The Plains Theater - Page 15

Thanks and thanks

We really like the way the steps look, and it really fits with the house. We decided to go this route over a narrower staircase with a handrail across the front. I think that would have looked out of place.

And of course, we're insanely proud of the new baby!

Thanks, guys! Mom and the baby are doing great! The little guy has good lungs, too

Tony, this is our second. Both boys. Our first son is 2-1/2, so I think the two will have lots of fun in a couple years. Being a dad is a lot of work, and it can be frustrating at times, but its the greatest job in the world. Its amazing how proud you can be of something as simple as a hug from your little boy. I haven't seen that movie, but I've had several people tell me it's a powerful message. It's on my list when we get moved into the new house for sure.

As far as tractors go, I would love to have one! We've got three acres, but only about an acre of yard to cut. The rest is wooded. Hopefully it'll be in the budget one day. It certainly would have been handy for clearing our lot

Oh yeah, I've got a thread on here. I almost forgot

In reality, I haven't taken any new pictures lately. There's been progress, but nothing really photo worthy. It's all little stuff here and there. The painters have been working a little at the time, most of the counters are in, and the electricians have started putting in receptacles and the like, but nothings happened lately that makes me stand back and feel like a lot of progress has been made. I do think we're getting close, though. However, I think we did have a bit of a grass failure. Because we have such a large yard, we tried to seed it with centipede. After three weeks of watering three times a day, we've got very little germination. I think we're going to look at trying again next week (or maybe something else )

In other news, since I can't actually work in my theater, I've been working on a sketch up model of the framing of the theater that I hope I can use to figure out where to route HVAC etc. it's already let me get a head start on a few issues with my soundproofing plan. I'm hoping that better planning on the front end will make for a smoother install.

Well, enough rambling. I'll try to get some pictures this weekend and post them for you guys. My picture to word ratio is getting way out of whack

Here's a couple of pics showing the current status of the exterior. You can see where we tried to seed and straw. Still not sure what we're going to do about the grass. Sod is just not a realistic option.



Here's a pic of the back. We really like the cedar detail at the peak of the back porch!



As far as theater updates go, I've been in touch with Ted and John at the Soundproofing company, and they've been a great help! I'm trying to get my soundproofing strategy in order now in hopes of minimizing the head scratching later.

We looked at hydroseeding, but it was going to be a good bit more expensive. The main reason is the people that did our landscaping are the same ones that did some of the finish grading and things like piping the downspouts underground.

Also, as vanice said, you still have to keep it moist, so there doesn't seem to be much advantage over regular seed and straw. I kept the sprinklers going on it 3 times a day for three weeks solid. There are a few places that probably got too much water, but I still would have expected to get some germination.

We'll see what they say?

While getting everyone ready today, my 2 y.o. was banging away on the piano and I started having second thoughts about my sound isolation plans. Now I'm thinking, DD+GG on the back side of the floor above, then maybe room within a room + clips + channel + 3 or 4 layers of drywall

In all seriousness, my wife mentioned that in a few more years he will likely be taking some kind of lessons for something. Piano, guitar, tuba, who knows. I took the opportunity to remind her that I was planning to go to a lot of trouble to sound isolate the theater.

I really appreciate the compliments RT! So far, we're extremely happy with the way it's turned out. We feel like we ended up with a design that's classic, and hopefully not trendy. You can drive around our area and see houses that you can guess pretty close to when they were built by the architecture. In 10 years, we don't want people to drive by and say, "Yep, that house was built in 2012." There are a lot of designs in our area now that I really like, but I'm afraid it will end up being the "2012 style." At any rate, I appreciate the compliment and third party approval

I think you're right, BIG. When we seeded the majority of the yard a little over a month ago, it was prime time. Now, we're a little late in the season. But if we tried to sod even what's left, we'd be looking at thousands of $$ I'm afraid. Of course, I'm still not sure we've got any centipede growing in what we seeded

On another note, I've been working on a scale model of the theater that's accurate down to the framing. I've put in clips, channel, drywall, etc., and I think it's been a worthwhile effort. It's certainly brought up a few points that I needed to work through ahead of time. Things like how to deal with clips and channel around my door that's jammed in the corner. How the channel should be run into the corners. Lots of little stuff that I would have had to think through on the fly otherwise.




The thing I'm working on now is the beam in the middle. I'm still not happy with how the drywall will overlap (or not) there. I can't get the staggered seam between the ceiling and wall because of the way the beam drops down a little past the second layer of drywall. I may end up adding a couple extra layers next to the wall there that will be hidden by the soffits. Of course, I still have to come up with a ceiling design to hide that drywall as well............. So many things to consider.

Sorry, you can't see the clips and channel in that pic. Here's the ceiling behind the drywall, and if I understand what you're saying correctly, I think I've done what you recommended. The problem is the clips and channel are about 1-3/8". Add a layer of 5/8" and you're at 2", which is what my beam hangs down. Then add another 1/2" for space between the beam and the first layer of drywall, and you've just about taken up the first two layers.



I could add spacers under my clips so that the first layer of drywall (or in my case OSB) clears the beam by 1/2", but then I'd be losing about 1-1/4" of ceiling height. This is the reason I've been considering a coffered ceiling to hide this.

EDIT: Ignore the clip locations. I've still got to work out the pattern. My joists are not evenly spaced due to the use of double joists and LVL's.

Thanks for the tip and the link! Using 1x's like that would certainly be simple, and it would give me attachment points at 16" O.C. My only concern is whether or not the 1x's would be strong enough to support Clips + Channel + OSB + Drywall. Since my joists are not uniformly spaced, I would have clips attached to nothing but the 1x's in most places. I don't think it would be a problem with drywall attached directly to the 1x's as it provides a more distributed load. The load will be more of point load.

Also, I've seen a video showing how much a wall with clips and channel moves when you hit it. It's quite a bit. I'll see if I can find the video and post a link. I realize I'll have gravity working in my favor here, but I've got plans for some massive subs

EDIT:
Here's that video that BIG made. I'll try to figure out how to imbed it. It's hard to tell just how much it's moving, but there's certainly more than I would have expected.
Edited by J_P_A - 6/12/12 at 3:19pm

Thanks for the info on the Kinetics products, but I think you guys talked me out of it already The cost would be prohibitive, but the thought of the ceiling sagging over time is a turn off. I'm pretty particular about the fit and finish of trim work.

And, Ted and John have been extremely helpful (and patient) in answering my numerous questions about their products and how to install them. So far, it sounds like we've got a few options for how to install their clips and channel. It's just a matter of choosing the best compromise between performance and ceiling height.