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#1 ·

Updated (index added, original post follows):

Project: DIY HT, approx 15'x26'x10' in basement dug under existing house, IB sub, absorption/diffusion acoustic design, motorized hidden entrance, star ceiling, room within room construction, CIH curved screen, three rows.

Current Status:









Enjoying the theater and still working on the entrance


The starting point (a distant memory):


Thread Index:

1. Basement dig! start / complete

2. Adjacent Garage Remodel: start / complete

3. Framing: start / complete

4. HVAC

5. Skinning the room with OSB

6. Drywall: start / complete

7. IB Sub: start / complete

8. Riser

9. Stage

10. Soffits

11. Star Ceiling: start / complete

12. Design Details & Color

13. Acoustic Treatment: Front / Sides

14. QRD Diffusor Panels: start / complete

15. Quiet Extraction Fan

16. Hardwood Trim: Soffits start Soffits complete

17. Soffit lights: start

18. Carpet & hardwood Floor

19. Seats are in!

20. Walnut wall trim

21. Triggered Outlets

22. 2.4:1 Curved Screen/Masking start / completed (separate thread )

23. Columns start finish

24. Hushbox and A-lens build calibration

25. Media Library

26. Backlight Poster Boxes

Gear:

Subs: Front: DIY IB design with 4x18" Fi drivers

         Rear: 2x Klipsch KW120-THX

Speakers: Klipsch THX Ultra 2 (wired for 11.2 with 9.2 active)

Amps: 2x Berhinger EP4000 (IB sub/rear sub/buttkicker)

         1x Outlaw Model 7700 (7 channel)

         1x Outlaw Model 7500 (5 channels)

Pre/Pro: Integra DHC-80.1

Sub EQ: Berhinger DCX2496 (for 3 channel sub EQ)

Source Player: Oppo BDP-83

Projector: JVC RS40 / Prismasonic HD-6000R cylindrical anamorphic lens

Screen: DIY 130" CIH (2.4:1) w/ automated masking

Media Server: Dune Smart H1

Media Vault: QNAP TS-859+ (16Tb)

Other: Sonos wireless music distribution

          ButtKicker LFE

          Google ChromeCast

UPS: APC J15 (AV equipment)

       APC Smart-UPS (NAS, network)

Rack: Middle Atlantic sliding rack with custom faceplates

  

===================== Original Post =====================


Hi All,


So my dedicated home theater tale begins and I've no idea when it's going to end...


First a thanks for the fantastic goldmine of collective expertise on this forum and the wealth of inspiration. It's been nearly 10 years since the HT bug infected me, about 1 year of reading this forum and thus far about 8 weeks of construction.

The Details:

Approx 30' x 15'4" x 10' space created by converting a under house crawl space into a basement.

Emphasis on acoustic isolation: built as a room within a room, independent ceiling joists, isolated subfloor, DD or TD & GG, communicating door entry, etc

Approx 11' curved CIH AT screen, stage, raised seating

Two rows of three chairs and bar seating at the rear

"Sealed Box" construction - soffits, electrical, etc will all be run inside of the drywall shell

Named "The Old Vic"


I think the most unusual aspect is the starting point. I don't live in the mid-west where everybody has huge basements yet I really wanted an isolated space (well actually the WAF mandated it ;-). So I came up with the idea of excavating out one of my crawl space areas under the house and retrofitting a basement! I'm doing just about all the work myself except for the excavation... I know when I'm beat.


Here is the design so far. It does not show any acoustic treatment/basetraps although these are planned but rather concentrates on the use of space and audio isolation from the rest of the house. I'm curious to hear people's thoughts...

The theater layout:



Floor & Ceiling Construction:
 
 
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14
#953 ·
Damn. Wrong build thread. I just saw it yesterday and meant to post in that one. Now I have to find it again.


Edit: It was KNKKNK who mounted his the other direction. Need to ask him how they are hanging.
 
#955 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by vanice /forum/post/0


Damn. Wrong build thread. I just saw it yesterday and meant to post in that one. Now I have to find it again.

Yes, Brad (aka KNKKNK) mounted his drivers horizontally but I can't imagine it would create any issues given the robustness of the cones. I have no issues whatsoever.


Cheers.
 
#956 ·
Moggie,


As you know, I'm trying to finish up my bull nose project so I thought I'd pick your brain.


Did you end up routing the back side of the bull nose that faces the carpet? It looks like you took the sharp edge off. Maybe just sanding it is all you ended up doing?


Did you pre-drill your holes on the back side of the bull nose or just use self drilling screws? Any trick to getting that angle right every time?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moggie /forum/post/18838797


Just in case anybody other than my mother is interested in how the bull nose was made, here is a little summary. It started with the creation of a set of templates drawn onto Masonite directly from the stage/riser profile. I planned and sanded the outside profile by hand then used the offset attachment on my jigsaw to cut a 3.5" wide strip. Then I set about cutting up the hardwood boards to an approximate size and making sure I had complete coverage of the template.



Then using the template and a hand held edge router I cleaned up the rough cuts and joined the sections together on the midpoint of each bend. I used some tape and as I went to ensure an exact match to the template. After each section was complete I glued them together with a couple of pocket hole screws from the underside.



After a while I had one layer of the complete set glued up. These were test fitted and the backside marked so I knew exactly where the stage/riser edge would be on the underside. The second layer (the underside of the bull nose) was made next by sifting through my pile of scrap to find pieces and gluing pieces being careful not to cross over the marked line (edge of stage/riser).



Once ths bullnose lip had set up I used a jigsaw to cut as close to the finished upper surface as possible. The idea was to reduce the quantity of material to be routed and thus reduce the possibility of tearout. Then back to the edge router on the table this time. Final routing procedure was to change to the 1/2" roundover bit (I didn't have a 3/4" and anyway I kind of like the flat edge that results from an undersized bit) and route both the upper and lower surface in several passes. Last step was a bit of sanding cleanup to 150 grit before fitting.



Fitting was performed with polyurethane construction adhesive and screws in the back surface of the trim. That way I would avoid any visible nail holes.



The large sections were joined with a single biscuit joint. A little bit more sanding, tack rag, and some shellac. Mission accomplished!



The walnut I used had a fair amount of sap wood (lighter color). I tried to match the layers as best I could but I found this little mismatch amusing. It is the center join of the stage and is exactly aligned with my room center line scribe (seen in the background). My very own permanent center marker!

 
#958 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio /forum/post/21465002


Moggie,


As you know, I'm trying to finish up my bull nose project so I thought I'd pick your brain.


Did you end up routing the back side of the bull nose that faces the carpet? It looks like you took the sharp edge off. Maybe just sanding it is all you ended up doing?


Did you pre-drill your holes on the back side of the bull nose or just use self drilling screws? Any trick to getting that angle right every time?

Hi Mario,


I did route the back side but with a very small radius bit and then finish sanded. This keeps the rounding even and ensures that its not going to splinter later. I forget the radius, perhaps 1/16" or 3/32"..


You MUST pre-drill the holes. Actually I pre-drilled and then used a larger diameter bit to widen the opening so the screw head would not sit proud of the face. The screws I used were the very small head finishing type. I was very careful fitting this and did the final tightening by hand. Experiment on a piece of scrap to get the angle of the drill hole correct and I recommend making a jig to keep the angle consistent.
 
#959 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rs691919 /forum/post/21467584


Went through this entire thread this weekend..awesome stuff. Finishing up the Cinemar thread is next on the agenda.

Thanks, I don't want to do another one any time soon though. If the Cinemar build turns out anything like the renderings it's going to be fantastic!
 
#960 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moggie /forum/post/21468166


Hi Mario,


I did route the back side but with a very small radius bit and then finish sanded. This keeps the rounding even and ensures that its not going to splinter later. I forget the radius, perhaps 1/16" or 3/32"..


You MUST pre-drill the holes. Actually I pre-drilled and then used a larger diameter bit to widen the opening so the screw head would not sit proud of the face. The screws I used were the very small head finishing type. I was very careful fitting this and did the final tightening by hand. Experiment on a piece of scrap to get the angle of the drill hole correct and I recommend making a jig to keep the angle consistent.

Perfect. I was wondering if you inset the screw heads too.
 
#961 ·
Hey Moggie - hope all is going well!


I wanted to ask a quick question - did you find a good set of tutorials / instructions for setting up iRule or did you go trial and error?


I set myself up to try the builder, but of course that's when the flu ransacked the house so I ran out of time.....
 
#962 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ALMFamily /forum/post/21494741


Hey Moggie - hope all is going well!


I wanted to ask a quick question - did you find a good set of tutorials / instructions for setting up iRule or did you go trial and error?


I set myself up to try the builder, but of course that's when the flu ransacked the house so I ran out of time.....

Trial and error. I find the web interface builder very frustrating and slow but it is quite straightforward if you build the interface incrementally. I started with the basic transport screens just to get going, then tackled the other screens one by one improving as I went. I did the final debugging sitting in the theater with my laptop -- checking all remote buttons/macros. I'm still working on getting some of the feedback integrated.
 
#963 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moggie /forum/post/21495939


Trial and error. I find the web interface builder very frustrating and slow but it is quite straightforward if you build the interface incrementally. I started with the basic transport screens just to get going, then tackled the other screens one by one improving as I went. I did the final debugging sitting in the theater with my laptop -- checking all remote buttons/macros. I'm still working on getting some of the feedback integrated.

Okie dokie - thanks Moggie!
 
#965 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by aroby /forum/post/21499232


What software did you use for the layout in the very 1st message of this thread?

Hi Aroby, I used Visio (2D) for layout. Then used Sketchup for a couple of 3D renderings.
 
#966 ·
I had a three day weekend and so decided to get busy with a project that has been languishing since completing the theater. I had a large alcove and the top of the stairs that leads to the theater and I decided to build a media library to house my wife's collection (mine are all nicely ripped on my NAS!). I had no idea she had so many DVD's and BD's lying around -- I thought the shelves would be half empty, but we did a pretty good job at filling them. All I need now is to hang a Blockbuster sign from one of the many closing stores





Since everybody who has visited the theater has asked to see the build pics I decided to mount a digital photo frame in the library with a revolving set of build pics.

 
#969 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbraden32 /forum/post/21503508


the picture frame idea is pretty cool!

I bought one for my wife for Christmas and got a 2 for the price of one deal ... what else could I do


Quote:
Originally Posted by raZorTT /forum/post/21503565


Did you build the shelves from scratch? Awesome job if you did!

I cheated. They are some flat pack walnut finish that I shortened and cut up to fit in a "u" shape. I didn't think this little area warranted the time/expense of hand made walnut -- putting that energy into the ticket booth.
 
#970 ·
I got my new camera down to the theater for the first time and thought it time to add some clean finished pics to the thread. I still need to figure out how successfully add a screen shot. My photographer friend gave me a little trick (no computers) that involves a remote shutter release, very long exposure and a paper bag... will try that soon.


One thing I'm thinking about is adding some drapes around the screen. Nothing really elaborate but curving around the screen with a small valance. I feel that something is missing something at the front corners. What do you guys think?



 
#971 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moggie /forum/post/21504348


I got my new camera down to the theater for the first time and thought it time to add some clean finished pics to the thread. I still need to figure out how successfully add a screen shot. My photographer friend gave me a little trick (no computers) that involves a remote shutter release, very long exposure and a paper bag... will try that soon.


One thing I'm thinking about is adding some drapes around the screen. Nothing really elaborate but curving around the screen with a small valance. I feel that something is missing something at the front corners. What do you guys think?

]

Doesn't look like anything is missing - looks absolutely incredible to me. Nice work on the library. I think my wife has the DVD of Muriel's Wedding and In Her Shoes and an old VHS tape of Milli Vanilli music videos. She does not share my excitement about movies much.
 
#972 ·
Absolutely stunning, Moggie! Your theater looks great and the level of detail is superb!

However, I agree with you that something may be missing in the front and drapes might be a good idea. I've always loved the old school cinemas with large drapes on the sides. What color have you thought about? Same red as the wall panels?
 
#973 ·
Moggie,

Your latest photography effort really shows this great theater well!

As for some drapes for the front - I agree. Take a look at what I did in my space (maybe just 2 accent panels for each front corner).

That picture frame construction viewer is a great idea! I am going to borrow that one.
 
#974 ·
I'll be the sole dissenter on this one then. I think your screenwall looks great and I like the clean look. That being said, if you do put in drapes I'm sure they will look amazing and I'll change my mind. Maybe I'm secretly hoping that you wont because it will end up being another thing I would like to copy from your build and I do not need more stuff to do.
 
#975 ·
Thanks for the feedback on the drapes. I think I'm going to think about it for a while and perhaps mock up something to see if it is worth the effort. I did in fact fit mounting blocks in the front soffit for a curved curtain, just in case... in any case I have parts on order for some low profile lighted movie boxes for the stairway. That's the next project.
 
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