For starters, this was my original thread containing design concepts and early preparation questions:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1210229
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Well, although my basement HT/playroom build has been in process since late February, I haven't had a chance to really document any of my progress so far. Now that I'm taking a bit of a vacation, I have some free time so I figured I'd give something back to the forum after taking so much over these past several months. Finally signed up with Photobucket, so here we go. I'm not going to chronicle my build on a daily basis like some people do (I just don't have the time), but I'll try to post updates periodically to allow people to see how things are going and hopefully get ideas from my build. Like I said, since I've gotten so many ideas from others on this forum, I hope other people can benefit from my build in the same way.
I actually never gave much thought to having my own home theater, as I always figured they were just waaaay too expensive and I figured that I might as well just watch my 51" rear-projection and old Boston Acoustics System 9000 HTIB setup (with the HUGE 4-inch micro speakers and 10" sub). But after reading through some of the theater build threads on this forum, it occurred to me that I could do so much better if I only put my mind to it.
Obviously, the basement was the first place that came to mind as far as location goes, but how would I sell the idea to the wife?? Eureka! I'll just build a PLAYROOM for the kids.... oh, and I'll also throw in the theater room while I'm at it. After all, I'm already buying all the supplies, so why not just make TWO rooms? It was actually an easy sell... my wife has been begging for years to rework the basement into a habitable space for the kids, so it was a good compromise. They get half the basement and I get the other half
I guess the reason this is a "Budget" build is that I see lots of people with some SERIOUS theaters and some people who spend more on their speakers than I'm planning to spend on my entire basement. For both of my rooms, I'm projecting a cost of less than $15,000, everything included. And I don't have any existing equipment to re-use. Obviously, some folks are even more budget-constrained and they do a fantastic job of creating a nice space with very little money. So I guess I'm able to spend more than some folks, but less than others. Either way, my budget is limited, so I'm going to have to make compromises here and there.
The playroom will be un-insulated with a drop ceiling. Nothing fancy, just a room with 4 walls. OSB subfloor-over-Platon with laminate flooring (the el-cheapo 99 cents per sq. ft. variety) and an area rug, with a recycled white sectional couch (you can see in the pictures). 90% of the furniture and accessories in the playroom will be recycled from other parts of the house, so hopefully we can clean up the rest of the house by eventually moving some junk down there.
For the theater room, I wanted to have it completely light controlled and more or less "cave-like" (to prevent people from actually wanting to encroach on my space!). The HT will have:
-solid MDF entry door with oak veneer
-drywall ceiling with hat channel
-staggered stud walls between adjoining rooms (playroom on one side and furnace/washer/dryer on the other side)
-5 wall sconces, no ceiling cans (this won't be a general purpose room -- just for watching movies and maybe some sporting events)
-riser-on-a-riser design with rope lighting
-lowered soffit to conceal HVAC ducts
-equipment closet in adjoining closet space
-painted screen (S-I-L-V-E-R formula painted directly onto front wall drywall)
-false wall with speakers and subwoofer behind it
-removeable GOM panels on false wall
-separate ducts in front/rear of room for circulating fan
-one layer of 5/8" drywall on walls
-RSIC V-clips and hat channel on ceiling
Other key details for the HT:
Dimensions: 20x13x8 internal space in the main room (but only 7 foot ceiling height under the soffit)
Screen: 110" diagonal painted drywall with shadow box
PJ: Mitsubishi HC5500 located 12 feet back from screen
AVR: Onkyo SR707
Blu-ray: Pioneer BDP-320
Speakers: 7.1 configuration: Energy RC-50 L/R, RC-10 Center, RC-10 surrounds, RC-10 DSX Wides
Remote: Sony model 601 universal IR remote with RF repeater module (this is *THE* best thing ever invented: http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generatio...1708105&sr=1-2 )
Riser height: 15.75" (leaves 5.5 feet headroom under the soffit, which is why I will have a riser-on-a-riser design)
Seating: two rows of motorized recline Berklines: 3 model #12006 up front, 4 model #12006 in back
Carpeting: Shaw (Queen) Back Stage pattern, color undecided
First, I had to clear out the space. This took about a solid month and a half to do. Between sorting out bins of toys and packing up things for donation to the local Salvation Army, it was actually pretty back-breaking work. Much harder than I thought it would be, and actually harder than building the rooms themselves! Here's what the basement space looked like beforehand:
Looking from the playroom towards the front screen area of the HT:
Looking from the playroom entrance towards the rear wall of the HT:
Looking straight at the rear wall of the HT:
Looking straight at the screen wall of the HT. The wall will be located right in front of the furnace:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1210229
-------------------------
Well, although my basement HT/playroom build has been in process since late February, I haven't had a chance to really document any of my progress so far. Now that I'm taking a bit of a vacation, I have some free time so I figured I'd give something back to the forum after taking so much over these past several months. Finally signed up with Photobucket, so here we go. I'm not going to chronicle my build on a daily basis like some people do (I just don't have the time), but I'll try to post updates periodically to allow people to see how things are going and hopefully get ideas from my build. Like I said, since I've gotten so many ideas from others on this forum, I hope other people can benefit from my build in the same way.
I actually never gave much thought to having my own home theater, as I always figured they were just waaaay too expensive and I figured that I might as well just watch my 51" rear-projection and old Boston Acoustics System 9000 HTIB setup (with the HUGE 4-inch micro speakers and 10" sub). But after reading through some of the theater build threads on this forum, it occurred to me that I could do so much better if I only put my mind to it.
Obviously, the basement was the first place that came to mind as far as location goes, but how would I sell the idea to the wife?? Eureka! I'll just build a PLAYROOM for the kids.... oh, and I'll also throw in the theater room while I'm at it. After all, I'm already buying all the supplies, so why not just make TWO rooms? It was actually an easy sell... my wife has been begging for years to rework the basement into a habitable space for the kids, so it was a good compromise. They get half the basement and I get the other half
The playroom will be un-insulated with a drop ceiling. Nothing fancy, just a room with 4 walls. OSB subfloor-over-Platon with laminate flooring (the el-cheapo 99 cents per sq. ft. variety) and an area rug, with a recycled white sectional couch (you can see in the pictures). 90% of the furniture and accessories in the playroom will be recycled from other parts of the house, so hopefully we can clean up the rest of the house by eventually moving some junk down there.
For the theater room, I wanted to have it completely light controlled and more or less "cave-like" (to prevent people from actually wanting to encroach on my space!). The HT will have:
-solid MDF entry door with oak veneer
-drywall ceiling with hat channel
-staggered stud walls between adjoining rooms (playroom on one side and furnace/washer/dryer on the other side)
-5 wall sconces, no ceiling cans (this won't be a general purpose room -- just for watching movies and maybe some sporting events)
-riser-on-a-riser design with rope lighting
-lowered soffit to conceal HVAC ducts
-equipment closet in adjoining closet space
-painted screen (S-I-L-V-E-R formula painted directly onto front wall drywall)
-false wall with speakers and subwoofer behind it
-removeable GOM panels on false wall
-separate ducts in front/rear of room for circulating fan
-one layer of 5/8" drywall on walls
-RSIC V-clips and hat channel on ceiling
Other key details for the HT:
Dimensions: 20x13x8 internal space in the main room (but only 7 foot ceiling height under the soffit)
Screen: 110" diagonal painted drywall with shadow box
PJ: Mitsubishi HC5500 located 12 feet back from screen
AVR: Onkyo SR707
Blu-ray: Pioneer BDP-320
Speakers: 7.1 configuration: Energy RC-50 L/R, RC-10 Center, RC-10 surrounds, RC-10 DSX Wides
Remote: Sony model 601 universal IR remote with RF repeater module (this is *THE* best thing ever invented: http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generatio...1708105&sr=1-2 )
Riser height: 15.75" (leaves 5.5 feet headroom under the soffit, which is why I will have a riser-on-a-riser design)
Seating: two rows of motorized recline Berklines: 3 model #12006 up front, 4 model #12006 in back
Carpeting: Shaw (Queen) Back Stage pattern, color undecided
First, I had to clear out the space. This took about a solid month and a half to do. Between sorting out bins of toys and packing up things for donation to the local Salvation Army, it was actually pretty back-breaking work. Much harder than I thought it would be, and actually harder than building the rooms themselves! Here's what the basement space looked like beforehand:
Looking from the playroom towards the front screen area of the HT:
Looking from the playroom entrance towards the rear wall of the HT:
Looking straight at the rear wall of the HT:
Looking straight at the screen wall of the HT. The wall will be located right in front of the furnace: