Making the "Bacon Race" Theater - Page 6

Now if I stop sweating bullets over the light-tray & column designs, not to mention my credit card statements, I'll be a happy camper!

We are pretty sure about how we are putting it up. It is going to be a simple design. (See the last picture BIG posted). Basically half of a box. A 5.5" piece of MDF with a 6" piece of MDF screwed to the end. There will be a few support pieces inside of the L for stability and to help screw in the box higher up, but mostly the tray will be held in place by screwing it into the bottom of the soffit. The top will be open. This will allow wiring to be done easily, heat to leave the tray, and also because it just isn't seen, so it isn't needed. Keeps the weight down.

What we are really working on is how we are going to finish the box. We are looking at veneering, some combinations of paint and stain, etc. BIG is also experimenting with some mouldings.

The primary color type of both the columns and the light box will match, and will be a red color to be close to the color of the GOM.

Yeah, I've looked at it. I wouldn't be worried about the staining. We would only need to find the right color stain for the wood we choose. The front would be a little harder with the curved piece if we used solid wood and to keep the stain, since we'd have to use thin bendable material. Yeah I do know that hardwood is cheaper at a lumber store than like home depot/lowes. BIG is experimenting right now and wants to show me the results before we make any decisions.

Yeah when BIG and I were at Lowes the day we picked up the materials for the Stage/Riser, the 2x2s there were absolutely terrible. When we came back later for the soffit they had a brand new pallet of 2x2s and they were in excellent shape.

BIG is really excited to show me his idea of moldings on the light tray. For our build, the recessed lights will not exit in the soffit area you see so far in this build. The soffit will be filled with bulk cotton and covered with black GOM on the bottom. The light tray will be inside of the existing soffit. BIG is experimenting with the look of putting the trim inside of that. He has some column ideas too, as do I.

In other news, Bryan Pape just finished my audio treatment plan. We're going to do 2" 3lb cotton on the front wall, full coverage. OC703 in the front corners triangle cut for bass traps. Soffit filled with bulk cotton. Side walls from front bass absorbers to the side-rear columns will have floor to ceiling 1" 3lb cotton. Between rear side columns and rear wall, the cotton will be to only 5' high to allow for some surround reflection. The rear wall will be 4" OC703 with paper facing. All walls will be covered with GOM FR701 fabric.

Looking good there BIG! Yeah the color is going to be the tough part. I think Ruben had to mix two colors when he did his to get it right. The color of the fabric is your typical old-school "red velvet" ropes. It's not a cherry red. The stan is also never going to be that color either. So we just need to find something that looks good with it.

Went to Lowes, the closest color match was Valspar "Royal Garnet" to the GOM Clarent Accent fabric. It definitely has a shade of purple to it, though it is still is very red.

Got the ceiling and soffit sides primed before they get painted black. Debating a second primer coat. That drywall was really sucking it up.

Is it me or do all of the reds in your pictures turn out brown? I'd have to see that in person next to the fabric to see if the color is right.

Yes! That is more like the color I was hoping for. I like that paint. I think I also agree with you that at least the "shadowed" color isn't as good as keeping it all one color. I'd like to see it completely black, and then try putting in some steel/nickel/aluminum bands as well to see how it looks. But I think one color for the trim is my current preference.

We spent a long time looking at Ruben's (aka Sandman/SMX) light tray design and it looks like it screwed it into the bottom, with a few pieces of blocking inside of each tray to allow a few bits screwed in higher up. I agree that if it was a "U" shape, it would give it all the stability it needs. At the same time, I think that blocking would accomplish all that the weight requires without all of that additional MDF. I even thought it was completely enclosed originally ( a complete box ) but couldn't figure out an easy way to wire it that way. Then BIG was pointing out that he didn't think they had tops. After looking at several shots many times we concluded they didn't have backs either. Thus half of the weight, easy to wire, recessed rope lighting, etc. We can always build it as an L, finish it, try to mount it, and if it doesn't work a back could easily be added with minimal work.

Gravity and Force will come into play too. Based on an L shape, each piece would have a tendency to pull downward and inward based on the most weight being on the inside edge. However, on the long large sides there would be the two other light tray sections blocking the ability for the force to move inward, not to mention being scewed together. On the front and the back, they would also be scewed into the two side trays. In the end making a big square which would have only the total weight pulling straight down. In that case the vertical screws into the bottom of the soffit should be more than enough to hold it up.

No sconces. We are doing small recessed lights in the light tray, one over each column, and one light in between each column section, along with a row of gimble lights to point toward the screen and reflect the light into the room. In addition, there will be rope light above the light tray to put non-direct light into the tray ceiling, and step lights.