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The Moving Pictures Theater Construction Thread

post #1 of 45
3/11/13 at 11:49pm
Thread Starter 
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 some 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: 3/4” OSB + GG + 1/2” OSB + GG + 3/4” OSB
Riser: 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:
Stained wainscoting on the lower 32” of walls. (4) Columns to hide speakers and outlets. Wall fabric is GOM Anchorage-Mulberry. The speakers and false wall are GOM FR701-Black. The Chairs are Broadway Toffee. The carpet is TBD.

EQUIPMENT
PJ: Runco LS-10i
A-Lens: Cineslide with ISCO III XL
Screen: Screen Excellence Elighter 4K (120 wide 2:37)
Pre/Pro: Marantz AV8801
Amps: B&K Ref 7270 (200x7) & B&K Ref 2220 (200x2)
LCR Speakers: (3) Triad InWall Gold/6 LCR
Wide Speakers: (2) Triad InCeiling Gold/8 Omni SE (On their side)
Side Speakers: (2) Triad InWall Gold/4 Surround
Rear Speakers: (2) Triad InCeiling Gold/8 Omni SE
Subs: (2) Paradigm Sub 15
Blue Ray: Oppo BDP-103
Sat: DirecTv
Gaming: Xbox 360
Whole House Audio: Nuvo Grand Concerto
DAC: Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus
Cables: AudioQuest Cinnamon HDMI, AudioQuest Golden Gate RCA’s, Blue Jeans Cable XLR’s for subs, Blue Jeans Cable 12/2 Speaker cable
Power: Furman F1500-UPS & Furman Elite-15 PFi
Racks: (2) Middle Atlantic Slim 5
Lighting: Lutron HW 8 with 11 zones
Seats: Palliser Media motorized chairs
Popcorn Machine: Paragon Contempo 8oz
Acoustic Design: Bryan Pape
Sound Isolation Design: Ted White
Equipment: Scott Horton of TechHT

The Moving Pictures Theater - Layout.pdf 134k .pdf file

Updated 3/28/13
The Moving Pictures Theater - Lighting.pdf 110k .pdf file
[
Edited by avtexan - 3/28/13 at 9:55pm
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post #2 of 45
3/11/13 at 11:52pm
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post #3 of 45
3/12/13 at 4:52am
Looks like a well thought out project and layout! I look forward to following you along! Any 'before' pics to show? Thanks Jim
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post #4 of 45
3/12/13 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 

 

Below is some pics of the room pre-sheetrock.

 

 

Rear The (2) racks will go on the right

 

 

Left Rear

Left

Left Front

Front Left

Front Right

Right Front

Right

Right Rear

Ceiling Rear

Ceiling Middle Rear

Ceiling Middle Front

Ceiling Front

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post #5 of 45
3/15/13 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 

 

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.smile.gif

 

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

 

 

 

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post #6 of 45
3/15/13 at 11:26pm
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.
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post #7 of 45
3/15/13 at 11:33pm
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. biggrin.gif
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post #8 of 45
3/17/13 at 8:20am
Looking forward to following along.
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post #9 of 45
3/17/13 at 8:53am
Looks like a fun build. I'll be following along!
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post #10 of 45
3/18/13 at 1:22pm
Looking forward to your build. Can't wait to follow your journey!
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post #11 of 45
3/18/13 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 

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


Edited by avtexan - 3/19/13 at 12:59am
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post #12 of 45
3/18/13 at 10:22pm
Thread Starter 

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.

 

 

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post #13 of 45
3/19/13 at 6:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by avtexan View Post

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.
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post #14 of 45
3/19/13 at 6:26am
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.
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post #15 of 45
3/19/13 at 6:59am
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!
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post #16 of 45
3/19/13 at 12:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

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.
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post #17 of 45
3/19/13 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

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.
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post #18 of 45
3/19/13 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji View Post

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 View Post

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.
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post #19 of 45
3/19/13 at 1:53pm
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.

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post #20 of 45
3/19/13 at 10:35pm
Thread Starter 

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.


Edited by avtexan - 3/19/13 at 10:49pm
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post #21 of 45
3/19/13 at 11:23pm
Thread Starter 

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!!!!

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post #22 of 45
3/20/13 at 4:44am
I ran (2) 7" flex duct lines (8" would not fit) into my return trunk. Doing it this way allowed the HT runs just use the main filter.
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post #23 of 45
3/20/13 at 5:47am
Looks like this is going to be a good build. Subscribed.
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post #24 of 45
3/20/13 at 6:02am
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.
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post #25 of 45
3/21/13 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji View Post

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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post #26 of 45
3/21/13 at 11:12pm
Thread Starter 

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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post #27 of 45
3/22/13 at 1:19pm
Again, I'm no pro but I think your lighting plan looks good. I don't think I would change much if anything. The only thing I can think of that you may want to consider is lighting behind the screen. It's unnecessary and not particularly functional, but I do think it's a cool little effect when I show the room off to guests for the first time. Granted, it only lasts for about 20 seconds, but it usually gets an "oh cool!" from guests. Mine also come on when I press pause for intermission. It provides a little additional lighting to exit for a bathroom or popcorn run.

Ok I thought of one other thing - You might want to consider splitting your current zone 1 into two zones (if your lighting controller can accomodate an additional zone). I find that useful: if I had all of my overhead can lights on and was trying to watch the projector, it might be pretty washed out. But with the lights for the first and second rows on different zones, I can sit in the back row with the lights on relatively high (so I can see a messy plate of spaghetti or similar) without having the cans closer to the screen on and the picture feels nearly unaffected.

Just as an FYI, here's my zone layout. It's one of the things I would do exactly the same way if I had it to do over again. I don't have sconces like you do, so that will provide you with even more flexibility.
Z1 - Stage Lights
Z2 - Front Row Can Lights
Z3 - Back Row Can Lights
Z4 - Step Lights
Z5 - Rope (Cove) Lights
Z6 - Behind Screen Lights

And of course, these suggestions are just because you asked for them...I think your intitial plan looks good. smile.gif
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post #28 of 45
3/22/13 at 6:11pm
Just discovered this thread today - subscribed!! It looks like you are going to have a real stunner on your hands in every conceivable way. Has all this equipment been purchased or is this your current thoughts on equipment.

A few comments / questions from the thread chain so far:

It wasn't clear to me, but is your plan to put your projector above the equipment rack and fire through a viewport in the wall at the rear of the theater? With the right lens your projector can definitely cover that throw distance with ease, but I couldn't find it anywhere on your plan. If it's going to be in the room I would suggest one more powerbridge from your ceiling projector location back to the racks. Otherwise I think your electrical plan is solid.

Does the rest of your house have Lutron Homeworks? I know you have seven zones plotted out, but if the rest of the house doesn't have the system it seems like an extravagant expense for one room to buy the head-end of that system.

I'm not sure what your plans are for insulation, but outside of insulating the room with the pink fluffy for sound, I would absolutely try to find a way to seal this theater up from outside conditions using spray foam. I'm not sure what part of the country you are in, but the heat / cool coming in through the roof and gables is a killer, but having the garage below instead of conditioned space really mandates that the underside of the theater (above the garage's drywall) be spray foamed to R30 minimum to keep the room above comfortable. I have R30 pink stuff above my garage and it is almost worthless. Our Master Suite above broils in the summer and is cold in the winter. The thermostat constantly kicks on the system to maintain temperature. It's terrible.

Looking forward to seeing more updates and good luck with your build!!
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post #29 of 45
3/22/13 at 10:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirBenji View Post

Again, I'm no pro but I think your lighting plan looks good. I don't think I would change much if anything. The only thing I can think of that you may want to consider is lighting behind the screen. It's unnecessary and not particularly functional, but I do think it's a cool little effect when I show the room off to guests for the first time. Granted, it only lasts for about 20 seconds, but it usually gets an "oh cool!" from guests. Mine also come on when I press pause for intermission. It provides a little additional lighting to exit for a bathroom or popcorn run.

I like the idea of the lighting behind the screen.  I have (2) extra runs of romex coming to the front.  One could be for behind the screen lighting and the other could be for drapes or something else down the road.  I am not sure if I am going to get the black backing on my screen.  If I did I don't think the behind the screen light would work.  If I don't do the black backing I will go with these lights for sure.


What type of fixture are you using?

 

Quote:

Ok I thought of one other thing - You might want to consider splitting your current zone 1 into two zones (if your lighting controller can accomodate an additional zone). I find that useful: if I had all of my overhead can lights on and was trying to watch the projector, it might be pretty washed out. But with the lights for the first and second rows on different zones, I can sit in the back row with the lights on relatively high (so I can see a messy plate of spaghetti or similar) without having the cans closer to the screen on and the picture feels nearly unaffected.

 

I had not thought about splitting that zone.  That may be a good fit here, thanks for the thought.

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post #30 of 45
3/22/13 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG View Post

Just discovered this thread today - subscribed!! It looks like you are going to have a real stunner on your hands in every conceivable way.
 

Thanks for the vote of confidence.  I like yours as well.  We talked about going Art Decco.  I think that is a great look for a HT.

 

Quote:
Has all this equipment been purchased or is this your current thoughts on equipment.

 

This is my current thoughts but some of the equipment is in. I actually received my ISCO III XL lens and Cineslide today. The seats are in the warehouse waiting to be delivered and I have my wires and cables. I already had the B & K Amps.  I will order the rest of the gear when I get to sheetrock.

 

Any thoughts or sugestions on the gear?

 

Quote:

It wasn't clear to me, but is your plan to put your projector above the equipment rack and fire through a viewport in the wall at the rear of the theater? With the right lens your projector can definitely cover that throw distance with ease, but I couldn't find it anywhere on your plan. If it's going to be in the room I would suggest one more powerbridge from your ceiling projector location back to the racks. Otherwise I think your electrical plan is solid.

 

The PJ will be above the racks in the equipment closet.  We have selected the lens for that throw distance so I think we are in good shape.  There is a UPS for the PJ in that rack.

 

Quote:
Does the rest of your house have Lutron Homeworks? I know you have seven zones plotted out, but if the rest of the house doesn't have the system it seems like an extravagant expense for one room to buy the head-end of that system.

 

The rest of the house is on the Lutron Homeworks 8 system.  I had 4 Lutron zones run to the theater when I built the house.  I am adding 3 new zones and adding the ability to add 2 more in the future.  That's the beauty of the HW8 system.  It is easy to expand with Vareo switches or wall box power modules and a little programing.  And of course a little $$ as well.smile.gif

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