[dc_pilgrim]



INDEX


1. HVAC Move - More - Baffle Box -

2. H/W Heater Move

3. Sump Pump install

4. Water proofing - and leak!

5. Some framing shots - More - All framed

6. Plumbing - More

7. Soffit tips from Ruben - Some variations - more

8. Crude Sketchup attempts - More

9. CRT PJ Mount preparations - uni-strut mount

10. Rack Stuff - Plan - Rails in - Retrofitting the door - Trimming out - Door up

11. Big Winner

12. Sheet rock up - plastered

13. Blue LED Rope light - Installed

14. Marquee + Crown

15. Lighted Column Design - Roughly cut in - Sconce Cover Construction

16. Obligatory Sand in Stage Shots

17. reworking some of the carpenter's stuff

18. Finishing my coax wires (a tutorial)

19. playroom and Bath complete pics

20. Ripping down mdf/wood for the aborted fabric frames

21. Guess who is moving

22. Painted

23. Fabric cover for soffit bass trap

24. Carpetted

25. 94% Done - 100%

26. Life Goes On - And On - And On


The Plan:

Equipment:

Projector - NEC 6PG+ CRT PJ
Transcoder - NEC 6010 Switcher w/Moome HDMI card
Screen - DIY Wilsonart laminate screen
Speakers - 5 Ascend HTM-200's (B-stock, purchased) 5.1 to start. Wired for 7.1
Sub - HSU STF-2 (purchased, B-stock)
Receiver - Yamaha V661 (didn't want to spend much here while things are in flux)
Amps - 3 Crown 402D amps, got too good a deal.
Sources - PS3 Games/Blu-Ray; Toshiba A-2 - HD-DVD; Sony DHG-HDD250 HD DVR; Monoprice 4-1 HDMI switch
Remote/etc - Harmony 890
Seating - A leather couch with two recliners



The plan is to finish a basement with a H.T., playroom and 3/4 bath. This is not really a DIY job - contractors will do the major build elements (I hope). I plan to do some of the finish work.


The H.T. will be about 17' by 13'. Ceilings are around 7.5' with some ductwork to work around (I think). Theater gets its name from the sump pit that is in the back corner. No floods for me in the 2.5 years I have been in my house, but neighbors were less fortunate. I'll be adding a primary and backup pump.


Sound isolation approach: staggered studs between H.T & Utility room, DD+GG, RSIC on the ceilings. Outlets and speakers in the columns. HVAC, still finalizing my thoughts, trying to work with flex ducts and bends, just need to map it out. Also need to work on my lighting plan.


Accoustic treatment: I have contacted Bpape about helping me with a plan. I intended to emulate the fabric frame look, using dazian janus to cover the frames. My company moved me before I had a chance to implement the accoustic plan.

First challenge: gotta move the furnace and the H/W heater. Builder put them in the cheapest and worst spots. In evaluating bids, it was only a bit more to run a zone per floor as it was to run a zone for the basement and the rest of the house (~2000 Sq ft, two story sideways colonial). So all the existing ductwork in the basement is coming down. The beams run where the lally's are, so the duct work will have to pop under that in places which may ugly it up in spots.

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Here are some shots of the space


Before

After:

From the screen location - before

After

Furnace sitting where the door will go - before

After (looking the other way)

Here is a shot of the screenwall.

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Just a side note for future reference - I made a few separate threads on a few topics to draw a wider net of opinions.


HVAC concerns and accesories here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9698008
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=772205


Here is a thread going on how to attach my CRT projector to the ceiling:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=769190


Water seal the walls / floors:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=795523


Types of Gypsum boards - - Drywall vs Blueboard for media room:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=789309


Thoughts on a soundproof door:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post10401573


More feedback on a basic column:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post10407712


How to terminate coax:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=11197788


Table Saw tips:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=11943479

 

[dc_pilgrim]

HVAC guy is stopping by tonight. I need to propose some matters on the ductwork. In the existing layout there is a metal duct running the lenght of the bottom of the room. I think this is going away.


The design goal is to put insulated flex duct into the room, and get a few turns into the duct before it exits the room to reduce flanking paths. This was pointed out by Bryan Pape in a conversation I had with him. This is what I have come up with my initial thoughts on routing the ducts. The perimeter of the room will be soffited, so that will be the logical location for the duct runs.


Any comments on what I have come up with?

 

[GranTheaterO]

Hi Dave,


I like it. My only comments would be have you consider putting the equipment rack in the theater in a recessed opening? I often put in a SACD or DVD-Audio disc while watching HD football and like to be able to do this without much more then leaning out of my favorite spot (just one example). My point being how you think you might use it today might not be how you use it in the future.


Also before the walls go up consider some sort of video monitor for the front door or other area of the house. I often miss visitors and fear that the house could burn down and I'd never know. I have the wires in place I just have to hook it up. Overdo the wires, you can never have too many in my opinion.


Good luck with your project.


Dave

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Thanks for the comments, my hesitation on the in-room rack is sound isolation. I guess I could box in the back, but then I'd have to think through boxing it in, ventillation and wire access. But its a valid point.


Another good point on the "outside world". Our doorbell doesn't ring in the basement. Found that out when we were down there with the electrician and a plumber rang the bell and we found out about it later on a phone call. So we'll need to figure out doorbells, smoke alarms and other essentials. Phones are already on a 5.8 ghz connection, so that's just picking up an extra handset. Same deal for the baby monitor. The low voltage is on my shoulders. I hope its as easy as people seem to say it is.


Two more carpenters coming this weekend to bid on the work. So hopefully the "romance" stage is coming to an end. HVAC guy I will be using is coming tonight, so I'll figure out as much as I can on that soon.

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Wow- first quote for construction, including plumbing, but not electrical and HVAC - 43K.


Gasp.

 

[bpape]

I know it varies by area but that seems a bit on the high side - especially with no HVAC or electrical. Are you sure you don't want to just buy beer and steaks and do it with your buds?


Bryan

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Its about $72 per SQFT of finished space. I'd like to DIY, and we may get there if we keep getting quotes like this. The strike against is we turned a weekend project (chair rail + "frames" to make a faux wainscot) into about 5 weekends (and several wonderful tools). So efficiency and skills are lacking. Plus we bickered a fair bit during that process. A few more quotes like this, and I will get to DIY. It will take at least a year, I am guessing. Two more guys come this weekend, so we'll see.


I think I scared them a bit. I gave them a drawing, a page of written specs, another drawing of the house for reference, and then a 3 page print out from green glue and an 8 page printout explaining RSIC-1 clips. Quite a packet.


Got good news from my HVAC guy though. The legacy ductwork in the HT space is going away entirely. So I won't have to work around that.

 

[jtnfoley]

If you have the ability, consider running extra wiring to support butkickers or other LFE devices the seating. Any wiring you think you'll ever need is often cheaper (and always easier) to run beforehand and leave in the wall than trying to run it after the fact

 

[mbgonzomd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_pilgrim /forum/post/0



Another good point on the "outside world". Our doorbell doesn't ring in the basement. Found that out when we were down there with the electrician and a plumber rang the bell and we found out about it later on a phone call. So we'll need to figure out doorbells, smoke alarms and other essentials. Phones are already on a 5.8 ghz connection, so that's just picking up an extra handset. Same deal for the baby monitor. The low voltage is on my shoulders. I hope its as easy as people seem to say it is.

If you have not every looked at Smarthome.com, take a look at it. They have a lot of stuff related to doorbells, video monitors, etc. Should be able to solve your doorbell problem pretty easily.

 

[chinadog]

Dave,


Good luck with your build. I'll be keeping a watchful eye!


I agree with these guys as well. Prewire as much as possible, even if you don't use it later. Also, I added a wireless doorbell extender from Smarthome and it works great. There is always a way around things, but you're better off being planning way ahead.


Bud

 

[Digital Man]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_pilgrim /forum/post/0



Another good point on the "outside world". Our doorbell doesn't ring in the basement. Found that out when we were down there with the electrician and a plumber rang the bell and we found out about it later on a phone call. So we'll need to figure out doorbells, smoke alarms and other essentials. Phones are already on a 5.8 ghz connection, so that's just picking up an extra handset. Same deal for the baby monitor. The low voltage is on my shoulders. I hope its as easy as people seem to say it is.

I wired in a second doorbell in the HT room in parallel with the main upstairs bell. So when the one button on the front door is pushed it rings in both places. Works great and was cheap. I think I found the wiring method here in a post called "stupid doorbell" or something like that. It basically puts the two bells in parallel with each other.


I do plan to eventually wire in a camera to the front door, so when we hear the bell ring we can switch the video feed to the door cam and see if we want to bother answering it.


Guy



Guy

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Had another contractor in today. Was pretty together didn't seem bothered by staggered stud, green glue, RSIC clips or anything like that. Hoping for a reasonable price. Definite front runner based on first impressions.


My wife is skeptical of the buttkicker concept. Maybe its the name. I'll pre-wire anyways. Low voltage is on me, so I need to focus on that plan soon. Definitely a doorbell. Definitely will spend time at smarthome. Need to decide on graphic eye vs Insteon. Off to lunch and a lead on second hand sconces.

 

[bpape]

Many times guys will give you a high quote if they just really don't want to do the job. I suspect that may be the case with your first quote. Also, you need to make sure you specify to them what materials you'll be providing like the Green Glue. Any time they provide materials, there will be a markup on them.


If you don't mind doing the leg work, if you can get them to provide a materials list, you can purchase the materials yourself and save some money.


Bryan

 

[dc_pilgrim]

I think you are right about that Bryan. I am guessing the guy saw green glue, RSIC, and decided he didn't want to deal with it. So he bid high. Got another quote in, its MUCH better. The guy apologies that it was a bit high (it is, a bit). But the specs I wrote up are pretty lengthy, which probably makes for higher quotes.


I attached my specs if any one wants to crib off them. Just construction/carpentry requirements, not utilities/electrical. Doc file, so open at your own risk (I don't think I have any macro-viruses, but you never know).


Things are moving pretty fast now.

 

Requirements.doc 26.5k . file

 

[BritInVA]

Dave,


On your HVAC are you looking at a single supply line that then splits in the room to the supply registers. Same with returns?


Reason I ask is thats what I did on my supplies.....and nearly failed the inspection. Apparently was against code. Managed to swing the guy by explaining why I did it (i.e. noise reduction).


Cheers,

Mark

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Mark - - that's more or less what I was thinking of. I guess we can do separate runs, but it needs to split off from the dampener at some point to be in the same zone, so I don't entirely see the difference, in my inexperienced opinion. There is no HVAC permits in MA, but some towns do mechanical inspections and some don't (I gather). Not sure if my town does, though I'd guess yes.


The one change to the drawing above is Bryan suggested in an e-mail that I bring the supplies and returns in at the same place to make it just one intrusion that needs to be sealed. Made sense to me.

 

[BritInVA]

Dave,


From my understanding code has each register coming off the main trunk.


Its sounds stupid to me as my main trunk that feeds most of the the basement and 1st floor is 14"x8" so has cross sectional area of 112 sq in. It has has 7 x 8" (50 sq in each) supplies and 2 x 4" supplies (12.5 sq in each).....so 375 sq in.


And he was concerned about splitting a 8" in two !!!!!


Might be prudent to check with your HVAC guy.


Cheers,

Mark

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Added the before pics to post #3.


The HVAC is now moved. Pics of that tonight. Ran into an issue regarding the height of the run going under the beams.


Also, have a thread going on whether/how my walls should be sealed.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9600360