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Jamis' theater thread!

354K views 962 replies 131 participants last post by  RTROSE 
#1 ·

Updated 11/18/2013:

The theater is pretty much done (as of November 2008). Here is an index to the most interesting parts and milestones of the thread. There are other interesting posts and pictures in between each step, but these are the ones that immediately jumped out as worthwhile to mention.


Thanks to everyone who helped in this 5+ month project!

Take the video tour! (24MB)

My theater was featured on Electronic House! (8/11/2009)
My theater was written up on HackedGadgets.com! (3/15/2009)

01/24/2007 - Started this thread. Posted first ideas and designs.
04/12/2008 - Permits pulled and design revised.
04/21/2008 - Lumber has arrived and the project starts for real.
06/16/2008 - Framing, conduit, HVAC, plumbing done.
06/25/2008 - Insulation, rough electrical done.
07/13/2008 - Drywall done.
07/20/2008 - Bathroom tile and paint.
08/11/2008 - Cabinets installed, picking out carpet and flooring.
08/17/2008 - Hardwood installed in Kitchenette.
08/25/2008 - Granite installed
08/31/2008 - Acoustic panels installed and the start of the screen wall. Put tint on sliding glass doors.
09/03/2008 - Kitchenette and bathroom complete. Starting to tackle basement stairs.
09/05/2008 - Carpet installed.
09/06/2008 - Speakers, screen and seats installed.
09/13/2008 - Stairs done.
09/25/2008 - Bass shakers installed.
10/30/2008 - Projector Installed
10/31/2008 - First screen shots.
11/02/2008 - More screen shots.
11/11/2008 - Movie posters framed and hung.
11/15/2008 - A few more finished pics.
12/02/2008 - Installed Littlites on the bar.
01/08/2009 - Popcorn machine and a finished rack!
03/14/2009 - Cleaned up the equipment closet a bit and my 1000th post!
04/05/2009 - Under cabinet lighting in the kitchenette.
04/24/2009 - Treated screen wall with acoustical cotton.
05/13/2009 - Built a new HTPC!

Final Equipment List:

Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector

Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector   (upgraded 12/2012)

129" wide SmX ProLine Screen - 2.37:1


Denon 3808ci Receiver (retired)

Pioneer SC-1522-K Receiver  (upgraded 3/30/2013)

Playstation 3

Playstation 4 (new)

Sony BDP-N460 Bluray player + streaming media (netflix)

Sony BDP-S5100 Bluray player + streaming media (netflix)   (upgraded 4/3/2013)

Monitor Audio RS6 left and right front speakers

Monitor Audio RSLCR center channel speaker

Monitor Audio RSFX surround speakers

Monitor Audio RSFX rear speakers

SVS PC-13 Ultra Subwoofer


6 Aura Pro Bass Shakers

300 watt BASH subwoofer amplifier

Berkline 13175 seating


Nintendo Wii   (retired)

Comcast HD DVR

Verizon FiOS Multi-room DVR

Thecus N5200 NAS (1.5TB RAID5 network attached storage)


HTPC -
  • 2.7GHz dual core Pentium
  • 4GB RAM
  • GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H motherboard (geForce 9400 - HDMI)
  • 500GB hard drive
  • DVD +/-RW drive
  • Silverstone LC17B case
  • MS Entertainment Desktop 7000 keyboard/mouse
  • Mythbuntu (Linux)

 

Harmony One universal remote

X10 Powermid IR repeater




-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Well... after a year and a half (almost), I've finally decided to start planning the basement theater. Not quite sure on when construction will begin especially since I have yet to finalize my plans. In fact, I'd love to hear feedback on my current sketches.


Some basics (updated 3/16/2009):

 
  • Finished width of the theater is approximately 13'4"
  • The final length of the theater comes out to around 32'
  • 7.1 surround sound
  • Acoustically transparent screen with 2.37:1 aspect ratio
  • Ceiling was drywalled with 2x3's used as furring strips to clear some copper plumbing.
  • Soffits/beam will be approximately 6'9" in height
  • Blue rectangles on the open wall in the pictures are a window and sliding patio doors.
  • Lighting will be primarily 4" can lights. There will be cove lighting (rope) around the soffits and as step lighting for the riser.
  • Seating is comprised of Berkline 13175's (two rows of three) and four bar stools.
  • Equipment rack would go under the stairs
  • Moving the lolly columns is not an option.

 

Update - 3/16/2009 - the information below is from the original post and contains some out of date information.


I'm not sure if I want a wet bar or not, but if I do it will have to be adjacent to the utility room for best access to the sewer pipe. I am also having a tough time deciding what do to in the rear of the theater (wall? wall with french doors? leave it open and just put heavy curtains over the sliding glass doors? Leave it open but continue the wall along the beam?).


I've also been playing with different sized utility rooms (from the entire corner to right up against the oil tank). My wife would like a good compromise of storage + usable space, though again, any sort of wet bar or plumbing should be adjacent to the utility room.


Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! See my attachments for the bare basement mock-up as well as a partially finished layout I've been playing with...


Thanks!

Chris (jamis)


 
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#102 ·
Jamis I was wondering, where did you get the carpet from? Me and the Mrs. are going to look at carpet tonight and I wanted to show her your selection before we go out. If it's anywhere near the South Shore I might be able to check it out in person. Also carpet folks had no problem with no baseboards yet? Also planning on doing mine afterwards.
 
#103 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by oman321 /forum/post/14445073


Jamis I was wondering, where did you get the carpet from? Me and the Mrs. are going to look at carpet tonight and I wanted to show her your selection before we go out. If it's anywhere near the South Shore I might be able to check it out in person. Also carpet folks had no problem with no baseboards yet? Also planning on doing mine afterwards.

We picked out the carpet at Rotman's in Worcester (FAAAANTASTIC!) The brand is Lee's and the style is "Unanimous" so you may be able to find it at other carpet/furniture stores closer to your area, especially if they are a "Carpet One" dealer.


Edit: Ahha, found the Lee's homepage. There's a store locator. http://www.relaxitslees.com/carpet.aspx
 
#104 ·
selianth,


Thanks for chiming in, I love it that the Mrs. participates in the thread. Ya Worcester would be a hike, my wife and I have a niece and some friends who live up that way so we know the trip quite well.


Funny how you did that "(FAAAANTASTIC!)" popped the commercial right into my mind.


I appreciate the info we'll have to look for it tonight and see if we find it or at least something similar.
 
#105 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by oman321 /forum/post/14445218


Funny how you did that "(FAAAANTASTIC!)" popped the commercial right into my mind.

Anyone who watches Red Sox games can hardly help but say "Faaantastic!" whenever Rotman's is mentioned. It's like a Pavlovian response.
 
#107 ·
Got most of the hardwood done this weekend. Just need to do the thresholds, trim, reducers, etc.


Finally finished off the cabinets as well. The crown molding was a PITA as the standard miter/bevel angles weren't working for me. Something must have been out of square. Had to do quite a bit of coping and made use of the wax filler stick that came with the cabinets.


No big mistakes anywhere.. just a few smallish ones I hope no one will notice in person (and that the baseboards/trim will cover up).










 
#108 ·
Swear count: remarkably low.

"Honey, can you get me a band-aid?" count: just once.


I call that a successful weekend.
 
#109 ·
Succesful indeed. Looks nice, keep up the good work.
 
#110 ·
Christmas comes early tomorrow...


SVS PC-Ultra 13 and the SmX screen both should arrive tomorrow.


While I am still a week or two away from assembling the screen, the sub may get some testing on the current TV setup.
 
#111 ·
Heh... delivery #1 has arrived. The SVS PC-Ultra 13 cylinder sub woofer.


The look of pure horror on my wife's face as the FedEx guy unloaded the box while she was leaving for work made the purchase price worth it.



Hooked it up to the current TV setup just to give it a quick test and it seems to work (some near by pictures were shaking on the walls during the automatic speaker calibration). I'll have to tune it later.
 
#112 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamis /forum/post/14475276


The look of pure horror on my wife's face as the FedEx guy unloaded the box while she was leaving for work made the purchase price worth it.
and my wife thinks I'm over the top with this stuff. That is funny though.
 
#113 ·
The box was, well, HUGER than I was expecting.
If I didn't know it was going to be hidden by the screen I probably would have put up a fuss.
 
#114 ·
I got a screamin deal on a JBL 12" sub which was huge in comparison to my old Sony sub which came in a 7.1 setup. My wife had the same reaction when she came in the door (jaw drop, look of horror) as I was setting it up to play some War of the Worlds
Can't even imagine what would happen if she walked in on me with something like that SVS
 
#115 ·
Can't wait for the wife to get home....

 
#116 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamis /forum/post/14477465


Can't wait for the wife to get home....

Like I'm not already rolling my eyes enough at the picture?
 
#117 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamis /forum/post/14477465


Can't wait for the wife to get home....


Put it in your pocket. She's happy, you're happy... it's win win!
 
#119 ·
Gotta love it when you have to go to the second floor to take a picture of the packaging and your still having difficulty getting it all in the shot.
 
#120 ·
Jamis, been quite on the build thread since you got the deliveries. I hope selianth didn't beat you silly when she got home then had to stick you in the SMX box, wait she probably stuck you in the SVS box, possibly both
 
#121 ·
If you thought the "look of horror" was good when I saw the sub being delivered, you should have seen the look on my face when I saw the *actual* sub. I thought there was just a lot of padding in the box. Apparently not, as the subwoofer seemed to be even bigger than the box itself was. And there was the screen. The screen. Good LORD. I'm pretty sure I had the crazy eyes going.


What do you mean "justifiable homicide" isn't a valid defense here in the U.S.???
 
#122 ·
Another busy weekend...
  • Mounted cabinet hardware...
  • Installed vinyl blind on window which will be covered with an acoustic panel...
  • Finished hanging doors and puttying the nail holes...
  • Dad came over and put in a threshold into the bathroom. I had to trim the bottom of the door to fit, unfortunately.
  • Installed all of the baseboards and touched up the nail holes.


Stuff for this week:
  • Paint doors and the rest of the trim.
  • Misc. paint touch-ups.
  • Granite should be installed on Monday.
  • I hope to have the plumber in this week to do the final hookups.
  • Berkline 13175's should be in this week (2+ weeks early). Those will probably have to sit in the garage until the carpet is in.
  • Expecting my Denon 3808 and last set of Monitor Audio RSFX surrounds in this week or next.
  • Hoping carpet will be in by the end of next week.
  • Hoping acoustic panels will be in by the end of next week.


I will post pics tomorrow after the granite is in.
 
#123 ·
Counters are in and look fantastic!


You can definitely tell a huge difference in color between different lighting conditions. In the kitchenette where it is might lighter, you can definitely see the browns (see the closeups) when the lights are all on full. In the theater where there is no direct lighting on the bar (or in the kitchen with the lights on low), it looks completely black.


I couldn't get a good picture of the under bar lighting due to the ambient light. That should be addressed soon enough.























 
#124 ·
Very Nice...


You are officially leaving me in the dust... I have to get back to work!!!
 
#125 ·
Counter tops look great Jamis.


Be sure to check all your 13175's when you get them as I received mine today and unfortunately a couple of seats have some issues. I'm in communication with Roman who I'm sure will take care of me, but dissapointed none the less. When you assemble lay them on their back and look towards the bottom of the legs for any evidence of damage. Good luck.
 
#126 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by oman321 /forum/post/14521684


Counter tops look great Jamis.


Be sure to check all your 13175's when you get them as I received mine today and unfortunately a couple of seats have some issues. I'm in communication with Roman who I'm sure will take care of me, but dissapointed none the less. When you assemble lay them on their back and look towards the bottom of the legs for any evidence of damage. Good luck.

What exactly should I be looking for? Is it cosmetic, structural or both?


Great... now my paranoia is kicking in.
 
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