Madhouse Theater project - Page 3

Yeah, I'd get in my car at lunch and smile. Cedar smells really good.

Don't know if you got the same one, but my best assembly advice is to organize the fasteners and leave the lumber in the boxes. It helps you find it later.

Well for the first time in 2 months I can say there was work done in my basement. No, it wasn't by someone else. No, it wasn't unrelated to the theater. I actually made progress. Very little progress, but progress. First, unrelated to the theater, I took a bunch of "stuff" that was in what will eventually be the bathroom and moved it into the storage area. Still some construction clutter in the bathroom area, but it doesn't look too bad now.

The next day I made it down there for an hour while the kids were napping. I took this duct that was in the middle of the theater ceiling and moved it over by the plumbing, which will be a in a sofit in the theater. So now my entire ceiling over the theater is as high as I can make it.

Before:


Sorry, no after picture. Not an exciting update, but excited there is an update! I dragged the wife down there to show her and we talked for a few minutes. Still not sure about the equipment room behind the theater. The wife isn't happy with it. I started thinking maybe just getting an expensive pull out rack and putting it under the stairs as I planned from the beginning. So I'm still undecided on it. I actually think I'd still rather have the equipment room. Maybe I just need to call it a closet for the wife and stop talking about putting a desk/work area in there.

Progress next weekend is highly doubtful as we are having a first birthday party for my youngest. After the party though I took a 4 day weekend with the intention of spending Thursday and Friday uninterrupted in the basement... We'll see how that works out.

ACTUAL theater construction progress! I took Thursday and Friday off work for the sole purpose of making sure that something happened. Took me most of Thursday to decide how I was going to construct my sofit and get 1/3 of it done. Friday morning I got the rest of it done. I also got the wife to buy in to my latest equipment closet, so I started to run my conduit PVC in the sofit for my LCR and subwoofer cables. I even figured out how to do that such that I don't "break the seal" on the room until exactly where I want to run the speaker wires in. I'm undecided if I'll just run the bare wires in or if I'll install a wall plate with terminations. I can see reasons for both. Anyway, here are the pictures. I'm sure it could have been done better/more efficiently, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. I just need to add 2x2 strips between the horizontal 2x4's at the outside to give the drywall something continuous to attach to.

Construction pic showing how I hung the short vertical and then ran the horizontals one by one.



A couple shots of the completed sofit (minus the 2x2's I mentioned above)



Looking from the back where the equipment closet will be at the finished product.



And inside the sofit at the 2" conduit I started to hang.



I have a question about an idea I had for my seating/layout that I'm going to post in a bit. I hear a kid playing with a door stopper that I need to go get back to bed...

I forgot to post this shot of the downspout for my wiring conduit coming down in the front wall.



Back to my other thought I mentioned last night. I am thinking of building the back wall under the stairs at an angle to follow the stairs. With how my framing ended up, I am getting below 28" on the aisle if I have 4 chairs in the front row. So I was thinking of how I could cram 4 chairs in the second row. That's what I was looking for input on. If I cam forward from the back wall 36", the height of the stairs is about 62". I think I had originally planned to have the seats 24" in front of the wall. After talking it over with the wife, I think I am going to build under the stairs that way just to keep the option there.

Now that's an interesting idea. The span is 19", so that should be ok for 5/8" drywall. I am using the wall and the vertical of the sofit (which is connected using clips to the joists) to form their structure. But maybe I could add a few 2x4's above instead of below to form the structure. I kind of like that idea. I could add those 2x4's before removing the ones I have up there now to keep things square and true while I make the changes. Thanks for the suggestion!

I updated my layout with the equipment closet at the back. Also took out the tray ceiling. It may go back in in a "phase 2" upgrade plan. I have to admit I'm starting to cut a few corners in the interest of actually getting this thing done. Not so much cutting corners as leaving things out that can be done later.

Yet another layout update. I was reading the forums yesterday debating getting a pro layout. As I was, I was thinking what would they do if I handed them the room as I have it framed right now. The first thing I figured was they would try flipping the room. So I started playing in AutoCAD and I actually really like what I've got!



Some actual measurements show that I could have a 19 foot long room without any notch for the stairs by using that as my screen wall. My total room is 23 ft long. Unfortunately to get the screen size I want I will need to come forward about 4 feet for my screen wall, but I think the seating looks a lot better in this arrangement and now I don't have issues with sound for the second row.

This has lead me to quite a few questions about seating distances to the screen and how far my back row can be from the wall. By compressing things a bit, i've got my front row about 10 feet from the screen, which is 9' 7" wide for 2.35 material. Is this going to be too close? I know I need to tape it out and see how it feels. My 16:9 screen will 7' 3" wide (CIH) For the back row, I've got the seats set 3'3" from the front row and 1 foot from the back wall. The total riser depth will be just over 7'. I need to go measure a chair today to see how far it needs to be from the wall to actually recline, ignoring sound considerations.

Any thoughts on this new layout and seating questions would be greatly appreciated.

I managed to get down in the basement for a few minutes last night. I tried moving a couple supports up on the sofit and it's working out perfectly. In the end it will be faster than it would have been to cut 2x2 strips to fit between the 2x4's! Hopefully I'll be able to wrap that up by this weekend and maybe look at chopping up the wall next to the stairs to box the stairs in on the angle. Will having that area at an angle affect my right channel speaker if it is located under the stairs?

I was thinking of putting the equipment behind the screen, but with the speakers back there and such I think it would be too tight and I'm going to stick with the closet as shown on the last layout.

A couple questions about when the stage and riser are constructed. I've seen a few risers done before drywall, which could be logical so you can run electrical in it for seats and such. It seems all stages are done after drywall. Should both be isolated from the walls? And the stage should be filled with sand, but the riser just with insulation?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

So working on the layout a bit more. I can't quite open the doors in with the seats centered. This really bums me out, but shifting them 10" off isn't too bad. My question is, should I shift the back row as well to keep the seats staggered? I'm thinking yes.



Also still curious about the back row position. I've got the seats shown 1' from the back wall. The front row is almost 7' 6" from the back wall. Is this far enough from the wall for the back row? Can I move the front row back to increase the viewing distance, or is it good where it is (about 10-10.5 feet to the viewers eyes.)

Thanks for the feedback on the riser and stage. I'm still tempted to do the riser at least before drywall. I know Brad did in his garage build. I think he may have had the stage done before as well, but can't remember.

They technically could. But there are 2 reasons I am leaning towards opening in. As has been pointed out, it seems like a safety concern that all doors open into a room so you can't get blocked in. If the doors open out, something could fall or be placed in the doorway and you are now stuck. Granted this isn't a likely scenario. Number 2 in my case, the theater is not going to match the rest of the basement. And now with the screen at that end, the first reflection points will be pretty much on the doors. So there is no avoiding putting some kind of treatments on the doors. That will likely not match the rest of the basement at all and will look downright silly when the doors are open.

I'm open to convincing though.

Ouch. My thread has an "OLD THREAD WARNING!!!" on it. I now know how these things drag into years and years.

On the bright side, I'm getting pressure from the wife to get this done. She is asking me every couple days for plans and next steps. So far those have all consisted of stripping down the plans. The bathroom is shelved. The theater will be a "phase" type build now, with really just drywall and a seating riser in addition to the wiring and screen in phase 1. Later will be some wall treatments and "other" things. We have also talked more about not staying in this house, so that scaled things back. I still plan to DD/GG and do my best to keep sound IN the theater, but not going to get crazy with it. So my next steps with the bathroom gone are to try to finish framing and rough in for the wet bar/kitchenette sink. After that I will likely be contracting the rest of it out myself; electrician, drywall, flooring. Undecided on paint. I feel like this is much more manageable and less overwhelming to look at. Hoping to be ready for flooring in a few months, but I fear this is an ambitious goal still... Maybe my dad feels like swinging a hammer this weekend.

A progress report at last!

The front of the theater. We finished the framing around the stairs. The theater framing is finished! The screen wall will be about where the angle meets the ceiling. Maybe a foot before. One speaker will be under the stairs, which is why I didn't just frame it out square.


Here you can see a bit better how I updated the sofit after my last pictures last year.


And outside of the theater I got some more framing completed as well. This is where the bathroom was going to be. Now this whole area will be the kids play area. The picture is taken from what will be the kitchenette. The play area will be against the screen wall of the theater, which is framed as a double wall. I am going to open the stairs on both sides up to the theater corner to open the area up. In this picture, the right hand opening will be built in shelving for kids toys. The middle opening will be movie storage shelves that double as a hidden door to get access to the theater equipment, which will be in the left opening. I think this is the best use of the bay window area.


In the last shot you can see the conduit I will run inside another sofit for signal cables to the theater. I need to enclose one more heat vent in that sofit as well. So I'm about 35 feet from being done with my framing. Next up is electrical, hvac, and maybe hanging some doors.

Last night I made another 2 hours of progress. Cleaned up and touched up a few things. Marked where my last wall is going to go on the floor and the ceiling. How did anybody do this stuff before lasers? I'm going to run the drain line for the sink behind the wall with an AAV for venting. The sump is going to be under the end of the kitchen counter in a cupboard.


Then I moved on to something fun. Something I've been wanting to do since I started this almost a year ago.






Obviously a lot of cleanup still required, but I'm really liking how it opens things up already. I can't wait to get home tonight and work on cleaning it up. I am close enough to count how many 2x4's I need to finish framing. I need 1 more load of 15-20 and I'll be there. Hoping to mark framing DONE by the end of this weekend.

No pictures, but last night I finished cleaning up the stairs and put up my vapor barrier on the last wall. Hoping to get that framed this weekend. I feel bad making all this noise while the kids are trying to sleep.

I did have a question I'm hoping someone here can help with. What are people securing the blue "smurf tube" with? I bought a 100 ft roll of the 3/4" stuff for my speaker wires and hopefully HDMI (not sure it's big enough yet.) I want to start laying that in place.

Second, I'm looking at doing in wall speakers for my surrounds. Is it best to place those on the rear wall or the sides? Or should I do both? My main problem is the right wall is a staggered stud, so it's going to be tight fitting a backer box between studs. I have about 8 1/2" between studs on that wall. I was looking at the Emotiva's and that would be a tight fit for the 6.2 model. I was also wondering about the impedence on those speakers. Seems a bit strange they are 4 ohm. Are there other in-wall speakers to consider? I'm tempted to pick the surrounds up soon so I can get the backer boxes built and in place and pull my speaker wire to them.

I bought a bunch of electrical boxes yesterday and a 6 pack of Halo lights for the main areas. I'm trying to keep forging ahead and start putting in my outlet boxes and switch boxes and lights. Then start pulling some wire.

Thanks for any help on the above questions.

Dunno if anyone is even looking at this anymore. I was just trying to determine the differences between Drywall and OSB for the first layer in the room. I found this thread to be very informative. I may end up going this route. I feel like then I could almost do the whole theater myself without paying someone to do the drywall. Though it would mean my carrying all those supplies down there myself. Ouch.

I haven't been back down in the basement in a week. I took a night off, then that turned into 2. Then I got a pinch in my shoulder and was out for a few days. I have been going down there and studying and thinking. I have a few plans and going to try to get back down there tonight. I may borrow a truck this weekend to bring home more supplies. Including drywall to damp the subfloor above the theater. I bought enough green glue to do it, so why not do it? I want to do as much as I can that has minimal cost and can't be done later.

Just need to press on and keep making progress. Tonight I hope to mark off some areas on the ceiling with the laser for hanging my framing to box around the duct work/beam down the center of the basement. Also do some more thinking about where the screen wall would be by the stairs and if I want to flip the room back around. Need to make that decision once and for all so I can get my wiring/backer boxes in for in-wall surrounds.

Seemingly another setback, but I'm looking for feedback. I was down there last night looking around and mocking up where my screen wall would be. As I was contemplating a decision I hate, moving the double wall between the theater and the kids play area, I saw what I think is a framing mistake I made. First, the reason I am thinking of moving the wall is when I made this the front of the theater, I now have 5 feet behind the screen because of the stairs. I could move the wall and add 3 feet to the other room. Now, and perhaps the more compelling reason for a change, I realize what I am thinking is a big no-no with my decoupled wall. What is now the left wall of the theater is decoupled, but it's 1 wall that goes both in and out of the theater. So while no drywall will be crossing over, the top and bottom plates of my wall that are decoupled and in the theater pass out into the kids play area. This is the best shot I have of it:



So the left wall is decoupled, and the framing goes another 5 feet into the next room. Will this destroy everything I've done in terms of soundproofing? Because of the layout of my room, I see the subwoofers being behind the screen and thus very close to this corner of the room.

I guess I don't know what kinds of frequencies will be passed through this wall into the play area. Is this a big enough issue to warrant ripping into all this stuff to fix it? It's not an impossible fix by any means, but isn't a small job either. And it's a step backwards, which is not music to my wife's ears. She is very anxious for me to get the basement done. The day or so it would take me to fix this could be spent finishing the rest of the framing.

Thanks for any help on this one.

Interesting weekend in my build. I had a half day on Saturday. The wife and I got 2 of the 13175's out of the boxes and set them up in the theater. I quickly agreed with her to flip the room back to the original layout. A row of 4 in the front, row of 3 in the cubby next to the stairs. Having this decision made once and for all feels like a relief and I can finalize things and get moving.





Approximation of the walkway to get to the second row, about 30":



And between the rows:



After putting the chairs away, I tried doing a few things and felt very discouraged. Nothing was going right and I was wondering if I was a fool for taking this project on. So I gave up after 3 failed tasks and took the evening off (it was already 4 I think.) The rest of the evening I was thinking about the problems I had encountered and figuring out fixes. We talked about how excited we were about having the whole basement done and my wife asked me to make a list of things to do. After putting the list together I had renewed enthusiasm. In the morning I woke up determined to tackle the problems that tackled me Saturday. So first I finished roughing in the opening for the storage area door.



Then I moved on to making progress boxing around my duct work in the living area. That took the most time and required the wife's help to secure my short walls against the floor joists above. I was jumping around a bit here, but I pulled my blue smurfs to the surround locations and hung my 2" PVC conduit to get to the front of the room. I will put a wall plate at the front with my front channel speaker cables, an HDMI and Cat6 and a pair of subwoofer RCA's. I figure the HDMI will give me flexibility to either put a bluray player up there if I hate having it outside the room, or I can have another display up there in place of the projector if something unforeseeable happens.



By the end of the day I had also completed this section of the duct work sofit.



I've got a long ways to go on that framing. But I cut a stack of the 8 1/2" "studs" i need for that, so I'm ready to slap it together and throw it up there. I also managed to make my thumb black and blue while I was doing that framework. Never realize how much work your thumb does in everyday life until you smash it.

So I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but progress is being made and our enthusiasm is high!

That was a point of conversation on Saturday. I think my riser will only be right under the seats. So the step will not be under the sloped ceiling. It's definitely not ideal, but I'll be sitting in the front row.

Worst case when we get there, I move the front row forward another foot. I estimated the other day at the viewers eyes would have been about 10-11 feet from the screen the other way. As shown in the pictures, the viewers eyes in the front row will be closer to 12-13 feet.

I think it will work out, but we were definitely looking at and talking about that. Thanks! I was just reading your thread earlier this morning. Looks awesome!

I'm looking at a 125" 2.35:1 screen, which works out to under 10 feet wide. So I likely will bump my front row up a tad.

All my recent shots are with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 35mm lens. Photography is a much bigger hobby for me than this is. Thanks for the compliment.