The Cinemar Home Theater Construction Thread - Page 7

What if I used 2x2 PT against the floor concrete, then a layer of roofing felt, then 2x4 PT lumber with insulation?

Thanks. Only problem is you end up designing the room forever like me because you always think you can come up with a better looking room. It does help my wife and the builders see the final vision though.

Well got two new sump pumps in. The only thing I'm worried about now is that I have a 15amp breaker for the existing sump. I realize that if the first pump fails, that the second will kick in, but the problem is between the two, they use about 21 amps. So I'm concerned that if the second is running, then the 1st (for some reason or another) decides to work again while the second is running, I'll blow the breaker.

So I think I'll have to have an electrician add a second breaker for the second sump pump.

The Generac Guardian should be getting installed sometime early next month.

Hi Moggie,
I thought of using DriCore initially, but given I'm not putting carpeting right ontop of it I thought it was an expensive overkill.

I could just do 2x2 PT, plywood, 2x4 PT, plywood.

Larry M,

Perhaps I didn't price it around enough, but it's about $2.81 / sq ft at Home Depot.

But then again, I don't know how much it will cost to build it using 2x2 PT plus plywood. I just assumed it would be cheaper.

Larry M,

Sorry - I had a brain fart. I divided by 2 instead of 4. It's actually closer to your estimate.

Hi CanadaPhil,

Thanks for tuning in.

I am planning on going with a 140" 2.35 screen at the moment. I was swayed by visitors to this thread.

My guess, budget willing, is that I will try to do the star ceiling at the time of construction. Being that I have never done one, it's probably going to be better that way in case I run into snags along the way.

Updates on my project:
My sump pump recently failed after working intermittently - seems like they last about 3.5 years. I've got a new primary and backup sump installed both with their own pipe running to the exterior. Just need to extend the run of the backup pump away from the house. I'm going to put the backup sump on its own circuit breaker just in case the first pops for some reason. You can never be too safe.

The plumber also put a silencer check valve on my ejector pump which is right next to the future theater...so now it's nice and quiet.

Also, had a natural gas line routed to the outside where our grill sits. It'll be nice not to have to swap propane tanks.

Met with the HVAC guy to see about zoning the basement and insulated ducts to the theater room. Also met with a Generac installer.

My pocketbook is getting banged around just prepping the basement for the future theater.

After meeting with the construction crew about the theater, they said it wouldn't take much to frame out the whole basement while they are here. So the plot thickens.

Thanks Larry,

Baby steps...but steps nonetheless.

Ok - close to knocking off another item on my pre-construction list. The house generator should be installed early this week. This will not only cover both sump-pumps but also the fridges, critical lighting, office, garage doors, media closet, well, furnace, ejector pump and other mission critical items.

Question on the HVAC for the entire basement for those not entirely bored with this thread due to the slow progress. One HVAC installer recommended a return for every vent... while another didn't think that was necessary and only had one return in a large open entertainment area with 4 heat vents. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Moggie,

Thanks for the info. Looks like the one return will work then.

Joe,

I'm not familiar with the Sound Attenuators. Are thos powered? It seems like a replacement for the dead vent concept?

Generator was installed yesterday. Now I can rest easily knowing the future theater won't flood. Since the theater is the lowest part of the house, it will also be my safe room during a tornado storm. It'll be nice to have the TV on tracking the storm as it heads my way and still have lights on.


I just need to make sure now that I've got the upstairs pre-wired the way I want before getting the additional trunk line for the HVAC installed in the basement. Once that goes in, it's going to limit my access to the above floor for wire runs. You'd think after running over 4 miles of cable for the main floor alone, I'd be pre-wired.

I plan to add an electrical floor box to our Great Room in case we want to add a table lamp or motorized couches. We have an end table where it can remain hidden until we need it.

I shifted some of my efforts to finalizing my entire basement plans and think I've come up with something I like. Now I just need to get back to final plans for the theater and figure out where the walls will land so I can move some plumbing.

I did end up adding a 6' x 6' foyer to the theater room. I'll probably hang some lighted movie posters and maybe a set of small chairs and table in there if there's room. So there will be a door into the theater foyer and then another door into the theater. I'll post the new plans soon.

Joe,
I decided to only go with an 8kw. I've been widdling down my energy usage thanks to our Energy Management software. I saved about $1100 on electric last year and I'm still continuing to use about 8% less this year than the year before that. The year before I was averaging around 25% savings from the prior year. Connecting the TED and doing some rules within our (Cinemar) software, I'm able to see what I'm on pace for each month and how many watts I'm using. Automating lights doesn't hurt as well.

Most of the big usage comes from the Microwave and stove which are not connected through the Generator. My main objective was to cover the sumps, ejector, basic lighting, well, furnace and office. All of which should fall under the usage requirements of this generator. Like you, we get quite a few tornado warnings...so it'll be nice to be able to see in the basement while we're hunkered down if the power goes out.

I'm almost anxious for the first power outage so I can break this bad boy in!

As a side note, I don't even think I've hit 20kw with my massive Christmas display I do every year. I know I come close though.

Thanks Gelfling.

I'll have to run the numbers again. I knew it was pushing it but given the completely dark room I thought I'd be OK with it. Plus given that the room is partially designed around the screen...I'd rather go too big on it. The projector will probably be replaced before the screen (hopefully). If it really bothered me, I could design masking to shrink the screen down.