[handcuff]

It's been forever since I posted in here about the construction of the home theater in my basement. I think last time was close to about a year ago. That thread has been archived and put here , although it only took me through drywall. Since that time, I've done the vast majority of the work (both in the theater and in the 1500 sq ft basement). Now, I am finally finishing out the theater built-ins, and I have really liked a few of the things I have done.


First, to catch anyone that is interested up to speed, here's a picture of what it looked like a couple weeks ago:

My goal has been to build a nice cabinet/rack on each side of the 60 inch, and cover those racks with a door that allows for air-flow. I built several drawers to put in the right-hand rack, where the components wound sit on wire drawers that I could pull out up to 24 inches or so and get to the back of them easily. The wire drawer allows better airflow under each component and between components, and keeps anything from getting too hot. Here are a few basics of how I made them:


First, I built a standard box out of hardwood (I've used a couple different kinds, usually it is a red-oak, although I think this was one of the other types)

Routed out the bottom edges (front so it would be smoother on the hand, back so it wouldn't catch on wires as easily):

Then I attached some railings bought on Ebay (bought 20 sets for like 80 bucks or so):

...the site won't let me post more pictures so I'll have to put the other pics in the next post. Probably do it tomorrow.... (hopefully I won't have another full-year break).


Figured I'd get this done before I go into full-on Halo 3 mode (I've been limiting myself to less than an hour a day...but it's getting harder and harder).

-S

 

[handcuff]

Ok. After putting on the railings, I used wire racks from the closet organizer systems that you can also get from HD/Lowes, attaching it with cable staple systems:

And finally, when I put it in the wall, it looks like this:

(although the towel and trash sitting up on top of my sat receiver are not really necessary for you guys...you can do these things without the useless clutter. I, unfortunately, apparently can't -- or at least that's what my wife says)


Pulled out, the drawers me get back to the back wires without much difficulty:

And the cool thing is that my components stay very cool. I've pulled out my Xbox 360, my receiver, my sat receiver, etc. after several hours of use and each are still VERY cool. Lots of air-flow back there. Another nice thing about it is each drawer takes about $7 in wood, $5 in wire, and $6 for the rollers - and about 30 minutes to build. That's not bad, considering I was considering a pro-rack that let me pull my stuff out for over $1K. It doesn't look as pretty, but when it's covered by the door, I don't really care. The wife looked at it and said she thought it looked nice enough (and she is usually fairly picky about this type of thing). I don't think the pictures do the drawers justice, but ultimately they were more about cooling and ease than they were about being aesthetically pleasing.


Anyway, the next post will be about the doors/pillars I'm putting up to cover these areas.

Thanks,

-Scott

 

[handcuff]

Finally, I've been working on different ways to build the doors. What I was looking for was a way to get the doors to look something like pillars, like in my original build thread. Here was my original drawing of what I wanted it to look like:

Well, I decided to allow for more air flow and to use my remote controls through those doors, so instead of making them solid, I'm going to cover the center with GOM...I've tested it and I can shoot my remotes through them, so it should work great and not stop any air.


I routed out a grove in the back of the door to attach a support screen and the GOM...still trying to figure out exactly how to do it, but I have a few ideas if nothing else seems to work better.


Anyway, I attached the doors using piano hinges and put up the crown molding support blocks - I'll be working on the crown molding tomorrow and Tuesday, then the trim work over the weekend. My goal is to have the entire thing done (building a new stage and some drawers for the other side also) before Halloween.

Hoping this thread will motivate me to go do more work, rather than spend time watching the movies...

-Scott

 

[chinadog]

Welcome back Scott.... looks like you're been busy. Nice job.


Bud

 

[handcuff]

Thanks, Chinadog. I still have a little left to do, but I honestly think I can do the vast majority of it in the next 2 weeks.


I painted the left side cabinet to match the rest of the room, and I don't think I like it as much as I thought I would. Of course, there isn't much I can do about it now, but here's the image of it prior to painting (this is the right side):

And heres a pic of it with it painted. I'm thinking of bordering it with the white trim...maybe make it a creme rather than the stark white.

And finally, all of these pictures are taken with the lights completely on bright, and a flash. When I take the flash away and turn the lighting down slightly (not nearly as much as I would during a movie) the walls and doors seem to disappear, which is the effect I was wanting:

I donno...although I guess there isn't much point in questioning it now, since it is already painted on one side... Maybe a different color would have been better, to offset the red.

-Scott

 

[handcuff]

So I haven't had much time to actually do the "finish" work all at once, so I have been doing about an hour a night. I finally have everything done with the exception of building the drawers into the TV stand.


Here's the overall picture:

and a picture of the individual pillar (the right side one):

I put the TV on a roll-out drawer, so I could easily get to the back-end of it and work with the wires. I think it turned out rather nicely:

(both are taken from the left side of the TV).


Anyway, other than doing the drawers and some acoustical treatments on the walls (and getting the Theater Seating), it's done.


Saturday, I premier it with the UFC fight, having some of my friends over to check it out. Hope it goes well...

 

[grigsby]

somebody with little hands likes your TV

 

[elmalloc]

a ghost