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The ITOLLTHW Theater Build v2.0 - The thread for the person who DOESN'T know what he's doing

4K views 42 replies 9 participants last post by  cgott42 
#1 ·
The - I'm Tired of Learning Lessons The Hard Way (ITOLLTHW) - (and might as well teach others)- Home Theater Build v2.0


I've read through tons of threads on AVS and gained tons of good info, and also lots of bad , and also spent TONS of time reading through other people's threads.

What I've also found is that the devil is in the details - even after applying the general concepts, how you handle specific challenges can totally make/break the project.

Also - oftentimes there are details that the "pros" may omit as they take it for granted or simply lack of time lends to short concise posts - the result is that a total newbie (like me) can follow their directions exactly - and make that fatal oversight - hopefully I can spell it out entirely


I'm hoping to organize this thread with the original post containing
My Goals

And just so I don't lose sight of what tangible improvements I hope to obtain with the rebuild (in priority order)
  1. First and foremost - better sound containment - i.e the ability to hear movies at movie theater volume and not be heard upstairs (being heard in the basement is OK) - My lesson learned the hard way was that soundproofing is somewhat all or nothing - thus my prev. method of doing the best I can afford and incrementally improving was a waste (adding add'l layers of DW and GG only gets you so far). Last year I redid the ceiling the "right way" now I need to redo the walls/soffit.
  2. Ventilate - I use the room A LOT (see multi function bullet below), and the air quality stinks
  3. Hidden front speakers - Acoustically Transparent (AT) Wall and Screen
  4. Taller doorway without having to feel like Gandalf walking into a hobbit's liar (despite waste pipe and support beam running the length of the HT room)
  5. Better room acoustics
  6. Heat, A/C
  7. Nicer look - maintaining multi function purpose - (a) HT (b) Work Office (c) Exercise/ workout room- ideally it'd look like a living area and not a HT
Time Frame - I'd like to start working by Nov 27 - and hope to have the work completed over that extended weekend.

Comments are VERY Welcome
  • links to separate threads that deal with each of the individual issues tackled (e.g. a separate thread entitled "Building a wall next to a foundation wall") to provide simple info access for others
  • Summary of Final Conclusions


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#29 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by schmidtwi  /t/1496694/the-itollthw-theater-bui...-who-doesnt-know-what-hes-doing#post_24023768


Good luck with the mold, you definitely don't want your family exposed to black mold. You need to get all of it or it will come back quickly. I found mold when building out my basement a few years ago - hired professionals to kill it & clean it.
How long does it take to show signs if it's growing back.

i.e. should I delay finishing the wall (if so , how long) to make sure that all of the mold was killed?
 
#30 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by cgott42  /t/1496694/the-itollthw-theater-bui...-who-doesnt-know-what-hes-doing#post_24023869


How long does it take to show signs if it's growing back.

i.e. should I delay finishing the wall (if so , how long) to make sure that all of the mold was killed?

Sorry, I can't answer how long it takes to show signs of growing back - that's why I hired professionals.
 
#31 ·
OK, I used the mold remover spray, then let it sit overnight

Next morning (today) I used bleach/water mix and it looks good- only a few small spots still look discolored

and left the air mover on the entire day to get the air moved outside

Of course it could grow back - so I'm going to use latex paint remover to get rid of the drylok paint there- let me know if I'm making a mistake here

and then putting up the 2" rigid foam to form a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from getting in (or should I repaint w/ DryLok first?)
 
#33 ·
Pic of mold before treatment:


Here's a pic of the same spot after mold removal - mold removal spray, followed by bleach (after 24 hrs) - can still see some minor discoloration still there.



Gonna (a) remove the paint (b) give it time to see if it grows back.
 
#34 ·
Struggling to hold myself back from the urge to "Just build" - I've waited almost 2 weeks and no sign of the mold. So I'm ready to put up the rigid foam.

In the interim - I've decided to totally demolish the old build (except the ceiling- which I think was done well) in this way no legacy, or compromises - $200 in disposal fee, and truck rental and lots of new muscles (moved all 2,600 lbs of it myself - from the basement to the dump! - I am sore!!! )

see pic below of the old HT in the truck - about to be emptied into the dump (actually there's more stuff as I took the pic after I had already emptied a bunch out)


 
#36 ·
Now with the cracks and mold issues (hopefully) fixed - back to Have time off this week to go forward with the build over the next 5-7 days. Please keep an eye out for the thread and give help - and save me from making the wrong guesses when Q's arise (I have a lot invested here shame to waste it all)

thx!
 
#37 ·
HELP!! - After putting on the Rigid foam onto the concrete foundation wall and about to start putting up my wall within a wall, I noticed that the ceiling drywall is pressing against the wood stud on top of the foundation wall - Ruining my decoupling

What should I do? Should I take a saw and cut off the 2" of ceiling about the rigid foam to the foundation wall? I'm guessing this isn't a problem b/c this is inside of the 2nd wall I'm putting up - and I guess I'll caulk in the newly created gap between the rigid foam and the ceiling

thx
 
#38 ·
A pic of the area in question may help with advice.
 
#39 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by vanice  /t/1496694/the-itollthw-theater-bui...o-doesnt-know-what-hes-doing/30#post_24114942


A pic of the area in question may help with advice.
Sure, This pic shows the problem - since I've already put up the foam- what should I do?



Here's a line where I was thinking to cut - let me know



This pic shows a small piece I just cut off (actually a small gap is left , the DW was removed behind it from here to the beam - about 2.5 inches total)
 
#40 ·
Anyway, haven't heard back anything and have the time off now - so
here's a log/diary:
10:30am I went ahead and was able to pull off the rigid foam boards - the ones I just put in yesterday - were easy to take off - (glue was still wet) - there are 8 boards that were done a week ago - and they were much harder - I needed a crow bar. Unfortunately 3 (thus far) of the board cracked in half while prying off.

Now that I have access to the area directly next to the wall - I can cut straight up, and when I put the rigid foam back on -the 2" of rigid foam should cover the hole.

I used a reciprocating saw to make the cut, and then a screwdriver and rotary tool to clear out the now detached but wedged in DW piece
11:30am UNFORTUNATELY, I didn't realize that there is a hot water pipe directly above this (actually the DW ceiling is pushing slightly against the pipe - I'm guessing that this is also a soundproofing issue on it's own)

THOUGH - If you're wondering how I ultimately came to realize that the pipe was there....you guessed it - started to feel how water pouring down on my hand- I accident cut the pipe!!


First emotion - OH MYYY!!!!! All my guarantees to my wife - that my work is safe, and won't cause any damage... worth nothing - I'm DOOMED.

Next thought - I have a friend who's a plumber - maybe he can do me a favor and come over right now before the wife gets home.

Next thought - Internet is faster - Google ... read up a bit- HEY I might still have some left over epoxy... YEP - PHEW! Call upstairs - ask daughter to turn on the hot water for me - "Is everything OK?" she asks - uh oh - she's on to me - the wife will know! "Yep, just testing something" I assure.

I cut out a larger section of the DW to get a better look - I can see where the leak is coming from ... just a pin hole. Applied the epoxy - now waiting for it to cure (an hour) and then retest

heart beat returns to normal.


you can see the hot water pipe in the pic in the post above (in black / dark grey insulation) - shame I didn't notice it before :)

11:45am In the meantime - the surrounding DW is wet - feels like clay - will this dry? Or should I cut it out to prevent a mold issue? Oh well, I have an hour ... start cutting - this time - no reciprocating saw- only the rotary tool, jab saw, and a screw driver - and be VERY careful.. As I'm doing so, I start singing in my head the song BigM's referenced to me- "just what makes that little old ant / think he can move that rubber tree plant/ everyone knows an ANT CAN'T move that rubber tree plant/ but he has ... HIGH HOPES, he has ...."


OK cut out the wet DW

Now - about that pipe- I'm guessing it's a sound proofing concern - vibrations from ceiling - go directly into the pipe (which is resting on the ceiling) and through the house - so I am cutting out the DW below that.

In all it should be just slightly above a 2" gap - which should be covered by the rigid foam, also I'm building a wall inside of this anyway

12:45pm - Just tested - and the epoxy seems to hold!! Is this a permanent solution? i.e. I can go ahead an close it w/ rigid foam, 2nd wall?
 
#41 ·
Although the epoxy seemed to hold nicely, I hired a plumber today to fix the hole. He cutout a section of the pipe and replaced it, and soldered.

Back to work.. I put the rigid foam back up, and it covered the holes in the ceiling that I made to remove the ceiling DW away from the beam



However, there are a few spots with gaps (below) - what do you suggest I do?- gap is approx. 3/4"
 
#42 ·
About to frame, and realize that I need to account for the 2 lally columns - they are 34" from the existing wall. So even after I build a wall (approx. 8") inside of this wall - there's still a 28" gap. I wanted to build columns (similar to the Bacon Race Theater ) - and I can use them to enclose the lally column - that would be approx. 14" deep (see below). Leaving me a 14" gap (both wasted space, and ugly) - Any ideas?
 
#43 · (Edited)
After long delay (doing little by little) I have the room finished (drywalled) and up to the painting. Glad to report that I've met my primary goal, and I think most of the others (will look back on later) - namely that I can now listen to LOTR (or other LFE heavy movies) without disturbing people upstairs (and very little noise in the basement). Here are some pictures:

re: Design - I've decided (after putting so much stress on my marriage with this project) to have the room look like a living room and not a HT - without giving up the things that I want in a HT (projection screen, sound quality) - I think of it this way, when I'm watching - the lights are out anyway, so why not make the wife happy the other 22 hours of the day by having a room that she feels fine with.
Not sure of the color scheme. Here's what I'm thinking of (w/RL suede paint) but open to ideas


Here's the front - I need to repaint the fireplace mantel, though I think it'll be too much black if I paint it black. Probably better with a cherry wood - How do I tell if it can be stained?. Also, I see that there isn't going to be enough room for the Fathead "window". I'm also going to put acoustic fabric in front of the front speaker (above the fireplace, below the mantel)


Here's a pic with the screen down (I need to install the tab tensioning), and also to find something to cover the area underneath the screen when the screen is down


Budget:
100" SeymourAV electric screen - $1,700 , bought used for $350 (Craigslist)
HeatnGlo Electric Fireplace (see the vid it's cool- http://www.heatnglo.com/Products/SimpliFire-Built-In-Electric-Fireplace.aspx) - $650 bought used for $100 (Craigslist)
HomeGoods Fireplace Mantle $350 bought used for $75 (Craigslist)
Acoustic Panels - price ?? - free (on AVS)
 

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