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BritInVA Construction Thread - Page 12

post #331 of 1328
8/14/06 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by r00ster View Post

BTW good luck on the bathroom they are a killer.

No kidding - the tiling was easy - the grouting is slow a tedious and my finger tips are now sore from smoothing the gout lines.

Unfortunately looks like I was not meticulous enough in getting excess grout of a few tiles - anyone got recommendations for removing dryed on grout - the tiles have a rough face.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #332 of 1328
8/14/06 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
One bit of HT news. Got my fabric for the wall panels over the weekend. From Hancock Fabrics "Diamonds Decorator Fabric in Gold" (item 756676N) - they had a Sale on Saturday got 40$ off



Anyone got recommendations on a spray Fire Retardant?

Cheers,
Mark
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post #333 of 1328
8/15/06 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BritInVA View Post

No kidding - the tiling was easy - the grouting is slow a tedious and my finger tips are now sore from smoothing the gout lines.

Unfortunately looks like I was not meticulous enough in getting excess grout of a few tiles - anyone got recommendations for removing dryed on grout - the tiles have a rough face.

Cheers,
Mark

A moist sponge work's great for smoothing out the grout lines.

As for removing dry grout, I got this tool from the tile shop that is basically a circular
piece of brillo, works great on removing group from stone tile. I think it was called a scuff pad or something like that.
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post #334 of 1328
8/15/06 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BritInVA View Post

No kidding - the tiling was easy - the grouting is slow a tedious and my finger tips are now sore from smoothing the gout lines.

Unfortunately looks like I was not meticulous enough in getting excess grout of a few tiles - anyone got recommendations for removing dryed on grout - the tiles have a rough face.

Cheers,
Mark

I've never heard of anybody using their finger tips for smoothing out grout lines. No wonder it was so tedious. Smoothing grout is the easiest part of tiling for me. Why is it better then just using a wet sponge?
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post #335 of 1328
8/15/06 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks 'mastiff34 ' & 'new_to_this'

I am using a damp sponge on the grout but I find a damp finger gets a neater more even finish.

My biggest problem right now is drilling thru these stone tiles to fix the shower to the wall. If I use a standard masonary bit in a non-hammer action drill it barely dents the tile. If I use hammer action it breaks the tile

I'll see if I can get a carbide-tipped masonry bit tomorrow - or should I be using something else like a diamond tipped bit?
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post #336 of 1328
8/15/06 at 6:46pm
Mark, I tried all the damn carbide bits at HD, with no success. I managed to work it just right where I cut use a tile saw to mark an arc for the pipe and use a separate piece of tile to fill the hole on the side of the tile. What I mean "managed to work it just right" is the flange or the shower pipe or the spout covered the imperfections. You'd never know I pieced it. Granted I lucked out doing it this way since I used 6 inch tile. Hopefully you can find a decent bit to solve your problem.

Good luck.

Bud
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post #337 of 1328
8/15/06 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
Bud - yeah know that trick, most of my pipe holes were near tile edges so were pretty easy. I had tried a tile cutting bit in my rotarzip but was useless and went to method you suggested.

My problem is I need to drill 5/16" holes to screw the shower surrond to the wall. Plus will have other fixtures for toilet paper / towls etc.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #338 of 1328
8/15/06 at 8:43pm
You need these.


I bought them at Walmart and they are the best for drilling into tile.
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post #339 of 1328
8/15/06 at 8:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Worms View Post

You need these.


I bought them at Walmart and they are the best for drilling into tile.


I was burning through bits trying to make 2 holes for a closet sliding door guide in a peice of tile, until I bought one of these. Went through the ceramic tile like butter.
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post #340 of 1328
8/15/06 at 8:45pm
You could always try a colbalt or titanium drill bit. Something like you would use to drill metal. Might work as long as you don't apply too much pressure. You might have to chip or scratch the tile to keep the bit from walking and of course try it on a practice piece first.

If you want to use something like a carbide tip masonry bit, I find that sharpening them first will do wonders. Sparpen them on a grinder of some kind until you get a nice sharp bevel and point. Then use it do drill and it will work so much better than it did out of the package. That might help you drill the tiles. I use my table grinder on my masonry bits before I drill anything with them in the hammer drill.
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post #341 of 1328
8/16/06 at 6:21am
Thread Starter 
Guys - Thanks for the advice.

Went into Wallmart on way into work this morning and picked up a set of those bits for a few cents under $10 so hopefully will have better luck tonight. I also had to pop into Lowes for a few other items - the same set was a few cents under $16

I never really thought of using Wallmart for stuff like this - think I'll pay a bit more attention to what they stock.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #342 of 1328
8/17/06 at 5:42am
Thread Starter 
Those bits worked

Was quite slow but worked and got my holes drilled - Thanks again for suggestion.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #343 of 1328
8/17/06 at 8:19am
Good to here Mark.
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post #344 of 1328
8/26/06 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 
Well visitors have gone up to Boston (they are back on Thursday) so was able to get some work done in the HT.

I got another coat of red up - still not 100% happy as my drywall finish isn't as good as it could have been. I may end up papering over it. Here is a pic.



I also got all the electrics wired and on and I mounted the PJ. I hooked up a portable DVD player and picture looked great



Going to hook up all the equipment tomorrow to ensure its all working. Won't be a great deal more progress until labor day.....when I hope to start on the panelling in the HT area.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #345 of 1328
8/27/06 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
Got the HT Equipment all wired up and tested.

Reminder on Equipment.

- Denon AVR 2807
- Panny AE900U
- Oppo 971H
- Ascend CMT SE L,C,R
- Axiom QS-8 surrounds
- HSU STF-2 Sub
- ADC J10 Power Conditioner

A few small gripes

The way the terminals are arranged on the back of the Axiom QS-8's mean you cannot use banana plugs - which would have been useful given the weight and awkwardness of wiring.

I had heard the Denon 2807 manual was useless - and can confirm. Talk about badly written and no seemingly obvious logical order.

But enough griping.

After all was set up the picture (on painted temp screen) and sound (in untreated room) was outstanding .......so I know it can only get better. We watched Shrek 2 and was noticing all sorts of detail we never saw before.

Need to put a IR repeater and 'all in one' remote high up on things to buy.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #346 of 1328
8/28/06 at 3:23am
Things are coming together nicely Mark. Isn't is great to finally get a picture coming out of that projector? And hearing sound from your speakers? And just sitting in there knowing you built it? Gotta love it!
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post #347 of 1328
8/28/06 at 5:19am
Thread Starter 
Jerrod - Yeah does feel great. Just got to stop watching movies and finish now

Going to be doing some honey do's until labor day and then hopefully back in full swing aftfrom then on.
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post #348 of 1328
8/28/06 at 5:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BritInVA View Post

Need to put a IR repeater and 'all in one' remote high up on things to buy.

Which ones are you looking at? I am in this situation as well, but am considering going with RF/IR.
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post #349 of 1328
8/28/06 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 
Dave - I had in the past bookmarked the Hot Link Pro but I still need to research what others have recommended. This one seems very flexible.

For the remote I'm considering the Universal Remote Control MX-3000 - its a bit expensive (Retails around $1,000) but deals can be found for nearly half that.

Cheers,
Mark
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post #350 of 1328
8/28/06 at 12:20pm
Hey Mark....I've been lurking and following your thread for some time now and it looks great!! Almost done. I imagine you were just floored when you finally saw that huge image on your screen. I personally needed a cigarette after first seeing the 900u's image on my bare wall and that was without audio. Enjoy it....you've earned it.
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post #351 of 1328
8/28/06 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
I'm going to be building my own rack that will be on wheels in a closet disguised as a ticket booth. I've been looking around for a cheap cable management solution and came across these.

Intellinet Rack Mounting Cable Management Ring Pack


Cost for a Pk of 20 is $37.95 + Postage $4.95

Other places seen to charge $5 - $10 each
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post #352 of 1328
8/28/06 at 1:31pm
I tend to just ziptie my cables once i know I'm finally done. It's cheap and easy.
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post #353 of 1328
8/28/06 at 1:42pm
Thread Starter 
My problem is all my cables enter the closet above the door so I wanted something to manage the cables around the door frame....I'll be using zip ties too.
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post #354 of 1328
8/28/06 at 2:11pm
I made good use of the screw mount cable ties. I think you can pick em up at the big box stores. They are wire ties with an eyelet at the end to put a screw through.

I also remember seeing someone use simple wire shelving for the horizontal runs.
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post #355 of 1328
8/28/06 at 7:09pm
Mark,

DO NOT buy your MX-3000 from an unauthorized dealer. Buy from "proremotes.com" or the like. Universal has cut off support for remotes purchased from "gray market" sources. You wont be able to update your software. See remotecentral.com for info (the universal forum).

I bought mine from an Ebay dealer yr ago and now i'm fudged. No more software support!

As for the cable management - I use these cool little anchors that screw in and then have little slots for the zip-ties to thread through. They come in several sizes and are in-valuable when trying to organize a non-metal rack.

I dont know the name of them - perhaps someone else has used them and can help us out...

Kevin -
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post #356 of 1328
8/28/06 at 7:15pm
I just read an earlier post where you mentioned the QS8's not leaving room for banana plugs. How does your wiring come out of the wall? Did you run your wires through a box? I am planning on using the same speakers and the same kind of plugs so this concerns me....


Kevin -
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post #357 of 1328
8/28/06 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
Kevin - Yes I used Carlon Adjustable back boxes - symmetrical on each side.

Its possible that you could align the speaker such that the plugs project into the outlet box. But that would have meant the speakers not being symmetrical on each side due the the connection design.
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post #358 of 1328
8/28/06 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 
Kevin - a little more info:

This is the back view of the QS8 and the mount



The connections are not quite central and the mounting bar is in a shape of a 'T' so you cannot center over the outlet box (unless you cut the mounting bar).

Cheers,
Mark
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post #359 of 1328
8/29/06 at 9:32am
I used the spade styled connectors the second time I mounted my QS8s. My first attempt I tried to use plugs and ran into the same issue. Now I just connect the cable directly to the binding post. Given that I never remove the speakers from the wall, not having the quick disconnect feature isn't a major loss. If ido need to take them down I can rest them on a ladder while i loosen the posts.
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post #360 of 1328
8/29/06 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
For now I've just used the wire directly into the bindiing post. Like Cathan says no big deal as normally once they are up thats it - but while I'm mid-build they will be down at times.

Its really not a big deal - just wish I hadn't bothered preparing with bannana plugs - that 10mins could have been put to good use on something else
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