The "I hope this works" Home Theater - Page 5

All votes count, just like in American Idol. I do like the look of red and black as well, but because the the HT is open to the rest of the basement I thought doing it in the whole basement so it matches might be a little overwelming.

I think you're right. I was planning on getting some hardwood corbels from Outwater Plastics (they have everything). I probably need a little more thinking here. Thanks for the help!

Got the flooring in Friday for the workout room. It came in 6 rolls 19' long 4' wide. It is 3.8" thick and it is exactly what I was looking for. Just needs to sit for a few days before I stick it down with carpet tape since it will shrink a bit.

I guess I will need to wipe it all down to get the footprints off


Has some grey fleck in it...nice and thick so it should hold up well. Glad I went with 3/8 instead of 1/4.

After much internal debate and mixing of colors, I finally decided to stick with the Cherry color I orginally wanted. I set up a little testing lab yesterday to see what would happen if I combined colors and brands. In the end the Cabot Cherry won out. I did decide that I would need multiple coats to achieve the Cherry that I want. Here is the first coat:





I used the wood conditioner to even out the color a bit. You have to be very careful with it because if you let it dry and don't wipe off the excess it will completely seal the wood and it will have a hard time holding stain.

Well I am now off to do coat #2. One question, and I supposed to sand between coats?

Originally I was going to do that but those pesky support poles kept getting in the way. Some of my original plans involved an enclosed room, even in the current spot where it is now, but when I did that the basement looked tiny. Ultimately I wanted a big looking basement to help one day sell the place and start on HT 2.0, and to be able to have some sweet parties.

Thanks, now I just have to find molding to finish off the bar. I am going to pick up some test pieces this week and hope the wood matches when stained.

Got the flooring from All-Pro Exercise in Farmington Hills. Sometimes they have some in stock, but of course they didn't have enough for mine so I had to wait about a week and a half.

So I finished staining the back bar and was able to skin and stain the main bar. I am pretty happy with the finish. Still need to poly it all but so far so good.

Back Bar


Main Bar


Here is where the problem starts....I used Blondewood from Lowes, and apparently it could be any type of wood, no one really knows what it is. So what type of wood molding do I use trim all this out with so that when I stain the molding it matches?

Any thoughts?

Thanks. I hope to start sanding tomorrow night, haven't had a chance to do any this week because work has been nuts. I'll update when done.
Appreciate the feedback.

Finally finished the floor in the fitness room last weekend. Installing that floor was easily the toughest thing I have had to do yet in the basement. Each rubber flooring heet weighed about 175lbs and was a nightmare to move and cut to fit. It is just held down with carpet tape, but because it weighs a ton it is going nowhere. You can hardly notice the seams.

Still need to install molding but here it is.


Here it is with the equipment in.


I guess I have to start working out now.


My body aches just looking at it....

The problem is I already got huge. 50lbs since I have been married, over 10 years! Now if I ever finish the theater I'll probably put on another 30lbs in popcorn alone. I need to get one of those fake butter topping machines! YUM!

Thanks. I actually worked out today so I got some use out of it. Wood looks pretty good so far. I am in the middle of trimming out the bars. I am using a select pine and it is staining very nice so far. I'll try and get some pictures of the progress today.

So progess has slowed to a screeching halt over the last 2 months. I typically don't get must time to work on the HT during week nights so I am stuck trying to get everything on the weekends. That has proven to be very difficult lately. Seems like every weekend a family get together or vacation or my general laziness stalls my forward movement. Well not anymore! Got some work done this weekend, although truth be told, it wasn't much. I finished my big trim around the bars. Still need so detail trim and corner trim but hey, it's a start.

Bar behind the second row




Main Bar


Still need to decide what I am going to do for a counter top


Funny story...couldn't find my finish nailer. Looked all over the house, and it was no where to be found. I feel like I had just used it. Needless to say I went to the Big Orange and picked up a new Porter Cable. Had it for about 2 months now. Then the other day I got a message from a buddy telling me that he still has my nailer and he will drop it off to me this week. I lent it to him 2 years ago! My brain is failing me big time.

I just realized that the last photo looks like I am using my saw horse to cut up dead bodies. I swear I am not!

Thanks for the comments. I have no idea where everybody on this site finds the time to work on their rooms. I feel like I am moving in sand this summer, and I am not sure I am going to be finished by xmas. Stain color turned out ok. Looking back at it I think I would have gone with a darker stain, but I can live with it. Have a friend that is from Monroe and another that lives in Ida so not too far away. Maybe one day we can get some SE/S MI people together to view rooms.

P.S. Authorities will probably pass right by the blood stained horses on their way arresting me for the mess in my basement!

My daughter is supposed to have a softball Tourney today (who has a tournament for an 8 and Under league????) but we may get rained out so I have two options. 1) Go to my sister-in-laws baby shower and provide man support for her husband or 2) Work on the basement. Gee which will I choose. Today might be a good day to take some cabinet measurements and get some quotes. Baby Shower.....my wife honestly thinks I might attend, that is just plan crazy talk.

Haven't had any time to work much on the HT/basement. This summer has been non-stop since June. What I have accomplished:
1) Finished trimming out the main and rear HT bars

Main Bar


Main Bar


Rear HT Bar


Rear Bar


I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Could be worse. I have had about 4 hours this summer to work on this.

2) Ordered Cabinets
Ran into a huge problem with the stain on the bars and trying to match it. I thought about buying unfinished cabinets from Big Orange but they only have oak and when I did a stain test on the oak it was going to look totally different then the wood on the bars. So I decided to not go cheap and spend a few bucks on nice cabinets. Cabinet company was able to bring the design in my head to life on paper. Here it is:



They can match the stain and I will get some nice maple cabinets. Same company did our kitchen cabinets so I trust them. Should be ready in four weeks and will fill in this space...



Next up:
Find a used server rack and build my equipment area
Order countertops
Screen wall
Paint
Carpet

Should be done by the time the Lions win a regular season game.

I know, I can already feel my season tickets going to waste yet again! Hopefully I will make some progress in the next couple months. This has to be the slowest build ever. Ugh.

Good point but I fear those Twins spoiling it for us.

Hopefully the cabinets will work out the way I envision them. After they are in I am going to finish up the HT area. Gotta get moving on that.

Thanks Jason! I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I made sure I prepped the wood first so that made a big difference in making the stain look good. I hope the cabinets match as well as I think they will.