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BritInVA Construction Thread

post #1 of 1328
3/13/06 at 3:41pm
Thread Starter 
Welcome to the Wright Family Theatre

This is an edited post to provide an index to the thread to help find various aspects of the build quickly.

First a few current pictures of the HT

Screen Wall and view of seats and looking toward the rear Bar



The Bar and Ticket Booth faux Door to Equipment Closet



Equipment List
- Screen: DIY / Dazian
- PJ: Panasonic AE900U
- AVR: Denon AVR2807
- Front Speakers: Ascend 340 SE
- Surround Speakers: Axiom QS8
- Subwoofer: HSU STF-2
- DVD: Oppo OPD971H
- HD-DVD: Toshiba HD-A3
- Blu-ray: Samsung BD-P1500
- Verizon FiOS HD-DVR
- Power Conditioner: APC J10BLK
- Bass Shakers: Aura
- Bass Shaker Amp: Sherwood RX-4105
- Remote: URC MX-980
- Lighting: All Insteon controlled (KeypadLinc, Switchlink, ToggleLinc & IRLinc)

Thread Contents
1) Demolition Starts
2) Framing Underway
3) Conduit & Wiring
4) 1st Layer Drywall going up
5) Drywall Tapping/Mudding Hell over
6) Stage Construction
7) Some initial Sketchup renders
8) Proscenium Framing
9) Screen Wall Acoustic Treatments
10) Painted Ceiling
11) Start of Side Panel Frames
12) Start of Wainscoat Panelling
13) Bar doubling as a Resonant Absorber (Plan)
14) More Work on Wainscoating and Bar Absorber
15) Panelling Stained
16) Carpet Installed
17) Side Acoustic Panels and how I made them
18) Theatre Seat Planning
19) Proscenium Fabric
20) Crown Moulding & Rope Light
21) DIY Rack
22) Star Ceiling
23) Connecting PJ/Sub to Power Conditioner
24) Seats Unpacked and assembled
25) Bar Wood Laminate Floor
26) More Bar Progress
27) Movie Posters
28) Bar Canopy and here too
29) Bar Foot Rail
30) Ticket Booth / Faux Equipment Room Door
31) Exit sign
32) Small Marquee
33) URC MX-980 Remote
34) Screen with Velvet Border
35) Concession Stand
36) Bar Shelves
37) Final Finished Pictures

Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Post View Post

Thought I’d start sharing my plans and welcome any constructive feedback.

I have a unfinished space in my basement that at its extremes measures 25’ 9” x 15’. The space is roughed in for a Bath. Here are pictures and current floor plan.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...-12Mar06-1.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...-12Mar06-2.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...Unfinished.jpg

The space will be used for watching movies, playing cards and general socializing – plus I have 11 and 8 yr old girls who love performing so a stage is essential. This is my current thinking on layout.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2.../HTLayout1.jpg

I plan on doing all construction myself (including electrics and plumbing), I need to complete a few more Honey Do’s and get my county permits before starting – I anticipate starting the stud work in April.

I intend to use R30 Insulation / 1/2" Drywall / Green Glue / 5/8” Drywall on the ceiling. For the walls as 3 are 9” concrete (underground) and the other adjoins a general recreation room - so I’m going to start with R13 Insulation with 5/8” Drywall and then see how noise traverses – the rooms directly above are a dining room and lounge that are seldom used. If required I’ll add another layer of drywall and possibly Green Glue.

For the electrics I’m considering 5 new circuits (I have 200A supply with about 10 spare slots). Here is the current plan:

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...lectrical1.jpg

As for overall looks I’m leaning towards a style similar to Chris Armbruster but I’m sure the limited width I have at the screen end will mean some compromises.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=535413

Now for the Equipment – I’m sure it will be many, many months before I will need to finalize my equipment but this is my current shopping list:

- Projector: Infocus IN76, BenQ 7700 or Optoma HD72
- Receiver: Denon AVR-3806
- DVD: Oppo 971H (waiting a little longer for the DVD war to conclude)
- Speakers: Mordaunt-Short Advant 900i Series or Axiom Grand Master 175

I’m sure the above list will change as new product come onto the market, I gain more knowledge and get to demo.

I would like to implement a 7.1 system but as there will not be a wall at the rear of the main viewing area I think I may need to use recessed speakers (which I didn’t want to do as it will break the sound envelope)……alternative is to ceiling mount but I think my speaker choice (MS Advant 902i) may be a little large for that – any advice here will be appreciated.
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post #2 of 1328
3/13/06 at 5:10pm
If your HT ends up half as nice as carmbruster's you'll have done good! Your girls will love that stage.

Your basement space looks very similar to my entrance/bathroom/stairs/electrical panel layout. I'm just past Leesburg if you want to check out my HT for any tips or lessons learned. I highly recommend looking into Linacoustic sound treatment on the walls. I can give you a local source for it... best $140 I spent.
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post #3 of 1328
3/13/06 at 5:34pm
another neighbor chiming in...

i think that the space that you've got is going to be tight for everything you want to do there. the card table looks to be a choke point for getting anywhere on that side of your basement. you also need to consider where the PJ is going to live. i also think that your bath is going to be very tight. the shower enclosure's door is either going to open into the WC or swing right across its bow. either way, i would reconsider whether you need that full bath.

i've been too ambitious with my plans and have scaled back several times. a cramped space just isn't very comfortable.

when you pull the permits, be prepared to spend a couple of hours at the county bldg. builders are elbow to elbow in there, however the folks behind the counter are reasonable and took pity on me with there paperwork. you'll need to have a count for all of the plumbing fixture, electrical outlets, circuits and fixtures and you'll also have to draw a sketch of the space on their paperwork. it cost me $250 to pull my permits.

anyway... best of luck to you and please keep the thread updated.

aaron
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post #4 of 1328
3/13/06 at 5:46pm
and yet another neighbor.....

I'm also located here in Ashburn and about halfway through my HT project (and basement remodel) if you need any advice, ideas or motivation.

Regards and good luck,

Billmac
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post #5 of 1328
3/13/06 at 6:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ace10 View Post

when you pull the permits, be prepared to spend a couple of hours at the county bldg. builders are elbow to elbow in there, however the folks behind the counter are reasonable and took pity on me with there paperwork. you'll need to have a count for all of the plumbing fixture, electrical outlets, circuits and fixtures and you'll also have to draw a sketch of the space on their paperwork. it cost me $250 to pull my permits.

Aaron, did you get your permit in Leesburg? It took me 10 minutes... of course I already had a printout of the visio floor plan from the link in my signature:


They just stapled it to the form and looked at me like it was overkill.

IIRC, I paid $130 for my permits but my plumbing was already done by the builder.

And yes, the floorplan and seating arrangement is always much smaller in real life than it looks on paper.
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post #6 of 1328
3/13/06 at 6:28pm
Thread Starter 
Aaron - from my screen name you are probably aware I'm from the UK. So as you might expect I get my fairshare of visitors. The adjoining Rec area doubles as a overflow bedroom (has a sleeper sofa) so the Bath is a must. The shower model I'm looking at using enters from the corner.

http://www.sterlingplumbing.com/onli...num=SP2271A-38

I've taped out area on floor and it seems to work.

I agree about the card table being a choke point - the actual table will be much smaller. My card table is a foldup / stoway kind so can be pulled out as needed.

Looks like we have quite a club here in Northern VA......I have another friend who is just scoping his HT in a pre-finished area. Be good if we can get together to discuss. PM your email address if your interested.....especially interested about the permits. I have the forms and already prepared the simplified plan - the more detailed versions are for my benifit.
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post #7 of 1328
3/13/06 at 6:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BritInVA View Post

Looks like we have quite a club here in Northern VA......I have another friend who is just scoping his HT in a pre-finished area. Be good if we can get together to discuss.

Check out the "DC Area Home Theaters" thread, too...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&goto=lastpost
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post #8 of 1328
3/14/06 at 3:42am
Clarence,

Where did you purchase Linacoustic locally?

Right now I'm about 1 week away from the sheetrock phase of my project. After that it will be right on to acoustic treatments and I haven't found a local source for Linacoustic yet.

Regards,

billmac
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post #9 of 1328
3/14/06 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmackrell View Post

Where did you purchase Linacoustic locally?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post5566441
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post5164172
http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/s...96#post4207096
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post #10 of 1328
3/14/06 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 
If any of you locals that have been thru the permit process are willing to meet I'd really appreciate it. Also to discuss where you are in your project and lessons learned.

Cheers, Mark
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post #11 of 1328
3/14/06 at 6:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarence View Post

Aaron, did you get your permit in Leesburg? It took me 10 minutes... of course I already had a printout of the visio floor plan from the link in my signature:

They just stapled it to the form and looked at me like it was overkill.

IIRC, I paid $130 for my permits but my plumbing was already done by the builder.

And yes, the floorplan and seating arrangement is always much smaller in real life than it looks on paper.

Clarence-

Funny thing is that I went in with detailed plans too. I was told that they not what was required, so I had to draw a pethetic representation of the plan on their bldg permit form. I wish that it had taken only 10 mins... there was literally reps from 8 or 10 builders in there pulling permits. I hadn't filled out the electrical and plumbing apps, as they are not oniline, so those took a bit for me to over estimate the counts. I was issued a stern warning about under-estimating fixtures, outlets and circuits as I would be forced to revise the app if I shorted the count.

The folks there were pleasant, but it wasn't a user-friendly experience. I've pulled permits in other jurisdictions before, but never in a spot where construction/growth has overwhelmed the government as is the case in Loudoun.

Another tip... don't even touch your cellphone. Their use is expressly forbidden and the employees there aren't shy about screaching about it.

My $250 tab was probably more than the norm, as I'll be installing a sub-panel which had it's own fee schedule (maybe $75?).

Best of luck to everyone.

Aaron
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post #12 of 1328
3/14/06 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BritInVA View Post

If any of you locals that have been thru the permit process are willing to meet I'd really appreciate it. Also to discuss where you are in your project and lessons learned.

Cheers, Mark


What did you have in mind?

I'm carpet shy of a finished theater but I'm on a several month path to complete the back end of my space with entertaining kitchen/bar. Need to have that further along so that the flooring for the space can go in.

I did the Fairfax county inspection route and found it relatively easy. I went in with a hand drawn set of plans that didn't have the electrical circuits shown and it wasn't a problem.

Here is where I am today:




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post #13 of 1328
3/14/06 at 8:07am
same here, we got our building permit in the leesburg city (loudoun county) office building about 2 months ago. We had detailed VISIO diagrams but were told to hand draw in the plan onto a permit form. so much for being prepared.

Also we only paid something like $70. I got the impression the fee was based on estimated total cost of renovation. My wife actually stood in line with our general contractor, took about 30 minutes.

billmac
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post #14 of 1328
3/14/06 at 8:22am
Sorry I got into this thread late....

Is Ashburn in Fairfax or Loudoun? I went to Loudoun on a Friday afternoon in January to pull permits and it took less than 30 minutes. And most of that was filling out the forms. I had pre-filled the on-line form but they don't use that. I also had a drawing from Punch! (with floorplan scanned from the original builder's sales brouchure) and they didn't want THAT either. Just sketch out the floorplan and label spaces. They didn't even need a drawing of where the bathroom will go.

The counter people were really nice and helpful. I''ve had Loudoun inmspectors out for other things that I've had done around the house they've been pretty nice too. I'm getting close to my first inspection. If anyone is interested, I'll post a new thread about it when it happens.

Good luck Brit...there's a TON of great help around the area. Just ask!

Tom
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post #15 of 1328
3/14/06 at 8:57am
Ashburn is in Loudoun County, just east of Leesburg.
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post #16 of 1328
3/14/06 at 9:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC View Post

Here is where I am today:

Lookin' good , bigmouth!

When does your carpet get installed?
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post #17 of 1328
3/14/06 at 10:22am
Things are going so slow. We spent a month looking at cabinets.

It took me 10 days to get an appointment with a person who could spec out the cabinets we want. (Luxor out of Canada)

After that meeting she said (Tart Lumber) that it would take her 2 weeks to pull the quote together. (that would be this Friday)


Then the cabinets will take 10-12 weeks. OY!!!!

We want painted european style cabinets and the only vendor we found that had a stock color we liked was Luxor.

I even e-mailed them asking if there was another local vendor and no response.


So I'm working on the stairway, and drywall prep (need to change the location of some lights) and I'm going to tackle a Poster Box (see the thread over in Accessories)

We also have a design concept for the back bar which will go in front of the back wall area. It will have a radius front edge to reflect the marque and will be upholstered in dark blue vinyl to match my chairs. I'm going to try to do a button tufted padded front to the bar. Found the vinyl at JoAnns.

And we haven't even started working on the bathroom!!!!
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post #18 of 1328
3/14/06 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
I think I've got all the forms ready - will try to get down to the country office later in the week. I'm going to complete the main sections and then get counter staff to guide me with the rest.

Billmac - I think we may have a daughter in same 5th Grade class. Ask her if she has a Brit in her class - small world!
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post #19 of 1328
3/14/06 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
BIGmouthinDC - your set up is looking really cool. I like the style - but alas I think I need to add same swags to cater for my predomently girlie house.
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post #20 of 1328
3/14/06 at 4:22pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone interested in meeting for a beer on Saturday at Kirkpatricks in Ashburn?

Also are any of the Northern VA folks going to the DC group meeting on 1st April at www.thetasightandsound.com?
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post #21 of 1328
3/15/06 at 4:14am
Beer is good!
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post #22 of 1328
3/15/06 at 7:22am
Thread Starter 
For those that can make it lets meet at Kirkpatricks at 2pm on Saturday. That way it won't be so noisy that we can't hear each other.

Looking forward to it.

Mark
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post #23 of 1328
3/16/06 at 11:24am
Mark,

It is a small world! My daughter confirms she's in your daughter class.

Unfortunately I'll have to take a rain check on the beer saturday. I just realized I've one of my daughters has a soccer tournament saturday and sunday and we'll be over in a neighboring town most of the day.

Keep me on the list for the next one. Old Dominion brewery is also nice place to hang and actually a little quieter than kirkpatricks.

Regards,

bill
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post #24 of 1328
3/16/06 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
Bill - No problem. Another time. Hopefully others can still make it.

Just got back from the county building office, got my building permits, took just 25 minutes from walking in the dor to walking out - I must say your local government is far more efficient than those in the UK!. Total cost was $275

So just got a few more Honey Do's and then construction can start!
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post #25 of 1328
3/16/06 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
Question: The area is currently insulated with a silver foil cover - assuming this is a reflective barrier.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...-12Mar06-1.jpg

I should be able to make use of the insulation (interior walls and ceiling) but not sure if I should reuse the silver foil on these exterior walls between the new stud walls and drywall.

Any advice?
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post #26 of 1328
3/16/06 at 2:04pm
Take a close look at the foil. Mine was perforated and not considered a vapor barrier.

If you want, you can build a wall and just stand it up in front of the existing insulated walls, Then put in between stud insulation with an attached vapor barrier and you are good to go. No need to mess around with the existing stuff. Just be sure you are not creating two vapor barriers.

I took mine down because I wanted to apply Dryloc to the walls. I stacked it up in a pile and ended up using all of it for various areas in my basement. Be aware that I found that the wall insulation to be a perfect habitat for some pretty serious spiders that didn't really care to be disturbed. Gloves with a long sleaved shirt tucked into the gloves was my uniform for this task.
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post #27 of 1328
3/16/06 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, it is perforated.

I don't want to leave existing in place as those extra few inches are needed (as it is I'm going to end up with just 11' width). Wondering it its worth putting a vapor barrier, then this thermal reflector and then drywall.
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post #28 of 1328
3/16/06 at 7:36pm
You peaked my curiosity so I did a little reading on foil radiant barrier benefits.

http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx...1398&hierarchy

It seems for radiant barriers to be effective you need 3/4 inches of air space which wouldn't apply in your proposed vaporbarrier/foil/drywall construction.
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post #29 of 1328
3/17/06 at 5:52am
Thread Starter 
BIGmouthDC - Did a little further research and found this site that shows installation on the wall facing side of the studs ( http://www.insulation4less.com/highr_uses.asp ).

So possible installation would be:

Wall : 3/4" Gap : Foil : insulated Studs : vapor barrier : drywall

If possible (and if a benefit) I would like to reuse the foil - be a shame to dump!

Think I'll call the inspector and ask.

Anyone else reused their radiant foil barrier?
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post #30 of 1328
3/17/06 at 7:45am
Brit -

I did not re-use mine, just took it down. As soon as I cut the foil, it just came off the insulation, like there was nothing holding it together except for the nail/washers power driven into the concrete. Most of the insulation was in pretty bad shape. I just got rid of it. Left the nails in the wall. Occasionaly have used them as spacers to keep the gap behind stud wall.

Still on for tomorrow (Saturday)? How about you BIG?

Tom
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