Spaceman Theater build - Page 4

Recent progress includes installing (11) can lights around the perimeter of the room, relocating (4) hvac supplies to the soffit and running some of the conduit.

I have a few locations where the conduit can only enter the low voltage bracket from the back instead of from the top or bottom. I added some 2x4 blocking behind the box with a 1 1/2" hole


I had hoped to use one of these to secure the conduit to the back of the blocking


Unfortunately, this isn't a common fitting carried by the big box stores and I didn't feel like tracking them down through an electrical supply house, so I came up with the following:

-(1) Carlon 3/4" ENT male adapter (blue fitting) (same fitting used to connect to the top or bottom of the low voltage bracket)
-(1) Lasco 3/4" SCH40 riser extender (white fitting)
-(2) 1" to 3/4" reducing washers
-(1) 3/4" conduit locknut
-2 1/2"x2 1/2"x1/2" plywood spacer with 1 1/2" hole


Attached the 3/4" male adapter to the end of the conduit


Loosely placed one of the reducing washers over the threads of the 3/4" male adapter


Screwed the white riser extender onto the male adapter, sandwiching the washer in between the two fittings


Inserted end of conduit through the back of the 2x4 blocking until the reducing washer was snug with the back of the blocking


The threads on the white riser extender were too far past the face of the 2x4 to get a snug fit, so I had to create a wooden spacer out of 1/2" plywood.


The wooden spacer and a second reducing washer get slipped over the end of the white riser extender


and secured with the 3/4" locknut



Nice and snug


Kudos to my 6 and 10 year olds, who managed to entertain themselves in the conduit/fittings aisle while I figured all of this out.

More progress......

6 boxes set for rope lighting. These will be hidden behind the light tray.




Right wall with 3 can lights and 2 hvac supply registers. Lights are centered between the columns and will wash the wall. HVAC registers are centered over the columns.




Left wall with 3 can lights and 2 hvac supply registers, including some 1 1/2" conduit coming into the back of the equipment closet. One run will go under the riser to a keystone wall plate. The other goes to a keystone wall plate in the back corner of the room. I need to pick up a few more couplers to complete these conduit runs. All of the other conduit goes up into the attic to a custom pull box/chase, where all wire will be bundled and run to the equipment closet through a single (or perhaps double) 2" conduit.






Rear wall with conduit runs to rear surrounds and sub. Also have 2 can lights up in the soffit. I would like to place my HVAC return in the bottom of the soffit between the two lights, but this is where I had planned to mount the projector. Sliding the projector forward and running a pole off the next tier of the ceiling is an option but I think people will be banging their heads as they stand up from the rear seats. This area is sort of a head-scratcher at the moment. I'd like to get the return somewhere in this vicinity so it can help pull hot air away from the projector but I'm having a hard time finding a home for it.




Front wall with conduit to LCRs. Also installed the 3 can lights over the screen. These will get the eyeball trim while the other cans get standard trim.

I'm getting ready to start wiring my recessed lighting. I'll have 3 zones for the following areas:
-2 lights in the rear soffit
-6 cans in the left and right soffits (3 cans/side)
-3 cans over the screen

I was originally going to daisy chain the lights in each zone together, using the push-type connectors that came with the housings. Then I started to wonder if pigtailing would be better (so if something happened with one light, the others would still work). Now I'm wondering if it's really worth the extra time to pigtail since I have so few lights on each zone? I should be able to quickly diagnose a problem if a zone with only two lights goes out. Of course, it might be fairly quick to pigtail a zone with only two lights. Thoughts?

EDIT: Should I take any preventive measures to keep the wire connections from rattling around in the box during heavy bass scenes or is this really not a concern?

I've finished running wire to my lights and am starting runs to the outlets. I have two runs that will ultimately go under my riser, one that will be switched for the step lights and another unswitched run for the riser outlets. I installed 1 1/2" conduit that starts in the attic and elbows through the side wall of the theater into the area that will be under the riser. The plan was to pull the 2 romex wires through this conduit once drywall was up, but I am a little confused as to whether romex can even be run through conduit.

Depending on the source, I've read conflicting reports on whether it is allowed in interior applications. Most say that THHN wire needs to be used within conduit due to heat issues. Can someone who is familiar with the code clarify this for me?

The smurf tube is only for speaker and sub wire. It's not really necessary but for minimal cost, I felt more comfortable using it.

98% of the romex will be outside conduit with the exception of the run to and under the riser, which I was going to run through 1 1/2" Sch40 PVC conduit (not smurf tube). I just wasn't quite sure how to handle the pull into the riser area without conduit. If I was putting up the drywall myself, I would simply cut a small hole in the drywall and pull the wire through as the sheet is placed on the wall. I'm assuming that is how Morph and Big handled all of these wire drops at the Black Cat Theater

But I'm not doing the drywall myself, so I thought conduit would be the simplest way for both me and the drywall guys. Since there won't be a box or LV bracket on the wall for the drywall guys to trim to, I would have to ask them to pull the 4-5' of wire through the drywall as they install it. I thought 1) they wouldn't want to do this, 2) they would forget to do it, 3) they would do it in the wrong spot, hence the 1 1/2" conduit. Is there a better way?

I thought about eliminating the conduit and putting a 1 or 2-gang LV bracket at the location where the romex would come through the drywall. This would give them something to trim to and give me a backless box that would make it fairly easy to fish the wire out of the wall. Would this be better than conduit?

Thanks. The goal is to have something like Jautor's ceiling.

Busted!!

Thought I would check in one more time to see if a Sparky with knowledge of the code can weigh in on whether I can run (2) 12-2 romex cables inside a 1 1/2" Sch40 PVC conduit? I've read that THHN should be used instead of romex, at least for exterior applications but can't find a definitive answer for interior use.

I'm just about done with insulation and will be getting drywall bids next week. I'm in the process of sourcing my acoustic treatments, based on the following plan:
-4" OC703 or equal on the back wall, full height
-1" Linacoustic on side walls, full height for front 25%, ear height for remaining 75%
-2" Linacoustic on front wall (2- 1" layers), full height
-2" OC703 stacked in corners

Before pulling the trigger on the Linacoustic for the front and side walls, I want to make sure that it will perform as well as OC703. I believe Linacoustic is only 1.5pcf, and it seems that most recommendations are to use material that is at least 3pcf. Is that correct?

Will there be a noticeable difference if my front wall has (2) 1" layers of Linacoustic vs. a single 2" layer of OC703? Would 1" OC703 be better on the side walls instead of 1" Linacoustic? The numbers seem very close in BobGolds absorption chart, assuming a double layer of 1" Linacoustic acts the same as a single 2" layer.

The Linacoustic is about half the price of OC703 or other rigid fiberglass panels, so it would be my preferred choice assuming the performance is about the same.

Finally finished with the pink (and yellow) fluffy stuff. Getting drywall estimates today.

Apparently my auto-focus was turned off for these pics. My apologies.

Screen wall


Rear wall


Left wall with openings for equipment (left) and access door (right). Access door will be hidden behind removable panels.


Right wall with entry


Entry to media closet


Ceiling (facing rear wall)




Soffit at screen


Perimeter soffit


I've also starting tracking down my acoustic insulation. After contacting 15 different local suppliers plus numerous internet searches, I came up with the following:

Linacoustic or the equivalent has been all over the map, ranging from $877 on the high end to $146 on the low end.
-Linacoustic (100')-2.19/sf from a local supplier ($877)
-JM Insulshield-Black (100')-1.17/sf from a local supplier
-Linacoustic (25')-.96/sf before shipping from an online supplier
-Linacoustic (50')-.83/sf before shipping from an online supplier
-Linacoustic (100')-.55/sf from a local supplier
-Knauf Sonic XP (100')-.43/sf from a local supplier
-Certainteed CertaPro Acostablanket Black (100')-.43/sf from a local supplier
-Linacoustic (100')-.35/sf from a local supplier ($146....a $731 savings over the high quote).

Quotes for other acoustic material:
1" x 2' x 4' rigid fiberglass panel (unfaced)-$1.29-1.70/sf
2" x 2' x 4' rigid fiberglass panel (unfaced)-$1.70-2.19/sf
2" x 2' x 4' rigid fiberglass panel (faced)-$2.41-3.10/sf
4" x 2' x 4' rigid fiberglass panel (unfaced)-$3.42-4.61/sf

I'll share my drywall quotes as soon as they come in.

I received the first drywall quote yesterday. The scope of work is split between the theater (80%) and an area in our kitchen that had a water leak (20%). It will take approximately 50 sheets for the whole job. The scope includes everything getting tape, mud and texture. The 20% outside the theater also gets painted while I will paint the theater. Quote is $5,500 (comes out to $110/sheet). I've asked him to requote it with no painting and also removing the texture on the theater walls since they will be covered by fabric. I don't expect that to be a major savings, but we'll see. I expected something in the $30-40/sheet range, not $110/sheet, so I don't think this guy will be getting my business.

I had a 2nd guy look at it as well and should have his quote tomorrow. I plan on getting a 3rd quote as well. Had hoped to get drywall done next week, but not for that amount of money. Shouldn't I be able to get 50 sheets (1600sf) up & textured for less than $2000? If the quotes are much higher than that, I might hang everything myself and pay someone to tape, mud & texture.

This morning, I picked up what I thought was a roll of JM Linacoustic RC. It turns out to be JM Duct Liner PM. After reviewing the data sheets for both products, they appear very similar, with both having one side treated with a "durable glass mat facing", while the Linacoustic also has the Permacote acrylic coating over the glass mat facing. Absorption coefficients are very similar, with the biggest difference being at 125hz, where the PM is at .18 the RC is at .08.

Questions:
1. The surface coating on the PM is still black like the Linacoustic so I would still benefit from that. Is there a reason I would want/need the acrylic coating that is on the Linacoustic but not on the PM product?

2. The PM product really stinks, literally. Probably a combo of the binder and formaldehyde. Does the Linacoustic have a strong odor as well? If so, is there a way to air it out before hanging it on the walls (unrolling it in the driveway for an afternoon)?

2nd quote just came in at $2600, which translates to $52/sheet or $1.62/sf. Still seems a bit high. I'm getting a 3rd quote and will make a determination based on where those numbers come in.

Still hoping Duct Liner PM is an acceptable substitution for Linacoustic. Don't feel like fighting the suppliers no return policy on cash purchases. Of course, he was supposed to give me Linacoustic RC, so I guess I would have a valid reason for a return if necessary.

Opted to go with our 3rd drywall estimate ($2100). They start tomorrow and will hang, tape, mud & texture. He thinks it will take 40-45 sheets, which puts him at $46-52/sheet, or $1.45-1.64/sf. Pretty much in line with my 2nd estimate, except the total sheet count is a little less.

I'll be glad to get drywall out of the way. I'm in a holding pattern and have lost about a week getting estimates. Next up...stage and riser construction.

In addition to using 30 lb roofing felt between the 2 layers of stage/riser decking, should I also place a layer under the stage and riser (over the wood subfloor)? I'm assuming if the goal is to reduce wood to wood squeaks, this would be the way to go.

That would probably prevent squeaks, but I don't like the idea of having the riser permanently attached to the subfloor. Maybe I don't need to do anything. I just figured since many folks use the roofing felt between the 2 or 3 layers of riser decking (I always assumed to prevent/reduce squeaks), I could also use it between the stage and subfloor for the same reason. Overkill?

Luckily for me, my garage looks like something straight from a Hoarders episode and my carpet pad is tucked safely in a corner (with 2 years worth of dust).


Thanks, it's coming together. I'm a little nervous about drywall (pics to follow).

Yeah, 30lb. is only $15 a roll. I could probably swing that.

So I'm having a small case of buyer remorse with my drywall guys. For once, I'm not really sweating the cost. Rather, it's my fear that the end product is going to look like crap.

I had 2 workers start at 8:30 today. When they left for lunch, I checked out their progress and was really surprised they weren't further along. They hung the bottom of the 8' soffit and just started the 9' soffit. After leaving for the day at 5pm, this is where we are at.

Facing screen wall


Facing back wall


Facing back wall


I'm not paying by the hour, so I'm not too concerned with the time, just more surprised. I would have expected 2 experienced guys to knock out more than this, even with all of the cutting around can lights, vents and conduit.

What has me worried is some of the workmanship. Almost every joint along the bottom of the soffit occurs between and not on a framing member. The drywall is secured along the edge of the soffit but not across the soffit at the joint. Even after taping, won't these joints eventually crack if they occur between framing members?























The trimming around some of the outlets and can lights looked pretty $hitty as well.












I realize mud, tape and corner bead can hide a lot, but I'm not too impressed with the quality here. Are my concerns justified where the seams aren't nailed/screwed to anything? The wall pieces will help support some of these ceiling joints, but it still bothers me. Is this pretty standard quality or do I need to have a talk with them when they return in the morning?

I'll ask them about the joints. They just don't look right to me, but like you said, maybe this is how they do them all the time.

They are using a combination of nails and screws, but certainly not in a predetermined fashion. It's very random. I've read that the ceiling should be screwed and it's common for walls to get a perimeter of nails and a field of screws. In my case, most of the ceiling is all nails with a few screws here and there. Some sheets are all nails. Most of the vertical soffit sheets are perimeter nails and a field of screws, but that's not always the case. I just get nervous when it looks like something I would do instead of what I pictured a professional would do.