Spaceman Theater build - Page 5

Thanks. I'm really happy to be at the drywall stage. It's starting to feel like a real room again.

I did point out a few of the joints to the drywall guy this morning. I showed him the one joint that was actually fastened to a stud and expressed my concern over the other ones cracking over time. To me, it seemed like a pretty easy fix just to cut out the unsupported section back to the nearest stud and fill in with a larger piece, but he's opted to to add a stud or support piece at the joint, since the soffit is still accessible from the front. Doesn't really matter to me, as long as it's sturdy. As long as I keep providing the cold beverages, all should be good.

They brought their own. I can't understand the lyrics, but I like the music.

Si, Senor!

Drywall: Day 2 consisted of hanging the vertical face of the lower soffit and both equipment & media closets. I think they spent most of the morning fixing the joints that didn't fall on studs. Not a picture-worthy day.

Today (Day 3) included a 3rd worker and they managed to hang the remaining sheets in the theater, the damaged areas in the adjacent game room, as well as the area in the kitchen that had water damage. Corner bead, taping & mudding appear to be on the menu for tomorrow.

Some updates:
Me and the crew at our morning kick-off meeting. "I know it's Easter boys, but we have a theater to finish".

(They actually requested to work all weekend. I'm not that bad.)

Old entry patched up


New entry and media closet


Media Closet


Entry


From entry across screen wall towards equipment closet


Left wall with equipment closet (no staggered seams)


Left & Back walls


Back wall


Right wall


Screen wall


And for tomorrow, 10 boxes of joint cement......




& 5 bags of joint compound


For those keeping score at home:
Day 1: 2 laborers @ 7.25 hours ea.= 14.5 man hours
-hung 85% of ceiling/soffits

Day 2: 2 laborers @ 5.75 hours ea.= 11.5 man hours
-hung remaining 15% of soffit and 2 closets
-repaired unsupported joints from day 1

Day 3: 3 laborers @ 6 hours ea.= 18 man hours
-hung walls of theater, repair area outside of theater and damaged area in kitchen
-sanded exposed edges in theater and hung a few sections of corner bead

Subtotal: 44 man hours to hang 1600 sf+/- and be ready for corner bead, tape & mud.

They are mudding right now, and I think smoke is coming off the walls it's going on so fast. After watching them for 3 days, I only question whether I should have taken a shot at hanging everything myself and hiring them to do the corner bead, taping, mudding & sanding. It's all good, though. In a day or two, it will all be done and I can get back in there and focus on the riser and stage.

If you have the skills and the time, I see no reason to hire someone. I'm lacking in both departments at the moment.

As the drywall guys continue their mudding marathon, I've started researching projectors. I don't think stage & riser construction will take very long and I want to have a pj handy to test different screen sizes before I construct the false wall.

I'd like to know if you guys think I'm on track with my screen size/aspect ratio assumptions, as that will determine which PJs I look at.



My current plan has the front row 9'-6" from the screen. I'm currently leaning towards a 100" 16:9 AT screen, which will put me back 1.14x screen width with a horizontal viewing angle pushing 50 degrees (actually 48). I realize I'm pushing the limits on both of these guidelines, but I'm afraid anything under 100" will seem small for the back row. With a 100" screen, I'll have my center behind the screen with L&R off to the sides. My room will be a tad under 12 1/2' wide after acoustic treatments, so a 100" screen will be slightly less than 70% of room width.



My preference would be to have a poor man's scope setup with a PJ that had lens memory. However, for me to maintain a 100" wide 16:9 image on a 2.35: 1 screen, the screen would need to be just over 130" wide (87% of my room width with a 59 degree viewing angle). While this would put all 3 of my front speakers behind the screen, it's seems a bit extreme given my room size. As a compromise, I could look at scope screens in the 115" wide range, but I don't think I'll be happy with the size of the 16:9 image. I would probably also have to cheat the side speakers behind the screen, narrowing the sound stage.

I'm trying to sort this out now so I can narrow my search of PJs. I currently have all the usual $2.8-3.5k suspects on the list (Panny 7000, JVS-RS45, Sony HW30ES and Epson 6010), but would probably remove the Epson from the list if a scope screen isn't really an option, as it does not have lens memory and I don't want to invest in an anamorphic lens.

Does a 100" 16:9 seem like a good solution for my space or am I missing something that would make a scope format a valid option?

Yeah, I'm not really interested in 3D, so the JVC is still on my list. The Epson is getting favorable reviews from AVS members, but HT Magazine didn't seem to like it as much. Hopefully once I land on a screen format, I can focus on 1 or 2.

Thanks. I may take you up on that if I can tie it into a Costco run.

You're right about the similarities. If my math is correct, you have about a 59 degree viewing angle if you're 10' back from a 136" 2.35. That's where I would be with a 130" 2.35. I just don't think I can pull off a 130" screen in a 149" wide room.

I know you have mentioned in the past that you wouldn't go any bigger. I'm assuming it's the size of the 2:35 image that makes you feel that way, rather than the 108" 16:9 image. Correct?

You have the extra room width working for you. Realistically, I only have about 16" on either side of the 100" screen before the screen starts hitting the corner bass traps. That means if I want to go scope, I probably need to accept something smaller than a 100" 16:9 image. I could probably do a 120" 2.35 screen, which would be right at 80% of room width and would give me a 91" wide 16:9 image.

If I came by, would you have the ability to slide your front row up to 9'-6" and project a 120" 2.35 and the 91" 16:9 equivalent? I've already ripped off your ceiling. I might as well come over and rearrange your furniture.

For comparison to the earlier 100" 16:9 screen wall shot, the one below shows a 120" 2.35. My left and right speakers had to come in about 12" each to avoid being directly behind the screen frame. In this scenario, they would be 8'-6" apart. Based on their locations, would I have a problem using masking for pillar boxes? I know masking is typically acoustically transparent, but I assume it has some type of frame. Seems like I might get some interference there.

I was a little concerned a few days ago with some of the holes left around a few of the electrical boxes. They were fairly large, and most likely would have stuck out past the faceplate. Well, they have all been filled in, some a little too well.






I've asked the drywall guy to make sure these are cleaned up, including mud removed from the screw holes for the face plates. Is this an easy task? Paper clip and Shop-Vac? I'm guessing he will miss one or two holes and I'd like to know the easiest way to clear them out myself.

Earlier this evening, I read a tip about applying a dab of wax from a toilet seal ring to each screw hole before the drywall guys come along. The wax prevents the mud from entering the hole and simply pops out when the mud is chipped away. Apparently the wax also lubricates for easy screw entry.

They finished texturing today. Still a little wet on the corner beading so those areas look rougher than they actually are. Everything is very smooth and I'm happy with the way it came out. The entry door and the opening for the rack are the only areas without corner beads. I'll be trimming those out. The door opening next to the rack area is for occasional access into the equipment closet but it will reside behind removable fabric panels. That opening got wrapped with drywall.

I opted for an orange peel texture for both the walls and ceiling within the theater. The rest of the house has a stomp texture on the ceiling, which I don't really like.






I still plan on cutting lumber in the room for the stage & riser so I think I'll hold off on painting the ceiling until that is all done. I had them texture the walls as well, even though they will be covered with fabric. I'll probably prime them when I prime the ceiling but leave them unpainted.

When I do get around to painting, how dark should the primer be if I'm going with a black or dark brown ceiling?

The final score for drywall installation:
-$2100 to hang, tape, mud, sand & texture 1600sf
-115 man hours over 7 days (2-3 guys per day)
-2 1/2 days to hang
-1 day for tape/corner bead
-2 1/2 days mudding/sanding
-1 day sanding/texture/cleanup

Money & time well spent!!

Thanks Brian. I'm really excited to be able to get back in the room tomorrow morning. I personally haven't done anything in there in a few weeks.

I'm planning a 1 1/2" lip on my riser and stage. I currently don't have a router and was wondering if rounding over the edge is a necessity for the carpet guys. Do they make a trim just for this purpose that is already rounded over or should I just bite the bullet and get myself a router?

I've never used one before, so if a purchase is in my future, could you recommend a budget-friendly model for a beginner (Porter Cable?). Also, I'm assuming I would need to trim the lip before the sheet gets put down since the router won't be able to go all the way to the wall face. Typically, are both the top and bottom edges of the lip rounded over?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I have two lengths of romex coming out of the wall that will run through the riser to the step lights and to the riser outlets. During the course of drywall installation, one got a nick in the jacket.



The damage appears to be limited to the jacket. The insulation on the conductors is fine. Is it acceptable (safe) to just wrap the damaged section of the jacket with electrical tape or do I need to splice the damaged section in an accessible box? Hopefully, tape will be fine since there really isn't a logical spot to put a splice box.