#2) FRAMING OUT DOORS--- trust me, from experience if the wall is not square, the door will not hang properly, and you will end up having to be very creative when you go to install the trimwork. Make sure you leave at least an additional 2" (larger than your door) when framing it out...(i.e. for a 2'6" door you need to frame out not 30" but 32". This also applies to the height (especially if you are mounting a door with a threshold).

 

#3) When in doubt, just post a message in this forum. You'll usually get more help then you need.

 

#4) RUNNING CONDUIT----Most people on here highly recommend running conduit from the equipment area to the projector AND from the front of the room to the rear of the room (or equipment area). You may want to consider having several access points to the projector conduit incase you change projectors down the road with different throw lengths. Some people also recommend running conduit to your speaker locations as it allows you flexibility down the road to change out cables. Conduit can be found in the electrical section of your local supplier (Grey PVC or metal).

 

#5) When buying sand for your stage make sure it is dry. The bags of sand I bought were wet, it took two weeks to get it to dry out. I mean 2 weeks with fans running and shoveling it around 3 times a day, that stuff just did not want to dry out.


Phil

 

#6) DO NOT hang your projector until you want progress to stop

 

#7) Wear long sleeves when installing the insulation! (I had gloves and goggles, but after 15 rolls of fiberglass, my arms were not happy!)

 

#8) Draw everything on the wall/floor before you begin. I did this and it made constructing the whole thing so much easier.


I 2nd #7 ! I wore SHORTS and my legs and bald head were not happy after 2 hours in an attic at 98F crawling through cellulose insulation. Yes I know....dumb...


Chris

 

#9) If you are doing your own drywall, and take longer than 4 weeks to do take care of your drywall waste as you go along. I ended up waiting (scraps from 84 pieces) until the end to get rid of everything...


...luckily a dumpster at work helped me out. But all I know is getting rid of it as I went along would have been a lot easier!

 

Quote:

Originally posted by siropa #6) DO NOT hang your projector until you want progress to stop

I think this one needs to be repeated.

 

I would like to revise
Quote:

#7) Wear long sleeves when installing the insulation! (I had gloves and goggles, but after 15 rolls of fiberglass, my arms were not happy!)

and recommend a painter's suit instead. The disposable ones with elasticized hood and elasticized ankles and wrists. And of course a face mask. (Canadian Tire sells both of these)
http://www.osha-safety-training.net//suits/1414ty.gif http://images.canadiantire.ca/media/...50_SC_e2fe.jpg

 

My #1 - Keep The Faith


Don't loose your patience at the end of your project and bail out on those last details. They're the ones you'll see the most when the gear is in place. I've been there. It's easy to say `I can do that later'


E

 

# 10

Pull the speaker wire from a roll not from precut lengths, you dont want to find yourself short a foot.

 

#11) Invest in a good quality paint for your HT. Most people recommend a flat or matte finish paint for the walls and ceilings to avoid excessive light reflecting back from projectors. Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore are two of the more common brands people use (many people dis-like Behr paint due to it's poor coverage when applying dark colors).

 

#12 Measure twice, cut once.

 

Toxarch,


Thats the best one yet ! I learned this one years ago the hard way...


Chris

 

#13 - Plan everything in advance. There will be enough things pop up along the way even if you do.

 

13. If you are doing fabric work, highly recommend getting a pnuematic stapler. I didn't, only went with electric. #1 thing I would do over.


14. Try to find an understanding spouse that will allow you to spend countless hours and let you go over budget.

 

Patrick,


I think your #14 should be the #1 thing to overcome before you even start LOL !!!!! It really dictates everything else anyway...


Chris


(kidding of course)

 

Addendum to #9.


NOBODY can come downstairs (or wherever) to bother you unless they take out a load of waste when they leave. You'll either have less to do yourself or you'll get the drywall done a lot faster

 

15. Take lots of pictures every step of the way. You get an enormous sense of accomplishment when you go back and see what took shape, plus I went back through quite a few pics of the framing and electrical to remember where a certain wire or stud was located.


16. Don't buy your equipment too soon in the beginning knowing that you won't be hooking anything up for months, especially projectors, as their market prices drop fairly regularly. On the other side of that, if I didn't have my projector ready to go and playing with the mounting, I wouldn't have been 100% certain on my screen height measurements and such. So, its a tradeoff.

 

"plus I went back through quite a few pics of the framing and electrical to remember where a certain wire or stud was located."


Good point Patrick ! I've already found myself looking back too. I also find that my hair is not the only thing leaving me as I hit 40 next month. My memory is fading too so the pictures have helped there.


Chris

 

doing ceiling drywall? rent a lift!! I did two layers of 5/8". At first a rigged up a system of ladders, but after a piece split apart on my head, I went to my local home D and got the proper equipment. If only the projector went up that easily.

 

Quote:

Originally posted by jyounder doing ceiling drywall? rent a lift!! I did two layers of 5/8". At first a rigged up a system of ladders, but after a piece split apart on my head, I went to my local home D and got the proper equipment. If only the projector went up that easily.

OUCH ! I bet that hurt ! Don't even want to think about that happening to me. Luckily, I'm past that point thank goodness.


Chris

 

Get a lift for the drywall. It's the ONLY way! For the PJ, get 3 friends and a case of beer.... 5 minute job, a couple hours of friendship.

 

Regarding the lift: AMEN!


The brother in law, his friend, and I spent a long night doing the first few sheets of drywall ceiling - lets just say the textured ceiling hides the patchwork of drywall we made. I rented a drywall lift two days later and in the period of about 6 hours I got about 4x the amount of drywall put up and it looked great!