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I’ve been meaning to post pictures of my HT gear for a while, and the construction start of the basement HT seemed like a good opportunity. We’ve decided to finish ~ 65% of the basement in our split entry bungalow that we built last year. The main section is open concept, and consists of a HT area, Kids Play area and Pool Table area.

Front wall: This is the strapped and insulated back wall of the house, which is the darkest corner of the basement and lends itself perfectly to a front projection screen.


Right side wall: The right QS8 will be located between the window and the beam. The back of the beam is ~ 14 feet from the front wall.


Left side wall: The doorway has been eliminated, opening up the entrance to the basement. The left QS8 will be located on the yellow portion of the wall, ~ 5” from the ceiling.


Back wall: The back of the room opens up to the play room section. The total length of the room is ~ 35ft.


The next group of pictures shows roughly the same areas of the rooms after the drywall. This is the current state of the room as of today, Oct 25, 2005.







We've designed the peninsula fireplace surround to house the HT gear. I'm looking forward to seeing this roughed in!

Looking very good Dan! It was not that long ago that my basement looked very similar, it is so nice when it is done...
Are you planning on boxing in the I-Beam across the ceiling?

Randy

I'm certainly looking forward to having my HT back, I've been over a year without one. The picture I posted was from yesterday, before the bulkheads were framed and drywalled.


Looks great! I've always loved DIY progress pictures. Some day soon I'll have my own to share -- unless I find a perfect home with everything as I want it.... yeah, right.
Thanks.
This project has not been completely DIY. Three years ago, before the kids, I would not have even considered having a contractor do any work on my house. But time is more precious these days, and I'd much rather be hanging out with the family then working every evening and weekend in the basement. I hired a drywall company to do the framing (steel stud) and drywall. I added some insulation (yuck), roughed in the electrical, pulled the audio/video cables, and did various other small jobs (HVAC, central vac etc.). They start taping today, therefore the basement should be ready for paint by Monday. I’m really looking forward to the big screen, and running the QS8 and VTF-3 MKII though their paces!

In reply to:

I hired a drywall company to do the framing (steel stud) and drywall.




Good decision. This type of work is really an artform. Yes a lot of people can "do drywall" but the pros can really make a difference so that you don't see seams and other imperfections.

Just out of curiosity, how tall from floor to ceiling? What are you going to use for floor coverings?
Great pictures, Dan!

In reply to:

We've designed the peninsula fireplace surround to house the HT gear




Okay, I'll bite. What the heck are you talking about?
After the resilient channel and drywall ceiling, it's 8'2". My finished height will be 8'1" once I lay the delta-fl subfloor, and laminate. I considered carpet for the added warmth, but I'm always hesitant to lay carpet in a basement.
The fireplace is of the 3-sided peninsula variety, similar to the one on the attached link. I've built a base that places the FP ~ 39" away from the outside wall. I will build a cabinet in this 39" opening between the FP and the wall, which will house my AV equipment. The drywallers are framing it today; I can post a picture tonight if you are interested.
In reply to:

I can post a picture tonight if you are interested.



YES!
i could be misunderstanding but wouldn't that cause you heat problems?
In reply to:

After the resilient channel and drywall ceiling, it's 8'2". My finished height will be 8'1" once I lay the delta-fl subfloor, and laminate. I considered carpet for the added warmth, but I'm always hesitant to lay carpet in a basement.




Of course I am jealous. I am in a house built in 1952 with 81" from unfinished floor to underside of joist.

With Delta-FL you should have no problems with carpeting in the basement. As long as the basement floor slab was built with the proper drainage and your walls are properly moisture-proofed, you should have no problems with mold. That is the whole purpose of Delta-Fl to provide enough space to allow any moisture build-up [typical of that wicked up by concrete] to evaporate.
The fireplace surround/cabinet work took a little longer than expected. It's almost done. I'm going to have the drywallers line the inside with 5/8" plywood, which will give me a solid foundation for my shelves.

This is the back, obviously, looking from the pool table area. I considered making it accessible from the back to ease wiring, but in the end decided to simply leave myself extra slack in the wires. The cabinet is also plenty wide, so I'll easily be able to turn the components to access wiring.


This is the front of the cabinet. The plan is to install 3 adjustable shelves.


Overall I'm happy with the design. Looking at it now, it might have been better to have a thicker top piece above the fireplace, but we decided on 3 1/2" to match the bottom.
That looks awesome and is a great use of space. I'm a big fan of built-in storage.
Regarding the heat issue, the unit I purchased is a direct vent, zero clearance. This means combustibles can be placed directly on the top and back of the fireplace, since it’s designed to radiate heat only from the 3 viewing glass areas. The top and back are only warm to the touch when operating the fireplace. The inside of the cabinet will be ~ 4" away from the back of the FP, and I'll insulate this cavity to minimize any heat. I hope it works out; otherwise I’ve just designed a very expensive non-functional room divider! (I say this because if it comes down to using the HT equipment or the FP… the HT wins out!)
I was very clear to the builder that I wanted a minimum of 8’ finished height after ceiling and subfloor.

As far as carpet goes, you make some valid arguments, and I am thinking about it. I installed r-foil under the slab, which the manufacturer claims an r10 equivalent insulation factor and should take care of any moisture problems. I also ran an extra perforated weeping tile circuit throughout the interior perimeter, in addition to the standard exterior perimeter.


Here’s the r-foil before the floor was poured.


Thanks Peter, I also like the clean look of built-ins. Our original layout had the HT area where the Play area ended up, since I could incorporate a built-in component rack under the entrance stairs. I was disappointed when that layout was cancelled due to other factors. I'm glad the peninsula fireplace with component rack worked out.
In reply to:

I installed r-foil under the slab, which the manufacturer claims an r10 equivalent insulation factor and should take care of any moisture problems. I also ran an extra perforated weeping tile circuit throughout the interior perimeter, in addition to the standard exterior perimeter.




Most excellent. This should almost be standard construction practice. One of my biggest "pet-peaves" is the building codes' minimum requirements. This is of course what all contractors build to unless you spend some time researching and request the better install or have good knowledgable contractors who are willing to educate the client.

Looks like you did your research and I think it will definnitely pay off with a very comfortable basement!
My builder was no different than most, and would have built to minimum code requirements. As you say, it took research on my part to figure out the best way to do things. Another 6 weeks and I'll be sitting in my 'comfortable' basement enjoying music and movies!
Another update:
The drywall and painting are complete, and I've installed the delta-fl subfloor. The pictures are a couple days old, I now have the laminate in the main room complete. The office and bathroom should be done tonight. I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality. My digital camera is acting up again.

Screen wall: I built a frame that is 8" wider and taller than my screen, and painted it flat black, with the goal of absorbing light for brighter perceived picture.


Front HT Area: This is a slightly different angle, showing the integrated component rack and fireplace.


Component rack / fireplace.


Left QS8 location: Note the box I installed that houses the speaker wire and will be covered by the left QS8.


I will be moving the furniture and equipment down this week. Unfortunately, I'm out of town this weekend, which means I will not be able to finish the set-up until next week. As for the remaining work, the floors will be done tonight, then I have to finish the wiring for networking, satellite, speakers etc. Baseboards, doors, trim and bathroom fixtures. The basement should be completed by mid-December. I'll change the battery in my camera and hope to post some better shots tonight.
Wow. Looking good. What a difference the paint makes. I'm a little confused on the screen pic. Is that the frame that is your wall color in the pic, and you have since painted it flat black? Is the screen black?

Can't wait to see more.
The paint colour turned out to our liking, the colour is much less orange than it appears in the picture. I built a 'frame' that is painted the wall colour, and the interior is painted flat black. I have a retractable screen that will go on the wall, over the flat black and the visible portions around the screen will act as a border. I painted the entire inside of the framed area black, since it will be visible when the screen is rolled up. I wanted something different than simply having a screen bolted onto the wall, and I think this gives it a bit of a built-in look, and adds architectural interest to the front wall.
The floors are now in! Again, poor quality pictures, the new battery did not seem to help.
This photo is taken from the pool table area:


This photo is taken from the seating area:


I started the electrical finish work, with only the pot-light trim remaining. I hope to set-up the speakers tonight, although I'm still not sure how I'll mount the center speaker (stand or wall).
That looks fantastic! Excellent choice in flooring.
Absolutely beautiful!

Have you decided on room treatments? That looks like it will be quite a lively room.

I love what you've done with the recessed screen. That setup would really lend itself to some inwall speakers.

Your progress is smokin! Keep the pictures coming!

is it me or does this look like a snake just escaped from an aquarium? :0
In reply to:

is it me or does this look like a snake just escaped from an aquarium?


Is it just me or does that sound like a kinky euphemism?

"Wanna let the snake out of the aquarium tonight, honey?"
Why did you go with hard wood floors?
Posted By: Ken.C Re: Basement HT - Progress Report and Pictures - 11/18/05 05:51 AM
Because hard wood is prettier than carpet?
and soft wood isn't a good flooring material.
I've not put much thought into room treatment yet, I'll wait until I hook everything up and have a listen. The room has asymmetrical walls along either side, this coupled with the furniture and a couple of areas rugs should sufficiently soften it up. The flooring is actually quite 'soft' as it's laminate, not hardwood and the delta subfloor, and relatively thick underpad should help absorb some of the highs.
I picked up my screen last night; I'm looking forward to seeing the final results of the built-in screen frame.
You guys are hilarious! My wife got a kick out of the euphemism, I'll be using that one for a while .
What Ken said!

It's actually laminate, with a v-groove and not to toot my own horn, but it's the nicest laminate I've ever seen. It has a very rich look to it, and the grooves give it a nice texture.

I'm not a big fan of carpet in general, although it is cozy to lay on, and the VOCs emitted by carpet underlay is enough to keep me away. And, even though I spent a lot of time and money to ensure a dry, warm basement, there's still that slight chance of moisture.

Actually, I've now finished all areas of my house and the only carpets are small area rugs, and bathroom mats. It makes for a much healthier indoor environment (IMO), that is easier to keep clean.
I watched my first movie tonight, Finding Nemo, with my eldest daughter and a couple of her friends. I mounted the screen and projector on Sunday, but have yet to do any real tweaking. The only tasks performed to-date are centering the image on the screen, and auto set-up on my Yamaha 5890 (a re-badged RX-V1500) with EQ off. I'll save the full review for another day, and different thread. I will, however, say the Panasonic EA900 is STUNNING! Even with all 15 pot lights on in the basement, it still produces a viewable image!!! The speakers sound fantastic, with the HSU VTF3-MKII being the most impressive so far! The HT portion of the basement build was the most fun, and I'm thrilled with the results. I'm looking forward to running AVIA to maximize the picture quality. I'm also looking forward to the kids being out of the house so I can play the Lobby Scene from the Matrix to give the QS8s and HSU a good run.

The pictures really do not do the space justice, but have a look and give me your opinion.

The first 3 pictures are simply different angles of the HT room:






This is a close up of the component rack. I built 2 shelves from 3/4" MDF. I have not yet finished the unit, and the components are connected temporarily, with no wire management.


The next few shots are of the projector and mount. The mount is homemade, as I refuse to pay several hundred for a store bought unit. It cost ~ $8 in steel, nuts and bolts, and about 1 hour fabrication time at a friend's house. It's screwed to the ceiling with 4 - 2"x1/4" lag bolts, and I hung on it before putting the projector on, so no fear of it ever falling.






So that's about it for this project. I have a month or 2 of little jobs to wrap up, like a couple of light fixtures, painting the component rack, trim, bathroom etc. It's really only ~ 2 solid weekends of work, but with the HT up and running, I'll be hard pressed to 'waste' all of my time on these tasks. Thanks for your advice along the way...
Very nice! I like the projector mount you made. It looks very professional. You should go into the business. Something like cheapprojectormounts.com.

You will only enjoy it more and more as you get everything finalized and dialed-in.

Might I suggest a different center speaker stand I'm guessing it's temporary, but makes me nervous that your center will slide right off during a movie.

You have done an excellent job! A space to enjoy and be proud of.

Did you get that dragon from Ikea?
Yeah but when your kids slip and bump their heads, that soft wood might cushion the blow. In my kids case, they bump into stuff all the time and our Bruce Hardwood doesn't even phase them anymore.

Back to the subject, what a nice room you have!
In reply to:

In my kids case, they bump into stuff all the time and our Bruce Hardwood doesn't even phase them anymore.




So what are you saying, they all have cement heads.

Man I wish I did back during my football days.

Serously though, to the OP, very nice job man!



Sutter
The speaker stand, consisting of an ottoman and the box from the Panasonic S77 DVD player, is temporary and relatively stable. I'm probably going to build a stand, not sure if it'll be wood or steel. Watching my first movie, I found the center performed well, but I think I'll raise the height and angle it towards the listener.

Yes that's an Ikea dragon, my wife loves that store.
Awe the old football injuries, that explains things more clearly Believe me I can relate, for me it is when my Ryukyu Kempo master likes to KO me.
It looks to me as if you have spikes on your speakers. If so, be careful, lamanite chips. When it does, a nasty white mark shows.

nice job.
Well done looks great. I really like the the framing around the screen and the black within. Is that just plai flat black?
The spikes are not sticking out the bottom of the speakers. The feet are a nice design, and the spikes can be screwed into the speaker, with only the brass feet sticking out. I've also stuck some felt on the brass to avoid scratching, and to make it easier to move the speakers around.
Thanks.
Yup, plain flat black paint. I also think the frame and black interior are one of the highlights of the room: gives the screen more of a built-in look.
I really can not believe that you got all that work whipped together in about a month.

It really looks great. That is the type of layout I want to achieve except in a dedicated room with mechanically isolated walls.

Had you compared differnt projectors before settlingon the Panasonic? I wa thinking about a BenQ projector.

Aces on the projector mount! I love a guy who can fabricate a perfectly functional accessory without the need to drop a few hundred bucks. Did you do the welding?

Have you an area rug or is that not in the picture?
I used Valspar Flat Black paint for my back wall behind my screen. I works great and the screen appears to be floating in space. You do need to be careful not to mark it up though as flat paint shows dust/fingerprints easily.
In reply to:

Believe me I can relate, for me it is when my Ryukyu Kempo master likes to KO me.




What a small world we live in, I study Kempo myself. Have done so for many years. Not Ryukyu Kempo, but Kempo nonetheless. That's awesome!

Anyways, sorry to hijack the thread. Back to the OP's topic.



Sutter
In reply to:

Yes that's an Ikea dragon, my wife loves that store.




Yours too? I could never of guessed. That's exactly my wife. She could go as crazy there as I would with HT. Luckily she is limited by the fact that the nearest store is about 700 miles away in California. But they just announced in the local paper that Ikea bought 40 acres of land here in Utah for a future store. That made her year.
Bruce,
I did not compare many projectors side-by-side. Being in a realtively small city in Northern Ontario, we only have 3 or 4 places that have projectors on display, with one of them being Future Shop (yuck). I deal with the only "hi-end" shop we have in the city, as I have a pretty good relationship with the owner, and I trust him. Most of my conparisons were done from online research, mainly at Projector Central. I had actually decided on an AE700, since Panasonic was giving away a free bulb. It just happened that the AE900 was released while I was waiting for the AE700 to arrive. My dealer called me up, and offered me the AE900 for the same price, with the free bulb. My only concern with the projector was how it would perform in a less than dark environment, and these fears have gone away.
A friend of mine did the welding, and we've discussed going into business - GorillaMounts.com, strong but ugly. Although that name was coined right after fabrication, and I've since spent some time grinding and painting, and it actually looks pretty good. Our design gives me plenty of flexibilty as I can move the projector anywhere from 8" - 14" from the ceiling, and -35 to +35 degree angle.
No area rug yet, I simply dropped in a cheap Ikea couch that we had in storage. I'm still undecided as to what type of furniture and accessories we'll get.
I used Sherwin Williams flat black. It really does not like to be touched, marks up very easily. I only used ~ 1/8th of a gallon, so I can just re-paint anytime it starts looking too crappy.
Small world. My wife's Ikea shopping trips are also limited, since the nearest one is in Toronto (~ 250 miles South). I was also just in Los Angeles on business, and one of my colleagues brought his wife and kids. We dropped them off at an Ikea in Pasadena (or close to Pasadena) on our way to a dinner meeting... is this close to the one you're referring to?
I've updated my home theater over the holiday season. I purchased a sectional about 1 year ago, but was unhappy with it from day one. AVS Forum had a power buy, and I picked up a row of 3 Coaster Studios, which got me motivated to build a riser and bar top for a second and third row. The area feels much more like a HT room now, and the Coaster seats are incredibly comfortable. The riser is 7" high, and it gives the back row a perfect view of the screen. I have to find 4 30" barstools now to finish the project. Let me know what you think.

Here's a shot from the back. You can see that I have a proper center channel stand now. I bought 2 pieces of 2" x 1/4" steel from the big orange and welded a couple of L brackets.


Here's a shot from the front of the screen. Looking at this picture, I see that I've not yet removed the plastic protective coating on the foot of the chairs.


Here's a shot of the fireplace/component rack, you can also see the pool table off to the left. I ended up building a HTPC into the top of the chimney box. The chimney pipe actually exits the basement along the horizontal run of the drywall box, the top portion was empty. Heat was a bit of an issue, but I have it such that the temperature inside the box increases by only 10 degrees C while the fireplace is on.



Here's a shot of the riser. I'm using a black leather couch that I had in the upstairs living room. The difference in leather between the HT seats and the couch is not as apparent as in the pictures.


Here's a shot from the pool table room. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the basement. It makes for a comfortable area to waste away the cold winter months in Northern Ontario (although it's 5 degrees C and raining today - about 20 degrees C above normal).

Posted By: CV Re: Basement HT - Progress Report and Pictures - 01/06/08 10:37 PM
Very nice-looking home theater. I want it.
Posted By: Mojo Re: Basement HT - Progress Report and Pictures - 01/06/08 11:09 PM
Very nice. I like the Thierry Ona prints. You may want to consider getting Grenadine et Mirabelle. With the right light shining, it comes to life.
Thanks for the suggestion re Grenadine et Mirabelle, I'll look into it.
Posted By: DaveG Re: Basement HT - Progress Report and Pictures - 01/07/08 01:13 PM
Look great, wish I had one like it.
Posted By: Murph Re: Basement HT - Progress Report and Pictures - 01/07/08 01:26 PM
Nice clean look. Nice furnature. Nice job on the raised platform for 2nd row. I also took note of the bar in behind it. Yet another great idea to add into my future plans. It's like having another row and provides a casual spot to sip drinks for when your not watching a movie but might have company over and you have a concert DVD on for background. That's the exact added touch I needed for my room as I am on revision 20 something of my drawings trying to add a bar into my room plans.

Perfect!!! I'm so glad I thought of that. OK so you have pictures to show you thought of it before me.... See my signature. heh heh. \:\)
That looks very nice!
Great job!

A question on the room setup - what is the distance from the screen to the theater chairs and the bar?
Thanks for the kind words, I also like how it turned out. The bar is a great place for the family (4) to start our Friday movie night with some pizza and drinks. Feel free to claim the idea as your own, I'm sure I got the idea from some website during my research.
Thanks.
The viewing distance from the front row is just a little over 11', and ~ 15' for the back row. The riser is 8' wide by 5' deep, and the bar top is 16", putting the viewing distance from the bar at ~ 19'.
One more compliment, very nicely laid out. I wish I had the room for something of that nature.

Now you just need one more VP150 to go above the screen too, just to continue the dual center trend. ;\)
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