The Timelapse Theatre - Planning n' Build Log - Page 2

That looks pretty cool. The only thing that I don't like about it is the fact that it only waves in one dimension. I'd like to have mine wave in two but that complicates things quite a bit.

OK, fellas. I'm committed now. I just bought a new saw blade for my mitre saw. :-)

I'm hoping to begin building the stage next weekend and I have a question that I haven't been able to answer adequately by searching.

How should the stage framing be coupled/attached/interfaced with the subfloor/concrete in this basement theatre? Simply laying on top? Rubber underneath the framing members?

Thanks!

Am I going to regret stuffing the right channel speaker into the corner like this?

Should I revisit the AT screen idea instead? How does the AT quality of DaLite and Stewart hold up compared to Seymour or SMX or others? I know this is probably a better question for the screens forum but I thought that I'd ask about the placement question here. I have a unique advantage in that I can buy DaLite and Stewart at cost through my company... I've heard great things about the Seymour product but I can't get it for such a screaming deal!

Huzzah! I found a good deal on some Meridian speakers on audiogon and now have a DSP 5000c and another pair of DSP 5000 towers (rears) coming my way!

I think that I'll prewire for 7.1 but just hook up the five Meridian 5000 series for the foreseeable future. Based on how the single pair of DSP 5000s sounds in the room now I think that the room will SLAM with five of 'em!

While I'm at it does anyone have any links to sleek, modern theatre designs and color schemes?

Browncoats Unite!

You keeping an eye on my build is quite a compliment. Thanks! I hope I can live up to your example!

I got a handful of samples from GOM (Guilford of Maine) yesterday. One of the samples I got is the FR701 black which I was planning to use for the screen wall.

I was unimpressed with the texture of the FR701 black... It feels and looks like burlap. Is this what people are using for their screen walls? Could I use something from the Anchorage line instead or something else entirely?

I have been thinking about switching to the Seymour XD fabric on a DIY screen build so the AT property of the FR701 is less important to me now. If I recall, BigMouthinDC used velvet for the screen wall...

Just checking in with everybody. Things have been busy with work, family, side jobs, other hobbies! Sheesh!

I wanted to add a couple of pictures to my scrapbook that I'm assembling here.

I saw this different style of chair rail moulding at Home Depot that I thought would serve as a nice transition between upper GOM panels and lower GOM-covered acoustic panels. What do you think?



I also had the opportunity to see a movie in a proper cinema on Sunday and noticed this treatment on the walls that I thought would tie in nicely with the horizontal lines crossing my ceiling.



The new Meridian speakers come in on Friday and I can't wait to try 'em out. I still don't have a surround processor for them, unfortunately. That will have to come next month or the one after that!

I know this is a hotly debated issue but does anyone have a subwoofer suggestion that can keep pace with the Meridians?

Oh, I'm not concerned about the weave in the screen material I was just a little nonplussed with the weave on the GOM 703 which I was planning to make the screen wall with.


I'm REALLY glad to hear you say that! I like the look of the Anchorage samples that I got. I was concerned that using something heavier than that (less AT) would make the absorption on the wall behind the screen less useful. The Anchorage samples I got are very nice.

I read the PDF on they Seymour site about their DIY screen and it looks fairly straightforward. I was planning to use velvet on the frame like they did in their example.

What do you guys think about speaker placement for the rears (remember, a 5.1 system to start with)? If you look at the latest floorplan idea where would you put these speakers (they're the same as the ones in the front). I think they're too big to put in columns on the side of the room.

I've been thinking about putting them in the rear of the room behind a false AT wall (Anchorage GOM) but then I'd have to get some in-wall side channels.

I know that it has been a while. Life keeps getting in the way! Summer is our busiest time at work and it's hard to come in and do anything with the theatre when I get home at 7 or later.

Here and there, however, I have been designing the room in my head and in Sketchup. I've been rolling ideas around in my head, dismissing them, compromising a bit here and there, etc. I've also been haunting the threads here and saving pictures to my scrapbook folder for reference.

I decided that enough is enough and it was high time I got messy! I tore up the carpet in the basement this morning so that I could make room for the stage. I also knocked out a row of ceramic tiles for the same reason. It was a lot of fun getting the tacking strip up. Hooray for tetanus boosters!



After a little cleanup I went to Lowe's and bought a bunch of pressure treated lumber to build the stage. I'm using 2x10" pressure treated lumber for the project. I figured that would be a good height based on what I've seen here.

This week I'm going to work on building the stage and this coming weekend I'm hoping to be ready for plastic liner and sand.

I used PT because this is a concrete foundation in the basement. I'm not sure about code (I assume that wood contacting concrete must be PT) but it just seems like a good idea. The cost isn't that much more expensive and the weight doesn't matter to me.

You make an interesting observation about the moisture content. I haven't worked with PT much before so I'm not sure how much it cups and crowns as it dries.

The only things I'm wondering about are
1. Whether I should use roofing felt underneath this thing *also* and
2. How thick should the plastic liner be to contain the sand is 2mil sufficient or should I be looking at pond liner? I know that I should use the driest sand available (Quickcrete? Without rocks in the bag!)

I forgot to mention that I bought a Meridian 568.2 for my birthday! My birthday is tomorrow but I figured I'd get myself an early present!

The only thing that the 568.2 leaves to be desired (for me) is its inability to accept the lossless audio from Blu-ray unless there is a player that outputs that lossless track on its coax or toslink output.

Thanks, I will do that test before I slide the stage into its final position.

Nice progress last night! After your suggestions I decided to buy some 30# roofing felt to put under the stage. I'm going to roll that out after the stage is framed out to its full size. The overall stage depth is 4' with a length of 13'-7". You can see that I have only managed to build the back 30 inches so far... this is where the speakers will sit. I originally planned to make the stage 3' deep but decided to extend that based on what I've read in stickied "sutff I wished I did differently" thread.








Right now the stage isn't in its final position. It's heavy as can be but I'll be able to slide it into final position on top of the roofing felt in another few nights of work. I'm glad that I bought the giant box of screws! Furthermore, I'm thrilled that I bought the star-head screws and a corded drill for this job. Yay! New tools!

How much space should I leave on either side for the carpet to roll down the left-hand side (onto the tile)? I was assuming about 1/2" to 3/4". I was planning to leave a gap of 1/2" or so away from the two walls. Sound good?

Woohoo! I got a lot of stage building accomplished this weekend in addition to having a surprise birthday party thrown for me at my house on Friday night! I was totally surprised by my awesome wife who announced to me when I walked in the door that all of my friends would be there in 10 minutes! Ha! She told me that we were going to go bowling!

On Saturday and Sunday I framed out the stage. This week and next weekend I'll see about sand and insulation.

Build video:



I learned a lot about this process while doing it. You can see in the video that I've already taken some advice from you all and I have two identical tape measures and I'm keeping my saw close by! I made a few mistakes, had a lot of fun, and even learned about how I'll build it next time!

Status as of tonight:


And finally, here's me dancing on top of the finished framing.

Moggie, I just realized that I never thanked you for this information. I did exactly as you prescribed. There's about a 1/2" gap around the perimeter.