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Basement Project: Theater / Bar / Rec Room - Page 2

post #31 of 529
3/12/07 at 7:30am
Couldn't wait to get the projector up huh?? I was the same way when building my family's media room.
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post #32 of 529
3/12/07 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys, thanks for the comments. Chinadog I appreciate the input. For the soffit above the bar I was planning on putting in can lights, I thought that it would give good effect and illuminate at the same time. What I'd like to do on the front of the soffit is put in aluminum letters "JERSEY POINT THEATER" or "JERSEY POINT BAR" (Jersey Point is the name of my subdivision) and then illuminate it much like BIGmouthinDC did here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post9605434

Thanks to all of you who post you neat ideas in your threads! Hopefully someday people will see mine when its done and use some of the ideas and concepts I came up with. If so, I'd sure like to know!
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post #33 of 529
3/12/07 at 8:05pm
Thread Starter 
For a few months I've been debating what type of bar surface I wanted to use. I've gone to home builders shows, all the stores, searched the internet and it always ended that I HAD to have granite. I've searched a ton of threads, checked out what other people have done - and again decided that I want granite.

So wouldn't you know, I randomly ended up at Home Depot (ok, so maybe not much randomness to it ). Nevertheless, I was looking at countertops - again - and asked the sales person if they had any granite tile. I was directed to the flooring department where, wouldn't you know, they had the exact Absolute Black granite tile that I'm in love with on clearance for $5/sq. ft!

I couldn't turn it down, so I bought 15 boxes and am going to do granite for my back bar, front bar, lower front bar and the breakfast bar on the half wall partitioning my theater/bar room.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited.





Anyone have any neat ideas or suggestions for install? I found something pretty close to what I'm wanting to do in "BritInVA"'s thread here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...te#post9565702

Since the theater stage will be an all oak finish, I"m going to stay with the same theme for the bar. Black granite with oak would accents... I think it looks pretty sharp!
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post #34 of 529
3/13/07 at 5:38am
When will it be finished?
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post #35 of 529
3/13/07 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HawkeyeJosh View Post

For a few months I've been debating what type of bar surface I wanted to use. I've gone to home builders shows, all the stores, searched the internet and it always ended that I HAD to have granite. I've searched a ton of threads, checked out what other people have done - and again decided that I want granite.

So wouldn't you know, I randomly ended up at Home Depot (ok, so maybe not much randomness to it ). Nevertheless, I was looking at countertops - again - and asked the sales person if they had any granite tile. I was directed to the flooring department where, wouldn't you know, they had the exact Absolute Black granite tile that I'm in love with on clearance for $5/sq. ft!

I couldn't turn it down, so I bought 15 boxes and am going to do granite for my back bar, front bar, lower front bar and the breakfast bar on the half wall partitioning my theater/bar room.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

{PICS SNIPPED}

Anyone have any neat ideas or suggestions for install? I found something pretty close to what I'm wanting to do in "BritInVA"'s thread here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...te#post9565702

Since the theater stage will be an all oak finish, I"m going to stay with the same theme for the bar. Black granite with oak would accents... I think it looks pretty sharp!

I did granite tile as well:





More pics here
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post #36 of 529
3/13/07 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 
Project completion is whenever I finalize what exactly I would like to do - so there are no regrets when its finished. I've got most of the materials already purchase, having had good ideas of what I would like to do. I keep skipping around each part of the basement and haven't fully finished anything yet. But I know that if I finish one section, its going to be distracting to finish the rest right away!

Right now I think that I"m going to concentrate on the bar and try to get that done sometime here in the next few weeks.
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post #37 of 529
3/13/07 at 11:05am
Thread Starter 
Scaesare: Its ironic that you've checked out my thread as I've already read through yours and have seen what you have done. I must admit, I am impressed!

I like the granite tile example.. it looks really sharp with the black on black. The more examples and installs that I can check out before I do mine, the better. I think I'll have to stick w/ my theme of Oak though since I've already started it though - although you do have me thinking now...

Do you have any suggestions for the granite install and are there things in your basement that you wish you would have changed?
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post #38 of 529
3/13/07 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HawkeyeJosh View Post

Scaesare: Its ironic that you've checked out my thread as I've already read through yours and have seen what you have done. I must admit, I am impressed!

I like the granite tile example.. it looks really sharp with the black on black. The more examples and installs that I can check out before I do mine, the better. I think I'll have to stick w/ my theme of Oak though since I've already started it though - although you do have me thinking now...

Do you have any suggestions for the granite install and are there things in your basement that you wish you would have changed?

Thanks.

I'm not terribly happy with the joints on the granite... I took somebody's suggestion of "squeezing" black caulk between eac tile butted up as close as possible to the next, and then "shaving" the excess off witha razor.... the idea was to get a "seamless" look.

The problem I had is that my tiles had a small bevel on the top edge, and that made this process problematic. If may change it some day, but I'm living with it for now.

Other than that, I just suggest very solid/level top with backerboard to float the tile in.
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post #39 of 529
3/13/07 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Scaesare, I also have the chamfered edge on my tiles. I'm going to make the bar tops out of 3/4" MDF board, and then backerboard and granite on top of that. With the cabinets and supports that I have below I'm confident that I will have a solid/level surface for install. I have seen in other threads that people offset the tiles with 1/16" spacing and just put grout in between - which I think is the route that I will be taking. I appreciate the heads-up on what not to do.

When cutting your tiles, did you find that it was easy to chip the edges? Did you cut with the finished side up or down?
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post #40 of 529
3/13/07 at 4:05pm
I'm also going woth Black Absolute for my counters. I was going to go with the tiles, but after looking at the work involved and my over-the-top schedule, I broke down and got a quote for a manufactured top. You only live once :-)

I also really love that color!
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post #41 of 529
3/14/07 at 5:39am
Thread Starter 
jwatte, I definately looked at the manufactured and custom cut tops... but at over $70/ sq. ft.... I'll take the pride factor of having laid the tile myself I guess sometimes you have to pick and choose your budgeting battles wisely - especially when there are a million other things I want to still buy! Hope you like your countertop though - they are VERY nice!
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post #42 of 529
3/14/07 at 7:21am
Scaesare,

Out of curiosity, what did you use to make your cabinets and trim black? I am planning on making the cabinets and half wall black, but with the grain texture showing through. With that in mind, I have been having a hard time finding a finish that I like.

I tried Minwax Ebony stain...nope. It is nowhere near black. Also, I tried another black opaque like stain (I forget the brand) and while it is closer it is still not what I am looking for.

I have been reading around the web about ebonizing wood and there have been suggestions from black dye to a solution of rust in vinegar. Just curious what you used...
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post #43 of 529
3/14/07 at 10:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HawkeyeJosh View Post

Thanks Scaesare, I also have the chamfered edge on my tiles. I'm going to make the bar tops out of 3/4" MDF board, and then backerboard and granite on top of that. With the cabinets and supports that I have below I'm confident that I will have a solid/level surface for install. I have seen in other threads that people offset the tiles with 1/16" spacing and just put grout in between - which I think is the route that I will be taking. I appreciate the heads-up on what not to do.

When cutting your tiles, did you find that it was easy to chip the edges? Did you cut with the finished side up or down?

I cut finished edge up, as the saw's tendancy would be to chip on the exit-side of the tile (the bottom).

Thant having been said, a good sharp diamond saw blade and we didn't have any chipping problems at all, and as long as we didn't try to feed the material too fast, no cracking either.
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post #44 of 529
3/14/07 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfmustang View Post

Scaesare,

Out of curiosity, what did you use to make your cabinets and trim black? I am planning on making the cabinets and half wall black, but with the grain texture showing through. With that in mind, I have been having a hard time finding a finish that I like.

I tried Minwax Ebony stain...nope. It is nowhere near black. Also, I tried another black opaque like stain (I forget the brand) and while it is closer it is still not what I am looking for.

I have been reading around the web about ebonizing wood and there have been suggestions from black dye to a solution of rust in vinegar. Just curious what you used...

The same black paint I used on the rest of my trim-work. It's a latex, but I ight go enamel where I to do it again.
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post #45 of 529
3/16/07 at 5:37am
Thread Starter 
Starting to get more of my electronics.... Crutchfield had the Primus 360's on clearance (b/c of new models) for $350 / pair with free shipping. I couldn't turn it down - especially after reading all of the positive reviews on consumer websites and other threads. Anyway, my "goodies" corner is starting to get full. Can't wait till I can get it all installed. The reciever box shown is for my upstairs reciever, so the main component that still really need to purchase is a reciever.

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post #46 of 529
3/16/07 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I think that I've got some great ideas as to what I would like to do with the bar. The first step will be the back bar and I"m going to use 2 18" Oak cabinets on each side, and then have the two fridges in the middle (the fridges separated by 3" piece of Oak). Here are the cabinets I just bought from Lowes - for a fairly reasonable price...



And in order to put up the new, it must be out with the old. Looks like I'll be demo'ing the ole' cardboard mock-up shortly to make way for the back bar. Its kind of neat to see my original mock-up and renderings from the beginning to what the bar has morphed into over the past few months!



Any last suggestions before I begin? As for the soffiting... I think I'm going to end up dealing with it as it comes since I don't really have a plan as of now...
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post #47 of 529
3/17/07 at 1:40pm
Thread Starter 
I started to work on the bar area. Here are some pics. The back bar will have Oak trim around the front and the non-wall side that sits level with the top of granite. The othe two sides will have about 4" of 1" Oak on the walls above the granite. (similar to the renderings). The two fridges will go between the cabinets with about 3" in between...



To get the exact dimensions of the back bar counter with the grout spacing, etc. I laid some tiles down for a template:





I also started on the front bar and decided on the dimensions for the overall bar size, but am hesitating to cut the bar top yet becuase I haven't pick out a molding for it yet.

Anyways, just thought I would report the progress. More to come soon!

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post #48 of 529
3/19/07 at 7:29am
Lookin' good Josh!! I'm very interested to see how your bar turns out. As you've seen, I'm looking to put a bar in mine and I like the tile counter tops out there........

Keep up the good work!!!
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post #49 of 529
3/19/07 at 5:57pm
looks great! keep the pics coming please!
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post #50 of 529
3/19/07 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 
You guys all know how this works... once you get something (like a projector) you can't just let it sit around. Oh no, no, no... even if it doesn't work - its that anticipation of seeing if it will look like you imagined it.

But seriously... who gets excited over a fridge?

Haha, well aparently me! So I bought 2 of them at Home Depot... on sale, plus another 10% off for using the HD credit card. I couldn't turn it down, and I"ve been waiting for them to go on sale.

So I restrained myself from only opening ONE of them... the other will remain in the box for a while.

But enjoy the pics!





It fits.... just how I thought it would! Whew!
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post #51 of 529
3/20/07 at 5:13am
Looking good!

I have a similar wine cooler- I am pretty sure most all models have reversable door hardware- that will look sweet.

I am thinking of going the similar route for the back Bar- I have 7Ft 1in, I am thinking 2 Lowes/Home depot 36" bases, with my 24 in Wine coller in the back bar, And mayybe my beverage fridge in the front bar facing back.

Since my bevereage fridge isn't a built in, I may go with the one you have. ( I think I see "reversable door" on the Box)

Is it 2ft Wide?, and if you don't mind, About how much was it?
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post #52 of 529
3/20/07 at 5:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Looking good!

I have a similar wine cooler- I am pretty sure most all models have reversable door hardware- that will look sweet.

I am thinking of going the similar route for the back Bar- I have 7Ft 1in, I am thinking 2 Lowes/Home depot 36" bases, with my 24 in Wine coller in the back bar, And mayybe my beverage fridge in the front bar facing back.

Since my bevereage fridge isn't a built in, I may go with the one you have. ( I think I see "reversable door" on the Box)

Is it 2ft Wide?, and if you don't mind, About how much was it?

Heywood, thanks for the comments. I'm going to have them situated such that both doors open from the middle, so the handles will be right next to each other - and yes they are reversible door.

My back bar is 7' 3" long - I have (2) 18" cabinet sections, (2) 24" fridges and I'm going to put a 3" Oak spacer between the two fridges. The top of the back bar will have 1-1/2" overhang on the two non-wall sides.

The regular price for each is $299, but they are on sale until tomorrow I believe (03/21) - or at least thats when my local store says - for $249. Then since I used the HD credit card I got an additional $50 off for the pair. Good luck trying to find them on HD's website though... I had no luck there.

They are produced by Magic Chef which is a Maytag company.

Let me know how things turn out...
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post #53 of 529
3/20/07 at 6:07am
HawkeyeJosh,

Nice build coming along. I've been in the market for a beverage cooler like that and had one question. I found the magic chef dimensions online and the depth is 24.5 in, how do you plug it in while keeping the fridge flush with the cabinets?

I was thinking of a wall clock outlet, I wonder if they make 20A wall clock outlets?
All my outlets in my room plus the wetbar are on a 20A circuit.

Thanks,
James
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post #54 of 529
3/20/07 at 11:58am
HEJ-

Thanks for the tip-

I just called my local HD, they have one left and are holding it for me.

If I didn't already have a few Wine coolers, I might have gone with one of each so they would match better.

RE: Outlet and cord-

Linked below is the manual-

Link to manual for beverage chiller

it doesn't mention much about the outlet, It only states having the outlet 6 in max from ground, (which would put the plug near the compressor, and not the cabinet area?).

Also, the depth of the unit is actually 20 4/5 inches ( cabnet) with a depth of 25 1/2 depth including the door and the handle.

On my wine chiller, the cord has the flush mount cord ( 90 deg. bend)
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post #55 of 529
3/20/07 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


HawkeyeJosh,

Nice build coming along. I've been in the market for a beverage cooler like that and had one question. I found the magic chef dimensions online and the depth is 24.5 in, how do you plug it in while keeping the fridge flush with the cabinets?

I was thinking of a wall clock outlet, I wonder if they make 20A wall clock outlets?
All my outlets in my room plus the wetbar are on a 20A circuit.

Thanks,
James

5Cradles: It looks like Heywood beat me to the punch... the dimensions include the door and handle. You have to remember though that you will not want the front of your door to be flush with the cabinets... if this is the case you will more than likely have issues with your door binding when you open them.

For my electrical outlet I'm just going to use a normal outlet in the wall - nothing special. I'm still at work, but I remember looking last night to see how much room was actually between the fridge and wall and I'm thinking it was about 2-3 inches... so plenty of room.

Hope this answers your questions?
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post #56 of 529
3/20/07 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


HEJ-

Thanks for the tip-

I just called my local HD, they have one left and are holding it for me.

If I didn't already have a few Wine coolers, I might have gone with one of each so they would match better.

RE: Outlet and cord-

Linked below is the manual-

Link to manual for beverage chiller

it doesn't mention much about the outlet, It only states having the outlet 6 in max from ground, (which would put the plug near the compressor, and not the cabinet area?).

Also, the depth of the unit is actually 20 4/5 inches ( cabnet) with a depth of 25 1/2 depth including the door and the handle.

On my wine chiller, the cord has the flush mount cord ( 90 deg. bend)

Heywood: Congrats on your purchase, I'm glad that they were able to save one for you. I'm anxious to see how it looks with your setup. Was it still on sale? How much did it end up costing you?

PS: Mine are both "beverage" coolers... I opted not to get the wine cooler. I figure I'll have one for bottles and the other for cans. I guess we'll see how well that works out...
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post #57 of 529
3/20/07 at 4:15pm
Same Beverage Cooler I got from HD for my bar. Pretty good deal. So far I'm pretty happy with it. I think I got mine last summer. I need to buy another one for my concession area.

Looking good dude!

Bud
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post #58 of 529
3/20/07 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
5Cradles: I just got home from work and measured... I have 2.5" between the back of the fridge and the wall. Again... this is not the finished/installed product, but it appears to work very well.

chinadog: Thanks for the comments... keep checking back and hopefully progress will continue!
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post #59 of 529
3/21/07 at 6:06am
Josh,

Thanks for the reply and help. It looks like I found the fridge for me.

James
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post #60 of 529
3/21/07 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 
LOL, I should call Home Depot and request commission... so far I've sold 3 fridges for them! Enjoy the fridge!
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