TKNice's Theater Construction Thread

Hey Everyone,

Here's the build thread for our media room. This is my first theater and I'm very thankful to all of you for making these forums such a great resource for sharing information. Also thanks to Dad and friends for all their help and advice.

A few details before we get started:

• The space is roughly 12.4' x 21' (8ft ceiling) with no windows
• Drywall is 1/2 single ply. I really wanted double drywall w/ green glue but it just wasn't in the budget
• All walls are filled with standard R-13 kraft faced insulation
• Lighting consists of 4 sconces, 12 4" eyeball lights, 3 vented isle lights & rope lighting above the soffit
• Soffit dimensions are 12"x6.25" with a 3" gap to the ceiling
• The riser dimension is 7.5' x 6' and leaves a 32" isle by the entryway and 26" isles on the back and far side
• The first row of seats is 11.5' and the second is around 17'
• Oh yeah, I'm winging it and really have no idea what I'm doing

Our theater features the following:

• 130" CIH Screen (optimized for 2.35:1)
• Panasonic PT-AE7000u 1080p 3D Projector with a HTB Anamorphic Lens
• DVDO Edge Video Processor
• Emotiva UMC-1 (7.1 Channel) Preamplifier/Processor
• Emotiva XPA-3 and UPA-7 Amplifiers
• Elemental Designs Custom 6T6 Towers in the front & center
• Emotiva UAW-8.2 side surrounds
• Emotiva ERD-1 rear surrounds
• eD A3-300 12" Subwoofer w/ upgraded 350w driver
• Vudu Movie Player
• Apple Mac Mini computer for poster display
• Apple iPad for theater control
• 42" TV displaying movie posters etc (vertically mounted).
• Verizon FIOS box
• Playstation 3 for games and BluRay
• HTPC Including:
  XBMC Media Center Software with the Aeon Skin
  3.1Ghz Dual Core AMD 6100 w/ 4 Gigs Ram
  MSI Geforce 8600 GTS 256 HDMI Video Card
  HT Omega Striker 7.1 Sound Card
  

To Do:

• Motorized plush curtains to hang from the soffit to the stage
• Masking system
• Custom table between the front chairs that steps up to the second row (w/ drink holders)
• Equipment Rack and concession stand between left columns
• Star Planetarium

<<----------------------------------- Construction -------------------------------------->>



Okay, so what did we start with? A huge mess of a basement that took 2-3 months to clean.
Here's a pic of my home automation rack in the back along with (what will become) an unfinished storage area.



Framing starts while I feverishly research which mistakes to avoid.



The entrance to the theater. Bathroom is to the left.



Here's a shot of the soffit being built on the ground. It will be raised, leveled, and hung in the next few shots.



Here's a corner of the soffit and also the path that all of my wires run from the theater components over to the rack.



The rack.



Here are the wires that lead to different areas of the room. I put in pull strings to help with any future wiring I may need to do. I'm not sure what the proper technique is, but a friend told me this: measure twice as much rope as you need and put a large mark at the midway point using a permanent marker. This marks where you tie on new cables so they can be pulled through from either end. Don't forget to tie off each end to something and label your cables so you can identify them later!



Framing is complete. If you look closely, you can see the beginnings of a column. This should save money on using the nice wood later on.



Another pic of the soffit (and side of column).



And one more. Ready for drywall!!



AHHHH!! Disaster strikes! I was trying to reach my tape measure and knocked over a bunch of sheets onto a beer bottle. I was just thinking that I need to move that bottle out of the way, DOH! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! Well, thank god it wasn't one of my kids or my leg or something.



And amazingly, the bottle didn't break.



But my drywall did. : /



Incidentally, here are the colors we picked out. Grats to my wife for changing my mind on the awful colors I picked before. These are much better. The walls, soffit, and crown will all be painted the lightest color (right) called "warm muffin" lol. The ceiling will be painted the darkest color (left) called "gold sconce". The screen wall will be flat black. Carpet is from Home Depot and paint is Behr limited. Eventually I plan to affix curtain rods at the top and bottom of the back and side (mini) walls. I have not chosen the material for this yet, but these will change the look and sound of the theater quite a bit. The warm muffin color may be overpowering at first, but will end up covering only the soffit bottom/face and the wall area between the columns.



Drywall is looking good. Here is a shot of the riser. Jeez I wish I had more room.



For now, the theater components will go in a small audio pier to the left of this 8' bump out. One day I'd like to build cabinets in here for a rack, mini fridge and concession stand.



This is the screen wall.



Yay! We have columns! (wipes tear). You can also see the crown molding up above. They decided to use wood instead of drywall for the back of the soffit area. This made the drywall guy very happy and also insures a nice clean line where it meets the ceiling.

Paint is coming soon!



I'm glad I added this raised area for the projector. At first we ran boards straight across and level with the ceiling, which would have been cutting it close. I needed a hack saw to cut them outta there! I believe the projector + mount is 11.5" and when added to the 8" riser leaves exactly 6.2' (my height). Another 4" should really help.

I see a solid core door back there!



Another picture of the columns without sconces. They did arrive, I should take a picture of them.



Ooh. Got my subwoofer and rear surrounds today. This thing is big!



MMmmm, Inputs.



The sconces are from Murray Feiss called "Fusion One".



First coats of paint are done and I think I'm happy with the colors.

Thanks Dad! (have a safe trip back).

What do you guys think about the molding? I'm second guessing painting the crown and floor molding the same color as the wall. I think off white will look much better. As long as the white is flat it should be relatively non reflective, right?

Also, took a drive to HTDepot in Chantilly, VA today and picked up a 2.35:1 screen. It took over an hour to get there but it was pretty easy to find. The guys there are very nice.

After much debate and testing last night, I decided to go for the 130" after all. I'm thinking I can always mask down to a smaller size if I need to.


Thanks imprez25. Do you mean the back or the top of the soffit? For the back, we ended up using wood instead of drywall. It would have been hard to get a blade in there to finish it.

The top is actually open. I don't know if doing this will change things acoustically, but it sure will help if I need to run any wires down the road.

Yep, well that's the plan anyway. We need some kind of an extension for the caulk gun which the painters didn't have so the caulking will have to wait. There are also a few spots where the drywall doesn't quite meet the board. I'm guessing we just need to slip a knife in there and fill the gaps.

Thanks guys.

Yep, their screens come out of China and definitely seem to be the least expensive around. I talked to the owner a bit today and they are really trying to grow their business.

I wasn't even considering a 2.35:1 setup until I found their site, everything else is just sooo expensive.

I won't install the screen until next week so I really can't comment on the quality.

Talked it over with the wife and we are keeping the crown molding/trim like it is. I think this makes the room look a little taller.

The painters can't come out for the second coat until Wednesday which means the carpet must be rescheduled to around two weeks from now. You may notice some roller strokes in one of the last pictures. I'm really hoping these will cover with a second coat. Are there techniques to getting rid of this when using darker paint? Does the color/quality even matter or is it more about what type of roller is used?

Tom

The riser lights were mounted today. What color to spray paint them... Hmmm, Black?

Thanks bpape. Haha.. yeah seriously.



heya Nargesem... /wave


The sconces and a few of the eyeball lights were mounted today.







Here are some pictures of the rest of the basement if anyone is interested. We are adding a bar and kids area. I imagine the latter will eventually turn into a nice sitting area w/pool table if I have any say in things (which is usually not the case).

This side is looking more finished every day. You might notice an egress on the back wall. We couldn't manage a walk out with the space we have, so did this instead. It certainly gives some peace of mind in the event of a fire.

As for the rest, the cabinets are up and I think we are receiving the countertop tomorrow. We still need to hang the pendant lights over the bar and put the fridge and dishwasher in. You can also see the flooring is down on the bar side. It's the cheaper Pergo stuff but actually turned out pretty nice. I kind of hate the alien invader looking light my wife chose for the ceiling. I half expected it to drop off the ceiling and suck my face.

Carpet for this area and the theater come next Wednesday!

Glad to hear you guys like the color, particularly in the rest of the basement. It turned out a little brighter than we imagined and we were stupid for not buying a small amount and painting it on the wall. I keep telling my wife not to worry and it will look great once the room is decorated.

The sconces are from a designer called Murray Feiss and the model is "fusion one". I don't know if I'm allowed to link products, but search google and you will find lots of sites that carry it. I think they were $86 each.

About the screen size, I was torn at first as well. Originally I was going with a 106" 16:9 that was around 52" tall. I really didn't consider a 2.35:1 size because the screens are so expensive. After finding one for around $350, I realized that I can still have a 49" height with a 125" width (viewable) and get a great cinemascope image. I figure this is still more than good enough for gaming and the occasional 16:9 romantic comedy. Of course I will have to zoom the image between ARs.

Thanks Ryan. Yes they are maple. We were leary about bying them sight unseen over the Internet and couldn't believe how well made they are. My father-in-law even commented while hanging them and he is very particular about things.

About your 2.40:1, thats the one AR I really need to learn more about.

I read this in wikipedia:

2.35:1 - 35 mm anamorphic prior to 1970, used by CinemaScope ("'Scope") and early Panavision. The anamorphic standard has subtly changed so that modern anamorphic productions are actually 2.39,[1] but often referred to as 2.35 anyway, due to old convention. (Note that anamorphic refers to the compression of the image on film to maximize an area slightly taller than standard 4-perf academy aperture, but presents the widest of aspect ratios.)

2.39:1 - 35 mm anamorphic from 1970 onwards. Sometimes rounded up to 2.40:1[1] Often commercially branded as Panavision format or 'Scope.

The screen I bought is labeled as a 2.35:1 and it's dimensions are 125" Viewable Size, 115" (Width) x 49" (Height). I'm pretty sure most of the movies I've tested (measured) zoom to these dimensions. How does 2.40 work out?

-Tom

We've made some progress over the last few days. The eyeball lights have power and are looking pretty cool. Unfortunately they also have a distinct buzz when dimmed. Everything I have read suggests that the filaments are causing the buzz because they get power something like 120 times a second. Apparently cheaper filaments can sometimes do this. Tomorrow I'll talk to the electrician to get his thoughts, but at this point they get hot as hell and have no reason to be 50 watts in the first place. I plan to buy heavy duty 20 watt MR16 bulbs to see if they help. Worst case I figure 20 watts will be closer to the brightness I am looking for even if they are full on. The buzzing is almost completely gone when at 100%.



Here are the three lights for the screen wall. I don't think I'll hang the screen until carpet is in. No need in taking any chances.
Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the Insteon switches. Right now there are two switches installed. One is for the screen wall and the second controls all of the other eyeball lights.



I put in the HDMI panel and hung the projector a few minutes ago. I don't know... I kind of like the white color. People who buy the Sanyo Z2000 complain that its ugly and white. I guess they're dumbfounded that a projector which will undoubtedly end up in many home theaters isn't black (when most have dark ceilings).



Here's the side view. I'll tell you what, this universal mount really impressed me. It came with just about every screw and washer you would need for every projector configuration. It's low profile and very well constructed.



I also pulled my wires through. I bought a low voltage cover but it didn't fit the old work plate. Oh well, there were too many wires there anyway. This is all temporary since I will be putting in one of these Distribution wall plates as soon as I can get one.

Carpet is still scheduled for Wednesday! Once this is done I can mount the screen and put together the audio pier that holds the equipment. I'm still waiting for the custom eD speakers. They're currently listed as "awaiting paint" on the Elemental Design site.

-Tom

Let me check with my wife and I'll let you know. I remember looking at the site but I can't remember the name.

More pictures...



The bar area is coming together too. Can't wait to put some color around.



And where people will go for intermission...



Here's a picture of the cabinets and countertop.

Here ya go yaj123:

The cabinets are from here - http://www.woodlist.com/

Our sales guy was Stacy. He's great.

Stacy M. Aliapoulios
Woodlist, Inc.
277 Linden Street #204
Wellesley, MA 02482
sa@woodlist.com
Tel: 781 489 3466
Fax: 781 283 5707
www.woodlist.com


Thanks Chris!, it's gonna be off the charts sexy with those custom eD speakers in there. I don't think I've had feelings like these since Christmas morning as a child...lol!

When my wife finally came around on finishing the basement and the rates were low, we ended up paying something like $200 more a month to do it all. This media room is turning out to be more than I imagined.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help and ideas!

Oh yeah, carpet went in a few hours ago and it looks great. The riser won't be done for a few days though. I'll put a picture up later tonight.

Tom

The carpet guys came yesterday. They were awesome. I told one of them that it's easy to see how it takes a lot of practice to do carpet and seams well. He agreed and said he's been laying carpet since he was 12 years old! Unfortunately they didn't have time to do the riser (and it wasn't on their worksheet anyway) so he is coming back some time in the next few days to finish it for us.



Here's the audio pier from Target holding some of my equipment. It will have to do until we can afford some cabinets in here.



The projector is all hooked up! Does anyone have a short power cord??



I also built the screen last night. My wife was too tired and bailed on me around 10pm *shakes fist!* It was very tough to build with one person because of the way you have to stretch the material across the frame. The guy at HTDepot told me to affix the top, bottom and one side first and then work my way over to the other side. This was different than the directions described and definitely helped. I didn't get it hung on the wall, but I was able to project some things onto it.



Here are a few things that have me concerned:

First, I totally forgot about the height of the black bars when I zoom to fill the screen for 2.35:1. I knew they would be absorbed by the surrounding black wall, but I didn't count on their height above the top of the screen. This is important because I only have a certain amount height on the wall to work with. Basically, from the floor to the top of the soffit is 85 inches. My speakers are 26 inches tall, so the top of the stage/enclosure can't be much less than 27. 85-27 = 58 inches of screen wall. Subtract out the 54" for the full height of the screen w/borders and that only leaves 4 inches of wall for the black bars. So what does this mean? Well, unless I mount the screen as low as possible, some of the bar light shines onto the face of the top soffit. I'll have to do more testing tonight.

Another issue with the screen is that there are a few lines on the fabric that are noticeable when watching scenes with solid colors in those areas. At this point I doubt they are problems with the screen itself and may come off with a little soap and water. I'll have to see tonight.

I'm also wondering about the quality of the picture on this screen. I am so used to looking at the image projected on a painted wall that I expect it to look a certain way. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's almost as if the texture of the screen is noticeable during the movie. When I say texture, I'm not talking about anything you can feel, like little bumps or something. I'm referring to something down to a very small level--how screens are made I suppose. I'm a little nervous about this being a lower quality screen, and without any point of reference, I don't really know how much better the image could look. I think at this point it's too soon to worry considering no calibration has been done.

I'll post some pictures of the image after I mount it tonight.

-Tom

yeah Tom, I totally agree. The problem is that they need to find a way to make them relatively affordable. I guess its the low demand and I'm sure the optics to a degree, but I just can't see paying thousands of dollars for one.

Tom