# TC's Simple Home Theater Build



## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

After a LONG break in the project - it's finally underway. 

The goal here is to keep the install simple. :rofl:

Finishing the lower level of an attached town home with 5 rooms - The theater, a full bar, a living area (pool table?) and bedroom and bath.

The theater room is fully an interior room with no windows. One side is a shared wall with my neighbor, but these are well build homes with soundproofing designed into the structure. It's very quiet and I never hear my neighbors, although I suspect they hear a subwoofer every now and then. The remaining walls are either interior walls or foundation walls.

Completely soundproofing the room is not a huge priority. I want to keep the build simple but effective. Good light control, clean install, good electronics, and good bang for the buck are my objectives.

Here's the blank slate - a shot of the future screen wall:


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

A couple more views of the theater room and a couple of challenges.

The ceiling height is 9' to the joists but the original install of the HVAC ducts used up a lot of space. These ducts need to be tightened up and rearranged to maximize ceiling height. Easy to do and effective alteration to the room, it made a huge difference in the feel of the ceiling height. Planning a 6 sided tray ceiling aligned with the screen wall. 

The existing HVAC unit is in a closet area adjacent to the theater. This will have to be properly vented and enclosed to minimize sound intrusion into the room. 

Another not so simple alteration.... the entire house is sprinkler protected. The original install of sprinkler heads in the basement did not place the heads at the proper height for finished ceilings. The sprinkler heads will have to be moved.



















And here's a shot of the bar area.


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

Looks to be an excellent build, gotta subscribe to this thread.

If your sharing a common wall with your neighbor then you might want to consider something like the Auralex SubDude to place your subs on to keep the subs vibration from disturbing your neighbors.
Even if there is plenty of sound isolation in the walls vibrations can still transfer easily through the floors and walls.

Have fun.


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

My furnace is next to my theater room also. Big nuisance. I'm sure you'll sound proof those walls well. Drywall on both sides of the wall stuffed with Roxul will do a pretty good job. ⅝" drywall will also add some fire protection although you've probably already got that covered with your sprinkler system (which is pretty cool I might add). 

The big thing will be the door to the HVAC room from your theater. Then considering if you seal it up tight you might not have enough combustion air. You pointed out venting. You could still seal up the room and then vent it from the outside to provide combustion air. I found this calculator -> http://www.houseofcraig.net/combustion_air_calc.html <- online to give the space needed for combustion air. 

If you or other readers are unfamiliar, a gas burning appliance needs oxygen to ignite the gas. If it can't get it from the space it's in (ie: a sealed room) it could get it from the exhaust vent which would cause exhaust gas to enter your home. Of which carbon monoxide is deadly.

If your furnace is a high efficiency condensing model that gets it's combustion air from outside already (most newer ones are) you could upgrade your water heater to a high efficiency condensing model (direct vent). That would eliminate the need for it to draw combustion air from your home's air. Venting to that room would only then be for cooling if needed.


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## engtaz (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks for sharing the build pics. Very much appreciated.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks for the comments on venting the hvac. That's been a critical concern from the beginning. An hvac contractor and the building inspector have both looked at it and calculated that a 12" hi and low vent will allow sufficient combustion air. I may have to concede a little noise but we may be able to arrange the vent into an adjacent space and not open to the theater.

Brings up another safety point. For our basement theaters a Carbon monoxide alarm is a simple and inexpesive piece of equipment that should be in the theater room.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Getting caught up to real time pretty quick so here's some more progress pics.

Ceiling framing completed, flat ceiling in the bar area:










Opened the wall between the bar and the hall:



















The coil of orange Carlon conduit is in the back side of the component closet. That conduit will run from the component rack to projector. The component closet will give me easy access to the back of the electronics and a central point to bring all my in wall wires.

And last one... soffits in the theater room are in - and the HVAC ducts nice and tight. I was really suprised at how much ceiling height was preserved. The framers did an awesome job.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Here are some specs on the room and a layout. It is an odd shaped room so I'm having to make the best of it.

Approx 18' x 19' x 9' ceilings with a a fairly large tray ceiling. Concrete slab floor. I cut my plans down to just 4 seats - to maintain a decent viewing distance. I could palce a small pub table with a couple bar stools behind the theater seats if I feel the need to add a couple more seating locations. As it stands seating is approx 12' from seating postion to the screen and the projector mount is 14' to the screen. Planning on a 
106" screen and an Epson 8350 projector.

7.1 sound with the .1 part actually being dual Epik Legend subwoofers. I'm prewiring an alternate location for the subwoofers to build in some flexibility on placement.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Future home of the projector










Future home of the AV component rack


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Ahh... combustion air. The bane of my existence. There are several problems with bringing combustion air directly into the home, particularly for us in the Deep South. The humidity here in GA is a problem waiting to happen. Direct-vented appliances are a good option for new construction but not cost effective as a replacement if your equipment is fairly new.

The original builder did not provide cumbustion ducts to the mech room since, while the basement was still unfinished, the equipment is located in what the Code calls an "Unconfined Space". This means the air volume in the area that communicates directly with the furnace and water heater (i.e., the whole basement) is sufficiently large that the equipment can burn safely. To be more exact, per the International Codes, you have at least 50 cubic feet of volume per 1000 Btu/hr input rating of both appliances combined. Once you enclose the room you have a problem unless you add duct which communicate directly with outdoors or with an adjacent Unconfined Space. If it is possible to provide permanent openings on the back wall of the mech room, to the adjacent space (assuming it is large enough to be an Unconfined Space, I'd recommend you go that route rather than ducting to the outdoors. The sizing requirements differ depending on what method you choose. I'll check the code tomorrow at the office and confirm. 

Can you confirm the input ratings of the water heater and the furnace? maybe a couple pictures of the mechancial closet?

Regards,
sga2


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Oh, and what does the space behind your mech room open into?

sga2


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

If you are going to get combustion air _from within the house_ (which I recommend if the adjacent room is large enough to be an Unconfined Space), our code (International Residental Code) requires combustion air openings as follows:

Total aggregate volume of all spaces which are connected to the mech room via the combustion openings, but which are not separated by doors, must be not less than 50 cubic feet per 1000 Bth/hr total appliance INPUT rating. 
One opening within 12" of the top of the room.
A second opening within 12" of the floor.
Each opening shall provide 1 square inch free area for every 1000 Btu/hr (1 MBH = 1000 Btu/hr) total appliance INPUT rating. Since you will be covering with grilles to finish the appearance, you need to assume the grille has only 75% free area if metal (or 25% if wood). In other words, metal grilles are sized 1 square inch per 750 Btu/hr and wood 1 square inch per 250 Btu/hr.

Also, Direct Vent applicances need not be considered since the combustion air is already ducted directly from the unit to the outside. Your water heater is not direct vent, but your furnace might be (I can't see enough of your furnace in the photos to tell). 

Regards,
sga2


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Excellent - thank you for that amount of detail. Great information

The back wall of the mech room is adjacent to unconfined space. It's an alcove in the hall which is completely open to the rest of the unconfined space in the basement. Approximately 1100 sq ft of unconfined space

The water heater has a load of 40000 btu/hr. I'm not sure yet on the furnace. Trying to find that. What is planned are 2 - 12" return ducts - one high at the ceiling and one low at the floor that will connect the mech room to the unconfined space. During hvac rough inspection the inspector was good with that arrangement.

Sound like finding a high flow register would be a good idea too to maximize air flow

Thanks again for taking the time to run through that info. As always Home Theater Shack team provides a wealth of knowledge. Cheers


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Prewire list:

In the theater room:
7.1 speakers - 12 gauge inwall wire from Monoprice
Using RG6 coax for the inwall runs to the subwoofers. 2 locations on the screen wall, one alternate location along the back of the room
Aux in-wall HDMI connector for plugging in a laptop or other device
One in wall USB connector under the screen for connecting PS3 camera
2 1/8" miniplug extension wires for conencting IR repeaters to the AV rack.
4 zones of dimmable lighting (screen wall wash, room light, sconces and rope light trim in tray ceiling)

In the AV rack.
2 RG6 coax home runs to the NID
6 Cat5e home runs to the NID (TV via Uverse)
2" conduit to the projector for current and future cabling
2 HDMI runs to projector
HDMI Splitter for sending video to bar and living area
HDMI over Cat5e to the living area
HDMI to the bar TV
Zone 2 speaker outs to the bar, with in wall volume control
Zone 2 RCA audio in from the bar TV

One of my goals was to be able to output the same image to the projector, the bar TV and the living room TV. Sort of a lobby effect where if you get up, program will be on the next room. As long as the HDMI splitter does it's job then that should be covered. I don't need to send multichannel audio outside the theater room.

Becuase I like to load up my thread with pictures.... here's a couple more

Speaker and sub prewires









Recessed lights for front wall wash lighting


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Updating some progress:

Conduit prewire from projector to AV closet, justa straight shot back to the closet and easy termination to a low voltage box pass thu in the ceiling. I used 2" carlon, easily fits 2 HDMI cables with plenty of room.










Front wall connection for mains, center, subs, and ir repeater and USB port










More prewire bundles coming back to the AV closet. I'm using wall plates to terminate the inwall runs from the speaksers and subs, I used a pass thru in the ceiling for the HDMI runs.










Big fun :sn:


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

More progress...

Stairwell from the main level opening to the bar and theater entrance:


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Moving right along... The theater room walls were insulated for a small level of sound protection. I'm mostly trying to knock down some of the sound coming from the the mechanical room. This will eventually be closed with door and the venting out into the area outside the theater. Its not going to be 100% soundproofed but it will be ok I hope.

All of the interior walls in the the theater were insulted and for the rest of the space - all the exterior walls we insulated and brought up to new building codes. All of the ceilings throughout the space are insulated which should help on sound transmission to the main level.

I added two Speakercraft 8" enclosures in the bar area. These are sealed insulated in ceiling boxes that are designed to reduce sound transmission to the level above and to improve bass response for the in ceiling speaker. Using Speakercraft CSR-8 in the bar area.

Screen wall with insulation:









AVR Rack and mechanical room wall with insulation:









And for the first time.... WALLS !


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Next.. taping and mudding. That part was, by far, my least favorite phase.

Looks like it is coming along very well. I hope you're enjoying it.

Regards,
sga2


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

More progress - 

Taping and mudding was completed, the sheetrock crew did a really nice job. A few touch ups to go but over all it turned out great. A big dust storm of a job but now that's complete. Trim carpentry work completed and walls are primed and ready for paint. It's moving fast now. 

The opening for the AV rack was slightly undersized - required a little rework and now it's cased opening. I like it much better as a cased opening rather than the sheetrock opening. The rest of the lower level finish is moving along as well. 

Taped and mudded screen wall and a few other areas:


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Trim carpentry and priming done !!




























Getting closer to painting !





































Cheers !:sn:


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

Wow, it's coming along quickly and looks great so far:T


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

The project is moving along very fast. Construction actually started about a month ahead of this thread. Before that there was about 2 years of planning and glaicially slow DIY projects.

At this point a GC has taken over the construction part of the job and I'm doing design, specs and install. Having a long planning time helped.

The contractor is doing an awesome job. It's really cool seeing this come together in weeks rather than years 

Cheers !


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Looking good. I bet you're getting excited.

Regards,
sga2


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

this week not so much progress in the theater room but the other rooms have lots of finishes added. Here's a few more progress pics.

More painting in the theater room. The trim is showing it's final appearance. Still another coat or two of paint to finish. The color is really darker than it appears in the flash photos. Its Gauntlet Gray from Sherwin WIlliams. The trim color is Boehemian Black and really sets off the moldings and base work. My first thought was to paint the doors the same as the wall but after the trim was painted black it looked so good we decided on keeping the doors black. 




























Waiting on final paint and carpet then install of the electronics will happen. 

Cheers


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Here's a few progress pics on the other areas being finished:

Rough in of the bar:










Cleaned up a little and now with hardwood floors !










More hardwoods through the hall and living area.










Thats is for now. Lots more finish details this week, electrical finish, plumbing finish and carpets to go. Then its time move in !

Cheers !


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

Wow, it's looking soooooo good.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Very nice looking bar..:T


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks, the bar was a upgrade from what was originally planned. I was going to do just the wet bar along the side wall. When working with my GC and cabinet builder we upped the ante a bit and he built a really beautiful full bar - it changed the entire design of that room and so much for the better. 

The best parts are still to come. :R The construction part of this project has gone really well. I think about 2 weeks till I start populating the theater room.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

About one more week then it's time to move in.

I'm looking ofr ideas on placement of the subwoofers. I'll be using 2 Epil legends and I'm looking ofr input on what might be the best place to start for sub placement.

Should I flank the center channel on the front wall. Split them with one at the alternate location on teh back wall ? Stack 2 of them in one location ?

I prewired 3 sub locations to give me some flexability. Any suggestions on where to start ?

Thanks


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It's very difficult to say where the best location will be with that room configuration..

I would first try them where you have them shown on the drawing and if that's not successful then move them further apart towards the edges of the screen..
Then try them stacked on top of each other..first to one side of the screen, then to the other side..and lastly, one in the alt. position (as shown) and the other at the sides of the screen..

There are other possibilities for positions as well, but I would try the suggestions first..


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Haven't updated in a week or so. Things moved a little slow this week. Carpet has been delayed now until the 5/23. 

Some more finish work has been completed in the other rooms but the theater room has paused waiting for carpet. Plumbing, more electrical,countertops, lights are moving right along. 

In the meantime I've got some electronics, trapped in cardboard boxes, longing for freedom....


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

Nice collection of boxes!

How big of a screen are you going with?


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Can't wait to start plugging all this stuff in ! The Imagine T's are already in use and powered with a 200 WPC Rotel. Looking forward to upping the power and connecting these to the XPA-3

The screen is a Vapex 106", 16:9 format, White screen.

Seems like a good value for the price, I do wish they offered this screen in a 2.35:1 format. I read decent review here and on other websites. I'd like to hear any comments on Vapex screens from other folks here.

I don't really have any basis for comparison as this is my first projector and screen set up, but I'll post some review impressions once I get everything set up. 

What I'd say at this point is I did have a very good purchase experience from Visual Apex. Everything was right on time, arrived in great condition and their customer service follow up has been thorough.


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

I definitely want to hear how you like the Vapex screen. I have a 106" DaLite right now but want to go bigger without the big price tag.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

That was my thought when I deceided on a Vapex screen. For an entry level theater room, projector and screen I had lots of choces and trade offs to make. I decided to try the lower cost screen.

It's easy enough to upgrade later, but I suspect I'm going to very happy with the performance for now. I have good light control in the room and a bright projector throwing from right in the middle of it's range. 

Glacial pace this week... not much new in the theater room right now.

Although a 4 zone - Lutron Spacer dimmer system did get installed... :T


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

I havent updated my progress in a while. The theater is complete. It's been a whole lot of fun, learned a lot along the way and now it's time to enjoy !

Here's the basics one the equipment list:

Epson 8350 Projector with Visual Apex 106" White Fixed Frame Screen
Onkyo 806 AVR
PSB Imagine T's Mains, Imagine S Surrounds and Imagine C Center
SVSound MBS-01 Rear Surrounds
Epik Legend Dual Subwoofers
Oppo 93 Blu-Ray, AppleTV, UVerse, and PS3 Sources
Paliser Recliners

Here's the front screen wall










And a couple of views of the room


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Very nice neat job..and the ceiling looks great..:T..But no bass or wall treatments!?


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

I agree some bass treatments are in order.

I've just started working with REW - I don't have any measurements yet, learning the software now.

What I have noticed - overall it sounds great but but the subs are very sensitive to volume control. It either a nice tight sound for music or turn it up just a little and it very boomy during movies. The room geometry is difficult but I think there are definitely some improvements to make. I still haven't moved the subs to some alternate locations that I prewired.

I want to get a little more out of the surround fields too. The PSB Imagine S's are wired as dipole now but they have the option of wiring the speaker as a bipole - I want to experiment with that.

A page back in my thread is a diagram of the room. Any help or suggestions on wall treatments, placement, settings etc would be much appreciated.

Last night watched the latest Star Trek Movie. Stellar ! It's an amazing thing watching movies in this environment. Very enjoyable and it only gets better. 

Thanks !


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

My suggestions for acoustic treatments would be as shown below..
The front wall treatments would be 4"-6" thick panels..Ideally the wall behind the screen should be treated as well..
The rear walls would be panels approx. 4'x4'x4" thick..basically to cover the area behind the seating..and with corner traps as shown..

Others more qualified than me may have other ideas..


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## Gregavi (Sep 22, 2009)

TCinGA said:


> Can't wait to start plugging all this stuff in ! The Imagine T's are already in use and powered with a 200 WPC Rotel. Looking forward to upping the power and connecting these to the XPA-3
> 
> The screen is a Vapex 106", 16:9 format, White screen.
> 
> ...


Focupix (Kind of a lame name) offer well reviewed screens at a very reasonable price point. They offer several 2.35:1 screens as well as 16:9, 4:3 etc. I was set to purchase one of them before I decided to go with the DIY Black Widow Screen.
http://www.htdepot.com/

BTW
Great looking theater. I finished mine several months ago and am enjoying it each day.


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## jude5683 (Jun 10, 2013)

So, how do you like your VApex screen? How would you describe the quality of the screen material and the image on it? Do you have pics? I'm debating between one of these and a Jamestown.


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## TCinGA (Feb 17, 2008)

Wow - i havent been on this thread in a long time.

In very happy with the Vapex screen. Material and build quality had been great. 2 years after install the screen looks just as new. No stretching or sags in the material. The felt border is still perfect. No one ever touches the screen and I have light dusted it a few times, but I've never had a reason to try to clean or wash the screen surface. construction wise the screen was easy to assemble and everything fit nicely. No warping of the frame over time - it still just looks new.

I the room generally has a little light on for TV watching but during movies it's fully dark. Not sure if it the screen gain or my projector but I'd like a little more pop to the picture when watching TV. Movies are awesome in the dark. I don't have a lot of visual comparisons for screen quality, but my opinion is the projector is much more a factor. I have pretty basic epson 8350 projector. 1500 hours or so on the lamp now. 

Overall I'm very pleased with the Vapex screen. Low price good quality and it suits my needs nicely. There's a view pics earlier in thread of the installed screen. Looks just like that today. I still need those acoustic wall treatments


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