The Cinemar Home Theater Construction Thread - Page 41

Thanks GoCaboNow.

Here's a quick update from yesterday.

I'll post more photos later when time permits.

But I finished assembling the top layer of the stage. I ended up using Green Glue and MDF. I broke out the biscuit joiner for the first time. Pretty cool little gadget.



I spent a couple hours just cleaning up the room and vacuuming.

Now I'm ready to start assembling the front wall on top of the stage.

Here are some more detailed pics of Saturday's work in the theater.

Notched the oak along the wall so it will be easier to put the 3/4" MDF on the lower wall.


Marked the center of the #20 biscuit joints:


Cut biscuit joints:


Dry fitted:


Serving up a dish of green glue. I didn't feel like cleaning out the gun for such a small section:









I used biscuits to join some of the MDF to the OAK.


Cleaned up the theater before starting the next phase.

I guess I don't know how strong it is compared to other "glues". But when I cut through two layers of 3/4" osb with green glue in between that had been sitting for probably a month, the two pieces seemed fused together.

I'm glad you pointed that out though. I'd hate for others to use it inappropriately.

As you mentioned, I'd nailed and screwed the top layer to the bottom.

Anyone see any issues with me using select Pine for building the front corner columns and doors below the screen? It'll be lighter and easier to build than using MDF.

Thanks guys for chiming in.

I think I'm opting for the Select Pine. It looks straight and comes in a variety of widths/lengths which will make it much easier to build the front wall sections. MDF would be a pain to rip to all the sizes I need and then I'd still have to treat all the edges.

Given my application, the front wall is mostly GOM fabric with the Select Pine being the frame around it. I know it's softer, but it won't be touched too much once installed and the speakers are in.

I was considering Aspen, but they just didn't have as many width options as the pine. And with everything being painted black, I don't think it will matter too much in the end.

I made some more progress last night. As I worked on my plans for the front wall, I needed to verify that my chair rail on the front wall landed in the same spot as what was in 3D since a cabinet door was falling just below the chair rail. I noticed it was about a 1/2" off. Which lead me to breaking out a laser level to see why.

Turns out there is a little pitch to the room. I opted to adjust a couple of the columns down in the back of the room to compensate. Because the chair rail runs in between two pieces of moulding and I have it centered within that space I didn't want to take the chance of it being noticed. I'm also putting the lower MDF wall at the exact height of the top of the chair rail. It's challenging to get tight moulding joints let alone without having to cheat things at an angle.

Once I had the laser level set I just decided to start putting up the lower wall MDF since I had the pieces already ripped.

I'll be building fabric panels for the upper portion of the wall. I'm still debating if I should just install the crown moulding first and then fit the fabric panels below or install the fabric panels and then the crown moulding directly on top of the fabric panels. Installing the crown first would give me an option to replace the fabric in the event it were damaged. Installing on top of the fabric panel requires less work and accuracy when building the panels and I don't have to worry about a clean finished edge where the crown meets the fabric panel. Any thoughts / ideas?

This should work. Everything is coming 3/4" off the wall and the material will push it out a bit as well. So maybe if I put a slight bevel on the fabric frame, it will compensate for the depth of the fabric on both sides.

I'm dealing with the same issue at the chair rail. I originally was planning on doing something similar with the chair rail, but I can't do it with both the crown and the chair rail with out me pinning the fabric frame in there. Perhaps the crown will hold the fabric frame in and it can just rest on the chair rail assuming I make a nice tight fit.

It's been discussed briefly but I still need to research the best method. My goal is to make the oak black though in the end like the renders. I thought it would have been neat to have it stained with a dark red, but I don't think it will look right with the black cabinets on the dark red oak stage.

Wow. Thanks aaustin. I appreciate the kind words.

I made a nice dent in the theater yesterday.

I finished leveling and mounting all the in-room columns and installing some more of the lower 3rd MDF on the wall. I also ended up putting another gang box in the front column where I put in a cat5 cable. That will allow IR control of any LED step lighting.

I also discovered that I should be able to use my 16 ga finish nailer to secure the backside of the bull nosing (along with glue). I know Moggie screwed his down, but the finish nailer will take all the guess work out of it and shoot it in at the perfect angle each time.

RedTopDown,

I don't think there's much surface area on the crown to move the spacer board too far up...maybe a 1/4" or so. But I think I just need a little bit of a lip. I'll play with the idea as it gets closer to that time. I'm still trying to see if there are any other options too.

So I'm still trying to nail down the front and make sure I can get the subs in/out.

I'm leaning towards removing the chair rail from the front in order to make the cabinet door 3" bigger to about a 2'3" tall opening. That should get me a 2' sub in the door.

Otherwise it'll be too hard to maneuver a 130 lb 2' sub in and out.

Here are some original vs new concept renders. I think I'm liking the cleaner look anyways.

Original with Chair Rail on Front Columns


New Concept without Chair Rail and Larger Cabinet Door



Original with Chair Rail on Front Columns


New Concept without Chair Rail and Larger Cabinet Door