Breaking the rules theater build - Page 14

No, recessed light trims. You can see the black ones I found for the HT above. Baseboard trim I plan to do the same color of my doors, which is a charcaol type grey. Matches the color of my Harmony 880.

Man I hate what the flash brings out, it looks so much better in person. Looking foward to finishing the crown around the soffits and star panels to get things looking nice and clean.

Ya, that was my plan also but having dealt with painting the gymbal lights over the stage as well as some wall plate covers and knowing how picky I am about getting the finish just right I jumped at these when I saw them. Like I said before I still saved half of what these would have cost me with a white trim at Lowes or Home Depot.

Some minor progress to report.

I have wrapped the columns in between the workout area and pool room as well as the one between the Grafik Eye and closet.

Full column before:




After:




Partial column before:


After:




I still have to trim out the top of the columns for a finished look but they are in place and look great. Also have to paint the caulk line and the floor trim will be installed once the floors are done.

I also picked up a light for my media closet which is well suited for the space. I pretty much leave it stationary but I can swivel it in several directions and provides ample lighting for the space.







This past weekend we were trying to figure out what we want to do for a kitchenette/counter/concession bar area. The Mrs. wants to simply do cabinets in the recessed area and then a counter top which extends along the left wall about 4-5' which we would use as seating area with stools. Then we would have space to put a small 2 seat cafe style type table in the open area in between pool table and counter area. Somewhat like I had originally sketched on this pic, except I show wall cabinets extending to the right from this perspective which wouldn't be the case. The wall cabinets would only be above the recessed cabinets in either case.

Edit: Pic moved below to put side by side and same direction

What I want to do is cabinets and counter top in the recessed area with a 30 inch aisle and then have 2 more cabinets with half wall bar top type set up with stools in front of that. Something like what I had sketched in this next pic.


Her argument is that with the open area and table it provides for more seating and that when we host we really wouldn't be cooking or preparing meals downstairs.

My argument was that this space would be used to prepare drinks, snacks, sandwiches and light meals. All the extra cabinet space could also be used as storage which we need.

Anyhow what do you guys think. Again I'm for the second design but I need some more ammo as she is pretty set on having it done the first way.

Also while we were out we looked at some floor samples. The plan is whatever design we go with as far as setup, is to go with a dark finish for the cabinets so we are going with a lighter finish on the floor. These are the 2 options we came up with so far.

Bamboo


Natural Oak




What do you all think?

Thanks Scawt,

I've seen and installed the laminate planks before. I think your referring to the one's which look like 2 or 3 rows per plank? I gotta say I'm not to crazy about them if those are the ones your referring to.

The ones pitured above are engineered flooring and suitable for basements and it is more of the look we are going for(single planks).
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100606082

It seems like the ones on your link are single planks also (5.313 width). Each of the samples I'm showing above are 2 sample pieces put together to get a better feel for how it will actually look.

Thanks Queen,

We actaully have a standard poly'd oak 2.75" wide hardwood floor on the 1st level. However the entrance to the basement is in the kitchen and that floor is tiled a neautral cream tile. We figured that we want something different in the basement which would stand out to people when they see it for the first time, thus the wider planks along with a different finish.

The Mrs. also likes the Bamboo and so do a lot of the folks which I'm showing the samples to here at work. It also has a thickness of 9'16 so much thicker than standard laminate or even other engineered wood floors.

That's cool as far as the counter design I want honest opinions, so thanks. Good idea on the pics I didn't even think of that I will edit it to make it easier for others.

ICBM99,

I appreciate the feedback, the bamboo is definately coming out as the front runner.

I appreciate the feedback HTanderson, Bamboo will likely be what we go with. Still need to check a couple more options before I can say for sure.

mikieson,

Thanks for chiming in. I agree that the rules are different for everyone and that if I wasn't able to do a dedicated room and simply had to do a projector and surround sound setup in multipurpose area that I would be content with that. The reason behind the title in the thread though is because I am building a dedicated room and while educating myself here on AVS with the different ways one has in regards to building a dedicated space, handling the sound isolation, and the do's and don'ts overall I realized early on that I wouldn't be employing for one reason or another a lot of the more common methods which have been developed here on AVS, other HT sites, and by the various room designers. I often find myself going against what other folks might do, but that's ok cause it works for me. What's great is that at the very least I am educated about the different options and I can try to chime in and help others and let them know how I might go about something a little differently.

The enjoyment which my family, friends, and I are getting from the HT space thus far has been great and I often have to remind visitors that it's not done yet. I get many strange looks and they say "what else could you possibly have to do" If they only knew, how far I could take this.

Well we don't drink alcohol and neither do our friends but love good food. I suppose anything we can do with bar/concession type counter set up we can do with the regular counter along the wall set up. Probably will end going with that set up unless she has a change of heart. I just keep picturing smoothies or ice cream floats or sundays being served up on the bar top.

Oh well, I have to stay consistent with going against what everyone else is doing

Basically yes, that is a homemade anamorphic lens. It stretches the image left and right by 33%. I have an external device called a scaler which stretches the image up and down to get rid of the bars in 2:35 (cinemascope) movies.

For more information check out the 2:35 section of the forum in the display area.

All good points RPH, I can see the Captain in your response Did you have one leg up on your computer seat as you typed this?

Both designs are mine, she prefers the one on the right, which was part of the initial concept. I guess both situations puts people facing away from the pool table area, but the thought was sitting at the counter ledge or bar and more less either eating, grabbing some snacks or just generally hanging out and most folks would normally swivel their stools and face the tv or pool table.

Eventually I was thinking of sneaking a smaller display so the people who would be at the bar could face a tv instead of having to turn towards the other one by the pool table, I just had to think of a way to make it my wife's idea.

As far as storage it would be useful for some items which we have taking up space in the upstairs cabinets that aren't used very often except hosting family events and the like.

I guess you right though, I need to just make the room most useful for it's purpose which is to play pool (eventually when I get a pool table), get some snacks and drinks ready for the most part, and overall just lounge with friends during sporting events. A mini fridge is definately part of the plan also.

Thanks for chiming in RPH, do you have babysitting duty today?

I hear ya about making the rounds to the different shops. Unfortunately we don't have any Menards over in these parts, would be nice to have some variety from Orange and Blue, though Blue's been good to me since they opened up shop 5 minutes from me.

Anyhow the Mrs. and I have been making the rounds and looking at the different flooring options. We considered a second option over the Bamboo because of cost, but when I got home and looked at the samples against each other, I said that we should go with the Bamboo and just deal with the extra cost. The bamboo is a thicker material and appears to be of better quality so it's worth the extra cost, but I figured we're only going to likely do this floor once and we should do it right. So bamboo it is.

We have also decided to go with the simpler set up of the counter to the left if facing the kitchenette. It really works out in the end because it does allow for a more open feel and will allow us to put a table or even possibly 2 in the open area for lounging and hanging out. The counter top area will be a great space to set up snacks and other needed accessories like popcorn, condiments or whatever else. I can also set it off with some undercabinet lighting.

In looking around at what cabinets we want to go with funny enough the best options we've come up with so far are the ones from IKEA. I thought these would be our last choice, but they've actually come out on top. We are getting dark chocolate almost black cabinet doors for the base cabinets and the wall cabinets will have frosted glass with a metal frame and glass shelves. These will also be setoff with the lights inside the cabinets. I will be using the lights they have available at IKEA. A lot of folks in the accessory area of the forum have been using them behind their LCD's. They can change multiple colors but I plan to likely use blue which will highlight the rope lighting in the HT as well as the accent wall which is across the basement from the kitchenette. Ultimately the HT sign I got from Bud will hang on that blue wall and will also be lighted.

Fun times ahead, really looking foward to this part of the build phase although not the cost of it.

Thanks will, I've been waiting for those pics. Kind'a been in a rut lately and I have been doing things here and there but progress just feels so slow right now. I'm hoping that will all change once I get the floors in and get the cabinets going.

In other news I just got in the mail my fan kit from cooler guys for my media closet. I was debating wether to go with the cabcool1202 or the traditional bathroom vent fan with an attic stat. When I looked at all the specs of the bath fan I was considereing and the 1202 all the specs were in line including the sones/db levels. The factor that won out was that the 1202 included the stat and the cfm was basically doubled because it's 2 fans vs. one. Hopefully it will work out, pics to come.

I always intended to do a fan just in case but I intially thought that the closet would be fine as is. The first couple of times that we saw a movie or played video games with the closet door closed I quickly realized no way, when I opened the closet door your smacked in the face with a wave of hot air and the PS3 fans would be in turbo mode. Once the door gets opened the heat quickly dissapates, but in my case definately a necessity.

In your case I also believe you will be fine since it's an open room, my solution so far has been to leave the door open and the immediate equipment area never gets hot the way it does with the door closed.

Hello shack_ko welcome to the thread and forum,

You must be referring to my DIY Anamorphic Lens



It's made of wood, lined with velvet and BK7 prisms.
The prisms used for this lens are discussed in detail over on this thread in the 2:35 DIY section.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=889863&page=7

I got the prisms from a unauthorized sale that appeared on the forum. Later on it was discovered that the prisms were obtained from this store.
http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l9113d.html

I have to say that I am extremely pleased with their performance. The cost was very minimal considering the that they are BK7 glass and are coated on all sides to prevent unwanted reflections.

The only problem is that Surplus Shed has to have a quantity of 50 ordered before they go ahead and have these produced. This makes for a long wait time if they don't have enough orders. I know of one fellow who posted in the thread above who commented just last week that he is still waiting for his prisms and has been waiting since last year. Your other option is to go with trophy prisms. Here is a thread which discusses the different sources for prisms.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1003683