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Living the dream - Upstairs Theater build - Page 5

post #121 of 160
2/13/13 at 7:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NicksHitachi View Post

^There goes the neighborhood tongue.gif

What!?!? Don't make me PM Tom Logan and get him in here smile.gif
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post #122 of 160
2/13/13 at 8:55am
With just a quick glimpse, yes, I'd use the 24's for the side surrounds, and in-ceiling for the rear surrounds. Most material these days are in 5.1, though more and more are being offered in 7.1, especially on blu-ray (even 9.1, I think, on the new Expendables, but I may be mistaken). With the size of your room, the 24's should work fine. Remember, though, from what I read, the Klipsch's typcially need some "burning in" time, to take some of the harshness out of the horns. Not being up on that much, it may be something that's been addressed and not necessary. But the prices you're looking at look pretty great!
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post #123 of 160
2/16/13 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
Lighting question. Do you guys think it looks better to put those 3" puck lights on the bottom of the soffit going down the sides of the room or should I just do some sconces? Need to decide by Monday.
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post #124 of 160
2/16/13 at 7:46am
When you say puck lights, do you mean the surface mount lights, or recessed can lights?

It really depends on your room. If you have the width so that it's not obtrusive (as in, are you going to hit them walking between the sconce and your seats), sconces can look really nice. You have to find some that fit the style of the room, and don't look cheap, though. Recessed lights seem to be the go-to these days. They are relatively cheap and simple to install. For my room, I'm leaning towards can lights, unless I find some sconces that I REALLY like.
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post #125 of 160
2/16/13 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 
I would prefer recessed cans. Are most folks using 4" cans for the perimeter? I do have enough space for sconces. My soffit comes down to about 8' so I guess I could put sconces at 6'5" -7'. I should have at least 3' of space between my seats and the sconces.
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post #126 of 160
2/16/13 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wraunch View Post

Are most folks using 4" cans for the perimeter?

I used 3" recessed halogens, I know that Big has used the same ones or similar on a few builds as well (such as Bacon Race).
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post #127 of 160
2/16/13 at 9:37am
Here's a post where BIG mentions the 4" cans from Lowes, and here's another from the same thread. BIG seems to like these 4" cans because they have a lot of room to work in the connection box.
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post #128 of 160
2/16/13 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
Do you think something like this would work?

http://www.usalight.com/4-Universal-Air-Tight-IC-Line-Voltage-Recessed-p/us-104icat.htm.

Is there something better for the money?
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post #129 of 160
2/16/13 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Just bought 24 of these for $60 at lowes on clearance!
http://m.lowes.com/pd_290215-33439-Y99ICAT_0__?productId=3550004
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post #130 of 160
2/16/13 at 5:43pm
Nice find. I'm assuming your soffit is deep enough to accommodate them, right?
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post #131 of 160
2/16/13 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 
18" deep
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post #132 of 160
2/16/13 at 6:23pm
Yep, that'll do it smile.gif
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post #133 of 160
2/17/13 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
I am thinking about removing some of the 6" cans from my design and just doing rows of two 6" cans going down the center since I will have the 4" cans on the perimeter. Do you think 7' in between two 6" cans will be too much space? I was going to set the 6" cans approx. 4' from the 4" cans in the soffit. I will upload a revised layout shortly for feedback. Also the wife wants to do pendant lights over the 3rd row bar top seating so that knocks out some more cans.
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post #134 of 160
2/20/13 at 7:09am
Thread Starter 
Here is what I believe will be my final lighting layout. Electrician comes tomorrow to pull wire. I drastically cut down the number of 6" cans as these CREE 6" LEDs are way brighter than I estimated and I got a hell of a deal on my 4" airtight cans.

Layout 2-19.pdf 359k .pdf file
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post #135 of 160
2/20/13 at 8:39am
That's a nice color drawing Wraunch. I think the 6" cans should provide enough light. I like that you've placed them above the seating. Will you be able to control them seperately from the ones near the screen? I agree with your wife that the pendant lights will be nice over the bar. I think you're using a GE for control but, you'll definitely want to be able to dim them, especially with people's heads being nearby in the 2nd row. Looking forward to your progress.

Dale
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post #136 of 160
2/20/13 at 9:18am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Dale. I plan on using a GE to dim the following "zones":
- 6" cans over seats
- 4" cans around perimeter
- 6" cans in front of screen
- Pendant lights

If I can find a good deal on a 6 zone GE I might also have a zone for the 4" cans and pendant light over the bar sink area and an additional for the RGB LED Rope in the soffit crown.

I plan on pulling the top 4 zones at least into one 4 gang wallbox to allow me to use a GE with them. If I use a 6 zone is it also 4 gang? I think for the bar area pendant and 4" cans I will just put them on a simple decora Lutron dimmer that I will place at the end of the bar against the back wall.

What am I missing?

Also in order to put a floor outlet in under my riser I would need to rip up 2 full sheets of 3/4" OSB. Am I going to really regret not having that outlet in the riser? My chairs are not powered and I doubt I will ever buy powered ones or buttkickers in this house as this theater is on the second floor.

Also, on my screen placement. Should I put the screen flat against the back wall and just have a sort of shadow box around it for the false wall where I will hide the speakers? The main downside I can think of is the center channel would have to be below it versus behind it. I'm almost positive I won't do that but I wanted to ask.

Get ready for some big updates in the next few weeks.
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post #137 of 160
2/20/13 at 10:24am
I'd feel better if someone else (like BIG) would comment too but, here goes. According to what I've read on the Lutron site the 4 & 6 zone GE's both use a 4 gang box. It seems like you will have to decide the 4 vs. 6 zone question so your electrician can pull the wires. I would get the deepest gang box you can as space in there can be tight. I used deep boxes for X10 modules and had a heck of a time fitting it all in. Even if you go with a 4 zone GE it should be possible to control that, the decora dimmer and the RGB rope with a Harmony, iRule, etc. type control system.

The outlet in the riser may not be necessary if you have other wall outlets for vacuuming and temporary power needs. I need it because my riser will run the full width of the room and across the back wall, plus my son will occasionally bring his Xbox, PS3, etc.to play.

The center channel behind the screen is the best way to go IMO.

Dale
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post #138 of 160
3/15/13 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 
Ok, electrical is done. I had my bar sink roughed in on Tuesday. I am now trying to make sure I have all my bases covered for the low volt wiring. Here is a quick wiring diagram I did in paint. It might be overkill on some of the speaker wire but I have 500' of 14 AWG and while everything is wide open I figured why not. What am I missing? Am I correct in thinking I need to run RG6 for my subs? I currently plan on using my ED A2-300 as my main sub but I will add another later. Would I be better off just running a sub cable to where I plan on the subs sitting? I will always have access over top of this space as it is attic so I will be able to run additional wire later but I hate double work so I'd rather do a little extra now to help later. For example you'll see I plan on wiring for 11.2 although most likely the most I will ever use would be 7 or 9.2.
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post #139 of 160
3/15/13 at 9:32am
Thread Starter 
anyone......anyone????
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post #140 of 160
3/15/13 at 9:59am
I recommend running whatever you might conceptually ever need and then some..... Run those wires AND conduit to the major areas. Conduit is a life saver when systems change or grow. Run all the current wires outside the conduit and leave the conduit for further expansion.

Also, Cat 6 can be made into just about anything from speaker wire to IR emitters with a little splicing. If you have available shielded Cat6 is the best especially if you send a video signal. Run some extra runs of cat6 to different areas especially if you havew some left over, you'll find a use for it.
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post #141 of 160
3/15/13 at 9:59am
I regret not connecting my equipment stack to other areas in my basement, Like my workshop, and a sauna and steam room under construction. Given the distance I would have gone with a double run of Cat6 to carry the HDMI. I'm not planning for video in the steam and sauna but would like to pipe in some tunes.
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post #142 of 160
3/16/13 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
Nick, where are you recommending put conduit? To the projector and where else?
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post #143 of 160
3/18/13 at 8:35am
Thread Starter 
Here are some updated pics. All the electrical and plumbing are now roughed in. Anyone know if I'll be able to find a black smoke detector for the theater? Have to have one because it is next to a bedroom.

What do you think?
]
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post #144 of 160
3/18/13 at 8:57am
Not sure what you have in mind, or what you already have in your house, but you should consider a networked alarm. The though of my house burning while I'm in a soundproofed room and not being able to hear the smoke alarms scares me smile.gif

I've seen a couple threads where they've painted their smoke detectors. I think I've seen some that were black to begin with, but don't remember where ATM.
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post #145 of 160
3/18/13 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wraunch View Post

Here are some updated pics. All the electrical and plumbing are now roughed in. Anyone know if I'll be able to find a black smoke detector for the theater? Have to have one because it is next to a bedroom.
 

 

You can paint the smoke detector black.  Make sure you remove the cover before painting. You don't want to get any paint on the sensor.

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post #146 of 160
3/18/13 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Yes, they're all networked together. Code here also requires there to be one in the bedroom and outside the bedroom door, hence the one in the theater. I know folks say you can't paint them but I'm thinking if I take the cover off and make sure none of the vents get plugged I should be able to spray it black.
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post #147 of 160
3/21/13 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 
All, could I use GP Densglass Gold for drywall? I found a guy locally with 27 sheets for $50 new. It's 1/2".
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post #148 of 160
3/22/13 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Anyone know if that will cause problems or a reason why to avoid the Densglass?
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post #149 of 160
3/23/13 at 5:50pm
Thread Starter 
How do you guys recommend I leave the speaker wires and all other low voltage wire for rough in inspection? I was thinking I would run the wire into boxes like this and just coil it up behind the box. What would you do?

http://m.lowes.com/product?langId=-1&storeId=10702&catalogId=10051&productId=3256922&store=0677&view=detail
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post #150 of 160
4/26/13 at 4:38pm
Thread Starter 
HVAC goes in next week. Finally found a Grafik Eye this week also! Got a grx-3006 for $250!
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