# My Home Cinema - Dining Room Conversion



## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi all, im just about to start construction on my home cinema / theatre (UK boy!) and I wanted to share it with you as I have learnt so much from the forums and had some serious inspiration.

My goal is to do this on the cheap and don't want to spend any more than £3,500 all in, so its going to be tight. I may have to scrimp on some sound proofing etc, but I am at the end of terrace and I have a 4 bed house to myself, so not a major problem.

I'm only 3 posts in so far so will update shortly and start putting pics on.

Cheers

Paul


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

OK so I need to give you some room specs:

Length - 18ft
Width - 12ft
Height - 7ft 2

I have a window on the front and side and a gas boiler cupboard in the corner. I am just finishing some sketchup and will post asap.

Paul


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Some low cost - high return techniques:

When framing, use a decoupled framing technique. Staggered stud or double stud.

Insulation is good, but not great. Use a little and be done with it.

Use a lot of mass. Double or triple drywall (plasterboard) is cheap mass.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Ted White said:


> Some low cost - high return techniques:
> 
> When framing, use a decoupled framing technique. Staggered stud or double stud.
> 
> ...


Great advice, thanks Ted!


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

My pleasure!


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

OK, so here are a couple of pics of the room in its current state:

  

The curtains cover the main window which I plan to cover with blackout blinds, and the other window will be boarded up.

Here are my sketchup plans of how I want the room to look:

     

I have planned the following:


12 inch platform for the rear sofa.
A false wall for the 106 inch fixed screen, to hide the front speakers.
A soffit running around the top of the room which will have spots inbetween the columns and also led strip lights to give a halo glow to the ceiling.
Columns on the walls (also provide support for the soffit.
Wall lights on the columns.
AV equipment to be housed in the gas boiler cupboard (although im worried about heat!!

Im looking at options to link all lights together so they all dim at once but have no idea how to wire so many lights back to one panel may need a sparky for that. I have the floorboards up in the room above so i can run hdmi's etc and also take the light rose back up and skim the ceiling.

Paul


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Oh, and equipment... I took a trip to Richer Sounds with a small budget and got a little carried away, although still spent much less than some of the rooms ive seen! here's what I got:


Benq w1100+ projector
Onkyo TXSR 608 receiver
Samsung BDC5900 Blu Ray
Tannoy HTS101 5.1
And a bunch of speaker cable and HDMI leads

Here is a pic of some of it:
 

Already had:


XBOX 360
Media Centre PC
Sky + HD
iPad 2

Now I need to work out a good way to control all of them from the iPad...


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Here is some pics of me running the Benq up for a test, projecting in the day against a standard wall, but its still suprisingly watchable! Very bright considering.

This was from a film on the iPad, so not great def, but easy to show.

   
 

The door will be covered once the wall goes in and the screen is up. Trying to find somewhere to get a 106 inch fixed frame projector screen for a couple of hundred quid aint easy!


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Oh, and I had my first set of chairs delivered today, well happy with them:

 

They are new, leather, heated, massage recliners with cup holders in the arms, for the amazing price of..... £250 each! Bargain!

They are comfy, but I need to get them out of the room now, get the carpet up and start on the walls. I hate carpentry.


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## oublie (Jan 16, 2008)

Those chairs are a bargain where did you get them from?


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hey, sorry for the delay, been out the country for a while. I got the chairs from eBay uk, a seller was having a clear out. I've seen a few more since, for around the same sort of price though. Can send details if you need them?

I've just started boarding up the window in the room and will make a start on the false wall this weekend!


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Oh and when I look at the pics I posted on this thread the quality is bad, but if I look on my pc they are fine, anyone have this problem? Is there a better way to save or upload images so people can see better quality? 

Cheers

Paul


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## oublie (Jan 16, 2008)

paul7900 said:


> Hey, sorry for the delay, been out the country for a while. I got the chairs from eBay uk, a seller was having a clear out. I've seen a few more since, for around the same sort of price though. Can send details if you need them?
> 
> I've just started boarding up the window in the room and will make a start on the false wall this weekend!



thanks Paul I'd appreciate some info please.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

No probs, its a seller on eBay called Superior Furniture, ive emailed them as well to see if they can get hold of anymore!


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Right, quick update, ive covered the window with plasterboard and need to skim it:

 

Got all the wood for the false wall and the raised deck in place, and pulled the old carpet up:

  

So I plan to have the wall in place this weekend and hopefully have made a big dent on the raised part. We will see...


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

OK so its been a little while since Ive updated, sorry about that but its been a little busy and my superfast plan has kind of gone out of the window!

So, a qucik update for you. First off, I (me and my good carpenter friend Steve!) have built the false wall which will hold the screen and hide the rear of the speakers and cables. It was intersting because I didnt want to cut into the coving as I want the ability to put the room back to normal is ever needed without too much fuss, so there was a fair bit of scribing going on.

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

You can see that the centre speaker has had to be offset slightly but its no big deal and on the last pic you can see the top border of my 106 inch screen.

I have installed all the speaker cable and ran the speakers up for a quick test with the projector and wished I hadn't because it was awesome! I watched Tron and it was amazing just projecting onto the wooden panels! It was hard undoing it all.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

I have also started on the plynth, which has had to undergo some changes from the original curved design due to issues with access to the gas cupboard.

It is now a more straight design which helps keep the seats back and I have also added a step as it is a foot high and a little too high for younger ones to jump up too!

Here are some pics:

    

I think the step makes a really cool feature and there is loads of room up there for the seats now, A few people have said we over did it but I wanted it to be solid and not creak or moan! Just need to nail it together now and start on the wall columns next.

I think im also going to start painting, just got some matt black for the screen wall and trying to find suitable browns for the walls and columns (any advice appreciated!).

Cheers

Paul


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

This is going to be a great little room, Paul, well done. I didn't catch how you plan to mount the speakers... are they going to be set into the false wall, or mounted in front? You might have some baffle related issues with the sound if you put speakers meant for an open room into a wall, but you might be able to get around it too.

PS. heheh, a "sparky", I like that. I'll have to tell that to my buddy who's an electrician.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi Owen, thanks for the feedback mate. haha, yeah sparky for electrician and chippy for carpenter, must be a cockney thing?

The front speakers are going to be set into the false wall (you can see the holes cut on the finished wall) they have the brackets ready for them to rest on. I did wonder if it will affect the sound, there is about 1.5 feet behind the wall so a fairly sizeable space. 

The speakers are Tannoy HTS 101, quote small, but not sure if they are for open spaces? I'm not that clued up on speaker placement etc, I did run them up and it sounded pretty good (but maybe not as good as it should!).

I'm looking for brackets for the back ones, but because the seats are against the back wall on the plynth and the gas cupboard is there, cutting in to the corner, im not sure of the best place for them. Any advice?

Cheers

Paul


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Hmmm, that is a little tough for placement of your rears. I think what I would do for a 5.1 setup would be to centre the couch on the back wall (moving it away from the gas cupboard) and mount the two surrounds in the corners, angled out. Something like this, if you can see the red. Ignore the bad photoshopping, I'm at work and did a quick n dirty job.

 

As for the fronts, I wouldn't worry too much. Very (_very_) basically, a normal speaker will reflect some sound from the front of its baffle, which is anticipated and crossovers are designed to work with. By putting a regular speaker inside a wall, it will now be reflecting some sound off the whole flat surface of the wall instead of just the front of the speaker. You might be able to minimize this with an absorbent material "framing" the speaker, but if it sounds OK to you, don't sweat it.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Owen you are a legend, thanks for the advice! Glad the fronts shouldnt be too affected, they did sounds pretty good!

Im now going to put another two singles at the back because the view is better from the back and I want the best seats there. Here is a pic of the seats in place:


 

I've also just started painting, the screen wall has been done in matt black:

 

and I have got a few browns to pick from. The columns will be a darker shade of brown to break the room up. I personally like the bottom one (chocolate chip):


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Good progress! And I think you have made it even easier for yourself by moving the recliners to the back row. Now you can center them on the wall (or at least move out a bit from the cupboard) and you could have stand mounted surrounds in the corners, wall mounted, whatever makes the most sense for you. Whatever you choose, try to find a way to keep them adjustable, so you can experiment with the angle. You may find that pointing directly in toward each other works well, or you might like them better angled toward the centre of the room, or even up toward the ceiling or mounted high and aiming down at the seats. At least if you give yourself some flexibility you can experiment and tweak.


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi all

Been a little while and busy over Christmas so I thought I would give you a quick update with what's been going on!

First off ive been doing some painting, I got the walls painted and quite happy with the colour now (it will look a lot better with proper lighting:

  

Then I made up the columns and fixed these to the walls (you can see one had to be cut around my radiator):

   

Then painted the columns and skirting in a dark brown to break up the room a bit, and tonight I finished the rail at the top of the columns which I will run all the cabling and led lights through:

   

So, jobs left to do:

Paint 
Projector bracket / projector install
Speaker brackets / speaker install and cables
Lights and light cabling
Carpet
Small plynth under screen
Led lights
Blackout blinds (Delivered)
Build screen

I'm sure im forgetting a bunch, but dosent seem too much anymore, going to try and smash a load this weekend...


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Keep up the good work Paul! :T

I must have missed it in earlier pictures - awesome pattern on the ceiling, it looks really classy! :T:T


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi all

another few updates for you, I should do these more regularly, but if im honest, the gallery upload on this is a little clunky and puts me off uploading pics! Anyway...

We started work on some of the detail, which hopefully gives it a more cinema feel and built a small plynth at the front, influenced by Pimp my Garage (cheers):

    

The unit is solid and we have left a lip for the carpet. I am going to paint the front in the dark brown, same as the columns.

I got a lot more painting done and painted all the rail and the columns:

   

An as you can see, also put all the column lights up. I did the wiring for this myself and just had it certified and check, all ok so well happy about that!:

  

The wires were all sorted and boxed before putting the columns back. We also put a small spotlight on the column near the stage to light the step:

 

I put the blackout blind up (wasnt easy as the window frame was wonky:

  

Its ok and dosent let any light through the blind, but a few issues:


It sags slightly as the window frame is so big so I need to support it. 
As it is inside the frame, I get a halo effect in the day so I have ordered some foam tape to border it and block out all light.

I also got one of my 5 meter led rope lights (I ordered 5 of them to go all around the room) and tested it:

    

They have 16 colours and they fade, cycle colours etc. I think they look awesome, unfortunatly the iphone camera freaks out when you point it at any lights. I am going to borrow my mates Canon 550d soon and will get some better shots of the room.

Lastly, today I got the wiring all checked off and got the column lights on a dimmer (dimmer pic to follow) but here is a quick few pics of the lights up:

  

Again, the pics do it no justice, in one you can see the step being lit nicely by the halogen.

So, my carpet is going down on Saturday and I will be going over all the paint once more tomorrow. I now need to get the door in, projector and screen up and AV kit in.

Ill update some more when I have it.

Cheers

Paul


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Wow Paul - that is really taking shape! Great work so far - can't wait for the pics with the carpet installed.... :T


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Cheers Joe!


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Looking outstanding Paul! Loving the ceiling!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Nice progress Paul..I missed your earlier photo's..The theatre is looking great and that ceiling is a real standout!! :T

I'll be interested to know how you go with the LED ropelighting..I'll be fitting ropelight to my re-modelled theatre down the track and I have concerns about bending the LED ropelight around 90 degree corners!..


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## paul7900 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi Prof, thanks for the comments, really appreciated. Ive seen your remodelling and it looks great so far, you are certainly working through it quickly!

I was also concerned about the corners with the led rope lights so I got some beforehand and tried them in my kitchen (I call it the Tron kitchen now...):
 

The leds had to be turned on their side slightly, but you dont notice it at all. I also bent them around the corner on my other test (I think you can just about see the corner lit up) and it also looked fine. 

I think you will only get an issue if the leds are really close to the ceiling, I started to get different levels of light the closer they got.

All the best

Paul


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

paul7900 said:


> Hi Prof, thanks for the comments, really appreciated. Ive seen your remodelling and it looks great so far, you are certainly working through it quickly!


Thanks Paul..



> I was also concerned about the corners with the led rope lights so I got some beforehand and tried them in my kitchen (I call it the Tron kitchen now...):


Hahaha..I love it..:rofl: That looks really cool!!..It looks very evenly illuminated..How far from the ceiling is that ropelight?



> The leds had to be turned on their side slightly, but you dont notice it at all. I also bent them around the corner on my other test (I think you can just about see the corner lit up) and it also looked fine.


That's very reassuring to know.. Thanks for that..:T


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Paul, the Tron kitchen is cool! It's like eating breakfast sitting on a light cycle!

The rope lighting in the theatre looks like it will turn out really nicely too. How is the dimming and colour cycling controlled, something proprietary that came with the lights? I wouldn't mind some more details on the LEDs if you can post them (or PM is fine too). It seems like a good option.


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## engtaz (Jul 9, 2010)

Outstanding work your doing. Looks great. Thanks for sharing your build with us. Love watching projects come together.

Congrats.


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