Welcome to DamnSam77's CEDAR PEAKS Cinema Construction (Denver, Colorado)

First of all, I want to thank everyone in the AVS construction community who have helped me in the past few months and offered their input and shared their expertise which really helped point me in the right direction. I have started with knowing virtually nothing about home theater construction when I first started thinking about doing this project. So I honestly cannot thank all of you enough for inspiring me to start my own HT construction.

This project officially started in June 2008 and main construction was finished 60 days later (Framing/Wiring/Electrical/Insulation/Drywall). My goal is to finish the entire project no later than November 13th (this year), which is the time when my parents and my brother's family will come to visit us in Colorado. I had framed the basement, ran AV wiring through smurf/resigard conduit and attached insulation with the help of my wife, brother-in-law, and a couple of friends over the past 2 months. Due to the time crunch, we opted to hire a drywall crew to hang drywall, tape and mud at a very low cost which saved us a lot of time and extra work and cost very little. We also hired a master electrician to do the electrical based on the plan I provided him with. We had already paid for a structural engineer and a general contractor prior to construction to perform a structure post move which allowed us to open up the basement into one big room instead of two divided smaller rooms.

(All Photos Posted on 2nd Post)
(Details on Construction on 3rd Post)
(Details on AV and misc Equipment on 4th Post)
(Contractor/Dealer Info Posted on 5th Post)





What's Left to be do - As of September 15h 2008:

1. Get with Electrician to discuss final trim for lighting and electrical, including the addition of mud-rings needed on all electrical outlets, AV outlets, and sconces affected by the addition of 1 and 2 furring strips for GOM prep.
2. Install and mount projector after testing for possible maximum screen height based on projector location, overall image, and back row location
3. Take HT seats down to basement to test for back row riser depth, width and height in proportion to Screen and Front Row
4. Build back row riser once I know the distance from floor to bottom of screen.
5. Order AT screen fabric from SeymourAV once I know what the final CIH will be.
6. Build Stage and screen wall and frame AT screen
7. Install AV rack and Connect all Speakers, Receiver, and other Components
8. Build frame for L-shaped bar (bar may not be 100% finished by Nov-13th)
9. Contact Lowes to measure the basement for carpeting (takes up to 3 weeks for delivery and installation)
10. Meanwhile while waiting 3 weeks on carpet, Complete the following
11. Treat walls w/ JM814 acoustic treatment (working with Bryan Pape)
12. Mount 1 (side walls) and 2 (front wall) furring strips to prep for GOM
13. Cover all wall surfaces front wall with GOM fabric to conceal treatment
14. Frame and Install doors and baseboard trim
15. Install crown molding to conceal rope lights around ceiling soffits (will do this very last and may not get to it by Nov 13th)
16. Schedule for carpet installation around the first of November.
17. Install all remaining AV and non-AV equipment (from speakers, receiver, remote, to fridge and popcorn machine)
18. Press Play and Enjoy! (well kind of...)

I will really need a LOT of help and input when I start working on the following items (especially items 3, 4, and 6):

1. Building the Riser (Dimensions 11 H x 144 W x 60 D)
2. Building the Stage (Dimensions 12 H x 170 W x 48 D)
3. Building False Wall and the DIY AT Screen
4. Treating the walls w/JM814 and attaching GOM fabric over 1 and 2 furring strips.
5. Concealing/Blocking all 3 windows (not permanently)
6. Framing and building the L-shaped bar

Photo Journal from May 30th 2008 until Project Completion on May 1st 2009:

Drywall/Lumber Arrives on May 30th 2008:




Basement Prior to Framing & Post Shift:






Framing:

My buddies helped me kickstart the construction in the first couple of days of framing, which set me on the right track to finish the rest of the framing


Notice original structure post removed and replaced by new post (5 ft to the right)














Construction Gangsta!




Electrical & AV Wiring:










Insulation





Drywall:

Jose's Drywall Crew (VERY affordable and worth every penny!)



Looking at Front Main Wall (where false screen wall/stage will go)






Looking at Back Wall / Bar area




Right Column


Left Column


Under Screen Wall Soffit


Soffit Near Screen Wall /Stage Area


Door/Entry to area behind screen wall


Mechanical Room



Texture/Paint Ceiling and Soffits (Flat Black over Knockdown texture) :















AV wiring back to AV room under stairs



Entrance/stairs down to basement (Only area with Painted Walls – No Fabric)





Here are all the Construction Progress Photos Since Sept/October 2008


Original Riser Step and Step Lighting Set up + Changes made to step shape and step lighting (Used 2x10's with Joist hangers, secured with nail gun and screws). I call this the The Evolution of the Riser Step ( I started with a very small square step, into a much larger square step, into a nice curved step)


First Pass - Small Square Step (With one Step light and two side riser lights):





Second Pass - BIGGER SQUARE STEP (Now with two step lights instead of one, and one center side riser light instead of two)





Insulation now stuffed inside riser joists, then 2 sheets of 3/4" Plywood installed as surface with Roofing felt in between:







Built an AV/USB box inside the riser (Front left corner of riser surface):





Finished (uncarpeted) AV/USB box):



Bass Shaker Wiring for Riser:



GrafikEye wired outlet for LED rope lighting under Riser's 2" lip:



Final Change to Riser Step (my dad, who is an architect engineer of 35 years, convinced me to and helped me redo the riser step to make it round - creating more access/walk room between right column/wall and riser)



Moving on to Stage Construction (Build stage with 10 foot wide curved step, fill with 1800 pounds of sand and insulation, cover with 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood + 2" lip - also roofing felt sandwiched between two layers of plywood - just like riser):











As recommended by Bryan Pape's room acoustic analysis - I closed the stage's right side open area (framed and drywall-ed to provide better corner bass trap sound treatment)



Added a hidden powered USB compartment under stage's curved step:



Now moving on to 1" Furring, 1" Fabric Mate Track, JM814 Insulation/Sound treatment, and Guilford "GOM" Fabric installation (used 1" FabricMate Track, 1" and 2" ripped lumber, liquid nails, screws, nailgun, Finishing Nailer, Pnuemtic Stapler...etc):

Special Note: I did not know the first thing about using FabricMate track and ripping 1" and 2" studs for furring purposes. I really started with zero knowledge and worked my way through the great AVS forum and builder community to get to the expert level I am at today, so if I can do it, so can any construction newb!!! You just need to think outside the box and try to be be a little more inventive to come up with better ways to work around columns, door frames, furring..etc. Big Big thanks to China Bud, BPape, RMcVeigh and Oman321 for their GREAT FEEDBACK and advice! And especially for my fellow Coloradoan RMcVeigh for letting me borrow some of his tools and always picking up the phone when I called with questions!


Running track around inside/outside corners, columns and soffits

Contrary to many have said before - You Only Need One Piece of track, not two side by side, in almost any corner or column application/orientation or inner/outer corners - Check out the photos to see the proof):

















Track and 1" Furring right of screenwall:



Oh yeah, I had already built the floating Screen Wall prior to carpeting:



Track and Furring between side-by-side door/door frames:



Textured/Painted Stairway meets Fabric at entrance of theater:





This is how I used one vertical piece of track to join the horizontal chair rail track (just drill/cut small side area on vertical track to meet with horizontal track fabric seam)



Close up of column/corner track orientation:





This may look ugly at first, but once you have insulation and fabric, you don't see anything but perfection!!!



Used 1"x 1" Furring around door frames and for baseboard furring (saved me $100's in track costs)




How to achieve a nice streamlined corner square look on columns using Furring, track and insulation:







Notice how nice and treamlined the column corners look (by using 1" corner furring, track, and insulation, I got a nice square column)




LET THE ELECTRICAL OUTLET 1" FURRING BEGIN! (Used 1/2" MDF with Jigsaw for square Furring, also used liquid nails, 2" Electricl Box/Sconce screws..etc - thanks to RMCVEIGH's recommendation)



Also notice the 1" baseboard trim prep furring





Now moving on to installing the GOM Anchorage black Onyx Fabric for chair rail (Floor to 32" chair rail height - Note that the 1" JM814/OC703 insulation/sound treatment has already been done using 3M Adhesive Spray):





No matter how dusty and dirty the GOM fabric got at first, it was as easy to clean as wiping it with a lightly damp cloth (I LOVE GOM FABRIC - SO EASY TO WORK WITH!!! Same with Track)





Next pictures will show the fabric after it was already trimmed at the bottom - you need to trim about 1" from the floor so the fabric doesnt touch the floor, then you will hide all the staples and any imperfections with the baseboard trim moulding.

Also by the time I took the next few pictures, the carpet crew showed up and started installing the carpet pad.























Next, I started cutting small X's through fabric where the wall outlets are, then stapled fabric to the inside using RMcVeigh's awesome Pneumatic stapler:



Now I had to become a little more inventive to think of a way of blocking my side non-egress windows. I did not want to close/board the windows permanently, so I used lighter sheets of 3/8" Plywood with low profile handles and the old fashioned door locks (with the swinging bar thingie)






Notice the First left window is now covered, but can still be easily removed using handles and 4 locks (nothing is blocked permanently)



Also I used a grey 1/2" lightly adhesive foam tape to seal any light coming through from the outside through the window/window plug border - Must have Cave Bat setting for my RS20 projector)





Now I had to disconnect all eleven wall sconces to do the 1" MDF round furring (as recommended by RMcveigh)



Then once all the round cuts where done and duplicated, I cut each furring panel individually - all I needed was a good jigsaw that supports curved/circular motion (cost was $35)



Continuing to upper wall furring and JM814 Sound treatment insulation above chair rail (NOTICE that I ran a 1" x 7/8" ripped studs horizontally across all walls at about a 72" height to support the mounting of heavy signage/posters, this way I never have to guess where the vertical studs are located once fabric is covering all walls.













I also installed a 24" x 20" panel of 7/8" on the wall incase I ever needed to mount a small LCD TV in the bar area)



Furring around GrafikEye and AV Rack wall openning:







Now I had to make a difficult decision, which is to demolish a half wall and eliminate my very lame pseudo box office interior window idea, the reason why is because I was able to score a full size Arcade cabinet for $150 through a friend of mine, he had built it from scratch on his own, and after his divorce, he decided to sell it. And in order to incorporate my Arcade Zone idea, I had to make some room, so I demolished this non-structural interior half wall/window and opened up a nice 7 feet x 5 feet room which I will now use for ther Arcade cabinet, an electronic DART board, and possibly a small side food/concession area).


These are the Before Demolition Pictures:





Destruction in Process (I cannot deny that this was the most fun part of the theater construction):



Now the debris is cleaned up (Notice Carpet gap which I will need to address/fix/patch) Also , my Drywall helper Jose, came out last weekend to smooth out /mud/tape the mess I created (Drywall repair not shown here)





Fabric around GrafikEye & Sconce Opennings (Remember I had to use 2" Special Electrician screws on all electrical outlet boxes, sconces, grafikeye because of the 1" furring and 5/8" drywall)










Now we're getting close to the semi-final product with the GOM Anchorage Red Delicious Fabric Installation on upper walls - Ofcourse like the rest of the lower wall area, I used both staples on furring strips around door frames, wall sconce and GrafikEye furring, and tucked fabric elsewhere inside track seams using a hammer and a nice firm puddy knife.

Now I will quickly roll through the most recent pictures showing the my current progress (This includes Fabric on all walls except Main Wall, Screen Wall, and the newly opened Corner area where the Arcade Cabinet will be placed, I still need to add track, furring and fabric in the next couple of weeks for that area. I also need to clean/dust off ceiling and touch up paint on ceiling, baseboard trim, and door trim and possibly repaint all 4 doors.

So for now, you may still notice/see some dusty/dirty areas in the ceiling, and on black fabric, and other areas in the ceiling and on baseboard and door trim which will need to be painted and touched up. I will do the final touch up once the theater is about 99% Complete.


Ok enough talking, Here we go!!!













As I said, I still need to finish that newly opened corner area:



































AV/USB Box inside Riser (Carpeted)








Bass Shaker Wiring for Front Row (through riser)




12 Seasons of South Park on my Archos Portable Player (What Kept me Sane for the past 9 months of basement construction)



Stage Full Carpeted (Also check out the hidden powered USB compartment underneath the stage curved step - now carpeted)









Riser/Column Area:






More riser pictures (Blue LED rope looselt hanging - not fully secure - Connected to Grafik Eye Zone 4):















Still need to add fabric/track/furring and patch carpet in the Arcade Zone area (Drywall repair is done):





Back to more general photos:












Custom Theater Sign:




Now to building the screen wall, finishing main wall behind screen wall, and finishing Arcade zone corner/area, not to mention connecting and setting up all the AV equipment (Last Updated 03/02/09)

NEW UPDATES (THEATER COMPLETELY FINSIHED On 05/01/09 - Exactly 11 months From start to finish)

WORKSMANSHIP DISCLAIMER:

• The two side columns are now in black/red/black/red. I plan on changing that where the entire column above chair rail is red, and black only below chair rail to match the rest of the walls.
  
• Also I plan on taking the framed screen and one of the GOM fabric panels down to make some adjustments including the addition of two support bars for the screen frame and re-stretching some of the loose screen fabric at the bottom, and then re-stretching some of the FR-71 Black Fabric that's wrapped around the left fabric panels.
  
• I also need to add some artwork and plexiglass on to the Arcade cabinet.
  
• Last, when I regain my energy, I will be building an L-shaped bar that will run underneath the 5 pendant lights by the arcade cabinet.

Ok Enough talking....After 11 Months of Construction from Start (06/01/08) to Finish (05/01/09)...I can finally say the theater construction is 100% complete!


2 Initial teaser shots (front and back) - More Pics below:


Ok here are the remaining pictures of the progress since last March. For some reason I cannot find any of the images taken during the acoustic treatment for the main wall including bass traps. So you may not be able to notice the 2" JM814 insulation and the bass traps because they are covered with broad cloth black fabric and the staples are covered with thin trim moulding strips. However, I followed Bryan Pape's room analysis recommendations and did the 24"x17"x17" bass traps on either corners behind the false screen wall. If I find the pictures taken during the acoustic treatment phase of the main wall I will post them on this page.





Picture of main wall through the open screen wall, as you can see the window is still open




Building removable Window Plug using the thin paticle board which is used to cover the back of cabinet. I also used the 3M adhesive spray to attach the insulation to it, then wrapped it with the same broad cloth fabric and stapled the back side facing outside.












NOW TO THE SCREEN FRAMING STAGE.
I framed a 2.37:1 screen using a 96" roll of acoustic transparent fabric similarly sold by SeymourAV and SMX. I used a 15 degree tilted cut and framed the screen at 132"x 55.6". I used 4x1 Poplar wood which is more like 3.5"x.75". I cut the corners and framed them the same way you build picture frames and cut door trim. Just simple 45 degree cuts in corners. Then I covered the 4 frame pieces with black velvet and then attached them using heavy duty L-shaped brackets. The screen is currently mounted onto the top 2x4 of the screenwall using 4 heavy duty swinging picture hooks, allowing me to swing the screen upwards if I ever need to get behind the screen wall. That being said, I think I rushed with building the screen, and there are a few minor issues that I plan to go back and address. One of them is regarding center support. I chose not to include 2 studs to support the screen, and I think this is why the screen's height is off by a little less than 1/4" in the center. The other thing I noticed after I built and install the GOM Fabric panels around the screen is that the screen fabric may need to be stretch out a bit and there are some wrinkles around the bottom. So bottom line I will probably need to take the screen down and make some adjustment to the screen's frame, fabric, and possible adjust one of the 4 GOM fabric panells. But the problems are so minor at this point, that I may never get to revisit the screen issues anytime in the near future. Its one of those imperfections that no one else other than you will notice.

What you see below is the complete frame prior to the screen fabric installation.









The only other "in-between" pictures that I did not take were the pictures showing the Fabric Frame builds for the screenwall. I failed to take any pictures because I was in a rush to get the screenwall finished before my uncle flew in to visit us. So I quickly build the frames out of 1x1 rips and wrapped them with GOM FR-71 black fabric and they turned out pretty good. I may need to go back and restretch the black fabric on a couple of the 4 panels, but it looks pretty darn good already as of now. I built two tall side panels to go on the right and left sides of the screen, and I also built two smaller frames for the bottom of the 11 foot wide screen.

BASS SHAKERS:
Last, I just want to share with you how I installed bass shakers under each of the 8 Coaster Showtime Seats. I used 3/4" OSB boards and cut it to size (I think 15" x 30") and I mounted the OSB board underneath each chair and put in 4 screws in each corner of the board into the chair's wood frame at the bottom. Then I installed the bass shakers onto the board using 4 small screws for each shaker. Let me tell you, I don't want to even know how a movie or a game would feel without those suckers underneath each chair. The bass shakers are truly the main attraction in my theater. Anyhow, what you are seeing in the pictures below, is the chair flipped over.









OK now that all the March through May progress photos are out of the way...

PLEASE ENJOY THE FINAL PHOTOS OF THE CEDAR PEAKS CINEMA! (Project duration 6/1/08 - 05/01/09)





























































That's All Folks!

If you are interested in seeing all 430 pictures of the constructions, start to finish, you can click on the link below to go to my Photobucket album

http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/e...008/?start=all

Room construction, electrical, lighting, wiring & general:

Room Dimensions (see sketch in 1st post for more details):

- Full Basement square footage = 672 sq ft
- Full Basement Length in feet = 38 feet
- Full Basement Width in feet = 18 feet
- Dedicated Home Theater Length = 264 inches (After framing/drywall)
- Dedicated Home Theater Width = 171 inches (After framing/drywall)
- Ceiling Height = 8 ft at it’s highest and 7 ft at its lowest in soffit-ed areas around the perimeter of the basement and in center of the room due to HVAC runs.


AV Wiring:
- All AV and Misc low-voltage wiring was done through ¾” smurf and 1.5” resigard flex tubing with strings and cat-6 cabling running with all AV conduits.
- Wired for 7.2 surround sound w/up to two subwoofers in front and back)
- Wired for a multi-media port in riser which will include almost every AV connection you can think off (HDMI, Component, Headphones, USB, RCA composite, VGA w/ audio…etc). The multi-connection port will be housed within riser underneath a latched-cover (similar to what you see in conference rooms)
- Also pre-ran HDMI for a future small LCD in the adjacent bar area.
- Also pre-ran USB in ceiling for future StarPanel

Electrical Wiring:
- I paid for a master electrician to wire my basement and add a 100amp subpanel, he was by far the cheapest, and ended up being probably the best master electrician I could have worked with.
- There are multiple standard 20amp dual outlets throughout the room
- Also some special outlets connected to GrafikEye for future use of rope lighting, star panel, motorized curtain or masking, back-lit movie marquee posters…etc.

Lighting:
- The Theater/Bar areas will be well-lit, all line voltage lighting, however it will be 100% controlled via a 6-Zone GrafikEye 3106 unit, combined with a one-zone switch by main entrance for the bar/lobby area.
- 11 sconces throughout basement (6 in main theater area, and 5 in bar area)
- 11 x recessed 4” cans throughout ceiling
- 3 x recessed eyeball 4” cans above stage/screen wall area
- 3 x mini-spot back accent lights to point upwards to speakers stage behind screen wall.
- Blue Rope lights around two soffit-ed ceiling areas, and one rope light behind screen wall (will work on adding some crown molding at the very last).
- Riser lighting: I may add some kind of a step light or rope lighting for riser.


Walls & Ceilings:
- Back/Entrance part of basement will serve as a bar/lobby/concession area, which is small area adjacent and open to the main 22ftx14ft theater room.
- Pre-Construction: Concrete Walls and Floor and floor joist ceiling (16” OC)
- Used 2x4 studs throughout all walls (16”OC) over existing blanketed R-11 insulation
- Used R-19 Insulation between ceiling joists and inside soffits. And used R-13 insulation on newly framed interior stud walls.
- Used single layer of 5/8” sheetrock to drywall walls and ceiling (Due to room construction and proximity of stairs to walls, I was advised by many includingTed White w/ SoundProofing company against investing in green glue, RSIC clips, and Double Drywall, which would have done very little sound proofing the room in the way it was constructed (Luckily, it’s just my wife and I in a two-story house, so not being able to soundproof the ceiling was not a deal breaker to me)
- Bullnose was used throughout the walls and soffits to round edges and corners
- All walls are floating (code in Denver for concrete basements)
- Maximum Ceiling Height is 8 ft, however there are some major HVAC runs through the center of the theater area forcing me to soffit in center of room at 7 ft height (see pictures)
- Ceiling was originally painted flat black without any texture, and with the ceiling being low at 7 feet and 8 feet, it was very easy to spot the imperfections in the drywall and paint patterns. So in order to hide ceiling imperfections, I decided to have ceiling and all soffits textured over existing black paint with knockdown technique, and had it repainted again in flat black

Windows:
- Two standard 48x48 framed windows on left wall, one 60x48 window on main front wall.
- I plan on somehow concealing all windows with some kind of semi-permanent but removable square framed panels to be inserted tightly within window framing (using 2”x4” frame with a rigid insulation or drywall top panel covered in fabric). I am not sure how and if I can do it, because I will need to treat all walls and lay fabric, and I was hoping to make the Window treatment appear seamless where you cannot spot the windows, so I am looking for suggestions.

Doors :
- All doors are on right side wall - no doors have yet been installed.
One 36x80 door in back of room to conceal laundry area
- One 36x80 door on right wall to conceal mechanical and HVAC area
- One 24x80 door to access AV area underneath stairs
- One 24x80 door to access an unfinished 8x 4 area where you can also access area behind AT screen wall.
- Existing 30x80 door to basement.

- I am not sure how I would treat the doors or if I should treat them as the walls with JM814 and GOM fabric. I have seen it done, so I am open to suggestions.

Equipment List:

• Projector & Lens:
JVC RS45 projector (2D/3D) w/ Panamorph corrected UH380 lens for CIH set up.

• DIY AT Screen:
AT screen purchased from Interior Mall website similar to the same fabric used by SeymourAV and SMX. Width will more than likely fall between a minimum of 10 ft and a maximum of 12 feet at with an approximate CIH of 50-60 inches. (more than likely I will end up with a 10’-11’ wide 2.37 screen)

• AV Receiver:
Denon 3808CI - (130 watts/channel, 7.1, DolbyTrueHD, DTS-MA, HDMI 1.3)

• Klipsch Surround Sound Speakers (7.1) + Bass Shakers :
1. Two Front Floor Standing Speakers (RF-83) – Behind AT screen wall
2. Center Channel Speaker (RC-64) - Behind AT screen wall
3. Two Surround-A Speakers (RS-62) - Inside columns at 52” height
4. Two Surround-B Speakers (CDT-5800) - in ceiling above and slighly behind back row
5. Subwoofer (RT-12D) – Placed more than likely behind screen in a corner or by center channel
6. Aura Pro Bass 50 watts 4 ohm Shakers for all 8 Seats - powered by /behringer stereo amp at 200 watts per channel at 4ohms

• Playback Devices:
1. Blu-ray through Oppo BDP93 or PS3
2. HD Gaming through XBOX360 and PS3
3. DirecTV HD-DVR
4. HTPC (2.5 Dual core, 4GB RAM, 1TB disk, BD-ROM, ATI Radeon 512MB w/ full HDMI 1080P video and 7.1 audio )

• Misc AV & Lighting Devices:
1. Monster Power Center HTS 3600 MKII
2. Harmony 1000 Remote
3. Grafik Eye GRX-3106-T (black)

• Seating:
- Black Coaster Showtime Home Theater Seats (www.hometheatersupplies.net)
- 4 in front row wide w/ center love seat configuration, 4 in back row on riser at full 134” width



• Color Scheme, Wall Treatment, Wall Fabric, Paint, Carpet, Signage, Theme:
- Working with Bryan Pape to properly treat my walls with 1” and 2” JM814 2’x4’ panels.
- Plan to use black GOM for lower 32” Chair Rail level (Anchorage-Onyx) and Red GOM for upper 52” area (Anchorage-RedDelicious)
- I will use FR701 black on main front wall and screen wall.
- Carpet will be a red color (medium-dark red) from Lowes.
- Ceiling and all soffits with knockdown texture have been painted flat black using Behr Disney Mouse Ears.
- We are going for a classic Coca Cola Black/Red theme (Black Seats, Red carpet, Black/Red walls, and black ceiling/soffits).
- There will be plenty of classic Coca-Cola signage along with movie posters and general theater signage.


Other equipment (non-AV)

1. Maxi-Matic EPM-400 8oz Popcorn Maker (black)
2. Plan on building an L-shaped bar soon
3. AV Rack (standard 1U/2U 30-space rack I bough on CraigsList)

If you live in the Denver Metro area, I highly recommend calling these general contractors as they have done an excellent job and their labor costs were the absolute lowest I could find throughout the Denver area. Please let them know that Sam sent you.


-Structural Engineer:
Drew Schneider w/ Inspectrum (303.697.0990). Drew is a structural engineer who did the structure post shift design that will allow me to shift the structure post about 5 feet to the right without affecting stability of the house. The design was submitted to the city building inspection and the work was approved upon final inspection..

-General Contractor (Structural work + General Construction/Remodel):
Matt Hill w/ Capstone Vintage Construction (303-901-1667). Matt is a jack-of-all-trade kind of guy, so he will do pretty much anything construction or remodel related. And he performed the structure post shift based on Drew’s design above.

-General Contractor (Drywall/Paint + General Construction/Remodel):
Jose (720.261.8905) He had a crew come out to hang drywall, tape, mud, bullnose (round edges) throughout, and textured ceiling for less than $20 per sheet. He can also do all sorts of residential and commercial construction or remodel work (basement/kitchen/bath, patio/paint…etc)

-Master Electrician:
Derek Miller w/ Omni Electric at 303.359.8107. Derek ended up being the cheapest and by far the tidiest when it came to wiring my entire basement. His true final estimate was by far the lowest by almost half of what the other 10 electricians had quoted me.

-Acoustic Room Analysis:
The one and only, AVS' own Bryan Pape. I would publish his number but I don't want to do that without his permission, but you can easily find him on AVS, just do a search on Bryan Pape or BPape and send him a PM. He did my theater's basic room analysis for around $250 or $300 I think and it was well worth it, you can also do thr advance analysis which covers more than just sound treatment and will go into details on what size screen, where to place projector, theater seating...etc.

-JM814 Insulation 1" and 2" equivelant of OC703 (Sound Treatment):
Southwestern Insulation at 4444 Forest Street Denver, CO. 80216 [Tel: 303-371-2000]

-Guilford of Main GOM Fabric and FabricMate Track:
Either BPape or ChinaBud can help you with ordering fabric or 1" fabric track. Both are on AVS and you can search for their name and PM them to get pricing.

-AT Screen Fabric (Acoustic Transparent Screen Fabric for False Screenwall setup):
Here is the website for Interior Mall who sells all kinds of fabric by the yard. This is the same 1.16 gain AT fabric being sold by other screen makers. http://www.interiormall.com/cat/nsam...=113044&t=2182 (No one can beat their per yard price)

-Speaker Dealer:
Huy Yuan at Ultimate Electronics (Thornton I-25 & 88th). Huy hooked me up with a WHOPPING 30% off my entire purchase which included all of my Klipsch Reference Speakers in addition to giving me 18 Months No Interest No Payment financing.

-Projector Dealer:
Michael Adams at Integrity Home Theater. He was able to match AVS' price on the JVC RS20 (price include tax) and he personally delivered it to the house without charging for shipping/delivery. He is the only JVC Authorized Direct Dealer and Custom Installer. Here is his info: 429 COYOTE WILLOW DRIVE COLORADO SPRINGS , CO 80921 [719.484.0044 /719.321.4559]

-Theater Seating:
Dave Hills w/ www.HomeTheaterSupplies.net (1.800.506.8347). I had shopped around and called several home theater furniture stores and websites. No one was able to touch the deal that Dave gave me on the 7 x Coaster Showtime seats. I ended up paying about $300 per seat (shipping included).

-Custom Retro L-shaped Bar:
This one my best purchase and investment so far and has become the center piece of my theater room. The bar was custom-built offsite in WV using specific measurements through the amazing Bars & Booths company (1-800-507-7632). An L-shaped bar like mine is based on their budget "wall-bar" design with some minor additions and improvements, but expect to pay upwards of $5000 to have a maginificent retro looking L-shaped bar such as this one. The more you add to it (internal shelving, cabinetry...etc) the more it will cost you. But if you ask for Barbara Smith, the owner, and tell her Sam from Denver sent you, she will likely to make you a better deal knowing that you came from AVS.

-General Theater Signs:
Joe Davis (The Tie Guy) at 303.460.8989. I met Joe at one of the Taste of Colorado booths where he was selling light metal signs. He is based out of Broomfield, CO and he does not have an actual store but he can be reached via his cell phone. If you need cool signs for any theme you have in mind, definitely give him a call. He had a 100’s of cool metal signs in different sizes for home theater, sports, bars, coke, beer, cars, liqueur brands, and a lot more

-Custom Theater Signs (see custom sign in first post):
JB & Nolene w/ Kiwi Signs (970)618.7163. Based out of Glenwood Springs, CO. I also met them at a Taste of Colorado booth and they specialize in making custom signs for any room, purpose, or occasion in 3 different sizes up to 30”x12”. Signs are professionally laminated and placed over a special light 1” thick PVC board. Cost of a 30”x12” sign with customized graphics and theater name was $60. They have 1000’s or designs and they can mix and match objects and color schemes from several different signs into one sign.

-Framed Movie Posters:
Your Local Blockbuster Video stores. You will be surprised what $5-$10 would get you. A 27" x 42" framed movie poster artwork, not your normal paper poster inside a glass frame, this is much much cooler. I have gotten 14 badass movie posters from Blockbuster for an average price of $5 and $10. The posters for new release movies (like Iron Man and Hulk) can be had for $30, but will eventually go on sale for $10 within a few months.

Thanks Oman,

Not really OCD, I just know I put out a ton of information on my first post, so that's why I broke it down ito 5 different sestions.The only thing concerning me at this point, is hanging the GOM fabric and all the wonderful things you gotta do to get there. I will definitely need all the advice I can get when I get to that part, more than likely by early-mid October.

I am leaving quite a few things for last, like the bar construction, buying and installing bass shakers, adding crown molding to soffits to conceal rope light...etc. If I dont get to items by Nov 13th, its not the end of the world for me. I just need to build the stage and riser platform, order carpet, then I can start working on the acoustic treatment, GOM, and screenwall/screen and install doors/trim...etc.

BTW, idea of moving the structure post out of the way was my buddy Russel's idea (the guy using miter saw on the 3rd picture). I originally was thinking of dividing up the rooms and making a very small theater room and a bigger gameroom/bar. His idea to use the entire room as the theater definitely worked well, even though it cost me a pretty penny to get there.

I will start posting my questions on a new post on this thread, so keep an eye out for me

-Sam

Oh no, the pictures are not hosted by AVS, they are on Photobucket, I just inserted the HTML codes to point there.

Oh trust me, I regard Bud's thread as the construction bible! The only difference is he went the Linacoustic way, while I wanna go the JM/OC way. But I have been reading up on his monster thread for months now

I will definitley be posting questions up on this thread over the new few weeks, I really wanna finish up and have the theater ready by mid-November, which is quite a stretch goal, but I figured if I finished the main construction in less than 2 months, I should be able to finish the rest in 2 more months, unless I get burned out or slack off. At this point, the main reason pushing to keep going, is the fact that I have a lot of great new AV gear and HT toys that has been sitting in boxes unopened collecting dust for more than 2 months.


-Sam

haha, story of my life.....this HT construction thing is contagious. I seriously cannot wait to whip out my RS2/HD100 projection, more than likely I will end up with a 10 foor wide 2.37 CIH screen, a far cry from the originally expected 12x5 screen, which is definitely overkill for the room's dimensions and ceiling clearance.

Always good to see more Coloradan's on this forum, especially my thread Ryan (Roaring Fork Cinema - Broomfield) should be dropping in some time and hopefully give me his feedback.

As far as the columns, it was a last minute decision for me to demo the upper/mid parts of the columns to make it more open, I had to spend some time reinforcing the upper and lower parts since they were not fully supported after I cut the two front studs. Part of it was for "decorative" reasons, which many people may like or not like. But the main reason I went with the open columns, is to make a nice open space for my Klipsch surround speakers which are 15" tall and 10" deep. I will have GOM fabric all over the walls, so I will be fabricating some type of rectangular speaker grill using the FR701 black material to hide the speakers and openning.

As far as the drywall crew, the $20 per sheet cost was for the labor only. He ended up using nearly 70 sheets of drywall, but he had already "inserted foot in mouth" and quoted me $1000 on everything (drywall, tape, mud, bullnose). I supplied the drywall, tape, mud, screws, and bullnose. He even ended up texturing my entire ceiling and soffits (about 700 sqfeet) for about $100. Renting the pro texture machine alone from HD costs like $75 per day. So that was a bargain. I am not sure if he will cut the same deal for everyone else, I just happened to build a lot of rapport with the guy, but I think if you told him that I sent you, he will definitely work out the same deal with you. The only problem with him, is that he does not speak a whole lot fo English, luckily my wife speaks spanish fluently, so we avoided some miscommunication issues. You just have to stay on top of him to make sure he is doing EXACTLY what you asked him to do.

Last regarding Blue Stone Interiors, I am pretty much broke and cannot afford to pay anyone else at this point, lol. I am on my own for the rest of the project, with the exception of Bryan Pape, who I will be paying to help with room analysis and such. As far as carpet goes, I have a line of credit with Lowe's and Home Depot, and I will be taking advantage of their $200 installation and 12 months no interest no payment, same goes for doors and trim. More than likely we will end up going with a mix or black/red carpet, possibly red carpet all over, but black on riser and stage? still working out the details.

Haha, I think Jason maybe on to something here, let's all blame that mile high elevation. That's gonna be my new excuse to tell my wife when she complains about my spending

Thanks for your kind words guys, I am MOST certainly planning an HT Meet as early as January, maybe Superbowl party? hmm who knows. I know I cannot plan anything big before then, being the holiday season and all...but I promise to set up something soon.

Haha, Funny thing, I am taking my lunch in my office, and I whipped out a 15" ruler and started measuring for an 11" wide screen on my tack wall, lol...I may be able to pull off an 11" wide screen afterall, lets hope so. It will all depend on the final location of the front and back row, which I should find out very soon.

Yep, the thought of getting the theater finished is always polluting my head during business hours

Question about building the riser/stage:


I have seen some people build their risers and stage using pressure treated green wood, and I have seen others use roofing felt at the bottom, and instead use your regular lumber (2x8, 2x10, 2x12..etc).

I really want to avoid the extra expense of buying greenwood. I have a concrete basement, can I simply go with the the regular non-treated 2x10 lumber, use roofing felt at the bottom, and two layers of 1/2" inch or 1" plywood on top?

Thanks Michael, I think this is probably the way I will go, just traditional pine lumber for both stage and riser.

Very funny about the trash in the windows...lol, I know one day I am gonna have to dispose of all of this construction debris, definitely before the final inspection, as they won't pass it if the egress window is blocked.

Since you brought up the window issue, I am open to suggestions on how to properly block the windows, as I am plannting to cover the entire wall and blocked windows with GOM fabric