Mr.Tim's 15x27 Theater - Page 4

Good news, I found the bit at my Dad's house. Frustrating part is, it was exactly where I kept my bits when I used to live there.. so technically.. it was where it was supposed to be Its just been that long since I used it. Thanks for the compliments on the sub. I have everything to finish, hopefully I'll put the paint on Saturday and get them rocking on Sunday. I have a Buttkicker 1000w amp looking for a challenge.



When I was sheetrocking in what seems a lifetime ago, we got ready to quit for the night and my friend asked "where is the other cordless drill?" (this was back in the day of the blue makita 9.6v drills). I thought for a little bit, went into the closet, punched a hole in the wall and found the drill. Once upon a time I could actually remember stuff

I'm also moving along on my HVAC install.. Ordered 6 sticks of 15% silfos brazing rods off the 'Bay, so I may be purging and vacuuming lines this weekend.

Stopped by the HVAC supply house and had a great conversation with the guy there. He is going to bring in a supply and return plenum for my air handler, custom sized and lined. If I don't like it he said just bring it back. I've been going there for years picking up little things here and there, so they know me somewhat, but I was really impressed with how helpful he was today.

Between that and the brazing rods, I should be all set. Since I have a long lineset I will have to pick up some more refrigerant. The condensor only comes pre-charged for 15 ft.. I have like 60.

If there's any interest, I'll break out the contour roam when I get around to doing the work.

Tim

I was asking Mario some carpet q's in his thread and a question arose about my nosings. I did a quick sketch on what I'm planning to do:



I'm trying to get the nosing to match the height of the carpet without requiring shimming. Right now I am figuring a 3/8" lip. This sketch is of my steps down to the lower level seating.

For my highest riser I am putting a layer of 3/8" plywood over the existing 3/4. I'm going to install the nosing first, which will be 3/4" higher that the first layer of 3/4 plywood. The second layer of 3/8" will butt up to the nosing and bring the carpet transition to 3/8.

My question was how much lip[ should I leave.. 1/4, 3/8. 1/2.. I think 3/8 is pretty safe.

Tim

There's no marking on it, but the specs say the 2900 ships with a 2mm needle. It's definitely bigger than the 1.5mm I ordered.

Tim

Thanks for the input, Dwight. Mario had 3/4 and they had to shim his, so I think 1/2" would be the max.

I looked at it this way:
-there is no padding between the tackless and the nosing, so the thickness of the tackless+carpet is probably what I should shoot for
-a 3/8 gap under the baseboard usually compresses the carpet a bit (or, the carpet is a little taller than 3/8)
-a 1/2" gap under the baseboard usually allows the carpet to slide right under (or the carpet is about 1/2" tall)

I also figured if I had a choice between the carpet being higher than the nosing, or the nosing being higher than the carpet, I'd prefer the former.. I think it would be a greater trip hazard if the nosing (hard, immovable) was higher than the carpet (has some give).

With all the people here.. I can't believe nobody is/has been a pro carpet installer! Our members surely run the gamut of trades! Any volunteers to take up the trade??

Tim

Lots of progress today. Started with a trip to the HVAC supply to pick up the custom plenums:


Extremely happy with them for just over $100. They fit the unit perfectly and they're lined (and pin welded).



Got all of the treads done for the stage. You can see the 1/4" lip I made:




Used all of my black undercoat.. Almost painted everything I wanted to get painted. Ran short so the F-20 only has half a paint job. The important thing is that I got all the woodwork done that I wanted to.. the sub can wait. Here's the stage:


I painted the treads outside. I also sprayed the risers before I installed the treads. I have to finish joining the top tread and fasten everything down. Before the carpet goes in I'll block it all with 320 grit and give it a final coat of black-tinted poly.

Tim

Got the steps to the lower lvel complete. I think they came out pretty well considering it was built and painted outside, then installed:



Here you can see the beginnings of a column mockup:



My first impression is that these columns are HUGE. I am going to go ahead and get it mocked up all the way. It is perfectly square, so it isn't really bigger that the columns that are already there.. it just sticks into the room.

Tim

Not much on the theater. I finish building and am enjoying my F-20 sub (see my sig). I am no audiophile... never have been, probably never will be.. But this sub is amazing. Not being an audio guy I don't have anything to compare it to, but IMHO it's an insane amount of bass.

Hope to work on the columns this weekend. Looks like rain this AM, but hopefully I can open the outdoor workshop this afternoon and get one done. We'll see.

Tim

A little more progress on the columns:


You can see how the base of the column is the same height regardless of which riser you're on.

Raised panels at stage:


Raised panels being glued up at the rear of the theater:


Not sure if I'll get anything else done tomorrow. Need to mill some more stiles as I ran short. Don't even want to think about the rails and stiles I need for those columns...

Tim

I've done a little more carpentry.. I'm working on the details right now. I turned a few corners with the wainscot and got one of the door frames fab'd and installed.

Today's big project was this:


Finally got the condenser brazed in to the lineset.


Charged with nitrogen to check for leaks:



Start pressure on high side:


30 mins later:



I wish I could say the same for the suction side. It has a pretty substantial leak as far as refrigeration goes. I charged to 300psi and will leave overnight.. but my 30 min test was pretty conclusive. Checked my brazed joints, and it's not those.

It's one of the joints that was done when the lineset was originally installed.

The good news is I know where the 3 fittings/joints are and two of them are actually outside, so I just have to dig down and cut through the pvc sleeve to expose them.

The bad news is that there is one fitting above the theater ceiling. Praying it's not that one.. because that will mean tearing through the soffit and I'm not even sure if I can get to the fitting without removing some of the ductwork.

Yes, they do have a leak detector that will detect the refrigerant. If I had one, I would put a trace of 410 in there and charge with nitrogen.

Unfortunately, I don't have one. Double-unforunately, I would have to expose the fittings anyway to be able to use the detector. At that point the leak detector solution (aka soapy water) should work anyway. At 300psi bubbles should form easily.

The tubing underground is in a 3" pvc pipe that's been filled with closed cel foam. It's not a huge ordeal, it's only about a foot deep, and a grinder will cut the pvc easily without risk of cutting the tubing. I am going to start there.. if it's not that, then I'm going to have to open the soffit up.

In the soffit is a single coupling, and I know where it is. But the ductwork is smashed right up against it, so I don't think I will be able to get a torch in there safely unless I remove the ductwork. Let's hope it doesn't come to that!

Tim

Spent the night preparing for the worst. This morning I cut the line after it entered the house and tested the portion of the tubing that is buried in the soffit:


Success! The tubing held pressure.


So now I knew I had to start dissecting the piping outside. Low and behold:


Got ya!

Tim

I used a pvc hand saw:


I shied away from the power tools for fear I destroy something

Tim

Some progress on the columns. I've been sidetracked by the central air conditioning and then Sandy.

Base of the columns:


They tie into the MDF skirt board on the front of the second riser.. this was a pain, glad it is out of the way!:


Some columns corners assembled and painted... others waiting to be glued up:


Also got two of the three door jambs assembled and primed:


I assembled the main theater entrance door jamb (including gorilla glue) and thought... man that looks wide. A quick measure and found I had framed for a 30" door.. not a 36" like I built the jamb for. Luckily I popped it apart, ran to the miter saw and lopped 6" off.. back down to the theater and reassembled before the glue started to foam up. I think that exhausted this month's luck.. and it's only the 4th.

Tim

As Dave said, it's a lock miter bit. I've pretty much stopped making corners any other way. Trying to miter the edges or butt them together never yields great results. You always see some sort of joint. I use the lock miter and then a 1/4" roundover bit to soften and hide the joint.

When glued properly the joint is exceptionally strong. Outside I've had mahogany planks split before the joint let go.

Tim

Every other door leading to the theater was 30", be it the door at the top of the stairs or the pass door leading to the exterior entrance.. Just didn't seem like it would help, since anything that got that far would fit through a 30" door

Tim

Thanks Hope to finish them within a week and have some final pics.

Tim