# My Cleverly Named Dedicated Basement Theater Design/Build



## hddummy

I've always wanted a dedicated theater. We just bought a new house and finally have a basement that is suitable. I've been dreaming about it for so long that I hardly know where to begin. My basement is all finished, but I'll be gutting and rebuilding the back corner. I would like to build a room-in-a-room theater that is about ~9H x ~14.5W x ~21L. The dimensions are not set because I'll have to be moving walls and such, so things can be adjusted to suit the final design. I'm going to have a ~130" 2.35 CIH AT screen with masking down to a 90" 16:9 screen. Equipment is still under consideration. I'll do two rows with a raised second row. If room permits, I may do a counter with stools behind the second row. I'm definately going to do a 7.1 and maybe even a full time 9.1 via DDPLIIz. Accoustic treatments will be a must, but not really figured out yet. First reflection absorbers, corner bass traps and a deadened front wall are likely candidates. Here are pictures of the space.

This is a large entertaining room outside of the theater. The theater will be in the room through the door. I will have to rebuild and relocated the wall between these two rooms to add length to the theater.


















This is the room where the theater will be. Like I said, this is getting gutted and completely rebuilt.


















LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!:devil:


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## Ted White

Looks like a good space. Are you taking the room down to bare studs and joists?


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## spartanstew

Depending upon your seating distances, I'd consider a bigger screen.

My seating is 13' and 19' and I'm currently using a 126" 16:9 screen. I would not go smaller and when I do finally go scope, it'll be a screen that's roughly 162" (diagonal), which will maintain my 16:9 image size when needed.


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## bambino

Awesome! I am envious, i can only dream of having a room that size for a theater. Have fun with the build.:T


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## fusionrx

So basically you are gutting a kitchen in the basement.... pulling up the floor and granite countertops? Do you plan on reusing them elsewhere or selling/salvaging them? Neat room for a theatre by the way.


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## hddummy

It's actually a "craft" room and yes, I'll be gutting it down to the studs to build my room in a room. The counters are just cheap laminate and I'll reuse all the cabinets in my workshop. I guess I'll have to see what it feels like once i get the the room roughed in. I'll layout the screen size and see how I feel about it.


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## hddummy

I've been thinking a lot about equipment. I really love to tinker and DIY, so building my own speakers has been heavy on my mind. I've always been partial to the Zaph designs and now that they sell kits at Madisound, it makes it all that much more appealing. I'm just not sure if I'd be better off buying manufactured speakers or not. At the moment, I'm planning on building a set of sealed ZA5.3 MTMs for the main LCR channels. I'm also going to build a sealed 12" sub for each LCR channel. I had always wondered how to integrate each MTM with the W to result in a complete full range channel. After reading Wayne's whitepaper, my path forward is clear. I'm going to buy a DCX2496 and use it to actively cross each LCR channel into an upper and lower signal to a dedicated set of amps. Amps will probably be three emotiva upa2.

Subs.....still up in the air. Again, I will be building my own and lately I've been eyeing the Rythmik kits. I'm not sold on the servo-sub though, so I'd really like to hear some opinions about that. Either way, I plan on probably four 15" drivers on the front wall, two left and two right of center.

Surrounds will be driven by the AVR and probably will be Dipoles. As I mentioned before, I'm planning on a 9.1 system. Lots of people disparage anything higher than 5.1 because content with more channels is so rare. I say the with that....9.1 is just cool. If I can I will. At the moment, the only AVRs I've seen that do it right are the Onkyo TX-NR1007 and higher receivers. Right now, I'm focusing on the TX-NR3008. These AVRs can drive all Dolby PLIIz channels simultaneously.

That's it for the audio side right now.


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## bbieger

If your really into that much bass, look into building a tuba sub. Cheap driver and low wattage amp.. Massive, clean bass. Absolutely blew my SVS sub away.


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## hddummy

I did some preliminary demolition the other night. I pulled some drywall off the ceiling to see what I'm dealing with. I was very happy to see...not much. All my joists above are engineered I-beam style which are not cross braced or anything. There are some flex ducts for HVAC which will be easy to reroute. There is no plumbing or major electrical. I'll be able to stagger the new ceiling joists for my room between the floor joists above, so I'll have next to no impact to my overall ceiling height. All I have to do is get my father (who is an architect) over to judge on whether or not I can move one of the walls in that room. If I can, the room will be 14.5 ft wide. If I can't, then it will only be 13ft wide. Not a major issue either way, but I'll take every inch I can get. As for the project begin schedule....I have just a few items left on my Honey-Do list before I can really dig into this. I anticipate major construction to start no later than the beginning of the new year.

Here is a little outdated but still applicable floor plan.


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## Ted White

Floating ceiling joists would be fabulous


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## fusionrx

Not sure how you'd float in ceiling joist without a) connecting them to the existing joists or b) keep the ceiling height? 

Can you explain what you mean?


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## hddummy

the room in a room design has walls that don't reach as high as the floor joists above. THe new ceiling joists rest on the new walls and also do not connect to the floor joists above. Since i can stagger my new ceiling joists between the above floor joists, the ceiling need only be an inch or two below the existing floor joists. This decouples the room and helps contain the sound since it cannot transmit through common structure....and vice versa. Sounds from above are less likely to transmit into the theater room.


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## 4U2NVME

Hi HDDummy,

Our rooms are fairly similar build, I know I have been struggling with the dimensions, its to short to put a full second row in of HT seats and to keep off the back wall. I figure that most of the time we will use the front row and if needed get a bean bag chair or two or use the bar. I may have found a set of 4 chairs which may work there to.

I'm at the stage right now of ordering my sound proofing for the room, we are getting the house built, its been a slow and drawn out process. 'Communicating' :boxer: with the wife so I can get more build time in the room. She thinks labor is cheap and it can be built out in a day since they are in there already putting up the rest of the house. I did recently take another job that is taking me out of the City for 4 of 7 days.....

As well if you need any help let me know, I have spent a ton of hours looking, researching, dreaming, researching some more. I'll follow your build, it should tell me anytime a post is made here now I think. 

For your angles and the such for your speakers etc, what program did you use to draw that out? The 3D model I used sketchup, its a free Goggle 3D software which does OK. Not professional level, but gives you a good idea how things will, fit, look and feel. 

-NV

ps. I'm looking for such a cleverly named HT as well. I have no clue what to call it right now... should be some HT generator namer, I bet I can find one somewhere.


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## hddummy

I'm really struggling with myself about moving this wall....what would be the right side wall of the theater. It is a structural wall, so we are talking about doubling the floor joist count above to carry the extra span. Also, that puts the new wall right on the edge of the foundation footer.....i'm just not sure it is all worth the effort. I could convert the existing wall over to a post and beam setup instead. In order to hide the posts, my columns on the side of the room would have to extend approximately 18" into the room too be fully encompassed. I suppose the smart thing to do would be happy with the 13.5 feet of width that I have and live with it. I've got to do some more CAD work to plan it out. Any opinions about having the rather large columns on the side of the room?


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## patchesj

I highly recommend the isolated wall (room in room) concept if you can fit it. I did a similar design in my basement using 2 layers 5/8 type X drywall + green glue on my inside walls. Worth every penny and drop of sweat. Make sure you do something to isolate your HVAC vents in the room or it will all be for nothing. I also used an "external" fire rated door as the door for the inside wall. Good luck on the build! Plan on at least 2X the time and money, and you'll get it at least half way done...


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## hddummy

Well...I'm probably not going to do Green Glue and Room in a room. I would do one or the other. If I am sacrificing room width by not moving this wall, it really makes me lean toward GG.


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## patchesj

hddummy said:


> Well...I'm probably not going to do Green Glue and Room in a room. I would do one or the other. If I am sacrificing room width by not moving this wall, it really makes me lean toward GG.


You can only do it once.... :spend:

What is located above your theater?


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## hddummy

A family room.


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## patchesj

It's easy to spend other peoples money but I would do iso walls and GG. GG is like magic, and the icing on the cake of an isolated room.


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## hddummy

It looks like I would have very little structural changes to do if i built a room that varies in width. The front wall would be about 11' wide but the back wall would be about 15' wide. this way, the load bearing wall i am worried about moving would be minimally impacted. Any thoughts?

This is the new walls on top of the old picture to show how much of the room gets chopped off by the tapered width. I guess I am a little concerned with how narrow it gets near the front. This would basically put the speakers in the corners of the room, which i was trying to avoid.


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## Ted White

The new walls would be decoupled from the old?


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## hddummy

Rethinking a little, I could do it with a slightly more narrow taper. I could build it so I had a 13' front wall and a 15' back wall. The only feasible alternative at this point is to make the entire room 13' wide. In that case, I could use the extra two feet in the back of the room for some built in cabinets or something. Here is a picture of the 13'-15' taper.


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## hddummy

Ted White said:


> The new walls would be decoupled from the old?



Yes...I am pretty set now on doing complete room-in-a-room. At this point, I'm only using less than six inches of total available width to do room-in-a-room. I'd say that is a worthwhile use of space for the benefit it gives me.

My dad is doing a good job of convincing me to leave the wall alone though.....I suppose it's for the best.


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## hddummy

I did some more layout without moving the load bearing wall. This new plan fits the room to exactly the space i have available. I'm liking it more now that I drew it out. The front wall is 13', the rear wall is 15'. The room is about 21' long. I'll put some built in cabinets in the back right corner to fill the little nook.


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## hddummy

Questions for those of you with hands on experience building room-in-a-room construction. Do you do anything on the inside walls to help prevent racking? I know you don’t want to have any sheeting material between the two walls, so would you use some diagonal bracing? Also…since my new ceiling joists are staggered and nested between my floor joists above, I can use a rim joist or cross bracing to keep them from wanting to tip over. How do you keep the new ceiling joists standing on end and stable?


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## hddummy

Here is another plan my dad drew up for me. I think the stepped walls would be extremely interesting from a visual standpoint. The screen wall is pretty narrow, although that could be opened up a little.


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## patchesj

The stepped walls will introduce some unpredictable and difficult to manage acoustic issues... I would lean away from them, unless they are purely cosmetic (false walls).


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## patchesj

hddummy said:


> Questions for those of you with hands on experience building room-in-a-room construction. Do you do anything on the inside walls to help prevent racking? I know you don’t want to have any sheeting material between the two walls, so would you use some diagonal bracing? Also…since my new ceiling joists are staggered and nested between my floor joists above, I can use a rim joist or cross bracing to keep them from wanting to tip over. How do you keep the new ceiling joists standing on end and stable?


 I didn't use any bracing in the walls for racking. Given the relatively short wall I don't see this as a major issue. For the joists you can use an inverted joist hanger looped over the top of the joist and then attached to your top plate. Then nail up from under the top plate into the joist as well.


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## hddummy

patchesj said:


> The stepped walls will introduce some unpredictable and difficult to manage acoustic issues... I would lean away from them, unless they are purely cosmetic (false walls).


Please explain. I've read that tappered rooms or things like this are good for acoustics because they break up low frequency modes. What kind of problems are you concerned about?


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## patchesj

My build thread might be of interest to you, I think you had made a comment on it before.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...struction/29022-bluegrass-basement-build.html


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## Mark Holmes

Perhaps bpape or someone can chime in on the tapered walls. I would think they would be advantageous for acoustics, and think they would focus the room to the screen, much like in a concert hall or large cinema.

A quote I found for concert hall design...

"The goal is to distribute sound energy evenly in the concert hall: Look for areas where sound rays converge, which is an indication of sound focusing, and change the room shape to minimize it."


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## RVAtheater

Mark Holmes said:


> Perhaps bpape or someone can chime in on the tapered walls. I would think they would be advantageous for acoustics, and think they would focus the room to the screen, much like in a concert hall or large cinema.
> 
> A quote I found for concert hall design...
> 
> "The goal is to distribute sound energy evenly in the concert hall: Look for areas where sound rays converge, which is an indication of sound focusing, and change the room shape to minimize it."



Just from a passer-by, I think "patchesj" was talking about issues with the "stepped walls" not the tapered walls. I'm assuming these would create bass buildup and potentially standing wave problems but yeah...bpape or others would be the ones to discuss this in depth. I just wanted to point out that I think the gentleman was talking about the stepped walls and not the tapers themselves.


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## hddummy

should i or should i not build one of my walls directly up against the foundation wall? I'd use pressure treated wood, but I'm not sure about sound transmition or vibration.


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## hddummy

I decided to go with this floor plan. The simplicity of wins out. I'm still looking for some help on the past few questions.....

I'll flesh this design out some and post a more detailed plan soon.

I also decided to explore the pocket door idea i was talking about here. I'll try to draw up some plans for that too.


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## hddummy

Can anyone think of a good use for the small nook of space behind my screen? The unfinished size is 52" x 28". Certainly, I could frame it in and use it to place an LLT sub or something. I could use it as an equipment rack. Any other thoughts?


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## Prof.

If you're planning on using an AT screen, then you could make that cavity into a subwoofer if you want to go to that trouble..Otherwise there's not a lot you can do with it..


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## hddummy

I guess I'll frame it into the room....it is cheap and easy to do that at this point. What about a base trap perhaps?


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## Prof.

A bass trap won't serve much purpose there..Ideally the wall behind the screen should be covered with 2" insulation..and if you close that recess off, it should be filled with insulation as well..


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## bpape

You should have a little gap between the studs and the foundation. Even 1/2" will suffice. 

Bryan


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## patchesj

So how is the build going?


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## hddummy

I haven't been doing much physically. I've been working in CAD a lot to fine tune the design. I started buying lumber. I've been deconstructing the room since it was finished in the first place. I've got all the trim pulled down and all the cabinets yanked out of the room. My wife wanted me to convert the book shelf cabinet in there over to a stand alone bookshelf for my daughters room, so that took some time. I really just want to have the entire design completely planned out so that I won't have to redo anything half way through. The door still weighs heavily on my mind.

After some more detailed drawing and reducing the room width to 13', I realize that I can't make a pocket door any wider than a double swing door. So the pocket door is out, but I'm still considering building my own swing door. I feel that I can do it cheaper and get better sound isolation by building in features from the get go. I'll use green glue between layers of MDF. I'll build in neoprene seals around all the edges. etc. I could then also decorate the door like I want...I'm partial to tufted at the moment....  It looks good and would serve as a really good acoustic panel on the center rear wall.

Ceiling design is next on my hit list. I've been looking at various soffet, tray and coffered ceiling ideas. I'll post pics when I figure that out.


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## patchesj

It took me over a year to plan. Take your time, it will be worth it. My wife thought I was nuts sitting in there and "visualizing" all the time... onder:


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## hddummy

Once i get my door figured out and also the pilasters that go around the room, I'll know exactly where/how to build the rear wall. After that, I'll frame the actual room even if the details on the inside aren't finalized. That will allow me to start wiring, etc while i finish the details on everythign else.


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## hddummy

I've been toying with the idea of doing a vlog series on youtube about this build. Is that something you all would be interested in? This is the sort of thing I usually start but lose motivation for, so just trying to decide if there is a good value add. Thoughts?


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## hddummy

question..... Many people fill their stage with sand and their riser with insulation. As far as I know, both are done to keep that air cavity from resonating. Why use two different fillers? Why not use the the same for both spaces?


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## bpape

The stage has to stop any structure borne resonances from the speakers and subwoofer being directly on them - as well as stopping them from directly vibrating the real floor of the room.

The riser, you don't really want that dead. You'd like to have a little bit of feel to it - hence the use of insulation instead of sand. Also, the use of insulation here allows holes to be cut in the riser to allow it to be partially used as a bass absorber in the room.

Bryan


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## Mark Holmes

Bryan,

Denis Erskine also mentioned using the riser as a bass absorber. I believe he had some slots in the riser in his demo room. Is there any info a DIYer could use to lay out an effective absorber. 

I assume there is a volume of riser versus the opening in the riser to come up with the solution. I am curious if there is a way to use the riser as a trap for room resonances. Let's say you have a spike at 63 Hz. Could you "tune" the riser to absorb the spike?


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## hddummy

Yeah...I'm wondering how much of an opening needs to be cut in the riser to make it effective. Also, I'm imagining that the location of the hole would be important too. Can I just put a couple HVAC style grills in the vertical face of the riser to get the effect? Does the riser need to be completely full of insulation or will some R19 between the joists be sufficient?

Also, I was planning on using "built in" subs on top of the stage that would be integral to my screen wall. If structure born vibration is a concern, then I should probably also have some sort of isolation for the top of the screen wall to my ceiling. Some isolation clips maybe?


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## patchesj

The volume of the chamber in the rise as well as the volume of the port can be tuned to match your peaks (and nulls.....). Google Helmholtz resonators, etc. You are tuning the chambers just like you'd tune a ported sub enclosure. You can predict the room nodes you'll have a problem with by using your room dimensions, then build your riser chambers to match but don't cut out the holes yet... Then once the room is complete, retest and cut holes into the chambers associated with the frequencies you are actually having problems with.


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## bpape

That's certainly an option - though I was referring to more of a broadband solution rather than a tuned one.


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## hddummy

bpape said:


> That's certainly an option - though I was referring to more of a broadband solution rather than a tuned one.


which would just be a large cavity, packed with insulation, with openings to let the sound in? I could put some grills in the floor of the riser in both back corners of the room. If I remember right, you get some pretty substantial bass loading in the corners.


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## bpape

Yes. That's correct. You can also cut openings in the face of the riser to allow further exposure to the absorption.


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## hddummy

bpape said:


> Yes. That's correct. You can also cut openings in the face of the riser to allow further exposure to the absorption.


I would likely do both. I was thinking about doing some wideband absorbtion in my soffits too. My basic idea was to build a simple framed room, drywall and seal it, and then add soffits, stage, riser, coffered ceiling, etc. This should be the best construction method for sound containment.

Perhaps both wideband and helmholtz could be done in the same riser with separate chambers. I guess we'll see why my bass response looks like once i get the basic room framed and drywalled. I'll build two simple boxes and run sweeps with two TC drivers I have. I know the stage, riser, couches, etc will change the response some, but hopefully the bare room will give me an idea if there are any glaring problems with the locations I want to put my subs.


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## Mark Holmes

There was an interesting article in Home Theater magazine about a project and all of the acoustic work involved. One was drilling 1,523 holes 3/8 in diameter in the riser to attenuate peaks. (page 34 of the March issue)


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## hddummy

bpape said:


> The stage has to stop any structure borne resonances from the speakers and subwoofer being directly on them - as well as stopping them from directly vibrating the real floor of the room.


Though...in reality, since i'm in the basement and my stage is on cement foundation, is there any value add to using sand in the stage instead of insulation?


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## bpape

Only to add mass and stop the stage itself from resonating.

Bryan


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## hddummy

Not too much new going on here. Just been doing a lot of CAD work mostly. I was almost ready to continue with deconstructing the old room, but I had a small setback last night. I realized that I didn't allow enough space between the rows for the second row couch to recline. :doh: 
I'm not sure what I'll do yet to fix it. I don't really want to lengthen the room more. I don't really want to take the option of reclining away from the second row. I don't really want to make the front row closer to the screen (I'm already at 9.5ft). The most likely option I think is to steal space from behind the screen wall. I know this goes against conventional wisdom becaues it would force my speakers up against the real wall. I am, however, currently planning on buying Emotiva ERM6.3, which have boundary compensation for being up against a wall. Anyway...just my ramblings. Any other suggestions about room config are welcomed. I'll post a floor plan of the room as it stands tonight.


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## bpape

Just remember that by stealing from the front, not only are you messing up the boundary gain, but you're also shifting the seating into a potentially worse place for bass response. 

Bryan


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## hddummy

Actually, i think my problem is the seating itself. I am planning on using two berkline sofas that allow all three seats recline. The problem is these sofas have a feature that slides the seat forward when you recline so that the sofa can be up against a wall. This is good in some cases, but requires more room in front of the sofa to allow for reclining. This is what is forcing me to need more room between my rows. This type of sofa is good for the front row, because I have room for the seat to slide forward. For the second row, I have room behind the sofa because the door is in the center of the rear wall. The second row needs to have a more typical recline mechanism that keeps the seat stationary and tilts the backrest back. Once I find this type of couch/theater seating, I don' t think I'll have to change anything.

To the internet Robin....


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## hddummy

Here is the latest floor plan. I'm still looking for suitable seating to fix my problem....


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## hddummy

I think this is it. I'm pretty happy about this. I re-evaluated what was important and what was not. I realized that much of my decision making was based on an old desire to keep this room open and viewable from the adjacent entertaining space. I realized that even with doubler doors, the room wasn't as open as i had desired. In addition to that, the double doors presented problems and compromises from a sound isolation point of view. I realized that that door was the root of all my problems and once I changed it to a more traditional door, it fixed everything. I present my final floor plan. I've moved the door to the corner where I have extra width in the back of the room to accomdate anyway. I've added an equipment rack directly inside the entry door. The equipment rack has an access door in the back that opens to a storage space. The back row couch can move back slightly to get room to recline. Everything just falls into place.


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## hddummy

Demolition commences.


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## bpape

The madness and nervosa has officially set in...

Enjoy the journey.

Bryan


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## Mark Holmes

Looks like fun.

Have you decided what to do with the nook behind the screen? Subwoofer array? Storage?


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## hddummy

Currently no plans. May reserve that if there is a need for a Helmholtz resonator perhaps....? The subs are going in a built-in enclosure below the screen. The sub enclosure is nex on my hitlist to design in detail. I'm debating whether or not to make four forward facing drivers for display purposes or two sets of opposing drivers in two manifolds to balance out driver forces.


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## hddummy

I had originally planned on using couches, but I got the itch to look into using theater recliners. Most of the three seat sets I've seen are about 9 feet wide. My room is 13 feet wide and i have a column in that area, so it'll be a little narrower. That leaves something like 20-22 inches on each side as a walkway around the seats. That seams too small to me, but wanted to get some opinions.


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## hddummy

Uhg...what a mess


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## bpape

:sweat: :hsd:

One of the necessary evils. The only thing worse is getting it all out of the basement.


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## hddummy

no...the only thing worse is sanding fresh drywall. I may just hire that part out on this job.


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## Mark Holmes

> I may just hire that part out on this job.


I thought the same thing. Unfortunately, I had a crew that did not speak english, and I ended up going back and redoing much of what they did. Not that I am all that good at it, but it is hard to get someone to do a good job anymore. Perhaps with the housing situation what it is, good crews are available.

Framing is fun, but sheetrocking is a difficult one man job. And sanding... Sorta like cutting MDF, it gets into every nook and cranny.


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## RVAtheater

I'm running into the same thing. The company that I got a quote from speaks broken english and trying ot explain to him about the Whisper clips, green glue, and such was a disaster. He quoted me $7 to hang drywall per sheet and another $7 per sheet to finish so the prices were pretty good. Being as they are building a new house next door and I've seen their work they are good at what they do but he didn't seem too happy about putting 2 layers of 5/8" drywall on the ceiling. Next door has like 30 ceilings in their family room so my mere 9' ceilings in the basement should be a breeze. LOL. 

I'm probably going to have to work with them and put the green glue on myself and have them hang the pieces. I hope that works out because I just can't trust someone to do that if the language barrier is so far off.


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## hddummy

Well...I'll probably do the drywall myself. I'll rent a drywall lift, which is a HUGE help. I've also designed my theater in an attempt to minimize drywall joints. For example, there is only 4ft between my pilasters. I'll get some 4 x 9 sheets that will go floor to ceiling there. Also, the open part of the ceiling between my soffits is 9ft wide, so a 4 x 10 sheet will span the visible part of the ceiling. It's the little things that make the difference.


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## trenter33

What is the program you are using for the floor plan?


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## hddummy

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/free-cad-software/

This is a clone of AutoCAD and is compatible in almost every way....and it's free


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## Upstairs Cinema

hddummy said:


>



I really dig this layout! My room is only 19ft deep, so I'm having to make sacrifices regarding rear seats. Amazing what difference a couple of feet makes. 

Looking forward to your progress :clap:


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## hddummy

I ordered a dumpster that should arrive tomorrow. Hopefully I can get the basement cleaned out this weekend. After that, progress will slow down for a month or so as the landscaping and yard maintenance takes priority through the spring. I'll probably get the room framed during this time as I have time to chip away at it here and there.

I'll be attending AXPONA in a couple weeks to audition as many speakers as humanly possible. I'll have to bring a pad to jot down impressions.

I hit up Roman for a quote on berklines and he said that prices are going up April first....so...I have two sets of 3 black leather seats coming....link It's putting the cart before the horse a little, but I'm confident in my level of preplanning to make a few purchases if it is financially advantageous. Besides....it's not like seats are going to be obsolete in 6 months 

That's about all for now.


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## fitzwaddle

You may have already heard - but if not, yesterday Berkline announced that it is liquidating the entire company. Which may mean that you want to focus on some other brand; or maybe you can get a fire sale deal on remaining inventory.


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## Upstairs Cinema

fitzwaddle said:


> You may have already heard - but if not, yesterday Berkline announced that it is liquidating the entire company. Which may mean that you want to focus on some other brand; or maybe you can get a fire sale deal on remaining inventory.


Link?


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## fitzwaddle

Upstairs Cinema said:


> Link?


http://www.cepro.com/article/berkline_to_shut_down_liquidate


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## Upstairs Cinema

Thats too bad  Most searches for theater seats end up at Berklines.


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## bpape

Wow. That's a shocker...


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## fitzwaddle

Talk to Roman (rsh), he'll be the best source for leads on what your options are.


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## hddummy

I sure hope everything is delivered OK...might not be any stock to replace a defective chair when they arrive. :gulp:


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## hddummy

I went to AXPONA yesterday. I listened to every speaker in my price range. There were a lot of unremarkable speakers there. In my opinion, there were a few stand outs.

1: PSB Synchrony 2 were a little low on detail in the mid and upper ranges, but they put out a very full and smooth sound. They put out A LOT of bass for the size. I was extremely impressed. They had a sub sitting next to them and I was shocked it wasn't turned on.

2: Paradigm Studio 60 was just a good all around speaker. I could not fault it on anything, though not the best of show.

3: Vandersteen 3A was also a good all around speaker. It beats out the paradigms and just has a sound that seemed so transparent as if the speaker wasn't even there. I did only hear these hooked up to tube amps, so I'm not sure if that had much effect.

4: Best in show for me: Adam Audio MK3 Column was AMAZING. Hands down the the most crystal clear detailed sound image I have ever heard. You could close you eyes and hear every nuance in the sound track. The dynamic range reproduction was superb. The track I was using had some very low volume chanting in the background that I couldn't hear on ANY other speaker at the show. ....at 7K a pair I only wish I could afford them. :blink:

Though....perhaps a set of monitors could be in my future....


----------



## hddummy

I love when stuff arrives.


----------



## Mark Holmes

Have you moved the chairs out of your foyer yet?


----------



## hddummy

yeah....I stashed them in an extra bedroom until such time they will be needed.


----------



## hddummy

My side thread on surround sound speaker kit selection.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...e-choose-boxed-wall-surrounds.html#post436552


----------



## hddummy

I've found that a few studs in the area behind my equipment closet location are actually load bearing and I didn't expect them to be so. Good thing I noticed it before I cut them out. The result is that I can't put the small door to access the back of my equipment closet. I think I'll just have to locate the bulk of the equipment in that storage room adjacent to the theater and just put essential equipment (BD player, PS3, etc) in the proposed equipment rack location.


----------



## bpape

Sure you can. You just need to build a wider rough doorway and triple the studs and put in a good header like an external doorway rather than a basic inside one. 

Bryan


----------



## hddummy

I'm afraid it's not that easy. The load bearing studs are right on the corner of the existing wall....denoted by the red square in the picture. There is really no way to add a header to support that load unless I cantilever a header out beyond its support studs. I don't think that is good building practice and really don't want to mess with attempting to temporarily support the sub-floor while reworking that wall. Yes, this post is holding live load from upstairs walls that are sitting on sub-floor, not joists.


----------



## hddummy

I suppose I could move the equipment rack closer to the entry door until the equipment access door clears the post.

But, I think I'm just going to hide most of the equipment in that back storage room and call it good. From an acoustic isolation point of view, this is superior. From an equipment access point of view, this is superior. From a "children pushing buttons and turning knobs" point of view...this is FAR superior.


----------



## hddummy

Started building new walls today.


----------



## robbo266317

hddummy said:


> Started building new walls today.


So where are the pics? :boxer:


----------



## hddummy

you're wolves. I'll post some on tuesday after I've had a chance to make some decent progress.


----------



## bpape

Take a little time and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Bryan


----------



## hddummy

I was able to complete the new outside dividing wall that is part of the main entertaining room. I framed the soffit and wired the power outlets. I really wanted to get power running on this wall so I could do away with the extension cords running from the other side of the basement.


----------



## robbo266317

Nice work, You obviously have spent some time and effort to do it properly. :T


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## hddummy

When the wife and kids are away....Daddy will play! Unfortunately, she took the camera with her. Pics will come soon.


----------



## hddummy

I know...it probably isn't as far along as you were thinking. Any progress is good progress though.

Here is the room looking in from the main entertaining area.









Here are a few close-ups of the entrance.

















Here is one of the side walls. You can see the three stud pockets that have high and low blocking instead of down the middle. This is where the three pilasters will go on this wall. The pilasters will have built in speakers, so the entire stud pocket will be occupied by an MDF box.









This is looking back on the rear wall. You can see where my HVAC line will enter the room and two more pilasters on the rear wall. This is a dedicated HVAC line for this room only and I will build a hush box in the soffit where it enters the room.









That is it for now...I'll take more as I get some of the wiring done.


----------



## hddummy

OH....I also picked up two new toys this weekend 

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/remotes/universal-remotes/devices/5874

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/smartTV/revue


----------



## hddummy

Today I ordered three Emotiva UPA-2 Amps, Onkyo TX-NR3008 and all of my bulk wiring spools (cat5e, speaker, coax, etc)


----------



## hddummy

My project for the long weekend is to completely re-wire my Coax and Network center. The builder did at least home run all the cables to one location, but the organization is a total disaster. Here is a picture of what it looks like right now.








When I'm done, this will be a completely organized wire closet with mounted hardware. I'll post back up in a few days. 

In the mean time....this is for you gear junkies!!


----------



## hddummy

Progress has been good. I more or less finished the wiring panel for the network and coax central location. I still need to order some wall plates to terminate all the coax lines. Also, when the theater equipment rack is built in the near future, the media center PC will be moved. For now, the two white coax and the one yellow LAN cable are feeding the media center.

Top left is coax distribution. Bottom left is LAN patch panel. Top right is security panel. Center right is router and telco connections. Bottom right is LAN switch.

Here is the "finished" wiring panel.









The coax/LAN side is hinged to allow access to the back side wiring. The router is also mounted on a door, which uncovers the TELCO box.









Here is a close up of the back of the coax/LAN panel.


----------



## hddummy

Here is a pic of the room at the moment. I know...doesn't look like much is getting done. I've been working on all parts of the basement. I had to redo part of the gym. I've been working on wiring and conduit mostly. I've been building backer boxes for outlets and building my wiring closet.









This is the nook where the bluray,dvd, and game systems will go. I'll build in a base cabinet and some shelving. I have 2.5" conduit for all the signal wires going to the wiring closet in the adjacent storage room. The backer box on the right will be for all connections for the main equipment in the theater. The conduit and two gang ring on the left will be for auxilary inputs. These are just extra for temporary connections of video cameras, laptop, borrowed game system, etc.









Here are some pictures of the wiring closet. The equipment rack will go next to this for the AVR, amps, HTPC, etc. I should be ordering wall plates soon, so this will start to look pretty once all that arrives and the door is populated

















You can see some of the gray conduit tubes in the upper right corner. I'll have conduit running to this wiring closet from the equipment in the theater, living room, network/telco panel, entertaining room adjacent to theater, projector, theater front wall, and the riser behind the first row of seats.


----------



## xmaoo190

What do most people use to model their HT?


----------



## hddummy

I've seen a lot of Google Sketch-Up lately...though I'm not a fan of that at all. I'm using Draft Sight. There are any number of other free programs if you search for DRAFTING on www.download.com.


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## ALMFamily

Your build is looking great Matt - keep up the good work! :T

Hope to see new pics soon!

I am anxious to see how you handle the hushbox for the dedicated HVAC line - I am doing the same in my build and am concerned about any noise.......


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## ALMFamily

Hey Matt!

Just wanted to check in to see how things are coming along - hope all is well!

Joe


----------



## hddummy

Thanks for checking in. Things have been slow going in the basement. Work has been insane busy and other household projects have taken priority. For some reason, dear wifey thinks kitchen improvements are more important that my theater...

Anyway. I have done some work on the wiring closet lately. I just finished terminating all the speaker wire tonight.


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## ALMFamily

I think I have just had an AHA! moment. :bigsmile:

I think you will be seeing a wall very similar to that in my closet........:R

Nicely done!


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## Owen Bartley

Great idea with the wiring closet, and very well implemented. That's slick. There are so many ways to get wiring set up, and most of them have compromises for accessibility, ease of connectivity, neatness, etc... but your method seems to cover them all!


----------



## hddummy

Ok...shame on me. Progress has been slow and I haven't had any time to update my thread. Excuses (busy at work, remodeled laundry room, new exhaust hood installed in kitchen...) Excuses. SO ANYWAY...here is where I'm at. I've completely finished the main room adjacent to the theater. This was necessary to help contain all the dirt and dust I'm making in the theater. All the rough wiring is done. All the rough construction is done except for insulation. I could drywall tomorrow if I wanted to, but I decided to build all of my speakers and subs first. I'll be using the theater room as a workshop for the near future.

So, that is where I'm at. I purchased all of my speaker kits. I bought four 15" rythmik audio drivers with two of the associated 600W amps. I have three identical Seas MTM kits that are derived from the Idunn kit sold by Madisound. Those will obviously be my three front mains. I also have two pairs of the standard MT Idunn kits for surrounds. Box building to commence immediately.

Here are some pictures of the room at the moment.

This is the wall separating the main basment from the theater. Since this was taken, I've installed crown and trim. I will be putting a built in entertainment center on this wall.









Here is the room. You can see my wiring, backer boxes for my columns and some conduit and things for the front of the room.









Here is the back wall of the room. Two more column boxes and conduit to the connector plates for the adjacent room.









Every single outlet, switch, signal plate or other penetration in the theater drywall has an MDF backer box.









Here is a close up of the column backer box. The surround speakers will go inside and the whole thing will be covered and trimmed out with hardwood and speaker GOM Fabric.









Here are the boxes at the front of the room. There are two power outlets. One of them is on the circuit for the whole room. The second is a dedicated 20A circuit for the subs. The dedicated circuit has one additional outlet in the equipment rack for my main channel amps.









This is a picture of the ceiling. To the left is the backer box for my projector lift. The projector lift is necessary to position the projector at the proper height when zooming for my CIH screen in 2.35 ratio. The box to the right is a dual speaker box for overhead speakers. There are two 10L enclosures and a removable baffle plate for future expansion.









Any questions so far?


----------



## ALMFamily

Just one - do you hire out? :bigsmile:

Seriously though, thanks for the update. I was getting close to posting to see how you were coming along! Are you planning to start a thread in the DIY section for the speaker building process?


----------



## hddummy

I do work for my friends, but I think Madison is a bit far  I just picked up a basement job for a neighbor of mine. That would should be pretty simple though...speaker wire, coax, network, just the basics. I will document a the speaker build in a separate thread. That one, however, I won't start until I have completed the speaker project.


----------



## hddummy

Just posted my speaker build thread here.

On to building my subs next.


----------



## hddummy

Today is a great day!!!! My subs moved out of the workshop (theater room) and into the other room for paint. I've begun cleaning the 3/8" thick layer of MDF dust off of every horizontal surface in the theater. I will be moving on to insulation and drywall soon!!! PROGRESS!!! You have no idea how anxious I am. Lets hope I can keep forward momentum!!!


----------



## ALMFamily

hddummy said:


> Today is a great day!!!! My subs moved out of the workshop (theater room) and into the other room for paint. I've begun cleaning the 3/8" thick layer of MDF dust off of every horizontal surface in the theater. I will be moving on to insulation and drywall soon!!! PROGRESS!!! You have no idea how anxious I am. Lets hope I can keep forward momentum!!!


Great to hear Matt! :T

Are there pictures? :bigsmile:


----------



## hddummy

I just started my thread to document the subwoofer build.
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for.../62132-quad-15-rythmik-ds1501.html#post553305


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## BD55

This is an awesome build from the bottom up! So far I think my favorite innovative thing you've put in is your AV panel on hinges. That is a great idea because when you look at it you think, "duh, why couldn't I think of that!" :T


----------



## hddummy

I couldn't help myself. I had to unpack the main speakers and hook up a pair. I SO love playing with new toys.


----------



## hddummy

I completed sealing all the structural gaps and seams. EX: between the bottom plate of the wall and the floor. Between my column boxes and the adjacent stud. Basically, anywhere drywall would have an edge. I installed vapor barrier between the two outside walls and the cement foundation. I started installing wall insulation last night. I need to finish insulating, add power for a smoke detector, and take out the temporary fluorescent lighting and I'll be ready for drywall on Sunday!


----------



## ALMFamily

Pictures Matt or it never happened! :bigsmile: 

Great to hear - doing all those seams seemed (pun intended!) to take longer than it should!


----------



## hddummy

A week in review. I completed all wall and ceiling insulation. R13 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling. I comleted the last bit of wiring for a smoke detector and lighting. My dad and I started hanging drywall today. That went well but a little slower than hoped. We are 95% done with that and should have it completed by next weekend.

Wall insulation









Ceiling insulation









Every stud and every backer box gets drywall adhesive.









Front Right corner









Front Left corner









Ceiling









Entry


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## Owen Bartley

Looking good Matt! Drywall makes such a big difference, it looks like a completely different room. So will your 2nd layer of drywall be flush with the front of the speaker boxes, or is that part of the design for the columns that they come out a little bit?


----------



## BD55

If you don't mind me asking, what purpose do the outlet backer boxes serve? Is it to essentially seal the room from other spaces exposed by the outlet openings?


----------



## hddummy

I am only using one layer of 5/8 drywall. Since I did a complete room-in-a-room, i don't feel that green glue or additional drywall will give me that much gain for the additional cost.

You are correct. The backer boxes on all the plugs and switches prevent sound from leaking out or in through those openings. One of the major sources of sound transfer between rooms is called flanking. My room will have a nearly 100% sealed "shell". THe only unsealed pathways will be the HVAC in/out, but both of those will have hush boxes. Every electrical box is sealed and the door will have a solid core and weather seal all around. If you noticed, i put the drywall on before the soffits. This is one area I think many people make a mistake when it comes to sound proofing. Many will frame in their soffits then install drywall. I'm drywalling, then framing soffits, then drywalling those after. This keeps the outershell completely intact when I install recessed lighting and HVAC grills in my soffit.


----------



## hddummy

So, I use my lunch breaks to plan and design different theater elements. I've started working on my trim designs. I'm going to put together a concept for every major design in the room (columns, coffered ceiling, screen wall, casings, crown, etc) so I can get quotes from different suppliers on material. Having this plan ahead of time should make the finishing process quicker and easier when I get to that stage. Here is my first concept for the column trim out.


----------



## Owen Bartley

Classy design, Matt!


----------



## phillihp23

Looking good. Cant wait to see it all come together......


----------



## Prof.

Looks like a nice classy design..


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## ALMFamily

I am with everyone else on this one Matt - just a nice, simple, classy design that looks great.


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## hddummy

i've got 1000 sq ft of prepped drywall, a full pot of coffee, a half a bag of swedish fish, it's dark and I'm wearing my paintin sunglasses..... hit it!


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## bpape

:hail:utstanding:


----------



## pyrohusband

This is really turning out nice. I really like your design and your concepts. I am looking forward to following your build. 
One question though...why not use 54" DW instead of having to put that bastard joint at the top?


----------



## hddummy

well...i get a discount at lowes. they don't carry it. I have soffits to hide the extra joint anyway. But yeah...that was definately a consideration.


----------



## ALMFamily

hddummy said:


> i've got 1000 sq ft of prepped drywall, a full pot of coffee, *a half a bag of swedish fish*, it's dark and I'm wearing my paintin sunglasses..... hit it!


Ooooohhh - swedish fish! :T

Hope the hangin' is going well!


----------



## pyrohusband

Thanks for the quick reply. I am anxious to see your progression in these near final stages.


----------



## hddummy

status update. I finished the drywall on friday. I primed the entire room on saturday. I started building my screen wall, coffered ceiling and soffits on sunday. Here are the finished pics for the drywall. I'll upload pics from the other things next weekend probably after I've had a chance to make some notable progress.


----------



## ALMFamily

hddummy said:


> status update. I finished the drywall on friday. I primed the entire room on saturday. I started building my screen wall, coffered ceiling and soffits on sunday. Here are the finished pics for the drywall. I'll upload pics from the other things next weekend probably after I've had a chance to make some notable progress.


Looks great mate - nice progress! :T:


----------



## dguarnaccia

Looks great, that's a nice space you've got comming together.


----------



## pyrohusband

Looking real nice there. I am looking forward to the finished product. I don't know if you have listed it yet but what line are you gonna run for speakers.


----------



## hddummy

I am using 4 conductor 14ga speaker wire from Monoprice for all of my speakers. I have eight wired columns at front corners, side walls forward of main seats, side walls slightly behind main seats and the rear wall. I have a pair of wires directly above the main seats. I have height speakers and the three main speakers wired on the front wall. I also have a wire going to the seating riser if I ever install buttkickers.

I'm also using Canare L-4CFB for any low level transmission such as the subwoofer signal wires from my equipment to the front of the room.


----------



## pyrohusband

hddummy said:


> I am using 4 conductor 14ga speaker wire from Monoprice for all of my speakers. I have eight wired columns at front corners, side walls forward of main seats, side walls slightly behind main seats and the rear wall. I have a pair of wires directly above the main seats. I have height speakers and the three main speakers wired on the front wall. I also have a wire going to the seating riser if I ever install buttkickers.
> 
> I'm also using Canare L-4CFB for any low level transmission such as the subwoofer signal wires from my equipment to the front of the room.


Thanks for the info. I must not have worded it correctly though I guess the right word would have been brand. Lol


----------



## hddummy

The screen wall, soffits and coffered ceiling grid are all framed. I chose to use metal for the screen wall because of two things. I really didn't want to toenail a wood wall together and i knew a prefabbed wall would never fit just right. Metal can be assembled piece by piece easily and everything will be true and plum. Second, i've had too many wooden studs warp, twist or bow on me that i didnt' want to risk this wall ever moving. (This was when my plan was to not add a skin to this wall.) This wall has the screen and the automated masking and i want all tha stuff to stay where it is supposed to be after it is built. That said, i did go to the unusual extent of actually riveting the entire wall together. The tiny metal screws just didn't seem all that permanent too me. I've noticed that the metal does ring a little when it is shaken, so I'm likely going to have to add some thin plywood or OSB to tighten it up a little. I'm going to pull my subs in there and do some rattle hunting soon anyway.

Next, I constructed my ceiling grid for my soffits and coffered beams. Those are glued and screwed to the ceiling joists. As you can see, the soffits are ready for dywall, but first I have finish the eletrcical , stuff them with insulation and do rattle hunting with my subs. once I'm happy that i've eliminated any possible rattles in those cans, then I'll build my hush boxes for the HVAC and drywall the soffits.


----------



## ALMFamily

Looking great mate - nice progress!


----------



## Owen Bartley

Looking really good, Matt. I have always wondered if steel studs would be too rattley for a proper HT, but I'm sure the rivets help. Do you think spraying with something like PlastiDip or those spray-can leak sealers would help to dampen the ringing, and seal up any potential loose bits? I figure anything kind of rubberized should help somewhat.


----------



## Todd Anderson

Hey man, your room build is looking great!!!!!!!:T


----------



## hddummy

Owen Bartley said:


> Looking really good, Matt. I have always wondered if steel studs would be too rattley for a proper HT, but I'm sure the rivets help. Do you think spraying with something like PlastiDip or those spray-can leak sealers would help to dampen the ringing, and seal up any potential loose bits? I figure anything kind of rubberized should help somewhat.


Yeah, the rivets really help keep it solid. There are definatley not any rattles. The sound I hear is from the stud flanges vibrating when I was hammering on my soffit framing nearby. I was going to add sheet material to prevent the flanges from vibrating, but I never considered a coating solution....i'll have to think about that. Overall, I think steel would be fine for walls and soffits or anything that would get wrapped with drywall. That really keeps it all buttoned up. I'm not regretting using it for the screen wall, I just need to adjust my plans to accomdate a fix.


----------



## hddummy

I think I should also consider an "added mass" solution. Perhapse Peel'n'seal or a vibration dampening foam tape would do the trick. Any suggestions?


----------



## hddummy

I know some of you have done sound proofing for your HVAC ducts. I want to reduce the amount of sound transmission out of the room through the ducts. Anyone have some good examples. I'v been searching threads, but it is harder to find than I thought it would be. thanks!


----------



## devildog1679

hddummy said:


> I know some of you have done sound proofing for your HVAC ducts. I want to reduce the amount of sound transmission out of the room through the ducts. Anyone have some good examples. I'v been searching threads, but it is harder to find than I thought it would be. thanks!


I'm no expert but I'm about done with my build. I added duct mufflers to both supply and return lines. In theory they should work like regular car mufflers.


----------



## hddummy

Let there be light!


----------



## devildog1679

hddummy said:


> Let there be light!


Looks good, going to be killer.


----------



## hddummy

Well....All drywall has been finished for about a month. The holidays and work demands have kept me busy, but I've been puttering along. 

Here are a few pictures of my HVAC dead vent box and soffit insulation.





































I've since ordered all my plywood, dimensional solid wood and trim. Over the next few months, I'll be building the coffered ceiling, column boxes, front credenza, equipment cabinet, etc. Here is a pic of the finished room as i'm test fitting the first board for the beam ceiling.


----------



## ALMFamily

Looking good Matt! :T

I am looking forward to seeing some of the finishing touches on the room - sounds like it is going to be quite a room!


----------



## hddummy

it's hard to believe it's been almost two months since my last post....

Well... the coffered ceiling is done for the time being. I will add trim to cover the plywood edges on the horizontal sufraces later. The this was a very time consuming stage. The front-back boards were easier to cut in because they were first. The side-side boards had to be custom cut to fit from beam to beam or beam to soffit. I had to adopt a measure thrice, cut twice policy to creep in on each one without cutting them too short or at a wrong angle. There will be 3" recessed lights at each of the coffer beam intersections.


----------



## hddummy

I just finished the test fitting the projector box tonight. This was a very fun stage in the journey. Overall, i was very pleased at how well it went in. It does need a little more rigidity to keep it from swaying side to side. Another set of drawer tracks turned 90 degrees to the existing ones should do the trick fine. The actuator is a 12VDC SPAL Linear Drive. It takes about 10-12 seconds to run the 6" travel. I'll be controlling it with an Insteon I/O relay, so it will be completely automated.

If you didn't catch earlier in the thread of why this is necessary, I am using the Zoom capability of my projector to do a CIH screen. The adjustable height mount is required if you are using lens shift such that the projector is above the top limit of the screen when using the Zoom method. If I had mounted the projector below the top limit if the screen, then you can use the digital image shift to make it work, but then people would bump their head or the screen would be too high for my taste. Here is a link to my original discussion thread. There will also be an automated set of screen masking panels that will adjust the screen width accordingly.



















Here is the projector box in the lowest possible position. The actuator is not connected yet. This is where you would lower it to perform maintenance or mess with wiring.



















Here is the projector in the lower position, which is used for 1.78 and 1.85 images.



















Here is the box in the upper most position, which is used for 2.35 images.


----------



## bpape

Nicely done. That's going to look really sharp when you're all done. Very nice job on the coffers.

:clap:

Bryan


----------



## ALMFamily

bpape said:


> Nicely done. That's going to look really sharp when you're all done. Very nice job on the coffers.
> 
> :clap:
> 
> Bryan


No kidding - bang up job Matt! That coffered ceiling turned out fantastic - and I think adding the projector actuator gives a big "WOW" factor. Well worth the time!


----------



## Prof.

Very nice job! :T I was wondering about the stability of the drop down box..If there is any sideways play in the slides, your image on the screen is not going to line up each time..
It doesn't take much movement to shift the image..
Hopefully the extra set of draw slides will keep it stable..


----------



## hddummy

not that is moves really, just that it could sway if bumped or tilt if the projector weight isn't centered. The extra tracks will definately firm it up.


----------



## hddummy

Tonight I finished rigging the screen masking panels. They are made up of one layer of 1/2 plywood and one layer of 3/4 plywood. They are attached to the screen wall using some 16" extension drawer slides. The actuator is a 12" SPAL linear actuator, which push/pulls a 1/8" wire rope. The wire rope is tightened around two 3" pulleys. The right panel is attached to the lower rope and the left panel as attached to the upper rope. This way, both panels move the same distance, in opposite directions at the same time. The actuator will be controled using a Smarthome Relay, so I'll be able to automate it or use the remote control.

Here are pics of the panels in 1.78 and then 2.35 aspect ratios.

















Here is the actuator open and closed.

















Here is a close up of the pulley.









Here is the left panel front and back.


----------



## bpape

Great job Matt. :T


----------



## ALMFamily

bpape said:


> Great job Matt. :T


+1 - very well done sir!


----------



## BD55

That is really cool. I'm looking forward to the finished product! :T


----------



## Owen Bartley

Thanks for posting those pics... since the bones were still all exposed, it all made sense to me when I looked at it. At least much more than it would have if the panels were finished and everything was all neatly hidden. Very cool, great job.


----------



## hddummy

So...there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure I can see it...over there...way over there. But at least I can see it now.

Riser Built







Screen frame built





Columns Built









Credenza Frame Built



Equipment Rack Built





Acoustic Panels Built











Staining and installing Crown Molding Next....


----------



## Prof.

Some very nice progress there..Looking good! :T


----------



## ALMFamily

Prof. said:


> Some very nice progress there..Looking good! :T


+1 - you got quite a bit of assembly work done there! Keep up the great progress mate! :T


----------



## AlphaPie

Great looking stage!


----------



## Greenster

Looks great. I love how you have designed the screen retractors. Great Idea. Your ceiling looks great as well.


----------



## mcascio

Ok. Been out of the loop for a while and found your thread. Fantastic work so far. Now I just need to reserve some time to start reading your thread from the beginning. Keep up the great job.


----------



## mcascio

Not sure what you have planned for the top underneath where your screen is.  But I have a have a top with an overhang covered in light flock trapping material. I've found that when a movie is playing everything underneath the cabinet top (as well as on top) is really dark and almost pure black. Perhaps due to the combination of the overhang and black cabinets...but it's really worked out well in my room.


----------



## Morpheus

Great thread! I've really enjoyed reading your thread through every post from the start to now. I'll be following your build as you have done a great job so far and I really like your attention to detail and I've already learned quite a bit from all of your hard work!

I can't wait to see your theater progress!


----------



## hddummy

Thanks all! I'm glad I can lend some ideas and knowledge about the hobby.

My columns and front credenza pieces are being stained and sprayed this week. I hope to have them installed by the end of the weekend. That should really help paint the picture on how it will all look. Stay tuned.


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## hddummy

Due to unfortunate weather, I wasn't able to spray very much this weekend. Fortunately, there is no shortage of work to do. I vacuumed and cleaned everything, hung my doors, cut in paint for the whole room and continued staining trim.


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## Greenster

Finding time to work on things can be the biggest challenge. Looks great. I might have to copy your ceiling.


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## ALMFamily

That coffered ceiling is going to look fantastic when it is done - keep up the great work Matt! :T


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## bpape

Agreed. The coffered ceiling is a classic look that has good functional purposes also. I want some pictures of how you did this if you don't mind as examples for customers when they ask.

Bryan


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## mcascio

Looking good. Love the coffered ceiling. 

This may sound odd, but I found it therapeutic to clean up the room, put tools back where they belong and vacuum up everything. It was nice breaking from just thinking.


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## BD55

That coffered ceiling looks awesome :T This has been a very cool and innovative build, though I don't think the fluorescents go very well with the decor for lighting


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## hddummy

mcascio said:


> This may sound odd, but I found it therapeutic to clean up the room, put tools back where they belong and vacuum up everything.


It was really nice to make the room clean. it feels more like a theater and less like a workshop.


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## hddummy

bpape said:


> Agreed. The coffered ceiling is a classic look that has good functional purposes also. I want some pictures of how you did this if you don't mind as examples for customers when they ask.


Every picture I have is in this thread. Check out Page 16. If you need something more detailed, I could possible still snap a picture up inside where the spot lights will go. Other than that, it is pretty closed up.

I can take some more pics of the crown molding. Also I'll update when i get to building the cloth panels that close out everything.


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## bamabum

Catching up on this thread...looking very nice. I think you will end with a very cozy feel. Are you staining all the wood in the ceilings, stage, etc. Or are you mixing styles?


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## hddummy

all of it will be stained the same as you see in the pics.


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## hddummy

It's like Christmas morning.


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## bpape

Getting really close now. Before you know it, you'll be asleep in the recliners.....

Bryan


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## hddummy

carpet shows up July 1, so it better be ready by then.

http://www.kanecarpet.com/products/index.html?category=6&page=1&id=3547


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## bamabum

its looking awesome!


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## bpape

I like that carpet pattern. 

Bryan


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## ALMFamily

bpape said:


> I like that carpet pattern.
> 
> Bryan


Me too - predominately dark with a lighter pattern will work great in there as well as not showing debris. Nice choice!


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## hddummy

We were thrilled when we found it. It is a very tightly woven carpet....very much like oriental rugs. It is soft to the touch and 100% stain proof. It is "black" but actually looks like a very dark blue, which is why we chose the dark navy for the wall colors. The brown pattern matches the woodwork.


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## hddummy




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## hddummy

Acoustic panels, Front Credenza, Rosette Spot Lights


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## Prof.

Very nice work.:T It should look great when it's all finished..


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## ALMFamily

That looks great Matt! Nicely done! :T


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## Mark Holmes

I really like the wood. Gives it a very classy look.


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## Owen Bartley

Mark Holmes said:


> I really like the wood. Gives it a very classy look.


Agreed. When wood is done right it can make a huge difference in giving a room a really rich look, and adding great depth. Yours looks really nice, and when you tie in the carpet and wall colours, etc. I bet it will look fantastic.


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## Morpheus

Matt,

Very nice work! This is a great looking HT! I am looking forward to following your build!

I hope that you don't mind, but I would love to use your project as an example for my upcoming HT!


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## hddummy

Morpheus said:


> I hope that you don't mind, but I would love to use your project as an example for my upcoming HT!


Go for it! If you have questions for how or why I did something just let me know.


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## GPM

hddummy said:


> http://s241.photobucket.com/user/hddummy/media/Theater%20Build/IMG_93671_zpsb4871741.jpg.html


I'm curious, are the speakers in their proper location or just temporary for the picture as I've noticed that many behind screen HTs don't bother to conform to the 2/3 screen height vertical positioning of the HF that dates to the original cinema sound design specs? 

GM


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## hddummy

The speakers are in their actual position. The tweeters were designed to be on axis with a seated adult at an average height between the two seating rows. The horizontal spacing for the R and L speakers are set to the outer edge of a 16:9 screen.


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## NBPk402

Looks great! I really like your masking setup.


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## GPM

hddummy said:


> The speakers are in their actual position. The tweeters were designed to be on axis with a seated adult at an average height between the two seating rows. The horizontal spacing for the R and L speakers are set to the outer edge of a 16:9 screen.


Thanks!

Yeah, I wondered about that, so the speaker's HF has designed in zero vertical offset? Most are tilted up or down depending on how high off the floor it is. 

Guess I'm too 'old school', but if the HF isn't coming from ~where the folk's heads are on screen, then having my brain compensate never sounds quite right, like when a character's speech is slightly out of sync with its mouth movement. 

Again, out of curiosity, are the L/R speakers within the THX off axis spec range? Ditto your surrounds?

GM


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## hddummy

All but my R and L speakers adhere to the dolby specs. My R and L are 18degrees but they specify a minimum of 20 I believe. This is required because my moving masking panels would be blocking the speakers if they were any wider. THX counts on you having a 2.35 screen, acoustically transparent masking or speakers next to your television. Ultimately, i'm not worried because I will soon upgrade to 9.1 width speakers using dolby prologic IIz. That will really broaden the sound stage and bridge the gap between the mains and the surrounds.


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## slansing

This looks great! I am excited to follow the thread.. some day I will have a place to do this in..


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## GPM

hddummy said:


> All but my R and L speakers adhere to the dolby specs. My R and L are 18degrees but they specify a minimum of 20 I believe. This is required because my moving masking panels would be blocking the speakers if they were any wider. THX counts on you having a 2.35 screen, acoustically transparent masking or speakers next to your television. Ultimately, i'm not worried because I will soon upgrade to 9.1 width speakers using dolby prologic IIz. That will really broaden the sound stage and bridge the gap between the mains and the surrounds.


Originally L_R was fixed at 30 deg. with surrounds at 110 deg., but in getting back up to speed on this stuff I noticed that there's more than one HT reference now, though the one of interest is now somewhat flexible [attached].

I assumed as much, but not knowing the dims, etc., wasn’t sure. 

Interesting about THX assuming a 2.35 screen, I didn’t see this on their site plus there’s some 2.40 movies.....

Hope they finally have 9.1 ready for prime time after all these years because the 10.1 prototype I auditioned over a decade ago really sucked.

Speaking of which, any clue why they dropped a channel? I believe in the concept and would love to have a 360 deg continuous surround sound system, but doubt it will happen [or at least trickle down to being mainstream affordable] in my lifetime.

GM


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## hddummy

GPM said:


> Interesting about THX assuming a 2.35 screen, I didn’t see this on their site plus there’s some 2.40 movies.....


I might have over generalized. looking at the numbers...I suppose they cover the gambit of screen widths. They recommend a 16:9 viewing angle of 40, so the lower end 22 degree speaker placement puts it right outside the 16:9 screen. Given the same seating distance, a 2.35 screen has a viewing angle of 52 degrees, so the upper end 30 degree speaker placement puts it right outside the 2.35 screen.

Regardless, because I didn't want to do AT masking panels, I had to move my speakers inside the 16:9 boundary. Also, had I moved them outside the 2.35 boundary, it would have placed them much too close to the side walls. With the width channels, I'll have 5 evenly spaced front speakers. Ultimately, THX and Dolby have recommendations, not rules. Make your configuration fit your room and it will be the best that it can be.


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## hddummy

I just built a 12V trigger/switching unit. This serves two purposes; expanding my trigger quantity by 4, controls my sliding masking panels and projector lift.

This takes a 12V trigger in from my AVR to turn on its 12v power supply. The power supply gives 12V directly to the 4 RCA ports which can be used to trigger other devices (projector, amps, etc)

This also powers my sliding masking panels and projector lift. When the projector senses 2.35 image, it automatically adjusts its lens zoom settings and outputs a 12V trigger. This unit takes that 12V trigger and swaps the polarity of the voltage going to the lift/masking actuators using the two large relays. This will open the panels and lift the projector. When the projector sense 16:9 again, it will remove the trigger, the relays flop back and the projector drops down as the masking panels close. The Molex connector in the bottom right is where the 12V power outputs for the actuators.

As you can tell, the project box is an old Dell OptiPlex computer. It is the perfect size for this job and it comes with a fantastic 12V, 18A power supply. It would be perfect for any hobby electronics project.


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## phillihp23

Neat, nice idea!


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## hddummy

In case you were wondering, this is how I'm finishing all my woodwork. 

Not pictured is my 17gal air compressor.


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## hddummy

Getting close to power on now... Finished crown and base molding this week/end. Paint Monday, carpet Tuesday...

This is the built in cabinet that is just inside the entrance. This is where the source components (PS3, BD player, etc) will reside. I'll keep remotes, wires, game controllers, etc in the drawers.


This is the view into the theater from the door.


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## Greenster

Wow. It looks amazing. I love how it all ties in together. What color are you going to paint the walls?


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## hddummy

very dark blue. Its the color you see on all the edges already. I pre-cut-in with a spray gun so I wouldn't have to be exact once the wood trim was in place.


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## ALMFamily

So looking forward to seeing the room once the carpet and painting are done - looking great Matt! :T


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## mcascio

Very nice looking. The whole room is really taking shape after this weekends updates.
The crown looks very rich and really helps define the space. It really works well with the ceiling.


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## hddummy

My wife just sent me some pics....boy this is gonna be a long day at work


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## ALMFamily

Wow Matt - that is simply beautiful....


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## phillihp23

Amazing!!! :T


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## hddummy

thanks y'all.


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## Greenster

Wow. That is one good looking room. Love the color.


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## bpape

I like the color scheme too. Kind of different from a lot of what you see online.

Nice job.

Bryan


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## hddummy

after some use now, I see that my masking panels need to be revisited. They work. However, they do sag a little when fully extended and I've had the left one bind up a few times. I think the two drawer slides have lost their alignment and are not perfectly parallel. I think I'm going to buy some sliding door track and try to redo it so they are just hanging from a track over the full travel instead of cantilevered slides.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-60-in-Sliding-Door-Set-18397/202041871#.Uea0XXf5O4o

It's a cheap thing to give it a shot and I could always go back to the drawer slides if it doesn't work out.

Other than that, I've been enjoying my theater and taking a couple weeks of viewing before finishing all the minor details.


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## BD55

It's interesting that you are having the panels sag a bit... Looking back at the build pics you've countersunk the slides into the panels, correct? That maintains your parallelism on the panel side of the problem; are the slides not attached too great to the mounting panel?? I personally wouldn't change what you've done; it's simple and should work...


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## hddummy

you would think they were sturdy enough, but they don't really work together to keep the panel from sagging. Granted, it's not much...probably 3/16". My big worry is the binding. I haven't put the bottom trim panel in yet and once i do, the sliding panel could bind on it and I have no safety to stop the actuator if the system binds. One thing i might try first is to remove the lower slide. I think part of the reason it sags is the resistance in the lower slide is so far away from the cables. It's resisting the movement despite being lubricated with Vaseline. I certainly don't need more than one to carry the weight. I'll try that tonight and see what it does.


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## hddummy

Well, I tried to remove the lower slide and the panel sagged significantly more. I guess both slides are working equally. The lower slide did still add drag at the bottom though, so I went ahead and tried the sliding door track idea. I'm mad I didn't do this from the start. The panel travels WAY smoother. They don't bind, sag or drag in any way. Leveling adjustment is 100000% easier because both wheels have a dial adjustment. Before, I had to try and adjust all the screws in both drawer slides. All I need to do now is add a little stand off where the old bottom slide used to be to keep the panel from rubbing on the screen. If you want to do sliding panels, do it this way!


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## ALMFamily

Great to hear that worked Matt - I have been considering doing some kind of matting for mine as well and will have to keep this approach in mind...


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## BD55

I'm glad you got that figured out. The drawer slides were a good idea; don't kick yourself for that. It's all about the tweaking to get something to work perfectly. Nice solution :T


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