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Wolf's Lair Home Theater-Construction/Pics

291K views 740 replies 129 participants last post by  mbgonzomd 
#1 ·
From a humble beginning, a theater was born....



After reading thousands of threads over the past several months. I figured it was time for me to contribute. So, here is my construction thread. As you will see there have been plenty of mistakes, poor planning, building, tearing down, re-building. Hopefully, the final product will be tolerable and that slight irregularity of the baseboard trim will not ruin my movie-going experience.


The house is a 2 story with basement that we bought about a year ago. It is 13 years old. The basement was partially finished, but there was plenty of space left over to work with. So why not put in a wet bar and hometheater?


The first part of this thread may go kind of quick. It is not that I am that fast or good at carpentry; I have been working since last Thanksgiving.


For those who are just starting, keep an eye on this thread. I will detail some of the major...let's call them oversights...that the novice will tend to make.


The main room in the finished portion. Kind of rustic looking, the wood panel has to go (and does go)



Ah, the clean palate. Looks like a nice place for a theater. Unfortunately it will only be about 12.5' wide. And the posts will limit the room length.



Another view from the opposite end. Door on the left goes into a closet with the HVAC unit.



Another portion of the unfinished side of the basement. The only natural light in the basement comes through that door. I will try to bring that light into other portions of the basement to make it not feel as much like a basement.



A few more unfinished shots.




The first project, tear down some walls and finish the exercise room/video game room (a man needs a place to play vids during construction). I will see if I can somehow get my original plan uploaded.
 
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#653 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HDGTX /forum/post/15389630


Gonzo,


Where did you find the rack, do you have a link ?


Thanks,


John

I got it at Lowe's. I could not find a link on Lowes.com. It is in the shelving section. Good luck.
 
#655 ·
Great call on the rack. You can't beat it for the price, that's for sure! Also, with that much free air around it, you shouldn't have any problem with heat. Good call on the wire shelves.


Happy Holidays.
 
#656 ·
Wow, that IS a nice rack! I always thought Kathy Smith was kinda hot



I do hope the fact that video is lying right there on the floor doesn't mean you were actually working out in the HT though
The theater is of course no place for any type of exercise-related activities.
 
#657 ·
Nope, just stacking DVDs to get my IR modulator high enough so it would work
.
 
#659 ·
Great job on the rack Gonzo,


Funny I had to resolve my equipment closet issue also. It was driving me nuts and wasn't really accessible because the shelf rack I had everything on was basically the width of the closet. I couldn't really get to the back of it for maintenance.


I had been eyeing some shelving at HD and Lowes. Over the weekend I went to Lowes and found some dark grey hammered texture wire shelving. The grey actually matches my trim color choice.. So 2 vertical bars and four wire shelves later and my equipment closet is much more organized and accessible. I can actually step in to it now and do whatever I need to. I need to take some pics so I can post it to my thread.


Keep up the good work.
 
#660 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by beginner17 /forum/post/15412318


really really nice. can I spend my next vacation in Wolf´s Lair?



Greetings from Germany and happy new year

Sure, just bring some good German beer
.


My brother just reminded me (after watching Valkarie) that the Wolf's Lair was the name of Hitler's bunker. Let me assure everyone that was not the origen of the name of my theater
.
 
#661 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by oman321 /forum/post/15412485


Great job on the rack Gonzo,


Funny I had to resolve my equipment closet issue also. It was driving me nuts and wasn't really accessible because the shelf rack I had everything on was basically the width of the closet. I couldn't really get to the back of it for maintenance.


I had been eyeing some shelving at HD and Lowes. Over the weekend I went to Lowes and found some dark grey hammered texture wire shelving. The grey actually matches my trim color choice.. So 2 vertical bars and four wire shelves later and my equipment closet is much more organized and accessible. I can actually step in to it now and do whatever I need to. I need to take some pics so I can post it to my thread.


Keep up the good work.

Do you have pictures up yet? I will have to take a look.
 
#664 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mbgonzomd /forum/post/15414091


Do you have pictures up yet? I will have to take a look.

Not yet, I will try to capture and post tonight. I was in "just get it done" mode and neglected to take a pic before and after.
 
#665 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by In2Photos /forum/post/15415006


I just assumed you were an NC State grad.

Bingo!
 
#667 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by In2Photos /forum/post/15416117


Well then, what the heck happened the other day? Did you guys go to sleep in the second half? Last I heard it was 17-6. Then I saw the score later and my jaw hit the floor.

Russel Wilson, our starting QB (ACC offensive player of the year/ACC rookie of the year/1st Team All-ACC QB), hurt his knee at the end of the first half. I knew we did not have a chance after that as our other QBs are less than competent. Wilson had thrown 1 interception all year, the back-ups threw 3 in the second half
.
 
#668 ·
Hey Gonzo, I updated my thread with some pics of my new shelf. Just go to the last page on my thread.
 
#669 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mbgonzomd /forum/post/15416923


Russel Wilson, our starting QB (ACC offensive player of the year/ACC rookie of the year/1st Team All-ACC QB), hurt his knee at the end of the first half. I knew we did not have a chance after that as our other QBs are less than competent. Wilson had thrown 1 interception all year, the back-ups threw 3 in the second half
.

Ah! Similar to the game against South Carolina to start the year. If he stays healthy next year you guys should be contenders for the ACC.
 
#670 ·
I accentuated my rack. I bought a roll out DVD holder to add to the bottom shelf of the rack.



Installed:




I also have been having issues with my Dish 622 DVR. So they sent me a new one that also did not work. So they sent a guy out to tell me that the one they sent me did not work, duh. Fortunately he left me a nice new 722 DVR (an upgraded model) which is black and looks better in my rack than the previous grey one. It is the 3rd shelf up.
 
#673 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tigre /forum/post/15521751


Do you think that you'll be interested in the new DVR with Slingbox tech from Dish when it's available?

If it involves me send more money to Dish each month, then I am definitely interested
.


Quote:
Originally Posted by W00lly /forum/post/15521784


Gonzo

Where did you find the DVD rack? I already went out and bought the same rack its gonna work great till I build the permanent one
Right here .


The shipping was a little slow, but that may of been because of the holidays.
 
#674 ·
Hi Gonzo,


Very nice HT you built. I'm hoping for the same but I think I have very long and hard road ahead of me due to my lack of knowledge about this stuff.


I have some beginner question I'm hoping you'll help with.


Looking through your thread I noticed that you filled your stage with sand. What is the purpose of that?


What is the green glue for?


I'm thinking of building a HT in 14.5' wide x 16' long x 8' high basement with no windows and two of the walls are made out of poured concrete. Do I need to fill the stage with Sand? I thought the stage is only for looks but does it serve other purpose?


Also how do you determine what is maximum size screen I can have in my HT? I'm thinking of getting Sony VPL-HW10 but not sure if this is the right one since I've never owned front projector before.
 
#675 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by SonyHome /forum/post/15539422


Hi Gonzo,


Very nice HT you built. I'm hoping for the same but I think I have very long and hard road ahead of me due to my lack of knowledge about this stuff.


I have some beginner question I'm hoping you'll help with.


Looking through your thread I noticed that you filled your stage with sand. What is the purpose of that?

The sand does a couple things. It fills the void of the stage, so your stage does not become a bass drum, and it adds mass to the stage. Since the sub is sitting of the stage it prevent the sub from vibrating the stage when it is thumping.

Quote:
What is the green glue for?

It is a viscoelastic dampening compound that reduces sound transmission from one surface to the next. It is one part of overall scheme to reduce noise entering or exiting the theater. Look here.

Quote:
I'm thinking of building a HT in 14.5' wide x 16' long x 8' high basement with no windows and two of the walls are made out of poured concrete. Do I need to fill the stage with Sand? I thought the stage is only for looks but does it serve other purpose?

Yes, fill the stage with sand as described above.

Quote:
Also how do you determine what is maximum size screen I can have in my HT? I'm thinking of getting Sony VPL-HW10 but not sure if this is the right one since I've never owned front projector before.

Screen size is related to viewing distance, film format (16x9 vs 2.40:1), projector capabilities, room size, and personal preference. Play around with this calculator . There are other calculators/accepted ratios for evaluating viewing distance... one being the 1st row should be about the same distance from the screen as the screen is wide (but this is subjective).


Hope this helps some. Good luck with your project.
 
#676 ·
Gonzo,

Could I get some measurements you used for your HT? I'm interested in;


1. Column Width

2. Column Thickness

3. Sofit Thickness

4. Stage Height


How do you figure how high to put the screen if you are sitting on floor level? Also is there way to determine proper placement (depth and height) for the surround speakers.


Thanks.
 
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