[twashade]

Hey... Nice to stumble across an Iowa group... I'm also in Cedar Rapids and have been slowly putting together my theater room in my basement. Doing everything myself, so had to get the CR certification for wiring which took some time, but now its moving right along...


I've gotten it to a 'usable' room for a New Year's eve gathering I'm having, but then I have to tear it all back out to continue finishing it the right way... We don't even have the ceiling up yet or all the mudding done on the walls...


Here's a link to pictures I've been posting for my friends and family to see, but I don't have an actual build thread in the forums..

http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/f...eater%20Build/


--Todd

 

[whiskey alpha]

Twashade, looks like you are coming along quite nicely. What are your room dimensions, future plans, equipment and upgrades?

 

[whiskey alpha]

I needed to get some pics up myself. I'm still working on mine. I have some columns I need to build but need to replace my router first.

 

[whiskey alpha]

Man those pics kind of suck. I'm going home to take some more.

 

[twashade]

My room was limited by the fact that my stairway came down the middle of my basement and so its max width could only be 11'. So, its ending up being roughly an 11' x 19' room with a 103" diagonal 16:9 ratio screen. My wife describes it as "cozy" and should be a decent enough room for 6-7 comfortably.


I have a Mitsubushi HC-3000U Projector, a Harmon Kardon 247 and am using B&W speakers for all channels, the rear & eventually the rear effects being in-wall to save some space. I bought a Grafik Eye to control the lighting which I just got installed this week and absolutely love! One of the best toys for the room effect yet!


Future upgrades are easy... Once I can afford a perforated screen and an anamorphic lens, I'll be going CIH and hiding all the front speakers behind a larger screen. Eventually an HD DVD or Blu-ray player and a 1080p projector, but gonna wait and see who wins before putting much money into that area. I also have a Lifetime TivoHD box down there so that I can downloan Unbox movies...


--Todd

 

[deewan]

Nice looking theater whiskey. What size is your room?


I have several pictures on my web site, but none are really up to date so I thought I'd post some here. My room is 13 by 19.


Looking from the bottom of the stairs towards the theater room.

Looking towards the wet bar area.

My candy stand and movie memorabilia area.

Looking towards the equipment stack as you enter the room.

 

[whiskey alpha]

The room ended up being 14x24 once I cut a bit of the length. The eq closet sits on the other side of the screen wall. I wanted it out of sight and in a separate locked room. I am going your route and plan on putting some velvet curtains on either side of the screen wall. I have the fram built to go under the screen just need to wrap it.


BTW-Like the sig line. Groundhog Day is a funny a$$ movie.


I did take some more and updated pics last night-I'll tryo to ge them up today.

 

[whiskey alpha]

Finally a chance to get some new pics up. I finally had a chance to put up my theater sign. Also built a couple of more panels for the back of the room

 

[whiskey alpha]

And Merry Christmas to All!!

It's 13ft

 

[IgnoringMyWife]

Nice pics Darren & Justin.


Todd... looks good in the early stages... I really like the overall layout and location of things. Look forward to pics as the project moves forward.


Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[whiskey alpha]

welcome,

It looks like to have an almost square room there at 16x18. You might want to contact bpape when you get time about some acoustical treatments. Is the wall behine the last row chairs load bearing? If not, I would lose it very quickly.


What sort of time line and gear are you looking at?

 

[JeffC]

yep it is and the furnace and dual water heaters and softner are there as well. Yep thought of getting him involved. Should have done my homework cause I could have easily made it longer, storage room is huge


I have right now B&W 9NTs and Center and SVS 2039plus sub. Denon and Rotel for pre and power.


The only thing I have really decided on is the SMX AT screen (120") the rest is a crap shoot at this point

 

[whiskey alpha]

Not to squash the plan, but at 120" you are probably going to need about 12-13' for the front row. 1.3 time the screen diagonal. If you use an AT screen I would plan on losing about 2' for the channels behind it. Are you planning on recliners? Riser for the back row?


For reference I'm using a 114' Carada and have 13' to my front row. My riser is approximately 8' long for the second row. The last row of chair sit about 12 inches from the back wall. When reclined, and the front row reclined, i have about 12" or so from the feet of someone sitting behind me to my head.

One option you might consider would be to rotate the floor plan. Make the equipment closet your front wall. Leave the entrance where it is at but put in a set of double doors that swing into the family room instead of into the theater. You would probably have to move the eq closet door to the corner. It might give me a couple of more feet. I'm guessing that's the longest part of the room.

 

[whiskey alpha]

I like AT screens. I could not fit one in my theater as I wanted all the channels behind it, not just the center. But space is space. Do you want to give up the space for the screen is the question that only you can answer grasshopper.

 

[whiskey alpha]

BTW the family room looks like a good size for a theater. Put the pool table in your current theater room and take over the family room!

 

[deewan]

Jeff C, where abouts in Marion to you live? I live in the Bowman Woods Area of Cedar Rapids and we are looking to build or buy a new house this summer and have considered Marion and Robins so far. If you need any help with the theater, I'm only a short drive away.

 

[twashade]

Hi Jeff,


Glad to hear about another CR/Marion theater guy... My room is 11' wide by 19' long and my front row is at 11' (roughly 8' deep riser for second row) and the 103" screen I have is pretty good sized... Just over my new Year's gathering with a temporary screen up, many of my guests found they liked sitting in the back row a bit more than the front for viewing the screen... Only thing you can really do is mask it up and see what it would feel like sitting at 11' looking back and forth at the screen.


Someday, I do hope to make it a bit wider and switch to a 2.35:1 ratio screen, but that's a long way down the road since I will need an AT screen to make mine any larger with only 11'. Would've loved to have a wider room, but its just what fit into the space I had and it should be comfortable enough.


--Todd

 

[JeffC]

Wow got my quote for the SMX AT screen.......still in shock! With that said I think the Carada will most likely be the ticket! Placed close to the front wall and speakers on the side. probably the best bet. the next house the space will be right!

 

[twashade]

If your not going AT, there are a lot of options out there to look at. I've been doing a ton of reading on the DIY forum and am probably going with a Wilsonart Designer White laminate screen. Should be able to build it for about $100, rather than the $900 VuTec screen that was recommended by the Audio Room. Since I'm using just a white sheet right now and have been pretty happy with what I see, I'm figuring that a DIY solution that is so highly recommended in the Screen section of this forum will be a big improvement.

 

[deewan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffC /forum/post/12686555


Nice! won't fly as you know


Actually I am thinking that a 2nd row of traditional theater seating might be the answer. I would gain some space and maybe save a buck?

I don't know if they will be selling anything or not, but I heard the IMAX theater here in Cedar Rapids is closing this month. I've thought about calling down there to see if they will be having a "garage sale" for fixtures, seating, posters... etc. Perhaps you could get some seating from that theater for your second row.