# BillyM's first house - first media-room build



## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

Hi folks. After a few years of reading quietly, I figured it time I actually contribute a little to this fantastic community.

Having had a few make-do setups involving flat-screen televisions in existing rooms over the years, I thought my next room would be a full build.
...little did I know how MUCH of a build it would end up being. Ducting, plumbing, electrical, structural; everything needed attention...

Dec2008
First lets talk about what I started with. It was a 33x15 semi-sub-grade walk-out basement, one long stud wall, block for the other three.
Stairwell, big windows, below-joist water lines, 2x20a screw-in fuses for the whole house., ducting in the way, and doors posed problems.
...oh, and it was a bare room, so in addition to fixing all the stuff that needed it, I actually had to design/build the entire room too...
(Standing at the front-right main speaker shooting back towards the seating area.)









Dec2008
I noticed some slight water damage patterns on the wall, but thought nothing really of it. ...basements get wet once in a while, right?
Shortly after closing, while imagining my future theater room, I leaned against the stud wall. It moved. A lot. ...ahh ...
(Standing in front of the screen, looking at the left wall where it meets the front.)









Dec2008
So I tear out the entire load-bearing center wall (all 33ft) and use a 20ton jack to level the house and make room for the new wall studs.
I call this the "hold my beer and watch this" phase or the "Plaster Disaster". Note: Plaster houses don't like parts being raised 1-2" suddenly.
Right around this time, my better half asks, "can we make a hole here so I don't have to go into the garage to do laundry?" I grumble, then comply.









Apr2011
Some time passes, we remodel the entire upstairs, rewire the entire house, destroy the yard with a 9,000lb excavator, all sorts of fun stuff.
I finally got started, decided the screen would be at the front wall, back 10ft of the room (at the stairs) gets divided off to a bedroom/office.
...then the studs went up (with spacing to allow for exact placement of in-wall surrounds) and electrical/water/ducting all got moved.
(Standing at the screen looking back towards the seating area.)









Nov2011
Wiring went in for power, lights, projector (you can see the recess-box I built), screen, etc with all signal lines running back to the bedroom.
I volume-matched the in-wall cavities where surrounds would be and sealed them up tight as rock went on the walls, hoping for good results.
(Standing at the front right speaker location, shooting back towards the seating location.)









Dec2011
To this point in my life, I had never paid more than $20 for a gallon of paint. Holy does pricier paint go on nice! 
A co-worker of my lady's had ordered 7gal of a gray with "too much magenta" at $38/gallon, wants $75 for it all.
I could have gone slightly darker, but I want this to be a multi-use room, not a cave. (again at the right main speaker)









Mar2012
Surrounds go in (cavities stuffed with fiberfill), install trim and get carpet done, wires get toned and labeled, and it is nearly operational!
Well, I had to install the projector, and the screen, and the receiver, and the PC, etc etc etc in the bedroom behind too...
(Again, at the front right speaker location.)








(At the seating location looking forward, for a change!)









May2012
So that left filling the room with furniture, speaker placement, projector calibration, and general "fiddling-with" to get it right.
I modified a spkr-stand for the center and tiered the couch/love-seat setup with bed risers with plans for a real riser in the future.
(Again, at the front right coner looking back)








(In the center of the back row of seating)









I still have the ducting to wrap (black speaker cloth over an OC705/aluminum frame is a thought, but the room is flat working for me at this point. 
I will move the bookshelf from behind the right speaker (in-case I want to take any more pictures from there) and build a hush-box over the projector.
Impressions? I'm stoked. All surrounds are equidistant and really "surround" you with ambient sounds. The room sounds very balanced with the AS-F2's.
The screen size (100") fits great, and being able to shut out all ambient light at any time is excellent! 1080p is amazing for a previously non-hd person.

...just for fun, here is the before/after. It seems like it took forever, but some people will argue that 3yrs IS forever.
All I know is that I had a good time doing it, and never would have made it without you folks here, so thanks.
Before








After









--billyM


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

Work/Materials &Equipment lists updated...

I had a good friend who works in construction come lend a hand with most of this, so I am splitting the costs into work/materials so folks who can do all the work themselves can only be concerned with the right-hand column.

*Work/Materials: *
Rebuild support wall - $0/$150
Plumbing tuck in joists - $200/$200
New framing/structure - $200/$300
Duct fabricate rehang - $250/$150
Insulation walls/floors - $100/$250
Sheet-rock installation - $100/$350
Electric wiring and light - $200/$250
A/V and network wiring - $0/$175
Tape/finish the drywall - $800/$100
Solid-core doors (four) - $100/$300
Paint/trim/touchup/etc - $0/$250
Carpet on floors/stairs - $200/725

*Total labor/help costs: $2150
Total material costs: $3200*

*Equpiment:*
Athena AS-F2 mains - $350
Athena AS-C1 center - $75
Monoprice 8" surrounds - $150
Klipsch RW-12D subwoofer - $300
Pioneer VSX-1021 receiver - $300
Viewsonic Pro8200 projector - $675
Elite 100" motorized screen - $0 w/projector
Computer/upgrades/monitor - $1000
Lutron IR-controlled dimmer - $60
Assorted cables/accessories - $40
Furniture in both new room - $1000

*Total eqipment/furniture costs: $3950*

Absolute total costs of everything: (minus my time, I flat refuse to add that in...)
*$9300*

I hope this helps others, because I had not added everything up until now...
...and now I somewhat wish that I didn't. "Honey, we're watching two movies tonight!"

That said, $9300 and a few nights each week working to add an extra bedroom and theater to the house...

-billyM


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Very well done clean setup! It took a few years but I bet it's worth every hour and dollar you spent now that you can go down there and relax.


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks for the compliments, I'm fairly proud of it and I can honestly say I've sat in our upstairs living room exactly two times in the last month. Basement theater > boring upstairs living room.

Your "every hour and every dollar" comment got me thinking that I should calculate up all the costs involved so others going down the same path can plan accordingly. (I did this in the second post.) I never actually set a project budget, and simply worked at it slowly, so I was honestly a bit surprised at how HIGH the total cost number was. Equipment costs were spread among years, materials/labor among months, so it went down easy. ...but looking back at the price-tag... *gulp*

--billyM


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## MrACE (Jan 18, 2011)

Wow.. cant beleive its th same room , Excelllent job my friend.


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

The sticks (framing) and stones (sheetrock) didn't break my bones, but this is where I am really going to need help. This is the pre-treatment measurement with nothing but the couches in-place. I still have to wrap the duct-work with 2" oc703/705 and will decide if I want to create a mirrored 24"x6" soffit on the right side of the room as well...

Obviously I have some pretty extreme peaks and nulls. Sadly, MCACC in my Pioneer VSX-1021 only goes down to 63hz for standing-wave adjustment and EQ (no good for my 30hz peak). Is a mini-dsp in my near future, or do I upgrade to an amplifier with real filter capabilities?

Measured with Radioshack digital spl, all speakers+sub, at listening position.

4khz 1/3smoothing









200hz


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Billy,

I would suggest posting your query in the REW forum as I do not think many people will see it in this subforum.

Good luck!


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

So I simply could not handle the lack of symmetry in my front speakers... A second RW-12d sub joined the first to quench my nonsensical desires. I also traded up to a pioneer vsx-1121 for a bit more power headroom. The setup flat knocks my socks off every time I use it. I will have to get some updated photos soon.

Tanks for looking,
--billyM


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

^^^^All hail Athena!!:T. And nice room.

cheers.


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## cdunphy (Aug 25, 2012)

Great work...did you have the design complete from the start? or did you just say hmm I want a ht room and start working toward it?
I would like to do something similar in my house but when I start thinkin about it the costs just starts to soar out of any reasonable price range.I consider the money you spent about the top of what I can afford though over time 
CD


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Very nice work and I'm sure well worth the time and effort.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Well done, turned out nice. I bet it is a joy to sit back and relax after a long day at work. Looking at the total cost of any HT build would turn off most from tackling it. A piece at a time is the best way to go.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

phillihp23 said:


> A piece at a time is the best way to go.


...and the best way to hide the total cost from the wife


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

cdunphy said:


> Great work...did you have the design complete from the start? or did you just say hmm I want a ht room and start working toward it?
> I would like to do something similar in my house but when I start thinkin about it the costs just starts to soar out of any reasonable price range.I consider the money you spent about the top of what I can afford though over time
> CD


I knew the following:
-I wanted a theater, projector, 100+ inch screen...
-I had to build a spare bedroom for WAF reasons...
-I had ~15x32 to work with, symmetry as a bonus...

After drawing a few possible framing layouts, the only real option was what I went with. Once the studs were up, I had plenty of late nights dragging a folding chair around the basement with a measuring tape. "If I sat here, and the screen goes here, and speakers here...." I drew out room layouts in chalk on the floor, and then dealt with wiring, electronics, and lighting from there. 

I have always been one to assume I can just "wing-it" and get a decent result, (probably one of my greatest follies). Were I to do it again, I would probably take pictures and drawings of my room, and ask for some input from the great members of this forum. There is likely some room for improvement on the fit and finish of it all especially in respect to lighting.



JBrax said:


> Very nice work and I'm sure well worth the time and effort.


Thanks! I would do it all over again, if given the choice, done a few things differently, but ultimately the joy of having your own home theater simply stands out against most other joys in life.

Cheers,
--billyM


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

phillihp23 said:


> Well done, turned out nice. I bet it is a joy to sit back and relax after a long day at work. Looking at the total cost of any HT build would turn off most from tackling it. A piece at a time is the best way to go.


I would love to say it's a great way to relax, but now that I've got a capable system, I can't help myself from cranking up the latest and greatest action/adventure/explosions movies. It's hard to relax when you're jumping (shaking) out of your seat through each action scene!

For the pricing, I noticed very few threads included actual pricing break-downs. Since my build wasn't spectacular in any way, figured it the least I could do to help future builders estimate their cost as a way to "give back" a bit to the community.



hjones4841 said:


> ...and the best way to hide the total cost from the wife


Please don't give her this link, else my next build thread will be a 5.1 install for the dog-house I'm living in out back. :spend:

--billyM


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

billyM said:


> for the dog-house
> 
> --billyM


Just make sure you have room for the woofers... Sorry, could not resist


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

hjones4841 said:


> Just make sure you have room for the woofers... Sorry, could not resist


:rolleyesno: :heehee:


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## J&D (Apr 11, 2008)

BillyM,
Excellent job on the build. Reading through all of the issues you had to overcome to get to the final product just made me smile and remember all of the issues my wife and I had with our first home. We definitely learned a lot on that one! Great to see you plowed through the setbacks and the finished product looks fantastic. It appears you are now fully embarked on the never ending quest for upgrades! Enjoy all your hard work. :T


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Came out great. Love it. Just think, you paid for that space with a morgage and it was vertually unusable except storage. Now with a little invested, you have a extra bedroom and HT Room. Not only will you now be able to enjoy that space, it deffinately increases the appeal for a future sale (even if they dont want a HT they could easily convert it to a play room or bedroom). Well done. Who could complain with the cost after looking at the before and after photos. :rubeyes:


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

billyM said:


> Work/Materials &Equipment lists updated...
> 
> I had a good friend who works in construction come lend a hand with most of this, so I am splitting the costs into work/materials so folks who can do all the work themselves can only be concerned with the right-hand column.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing this information  

I will sometime relocated back to the mid-west for retirement and the next house I will be purchasing with have an unfinished basement. This at least gives me an idea what it would cost for labor and materials. I thought I can keep most of it down / less than 15K. So I think you did very well. :T

Multipurpose rooms are ideal for me if I do-not plan on staying in it 'forever' or longer than expected. :T


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## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

phillihp23 said:


> Came out great. Love it. Just think, you paid for that space with a morgage and it was vertually unusable except storage. Now with a little invested, you have a extra bedroom and HT Room. Not only will you now be able to enjoy that space, it deffinately increases the appeal for a future sale (even if they dont want a HT they could easily convert it to a play room or bedroom). Well done. Who could complain with the cost after looking at the before and after photos. :rubeyes:


I agree, plus in your workup of the room you also found some issues that could have been structurally devastating for your home...so your theater room prevented your house from collapsing!


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

What a difference. Great work on the basement, it looks like it all came together very well. It always helps to have friends in the business to rely on for advice/labour when you can get it. And as a bonus, like Brandon mentioned, now your house is more stable!


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## billyM (Jun 9, 2011)

Picture_Shooter said:


> Thanks for sharing this information
> 
> I will sometime relocated back to the mid-west for retirement and the next house I will be purchasing with have an unfinished basement. This at least gives me an idea what it would cost for labor and materials. I thought I can keep most of it down / less than 15K. So I think you did very well. :T
> 
> Multipurpose rooms are ideal for me if I do-not plan on staying in it 'forever' or longer than expected. :T


Thanks, I was hoping that pricing would help someone. Enjoy finishing out that future-unfinished, I know I have! My only next-steps would be to build a small removable riser for the back-row and finish out the soffits.



BD55 said:


> I agree, plus in your workup of the room you also found some issues that could have been structurally devastating for your home...so your theater room prevented your house from collapsing!


 yes, and that's going to be my alibi if the old-lady ever gets ahold of the price-sheet.



Owen Bartley said:


> What a difference. Great work on the basement, it looks like it all came together very well. It always helps to have friends in the business to rely on for advice/labour when you can get it. And as a bonus, like Brandon mentioned, now your house is more stable!


Thanks! I need to get some recent pics up with the dual RW-12d subs up front. I watched Prometheus last night, and the LFE channel was chock-full of goodness on the ship scenes. The house was flat rockin'.

--billyM


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

cdunphy said:


> did you just say hmm I want a ht room and start working toward it?
> CD


 That is how I usually do my projects... My backyard pond has evolved into a pond within a 2 story sunroom and deck.


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## jrnelson91 (Jan 22, 2013)

Sweet theater room! can't believe the before photo's.


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