Projector in an unfinished basement

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So... when my new house was being designed, the builder asked if I wanted the foundation stepped down for a home theater in the basement. I said "of course not".

The loft (aka "treehouse") was originally going to be a "music room" with piano, stereo & CDs/LPs, a few other instruments, and a couple of big comfy chairs. Maybe a small TV but nothing fancy. Well, the TV became the HT, with 5.1 and sub. After adding a projector and screen, then reserving space for the rear channels (7.1), there was no room for a violin let alone a piano. The piano ended up in the living room, where it makes everything feel cramped.

I ran across a picture I took of the living room right after moving in -- big, spacious and sunny -- and something snapped. The piano is going in the loft. The HT is going in the basement. The basement wasn't laid out for an HT. The basement is not finished. I don't care

So... any experience with dust control in an unfinished basement and potential effect on a Z4 projector ? The instructions are pretty clear, keep the projector far far away from dusty areas.

Walls are insulated and drywalled. Floor is concrete slab, ceiling is joists with plywood subfloor. I'll probably hang some drapes and/or plastic sheets to figure out where I want the walls to go so I can define a relatively small space, but I would rather not have to finish (or even semi-finish) the ceiling and floor until I have a clue what I want the final layout to be.

I'm going to go read through the manual and see if the answer might be as simple as frequent and careful filter cleaning in the projectors. Does anyone know if HEPA filters are any use for hoovering up basement-type dust, or are they designed for real fine stuff and get clogged quickly with larger volumes of dust ? Blower is on Low all the time and the furnace has 4" pleated filter media, but not sure if that does more to remove the dust or blow it around the basement.

Played with basement layout for a while tonight and think I found an arrangement that works -- it's going to be quite a bit smaller than the nice 20x20 loft but lots of non-90 degree angles so shouldn't get too many bass problems. Might work out something like the link below with luck. That guy is my hero.

http://www.videophile.info/Screen/Page_01.htm

I'm wondering if a "cozy" theater might actually work out better. Any thoughts ? I like watching movies in the big open loft but I would sure like a bit of ambient light control as well.

Any thoughts appreciated.

John I know how well you plan projects and it already sounds like you have addressed many of the issues. Some other items:

1. Acoustical insulation in the ceiling. Its amazing how those long wavelengths make bass as loud upstairs as in the HT. I've gone through all sorts of Safe n' sound Roxul insultation from Home Depot.

2. Wiring. I'd run a 20 amp line into the room. Over time power requirements seem to get larger and amps bigger so its an easy one to deal with now. Location of components and speakers needs to be thought through if you are going to hide much of the cabling in the wall. Use 12awg or higher for all run lengths to cover future contingencies.

2. Construction Dust.

Bad for all electronics not just projectors. I would definitely keep all equipment covered when not in use. Better still don't leave electronics in the room until you are finished the project.

3. Ventilation ducts. Is amazing how much resonance there is in those things. In order to minimize it I would wrap them in insulation as well before enclosing. Also try to put the vent openings away from your mains or subs.

4. Seats. How big is the screen. At 1.5X the diagonal is your room big enough or do you want a smaller screen.

5. Risers. These things can really cause boomy bass especially for the seats on the riser. They actually act like large Helmholtz resonators. My solution was to stuff them with...yup...more Safe n' sound insulation to minimize their impact. By doing so they start to act like a bass trap lying on the concrete floor. Some guys I know actually drill 3" wide "ports" in the back of them for more sound but I would not recommend it.

Good luck with the project. If you buy the right kind of beer I'd be glad to come over when you need a hand.

Just one more comment about construction dust. I had my Z3, and all of my axiom gear wrapped in good, thick plastic and taped closed. Everything looked great like nothing would get in, but I noticed drywall dust has somehow started to get inside, so I had to move everything up into our office on the main floor of our house. Drywall dust seems to get everywhere!

Oh, and I've had a theater that had "stadium" seeting for 12 and a comfy couch up front, so about 16 seats, plus room for people to pull up other chairs, etc. It had a little wow factor for its size, but now, I have seating for 4, with 4 large "bean bag" chairs for overflow. I am having custom seating built (hopefully this summer) that will raise the main seating from 4 to about 7-8 adults. More than enough. I like the "cozy feel" of my current theater. Very rarely is it more than my family and maybe 1 or 2 of our kid's friends.

I just realized that my first post was perhaps the most ambiguous thing I have ever written.

The basement is currently "slightly better than unfinished" in the sense that I had the walls framed, insulated, drywalled and primed during initial construction but nothing else was done. I'm entertaining the idea of moving the HT down to that unfinished basement and using it there *before* before finishing the basement and wondering (a) how stupid an idea that is, and (b) what if anything I can do with essentially zero investment to help control dust in the short term. Thinking about things like "stapling plastic sheeting onto the bottom of the joists"

I'm too tired and too busy to really plan any more construction right now and I know from grim experience that I shouldn't do anything permanent until I feel like I have a good plan.

On the other hand, I *am* now 110% sure that I need to get the HT out of the loft in order to be able to put everything *else* where I want it, which then lets me finish getting all the furniture out of my old house, which in turn lets me fix up and *sell* the old house, which would then free up funds to finish the basement.

I guess a more responsible person would put the HT stuff in boxes until I cleaned out and sold the old house. Geez, what a horrible thought. Then again, putting the HT in storage meets all my requirements, would probably get my old house on the market faster, requires no further investment, no planning.

Also no HT. Yuck.

Mediate on this I will. Thanks for the good ideas.

I am not a compulsive planner...
I am not a compulsive planner...
I am not a compulsive planner...
I am not a compulsive planner...
I am not a compulsive planner...

Anyways, here's the first drawing :

The scale is a bit off -- it looks better in real life, marked out with tripods, old 1x6es and a bunch of big Rubbermaid boxes

The 10 foot screen wall seems to be fine based on my current layout in the loft. The screen is 8 feet wide and I don't plan to go any larger.

Two big rectangular HVAC ducts run side by side to the left from the furnace, so there'll be a lowered section running diagonally across the screen. I think there are going to be some really neat angles happening when it's done.

John, a couple of thoughts.

Unless you have a central vac that is ducted to the outside, a standard vacuum just tends to spread things around. At the last house, I had a steam cleaning company do my concrete floor before I had the carpet laid. They looked at me funny - but to me, it made a huge difference.

A HEPA filter will help out with air bourne dust, and is great for particulate that you can't see. Most of the dust you see on your furniture and electronics was heavy enough to fall out of the air before it got anywhere near the filter.

The portable units are great for small enclosed (sealed) rooms, but not for entire basements. Also, because of its smaller dimensions the portables tend to load very quickly, requiring frequent filter changes. If the unit was inexpensive (read cheap), the motor won't be able to handle the added resistance when the filter is dirty, and burn out quickly. The cheap ones also tend to have crappy seals and suffer from "blow by". (100% of the air isn't going through the filter)

As a side note, I'd ear mark a higher percentage of funds for sound proofing that furnace room located RIGHT beside your seating.

BTW - What's the story on the vault?

>>BTW - What's the story on the vault?

I didn't have enough guns to keep a straight face while calling it an armory

When I lived in TO I had a cheap metal gun cabinet bolted to the wall, a good alarm, and neighbors on the police force. At the new house I have an alarm but it's too far out in the sticks for fast police response. I figured I needed a serious gun safe but was a bit alarmed at the cost. They're not so bad until you add shipping.

No problem -- I always wanted a walk-in gun room.

When the foundation was being poured I had a couple of extra walls added -- 12" walls, welded rebar and a couple of hundred pounds of ball bearings and carbide chips in the mix. A foot of concrete on top and a 1900 pound vault door finished it off.

Predictably, now I have no money to buy guns.

That is too sweet. With that type of fortification, you have the right to call it whatever you want.

Quote:

No problem -- I always wanted a walk-in gun room.

John, we need to talk. You're scaring me.

I can see it now. Hand and retina scanner. Fully motorized door. Wall to wall guns of all types, hanging on translucent panels that are flourecent backlit..... An array of LCD screens with video feeds from all over the property. Secret escape tunnel that emerges 100 yards from the house. Fully fueled off road bike or ATV, hidden for the getaway. Auto closing doors and concussion grenades set to detonate once the intruders enter the vault....

Yes John, that is a sweet setup.

Ixnay on the concussion grenades, someone could get hurt

Most of the other features were considered and (for now)rejected due to budgetary limitations. Anything that didn't need to be built into the core of the house was cut -- almost every penny went into things that would be impractical or too expensive to add later.

I was *really* close to including a tunnel in the initial foundation pour, but (a) the builder was already kinda freaked out by the more normal things I wanted, (b) the weather was rapidly approaching the point where it would be too cold for the footings and foundation to cure properly, (c) I was not able to quickly find a mechanical engineer who would sign off on a tunnel running under where I wanted to park the car.

The tunnel was going to go to an future underground pistol range, with a storage building / workshop built on top. Nobody seemed to think the underground range was odd and a number of people allowed as how they always thought that would be a great addition to a house.

I figured as long as it was long and narrow I could always redecorate it as a bowling alley when I went to sell.

By the way, I'm in serious need of decorating ideas for the vault / gun room. I have seen some very neat rooms in various movies over the years, but the only example I can find now is the one in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which is kind of stark even for my tastes.

Any suggestions or screen captures would be greatly appreciated.

>>John, we need to talk. You're scaring me

Mike, by Alaskan standards I think I still qualify as "unarmed"

Well John, I'm moderately impressed, but if you're talking security, how about what this gentleman had Rhino Vault put in for him under 30 yards of concrete. Since the vault itself provides the security, you might consider some attractive(although expensive)display cabinetry, such as shown at the Julian site .

Believe it or not, that very page was one that came up while I was trying to make sure I spelled "armoury" correctly. Definitely more impressive, and considerably more secure than my room. Having enough room in the vault for a separate bathroom is a definite plus.

Then again even I, the poster child for "penny wise and pound foolish", would have trouble justifying spending 10 times as much on the room as on the contents -- at least in a single purchase

Besides, I'm saving my pennies for when the "Diefenbunker" goes up for sale :

http://www.diefenbunker.ca/english/default.asp

Thanks for the Julian and Sons link. The small picture in the upper right hand corner is just what I was looking for. I will probably tone down the elegance a bit to match the... um... "functional" nature of my guns.

You know...

I was just reading through the thread, and realized that the the solution is obvious. Combining all the good advice on sound isolation with the floor plan from the Rhino vault makes it clear that the walls and ceiling for the HT area should be reinforced concrete, not wimpy drywall.

Lining the HT area with acoustically isolated steel should take care of that pesky furnace noise, and I'm going to need an equally solid (read heavy steel) door to keep out noise from the laundry area...

Infinite Improbability achieved. I have my design.

Thanks everyone !!

EDIT -- just noticed that one of the Rhino floor plans includes a TV in the corner. Add a few Axioms and that would be pretty much what I have in mind :

Just substitute "Home Theater" for "Shelter Area"

lol,

this is some freakin funny stuff.

>>4. Seats. How big is the screen. At 1.5X the diagonal is your room big enough or do you want a smaller screen.

You were right -- the screen was too close. I pushed it back a bit so the screen wall is now just 8 feet plus enough room for the screen border. Good catch !!

I revised the picture above and also drew in the lowered ceiling area. By "low" I mean "above the top of my head but not by much".

Hi,

i've run a DLP projector in a "simulator" of sorts in my basement for some time now.

an insect _did_ crawl through an adjustment hole, and a huge (well-defined) leg was visible for a few weeks, but it eventually shifted out of the optical path.

basement dust is a bit different that 'upstairs' dust, and the DLP does not have a filter (like the HD LCD upstairs).

my basement is fairly "tight" to the elements, and the 'usual' amount of dust can be seen flying around in the light cone, nothing terrifying at all.

just keep the place clean.

one neat side note: i usually run the bulb on "economy". the basement seldom gets above 68 farenheit, so the air cooling the bulb is usually cool.

the manufacturer claims that this could extend the life of the bulb.

hope this helps,

Elden.