Corkstreet Hill Theater v 2.0 - Page 2

Equipment is on order, so it is time to put HT in high gear...FINALLY!!!
Stage in progress


Working on stage and wondering about stage covering. I plan on building a proscenium once I get the screen and speakers so I can definitely take everything into consideration as far as dimensions and spacing. Do most people just use black carpet, GOM 701, Dazian Celtic or other? Is this election like everything else: a personal preference? I don't plan on Karaoke or anything like that EVER happening on the stage, so what is the downside of not carpeting the floor of the stage and just using Dazian Celtic black for floor since I will be using that for the proscenium and remainder of the screen wall? I just want to avoid matching too many different shades of black.

Finished the stage last night, and still have the question about covering. Since the stage is really only big enough for the proscenium to house the speaker, I am leaning towards just covering it with Dazian Celtic Black unless I hear anything that is a contraindication of doing so.

Christmas definitely came early!
Everything arrived a couple weeks before Christmas, but I have been so busy with work and wrapping up shopping that I haven't had time to post. Not that it matters because the thread is pretty dead, but I will keep posting to chronicle the build.

For the PJ I decided to go with a Sony VPL-HW15. I read several great reviews from HT Mag, projectorreviews.com, and a couple other sites, AND I was able to get Crutchfield to match Sonystyle.com's price. LOVE the Crutchfield service. PJ arrived 2 days after I ordered it and I got free shipping and no taxes. I haven't dialed in the PJ yet, but it sre looks amazing out-of-the-box.

For the screen I went with a Carada Criterion 106". I went with their BW finish since the PJ gave the Sony lower marks for brightness. For the price, the Carada looks amazing. Originally I had planned on going with just a 100" screen, but convinced myself to get a larger screen after reading a few on how ppl would get a bigger screen if given the chance to do something differently next time around. That means the L/R speakers will still be 24" from the front wall but only 14" from the side wall instead of the 18" originally planned.

I have gone several times to a local HT boutique to preview equipment. I really liked the sound of the Paradigm speakers in one of their demo rooms, so I decided to go with the Monitor 9's for L/R, CC290 for center, DSP-3200 SW, and ADP-190's for the surrounds.

So, there was still some discussion about whether or not to do the second layer of drywall and GG. To put the conversation to bed once and for all (and because I was jonesing to try everything out) I setup everything up and made a test run for my wife. I felt as though the loudest movies I would ever watch would be action movies, like the Pacific series. So I popped in one of the Pacific discs, made some minor adjustments and then let 'er rip.

The results were great. Not only was I able to preview everything and make some tweaks (e.g. stage needs to be wider for L/R and to accommodate larger than expected SW, surrounds need to be lowered, etc.), but the aerial bombing runs, machine gun fire and copious artillery explosions sealed the fact with my wife that more isolation was needed.

Discussion over and glad to say second layer of drywall and GG applied. I definitely was NOT looking forward to doing this. Drywall is what burned me out on the last basement build. Big sigh of relief now that it is done. I can already tell a big difference with little or no outside noise discernible from within the HT. All seams are sealed with GG sealer and someone is coming to tape, mud, and sand the ceiling next week. I know I could finish it a bit cheaper, but I want the build to remain fun and drywall finishing is such a buzz killer for me.

Meeting with interior designer for color schemes this week. Will post pics of final selections when we have them finalized.

Ted, I saw that the curing time is around 30 days. I am so pumped to hear (or not hear I guess in this case) the final results. I am so glad I did this, and again I really appreciate all your wonderful advice on my modest build as well as all the other great information you share with the entire forum.

I need some help with the bar opening in the back of my theater room. I wanted an area where the kids could still watch a movie while eating some nachos or other not-so-neat food that I would otherwise forbid from crossing the threshold of the home theater.

However, when I want to watch a movie after the fam has gone to bed, I need a way to close off the bar opening and have as much sound isolation as I can.

My initial thought was to just make double doors that are similar to my walls: 2X6 studs covered on both sides by DD + GG. I would then only need to find a way to seal the perimeter of the double doors to prevent sound from escaping. All the door seals I have seen require attaching a piece to the door and the threshold. I can not do this since the bottom threshold is a granite bar top.

Does anyone know of or implemented any alternative solutions to soundproofing a door frame?

Opening from HT


Opening from game room


Close up

The kids have been home for 4 days now because of the icy weather, so I needed to get away for a while. Last real messy project was finishing the ceiling so I finished taping, mudding and sanding the ceiling today. Will start work on false wall on stage tonight.

Well a lot of progress has been made since we finished the DD and GG a few weeks ago. Ceiling is finished and painted Deep Space which is an awesome color by Behr that is a black mixed with a very deep blue.

Stage wall is complete except for fabric. All fabric from Dazian and Parts-Express is in hand as is the Linacoustic from the local NB Handy.

Carpet was installed this week, so I am ready to start hanging Linacoustic and fabric. Definitely time to get some feedback on any improvements I can make before I commit to installing the fabric.

Still looking for suggestions for gaping hole for bar area in rear of the room.

Shot of screen wall without fabric.


Already watched a couple movies and LOVE the theater. Interestingly enough, the rest of the family is now taking interest as well. Funny how that works out. I am thrilled that they are getting as jazzed as I am though.

Craig,

Thanks. It is interesting that I finished the rest of the "obligatory" rooms first; however, now that the HT has the skeleton of the screen wall, carpet, Linacoustic halfway up the wall, and all the equipment for testing, EVERYONE now migrates to that room in the evening to watch a movie. My 6 year old daughter tells me every night how awesome a job I did (while we are watching her movie of choice of course). And for the most part I take the same stance as you in that I will enjoy the movie regardless of how much noise I make...within reason of course.

Jason, I really do appreciate the feedback. I am constantly looking at yours, Bud's and a couple other threads to keep me on track and doing things right.

Yeah, I am still considering that. The hurdle is this HVAC vent right above the screen. WOW, I can really see the roller lines in that dark paint with the flash on!
I had not planned on having a false wall originally, but now that I do, this poses a challenge from the perspective of whether or not to put acoustic treatment right in front of the center speaker if I position it on top. I am certain I could get around it by making an arched extension out from the top of the screen wall like BIG did. I could then run the vent through that extension. Aesthetically, I am just trying to visualize how that would look.


I used the riser calculator and the riser is about 8 inches higher than the first row. In sitting in regular office chairs, the adults can see over the first row OK enough. However I did put the extra 2X4's on the screen wall just in case, and I can still raise the screen another 6-8 inches, which now that I think of it, wouldn't be a bad idea to just do right now and be done with it.


PM'd Bpape last night to engage him for an analysis before buying anything else for acoustics. I had planned on completely high-jacking your design down to the treatments, but every room is different enough that I thought it worthwhile to get his feedback before proceeding. For example, my room is only 22' long so my bar is through the back wall, and so I still have to deal with that acoustically.


Oh yeah. I have seen enough comments that I have not hesitated to buy the right tool for the job throughout this build. Bought the stapler last week when I ordered the fabric. I went with the Celtic Black and I got the heavier speaker grill cloth from Parts Express so hopefully I won't need to paint anything else black. Now I just need to stock up on staples!


I looked at the 88's a couple years ago and figured I could get a row of 4 in back and 3 in front with about 30" of walkway as you enter the room. I have been browsing Roman's store looking at different options though jsut to be sure.


I did check out your masking system and like it a lot. The bars are definitely grey and while I am sure they won't bother anyone else, I am already thinking about incorporating your masking system now.

I appreciate the invite. I help groups of students at Kennesaw State periodically. I will PM you next time I am heading up that way, and if it is a good time for you, I would love to drop in to check out your setup.

Started hanging Linacoustic so I could start to get a better feel for how the room is going to sound. I haven't put up any treatments behind the screen wall yet. Still researching best treatments for that area.

Screen wall


Side wall


Will probably put linacoustic directly behind screen wall this weekend.

Need to start to finalize the built in shelf for the AV equipment as well. My parents are visiting for the next week, so I am not sure how much I will be able to get done.

Jason,

Thanks for the offer. I have thought of a couple options for the double doors as well. Latest is DVD storage on side facing HT and dart boards on side facing poker room. Will post illustrations of these ideas later for feedback.

OK, the rents headed back home last Friday so I finally had a free weekend to make some progress. Grabbed some 1X2 furring strips from local Lowe's and built frames for stage. Pretty satisfied with how they turned out, and the stage looks awesome! Used the Dazian Celtic Black for behind, on top of, and for horizontal piece in front of screen. I used the Mellowtone Premium black speaker cloth from Parts Express for the L/R, center and sub areas. Both materials were thick and dark enough that I didn't need to paint the furring strips black, which saved some time.

Here's a pic taken with my BB, so it is a bit hazey. Will get more pics tonight with wife's camera.

Spaceman,

Thanks for stopping by and giving the feedback. I have a couple ideas I think will work for that bar area that I hope will work. I will build a prototype to see how well it works.

As far as the arch, I was originally going to put an arch at the bar as well as over the french doors leading to the bar now converted to a bedroom for my oldest son home from college. The wife felt it would be better to keep them square. I could still add an arch, but the poker room side drywall has been finished and painted. Not sure if I have the motivation to add something else, but I will keep the option open nonetheless. Although I did get what I consider a great deal on pre-fabricated arches from Arch-Rite. The cost was comparable to making it the old fashioned way with plywood, and all 3 existing arches took a grand total of about an hour to install.

Checked out your build. Looks good so far. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

Unfortunately I have been really busy at work, so the HT was playing second fiddle there for a while. I am back on track (for anyone even remotely interested), and have started the fabric on the walls.

My goal was a black and tan theme like jikkjack's Royal Fortune. However, since he lives just a few miles away, I dodn't want to completely hijack his theme so I went trolling through endless HT photos and other themed designs. We ended up with this look which we like a lot because of the clean lines and classic look of the black cloth and wood stained a tannish color.

http://www.hometheaterdesignmag.com/...and-play-right

Here are a couple pics from this weekend.


I am doing the interior of the rack with stain grade poplar as well to give it a nice clean finished look. I plan on hiding the rack with a fabric panel on hinges.



Good shot highlighting color scheme.



Finally a closeup of the sconces we selected.

As with all stages of this build, I have finally gotten into the groove of hanging the fabric. I am very pleased with the final outcome. I found that the technique of hanging the linacoustic first and then cutting where needed for my furring strips quite simple and effective. The one pain in my design is keeping all the horizontal accent boards in line with one another around the columns, doors, etc.

More pics from yesterday's progress during lunch break.

Strips around door:





Up close of box for surround mount. Made from 3/4" plywood covered with the Dazian Celtic.

**violins playing softly in the background** Been buried at work with no time to do much of anything else. Got the new guy on board this week, but we are still down 2 people so I am having to make up for it.

So back on track for like the 50th time now I swear. Getting ready to tackle the infamous gaping hole in the back of the HT. Will post pics later today.

Back on track...again. Combination of being short 3 employees and making the mistake of installing the equipment and keeping the pj mounted led me astray for a few months.

GOM is over half done at this point and I am ready to tackle door options for hte bar area. Will post some sketches for feedback later.

Token pics to peak interest...hopefully. Forgive the poor picture quality. I have been too cheap to replace my old camera when I still have so much to spend on the HT.

Rack covered with panel


Right Front Wall


Right rear wall

I appreciate the words of encouragement. I hope to have everything finished in the next month or so.