[ericryd]

Hello all-


My basement finishing and home theater construction is just getting underway. I'm looking to do a home theater, a wet bar, bathroom, and exercise/misc room. I have all of the before pics that i'll post soon.


I will admit I am cheating...I have a friend who does home theater construction full time and I am a novice DIY guy. He is doing the framing and electric, I will do the drywall and rest. Based on his time frame, he should have all of the framing and electric done within 3 weeks.


Hope to receive plenty of feedback/suggestions along the way as this is my first home project and home theater.


Daily updated pics will be taken and hoepfully posted soon after.


Eric

 

[bpape]

Congrats. Make sure you do all of your planning for isolation, HVAC, electrical, low voltage, etc. before the fist stud is put up. Also, think about door locations, seating position, etc. to minimize the impact properly setting up the space for both good viewing and good listening.


Bryan

 

[ericryd]

Any recommended resources (beyond searching this forum) for reading up/learning about those types of things? I have picked up a few books on basement remodeling and drywalling so far. As I said i'm a novice DIY but I want to start learning and doing a lot more.

 

[bpape]

The best thing you can do is to identify your goals and expectations. You can buid a basic room very easily with standard techniques if you're willing to live with sound transmission out of the theater and a higher ambient noise level inside the theater. If not, then there are a variety of things you can do to better the situation depending on how well you want it to perform, your budget, etc. But, almost all of them for isolation require special techniques during framing and some special materials.


This forum has a ton of good information from a lot of professionals and repeat quality DIY'ers. Read till you can't read any more. Then read some more.


Bryan


Bryan

 

[ericryd]

Here are some before pictures, and now pictures after Day 1.


Here is the where the front view of the theater will be (screen directly in front)

Here is the back. There will be a bar in the right corner

This was posted last week, as you can see I had some low vents in what would be in front of the screen


I'm going to try and figure out that GoogleSketch and show a layout of what is planned.


Day 1 complete, no injuries, vent issues fixed, framing on other side of basement has started.

Here are the pics post HVAC (both the the front and the rear vents were changed)

 

[jntart]

Is that regular ******* duck tape on the new ductwork. If it is it will not last long. Go to HD or Lowes and get some real HVAC quality aluminum tape. The cheap stuff will dry out and peel off.

 

[John Martin]

I would also pay attention to the clean outs on your sewer line and misc appurtenances on the other lines in the room. Measure exactly where they are so that once they get covered up by sheetrock you can find them again should you ever need to. Too many folks cover too many things only to find they need access one day and don't have it or can't remember where they are.


John

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Interesting that your friend is doing the framing and you are doing the drywall.


I did pretty much everything in my basement but in hindsight I wished I had someone else hang and finish the drywall. I just hired out the finish part. With the slow down in new home construction you should be able to find a crew if you want to save some time.

 

[aham23]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ericryd /forum/post/12896750


Hello all-


My basement finishing and home theater construction is just getting underway. I'm looking to do a home theater, a wet bar, bathroom, and exercise/misc room. I have all of the before pics that i'll post soon.

I will admit I am cheating...I have a friend who does home theater construction full time and I am a novice DIY guy. He is doing the framing and electric, I will do the drywall and rest. Based on his time frame, he should have all of the framing and electric done within 3 weeks.


Hope to receive plenty of feedback/suggestions along the way as this is my first home project and home theater.


Daily updated pics will be taken and hoepfully posted soon after.


Eric

no worries. while the board is full of DIY'ers i dont believe it is a dedicated DIY'er board........officially that is.

.


the nuts and bolts of my construction is being done by a contractor. i am doing the low voltage wiring, insulation, and equipment setup. you will find plenty of info here on the board.


nice work on minimizing that duct work, but do make sure to use HVAC tape. maybe even what is called duct sealant on top of the tape. it can be found in the HVAC area at Home Depot and comes in a caulk type tube. later.

 

[Cathan]

Let me third the point about not using that duct tape. It's a big code violation. As I understand it, that type of tape acts as a wick when there is fire. Definitely use the metal tape tape you can find at HD or Lowes. A roll with run you around $14 iirc.

 

[ericryd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jntart /forum/post/12904326


Is that regular ******* duck tape on the new ductwork. If it is it will not last long. Go to HD or Lowes and get some real HVAC quality aluminum tape. The cheap stuff will dry out and peel off.

hmm that's what the HVAC guy used. If I go to HD and buy new tape, do I just put it right on top of this stuff? Or should I rip that stuff off first?


thanks for the feedback.

 

[ericryd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC /forum/post/12904541


Interesting that your friend is doing the framing and you are doing the drywall.


I did pretty much everything in my basement but in hindsight I wished I had someone else hang and finish the drywall. I just hired out the finish part. With the slow down in new home construction you should be able to find a crew if you want to save some time.

I've never framed before and was very nervous about doing anything permanent. I figure the drywall will be a pain, but it is something I can come home from work and spend a few hours a night doing. I am actually looking forward to that part. We'll see how long that lasts though

 

[ericryd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by John Martin /forum/post/12904441


I would also pay attention to the clean outs on your sewer line and misc appurtenances on the other lines in the room. Measure exactly where they are so that once they get covered up by sheetrock you can find them again should you ever need to. Too many folks cover too many things only to find they need access one day and don't have it or can't remember where they are.


John

Good point, i'll make sure to make another layout that has all that info stored for future use.


Thanks

 

[ericryd]

I've been looking at lot at colors and wanted some input.


I was thinking a gray'sh silver for the walls, black ceilings, and a dark red carpet. Something like this:

With this, i'd be getting black leather theater seats.


Thoughts?

 

[ericryd]

Update - The framing of the basement is now about 70% complete, the rest of the basement is ready and the theater section is starting to be framed now.


Here are some pics.



Closet built for the water

View towards the front of the theater now

Here is a view of the side wall

Another view of the side closer up. The plan is to use this area as shelving for the bar (wine bottles, alcohol bottles, mugs, etc...)

 

[dc_pilgrim]

So the H/W heater is being closetted between the seats and the screen? Got a floorplan? These irregularities can add architectural interest, just curious how you are addressing that.

 

[ericryd]

err wait....that's not the water heater, that is on the other side of the basement. That's just the on/off valves if i'm correct for the water in the house.


The framer has a floorplan, I am trying to build my own up in sketchup or visio....but i'm graphically challenged. I'll try to whip something up asap

 

[dc_pilgrim]

My mistake - the one in my house looks just like it. Not sure why I thought of the H/W heater.


I guess I am curious if you are going to integrate that in your design and/or be symetrical.


In my space the HVAC made the fron soffit inch in, which I initially found annoying, but after the crown went up became architecurally interesting and a net plus. You might be able to make a more dramatic stage or the like, depending on how tight your space is in general, how big a screen, speaker placement etc.


This is what I meant about my crown accenting a bump in my soffit.

 

[oman321]

 http://www.kingdrywall.com/?gclid=CL...FQJjHgodF24LIg


I highly recommend this sander if you are doing your drywall and sanding like me. It will appreciably cut down the time it takes for you to sand, leaves a smooth finish, and sucks up most of the sanding dust as you go. I got mine on ebay, but now they have a website and the price is about the same as what I paid.

 

[ericryd]

Dave,


I hadn't really thought about doing anything special besides drywalling around it, but now you have me thinking. I'm going to have to do a little research and see if I can come up with something....thanks for the idea!


Oman - Thanks for the product tip - Do you use that on all layers of mud/tape? I'll look that one up for sure when the time comes.


Eric