[Factor V]

Everyone here in this forum has served as an inspiration to me in my endeavor.


The space I am working with is less than optimal as you will see in the pictures. I am attempting a total DIY scenario. From the aesthetics to the screen, I will construct it all by hand with little to no assistance on a very limited budget.


My ultimate goal is to have a nice little getaway from reality in my home. I have seen some builds on these forums that I can sadly never afford to venture into. But, even though I am new to this area, hopefully my minuscule project will welcomed with open arms by the very people who inspired it in the first place.


Before I post pictures of the pre construction images I would like to ask a question, the ceilings in the space I am planning are relatively low, 7 feet, being a novice I am having a difficult time determining if a projector with lens shift will be necessary? I would like a ceiling mounted scenario and I have been looking at just about every projector under 2,500 dollars. any insight you can offer as to an average height off the ground a standard dlp mounted approx 11 feet back 7 feet high will project will be a helpful baseline for me.


thank you all.

I am building a wall across here were the screen will be.

this wall will be broken up and will be housing a very modest equipment rack.

By the way, none of this stuff will remain in the room, except the boiler, but I plan to insulate the screen wall well to help dampen the sound, it is not all that loud to begin with.

 

[Art Sonneborn]

Looks like a clean slate to me.


Art

 

[1Sharpdog]

Good luck

I wish I had a space I could start from scratch with. My house was 100% finished when we bought it, and had an OK area for a theater, but I would have done alot of things different.


You should be in for a ride filled with excitement and frustration. LOL.


As for the lens shift questions I would recomend it. Even if you can get away without it logistically, it saves a ton of fiddling around on the set up.


Luke

 

[tbase1]

It's nothing like seeing the birth of a new HT baby...have fun. The only think i hated about building my room is IT TOOK TO LONG!

 

[VTPete]

Factor,

When I built my HT in my basement I made a couple of decisions that really paid off in the past couple of years. I thought I might pass along some good karma...


First, I built a subfloor by using DriCore panels from Home Depot. My basement showed no signs of ever being wet, but dampness creeps up from the bottom. (And a broken pipe once caused this decision to pay for itself.) The subfloor, at less than an inch thick, allows air to circulate between the cement and the area you walk on. (Which I carpeted.) It's a wonderful product for basements as it allows you to carpet (or whatever) without worrying about any mustiness later on.


Next, I too had low ceilings, so I decided to go ceiling tiles rather than a suspended ceiling. This saved me a couple of critical inches. You have to plan ahead with electrical and video cables, etc., but the final result looks better in my opinion than a drop ceiling and is very easy to install.


Let see... I also built walls that I only finished on the inside. In essence, I created a room within a room and you can creep behind the walls if you really need to. While you might not need to, adding walls close to your foundation again allows air to circulate, and for you to keep the HT's atmosphere just right. Also, building new walls allows you to make them straight, flat (like a screen) and have their own electricity. Building walls is pretty easy if you have a nail gun, a chop saw and one brother who happens to be an electrician and another who's a carpenter. (I guess I got lucky!) Oh, the "room within a room" also makes it easier to control sound so the folks upstairs don't need to listen to you blasting Star Wars.


Finally, keep the room dark! Don't use white ceiling tiles and don't let anyone say stupid things like, "But what if we want to play dungeons and dragons down there?"


Take some photos along the way, ok? Good luck!

 

[Factor V]

Thank you for the tips, the sub floor was something I was toying with but I thought i would loose too much vertical space, sounds like I was wrong though, i will definitely go that route moisture has been a concern of mine from the beginning.


Could you elaborate a little more on these ceiling tiles? i assumed that suspended was my only option due to the piping and access to the electrical. Perhaps a photo or two of your ceiling?


Room within a room was the plan, I imagine those brick walls would have been an acoustic nightmare.


I will definately be posting more pictures, I am just still in the cleanup phase right now so it really isn't all that interesting.


That being said, I have already managed to lose my tape measure 7 times.