The Esquire Theater!! Construction Begins... - Page 58

Hmmmm I think I like that idea much better. Thanks TMcG!

Ha funny that you should say that - I was looking at those online earlier.

New tiles on the way to me! (crazy lead time though...4-20 business days?!)

Oh, I ordered black. C'mon, I can't take ALLLLL of your recommendations.

A month without a post here...wow! I am happy to say that I have been using and enjoying the theater at least three times per week since my last update. The tiles for the equipment room arrived a while back but I haven't had the motivation to unhook all of the gear and remove it in order to install them. I have also been back on the road bike for a few weeks...loving that new hobby! (And hopefully I'm getting in slightly better shape too...I certainly have had spaghetti legs a lot lately. )

The entrance to my theater has been a sight for sore eyes for quite a while, so it is time to spruce that up. I want to add some columns and to get my poster frames mounted in their final spot. While I'm at it, I want to automate the poster frames so they turn on and off automatically. (The power supplies get a bit hot if they're on for a long time, so I want to prevent accidentally leaving them on.)

This pic shows where I started from. I had to move a duct from inside the theater to just outside it. I really wanted to do something else with this, but unfortunately there were just no good options. So I just decided to build a soffit. The poster frames will go on this wall. You can also see here that the HT door frame is still incomplete...




Drop ceilings are a gigantic pain to take apart (when you're trying to save a portion at least). Soffit framed and taping started...




Then I added some outlets for the poster frames (well actually my electrician did it...but I watched and learned....and paid.) The closest outlet in the pic will be used for LED lights inside the columns I plan to build around the theater entry door. Soffit taping also complete here...




Prime and paint...




Poster frames installed. There is an occupancy sensor installed near the far door in this picture (which faces the stairs down into the basement). The sensor controls an outlet behind the door. Power supplies are plugged into the outlet and connected to romex running through the wall to the frame location.




Then I finished the door frame. I added the other half of the split jamb and a small piece of molding to connect the two. Per Ted's instructions, the molding is nailed on one side and connected only with SilenSeal on the other to prevent vibration from entering into the other half of the double stud wall.




Now time for some entrance columns...I am very height limited here so there will just be a simple curved header connecting the two columns over the door. I made my first attempt at a mock-up last night. There will be frosted glass in the window and RGB LED lights behind the glass:




I think I will make the window a little larger by lowering the "sill" down a bit closer to the carpet. I want to keep them clean and modern looking, but I will need to add a bit of trim on the top and bottom. I am thinking something like the pic below (maybe with cove molding at the top of each level...does anyone have suggestions for trim? Mods to the column in general? Thanks!

Thanks Fred! Hmmm yes - a very good point on the columns. I have been thinking the same thing and was wondering if others would make that comment. I picked up some 1x2's to try instead of the 1x3's in the pic, but haven't mocked them up yet. I will also try making the window an inch or two thinner (it is 5.5" wide now).

Other comments? (Thanks!)

I tried a bunch of different mock-ups last night but kept coming back to the original one I posted yesterday or something very close to it. In the pic below, the column on the right is my first attempt and the one on the left has a slightly larger (taller but same width) window. I think I am going to go with the design on the right.




Now on to the marquee to connect the two columns at the top. I have been planning on a simple 1.5" thick piece to tuck betwen the top of the left column and the bottom of that annoying soffit. But then I started thinking that I could hide part of the soffit by extending the marquee out into the room a bit farther and then all the way up to the ceiling. So my new plan is something like what's below. (If it comes out half that nicely, I'll be pretty darn excited!)

Thanks for that link TMcG - and I'm sorry I never responded yesterday. I guess I wrote a response but never submitted it. Anyway, I found that Riveredge Theater pic in a google search. I think it was a search for "home theater marquee".

In doing some more planning and measuring, I am not sure I have the space for something that elaborate above my door. I really only have 6" to work with, so I may scale this project back a bit and just do a simple curve with some 4" letters and no backlighting. Nothing set in stone yet, but I'm afraid it will look like I have to much going on in that small space.

In other news, I got a new toy last night...a Bosch router to be exact. My first router, and I spent the night routing everything in sight. What a cool tool! I rabbeted the back of the column window to make a drop-in space for the acrylic I ordered. Unfortunately I cracked the acrylic while cutting it to size. That's ok though...it looked a little cheesy anyway - I need to go with frosted glass in those windows. I talked to a local glass company and the price quote was very reasonable.

Next up...router table. I think I am just going to get the Bosch benchtop model...I suppose I could build one, but I am looking for a break from DIY once this marquee project is done.

Thanks Nick! I'm glad you think will be cool...I haven't been feeling very creative so far and I'm afraid of ending up with a big boring blob. I'm sure it will come together eventually, but right now my ideas aren't feeling very coherent. That's ok though...input from the AVS crowd helps a ton - we seem to keep each other on the right track.

Thanks Brad! I have been brainstorming a lot on this over the last few days. It is much like two years ago when I stood in an empty basement and mumbled to myself incessantly...then made some theater sound effects and went about my evening. Now I just stand outside the theater door and do the same thing.

Unfortunately this limited ceiling height is really a bugger - I am still wrestling with it. To be continued...

Thanks wyowolf. Glad you are finding it useful. I have been meaning to insert an index in the first post, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Take as many ideas as you like - I know I borrowed my share of mine!

Ok need a little advice please...

I think I have a good final plan for the entrance but need a little help in implementing it. Specifically, what wood should I use to make the bottom of the marquee?

I'm going to go for something like BigmouthinDC's and Dcostanza's entrances (pics below...hope no one is offended that I borrowed them). But the problem is that I don't have the ceiling height to do lights underneath like they did. So I will use the router to make some recesses in the bottom panel and then insert LED strip lights. I have been playing around with this and it actually works quite well. The LEDs are only visible if you stand directly underneath the marquee. I could even drill all the way through the bottom panel and place the LEDs farther back, making them less visible.

I'm planning to paint the entrance rather than stain it. The columns are poplar. I thought about using birch ply, but recesses in the ply might not look so hot if the layers are lit up by the LEDs. Should I use MDF? I thought about that, but I would like to screw the face of the marquee (which will be 1/4" ply) into the side of this bottom panel and I know MDF can split pretty easily if you screw into the side of it. I guess another option is to join a few poplar 1x12's together using the Kreg jig. Would that work?

Thanks all - I don't know enough about these different options and really appreciate your help! Pics of the plan are below...

This is a mockup of the panel I'm concerned about (cardboard for now)...


Here is a groove in some scrap wood with the LEDs inserted...


Here is Dcostanza's amazing entrance:


And of course, Big's beautiful marquee...

Ok thanks for your input TMcG...I guess I will give it a try with the MDF.

Wow that sensitile stuff looks amazing! I am going to order a few samples and see what happens...