AVS › AVS Forum › Home Entertainment & Theater Builder › Dedicated Theater Design & Construction › Making the "Bacon Race" Theater
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Making the "Bacon Race" Theater - Page 41

post #1201 of 1840
2/22/12 at 8:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by damelon View Post

I purchased 80 50lb bags (4000lbs) of sand. I think I ended up using about 72 or so. About 8 short give or take a bag. It was about 5 bags per large bay or so if I remember correctly. We filled all of the full-height sections with sand in the end as you see. On the little step big just used leftover R38 we had from the riser.

An alternative source of inexpensive sand in N. VA is vagroundcovers.com
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #1202 of 1840
2/23/12 at 4:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYHomeTheater View Post

Would two layers of 1/4" luan do the job if pre-curved 3/8" plywood is not available? I could not find the pre-curved plywood in the local Home Depot.

What is the tool recommended for cutting the curves in the plywood?

DIY, The pre-curved statement was a joke, there is often a warped piece of plywood sitting on top of the stack than nobody wants, in this case we grabbed it just to be funny. You will be able to bend 3/8 plywood just fine unless your curve is really tight. We also had them rip the 3/8 to the right height at the store to save us a lot of time.

As for cutting the edge, after struggling with cheaper jig saws on other projects I invested in a Bosch Jig saw and it does a good job particularly if you use their Precision series blades which are really thick and resist bending.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-1590EVSL...0000964&sr=8-1

You attach the plywood first then cut the curve in all the layers. Two layers is good, three is better.
Reply
Reply
post #1203 of 1840
2/23/12 at 4:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYHomeTheater View Post

An alternative source of inexpensive sand in N. VA is vagroundcovers.com

True but the goal of buying sand is to get dry sand. If it hasn't rained in a couple of weeks you can use that sand, keep it covered when it is sitting on your driveway.
Reply
Reply
post #1204 of 1840
2/23/12 at 5:32am
Stage curve cutting 101

The right tool



scribe the line with a sharpie



follow the line with your jig saw (that is my old one)



Jesto's stage.

Reply
Reply
post #1205 of 1840
2/23/12 at 7:22am
Thread Starter 
I love the curved marker tool! When BIG showed it to me I laughed, and then I saw how well it worked and I had to retract my laughter. It just looks goofy, but it does work!!!! And it's one of the cheapest tools you'll ever buy..err.. make.

I really lucked out on the dry sand. Just purchased the play sand and they delivered it in plastic-wrapped pallets. So even with rain they would be ok. Moving all of that sand down a hill and through the basement door into the theater wasn't a lot of fun though. It seemed like it was never ending!
Reply
Reply
post #1206 of 1840
2/23/12 at 7:40am
Thanks for posting the how-to Big. I too was wondering about the process. I figured that was how it worked but a picture can be worth a thousand words.
Reply
Reply
post #1207 of 1840
2/23/12 at 10:56am
How does that tool actually work, am I missing something?
Reply
Reply
post #1208 of 1840
2/23/12 at 11:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by smakovits View Post

How does that tool actually work, am I missing something?

Well it is shaped like this ]

The bottom end goes under the overhanging plywood and touches the curved surface below. The top piece shows you how far in it is. The top piece is usually slightly shorter to give a Lip or overhang. You can just move this along the stage, (the entire time the bottom piece is touching the front facing curved surface below the top plywood piece) which would allow you to trace the curve below the plywood on top of the plywood using a marker or pencil
Reply
Reply
post #1209 of 1840
2/23/12 at 1:01pm
Reply
Reply
post #1210 of 1840
2/23/12 at 1:15pm
I love Big's tacked up drawings.
Reply
Reply
post #1211 of 1840
2/23/12 at 1:40pm
So does my poor wall. It has become a perfsorber.
Reply
Reply
post #1212 of 1840
2/23/12 at 7:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC View Post

I think the stuff I used was $32. for that you get 30 strips. after doubling them up you get 15 or $2.13 for a 1 x 1.5. You can buy a 2x4 for under $2 and rip it in three 1 x1.5 pieces so that is under $ .60 a piece. Good luck finding straight enough studs, that will also stay straight after you rip them.

BIG, was there a reason you went with plywood instead of MDF? Just seems like if you used MDF you would KNOW it would be straight.
Reply
Reply
post #1213 of 1840
2/23/12 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by brausch View Post

BIG, was there a reason you went with plywood instead of MDF? Just seems like if you used MDF you would KNOW it would be straight.

We didn't have any concerns over the plywood being straight. (He was referring to studs being straight, not plywood) The reason we ended up going with plywood over MDF was that it was much less bendy than a similar-size piece of MDF. We already had pre-cut MDF strips from other parts of our construction and the difference was pretty obvious.
Reply
Reply
post #1214 of 1840
2/23/12 at 7:54pm
Damelon, I know he was talking about studs staying straight, I had seen some pretty warped plywood which is why I asked. But your explaination of the additional stiffness makes perfect sense, and was the answer I was looking for.

You theater looks amazing by the way! I am very impressed with both the final product and the timeframe it was completed in!
Reply
Reply
post #1215 of 1840
2/23/12 at 8:34pm
Our goal was to keep the width of the fabric frames as narrow as possible due to the design of the walls an how much would be treatment versus hard surface. We experimented with MDF and Plywood. We discovered that with the plywood we could go narrower and the panels wouldn't bow as much under tension from the fabric. We still needed some cross supports for many of the panels. I also didn't buy any warped plywood and I made sure what I grabbed at the store was dry. I didn't buy the cheapest plywood available. It was void free and didn't warp.
Reply
Reply
post #1216 of 1840
2/23/12 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC View Post

Our goal was to keep the width of the fabric frames as narrow as possible due to the design of the walls an how much would be treatment versus hard surface. We experimented with MDF and Plywood. We discovered that with the plywood we could go narrower and the panels wouldn't bow as much under tension from the fabric. We still needed some cross supports for many of the panels. I also didn't buy any warped plywood and I made sure what I grabbed at the store was dry. I didn't buy the cheapest plywood availble. It was void free and didn't warp.

Thanks BIG. Makes perfect sense. I am not building full wall panels, but will be making a few frames for acoustic treatments. I appreciate the infromation.
Reply
Reply
post #1217 of 1840
2/24/12 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by brausch View Post

You theater looks amazing by the way! I am very impressed with both the final product and the timeframe it was completed in!

Thanks! And BIG already answered the rest.
Reply
Reply
post #1218 of 1840
2/24/12 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by damelon View Post

Watched the original "Alien" last weekend. It's one of my "Oldie but goodie" movies!

I am pale grey because I am sick with the flu, red because I am having a frustrating day at work, and now I'm turning green with jealousy!

Glad you hear you are enjoying the 'Oldie but goodie' movies in the new theater. 'Alien' and 'Aliens' are my all time favorites, thus the new hue.
Reply
Reply
post #1219 of 1840
2/24/12 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeerParty View Post

I am pale grey because I am sick with the flu, red because I am having a frustrating day at work, and now I'm turning green with jealousy!

Glad you hear you are enjoying the 'Oldie but goodie' movies in the new theater. 'Alien' and 'Aliens' are my all time favorites, thus the new hue.

Sorry you are not feeling well. Being sick sucks. (Your custom speakers are coming along beautifully though!)

I haven't yet watched Aliens, which is really one of my all time favorite movies. I was hoping maybe this afternoon I'd jet home a little early and watch it, but more likely that will be this weekend. It's unfortunate that there aren't more quality sci-fi movies. I'm so excited about Prometheus coming out this summer. That preview gives me the chills!

I have to say, I absolutely love this projector. I have noticed in several movies now how sharp the picture is. I can't imagine how much better it would look if I got it calibrated!

I watched the last harold and kumar 3d movie earlier this week and it's a rare widescreen 3d movie, and I didn't even notice the brightness being dim at all, meaning it was plenty bright. On the size screen I have, that really hit me.
Reply
Reply
post #1220 of 1840
2/24/12 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by damelon View Post

Well it is shaped like this ]

The bottom end goes under the overhanging plywood and touches the curved surface below. The top piece shows you how far in it is. The top piece is usually slightly shorter to give a Lip or overhang. You can just move this along the stage, (the entire time the bottom piece is touching the front facing curved surface below the top plywood piece) which would allow you to trace the curve below the plywood on top of the plywood using a marker or pencil

OK, I am a moron, I guess I forgot about face of the stage already being curved and then this is to make the top match this curve...

Makes perfect sense now. Wow
Reply
Reply
post #1221 of 1840
2/24/12 at 1:32pm
Don't feel bad. I didn't really get it either until Big's diagram.
Reply
Reply
post #1222 of 1840
2/24/12 at 4:57pm
rackenfrack........if only I had this info six months ago......
Reply
Reply
post #1223 of 1840
2/24/12 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC View Post

Forgot I had a picture of this, These were the pieces cut for the stage before assembly. Damelon tacked on the foam


What is the purpose of the foam?
Reply
Reply
post #1224 of 1840
2/24/12 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYHomeTheater View Post

What is the purpose of the foam?

Had foam all around the edges as a sort of dampener between the drywall and the stage. (We did the same with the riser) Although all of the room itself was decoupled from the house, we wanted to make sure if something got pushed tight against the wall there would be a way for the wood and the drywall not to touch directly and allow movement to dampen or prevent vibration transfer.
Reply
Reply
post #1225 of 1840
2/24/12 at 7:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by damelon View Post


Stage we used 2x10s for the main bones and it will be covered with 2 x 3/4" plywood.
Riser we used 2x12s. Same plywood. We are only putting 1 3/4" ply piece on the riser steps. All rear speaker columns will rest on the riser.

So, your risers were not of equal height for each step?
Reply
Reply
post #1226 of 1840
2/24/12 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYHomeTheater View Post

So, your risers were not of equal height for each step?

I'm totally confused on this question! There are only steps on the riser. (One step on each side) We didn't put two pieces of plywood on top of each step because then the steps would be too high. On top of both the stage and the riser we had double-thick plywood. The stage is not the same height as the riser, and the stage doesn't really have steps. It just has levels.
Reply
Reply
post #1227 of 1840
2/24/12 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by damelon View Post

I'm totally confused on this question! There are only steps on the riser. (One step on each side) We didn't put two pieces of plywood on top of each step because then the steps would be too high. On top of both the stage and the riser we had double-thick plywood. The stage is not the same height as the riser, and the stage doesn't really have steps. It just has levels.

What I meant was that from your photos and the 2x10 used for the stage, it appears that the first step appears to be 3.5"+0.75"=4.25" high.
The actual (dressed) height of a 2x10 is 9.25", i.e. 5" above first step. Add 1.5" for the two layers of 3/4" plywood, and you get a total height of the second step to be 6.5". So, the two steps were not of equal heights. Is the difference noticeable? Same logic will apply to seating steps as well.

Also, did you put the first seating row on a riser or directly on carpet on concrete? I am thinking of a short riser so that if I use a butt kicker I can still receive some sort of tactile feedback from my feet on a raised floor. This wont be possible off a concrete slab.
Reply
Reply
post #1228 of 1840
2/24/12 at 8:53pm
The step for the stage is two layers and the step up heights are actually very similar. There is not a reason for them to be exactly equal, the stage it is purely aesthetic.

Steps where you walk are another story and we actually ripped the wood for the steps so that the step up would be exactly equal.
Reply
Reply
post #1229 of 1840
2/27/12 at 4:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC View Post

What a day, I broke the rear window in my pickup and Damelon broke his camera, Somehow in the middle we made some progress.

First we had some plans.

Riser



Stage



So we hopped into my 20 year old pickup (80K miles) and went to Lowe's

There on aisle 17 we picked up a stage and riser.

If filled 3 carts, Damelon up in front I'm pushing from the back. At this point I was thinking "Some Assembly may be required". If you look closely you will notice we were able to buy 3/8 inch pre-curved plywood stage fronts, this saves a lot of time trying to curve then yourself.



It fits!


I need to document that our trip to Lowe's took 3 hours, I think we were having wood cut for 2 of the 3 hours. Then there was the KFC drive thru window where we picked up some sandwiches.

We got a good portion of the riser cut and assembled



We got the stage framed









During the cleanup of the room at the end of the day I decided to finally try one of the tricks of pulling cable in a conduit



Tied a 7-11 bag on some nylon cord, one of the helpers held the vacuum hose to the projector conduit and I positioned the bag at the other end and before I could say "here it comes", the vacuum ate the bag and string.



Tomorrow we hope to get the decking on. That all depends on how fast Damelon can haul sand.


I like this stage and its construction details so much that I am going to build it in my theater. Thanks Damelon and Big.
Reply
Reply
post #1230 of 1840
2/27/12 at 6:42am
Just a heads up, the Home Depot off the Green Way in Ashburn has the pre-curved plywood in stock. I was there yesterday and they had a least a dozen pieces of various thicknesses.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Home Entertainment & Theater Builder › Dedicated Theater Design & Construction › Making the "Bacon Race" Theater