[briandm81]

So this is my first post here, so be gentle!

My wife and I are buying a new house and the one downside is the lack of a home theater. The good news is, the house has two garages. One two-car, one one-card, both attached. So I'm considering converting the one-car garage into a home theater and office area. I've done some research but I was hoping to get some opinions (and ideas) about my current plan and budget. Ideally I'd like to spend less than $10k, but I seem to hover around $12k no matter how I adjust things.

The garage is finished out with drywall and has a one-car garage door, a door to the house and a door to the side yard with 10ft ceilings.

So here's the list of items with some context and cost:

Electrical Work:
I'll need some recessed lighting, an outlet for the projector in the ceiling, and a new 220V circuit for the HVAC. I'm budgeting roughly $1500 for this. It might be low, it might be high, but its an estimate and I'd rather plan for higher and have it be lower.

Insulation:
The room is already some-what finished out, so I'll need to insulate the walls (drill and fill) and the attic above. I've gotten a quote of roughly $1600 for this.

HVAC:
I plan on having a mini-split unit installed. I've called around and it seems to run around $3000 installed for this. I've heard that I can get a unit locally and just have someone from Craigslist install it and save probably $1500, but part of me would rather just have a licensed HVAC person and electrician do the work.

Garage Door:
I plan on getting either a new 2" insulated steel garage door that will match my existing two-car garage door or in theory I could insulate this one. I lean towards a new door since I'd like the best insulation possible given that this is the largest issue with having HVAC in the garage. I'd love to hear some opinions on this especially.

Painting:
I'll likely have a painter put in some trim. I'd like at least floor molding and possibly crown molding. I'm budgeting $600 or so for this.

Sub-Floor:
Since this is a garage and I don't know how much moisture could be an issue, I was planning on a Dri-Core sub-floor. It should give me some flexibility on what I put over the top and its pretty reasonably priced. I'm budgeting $582.21 for this (83 panels + tax).

Flooring:
This is where I need some guidance. I would like to do carpet of some sort, but I'm struggling with what makes the most sense. Can I just put peel and stick tile carpet down over the carpet? If so, I can get away with spending somewhere around $500. I can't post links yet...so I'll edit when I can.

Will it work? Help!

Screen:
The Silver Ticket screens seem to be pretty nice and low priced. I'm considering this 120" for $249:

Projector:
TBD. I'll budget $750 for now. I'd like 1080P and decent. I'm not looking for earthshattering quality here.

Projector Mount:
Ideas? Something pretty cheap?

Speakers:
I'm thinking about doing all in-wall (we have a 13-month old and another on the way, so in-wall seems lowest risk when they are playing). HTD is local and I will likely go with their nicer in-walls. Thoughts? Total budget is roughly $950 after tax. (7 speakers + sub).

Then we have various wires and other items for running the low voltage, etc (Speaker, HDMI x 2, Wall Plates, etc). I'm budgeting roughly $150-$200.

So in total I'm looking at just shy of $12,000 right now all in. I'd love to hear any and all opinions on this setup. I'll just take my office stuff and throw it somewhere in the back of the room.

Thanks in advance!

-Brian

 

[briandm81]

Oh and I forgot...the garage is roughly 13ft x 23ft.

-Brian

 

[weaselfest]

Seems like you've covered most the major aspects of transforming your garage. Your carpet tile idea helps with the DryCore install, especially if you don't want to have to anchor the perimeter to your garage floor, which is recommended if you are going to stretch carpeting over the top of it.
Should we assume you wish to retain the functioning garage door, so building a false wall in front of it to better insulate (both thermally and acoustically) isn't in the mix? The other big question: Are there any windows that will need some sort of treatment to be able to darken the room as needed? (Especially if directly behind or across from your screen?)
I don't see anything listed for the speakers to be connected to. Is there an AV receiver for $200-$300 figured into any of your sub categories? Obviously, you can spend a lot more, but I'd be looking at bumping up the speaker budget first, especially the subwoofer. Hope that isn't going to be an in-wall as well, hard to find a good inexpensive one, and even tougher to keep the sound from bothering the neighbors. Unless you get one of the SVS tube style models, your average subwoofer isn't going to be easily knocked over by a toddler.
$150-$200 seems like a lot for cables and wall plates, but you will surprised how fast all that little stuff adds up, don't be surprised if ends up a little higher. Add a minimum 10% to your wire length estimates, you can't stretch the stuff.

 

[briandm81]

Thanks for the reply. I do actually already have a receiver. I have a Marantz NR1703 7.1 receiver that I'll steal from the living room. As to your window question...no windows at all.

I actually don't care about using the door at all personally, but the next owner might, so I hadn't really considered a false wall. As to the carpet...my question is, can I use the peel and stick tiles directly on the dricore? The instructions say no peel and stick viynl, but don't mention peel and stick carpet. They want 1/4" plywood underneath, which would be way more of a hassle. Thoughts? Does anyone have the peel and stick carpet on dricore?

I'd post links to the speaker selections, but unfortunately, until I have 5 posts, I can't post links! The one I am looking at is an in-wall.

-Brian

 

[willmo]

Will your proposed idea meet local building code requirements?

 

[briandm81]

In what respect? I'm not going to do anything to structurally change the room. I'll have an electrician and HVAC person working on the only items that require permits and licensed professionals. So I think the answer should be yes. Is there something I'm not thinking of from a code perspective that might apply?

 

[briandm81]

And I'm going to try to update with some links to the various items I'm considering.

 

[briandm81]

HVAC:
http://www.bestpriceminisplits.com/...oduct_Code=18000btu-25&Category_Code=12000btu

Flooring (I'll probably install this myself as well):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DRIcore-...US750024024/202268752#certona_recommendations
http://www.lowes.com/pd_363754-6103...le&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=carpet+tile&facetInfo

Screen:
http://www.amazon.com/STR-169120-Si...OTPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426054026&sr=8-1

Possible projector (this will likely change by the time I get to installing the projector since that will be the very last thing I do):
http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-W1070-1080P-Theater-Projector/dp/B00A2T6X0K/ref=zg_tr_300334_1

Possible mount (again likely to change):
http://www.amazon.com/QualGear-PRB-...id=1426056765&sr=1-5&keywords=projector+mount

Speakers:
http://www.htd.com/Products/high-definition/HD-W80-in-wall-speakers
http://www.htd.com/Products/high-definition/HD-In-Wall-Subwoofer-with-amp
http://www.htd.com/Products/Single-HD-In-Wall-Ceiling-Speakers/HD-W80-E

In-Wall Speaker Wire (I'll probably run this myself):
http://www.amazon.com/14AWG-Rated-C...24&sr=1-6&keywords=in+wall+speaker+wire+250ft

In-Wall HDMI Cables (Also to be run likely by me):
http://www.amazon.com/BlueRigger-Hi...8&qid=1426059720&sr=1-2&keywords=hdmi+in+wall

 

[willmo]

So I think the answer should be yes. Is there something I'm not thinking of from a code perspective that might apply?

No, it was checklist question but looks like you got it covered.

 

[briandm81]

Cool, thanks! Just wanted to make sure. So I guess my biggest lingering question right now is...peel and stick carpet directly over dricore. Has anyone done it? Maybe I should start a separate thread just for that question...

Thanks again!

 

[willmo]

Suggest you contact Dricore. Their website did not specifically answer peel and stick carpet: http://www.dricore.com/en/dinstal.aspx(scroll down to finish with flooring section)

Their comments suggests that you cannot apply peel and stick products directly to Dricore.

 

[weaselfest]

seems that seams may be the issue. DriCore is 24"x24", most carpet tiles are 18"x18", it will difficult not to have the two come close to overlapping at some point, which would be more likely to become an uneven spot. Not sure if it would affect the overall look or durability initially, but over time things might start transmitting through, which is why it isn't a recommended practice.
Whether or not you could get away with it will have a lot to do with how tightly you join the DriCore and how level you can make it.

 

[briandm81]

I think I'll have to see how the DriCore looks once its down. I'm also now seriously considering the idea of a false wall. So I guess I would back up 2' to 3' from the door and just put the wall in over the DriCore. Put in a solid core door and make sure the wall is well insulated. Then I get a little bit of storage and don't have to try to match my other garage door and have a ton of potential air leaks. I think the $1500 that I was budgeting would more than cover the cost. Really its just some studs, some insulation, a door, and some drywall.

Thanks for the ideas and thoughts. I'll keep planning and hopefully I can start this project not long after we move in (we are closing on the 31st).

 

[cpk123]

Check with code. You will probably need blueprints and different phases of inspections and a final. I needed 20% lighting in there when I did a garage conversion. Also some county and city have different requirements. Make sure you go this route so everything is to code and you will have piece of mind. Make sure to insulate the heck out of your garage door. Also I used a heat pump installed in the rafters and that thing works great and wasn't that expensive. Make sure you run a separate 20 amp circuit so you are running clean power. I just put carpet over some decent pad for 2 rows of home theater seating and ran tile for the back bar. Good luck with your project.

 

[weaselfest]

Super terrific idea on giving yourself some more outdoor equipment storage by recessing a false wall in front of the garage door, if you go forward with this. Everybody always needs a little more room for bikes, garden equipment, small watercraft, etc.