[gec5741]

The time has come to start my next theater. This build will be much different from my last one. My first build for most of you that don't know was a completely unfinished basement. This basement is already finished so I am just trying to retro fit in a theater. This house is also a home that I plan to be in for possibly the next couple years before looking to buy something bigger. This basement is much smaller than my last build so I'm going to do what I can with the space. I was given the go ahead to do what I want so I'm excited to get to use my equipment again! I'm attaching some pictures of the space currently and my attempt to "mock" up a screen. Some of my list of things to do in no particular order are.

1. Paint
2. build "behind the couch" ledge table for back wall
3. build possible riser for back row (have to do some testing)
4. purchase new screen that will fit my wall
5. possibly find 3 row theater seating for back row
6. Build possible small front stage for looks
7. Build a buildin computer desk (the corner desk I have now isn't really fitting now that I moved it.)

I still have to get my speakers and AV receiver from my old house so fingers crossed I can do that soon and at least start setting up the sound! Right now for my testing purposes I am using a 3 piece speaker/sub I bought a while back for outdoor movies.

For most of you that weren't around a few years back here is a link to my first build. Hoping I can do this relatively quickly but will see!
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/15-g.../1499418-gec5741_official_basement_build.html

Cheers!
GEC5741

 

[gec5741]

I'm having a hard time figuring out my seating arrangements. Right now I have the one large couch down there for the back row. As soon as I can get the mounted shelf from my old room and get the PJ mounted I can move the couch back. The plan is to build a 10" deep long table along the back wall that the seating will go up to. I am going to put this couch up on riser feet I'm getting cheap just to test getting it raised and decide on building a riser for the back row. I'm thinking of buying a 3 or 4 theater seats for the back row and getting rid of the over sized couch. There is another smaller matching couch upstairs that my GF was thinking of moving down there and putting that on the side wall facing the TV. The thought was when not using the PJ we can still get cozi on the couch and watch the TV and then when we do a movie we move the couch in front of the back row and make a front row. My fear though since this couch while not quite as long as the big one will still take up to much room down there. So I'm looking at some good space saver seating Ideas if anyone has any! It could be possible to just get rid of the couches all together. The one demand that the GF has with theater seating is that instead of all individual seats one part is a love seat so we can still get cozi. I'm also looking for suggestions on purchasing nice theater seating. My max to spend on a 3 piece would be 1500 but the less it costs the better!

 

[AnnapolisSony]

Back at it again GEC...great to see. So what are the dimensions of this room?

 

[gec5741]

Hey! Yep I got the bug. Been away from my theater for 6 months now and thought it would be years before I got to use it again. I'm living with my GF now and she has a smaller house so I had planned to just buy an 80 tv and call it a day. But we got to talking and I started looking at the room and there is one way that it could work. One big obstacle is the gas fireplace in the corner of my screen wall. Can't really move it far to get it out of the way because it has to vent out that wall. And it's the ony source of heat so it stays. But I brought my PJ over and to my surprise I can push about a 106" 16x9 screen. Smaller than my 135 but not bad!

The room is about 18' long by close to 11' wide. This is a room that I use for my computer, TV, movies. I plan to leave the TV on the wall. Behind that wall is an area where the cable box lives already. So I can put the receiver and other stuff in there as well. I may build a built in rack like I did in my last build (stole your idea) but will see. First I need to figure out the seating. We had planned to use a "smaller" oversized couch that is upstairs on the wall next to the screen for tv watching and move it as a front row when movie time. But I'm thinking it's going to be to big and annoying. I may look at possibly purchasing 2 rows of theater seating and we can use the front row like that but I have to check on the smallest dimensions I can get. We wanted to have something comfortable on that we can sit together in. But I also would love to be able to seat 6 down here. I have 2 kids and she has 2 kids.

I plan to build a ledge to go behind the back row along the wall for drinks, led lighting etc. I also plan to make a built in computer desk in the push out area just to the left of the couch and get rid of the L shapped desk there now as it doesn't fit well.

 

[AnnapolisSony]

Hey! I may look at possibly purchasing 2 rows of theater seating and we can use the front row like that but I have to check on the smallest dimensions I can get. We wanted to have something comfortable on that we can sit together in. But I also would love to be able to seat 6 down here. I have 2 kids and she has 2 kids.

Fusion Jives might be something to consider. Remember the 0|00|0 configuration I had originally before I added in the additional armrest console? In the link below, it is the 190" wide configuration that they show in the middle. That's just over 9' wide so it may be a little too tight considering you only have 11' of width to work with. I know out of all of Roman's chairs...the Fusion Jives are the slimmest (I never thought for a second they were too small). Just a thought.

Fusion Jive specs

 

[gec5741]

Yea I've been looking at Roman. But he doesn't seem to have a |0|00| configuration like others do. The 4 piece like you had I'd love but it would be to long for my space. The 3 piece with love seat is what I want and I'd probably get the added removable arm rest. That's 90" wide and would fit nicely. then possibly get another one for the front row/other wall couch for TV watching. Been looking at Seatcraft Rialto's or HT Designs Easthampton's. There is the cheapest option I've found in the Octane Charger's but they are not power.

 

[gec5741]

Small update but it's moving progress. I went to the old house and grabbed my shelf I keep the PJ on. Mounted it last night. Tonight I will hide the cables. This weekend I plan to nail down the screen size and get that ordered. I'm thinking 106" 16:9 is the biggest I can do but need to measure again and tape it out now that the PJ is in place. Then next week I'm going to start painting. Plan to do Grey's again like my last build (I really liked the look of that). Going to go Dark on screen wall and Ceiling (high ceiling). Walls will be dark granite same color as old theater walls. I think for the under side of the soffits I'm going to go with a light Grey. My hope there is since the main ceiling will be dark this will help brighten the room back up a bit. Once paint is done and screen is up I plan to build the shelf ledge to go behind the back row (couch for now). I plan to put LED lighting on the back side of the shelf for some effect lighting. I'm going to also bring the smaller couch down and see how or if that will work with it in the space. My fear is it will be to bulky but will see. Right now the theater seating will be a down the road purchase. I wan to get the room all figured out and done first. After the ledge is done I'd like to get the straight desk build in that push out area so it sits in nice. I plan to also do LED lighting on that. Then after that I'm going to look at building a riser for the back row.

Here are some pics of the pj mounted. The ceiling height is much lower then my old room so I think I got the PJ up as high as I can while still being able to get to the controls on top and also leaving air flow.

 

[BasementHT5]

Good luck on the new build! Are you still contemplating going with a snack bar behind the seating? If you're not going to stay in this house, any thoughts on making items that are transferable or mobile that you can take with and incorporate into the version3 build?

 

[gec5741]

Hey BasementHT5! To answer your question, yes. My plan is to build a 12" wide "table" for behind the couch. The table will push up to the back wall with the couch in front of it. It will help get the couch off the wall for the rear speakers and provide a nice ledge for stuff like drinks or décor. I also plan to put LED lighting on the back side to give it a nice wash of light on the back wall. That will be free standing so it can come with to a new house down the road. The riser will probably easy enough to move as well or I'll build a new one as I'd may need a bigger one. The next real build in a future home will be a bigger build for sure! So nothing I'm planning to build in the basement will be "permanent". I don't anticipate this build taking all that long really. Just having the time is my main thing. I have 2 boys in travel Hockey and there season is about over. I'll have a couple weeks before spring starts up. Then summer Lacrosse will start so were always busy! But the things I plan to build shouldn't be to hard and I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do already. I already own the equipment minus the screen but I'm planning on doing the same kind of screen I had before just in a different size. I'll get that ordered next week while I'm busy painting. And also this basement is "finished" as far as drywall and flooring. So compared to my last build this is a walk in the park. Who ever finished this basement though didn't do what I would of done and I can tell there wasn't much thought in it as far as allowing for adding cabling. But I'll make it work. Luckily the place was already networked. All I had to was bring my 48 port POE switch. So I've had my servers and network up and running for quite some time. Plex has been running for months. I do hope I can find a way to fit my jukebox into the room but will see.

Here's a pic of what I plan to do behind the couch. gotta love pintrest!

 

[gec5741]

I got the cables hidden tonight. Looks a little nicer.

 

[gec5741]

I went over to the old place and grabbed my speakers last night. I'm getting ready to paint and was going to wait on that to be done but I wanted to start figuring the biggest screen I can go with so needed the fronts in place to figure it out. This screen wall/room is challenging. If I really wanted to put in the work I'd gut it out and start from scratch! But not planning on being there more then a few years so going to go with what I have. The fireplace in the corner really limits me and messes up my screen wall when I try and put my speakers in place. As it is I have to put my left front on the other side of the fireplace which is less then ideal but it is what it is. And the feet on my right front make it sit further away from the wall then I hopped. So unless I made my own screen which I really didn't want to do I'm limited to a 110" 16:9. was really hoping to go 120" but I can't do it and still use my fronts. The only way I could would be to have the right front pushed forward a few feet. It's more inline with the left front that way but I think it may annoy me more then the smaller screen size. I watched some stuff last night with the 110" size and I think I'll get used to it. Here are some shots of both setups. I could probably get away with maybe even using the fonts off on the side of the room maybe and not even use them on the screen wall. I was going to use the full 7.1 setup but could get away with less seeing it's a small space. Looking for some some oppinions.

In the mean time I'm going to start painting tonight. Hoping to get that done by Friday. Once paint is done and I decide on screen size I'll order the screen. and start hooking up the sound. Then move onto the behind the couch ledge, computer desk, and back riser. I have to go out of town next week on business so really hoping to get the painting done by Friday or Saturday at the latest.

 

[AnnapolisSony]

It is a bit of a stretch, but you could also put in some in-wall speakers for a cleaner look up front. Only issue with that is you'd be looking at about $700 for some decent Polks (L-C-R) and you'd need to push them with an amp if you wanted to get anything out of them. Plus, you might have to go down to a 100-inch screen depending on where your studs fall in the wall (for speaker install) so you have room between edge of screen and the corners.

Where did you put your sub?

 

[gec5741]

Yea in wall isn't gonna happen in this house. I would have to build the wall out in order to do that and can't due to fireplace. I don't really want to spend more money on speakers and then even more on a special screen. This is a definite budget build and using already owned equipment and working with what I have room wise. I have good stuff and a good receiver so sound will definitely be overkill for the space. I'll play with it once I get the room painted and back together. I started painting last night. I got the screen wall and ceiling painted. tonight I'm doing the walls. Hoping by Friday to be putting it all back together.

110" is the smallest I'm willing to go down to and I can get that in with the one front speaker in the front corner. So once I get that all done I'm going to start building the few "accessories" I have planned and setup some LED lights with it (all alexa controllable). That should hold me for the next year or 2 when I decide to move onto the next and hopefully last home! Hopefully that will be an awesome build!

P.S. Sub will be on back wall corner behind/next to seating. I had it there in my last room and liked it. It would be nice to get another sub for the opposite corner to even things out but it's still good. Gives some buttkicker action.

 

[gec5741]

I was out of town on business all week but before I left I did some work. First thing I had to deal with was a pesky window on my screen wall. Wouldn't work for daytime watching so had to patch it somehow. As I've stated this build is as budget as I can get and I'm not doing any major renovation to the structure of the walls or anything so I didn't want to cover the window permently but for now needed something that would do the job and hide it nicely and stop any light bleed not to mention CHEAP! So I had the idea to use what I used for the backing of my old inwall media rack. It's a chalkboard type material found at Home Depot. I cut that to size after placing some cardboard cut to size as well. But with the edges of the window not being exactly straight I would still get light bleed. So I picked up some weather striping and went around the edge of the board. that did the trick. It stops all light from getting through! Whole project was around 20 bucks!

P.S.
Not sure I mentioned that I painted also. I still have just a little left on the underneath of the soffits. I'll finish that up this weekend.

 

[gec5741]

I also got all my speakers hooked up! So nice to have my sound back!!! Here's a pick of the rears. And one of my kids and my GF's kids playing some video game

 

[gec5741]

Also got the screen. It came the day I went out of town go figure. I went with a Elite Sable S3 frame (I think it was). It's a little different from my 135" Sable frame but it's nice. Does the job for 250 bucks! I had to go with the 110". A little smaller than I'd prefer but for now I'll live and it's still pretty darn cool I think!

Today I plan to pick up what I need for my narrow behind the couch table. Hopefully I'll have that in place this weekend!

 

[gec5741]

I got the behind the couch table build. Came out pretty good I think. I used all construction grade wood and built it out of 2x2's and a 2x10 board. Materials total came out to about 60 bucks but if you only needed the lumber it would of been probably half that.

First I cut the 2x2's for the legs and screwed them in place. I needed the full length to be 8 feet so I made 2 4 foot frames. Screwed them together and screwed on the top. Sanded and stained. Then put a coat of poly on legs and 3 coats on top with light sanding in between coats. The tape light I have won't stay on so right now I had to rig it to stay up. Velcro strips are holding it in place so you will se the black Velcro. I want to have the lighting implemented into smart things and alexa so I will either purchase a new Aotec light strip that I know works great. They are a bit pricey though or look for a controller that's cheap and will work. I may try out a controller I found before online that was a few bucks and see if I can make it work. If not I'll get the aotec brand that I know works. I used one in my kitchen for under cabinet lighting.

 

[gec5741]

Another small thing I did this weekend was put up a curtain to block out light coming from the back door during daytime watching. Yesterday was one of those rare Sunday's that we could do nothing all day. So it's nice to not have light flooding in from the stairs. I need to get the curtain hemmed up a bit but we can handle that. Right now there a bit long but work. I just bought a rod and some black out curtains. Worked out well!

 

[mmorriskc]

Another small thing I did this weekend was put up a curtain to block out light coming from the back door during daytime watching. Yesterday was one of those rare Sunday's that we could do nothing all day. So it's nice to not have light flooding in from the stairs. I need to get the curtain hemmed up a bit but we can handle that. Right now there a bit long but work. I just bought a rod and some black out curtains. Worked out well!

Room is looking great! Think the 110" fits perfectly for that room! Well done

 

[gec5741]

Thanks! It's getting there. I'd like to start on the computer desk this weekend but I'm not sure I'll have the time. Soon as I get that in place then I'll start work on the riser.