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Black & Gold Theatre Build - Page 3

post #61 of 213
8/22/11 at 6:39am
Nice work! I'm sure all that overhead work was fun...

I've never drywalled new framing, but I noticed in your last picture that the ceiling came flush with the top 2x4 (header?). Is this an issue with putting on the drywall on the vertical walls? Do you need to have the drywall screwed into the header/footer (hope I'm using the right terms here )?
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post #62 of 213
8/24/11 at 8:11am
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We are going to screw extra pieces of wood onto the bottom of the now hidden header so the drywall has somewhere to be screwed into. Definately want lots of screws so the wall does not sag.
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post #63 of 213
8/31/11 at 10:41am
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Installed the insulation around the vent return and in the outer walls. No pics of it since they would be boring pics anyway.
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post #64 of 213
9/15/11 at 1:48pm
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I have one wall done, and all the electric run to the breaker box, but no breakers installed yet. There will be a flurry of work on Sunday, so pics will go up after that.
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post #65 of 213
9/19/11 at 5:58am
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Will have pics soon, promise. Put up the outside wall's drywall. I have been using two layers of 1/2 inch drywall for the walls and ceiling, but the outside wall gets 5/8 inch due to code. WOW! who would have thought an extra 1/8 inch would make it SOO much heavier and SOO much harder to work with!! Not nearly as easy to snap after cutting a line with a utility knife as well. I am glad that is over.

I now have the vent return line finished, so the soffit can now be covered with drywall. That has already commenced and will be two layers of drywall with green glue between them.
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post #66 of 213
9/22/11 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
OK, time for some pics of the progress!

First, what feels like the never ending pile of drywall. Every time I almost get it all put up, more magically appears in its place (after a sum of money was given to Lowes and it was transported to my house, then lugged into the basement).



I was surprised to find that Lowes was COMPLETELY out of 5/8" drywall due to the horrible flooding we had in the Harrisburg area...but Home Depot still had a LOT of it. Probably has to do with the horrific design of the parking lot at Home Depot...it is built for MINI Coopers. Don't get me wrong, I love my MINI Cooper, but he is not built for hauling supplies from a home improvement store. I was also surprised to find the drywall at Home Depot did not have the little Xs along the length of it every 18 inches apart. They really help keep the screws straight and into the stud. At least I did not need too much 5/8" drywall, for reasons already stated.


Front view - getting closer to being done!


I have to put in boards all around yet, so there is something for the drywall to be screwed into, since the ceiling is lower than the top boards of the wall. It is starting to feel like a real room, and I am rapidly running out of GreenGlue and Acoustic Sealant - which is a good thing, as it means I am getting closer to completion.

One word of advice, LABEL THE WIRING AS YOU RUN EACH OF THEM!!! I forgot to do so and only have one labeled. I am going to short the ends of each cable and use my Fluke to find which them so I can label them now. Would have been simpler had I done it beforehand.
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post #67 of 213
9/25/11 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrsage View Post

One word of advice, LABEL THE WIRING AS YOU RUN EACH OF THEM!!!

Heh - always a good idea and it was something that I did for my electrical wiring but completely forgot to do for my Ethernet wiring

Looking good!
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post #68 of 213
9/25/11 at 4:05pm
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I just finished putting up the extension boards all around the remaining walls, so the drywall top has something to screw into. Pain in the butt. I used a miter saw for the first time in my life today, to cut the boards to size. I made sure I kept my fingers WELL away from the saw...

Interesting aside, even with one of the walls completely open (the other unfinished wall goes to concrete which holds back dirt - and is under my garage, so it sends sound nowhere), with the basement door closed my wife could barely hear the miter saw and all the drill. The whisper clips/hat channel, green glue, and double drywall on the ceiling work VERY well. It is not yet fully cured yet, either!
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post #69 of 213
9/25/11 at 5:33pm
That's great news about the sound proofing! It must be nice to know that all of that hard work has paid off!
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post #70 of 213
9/25/11 at 8:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdanforth View Post

That's great news about the sound proofing! It must be nice to know that all of that hard work has paid off!

I had high hopes, and I read what others here have posted...but when the sound proofing cost more than the projector (when you include everything...the second layer of drywall, the green, the clips, the acoustic sealant, the putty pads, etc) you really, really hope it works.

I am happy to say it does. Feel confident in the help you can get from http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/ Call them up prior to starting your build. Firstly, cause you get an extra discount if you do. Secondly, cause they really know what they are talking about. Helped me get everything I needed.

Also, you WILL use more acoustic sealant than you think you will use. For my 12' by 23' (roughly) theater, I have already used up six tubes and just ordered another six.
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post #71 of 213
10/10/11 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrsage View Post

I had high hopes, and I read what others here have posted...but when the sound proofing cost more than the projector (when you include everything...the second layer of drywall, the green, the clips, the acoustic sealant, the putty pads, etc) you really, really hope it works.

I am happy to say it does. Feel confident in the help you can get from http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/ Call them up prior to starting your build. Firstly, cause you get an extra discount if you do. Secondly, cause they really know what they are talking about. Helped me get everything I needed.

Also, you WILL use more acoustic sealant than you think you will use. For my 12' by 23' (roughly) theater, I have already used up six tubes and just ordered another six.

Good to know, I bet you'll value that when it's all done!!

Looking good, keep on truckin!
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post #72 of 213
10/22/11 at 4:18pm
Nice job so far! And the Black & Gold / Steelers thing is a winner.

Just a thought from my basement build-out experience. Take a look at installing a whole house surge suppressor on your electrical box. Surprisingly inexpensive and will protect all of the new electronics (plus everything else plugged into a wall!).
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post #73 of 213
10/22/11 at 6:06pm
Thread Starter 
I honestly am thinking about it...maybe this one, from Lowes:



Also, I will be doing more work in the theater tomorrow - so new pics! Also, my wife's only demand when I mentioned building a dedicated theater room was that it be made into a Steelers' room. She is a die hard fan...once banished me from several games because I said "Oh, the Steelers have this game in the bag" and they ended up losing...blamed me.

This perfectly describes a Steelers Fan:



EDIT: Home Depot has it for MUCH less...but they also have another one by Eaton as well. Anyone know what the differences between the CHSPT2MICRO and the CHSPMICRO are? The T2 says "Type 2 SPD" on its cover, but that is meaningless to me. Searching Eaton's website is not helping me either.
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post #74 of 213
10/22/11 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
OK, found some info:

Quote:


Surge protection is a cost-effective solution to prevent downtime and equipment damage. It is suitable for any facility or load (600 volts and below).

Surge Arresters vs. Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS) (Type 1 and Type 2 SPDs)

Under ANSI/UL 1449-2006, the main difference between a TVSS and a secondary surge arrester is the location within the electrical distribution system which their respective Listing allows them to be installed. Secondary surge arresters (now known as Type 1 SPDs) are generally intended to be installed on the line side of the main service disconnect overcurrent device (service equipment) Their main purpose is to protect insulation levels of the electrical system. The Type 1 SPD is now subjected to additional safety test as dictated by the recent updates included in ANSI/UL 1449-2006 (3rd Edition). Further, these devices must pass a nominal discharge current level of 10 kA or 20 kA.

A TVSS (now known as a Type 2 SPD), by code (NEC 2008), must be installed on the load side of the main service disconnect overcurrent device (service equipment) and be 1000 volts or less. Their main purpose is to protect the sensitive electronics and microprocessor based loads by limiting the transient voltage.

http://www.nemasurge.com/spd/r-whatisspd.html

I will be buying the T2 instead of the T1. Only about $10 more.
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post #75 of 213
10/23/11 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
More pics! Got a LOT of drywalling done. Some of it has two layers on already, some only one. Still, almost complete with putting up drywall, then I can have someone come in and do the mudding/taping/sanding.

Front of the Theater. Entire soffit covered with one layer, half of it in two layers:



Rear of the Theater. The bump in looks very nice, I am quite happy it is there, since it allows the sliding glass door to be entirely outside the theater room. The angled wall, while difficult to drywall, gives it a touch of class, imo:



This is that same bump in, but from the other side (which makes it a bump out, eh?). The area is perfectly sized for the folding tredmill to unfold into it:



Here is the smoke detector...it used to be white. I covered the sensor holes with tape prior to spray painting it, then used a brush that I sprayed paint onto to paint over that remaining white spot. It is actually a very flat black...the camera makes it look a little smudgy. It ties into the rest of the smoke detectors throughout the house. My fear was that either a fire would start in the theater room and we would never know (due to the sound proofing keeping an alarm from being heard outside the room) or that a fire would start in the living room while we are in the theater room in the basement...and the house burn down around us. It works perfectly, when it alarms, all the others in the house alarm, and vice versa:

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post #76 of 213
10/29/11 at 7:47pm
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Posted this in another thread, but figured this is a good place to post it too.


I have knock tested a single sheet, then knock tested a double sheet (held in place by the outlets, but no GG yet), then knock tested a GG double sheet after 2 weeks of curing...each successive item significantly dropped the sound level. It is so obvious, even my wife can hear the difference between what I have single drywalled and what I have doubled with GG.

I have knock tested DD with GG immediately after install, 2 weeks later, and 1 month later. I cannot tell a difference in sound, though I am told that it has improved sound reductions over time. I just cannot verify that myself.
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post #77 of 213
11/10/11 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
The drywall is done!!!!!! YAY!

Looking towards the front of the theater:


Looking towards the back:


I also put a light coat of drylock on the floor. It makes it look much brighter in the room (since it is white) and it will help seal the floor against moisture.
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post #78 of 213
11/10/11 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
Next up, having someone tape, mud, sand...and doing the stage and riser.
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post #79 of 213
11/10/11 at 6:55pm
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Here is a video of me doing a knock test on a single piece of drywall, two layers of drywall without green glue, then two layers of drywall with green glue having cured for one week. Each knock was done with the same pressure.

Knock Tests

The audio is slightly off from the video due to the way photobucket processed the file. It is barely off, which does not mess up the demonstration at all.
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post #80 of 213
11/28/11 at 8:21pm
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OK...learned something important. Do NOT put down the drylock until AFTER the drywalling is done. The floor is no longer smooth after drylock is put down..so it is very hard to sweep with a broom. I am going to end up using a vacuum cleaner to pick up drywall finishing dust.

But anyway, here are more pics.

There first was just too cute to not put up. I left a path on the floor undrylocked while I was doing the floor...it lead to the open window. I looked up partway through and found my cat sitting there. He eventually left, and rather than walk down the dry, unpainted path, he took the direct, but wet route:



I guess he just wanted to have his footprint forever enshrined on the floor.

The drywall finishing started today. All the zillions of screw holes were patched and everything prepared for the taping, etc. tomorrow:




Almost done, then I can prime and paint! The riser goes in next.
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post #81 of 213
11/29/11 at 6:33pm
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Here is Ashley, the woman doing the drywall mudding, taping, sanding, etc. All the stuff I do not want to do.



Ashley, hard at work.

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post #82 of 213
12/1/11 at 4:30pm
nice work bro!
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post #83 of 213
12/2/11 at 7:21am
Thread Starter 
Another update. The wall finishing work is still progressing. Slowly, but steadily.

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post #84 of 213
12/5/11 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
All the metal guards were installed and mudded up...then it rested. Now, the first layer is sanded, second layer on tomorrow, sanding the following day. Then I get to prime and paint. You can see the highly technical and very expensive dust exhaust system installed in the room. It did an amazing job of relocating dust from inside the theater to the environment.



Here are my air inlets and exchaust covers for the room. Yesterday, they were stark white. Today, they are Steelers Black. Speaking of Steelers Black (and Gold), Home Depot sells the Glidden line of NFL paints (as well as baseball, hockey, etc)...so they have the actual NFL certified Steelers colors. I purchased a quart of each and then took them to Sherwin Williams for color matching. I had a 30% off coupon for there, which reduced the price dramatically. Also, I picked up the white paint for the screen wall. I will post a link to the article once I get to my other PC...but suffice to say they were VERY impressed with the results...and the price.

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post #85 of 213
12/5/11 at 1:28pm
Looks great...
lot's of work done.

are you worried that the sound will migrate within the duct work to upstairs or is that a non issue for you?
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post #86 of 213
12/5/11 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinwoodward View Post

Looks great...
lot's of work done.

are you worried that the sound will migrate within the duct work to upstairs or is that a non issue for you?

The ducting is insulated, and it has a bunch of the fluffy pink stuff surrounding it the entire length. While they do provide a path out for sound, it is not too big.

The return duct has a lot of insulation around it and it takes several corners.


It should not be a problem.
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post #87 of 213
12/6/11 at 6:50am
Thread Starter 
Sorry, I forgot to post the info about painting the screen wall:

Quote:


Setting up the test board with the ProClassic Smooth Enamel Satin against the Studiotek 100, we discovered that we had not only arrived at our objective, but surpassed it. Color balance was dead on, just as with the Duration. But this paint actually delivered a slightly brighter image with deeper blacks. With a checkerboard test pattern, the black and white squares that fell on the test board were visibly higher in contrast than those that fell on the screen. A spot meter confirmed what we could already see--white highlights were brighter by about 10%, and blacks were blacker by about 10%.

This paint had a gain of about 1.1, with higher contrast than the Studiotek 100. But even more intriguing, the slightly smoother finish of the Enamel was doing its job. There was very little difference in 1080p image resolution. Practically speaking, most people looking at the two would say there was no difference at all.

In addition to our Studiotek 100, we have a Studiotek 130 on hand. This is the screen material Stewart recommends for high performance home theater. Its modest gain gives the picture a noticeably improved luster and brightness that the Studiotek 100 does not have. Just for grins, we put our test board up against the Studiotek 130 to compare images.

The Studiotek 130 certainly produced the better image. Anyone putting in a high performance projection system would want the 130 over our paint solution. But for the money, the paint was holding its own remarkably well. Its highlights were not as brilliant, and the paint could not quite match the beautiful luster of the 130. But color balance was perfect. Overall, most viewers would be thoroughly impressed with what the paint could do. In terms of overall image quality in the average home theater environment, the paint fell a bit short of the Studiotek 130, but surpassed the 100.

...snip...

By following these steps, we were able to create a remarkably smooth, perfectly color balanced reflection surface that rivals the finest professional home theater screens. The paint we ended up preferring was the Sherwin-Williams ProClassic, Extra White, Satin, Smooth Enamel Finish, # B20 W 51. It retails for $19.49 per quart. One quart is enough to do a double coat of paint on a 120" diagonal 16:9 screen surface.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/paint_perfect_screen_$100.htm
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post #88 of 213
12/6/11 at 6:57am
Cybersage, have you been over to the DIY screens section of AVS? There are lots of different paint mixes available that seem to be superior to a single branded solution, although they're a bit more involved.

Making good progress, keep it up!
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post #89 of 213
12/6/11 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
I have stopped in and looked them over. Since Projector Central was so wowed with this paint, I am going to try it first. I can always paint over it (white is a nice base to paint on, after all).

The nice thing about starting with paint is if I really am not satisfied, I just build a false wall and go full bore with an AT screen, moving the center speaker behind the screen, etc.
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post #90 of 213
12/8/11 at 10:16am
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All the mudding is done...all that is left is the final sanding, which will happen on Sunday.



Her stilts finally came in, so the sanding will be far faster than the other times.
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