worries though. I'm planning on taking a can of spray paint and striking a line on the Dricore where each of the studs are. That way I'll have visible marks to work off of when I hit the baseboard stage.

I can tell I'm going to love UPS and FedEx over the next few months. My four sconces arrived today:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2059/2340593749_1141c9aa3c_b.jpg

That's only one sconce. But if the other three look just like it, then awesome! I like the feel of those....ya know? That "Temple of Doom" style. Does anyone remember that Nickelodeon kid's show, "Legends of the Hidden Temple" ?? Well I was a young lad when that was on. This sconce reminds me of it

Sorry...I'm rambling. But that's badass. Can't wait to see them on the wall!

yeah, i was like a kid in a candy store. DHL, FedX, and/or UPS were making weekly stops at my house while the build was in full swing. fun times.

So, DataPro has this "Design Your Own Faceplate" thing. I want to install a wall plate near the seating area that would allow for external devices to be incorporated into the theater (ipod, joysticks, legacy systems, future systems, etc). Here is a custom plate I came up with:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/2342297404_5118d1a4da_o.jpg

USB and composite audio/video are definates. CAT5 seems like a no brainer as well. Are the others really necessary or am I stepping into "overkill" territory? Just in case you miss them, I've added component video, HDMI, VGA, and toslink.

I measured from the box to the inside of the equipment closet. If I mount a USB hub a the top of the closet, I'm looking at just a tad over 14 feet, so I can come in under the 15 foot USB requirement. I'll probably go with 20 foot cables everywere else.

Thoughts?

Man. I'm getting very little response to my questions. No love in this thread :(

Here's a new one - I'm considering using in-wall speakers for my rears and surrounds. If I do that, I'd like to have an enclosure in the wall to keep the sound from escaping. Rather than buy an in-wall with a built in enclosure, I've heard that I can purchase prefab enclosures and then slide the speaker into that.

Does anyone have any recommendations or links to places that might offer this?

Hey Jason,

Are you the same Jason that I emailed back and forth with last week?

Theater looks good so far! ;)

Dave

Dave,

I sure am :) and thanks!

Well.. I'll keep drudging along with the posts. Hopefully people are at least reading the thread.

I never got any responses for my cabling question, so I went ahead and placed a Monoprice order.

My Monoprice order arrived today. Man, these cables have some weight to them. I need to order a few more to go with my patch plate i'm installing near the riser, but these will keep me busy over the weekend.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2347518123_87fd42ce65_b.jpg


Also, I received a call back from one of the drywall guys. I believe I mentioned him above. He was willing to drop his price down to $3K for the material and labor, which saves me about $367 over the initial bid. Score 1 for negotiating :)

The drywall will be delivered next Friday. I'm touching base with the installer on Wednesday to determine if I'll be ready bu then. It all depends on how much the wife and I get done between now and then. I still need to install low voltage wiring and insulation.

Ok, I've finally managed to get a floor plan together. Here's the first, showing the overall room dimensions.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2350299774_4494179213_o.jpg

The below image shows the ceiling plan, as well as where the cabinets will be located.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2209/2349467135_994d5d65be_o.jpg

Jason,
Your theater is definitely coming along. It seems like we have the same idea for color schemes, so I will be watching to see how things turn out.

I hope to finish my framing this weekend and then onto the wiring.

I see you went with the Lutron Spacesaver system for lighting. any particular reason for that over Lutron's GrafikEye that seems to be sooo popular?

Thanks. I'd love to bounce some color ideas off of you.

For what I needed lighting control of, the Grafik Eye ended up being about $100 more to install, so I decided to go with the spacer system and save a little money.

Try taking a look at some of the "knockdown" frames at www.buyrackgear.com, I don't have any tangible experience with them but I picked up quite a bit of information about them through various threads. I was originally looking at just rack rails but I would feel much better about having a full cabinet.
http://www.buyrackgear.com/detail.aspx?ID=4412

Fuzzy,

Thanks for the link. I actually wasn't sure of the best route to take here, as I have on previous experience with pre-fab racks. I ended up framing out my equipment opening to be 24"X 50". I figured that would allow me plenty of room if I just did a custom bookcase with some shelves.

This one seems to fill the space the best:

http://www.buyrackgear.com/detail.aspx?ID=4406

My question is this - since the racks are only 19" wide and I have a 24" wide opening, what's the best way to finish this off? I was planning on carrying the double drywall into the cabinet (2 x 1/2") so I'll pick up an inch on each side, but that still leaves a 1 1/2" opening all the way around. Is it normal to shim a rack much like a door frame?

Jason,
I am probably the last person you want to ask for advice on this subject but I followed what other people did for their rack framing by making the rough opening exactly
22 1/8". I then used 2x6's around the opening with a 1" reveal (so that when I apply double drywall) the wall will be flush with the opening. I got this idea from Chinadog's build which is most informative.
Maybe you should take a look at the "show me your rack threads" which is a sticky, lots of good info in there too.
Fuzzy.

here is a link to a discussion about rack opening.http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=797399&highlight=racks

Thanks. I just posted over on that thread, so I'll see what everyone says.

Well. No replies to my post in the other thread yet, so I'm hoping I get some good info back there. I'm going to take another look at the area today and post some pics. Hopefully that will get me some good feedback. I just don't think I'm comfortable dropping a 19" wide rack into a 22-23" finished opening yet. That would require some pretty thick casing :).

Jason, about your earlier question regarding the water meter in the column. Have you looked at how BigmouthinDC conceals his equipment rack? Check out his thread for pics. The entire front of the column is a hidden door. That concept might work for you.

As to your in-wall speaker question, I'm sorry, I really can't help! Good luck!

David,

I read over that thread a few months ago, but must have missed it. I'm searching it right now. Thanks for the tip.

Jason

Hey Jason,

Regarding your question about enclosures for in wall speakers. I am using Sonance THX Cinema Select in walls for my side and rear surrounds and they sell an enclosure specifically for those speakers. I found most in wall manufacturers sell enclosures that are designed for their speakers as each one uses different volumes, etc.

I did not purchase the enclosures for mine, because they were ridiculously expensive for what you get and decided it was much less expensive to buy the MDF and build my own back boxes.

Chris,

How did you determine what size to build your boxes? Are you happy with the outcome?

Nice carpet selection mn_hokie. I've been out looking for carpet for my room and I noticed that Miami style also. Unfortunately, it did not have a good color design to match my maroon room.

You should link your picture to my "Show me your...Carpet" http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1000076&highlight=show+me+your+carpet thread. I am trying help myself and others with carpet options.

Also, for your lighting setup, have you checked out the Futronix P400 or P800 units? These are somewhat similar to the Grafik Eye's with a little more configurability and cheaper to boot.

Good luck on your room.

Peapod,

Thanks. I went ahead and posted the pic over in the carpet thread.

No, I'm not familiar with the Futronix stuff.

No pics yet, but I managed to get most of my low voltage wiring installed. We also brought home 10 rolls of R-13 last night from Lowes. I was hoping to be ready for drywall by Friday, but it's looking like we'll need to bump that a week.

My other open issues right now are determing if I'm doing on-wall or in-wall for my surrounds. If if go in-wall, I need to determine sizing for my wall enclosures. Also, I need to determine if I'm going to adjust my framing in the equipment closet for a Mid-Atlantic rack.

So, I need to take some updated pictures today.

Friday was supposed to be drywall delivery day, but it never happened. I called the contractor and he forgot. Gotta love these subs. I think I could open a customer service school just for contractors and get rich off of it. From my experience, that seems to be one field where people just don't get it.

My parents were in town this weekend, so my dad and I got started on the insulation. We were able to take care of most of the exterior walls, so I have a little more to do (and the ceiling) this week. We're slated to get drywall hung on Friday, so I've got a few days. I also realized I ordered the wrong VGA cable, so I'm waiting on another one to get here, as well as some subwoofer cables (mine weren't long enough).

That's all for now :)

Chris,

How did you determine what size to build your boxes? Are you happy with the outcome?

Jason,

The manufacturer's website had all the dimensions for the back-box. Can't comment yet if I am happy with the results as I haven't gotten that far along yet. I just knew I could build the boxes myself for a 1/4 what they were charging for them.

Funston,

I'm going to check out some on-walls today or tomorrow to see how obtrusive they are. If they're small, I may go that route, as I'm just racking my head against the wall worrying about these in-wall enclosures.

If anyone else out there has any recommendations, I'd love to hear as well.

Funston, thanks again for the reply and for helping to keep this thread alive.

Well, I had a few conversations with tech support at Klipsch today regarding back boxes for in-walls. They recommend 1-1.5 cubit feet for the back back, which basically results in an enclosure that's 4-5 feet tall betwee the studs.

I had a look at a retailer tonight and decided to go with in-walls for the rears and bi-poles for the side surrounds. I picked up one of these tonight so that I could build my enclosures:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/2381937996_d04888b5ba_o.jpg

I'll be getting the other as I get closer to equipment time.

For the side surrounds, I decided on the RS42's. They had great sound, and were just the right size to not be standing out too much to listeners.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2381105101_3a4eb9d035_o.jpg

For mains, I'm currently thinking about Klipsch bookshelf speakers and two subs. I'm not convinced on towers yet. I used to own the RB35's and was blown away with how good they sounded.

Getting ready to build some MDF enclosures for my in-walls. Question - What's the best way to get the speaker wire in the box? I mean, I could drill a small hole in the back and run it through, but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of blocking the sound escape with the box?

Generally you would put in speaker connection terminals in on the back.


I have used gromets before. But I have also just tied a knot and caulked it too. :)

I'm guessing with the hole so small, it's not really an issue for sound?

I also have an issue that I identified early on. As you can see in the attached picture, I have a water meter in the basement that I still need to read on a monthly basis. We were able to reroute several of the water pipes in the ceiling to clean the room up, but the city would not let me move the meter.

The solution was to build a column around the meter. I framed out an additional column equidistant from the front wall. I'll be mounting a sconce on each column, but I'll still need access to the meter and the shutoff valve above it. The picture should explain things a little better.

The two ideas I've had so far are to (1) frame the entire column in wood while creating an access panel on the bottom half for getting to the meter or (2) cover the section where I need access in a fabric panel that can be removed.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or have similar issues they may have run into? If so, how did you tackle them?

i had the same issue, with a water main coming into the basement with a meter on it.

i did the same thing you did, by boxing out a column around the water main.

to provide access i left a 'hole' in the top half of the front of the wall and then used trimmed down closet doors to cover the 'hole'.

i put a shelf on the bottom edge of the 'hole', to give a little drink shelf.

you are lucky that you have a straight pipe to deal with, as i had a big bend in mine where the meter is, so your column can be a lot smaller than mine.

i ended up using the bottom of the column to store my HTPC/jukebox (step by step photos of building the HTPC into the wall here (http://www.landchark.com/casino-fun/home-casino/bar/home-bar-jukebox-and-media-computer/)) and eventually want to put some shelves in the top for storage for infrequently used items...

during build:
http://www.landchark.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/0008.jpg

after build with doors (sorry for the horrible photo, i didn't have a close up of the doors so i had to zoom/crop another photo)
http://www.landchark.com/chadd/watercloset-doors.jpg

HTPC built into closet bottom:
http://www.landchark.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/CIMG0342.jpg

After talking to Klipsch, I decided to build my enclosures to roughly 1 cubic foot. Here is what I ended up with for back boxes on the rear surrounds. I'll post another pic once they're installed.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2315/2385223827_f58eace35f_b.jpg

I would just build the column and install a hidden access panel covered with fabric. How big is your riser going to be? What kind of chairs?

Thanks for the inputs on the columns. My columns are actually only 3" deep, so not much room to house anything in there. I decided to drywall down about halfway and then install an access panel below that. It will be covered in fabric and should blend into the rest of the wall. I'll cover the front column in fabric as well, so that it's not obvious.

My riser will be 66 inches deep and 12 inches tall. I'm currently leaning towards the Showtime seats from Coaster, but will consider Berklines if i can find a good deal. 2 rows of 3 seats each.

Well, staying up until 1am this morning and then back at it at 6:30 really paid off. Drywall is being hung as we speak, but here are a few shots of the room as of this morning.

First, a shot of the rear enclosures mounted in the wall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2387413235_bcbd0e3946_b.jpg

I ended up using R-13 insulation around the perimeter, and R-30 in the ceiling and soffits.

Below is a shot of the rear wall, showing both enclosures and the cabling for the projector run:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/2388247884_017dac8fa6_b.jpg

The front wall. Front wire pull throughs are all at 24" above the floor. You can also see half of the 64 sheets of drywall that were delivered.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2388252006_98620598c6_b.jpg

Finally, a picture of the cabling coming back to the equipment rack. I ended up going with 3 boxes so that things wouldn't be too crowded. AV cables are on the left, and all of the speaker and sub cabling is on the right. There is also a 100 foot CAT5 run going from the rack to the office, which is above the crawl space at the opposite end of the theater. This will give me a hard connection from the router there to the theater.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3280/2388255772_8f50db9928_b.jpg

I'll post some additional pictures once the crew leaves today.

If you have a COSTCO near you ( They are a warehouse Like SAMS) they had them. A row of 3 was running for $1,200 after a $250 instant rebate. I think they were the 090's but unsure since I'm not ready to buy them yet.

If you have a COSTCO near you ( They are a warehouse Like SAMS) they had them. A row of 3 was running for $1,200 after a $250 instant rebate. I think they were the 090's but unsure since I'm not ready to buy them yet.

They were special recliners built for Costco. As far as quality goes, they are much much closer to being Coasters rather than Berklines.

I had heard good things about the coasters. Are you saying that they're not the same quality of Berklines? To me, Berklines have always been a little overpriced.

Getting ready to build some MDF enclosures for my in-walls. Question - What's the best way to get the speaker wire in the box? I mean, I could drill a small hole in the back and run it through, but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of blocking the sound escape with the box?

I'm was considering doing the exact same thing and was going to use either of these.....

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/260-303L.jpg

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/260-307L.jpg

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/260-309L.jpg

or......

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/260-311L.jpg


all from Parts Express....http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?WebPage_ID=3&Cat_ID=48&ObjectGroup_ID=417&sm=1&so=1

drill a whole and use acoustical puddy to seal it closed??

I ended up drilling a hole and pulling the cable through. The cable barely fits through the hole so it's super tight around the opening.

Drywall was hung today. Here are a few shots of the progress:

First, a shot going down the stairwell.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2397908768_2502208622_b.jpg

From inside of the equipment closet:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/2397909702_35f310baef_b.jpg

Facing the front of the room. This shot gives you a good idea of how the soffits will look. I'm going with a yellow rope light in the cove.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2397912088_bdf54494c7_b.jpg

Cabinet wall and front of equipment rack. I'll be insulating the back wall around the cabinets.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/2397914588_90a1f9e76c_b.jpg

Left wall showing the columns. The left column is where the water meter is. I'll be installing a fabric access panel there.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/2397916906_b7a09d27dc_b.jpg

Taping will be done tomorrow, so I'll post some updated pics at that point.

looking good. the drywall going up really gives the space form.

that looks like a tight landing at the bottom of the steps. is the furniture already down there? i had my seating delievered prior to any construction and it barely fit then. it was pain keeping it covered/protected and moving it around though.

later.

No furniture yet, but it's not as bad as it appears in the picture. I guess it's just the angle.

The wall in front of the steps is actually 5 feet from the bottom riser. That opening is 6 1/2 feet wide from wall to wall, and a little over 3 feet on the landing that you can see. I actually taped the wall off several times before framing and walked down the stairs until I didn't feel like was going to slam into it. 5 feet seemed to be a good compromise.

Moving right along.. Today was taping and mudding.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2400230784_19fde050a6_b.jpg

I think this shot gives a good idea of the reveal around the soffit. We went with 2-45 degree bends to create the area for the rope lighting. It will look much better after being sanded, but I'm very pleased with the outcome so far.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2399396013_1f0180c2a9_b.jpg

Equipment closet and cabinet area for DVDs.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2400225936_b7e8d2191e_b.jpg

Here's more of a close-up shot of how we framed out the water meter and main shutoff. I'm planning on creating a fabric access panel and using some of the grille guide magnets from Parts Express that ChinDog used in his theater.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2149/2400224956_57d6d9460a_b.jpg

Here's a link to the magnets: (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=329-045)

Looking good Jason! It looks like things are really coming together now. So it sounds like paint will be next??? Are you going to post some samples on this thread? That would be pretty cool.


Keep up the progress! Theatre 2.0 will be done in no time

I'll see what I can find for samples. We're curently leaning towards brown on the bottom half and burgundy on the upper half of the walls. The front wall will be all black, and I'm thinking of going with a brown on the ceiling to accent the brown highlights in the black carpet.

I'll see what I can find for samples. We're curently leaning towards brown on the bottom half and burgundy on the upper half of the walls. The front wall will be all black, and I'm thinking of going with a brown on the ceiling to accent the brown highlights in the black carpet.

Looks great so far! Let me know when you are unveiling it. ;)

HAHAHH. I keep forget that you are lurking around the corner :) Want to come help build a stage and riser next week? :)

Hey there Jason, I'm a little late to the game hear but I used a very similar color scheme to what you're thinking.

I put GOM Anchorage on all of my walls. Onyx for the front and Coffee Bean for the sides. I matched the Coffee Bean fabric to a Benjamin Moore paint and used that for the ceiling. For the floor, I used a slightly shaggy, deep brown carpet from Ralph Lauren, that is a shade or two lighter than the walls. For seating, I purchased a putty colored sectional from Arhus that you can see here: http://shop.arhaus.com/carty/?r=0&c=Duluth&w=SECTIONALS

I placed a round, leather ottoman in front of the sectional that my wife got me from Crate & Barrel: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=950&f=6658

I'm in the process of putting up some movie posters, which I am trying to keep to browns, oranges, dusty reds, etc. In fact, one of the posters I will put up is from Raiders.

I'll see if I can get some pictures up in the next couple of days. Good luck with your build!

Thanks. I'd love to see the colors of the room. If you can post some pics, that would be great.

Not much to report today in terms of pictures, but someone on the drywall crew spent an entire day in the basement sanding and mudding a 2nd coat. Someone else is coming back tomorrow to do a final sanding, so I'm thinking we'll be good to go after that. I'll take some updated pics at that time.

I'll be heading out to the west coast over the weekend, as they are forcasting snow AGAIN here (yuk!), so I won't be able to get back to work on the basement until Tuesday. Once the drywall is done, I plan to get working on the riser and stage, as well as finalizing what I'm going to do about cabinets.

It looks like there was a communication issue between the mud and tape guy and the sander, so no one is here today. After I phone call, we decided that the sanding will be done next Tuesday after I get back from wine country.

mmmmm....wine.

Colors are slightly off, but this should give a rough idea of the scheme I'm planning on doing. The black columns will be covered in fabric, with the leftmost one housing the water meter.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/2419757897_f65ffd8699_o.jpg

There will be a maple chair rail seperating the two colors, as well as maple baseboard (not shown). The burgundy will be a little deeper, and the brown more of a chocolate brown with a suede finish.

Looks good!

Have you decided if you will use Linacoustics on the entire bottom half or are you contemplating panels?

I'm leaning towards panels at this point. That will give me more time to listen to the room and decide what needs to be done once everything is in place.

We're going to check them out one more time today at Menards, but I think I've decided on the base cabinets to hold the DVDs in the theater.

http://www.koserbuildingmaterials.com/images/Cabinets/Mellowood-Kitchen.gif

I initially wasn't sure about the lighter wood, but considering I'm doing darker colors on the wall, I'm really starting to like how they compliment each other. I can get 66 inches worth for under $500, which is almost half of what cabinets were going to run me everywhere else. I'm looking at doing a 24"+18"+24" setup, with each cabinet having 4 drawers. That should allow for plenty of room to store our growing collection of movies.

I should also add that I've changed my mind about doing a dark maple stain on the baseboard and chair rail. I'm now leaning towards a painted chocolate brown to blend in to the lower half of the wall. We saw this combo at a wine bar over the weekend and loved it.

Cabinets were ordered and should be here in 2 weeks so I'll get some updated pictures at that time. This weekend was all about getting the lumber for the riser and the stage.

I ended up going with 2X12s for the riser and 2X10s for the stage. Below are pictures of what was accomplished today on the riser. The riser ended up being 9 feet wide and 6 1/2 feet deep, with a 2X6 step across from the entry to the theater.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2447802678_bce7f21088_b.jpg

Here's a shot of the step. I still need to run electrical, as there will be 3 lights in the riser - 1 in the step and 2 on the front face. Wiring was also run for bass shakers to the 6 theater seats.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2446979025_5d7a633e0a_b.jpg

Finally, a shot from the front of the room. You'll also notice that the cut outs are in place now for the rear surround speakers. I installed one on the the left to show how they look.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/2447803278_d16813790a_b.jpg


While I was busy with the riser, my wife spent the afternoon priming the laundry area, so we're one step ahead there.

How far are the studs apart?

Another hokie? Sweet. Class of 95 here.

Studs are 16 inches on center.

Everything is looking really good Jason. Keep up the pace and you will kicked back watching movies in no time.

Looks nice! Any pics of the stage?

Didn't quite make it to the stage yet :) That's next though. When you gonna come over and check it out? And how's your theater coming?

Jayman,


Are you building the stage this weekend? Let me know if you need any help picking out some sweet seats for the theater. I saw something the other week that would look pretty good in the theater...

Most likely will get the stage in order this weekend.

Cubs seats?? Dude, this is supposed to be a home "improvement" project :)

My 2ns in-wall came today, so I have the set in the wall now. I also received an e-mail indicating that my cabinets are in, so I may try to pick them up this weekend - weather pending.

Didn't quite make it to the stage yet :) That's next though. When you gonna come over and check it out? And how's your theater coming?

Oops, missed your post the other day!

When are you gonna invite me over??? haha. :p

My theater is coming along well... I'm currently painting my screen wall and ceiling black. :cool: Should be done tonight or tomorrow.

Nice. Let's see some pics! We'll have to setup a time to check them out. You're welcome over anytime though for a sneak preview.

Major blunder this weekend

On a positive note, I was able to get the stage framed out. I'll post some pics of the status later on.

An now for the bad news. I used Dricore on the entire basement, with the exception of the mechanical room, which was left unfinished. Early last week, I noticed some water on the floor in the mechanical room. I wasn't a ton, so I figured it was either from the rain or I thought the drain tube to the humidifier might have come undone. The area had all kinds of debris in it, since the drywall crew basically used the room to store stuff that was in the way. The plan was to clean it out this weekend.

Well, in the midst of this, I was back in the are where the riser is. I noticed a noise that sounded like a wave machine whenever i jumped on the riser. After closer investigation, I found that water was coming out of the water pipe up in the ceiling. I checked it out and then realized that I never closed off the bleeder valve on the shutoff to the outside spigot when I turned the water back on this spring. It had been leaking a steady stream down the inside of the column and under the floor for approximately a week. Yuck!

The problem is fixed now and we installed a dehumidfier yesterday. Hopefully running it for the next several days will remove the rest of the water.

Things are drying out nicely, so we should be back where we need to be by this weekend.

I've recently been thinking about equipment for the theater. I've heard lots of good things about the new Intergra DTC 9.8 receiver, so I'm putting it on the watch list for now.

Progress!

My wife and I have been working in tandem in the basement. The laundry area now has it's first coat of paint on the walls. Moving over to the theater side, I was able to finish the stage this weekend. First, a picture of the framing:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2322/2486914876_41a68417d8_b.jpg

The stage was built using 2X10 lumber. Joists are spaced 16" on center, with the exception of the two end chambers, which are 20" wide. These have been lined and filled with sand, which I allowed to dry for several days. Subs will sit in the corners. The remaining chambers were fill with 3 layers of R-13 insulation. Overall dimensions are 10 inches high X 23 inches deep X 146 inches long.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2486097777_9bc0cca06b_b.jpg

The stage was then covered with a 1/2" sheet of plywood, which I screwed down pretty securely. Since the depth was 23" deep, the ply provides a 1" lip for carpeting to wrap under. I plan to frame out two columns on the ends of the stage to hide the subs and front channels. I'm still thinking of what will work best for the center channel.

Are you doing a false wall setup or will the screen be directly on the wall?

I liked the false wall idea, but I can't give up bringing the screen any closer to the front row, so it will be mounted on the wall you see in the pics above. Here's an idea of what I'm looking to do:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2486477199_b433374892_o.jpg

I'm planning on building columns wrapped in fabric on the left and ride of the stage. This will hide the main channels and subs. My center speaker will most likely reside on a stand in the middle of the stage. I I thought of closing it in as well, but I think that would end up covering the entire stage, and I really liked the idea of the carpet rolling down from the stage.

Hey Jason,
Looks like your almost ready to have me over for a beer.

Scott

Its never too early for a beer :)

It's been a few weeks since an update, so I have several pictures this time around. The final touches are being done on the electrical this Thursday, so I wanted to have the rough-in for the riser lighting done, as well as the paint.

First, the two lights being used along the front of the riser:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/2527348303_bebc8b390a_b.jpg

This shot shows the coverr of the lights. The riser will be wrapped in carpet of course.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2528167852_ddb6df1bdc_b.jpg

A third light is being recessed into the back of the step leading up the riser.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2528168048_d52f561171_b.jpg


The base cabinets for my DVD storage area came in as well. I ended up going with two 24" bases and one 18" base. Here's a shot of the 18", just to give everyone an idea of the wood color.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2136/2528168618_023873e324_b.jpg

On that note - the opening around my cabinets is about 1 1/2" taller than I need it to be. I'll be trimming that area out to cover the gap, but was wondering if anyone had any pictures of similar jobs showing how the work was finished. If so, I'd love to see.

Paint colors have now been finalized as well:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/2528225612_bd9ef5fe11_b.jpg


All three colors are Sherwin Williams. From left to right:

Black Bean / SW 6006 (Ceiling and Soffit)
Theatre Red / SW 7584 (Upper Wall)
Suede Chaps / SW 7153 (Lower Wall)

The samples are actually deeper and darker than they appear in the image.

In addition to these three colors, I picked up a gallon of Mouse Ear paint from the Behr Disney Collection at Home Depot. This black will go on the front wall and columns that you'll see in the next set of pictures.

The walls are now primed. WARNING: These are not the actual colors :) Columns will be black, soffit will be a VERY deep brown, and the walls will be burgundy up top and suede brown below. One thing I failed to mention earlier is that I'll have a chair rail splitting the two colors. The wood will be stained to match the cabinets in the above pictures.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2528168242_3860d4aa83_b.jpg


And a shot of the primed soffit:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/2527349135_084133bb6f_b.jpg

Light trims are on their way as well. For the two 3" lights over the rear seating area, I went with a bronze finish:

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/electricsupplieson-line_2001_215453270

Lighting over the DVD storage area will be a standard 6" trim kit with the same bronze finish. For the two lights over the stage and poster area between the columns, I went with an adjustable aperature trim:

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/electricsupplieson-line_1999_43078474

Well, I was able to get the first coat of paint on the ceiling tonight. Here's a shot. I still need to paint the underside of the soffit, which will match the ceiling when done.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2530191376_7522f48c5f_b.jpg

Here's a close-up shot of the soffit detail. The flash washes this out a little, as the color is much darker than appears in this image.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2102/2529374439_f2e4dbab1d_b.jpg

After two VERY thick coats of brown paint on the ceiling and soffit, those areas are now done. It seems no matter how many coats I do on ceilings, you can still always see faint brush marks when shining very bright light directly on the surface. Under normal conditions, it looks as smooth as silk.

My light trims also came today, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they pair up with the paint color on the soffit.

The plan for tonight is to get both coats of black paint on the both the columns and the front wall. If I'm lucky, we'll also be able to get the first coat of "theatre red" paint on the upper half of the side and back walls. I'll update with additional pictures once complete.

The ceiling is now done. We were also able to get two coats of the black paint on yesterday, which you can see on the columns and front wall. The first coat of "theatre red" is now on the upper half of the walls.One more coat to go and then on to the brown suede across the bottom.

Front wall:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/2533222923_b62b6bb6c7_b.jpg


Rear wall:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2195/2533222687_5042a33a9a_b.jpg

Looking good. I'm extremely jealous you have a wife that is willing to help. Not only did mine not offer any assistance, she actually gave me grief for going down there. Nice supportive spouse, huh?

Frorule,

Thanks for the comments. Yea, it's great to have the help downstairs. She's been awesome throughout this entire project.

I just read your thread. I really like the masking system that you put in place. I've been bouncing back and forth between 1.78 an 2.35. I really like the 2.35 look, but it didn't make much sense for regular tv and computer games, so I think I've decided on a 1.78. The Carada Masquerade system is cool, but for almost $3K, I like your idea much better. Be on the lookout for a private message from me when the time comes. :)

Here are a few shots of the work going on over on the other side of the basement.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/2534037160_b9c9f987ca_b.jpg

The cabinets are actually the ones going in the theater for DVD storage, but we're planning on going with the same style in the laundry area for wall mounted cabinets. The counter top will go on the backside of the recessed cabinets, and if you look closely, you can see a sample of the vinyl we're planning on putting on the floor.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2161/2533223093_16e2a42f14_b.jpg

Looking good Jason, making some good progress; it's too bad your thread gets little love :(

Tom,

No kidding. I was hoping that having the extra pictures out there would help, but so far it' a no go. In the end, it's more for myself than anything, so if it lacks comments, at least I'll still have a good blog :)

There are several showcase theaters here getting much love, so hopefully it can get spread around some :(

I really love the color on the walls, columns, and ceiling. It should be fun to see the brown on the bottom to really bring it together. Looking great so far! Keep up the good work!

Thanks.

We ran into a slight snag today with mounting the sconces. The standard mounting bracket to the electrical box causes them to stick out to the point where you can see between the sconce and wall - essentially letting you peer right into the box. The electrician mentioned something about flush mounting brackets that may be available, so I'm hoping that works out well. 2 of the 4 sconces are pretty tight, but 1 sticks out some and the other sticks out way too far for my tastes.

It's always fun running into these little snags along the way.

Thanks again for the comments guys. I too am hoping that the brown bottom half will tie the red into the ceiling. My sconces and light trims are all of the brown shade, so they help as well.

After two VERY thick coats of brown paint on the ceiling and soffit, those areas are now done. It seems no matter how many coats I do on ceilings, you can still always see faint brush marks when shining very bright light directly on the surface. Under normal conditions, it looks as smooth as silk.

My light trims also came today, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they pair up with the paint color on the soffit.

The plan for tonight is to get both coats of black paint on the both the columns and the front wall. If I'm lucky, we'll also be able to get the first coat of "theatre red" paint on the upper half of the side and back walls. I'll update with additional pictures once complete.


Looking good. I like those colors, but I thought you were going with Black Bean (is that black or brown, you mentioned brown)?
Also, what is the finish of this paint?

__________________________
Doug
My Build Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1022747)

Kezug,

The ceiling and soffit are Black Bean. It's a very dark brown. I didn't want a black ceiling, but wanted something very dark. the ceiling and soffit are both a matte finish.

I only needed 1 gallon of paint for the front wall and columns. Normally, I'd do a flat finish on the front wall, but I had to compromise here. Since the columns would most likely encounter fingerprints at some point, flat wouldn't work there. I decided to compromise and go with a satin finish. The left and right side of the stage will have columns to hide the mains, and the screen will take up the majority of the center of the wall, so I figured what little black paint that was exposed wouldn't matter too much if it wasn't flat black. On the flip side, you'll see 100% of the columns.

The theatre red and (coming soon) suede paint are both satin finishes. I've used this before and its seems to be durable while not too shiny, which would be bad for light reflection.

A couple of pictures of the sconces on the columns. I'll get some better ones later with the SLR.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2307/2534843784_72b57e9103_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2277/2534029449_e65fcd5388_b.jpg

For some reason I picture a couple of medieval battle-axes hanging between those two sconces; maybe you should run that by the wife and see if she approves ;)

Ha! I'm actually putting 2 posters up there. That's not the first time I've thought of a medieval theme though.

the mplant has returned..

Well I must admit, the sconces don't look as I pictured them in my head... they actually came out BETTER!

Thanks for taking a dark picture too. I'm looking forward to seeing you add the final paint and carpeting with those babies lit up.


Oh, and I'd like to add that your wife did a great job with the laundry area. The color is a good, fresh look for that room. Not saying the theater is dirty or anything, but your cleaning clothes room should have that appeal. Theater colors are tight


Respect

What was version 1.0 like?

Mr. Welsh,

Here are a few shots of the old theater:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3185/2536369533_7a1a39864a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2089/2536369559_583d3a2319_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/2537187542_9564d9f289_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2536369595_3bdedfce5c_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/2536369615_b041b8acee_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/2536369633_7b4e726b3b_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2393/2537187606_a28863501a_o.jpg

Well, the electrician was a no-show today. The plan was to wire up the master unit for the Spacer System as well as installing the rope light. I never received a call or e-mail back, so I'm hoping to find out what is going on this evening. I'm be out of town next Monday and Tuesday, so the install will most likely have to wait until Wednesday.

Man this thead is great ! I'm starting mine (Bernies basement) and feel overwelmed by all these builds. I'm afraid I'll leave something out ! LOL

Bernie,

Thanks for the kind words. Just plan one step at a time and you'll be fine. It seems overwhelming when you think of the entire project at once, but broken down into smaller bites, it's not bad at all.

Do you have a thread started yet? I'd love to see your plan.

Bernie,

Thanks for the kind words. Just plan one step at a time and you'll be fine. It seems overwhelming when you think of the entire project at once, but broken down into smaller bites, it's not bad at all.

Do you have a thread started yet? I'd love to see your plan.

I'll definitly be picking brains here. LOL

Here's my thread, it's in the General theater/gameroom forum as I'm doing the whole basement !!! UGH
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1033966

Finally got the electrical finished up. I'll post some pictures of the lights taken with my SLR in a few, but here's a link to a movie I made showing the transition between different scenes on the Lutron system. It's pretty slick.


Lights In Action!!! (http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/mikedogg195/?action=view&current=lights.flv)

Here are some hi-res shots showing the progression between the different light scenes.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2555909447_c339dec97d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2556734272_bb73ee1180_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2556734844_1b5bf2e30d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2555908793_466d597132_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/2555907155_e8a76f0bde_b.jpg

Jason, things are looking pretty sweeet! Finish that baby up soon so I can make the short trek north to enjoy your hard work with you ;)

Jason, things are looking pretty sweeet! Finish that baby up soon so I can make the short trek north to enjoy your hard word with you ;)

Tom,
Are ya gonna go there and yell at him? :) :)

Scott

Thanks again to you local guys for keeping this thread alive :) We went and looked at doors today at Menards, so I'll probably be ordering them this weekend. I'd like to have them installed in the next two weeks. As far as this weekend - more painting and finishing up the riser.

Finished the riser up tonight. All I have left to do is put a tread on the stair area. I'll post a pic or two once the dust settles, as we just finished about 15 minutes ago. I ended up runing two sets of speaker cables to the riser. One cable comes up through the surface to feed the back row of bass shakers, while the other cable runs through the riser and out the front to feed the front row of shakers. I'll be connecting the positves of each pair together, as well as the negatives, back at the equipment end of the cables. From there, I can feed a single positive and negative back into my shaker amp to power all 6. In the event that I need more power, I'm then free to break the rows up and run one set of cables to each amp.

We did manage to purchase the doors for the basement today. I went with 3-panel oak mastercraft doors:

http://www.interiordoorsonline.com/images/RESIZED%20O3TF%20Flat%203%20Panel%20Trad%20Oak%20Clear_origi nal%20Becker.jpg

Here are some hi-res shots showing the progression between the different light scenes.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/2555907155_e8a76f0bde_b.jpg

Looks really good. I see that your ceiling is painting in Black Bean (a brown) but from this shot, I can't tell that it is brown.

What color is the rope lighting?

To your eyes, what color does your brown look with the rope lighting on?

I ask because I am considering the same (or close) color on my ceiling.

Doug,

If you compare the soffit/ceiling to the front wall, you can see the difference between the brown and black. With the lights dimmed or off, the ceiling appears black. I wanted to try to stick with browns just to do something different this time around.

The rope light is yellow, but produces an amber effect when put again the brown. The goal was to have the light be as close to possible as the amber coming off of the sconces. I feel like I pulled it off fairly well.

With the rope lights on, I'd say the ceiling appears a dark chocolate brown. Let me know if you'd like to see any closeup shots. I'll be more than happy to take some that show the color better. The cameras don't always do things justice though, so the Sherwin Williams sample would be the most accurate of course.

Doug,

If you compare the soffit/ceiling to the front wall, you can see the difference between the brown and black. With the lights dimmed or off, the ceiling appears black. I wanted to try to stick with browns just to do something different this time around.

The rope light is yellow, but produces an amber effect when put again the brown. The goal was to have the light be as close to possible as the amber coming off of the sconces. I feel like I pulled it off fairly well.

With the rope lights on, I'd say the ceiling appears a dark chocolate brown. Let me know if you'd like to see any closeup shots. I'll be more than happy to take some that show the color better. The cameras don't always do things justice though, so the Sherwin Williams sample would be the most accurate of course.


Thanks for the info. I too have an amber type sconce and was thinking to do yellow rope lighting as well. I am definitely going to go for it now that you mentioned it can be done.

Where did you end up getting your rope light?

My rope light is an LED system from a company called Lumificient. Here's the website:

http://www.lumificient.com/products/r-lite/

I'm using the r-lite system, which has roughly 6 lights per foot. They're attached to a strip that is self adhesive, so I'm able to get a flat consistant track all of the way around the cove.

My rope light is an LED system from a company called Lumificient. Here's the website:

http://www.lumificient.com/products/r-lite/

I'm using the r-lite system, which has roughly 6 lights per foot. They're attached to a strip that is self adhesive, so I'm able to get a flat consistant track all of the way around the cove.


Thanks...now I am curious how you installed your crown molding and how the light sits inside?

Jason, 3 cups of coffee and 45 minutes later and I've read from beginning to end this morning. Great job! Thanks for posting record of all your work. I noticed on several occassions you felt like you were talking to yourself. I feel that way too. I'm sure you weren't though. :)

I love the color scheme!

tony

I think most people run a piece of 1" stock perpendicular to the wall to create a flat surface for the rope lighting to sit on. I am not sure if this is the method Jason went with but it seems that it works :) While we are on the topic and not to steal too much of Jasons thread time I ran into an example where they used frosted plexiglass to diffuse the light more creating a "softer" more even glow; not sure if anyone here has done something similar but it might create an interesting effect.

Doug,

No crown molding there. The soffit was actually framed out that way:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2564918110_2f3e5cef64_o.jpg

The black lines represent the framing. We used 1X2 lumber for the soffits. It's a 3 piece design that mimics what crown would do. The red lines show how the drywall was attached, and the blue is the LED lighting. I don't have a picture available, but there is a conduit installed in the column next to the riser. A transformer and outlet are inside the column. Power is then routed through the conduit, up the column, and out the soffit. I believe the rope light is a total of 2 pieces.

Let me know if you'd like a closeup shot of the soffit. That might make it a little easier to see as well.

Jason, 3 cups of coffee and 45 minutes later and I've read from beginning to end this morning. Great job! Thanks for posting record of all your work. I noticed on several occassions you felt like you were talking to yourself. I feel that way too. I'm sure you weren't though. :)

I love the color scheme!

tony

Tony,

Thanks for the comments. I was actually enjoying your thread last night. Glad to see you back at it :) From the number of views, it looks like a lot of these threads get viewers, but most don't post to them. Thanks again for doing so.

As promised, here are pictures of the completed riser. The cover on the step is just temporary, as I'm planning on using an actual stair tread.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/2565177742_6967cb1fe5_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2565177250_b2f5e925b4_b.jpg

Ooooo, Ahhhhhhh.

Let's keep it PG now :)

For those showing the love - more pics to come this week!! (I promise).

I just got off of the phone with the carpet company. We have an install date set for July 7th, which gives me a few weeks to finish the paint, trim, and doors. We figured we needed a deadline to bump ourselves into high gear :)

Got the first coat of brown suede paint on the bottom of the walls last night. You roll on the first coat with a foam roller, which pulls the paint up off the wall to give it texture. The second coat is done with a 3" brush, basically painting a hatch pattern to create the suede effect.

The colors are actually darker than they appear in the pictures. Red always seems to throw off the processing on the photos for some reason.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2592276957_cf0b0a77ac_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3153/2593112950_e359805af2_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3097/2593113978_49cf7d1f05_b.jpg

I like the color scheme...looking good.

nice

Jason,
I like it except your divider line is kinda crooked. I think it would look better if it was straight. :) :)

Scotty,

It's the camera. The ends tend to tilt in when at the wide angle setting. we'll be placing chair rail as a divider though.

Thanks for the replies guys. It's good to get the comments (keeps me motivated).

I need some opinions on an issue that will be hitting me very quickly. Please see the below image:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2592459535_05cb34d0a0_o.jpg

This is a mock up in MSPaint of the wall with the cabinets and equipment rack. The cabinets are recessed into the wall, and I will be installing a Mid-Atlantic rack next to the door. I color coded all of the trimwork to help explain the issue:

Baseboard = Dark Blue
Chair Rail = Red
Casing = Yellow

Here's my issue. The gap between the bottom of the rack and the top of the cabinets isn't that big, so one piece of trim will span the distance. I was initially thinking of running my chair rail from the stage to the EQ rack, as shown in the picture. I could then run vertical casing on both sides of the cabinet to butt up to the chair rail. The right side opening for the cabinets isn't entirely in line with the EQ rack opening. There's maybe an inch or less between the two. If I'm lucky, I can do one piece of casing (as shown) to cover the entire vertical and bring everything back in line.

My biggest concern is how the EQ rack trim will meet the chair rail. If I use standar casing, won't it be thicker than the top reveal of the chair rail? Has anyone run into this yet?

dude-

Did you design backgrounds for NES games back in the day??? I KNOW I have seen this before...

Your theater is looking great!

Your theater is looking great!

Thanks. I just checked out your thread. I like the hidden comm room idea.

Looking good Jason,

As far as the rack, maybe case the bottom as well. You can stop the chair rail before the rack. To make it look more symetrical you can also cut the casing on the right side to make it the same as the left. Then add a small piece of chair rail between the racks casing and the doors casing. Good luck.

Looking good Jason,

As far as the rack, maybe case the bottom as well. You can stop the chair rail before the rack. To make it look more symetrical you can also cut the casing on the right side to make it the same as the left. Then add a small piece of chair rail between the racks casing and the doors casing. Good luck.

The only down side to that is that I'd have a mix of casing and chair rail across the top of the cabinets. Not sure how that would look. It may end up being the lesser of two evils.

Great work, nice theatre.

Thanks!

Scotty,

It's the camera. The ends tend to tilt in when at the wide angle setting. we'll be placing chair rail as a divider though.

Jas,
You should know me by now. It was a joke.

Jas,
You should know me by now. It was a joke.


I know. Just messin with ya :)

Looking great so far

Nice colors and design - looking forward to seeing the finished product

Thanks again for the comments guys. After a week long vacation with the family in the black hills, it was back to work on the theater. With carpet going in on the 7th, I still needed to:

- finish painting

- install cabinets

- install doors

- install trim

Here are a few shots of this weekend's progress.

First, a shot from the top of the stairs:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2623672976_2ecb02fdbe_b.jpg

A shot from the hall. Theater entrance is on the left:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/2623674280_7029f2fe3a_b.jpg

Back wall of the theater with 2nd coat of suede paint complete. I also painted the frame of my rear speakers black to blend better:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2622852653_3d2b221c51_b.jpg

First coat of black paint in the equipment room. I'll be installing a mid atlantic rack in the opening:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2622854053_655a29b402_b.jpg

I like the color choices - Needs a bit more burnt orange in the room however :)

I like the color choices - Needs a bit more burnt orange in the room however :)

HA! Thanks.

Major Bonehead Move!!!

My doors came in, and I realized I made a severe error when ordering. I could have sworn that my 3 hall doors were framed for a 36" door, and the equipment closet was framed out for a 24" door. For whatever reason, I woke up this morning thinking the equipment room door was wrong. I went down and measured and was fuming when I discovered it was only 20" wide. I called Menards to see what I could do about exchanging the door for an 18" one and paying a restocking fee, but they don't offer any type of return on a special order, so I'm stuck with it.

Just to be sure, I remeasured the 3 hall doors. I couldn't believe it when the mechanical room rough-in was only 34 3/4" inches. The framer did his job right; I just should have remeasured instead of doing the "I'm pretty sure about this" when ordering the doors. Lesson learned there.

If anyone in the Minneapolis area needs some new doors, please let me know :(

Major Bonehead Move!!!

My doors came in, and I realized I made a severe error when ordering. I could have sworn that my 3 hall doors were framed for a 36" door, and the equipment closet was framed out for a 24" door. For whatever reason, I woke up this morning thinking the equipment room door was wrong. I went down and measured and was fuming when I discovered it was only 20" wide. I called Menards to see what I could do about exchanging the door for an 18" one and paying a restocking fee, but they don't offer any type of return on a special order, so I'm stuck with it.

Just to be sure, I remeasured the 3 hall doors. I couldn't believe it when the mechanical room rough-in was only 34 3/4" inches. The framer did his job right; I just should have remeasured instead of doing the "I'm pretty sure about this" when ordering the doors. Lesson learned there.

If anyone in the Minneapolis area needs some new doors, please let me know :(
Ouch! That sucks!

Yep, that mistake cost me $300 :(

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org

Keep up the good work man, looking forward to the carpet install ;)

Thanks Tom. I actually have an ad up on CL already :) no hits as of yet.

After ordering 2 more doors, it was time to install the two that fit. I'm satisfied with the result, but considering the amount of time I spent on the doors, I'm thinking of leaving this task to the pros the next time around.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2642322008_a722e3d530_b.jpg

I also decided to change the design a little while painting. Initially, I was going to go with an oak chair rail along the wall. The plan in the hallway/lobby area was to simply have the red and brown meet to form a straight line. I ultimately decided to have a 3" black band seperating the colors, which I feel really ties the columns together along the side wall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2641492655_88b6d50421_b.jpg


Here's another shot of the back wall. The black rail really pulls in the color of the in-walls as well.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2642320932_753ce9cd48_b.jpg


Cabinets are now installed in the recessed area along the right wall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2642321490_3935404b9a_b.jpg


And finally, a shot of the flooring that is going in the laundry area across the hall from the theater:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/2642322562_e30f4fcae4_b.jpg

With carpet coming tomorrow, today is all about getting the trim installed. We spent the early part of the weekend staining skirt boards, door and cabinet casing, and baseboard, so all that's left today is to cut and hang it. I'll also need to get the door frames stained after adding some oak to the inside of the theater framem to increase the depth of the jamb for the double drywall.

More pics to come......

After 14 hours of work today, we're finally ready for the carpet install tomorrow. Nothing like having a deadline :) Here are some shots of today's work.

Skirt board stained, cut, and installed on stairs:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/2645070712_249f63a0bb_b.jpg

Baseboard and casing installed at end of hallway. The little green piece of tape is for a touch-up I've yet to hit with the brush. Stain color is Minwax Pecan from the Polyshade collection, basically stain and poly in one coat.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2645072416_5fd7de7e8c_b.jpg


Entrance to the theater :

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2645074142_9aa581ba04_b.jpg

Casing around the cabinet:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3273/2644249887_8591b928ce_b.jpg

We also managed to get another 30 square feet of the flooring done on the laundry area. I'll have more photos of that as progress continues.

Carpet was installed today, and next to drywall, I must admit that this really brings the room together. I've included several shots to show the flow from the top of the stairs to the theater.

First, a shot from the top of the stairs. I still need to wipe the walls clean, so ignore the marks that are visible in these photos.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2647233107_3b7809a6ff_b.jpg

Since the flash tends to blow the reds out beyond what they really are to the eye, here is the same shot without a flash:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2647234937_1971764999_b.jpg

Looking in through the theater entrance. As mentioned in an earlier post, I'll be adding a fabric panel to cover the exposed water meter that's visible in the column:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/2648058404_1bf80a2625_b.jpg


Close-up of the step light. The two white cables visible on the carpet will attach to the bass shakers in the front and rear rows of seating.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2647231757_fed8669b18_b.jpg


This shot probably gives the best representation of the colors in the room, taken from the front right speaker position. The room is plenty dark. This picture is with all lights on and a flash from the camera.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/2648059820_c353d76b62_b.jpg

This final shot was taken from the rear left surround location.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2648060998_e40950a772_b.jpg


I'm still waiting on the door to my mechanical and equipment closets, so I left a few pieces of baseboard off in the hall around where the door casing will go. This and staining the doors will be the next task at hand, but I can definately see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Wonderful progress. The room look excellent.

CJ

Thanks. Your build is really coming along as well. Looks like you have a much larger basement to work with.

Jas,
I love the carpet. When do I get to come and see it in person(I'll bring Beer)

Scott

I can just hear Enter Sandman now.....

Jas,
I love the carpet. When do I get to come and see it in person(I'll bring Beer)

Scott

Scott,


Let me know when you're around. I'll be glad to show it off, even though it lacks equipment right now.

I can just hear Enter Sandman now.....


"Exit light, enter night" has been the slogan the whole time I've been building this. :)

Wow love the black carpet. Going to be pretty a sweet set up when all is done

Thanks Wooly. I actually had a completely different carpet in mind, but was instantly sold on this one the moment that I saw it. Of course, the sales guy picked up on this immediately and was licking his chops as I was telling him how much I needed. :)

Where did you get the carpet? Looks great!

I have to echo everyone elses comments. The carpet looks great!

Have you posted an equipment list yet? I just scanned back through the thread and didn't see a current or expected list of equipment (besides the surround speakers).

FYI - VT class of 2000 here :-)

Where did you get the carpet? Looks great!

Thanks! I purchased the carpet from a local vendor here in Minneapolis. The carpet is made by a company called Couristan. There's a screenshot of the carpet back earlier in my thread that shows the model #.

I have to echo everyone elses comments. The carpet looks great!

Have you posted an equipment list yet? I just scanned back through the thread and didn't see a current or expected list of equipment (besides the surround speakers).

FYI - VT class of 2000 here :-)


Nothing has been finalized with equipment yet. Here's the current short list though:

Projector - Panasonic AE2000
Screen - Carada 100" 1.78 aspect
Speakers - I'm thinking Klipsch RB82's for the front, sitting on top of two subs (brand undetermined)

I currently have a Denon receiver. I'm not sure if I'll upgrade to a newer Denon, give Yamaha a try, or lean towards Onkyo. I've heard great things about the new Integras as well.

I currently have Comcast, but am considering swithcing to DTV, so I may add a receiver down there. I'll also be moving my HTS2600 conditioner, Xbox 360 and HD DVD drive, and adding a PS3 and Wii.


This will all change as time gets closer. I really need to start researching equipment now so I'll be ready when the funds are available. :)

Has anyone here ever ordered seats from Stargate Cinema? I'm looking at the Usher seating and was just curious if anyone has tried these out. Here's a pic:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2669548523_5660b51857_o.jpg

I like that carpet, who makes it and what is the pattern?

This is coming along so nicely....give us the break down of what you have left to do...looks like you are getting so close!

I like that carpet, who makes it and what is the pattern?

Don,

Thanks for the feedback. The carpet is from Couristan. The pattern is Miami, color Ebony. I have a shot of the back of the sample earlier in the thread that shows pattern repeats, width, etc.

Here's the other seating I'm considering - Berkline 45004's. I'm calling this morning to get quotes on both. Stargate has a deal going right there where they're throwing in a 3 day / 2 night vacation with any $2k seating purchase. We had been planning a trip for our anniversary in September, so my wife was actually the one that pointed out this deal :) I'll let everyone know the details of how it works once I call them today.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/2670688949_8bddf78a6b_o.jpg

This is coming along so nicely....give us the break down of what you have left to do...looks like you are getting so close!

Hmm... Still plenty to do. Here's a quick list off of the top of my head, starting at the top of the stairs:

1. Install hanndrail on stairs
2. Hang posters in hall and theater
3. Purchase and install seating
4. Install bass shakers
5. Purchase fronts, center, side surrounds, and subwoofers
6. Purchase and install equipment rack
7. Install casing around equipment rack
8. Build and install fabric panels for columns
9. Purchase AV receiver
10. Purchase PS3
11. Purchase and install screen
12. Purchase and install projector
13. Install door to mechanical room and equipment closet
14. Purchase a Wii

I'm sure there's more, so maybe I'll update this list as I think a little harder about it :)

mn_hokie,

Hadn't seen your progress for a while. Carpet looks sweet, like you said makes your room take on a whole different perspective. Very nice, keep up the good work.

Not sure about your first seating choice, the second choice I had discussed with Roman from rtheaters.com when I was getting quotes. He told me that the 45004's are a little firmer than the other options I was considering.

Thanks for the feedback. I just got off of the phone with Stargate. The price for the 45004s with a grade 2 leather/vinyl match was about twice what the Usher seating would run. That's probably going to rule them out. The other seats I was consdering were the Showtimes (pictured below), but I'm currently leaning towards the Ushers. I could always do the Berklines and just order one row for now, but man, I just don't know if I really want to drop $4500 on seating. The nice thing about the cheaper seats is that I can purchase a 5 year warranty for $90 too, which makes me feel a little better should something go wrong. Thoughts??


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2671604536_2d9f2282a4_o.jpg

Hmm... Still plenty to do. Here's a quick list off of the top of my head, starting at the top of the stairs:

1. Install hanndrail on stairs
2. Hang posters in hall and theater
3. Purchase and install seating
4. Install bass shakers
5. Purchase fronts, center, side surrounds, and subwoofers
6. Purchase and install equipment rack
7. Install casing around equipment rack
8. Build and install fabric panels for columns
9. Purchase AV receiver
10. Purchase PS3
11. Purchase and install screen
12. Purchase and install projector
13. Install door to mechanical room and equipment closet

I'm sure there's more, so maybe I'll update this list as I think a little harder about it :)



I can think of #14. - Buy Wii

Beautiful paint colors. The suede-look paint looks incredibly convincing

Victor

Ah yes, the Wii. I've edited my original post to include that now.

Beautiful paint colors. The suede-look paint looks incredibly convincing

Victor

Thanks. I used suede paint on the walls of our family room and was pleased with the result, so this was an easy decision. I originally wanted a worn leather look on the bottom of the wall, but I couldn't find a leather style paint anywhere. This was my next best bet. I initially was hoping the color would be a little darker, but I'm glad I went lighter when it's all said and done.

Jason - looking good man; any luck selling those doors on CL? Oh, if you happen to need banana plugs I accidentally bought twice as many as I needed :(

Tom,

No luck on those doors yet. They're still up on craigslist.

I'll let you know about the banana plugs. Whether I use them or not will really come down to how I finish off my screen wall with the columns.

After going back and forth about 19 million times, I finally decided that I didn't want to dump 4K into Berklines (I would have wanted upgraded leather) that will end up staying with the house when we eventually move. I found several good reviews of the Coaster Showtimes, and they hit my pricepoint as well, so I will most likely be pulling the trigger on 6 of them later today.

so just found this thread, and I like the setup, looks good, I saw your old theater posted on here before and sorta "borrowed" the two ton, chair rail scheme from your old setup but used the burgandy on the bottom in my setup.

Anyways looks good, and when done you'll have to have a "locals" meet up ;)

- Josh

Josh,

Got any pics of the setup? I thought of posting the link on the mnhtug distribution, but its been kind of dead lately.

+1 for local meet up ;)

If someone can bring a projector, screen, speakers, and a receiver, I'm game :)

Cash might be lighter though.

Had the electrician out today to take a look at an issue we discovered with my LED lights in the ceiling. When turned off at the switch, the lights still had a glow to them. After researching with Lutron support, we found out that the system required a minimum load of 60 watts. Apparantly, the LEDs were putting out 40 watts total.

I'll have to take a picture of the device that was installed inline, but it basically fixed the problem. I'm not sure if it added to the line to hit the minimum, or somehow dissipated power. Pretty cool either way.

Well, it's official!

I just got off the phone with Stargate Cinema. 6 Coast Showtime seats have been ordered. They'll most likely ship on Monday, and they quoted a 7-10 day delivery time.

If someone can bring a projector, screen, speakers, and a receiver, I'm game :)

Cash might be lighter though.

I am in the middle of finishing my basement too, too bad I dont live near y ou since I have brand new unopened speakers, receiver, projector that I would have brought over if I did, hehe....

Your theater is looking awesome man! I love the colors! I may have to cheat and steal some of your ideas :D

Thanks, and steal away. I couldn't be more flattered.

:)


Do you have a build thread?

Continued work on the laundry side of the basement this weekend. Here's a shot of the finished floor, along with the baseboard that was installed. I'm keeping the baseboard off of the wall behind the appliances until I have the plumber out to finish a few things up back there.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2689611317_7b8f619c93_b.jpg


Another angle showing the door and hall. I'm installing a laundry sink next to the washer.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2689610167_073608d386_b.jpg

This is the backside of the recessed cabinets in the theater. We decided to cap the area with a countertop. Once I get everything put away down there, I'll take a new shot so you can actually SEE the countertop. :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2690421068_7552366b59_b.jpg


Seating for the theater should arrive this afternoon!! :) :)

The showtimes arrived today. During my excitement, I managed to knick the paint in the hallway. However, we did get three of them downstairs. I'm finishing up my AV plate tonight (pictures to come) so I wanted to keep the back row clear until done. Next up I'll have to figure out how I'm going to mount the yet to be purchased projector. I also need to order 2 more bass shakers, but I can mount 3 that I have now and move these seats to the back row.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/2697139204_f62bf49b7c_b.jpg


Then I can bring the next 3 in. Here's a side shot.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/2696324527_f6141f0dbe_b.jpg

With the help of some friends, we managed to get all 6 seats in last night. Here they are:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2698785796_56eaa5cf2a_b.jpg

Looking great,

I really like how you did the recessed cabinet and then made use of it by adding a counter on top, good job.

The seats look great, I had considered these initially but they were going to be a tight fit for a row of 4 in the back.

Is that you in the front right? Looks like you might have been jumpig into the seat just before the timer on the camera went off.

No, The back middle seat was mine. I was actually taking the picture :)

Is that you in the back row, far left? I didn't know you were a Cubs fan. That's awesome!

That guy was walking around knocking on doors asking for water. I felt sory for him.

Nice seats, do you mind me asking how much a set of six like that runs?

- Josh

Josh,

I got the set of 6 for right around 2K. I was pretty pleased with the price.

Today I finished wiring up my multi-purpose AV jack. Here's what I ran to the wall plate:

2 USB 2.0 jacks
1 VGA jack
1 component jack
1 composite jack
1 ethernet jack


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2704623426_4e1fa0ba17_b.jpg


This plate is situated on the wall to the right of the back row of seating, so I should be able to plug in most devices without having to run to the rack.

So, I'm at another point where I could use some feedback from some members that have already been through this process. I need to begin constructing a wall for hiding my speakers and framing out the screen. Please see the below image for reference:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2706988421_9264e37996_o.jpg

I'm thinking of conquoring this design in two steps. Step one would be to build a box the length of the screen wall, which is 149 inches wide. The screen wall itself is 87 inches tall from the top of the stage to the bottom of the soffit above. Step 2 would be to build two columns and then attach them to the left and ride ends of the box build in Step 1.

Here is where I could use some input: How high does the center speaker need to be? I realize I can angle it, but I'm wondering how crucial the mounting height it. This will determine just how low the top surface of the cabinet can be, which would in turn regulate how low the screen can hang. Finally, the width of the screen would determine how wide the left and right columns would be.

I've been thinking about going with a 100" 1.78:1 screen from Carada, as I've had good luck with them in the past. Outside dimensions for their Criterion series would be 93.9" x 55.7". The Precision series would have a smaller border and would buy me some more space, so it's an option if it comes down to that.

Mounting the screen in the midle of the wall would leave me with 27.5" for each column, which should be more than enough room for the Klipsch RB-81s that I plan on purchasing. The wider base framing would allow me to rest the speakers on a larger sub, or build a stand if that becomes the way to go. In a nutshell, I don't think the width is an issue.

I had some people over the other night to try out the chairs, so I had a chance to see how viewing would be from the back row while someone was seated in the front row. My rear row is roughly 16-17 feet from the screen and the seats are elevated roughly 14 inches above the front row seating. With a taller person seated in front, the higher the screen is mounted on the front wall - the better.

That being said, how high is too high? I think once I know the height I can get away with mounting my center speaker and the height from the ceiling for my screen, I'll be good to go.

The vertical supports in the above drawing are just preliminary. Ideally, I'll have 3 equally sized openings in the middle area, with the center spot being reserved for the speaker. All panels will be covered with fabric.

Thanks in advance for all of your comments I hope to receive. :)

Hi Jason

The theater is looking great. I really like the sconces you used for the lighting. Where did you get them?

Hi Jason

The theater is looking great. I really like the sconces you used for the lighting. Where did you get them?

Mike,

Thanks for the comment. I purchased the sconces online from a place called Bears In The Woods Lighting. Here's a link to the actual sconce.

http://www.bearsinthewoods.net/shop/tiffanylampsm23956.html

For what it's worth, I saw this same sconce at a local lighting store for 3X the price.

I think you'll like the larger screen size over the one with the larger border. It looks great, and by the way how's projector shopping going?

I think you'll like the larger screen size over the one with the larger border. It looks great, and by the way how's projector shopping going?

It's a wash either way. I think the smaller border on the precision series would only buy me like a 2-4" increase in diagonal. I had the precision the last time around and it was awesome. I guess I was just thinking of mixing it up this time around.

I'm still shopping projectors. I need to read some more reviews. I'm currently thinking about the Panasonic AE2000, unless I can find a review of a better one for under 3K :)

Any thoughts guys?

Looks good Jason,

Have you though about going 2:35 though? I think it would add a lot to your set up.

I thought about it, but that would force me to mount my spekers below the screen. I don't have the depth to go behind it.

Alright, well, I didn't really get any answers to my questions about screen and center channel height, so I'm just going to monkey around and see what seems to work best with some tape.

Here's a new question (fingers crossed) for the group. Looking at the diagram I drew above, I was planning on building the frame from 2X4 lumber. Is this overkill? If not, I was then planning on covering each opening with a fabric frame. The frames on the left and right would cover the main speakers, and the center frame across the bottom would cover the (wait for it....) center speaker. The other panels would follow the same school of thought and would allow me access to the area if I ever needed it.

Now, I'm guessing that I cant build the cloth frames to cover the wood entirely, so there would be a slight reveal left, right? How have other members treated that? Wood veneer? Stain grade lumber?

Jason

When I built my screen wall I covered 2x4's with black Fidelio for the screen to friction fit into it. I first layed out my wall and cut most everything to fit then I covered the side 2x4's first stapling the velvet to just one edge then I screwed it into place and then wraped the velvet around and stapeled it in the back hiding the screws. I then did the top 2x4 the same way. I did the bottom last as I wanted the screen frame to fit tightly but not ToOOo tight.

Your screen wall will be alot different but that will be a way to hide the framing and hold your screen in



Photo of my frame friction fit into the 2x4's :)
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa192/W00lly/HTRoom404.jpg

Wooly,

That's a good idea. I guess it's not completely a screen wall, but more of a wall to hide the speakers. The screen itself will still be mounted to the actual front wall.

Here check out toms build he's documented his screen wall with lots of pictures

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=739342

Thanks. This is a great start. My biggest concern was finding a similar setup to what I was planning on doing. It look like I'll start by framing similar to how Tom did it.

Ok - so, just for grins, here's a possible 2.35 setup that MIGHT work in my situation. You guys are so evil for getting me to think this route.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2717643022_fe84190526_o.jpg

I just sketched this up quickly, so it really comes down to the height of my main channels. I was planning on Klipsch RB-81 bookshelf speakers, so I should still have a fair amount of room above them. This design wouldn't waste all of the vertical space by going all the way to the ceiling as well. What do you think?

I'm really considering a 2.35 setup, but have it setup with Fabric panels I can put up for to hide the edges and use for 16:9 content.

- Josh

I've been saying 2.35 since day 1. Think how awesome it will be for you when you watch your favorite movie, Titanic.

I can see this working as well. You'll have a center speaker behind the screen, no matter what screen you pick (1.78 vs 2.35) so I guess what may factor is the heights of your side speakers and their boxes. I feel that with a 1.78 screen you will have empty vertical space running to the ceiling. Just my two cents...

Anyways, I think you should sketch up an idea showing how this will look if you decide to hook up your 360 of future PS3 and demonstrate how you will take care of the "empty" screen space during game use.

I almost caught that 2.35 bug too, but then I thought with my fabric panels I can always add that later. Plus I didnt want to do lens shifting nor invest in a Lens at this time.

So then, how will you handle your 16:9 content? Say for Superbowl, World Series, etc..?

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff231/oman321/images14.jpg

Ba,ha,ha,ha what else are we here for....

Once 2:35 bites it's hard to get away from its effects.

I almost caught that 2.35 bug too, but then I thought with my fabric panels I can always add that later. Plus I didnt want to do lens shifting nor invest in a Lens at this time.

So then, how will you handle your 16:9 content? Say for Superbowl, World Series, etc..?

That was going to be my next set of questions. For 16:9 material, I figured it would be fairly easy to buy 2 panels to cover the sides. My questions came around how to manage 1.78 vs 2.35 material when an anamorphic lens wasn't in place. Do I just mask the sides and pretend like i have a 1.78 screen for everything that isn't 2.35? And, when watching 2.35 material, would I then have to zoom to get the height right?? How much of a pain is this?

I've been saying 2.35 since day 1. Think how awesome it will be for you when you watch your favorite movie, Titanic.

I can see this working as well. You'll have a center speaker behind the screen, no matter what screen you pick (1.78 vs 2.35) so I guess what may factor is the heights of your side speakers and their boxes. I feel that with a 1.78 screen you will have empty vertical space running to the ceiling. Just my two cents...

Anyways, I think you should sketch up an idea showing how this will look if you decide to hook up your 360 of future PS3 and demonstrate how you will take care of the "empty" screen space during game use.

Mike,

the center channel would actually be below the screen. I could either have it in one of the cutouts below, or add another box on the same plane as the left and right speakers and then have it there. However, if I did that, it might just make sense to continue that all the way across and have a straight line instead of three bump outs.

Ahhh, thanks for the clarification.


So I think that settles that, 2.35 it is... :)

Hey Jas,
You need to zoom in and out according to the aspect ratio.
2:35 would be zoomed out so the black bars go above and below you actual screen.
If you then watch something in 16:9 you retract the zoom so your height fits your 2:35 screen with black bars on the sides. Sometimes, depending on the projector, you need to use lens shift as the zoom is not equal on all sides. It can be a little bit of a pain depending on whose running the HT. If it's just you it's not a big deal, BUT if you want the Mrs. or girlfriend, or both :) to run it it can be complicated.

Scott

That was going to be my next set of questions. For 16:9 material, I figured it would be fairly easy to buy 2 panels to cover the sides. My questions came around how to manage 1.78 vs 2.35 material when an anamorphic lens wasn't in place. Do I just mask the sides and pretend like i have a 1.78 screen for everything that isn't 2.35? And, when watching 2.35 material, would I then have to zoom to get the height right?? How much of a pain is this?

A guy in the Minnesota Home Theater Users group does a 2.35 setup and has two fabric panels with Velcro that he puts up, actually has them up most of the time, the only time he takes them down, is for movie nights, and then just has a manual sliding anamorphic lense he slides in place.

There is no zoom requirements or height issues the height is the same between his 2.35 settings with the lens and the 16:9 settings without the lens in place and the panels up in place.

He demo'd it for me and it looked like it wasn't that much of a hassle to do at all.

- Josh