[Aberk]

Earlier this year my wife and I decided we should move with the though being that it would be easier to start a family in our "forever" home instead of moving to our forever home with kids in tow. I had a few requirements that had to be met. Pool, unfinished rear facing walk out basement, 3 car garage and master on main. I had to concede the master on main, but we were able to find this place in our same neighborhood and stay close to our friends.

The good:
~9' ceilings
Bathroom already complete

The Bad:
no webbed trusses, the HVAC is HUGE and hangs in the way.
water heater in a ridiculous place.
I had to sell one of my toys to start this project(makes the 3 car garage pointless right now)

The red is stuff I will be adding. I replaced the double windows with double doors.

The stairs to the basement are open to the main floor, that is why there is a door to them down stairs. I plan to replace the door with a frosted glass door that has whatever logo my wife comes up with on the glass.

Bar Area against the wall
2 kegerators capable of holding 3 torpedo kegs each (I likely only have 2 beers on tap at once, but I'd like to host a home brew competition amongst my friends and have them keg their beer).
dish washer
ice maker
sink
2 50" tvs above sink

bar island will house an under counter fridge and under counter freezer plus microwave.

center room will house the pool table plus ping pong table topper. ignore the ping pong table in the corner, i was trying to fit both in the center room and it wasn't happening. I dont have any TVs in there because there isn't really a good place to stick one where it wouldn't impede foot traffic.

After I install an under deck system, I'll put a cheap 50" tv outside and use a boat/marine cover to protect it when not in use.

The theater will have a 150" AT screen a riser for the 2nd row seating and bar seating in the very back. Because of riser height, I'll need extra tall (36") bar stools. I added the side wall to center up the room. I know 150" is technically too big, but I like too big and I am connecting a mux so I can show up to 4 inputs at once and each of those images wont be too big for the viewing distance.

I am trying to reuse some of my old HT equipment for now, but I'm still looking for surround speakers, subs and a projector.

Some before pics

Before and after the doors.

I'm almost finished with my soffits. I'll post pics when they're done. The water heater is moved, HVAC is installed. Once the soffits are finished, I'll start electrical. I thought I had my lighting figured out, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Aberk]

My first goal was to widen the opening to the theater so we could accommodate the bar looking in to the theater. I used 3 LVLs glued and screwed together.

Then we built a temporary wall to hold the load while we worked.

And the final product is a much wider opening

Which I promptly closed back off with a extra tall bar. The opening to the left is about 3' wide. The bar will not sit on top of this frame, it will sit slightly lower. I wanted a back splash to prevent anything from being spilt in to the theater. I shoved boards underneath the stool to bring the seat height to 36".

I also moved up the other header to be a bit higher so as not to give a closed off feel. Don't ask what "lets go one more" is, we have no idea.

Now that my headers were in the right place, my heat pump had been installed and the water heater moved, I could start building my soffits.


I started framing the lower part of my front wall and soffits for the theater

Question about framing behind around the screen. Do I want to leave those vertical studs there behind the screen or clear them out so it is open behind the screen? I originally hung the studs so it they would be correctly space like so...L|SW|C|SW|R.

Second question about the riser. It needs to be a bit taller. What I plan to do is lift it up and put some roofing paper down, install 2x3 boards perpendicular to the current boards, stuff it with insulation and then do 2 layers of OSB (not sure on thickness yet) glued screwed with roofing paper between. When all of that is complete, I'll hang my sheet rock in that corner and push the riser in to the corner and attach it to the wall. so I can run my electrical for the step lighting.

Not too many pics of the soffits in the pool table room, there is a lot of empty space above some pf the soffits, this was done in the name of symmetry and uniformity so when the sheet rock goes up it wont look odd seeing random corners in the ceiling.

I finished the soffits in the bar area too along with framing the bar. The bar isn't set yet, I still have to bury an electrical conduit in the slab to get power to the bar.

 

[Aberk]

Since text sometimes gets lost between pictures I'll recap some of my questions and advice requests.

Question about framing behind around the screen. Do I want to leave those vertical studs there behind the screen or clear them out so it is open behind the screen? I originally hung the studs so it they would be correctly space like so...L|SW|C|SW|R.

Second question about the riser. It needs to be a bit taller. What I plan to do is lift it up and put some roofing paper down, install 2x3 boards perpendicular to the current boards, stuff it with insulation and then do 2 layers of OSB (not sure on thickness yet) glued screwed with roofing paper between. When all of that is complete, I'll hang my sheet rock in that corner and push the riser in to the corner and attach it to the wall. so I can run my electrical for the step lighting.

Lighting:

I know what I want to do above the bar and pool table, I'm not sure where is best to place cans in the theater or in the soffits in the other rooms. Any advice here is greatly appreciated.

I'm looking for single gang dimmable lights to help illuminate the step on my riser as well as the walkway in the theater. Something like the horizontal ones from this search...
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...n=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=single gang stair light

any experiences you can share would be great.

 

[Aberk]

Since I wasn't able to take much time off during the holidays, I'm hoping to take most of next week off and get a bunch of work done.

To do:
Frame walls around water heater, heat pump and rack
Finish framing ceiling between soffits to cover other low hanging pipes
connect HVAC registers
run 1.5" conduit from rack to all video displays
run electrical to all outlets and switch boxes (not all the way to cans yet)
finish riser
cut slab , run electrical for bar and secure bar
install insulation between ceiling joists
run cat6 to switch boxes for zoned audio
run speaker wire to theater

 

[Aberk]

More progress!

The water heater, heat pump and rack opening have been walled off. The doors are set in for looks, they're not actually screwed in yet.

I cut the slab with a diamond blade I bought. Much cheaper than renting a saw, plus I could set my depth. Getting the cut in to the base of the wall was a bit trickier. I had to do some dumb stuff to pull that off.

I used hydraulic quickcrete to seal it back up and a trowel to smooth it over. I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Finished up the riser and stuffed it with R30 insulation. This bad boy is stout!

I finished the can lights in the theater. I opted for 4 instead of 6 b/c of beam spacing and it came out perfect. I still need to tidy up the wiring.

I have the LEDs installed in the steps too. Yes, they're crooked, but I'll straighten them out after carpet goes on. They're supposed to be dimmable, but I dont think the cheap dimmer I bought for testing is good enough to run dimmable LEDs.

 

[Aberk]

Next goal is to be ready for drywall by the end of Feb.

 

[uhcoogsfan]

Looking good! Wish we could have basements here in Houston as I think what you are doing is cool and would love to do something similar. You mentioned home brews, do you have a designated area for brewing?

 

[Gingrbredman]

This is the kind of build I can get into. Creative ways to make everything fit, moving conduit in concrete, and great pictures showing some progress. Gonna sub this one for sure!

Funny how some of these builds go. I see cool ones like this where the thread starter keeps plowing along with little input from the community. Then we see some that drag on forever and are just painful where everyone seems to chime in on. Guess that's just my soapbox rant for the day and dont want to distract from your project. I can't wait to see your finished project!

 

[Aberk]

Thanks guys!

Looking good! Wish we could have basements here in Houston as I think what you are doing is cool and would love to do something similar. You mentioned home brews, do you have a designated area for brewing?

I enjoy trying new and different beers, but I don't personally brew. I don't have the patience to let it ferment for a couple of weeks only to find out it tastes awful. I do enjoy helping my friends that brew. A couple have gotten pretty good, so I'd like to help them with supply cost and help them brew instead of just buying kegs of whatever.

This is the kind of build I can get into. Creative ways to make everything fit, moving conduit in concrete, and great pictures showing some progress. Gonna sub this one for sure!

Funny how some of these builds go. I see cool ones like this where the thread starter keeps plowing along with little input from the community. Then we see some that drag on forever and are just painful where everyone seems to chime in on. Guess that's just my soapbox rant for the day and dont want to distract from your project. I can't wait to see your finished project!

I have seen that too. Sometimes it gets annoying wading through 50+ pages just to see progress pictures, but I can see the benefit of getting suggestions that can help you avoid costly mistakes too. I'm fine either way. It's one thing to have a photobucket account with a few captions explaining a picture, but I think threads like these are helpful to many future builders. I know they were helpful to view when I was still in my dreamer phase.

 

[Aberk]

I think this was my final piece of framing. Adding a door in to the bathroom so you don't have to walk in to the stairs that are open the main floor. I left the sheet rock intact until I get the door and have the flooring installed.

I also decided to run everything (even speakers) through flex conduit. You're looking at 3 50' 1.5" rolls and 2 100' 3/4" rolls ( I had to buy an additional 100' 3/4" roll. I also used 50' of 1" so I can plug in older gaming systems at the riser. I still have to run one more flex to the cable box outside for RG6.

1.5" to the back of the screen for subs, LCR speakers and IR
1.5" to projector
1.5" to the back of the bar for tvs
1.5" to outside for speakers and tv
1" to riser for older gaming consoles
3/4" to Atmos speakers
3/4" to left back/surround
3/4" to right back/surround
3/4" to bar speakers
3/4" to game room speakers
3/4" to outdoor speaker
3/4" for each audio zone controller (cat6)

 

[Aberk]

This isn't even all of the cans. I didn't like the spacing in the bar area so I went and bought 2 more. Plus the 4 I had already put in the theater. You can see the lighting is awesome though. I have boxes mounted to the non-soffit area of the ceiling in the bar and game area for accent/mood lighting fixtures. Plus, all of these LEDs are dimmable.

I also installed 4 double outdoor flood lights with 120w equivalent LED bulbs. Don't mind the section of grass that is a different color. The previous owners used a different type of grass after installing the pool, but I'm working to make it all one type.

I also started insulating between the joists with some r30. This is about half of what I need, but I should be finished with the rest of it this weekend. so hitting my goal of being ready for drywall by the end of the month is still possible.

 

[quiong]

I like your bar. What kind of counter top are you planning to put on it?

Regarding lights, opinions will vary... I like cans for game room area, but my media room has only 2 cans and 6 sconces instead. I assume you're doing in-ceiling atmos instead of atmos enabled speakers. Just make sure your lights don't interfere with your ceiling speaker placement and that it doesn't result in a ceiling that looks too cluttered.

 

[Aberk]

I like your bar. What kind of counter top are you planning to put on it?

Regarding lights, opinions will vary... I like cans for game room area, but my media room has only 2 cans and 6 sconces instead. I assume you're doing in-ceiling atmos instead of atmos enabled speakers. Just make sure your lights don't interfere with your ceiling speaker placement and that it doesn't result in a ceiling that looks too cluttered.

You're right, I am doing in ceiling. I had planned on 4, but with the cans, joist spacing, HVAC and plumbing i'll likely have to go to 2. This is probably OK based on my room size. I could drop down to 2 cans like you and put 4 atmos speakers where the cans used to be.

The counter for the bar will be granite or a polished concrete slab. I haven't decided yet, but it will match the counter for the back bar area. The bar top will be some sort of wood with a nice rounded bar molding edge on the stool side with a tray for bar mats on the counter top side.

 

[quiong]

From the atmos discussions on this forum, my impression is that .4 is much better than .2... people have asked about 5.1.4 vs 7.1.2 in the past and the consensus seems to be 5.1.4 is much better. Regardless of room size, 2 overhead speakers are not enough to create front to back or left to right overhead panning effects. I'd give some serious thought to putting 4 ceiling speakers up and getting extra lighting somewhere else. Lights only add to the aesthetics when the room is not in use, and unlike a kitchen or gameroom you don't need to go crazy on cans to flood a theater room with lighting.

 

[Aberk]

From the atmos discussions on this forum, my impression is that .4 is much better than .2... people have asked about 5.1.4 vs 7.1.2 in the past and the consensus seems to be 5.1.4 is much better. Regardless of room size, 2 overhead speakers are not enough to create front to back or left to right overhead panning effects. I'd give some serious thought to putting 4 ceiling speakers up and getting extra lighting somewhere else. Lights only add to the aesthetics when the room is not in use, and unlike a kitchen or gameroom you don't need to go crazy on cans to flood a theater room with lighting.

You make a very good point...welp...I'll add that to the todo list before getting drywall done. lol


Edit: Just did some more thinking. My seating isn't ideal to begin with, so I think I can leave everything where it is and add the 2nd set of atmos speakers in the very back above the rear seating. There is already plenty of conduit to get the wiring there and that would give me 7.2.4.

 

[sigma722]

Keep it up!

 

[wsushocker]

Aberk - Looking good. What are the actually dimensions of your Theater room? Any more updates? Enjoy following along with your progress.

 

[Aberk]

Aberk - Looking good. What are the actually dimensions of your Theater room? Any more updates? Enjoy following along with your progress.

The theater is 12x17.

Not really any picture updates. The drywall was dropped off yesterday, so I'll hopefully have pictures of a "finished Looking" basement by the end of the week. The flooring people came out to take measurements, but depending on the flooring type, I may have to wait until I get the cabinets put in. I ordered most of my Insteon light switches because Smarthome was having a 5 for the price of 4 deal, so I jumped on that.

I've gone past the point where a few hundred dollars in materials could keep me busy for a weekend. Now it seems like all my purchases are a couple of thousand dollars at a time. It's frustratingly slowing down the project, but I told myself I wouldn't go in to debt doing this.

 

[Aberk]

Good news and bad news. They have finished drywalling the bar and game room, BUT they drywalled the ceilings and they weren't suppose to. Its good, because I get a free drywalled ceiling(they aren't charging me for their mistake). Its bad for three reasons...
1)The lights above the bar are not completely wired AND were not tightened down on the joist runners so they aren't lined up. I never bothered because the ceiling wasn't going in yet. So they're going to cut holes around those boxes so I can put them where they're suppose to be and wire them up, then they'll fill in the hole.
2) I never measured where to drill the holes for the speakers in the bar area. I think I can use the noise from my fish tape to figure out which joists the smurf tube is between.
3) The boxes above the pool table sit a bit below the drywall and not flush with it. I left them low because I had planned to do a corrugated steel ceiling as an accent and wanted the box to sit lower. I think I can just shave them down to match the drywall though.

I talked to the drywall company owner last night and reminded him of the cut out for the AT screen in the theater. I'll know later today if they remembered.

 

[sigma722]

Wow, that's a pretty big goof-up. Free drywall is always sweet though, since I'm assuming they'll have to finish it too lol.