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The Moving Pictures Theater Construction Thread

59K views 566 replies 45 participants last post by  avtexan 
#1 · (Edited)
HISTORY:
We built the house in 2005. There has been a dedicated space for the theater but it has been a storage room for most of the time. If I could go back in time I would make the room 2’ wider and 4’ longer but that ship has sailed. The last couple of years I have spent lots of time on AVS trying to get a feel for want I wanted to do and gaining some knowledge. I must say you guys have set the bar pretty high so I hope I don’t embarrass myself.

The plan is to do a lot of the work myself and to sub out the big stuff. I have a pretty hectic job and time is tight as I am sure it is for everyone. So far I have the sheetrock stripped out and rough framing for the ceiling will start on Thursday!!! So I would not be at this point without everyone’s help and I certainly will not make it to the end without a bunch of help along the way. So let’s do this!

THE ROOM:
The space is over my garage. The dimensions are 21’ x 13.5’ x 9’. The ceiling will be punched up 12” for a coffered ceiling. The usage will be 70% HT, 20% music, 10% gaming. I will have 2 rows of 3 for seating.

CONSTRUCTION:
Walls: Whisper Clips + Hat Channel + 3/4” OSB + GG + 5/8” DW
Ceiling: Whisper Clips + Hat Channel + 3/4” Plywood + GG + 5/8” DW
Floors: 3/8” Serenity Mat + 3/4” OSB + GG + 3/4” OSB
Stage: 2x12 joists 12" OC and a top of 3/4” OSB + GG + 1/2” OSB + GG + 3/4” OSB
Riser: 2 x 10 joist 16" OC and a top of 3/4” OSB + GG + 3/4” OSB
Door: 1-3/4” Solid Core with Zero Automatic door bottom and Jamb System
HVAC ducts to be run in soffits and the lighting will be in soffits and the coffered ceiling

DESIGN: (Updated 03/11/13)
Stained wainscoting on the lower 32” of walls. (4) Columns to hide speakers and outlets. Wall fabric is GOM Anchorage-Mulberry. The false wall is GOM FR701 - Black. The stain is Old Masters whiping stain in American Walnut. The Chairs are Palliser Broadway Toffee. The carpet is Kane Regalia - Jet. The stage carpet is Kane Bonacerra - Midnight.


EQUIPMENT (Updated 07/13/19)
PJ: Sim2 LUMIS 3D-S Uno
A-Lens: Cineslide with ISCO III XL
Screen: Screen Excellence Elighter 4K (120 wide 2:37)
Video Processor: Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D
Pre/Pro: Marantz AV8801
Amps: B&K Ref 7270 (200x7) & B&K Ref 2220 (200x2)
LCR Speakers: (3) Triad InRoom Gold LCR
Side Speakers: (2) Triad InWall Gold/4 Omni SE
Rear Speakers: (2) Triad InCeiling Silver/8 Omni SE
Subs: (2) Seaton SubMersive HP+ (Master / Slave)
DSP: Mini DSP OpenDRC-AN
Blu Ray: Oppo BDP-103
Net Movies: Roku 3
Sat: DirecTv
Gaming: Xbox 360
Whole House Audio: Nuvo Grand Concerto
DAC: NAD D 1050
Cables: AudioQuest Cinnamon HDMI, AudioQuest RedRiver XLR's, AudioQuest Golden Gate RCA’s, Blue Jeans Cable 12/2 Speaker cable
Power: Furman F1500-UPS & Furman Elite-15 PFi
Racks: (2) Middle Atlantic Slim 5
Lighting: Lutron Home Works 8 with 11 zones
Automation: CQC
Wifi Access Point: Ubiquiti AP AC in Wall Pro
Seats: Palliser Media motorized chairs
Popcorn Machine: Paragon Contempo 8oz

SPECIAL THANKS!
Equipment & Design: Scott Horton of TechHT
Acoustic Design: Quest Accoustics
Sound Isolation Design: Ted White
Lutron Lighting: Mike Stephens

Updated 7/6/2019
 

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#2 ·

CURRENT STATUS: CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED 5/04/14

 

SCREEN WALL:



 

REAR:



 

LEFT SIDE:



 

RIGHT SIDE



 

 

COFFERED CEILING:



 

EQUIPMENT RACKS:



 

SIM2 LUMIS 3D-S WITH ISCO III L LENS ON CINESLIDE:



 

CARPET (FLOOR IS KANE REGALIA - JET AND STAGE IS BONACERRA - MIDNIGHT):



 

PARAGON CONTEMPO 8OZ POPCORN MACHINE ON PULLOUT SHELF:



 

 
#5 ·

 

Well the lumber showed up today and the construction starts on Monday!!  That's a nice stack of goodies that needs to go upstairs. 

 

I guess the first item for the "what I would do differently file"......build the theater downstairs so you don't have to traverse the winding staircase getting everything upstairs.


 

I have to admit that I am a little nervous and excited to get started.

 

So please feel free to jump in if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions.  I am going to need all of the help I can get!!

 

 

The items for Monday & Tuesday:

 

 
ROUGH FRAMING
 Remove old insulation
 Popup center of ceiling for coffer
 Remove framing from downstairs A/C return to be moved
 Frame for popcorn machine
 1 3/4" Solid core door with larger jamb
  
ELECTRICAL 
 Find location of all circuits and power draw for each
 Cut power and take down downlights
 

 

 



 
#6 ·
Looking good. I'll definitely be following your progress. You seem to have all planned out pretty good. Have fun and take lots of progress photos so that we can oooh and aaahh at all your hard work.
 
#7 ·
Do you have a large outside window or sliding door on that second floor near that room? It would be worth a few bucks to have the lumber yard use a crane/lift to hoist your stuff up there rather than muscle all your building materials up that staircase. Might save your walls too.
 
#8 ·
Looking forward to following along.
 
#11 ·

We got the pop-up for the coffered ceiling done today.  I am happy with the way in turned out.

 

The Ceiling before

 



 

The Ceiling After

 
#12 ·

For tomorrow we are working on a built-in for the popcorn machine.   I am going with the 8oz Paragon Contempo.

 

The dimension shown below are not correct.  I did not have as much space behind that wall as I had hoped.   If I had 2" around the sides, 3" in the rear and 12" above the machine would I be OK? How hot do these things get?  I will have it on a sliding trey that will pull out to clean etc.

 

 

 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by avtexan  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23097354


For tomorrow we are working on a built-in for the popcorn machine.   I am going with the 8oz Paragon Contempo.


The dimension shown below are not correct.  I did not have as much space behind that wall as I had hoped.   If I had 2" around the sides, 3" in the rear and 12" above the machine would I be OK? How hot do these things get?  I will have it on a sliding trey that will pull out to clean etc.




I would think this could be an issue. I don't own one, but I'm pretty sure you are going to have a lot of steam/moisture coming out of the top.


If nothing else, you'd probably want to have something other than drywall lining the inside of the enclosure that won't absorb all the moisture. Or you could put a fan in there that helps to push it into the room. I would do some more research though. 12" doesn't sound like much room to let that thing breathe. If you are doing the sliding tray, maybe you could cook the popcorn with it fully extended into the room, then push it right back in when it's done.


We did something similar in our kitchen for a pizza oven. We just open the cupboard and slide the drawer with the pizza oven into the room. After the pizza's done and the oven cools for a little bit, we slide it back into the cupboard.
 
#14 ·
You might look at how I lined up lights on my soffit. Depending upon how you are constructing things, putting the lights in your corners of the soffit could prove challenging. But also, you might want lights on the front and back of the soffit to help provide down lighting in the middle of the room. I know you have sconces, but they could be a little blinding since they will be around eye level. Just some thoughts.
 
#15 ·
avtexan - looks like a good project you have here.


Unfortunately, I think Mario is correct above: I have a popcorn machine and it creates a lot of steam and moisture. If you're bent on this setup, a slide out track like Mario suggests may work.


An additional thing to consider that may help you with the popcorn space constraints...are you sure you want an 8oz. machine? I initially wanted that size as well, but the dealer talked me out of it and said that 4oz. machines are adequate for all but the most intense residential settings. In hindsight, he was absolutely right. I don't know how many people you expect to make popcorn for, but the 4oz. machine will crank out a LOT of popcorn very quickly. I regularly pop enough for a full house of 8-10 guests in my HT and it is no problem with the 4oz. machine. (It takes about 4 of the pre-made packages, but once the machine is warmed up (about 3 mins) you can crank these out very quickly.)


Also, I didn't see exactly where the projector will be placed - will it be in the back with the racks or mounted on the ceiling in your room? If on the ceiling, I didn't see an outlet in your electrical plan for it...don't forget to add one! (You'll probably want a power bridge back to the rack so you can connect to a UPS for proper shutdown in case of a power failure.)


Best of luck with your build!
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23097965


I would think this could be an issue. I don't own one, but I'm pretty sure you are going to have a lot of steam/moisture coming out of the top.


If nothing else, you'd probably want to have something other than drywall lining the inside of the enclosure that won't absorb all the moisture. Or you could put a fan in there that helps to push it into the room. I would do some more research though. 12" doesn't sound like much room to let that thing breathe. If you are doing the sliding tray, maybe you could cook the popcorn with it fully extended into the room, then push it right back in when it's done.


We did something similar in our kitchen for a pizza oven. We just open the cupboard and slide the drawer with the pizza oven into the room. After the pizza's done and the oven cools for a little bit, we slide it back into the cupboard.

I agree on not using DW for the lining. Maybe I could use Hardi board or Cement board.


I plan to leave the tray out when is use but I was curious if it would be ok inside the cutout.

Your pizza kitchen sounds like what I had in mind so I am glad that is working for you.
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23097984


You might look at how I lined up lights on my soffit. Depending upon how you are constructing things, putting the lights in your corners of the soffit could prove challenging. But also, you might want lights on the front and back of the soffit to help provide down lighting in the middle of the room. I know you have sconces, but they could be a little blinding since they will be around eye level. Just some thoughts.

Great idea. I have changed my thoughts on the light tray. I like the look of the coffer so much that I am going to utilize all of the open space for the coffer. I will put the lights in the hollow "beams" of the coffer. I will look at your lights again and play with the spacing tonight and update the sketch.
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23098084


avtexan - looks like a good project you have here.


Unfortunately, I think Mario is correct above: I have a popcorn machine and it creates a lot of steam and moisture. If you're bent on this setup, a slide out track like Mario suggests may work.


An additional thing to consider that may help you with the popcorn space constraints...are you sure you want an 8oz. machine? I initially wanted that size as well, but the dealer talked me out of it and said that 4oz. machines are adequate for all but the most intense residential settings. In hindsight, he was absolutely right. I don't know how many people you expect to make popcorn for, but the 4oz. machine will crank out a LOT of popcorn very quickly. I regularly pop enough for a full house of 8-10 guests in my HT and it is no problem with the 4oz. machine. (It takes about 4 of the pre-made packages, but once the machine is warmed up (about 3 mins) you can crank these out very quickly.)

So if you were to make popcorn for 4 adults how many 4oz packages would you use?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23098084


Also, I didn't see exactly where the projector will be placed - will it be in the back with the racks or mounted on the ceiling in your room? If on the ceiling, I didn't see an outlet in your electrical plan for it...don't forget to add one! (You'll probably want a power bridge back to the rack so you can connect to a UPS for proper shutdown in case of a power failure.)


Best of luck with your build!

The PJ will be in the rack closet above the racks centered in the room. It will be powered by a Furman UPS that will be in the rack directly below the PJ.


For cooling I have a mid Atlantic vent system in the rack closet that has the motor remotely put in the attic. It moves plenty of air VERY quietly.


I did buy (3) of the power bridges. (2) will run romex to the front for the subs to the power conditioner. (1) will run to my Lutron closet for the processor to be hooked up to the UPS that my network gear is on. I have had some issues when the power has cycled off and on in short succession locking up my Lutron processor.
 
#19 ·
Let's see...for 4 (hungry) adults, I would make two of these packages and I think that would be more than enough.


I watched with my mom, cousin, and his GF on Sunday night...I only made one package and that was enough for each of us to have one of these cups (on the left), with a bit leftover.


 
#20 ·

The rough in for the popcorn machine is done.  I will do the trim work down the line.  The bottom 36" will have cabinet doors that will match the bar to the left.  The top will have a slide out shelf for the popcorn machine.  Above the machine I will put some type of sign with the theater name.

 



 

Next up is to replace the 2 flimsy pocket doors with a 1 3/4 solid core door. I orderd the door with a 7.5" jamb to make room for the clips+osb+gg+dw.
 
#21 ·

I need some help on the HVAC plan.  I think I have a good handle on the supply side.  I have 2 lines of flex duct coming in the 2 back corners of the room.  They make a 15' run in a soffit covered on all four sides with 3/4 OSB+GG+DW.  The registers are high in the front of the room not pointing to the seats.  The HVAC contractor is working out the size of the ducts and the size of the register to get the correct CFM at 250 FPM or less.  Thoughts?

 

I am really struggling on how to do the return.

How do I soundproof these?

Should I have one or two?

How big?

Do I use a filter?

 

HELP!!!!
 
#24 ·
I would suggest two high mounted returns in the rear of the room, but I'm no HVAC expert and I think it would be pretty difficult to say definitively without properly calculating the load in the room. As far as soundproofing the returns, give Ted a call. Preferred method would most likely be a dead vent (assuming there is adequate space) but I'm sure Ted will set you up well.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji  /t/1462881/the-moving-pictures-theater-construction-thread#post_23102395


I would suggest two high mounted returns in the rear of the room, but I'm no HVAC expert and I think it would be pretty difficult to say definitively without properly calculating the load in the room. As far as soundproofing the returns, give Ted a call. Preferred method would most likely be a dead vent (assuming there is adequate space) but I'm sure Ted will set you up well.
 

I had a good talk with Ted yesterday and he did recommend the dead vent for the return.  Attached is a sketch of the current plan.  PS I know it has been said on many threads before but Ted is awesome to work with and has been VERY helpful.

 

 

 

The Moving Pictures Theater - HVAC.pdf 113k .pdf file

 

 

 

Below is the space that the dead vent will go into.  I need to redo the framing a bit to make room for the 10' x 16" box.

And I know none will ever see them but I will tidy up that mess of wires when I run the other low voltage wires.

 

 

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#26 ·

So next on the list is to finalize the lighting plan.  We will start pulling wire on Monday and I need some feedback.  Any thoughts on the current plan?

 

 

 

The Moving Pictures Theater - Lighting.pdf 106k .pdf file
 

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