# Texas Home Theater Build



## HTB2015

Ok, everybody knows everything is bigger and better in Texas (right?). Well this isn't going to be near the biggest theater but hopefully it can hold it's own. I have many questions and am ready for any suggestions. My buddy and I have been planning a home theater build in his house for a couple of months now. We are planning on starting the build in a couple of months. I’ve frequenting this site for a little over a year or so and I have no previous experience other than reading books and researching through the internet. Much of this build was inspired by mcascio’s Cinemar Home Theater thread. The color scheme, columns, and some construction procedures for this theater come from that amazing thread and I just wanted to give him the props he deserves. This build will be done on an existing room that has some variables to deal with. 

Here’s what we have so far:

Room: 
-	18’10”x13’10”
-	7’10” to 10’ ceiling height
-	Obstruction: A/C duct column in rear of room
-	Small attic door entrance in rear of room

Acoustical treatments:
-	Staggered stud walls with green glue sandwiched by 5/8” Gyspum Rock
-	Acoustical Panels between columns
-	Entry door seals

Hardware:
-	Epson 3010
-	Denon AVR 1912 (decided against Onkyo TXNR-616)
-	HTPC: DIY with XBMC, DVDFab, and 1.5TB HDD
-	106” or 120” (decided against AT)

Speakers:
-	TriTrix MTM L,C,R
-	4 TriTrix MT Surrounds 
-	SI 18 ported riser sub into 11 cu.ft. with EP2000 (decided against TRIO12)


Initial Questions:

1.	I have a set of the TriTrix speakers myself and have loved them. I know these speakers would be a great starter set of speakers for this theater with the ability to upgrade later. My question is how they will perform behind an acoustically transparent screen? How will the screen affect the audio, especially clarity?
2.	With the current plans the back row seating is around 13’10” and front row is 7’10”. I’m thinking about changing the dimensions of the stadium seating to yield 14’6” and 9’4” viewing distances. The problem I have with this, is that the rear seats will be almost directly under the projector. So it may be annoyingly loud at times. This PJ has no lens shift so I don’t think there are other options to move it around.
3.	Where to put the A/V Rack. With limited space we’re going to have to get creative finding a place for it. Most likely in rear left. Ideally it would be concealed.
4.	How important is it to have bass traps?
5.	I’ve seen people putting sand and/or insulation in between the joists of stages and platforms. What is this for? To make platforms feel less hollow?
6.	Ideas for lighting…
7. Finally, if we end up under budget in the end, :heehee:, then what would you suggest we put the extra money into? I have a feeling the answer may be upgrading the receiver or adding an amp. 

I'm about to post some Sketchup pics with our plan.

Thanks for any help!


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## HTB2015

Here are some sketchups. They are not chronologically shown I wasn't sure how to do it.


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## Dale Rasco

This will be a fun one to watch!


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## Todd Anderson

Yeah... I agree, Dale... this looks like it's going to epic!


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## bpape

Insulation in the riser and stage stop it from acting like a big drum.

I would not be moving seating to fit viewing angles. Seats need to be where they should be for best bass response and surround field - then the screen is sized to fit those locations. 

Be careful with much hard surface on the front wall. Ideally, it would be 100% dead and absorbent to stop reflections from the surrounds from messing up the front soundstage and screen lock.

Bryan


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## ALMFamily

Going to break my responses down a bit:



HTB2015 said:


> 1.	I have a set of the TriTrix speakers myself and have loved them. I know these speakers would be a great starter set of speakers for this theater with the ability to upgrade later. My question is how they will perform behind an acoustically transparent screen? How will the screen affect the audio, especially clarity?


The screen should not affect the clarity at all IMO.



HTB2015 said:


> 2.	With the current plans the back row seating is around 13’10” and front row is 7’10”. I’m thinking about changing the dimensions of the stadium seating to yield 14’6” and 9’4” viewing distances. The problem I have with this, is that the rear seats will be almost directly under the projector. So it may be annoyingly loud at times. This PJ has no lens shift so I don’t think there are other options to move it around.


Bryan answered this one already and I completely agree - seating distance should be based on room modes and trying to stay out of problem areas as best you can. IIRC, you want to stay out of the 40-60% area. In Eco-Mode, the fan runs at 24dB which is pretty quiet IMO - I don't think it would be a big distraction.



HTB2015 said:


> 3.	Where to put the A/V Rack. With limited space we’re going to have to get creative finding a place for it. Most likely in rear left. Ideally it would be concealed.


Only thought I have here is to frame a small closet in that rear left area and, if possible, vent to the adjacent room. You can set up an in-line fan to pull air out and a return vent to allow fresh air to be pulled in. I did this in my room if you want to see an example.



HTB2015 said:


> 4.	How important is it to have bass traps?


Very important IMO - without trapping, the reverb could get out of hand.



HTB2015 said:


> 5.	I’ve seen people putting sand and/or insulation in between the joists of stages and platforms. What is this for? To make platforms feel less hollow?


Bryan got this one!



HTB2015 said:


> 6.	Ideas for lighting…


Two ways to go here IMO - you can go with sconces on the columns (which Mario did IIRC) or you can go with recessed lighting in a soffit (this is the route I went).



HTB2015 said:


> 7. Finally, if we end up under budget in the end, :heehee:, then what would you suggest we put the extra money into? I have a feeling the answer may be upgrading the receiver or adding an amp.


I would make sure I got a rig to allow me to do measurements with REW - this will help understand what the room is doing and allow you to acoustically treat accordingly.

Subscribed and following along!!


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## HTB2015

bpape said:


> Insulation in the riser and stage stop it from acting like a big drum.
> 
> I would not be moving seating to fit viewing angles. Seats need to be where they should be for best bass response and surround field - then the screen is sized to fit those locations.
> 
> Be careful with much hard surface on the front wall. Ideally, it would be 100% dead and absorbent to stop reflections from the surrounds from messing up the front soundstage and screen lock.
> 
> Bryan


Thanks Bryan! I think you have a good point about the hard surfaces in the front of the room. It's impossible to see with the pictures I attached but all of the areas inside of the picture frame moulding will be either grill cloth with speakers behind them or some kind of acoustical absorption panel. Hopefully that will be enough. 

I didn't even think about bass response. I'm a little ignorant on the subject actually. Is this something I should measure before construction? My main concern about the seating is dimensions of the stadium seating. As you can see, the steps down to front row seating are going to be running into two of my columns and I would love to move that back a bit and forget about the woodworking problems that may be coming with that! However, PJ noise and unknown seating arrangements have me at a crossroads...

-Jared


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Going to break my responses down a bit:
> 
> 
> 
> The screen should not affect the clarity at all IMO.
> 
> 
> 
> Bryan answered this one already and I completely agree - seating distance should be based on room modes and trying to stay out of problem areas as best you can. IIRC, you want to stay out of the 40-60% area. In Eco-Mode, the fan runs at 24dB which is pretty quiet IMO - I don't think it would be a big distraction.
> 
> 
> 
> Only thought I have here is to frame a small closet in that rear left area and, if possible, vent to the adjacent room. You can set up an in-line fan to pull air out and a return vent to allow fresh air to be pulled in. I did this in my room if you want to see an example.
> 
> 
> 
> Very important IMO - without trapping, the reverb could get out of hand.
> 
> 
> 
> Bryan got this one!
> 
> 
> 
> Two ways to go here IMO - you can go with sconces on the columns (which Mario did IIRC) or you can go with recessed lighting in a soffit (this is the route I went).
> 
> 
> 
> I would make sure I got a rig to allow me to do measurements with REW - this will help understand what the room is doing and allow you to acoustically treat accordingly.
> 
> Subscribed and following along!!


Wow, thanks! 

So 40-60%. So this is volumetric area pertaining to distance from the screen? So if I have 10ft to work with I want to stay away from sitting in the 4-6ft range? 

Yes! I saw your build. Learned a lot from it! I don't think there is enough room to make a closet...maybe there is. I'll have look again. What about putting it below the chair rail. There is attic space on the left side of the room below chair rail. Is it bad to have the rack wider than taller and low to the ground? 

Ok, we will definitely install bass traps then.

Thanks for all the insight, it's greatly appreciated!

-Jared


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## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> Wow, thanks!
> 
> So 40-60%. So this is volumetric area pertaining to distance from the screen? So if I have 10ft to work with I want to stay away from sitting in the 4-6ft range?
> 
> Yes! I saw your build. Learned a lot from it! I don't think there is enough room to make a closet...maybe there is. I'll have look again. What about putting it below the chair rail. There is attic space on the left side of the room below chair rail. Is it bad to have the rack wider than taller and low to the ground?
> 
> Ok, we will definitely install bass traps then.
> 
> Thanks for all the insight, it's greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Jared


Correct - it is not a hard, fast rule, but if you can manage it, I would. There is a room mode calculator somewhere - I will see if I can dig up the link and post it.

On the space - not at all. You can make it whatever size / shape works best. The biggest concern is making sure you have enough air movement to keep the gear cool - overheating is probably the leading cause of reduced shelf life.

Are you doing soffits? If so, you can set those up for bass absorbtion as well - I faced mine so they would absorb from 20Hz - 200 Hz.


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## ALMFamily

Here is a link to that room mode calculator:

http://www.mcsquared.com/modecalc.htm


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Correct - it is not a hard, fast rule, but if you can manage it, I would. There is a room mode calculator somewhere - I will see if I can dig up the link and post it.
> 
> On the space - not at all. You can make it whatever size / shape works best. The biggest concern is making sure you have enough air movement to keep the gear cool - overheating is probably the leading cause of reduced shelf life.
> 
> Are you doing soffits? If so, you can set those up for bass absorbtion as well - I faced mine so they would absorb from 20Hz - 200 Hz.


We have not planned soffits. You make a good point though. It would be ideal for lighting and as you just informed me, bass absorption. I'll talk to my buddy about it but it may be too big of an item to add.

Thanks for the link! I wish I knew how to use it. Could you tell me how to analyze the data? I entered in the room dimensions. It states that the calculations are based on uniform walls. The ceiling height is not uniform in the room however. I used a value of 10' for now.


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## NBPk402

This is going to be a great one to watch the progress of!


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## BD55

HTB2015 said:


> ...what would you suggest we put the extra money into? I have a feeling the answer may be upgrading the receiver or adding an amp.


I'm thinking your riser is plenty large enough to make into a massive sub enclosure :hsd: How about that for an extra funds idea? Seriously, the only one I've seen so far is Sonnie's, and this is Texas, right? :bigsmile:


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## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> I'm thinking your riser is plenty large enough to make into a massive sub enclosure :hsd: How about that for an extra funds idea? Seriously, the only one I've seen so far is Sonnie's, and this is Texas, right? :bigsmile:


That is a great idea! I think that's something I would be willing to integrate into my personal theater in the future. Since this build is in my friends house and it's right next to his son's room, it may not be an option. Also, I've read through Sonnie's thread and I feel like it would be way over my head trying to figure everything out.
...it's too bad though, that would be absolutely amazing!

-Jared


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## BD55

I don't think it would be a matter of being over your head; half the threads here are over mine, but everyone here will make sure you do it right. Think of the children; what better way for your friend to bring his son into the theater to spend quality time with him than by shaking him off his bed? :bigsmile:

-Brandon


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## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> I don't think it would be a matter of being over your head; half the threads here are over mine, but everyone here will make sure you do it right. Think of the children; what better way for your friend to bring his son into the theater to spend quality time with him than by shaking him off his bed? :bigsmile:
> 
> -Brandon


:rofl:


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## phillihp23

Watching this build...looks like a good one rising up !!!!


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Here is a link to that room mode calculator:
> 
> http://www.mcsquared.com/modecalc.htm


Alright, so I've done some research and believe I have a better idea of modes. I plugged in the room dimensions of 18'10"x13'10"x10' (18.83'x13.83'x10') into the room mode calculator website. I displayed these numbers on a spreadsheet and then displayed the differences between all of the adjacent frequencies to find problematic areas. I found an article on audioholic.com that says "Gilford[1] states that the axial modes spacing should not be less than 5 Hz and not more than 20 Hz."

So I then made a function in the spreadsheet that colored all frequency differences lower than 5hz and higher than 20hz in red. I'm assuming(could be wrong) that modes are a function of distance which can be then calculated as a percentage of the room. And this is where the 40-60% comes from, right? Maybe I'm completely off...and is it only the axial room modes we care about?... Anyway, the spreadsheet is attached. Thanks for any help!

-Jared


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## ALMFamily

Sorry, the flu bug hit the house and I have not had the time to research this a bit more - I grabbed the link from an earlier thread, but I have not had much time to study it yet.

I will try to get at it in the next couple days, but if you would like, you could post in the Acoustics forum - Bryan knows that stuff a lot better than I do.


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Sorry, the flu bug hit the house and I have not had the time to research this a bit more - I grabbed the link from an earlier thread, but I have not had much time to study it yet.
> 
> I will try to get at it in the next couple days, but if you would like, you could post in the Acoustics forum - Bryan knows that stuff a lot better than I do.


No worries! There's absolutely no rush. I've tried looking into other resources on the internet but there aren't many that really describe it to it's full understanding. At least none that I've found. I did separate the frequencies into their respective walls though. Also, I isolated the frequency differences <5 and found the ones that multiply eachother. However, the Audioholic article states no other way to get rid of the freq. problems that are >20 other than to change the size of the room....


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## HTB2015

Let the speaker building commence! My buddy and I started building the TriTrix LTs today while watching Texas Tech play. Hopeful to have them done by next weekend and test them out in his house. I have a decibel meter and we're going to blast the speakers and measure the readings in his son's room. We are hoping for nice reduction after the soundproofing!

Still trying to figure out the room mode thing. I was pulling my hair out a couple nights ago trying to figure this out. What kid of differences are we talking here. Don't get me wrong, I want this thing to be done right and if we can adjust something to have the best bass response then I want to do it. I'm just curious what types of differences I will hear. Noticable??

-Jared


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## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> Let the speaker building commence! My buddy and I started building the TriTrix LTs today while watching Texas Tech play. Hopeful to have them done by next weekend and test them out in his house. I have a decibel meter and we're going to blast the speakers and measure the readings in his son's room. We are hoping for nice reduction after the soundproofing!
> 
> Still trying to figure out the room mode thing. I was pulling my hair out a couple nights ago trying to figure this out. What kid of differences are we talking here. Don't get me wrong, I want this thing to be done right and if we can adjust something to have the best bass response then I want to do it. I'm just curious what types of differences I will hear. Noticable??
> 
> -Jared


Honestly, I think it is just a matter of knowing where your potential issues are. Once you know that, you can acoustically treat or do some sub EQ to tame those modes. IIRC, this is where people use the Behringer 1124P to tame certain frequencies.


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## bpape

And you can set up so that you're not in the most problematic modes that are difficult to treat. 

Bryan


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## ALMFamily

bpape said:


> And you can set up so that you're not in the most problematic modes that are difficult to treat.
> 
> Bryan


Excellent point Bryan - I forgot to mention that. :R


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## HTB2015

Ah, that's cool. I didn't even know there was something like that out there. Only $100 too. 

I have a question about speaker placement. Whr is the optimal L/C/R placement. With an AT screen they would all go behind the screen, correct? What if we tried saving some money and bought a non-AT screen and put L/R in the corner columns and then the center channel under the screen. I know this may not be ideal but would it cause noticeable issues?

-Jared


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## HTB2015

Wow, TRIO12 is EOL and no longer available....They said SDX12 will be available early December...any suggestions for similar sub? I think I will post something on the DIY sub forum.
-Jared


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## Owen Bartley

Nice workshop, Jared! Looks like the speakers are coming along nicely.

As far as placement, yeah, ideally, you would have 3 identical L/C/R speakers placed at the same height and orientation across the front stage, spaced according to your guidelines of choice (THX, Dolby, etc) for your listening position. I don't think there's a way to predict how the sound will differ for changes you make, but the first 2 compromises that spring to mind are 1) you'll likely have a horizontally oriented CC, which may mean it won't sound tonally identical to the L/R speakers and 2) the CC will be placed vertically below the L/R speakers, which may be identifiable for listeners.


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## HTB2015

Thanks, I hope this build will qualify me to purchase more tools for my shop! We just got the parts express kit this time for ease of construction. It's pretty straight forward but we'll definitely have more detailed, chronological pictures of the room build when we start.

Those are good points about the sound quality changes. We are basically trying to move some of our budget around to accommodate in other areas. The AT screen is going to be about $1K for the fabric from Seymour which is about $700 more than one from the VApex projector bundle. It may be that we start out with the budget friendly configuration and make sure we construct it in a way that would make it easy to upgrade to the AT later.


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## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> I'm thinking your riser is plenty large enough to make into a massive sub enclosure :hsd: How about that for an extra funds idea? Seriously, the only one I've seen so far is Sonnie's, and this is Texas, right? :bigsmile:


We are re-thinking the riser sub idea...I've posed the question in sub forum


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## BD55

Alright! I'm glad I could spark some interest in creating some insanity in your friend's theater! I thought Sonnie's build was incredible, and seeing your riser reminded me of that amazing build.

It's going to be a lot of fun watching you and your friend's build take shape!


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## HTB2015

So all the speaker cabinets are built and we're waiting for the receiver. Changed our minds about the Onkyo 616. Instead my buddy got a deal on a Denon AVR 1912, we're testing all of them next weekend. 

I think we're close to figuring out most of the details on the riser sub. I'll post on this thread when final details are made. We have a tentative start date of December 8th, but who knows with holidays and kids, haha. We have 7 between the two of us.
-Jared


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## HTB2015

Are there any cheaper alternatives to OC703?


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## bpape

Sometimes you can find the Johns Manville equivalent (JM814) slightly cheaper. Not a ton though.

Bryan


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## HTB2015

bpape said:


> Sometimes you can find the Johns Manville equivalent (JM814) slightly cheaper. Not a ton though.
> 
> Bryan


Thanks Bryan, you're right. It's not much difference. We are just going to order a lot of it and thought I'd check. What about Green Glue? It's over $200 for a 5 gallon container. Are all brands OK to use or are there some bad ones out there?
-Jared


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## bpape

Green Glue itself has been proven in testing to be the best that I am aware of.

Bryan


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## HTB2015

We are starting demo on the 8th of Dec. Wiring will immediately follow. I actually have an electrical question if anyone can help. The EP2000 has 1600W of power consumption. Do you guys run dedicated 20amp circuits for your amplifiers? With 1600W/120V that's over 13amps leaving me with 3amps for the rest of the room. Leads me to believe I need a dedicate line. Everything else has a pretty low consumption. The Epson 3010 is about 3amps, PS3 is about 3amps, AVR is a little less than 4amps. 
-Jared


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## phillihp23

I would recommend a separate dedicated circuit. I dedicated one for the projector, didn't want any interference. One dedicated for my audio equipment, and one dedicated to my lighting. My subs have built in amps and are plugged into a wall outlets, (the six wall outlets are on there own circuit also) So yes, in all i have 4 separate circuits in my theater room.


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## bpape

Agreed. I have 4 circuits for audio (PJ, sub outlets, Rack), 1 for lighting, and 1 for utility outlets NOT for audio.

Bryan


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## ALMFamily

Agreed - I would try to separate as much as possible. I personally have 8 in my roon - 1 for lights, one for powered subs, one for outlets, one for a IR heater, one for the projector, and 3 in my AV closet.


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## HTB2015

phillihp23 said:


> I would recommend a separate dedicated circuit. I dedicated one for the projector, didn't want any interference. One dedicated for my audio equipment, and one dedicated to my lighting. My subs have built in amps and are plugged into a wall outlets, (the six wall outlets are on there own circuit also) So yes, in all i have 4 separate circuits in my theater room.





ALMFamily said:


> Agreed - I would try to separate as much as possible. I personally have 8 in my roon - 1 for lights, one for powered subs, one for outlets, one for a IR heater, one for the projector, and 3 in my AV closet.


So why the dedicated line to the PJ? It's only pulling 3.1Amps(and less in Eco mode,right?). There are currently 7 receptacles in the room on one 20Amp circuit. I was thinking I could put the PJ, AVR, and floor lighting on that circuit, create a dedicated line for the EP2000 and PS3, and another dedicated line for lighting.


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## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> So why the dedicated line to the PJ? It's only pulling 3.1Amps(and less in Eco mode,right?). There are currently 7 receptacles in the room on one 20Amp circuit. I was thinking I could put the PJ, AVR, and floor lighting on that circuit, create a dedicated line for the EP2000 and PS3, and another dedicated line for lighting.


For pretty much the same reason as Phillips23 stated above - I did not want to worry about interference with any other signal. You are correct - from a power standpoint, I could have put it on the same circuit as everything else but my amps.


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## HTB2015

I've started a thread in the DIY Screen Forum. An AT screen from Seymour would have cost around 900-1K so we thought AT was out of the equation for now. Turns out there is an alternative......SPANDEX. 
-Jared
P.S. The build starts in 8 days :yikes::spend::sweat:


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Only thought I have here is to frame a small closet in that rear left area and, if possible, vent to the adjacent room. You can set up an in-line fan to pull air out and a return vent to allow fresh air to be pulled in. I did this in my room if you want to see an example.


I was looking over how Joe vented his AV closet again. I'm wondering if I can just put a single 6" vent fan going from the rack enclosure to the attic which is on the other side of the wall. Do I need a return? We're not planning on putting a door separating the AV rack area from the room itself, is this a bad idea and will a 6" fan sucking air out of the room cause serious problems? 
Just reiterating that the fan would be going to the attic and not into the duct work. Wouldn't this mean that noise will be less of an issue? If the noise from the fan itself is a problem then we can just make a door for the AV area enclosure.
-Jared


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## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> I was looking over how Joe vented his AV closet again. I'm wondering if I can just put a single 6" vent fan going from the rack enclosure to the attic which is on the other side of the wall. Do I need a return? We're not planning on putting a door separating the AV rack area from the room itself, is this a bad idea and will a 6" fan sucking air out of the room cause serious problems?
> Just reiterating that the fan would be going to the attic and not into the duct work. Wouldn't this mean that noise will be less of an issue? If the noise from the fan itself is a problem then we can just make a door for the AV area enclosure.
> -Jared


It is really going to depend on the fan. The in line fan I am using is fairly quiet so if you are able to find a fan that is around 25 db, you would probably not hear it over the rest of the gear in your closet. I am by no means an expert in this area, but I think it may be an issue air-wise. The fan will be pulling air out which means air has to be supplied from somewhere. It may not be an issue for a 2 hour movie, but if you go longer, I would think you would start to have pressurization of the room.

That leads me to a question - have you put the gear in the closet, turned it all on, and sat in the room to see if the noise is going to be bothersome? I can tell you that I have loaded all my gear in the closet and have not got the door on yet and I can hear when the fans kick on. I would consider just taking the plunge now and cutting a return and planning on a door.

If you want the gear visible, you could always do a glass door like I am. When it is all done, I will have less than $150 in it which is just a tad more than you would pay for a solid wood core door.


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> It is really going to depend on the fan. The in line fan I am using is fairly quiet so if you are able to find a fan that is around 25 db, you would probably not hear it over the rest of the gear in your closet. I am by no means an expert in this area, but I think it may be an issue air-wise. The fan will be pulling air out which means air has to be supplied from somewhere. It may not be an issue for a 2 hour movie, but if you go longer, I would think you would start to have pressurization of the room.
> 
> That leads me to a question - have you put the gear in the closet, turned it all on, and sat in the room to see if the noise is going to be bothersome? I can tell you that I have loaded all my gear in the closet and have not got the door on yet and I can hear when the fans kick on. I would consider just taking the plunge now and cutting a return and planning on a door.
> 
> If you want the gear visible, you could always do a glass door like I am. When it is all done, I will have less than $150 in it which is just a tad more than you would pay for a solid wood core door.


Thanks Joe, the glass door is a good suggestion. We're not going to have a large vertical style closet. It's going to be below the chair rail in a horizontal fashion. I think it would be cool if we framed a piece of glass inside the picture frame moulding below chair rail. I'm assuming the glass won't affect acoustics that much?

-Jared


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## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> Thanks Joe, the glass door is a good suggestion. We're not going to have a large vertical style closet. It's going to be below the chair rail in a horizontal fashion. I think it would be cool if we framed a piece of glass inside the picture frame moulding below chair rail. I'm assuming the glass won't affect acoustics that much?
> 
> -Jared


I am not positive, but I believe it does. I seem to recall Bryan saying that glass does present acoustical anomalies. I had forgotten you were doing a below the chair rail cabinet - mine is in the back of the room and does not face any speakers.

What is the size of the cabinet and where is it located? I cannot remember if there is a pic of it.


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## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> I am not positive, but I believe it does. I seem to recall Bryan saying that glass does present acoustical anomalies. I had forgotten you were doing a below the chair rail cabinet - mine is in the back of the room and does not face any speakers.
> 
> What is the size of the cabinet and where is it located? I cannot remember if there is a pic of it.


I haven't added all the mouldings below the chair rail yet in the model but here's a pic of what it should look like in the corner where the AV rack is going. It's highlighted in blue. It's 45.75"x23.25". Probably too small, eh? I can go a little bigger but not much 'cause that corner is small. I may have to put everything in the front stage cabinet which may turn out to be quite a pain. I guess we'll need to figure this out before we start next weekend :sweat:


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## ALMFamily

What equipment are you planning to locate in there beyond your AVR and BR player - any amps, etc?


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## NBPk402

I would think the glass would rattle... I know that home entertainment racks I have had in the past have rattled when glass doors were use. Now these had metal hinges and magnetic latches. If the glass were encased in wood with maybe a rope seal it might not be a problem. I def like the idea of a glass door though. In to see what your experience is.


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> What equipment are you planning to locate in there beyond your AVR and BR player - any amps, etc?


We have the EP2000, Denon AVR, PS3, cable box, modem, MIC2200. So quite a bit. I think it will all fit but there will not be any room for reaching around and getting in there without moving everything.


----------



## HTB2015

ellisr63 said:


> I would think the glass would rattle... I know that home entertainment racks I have had in the past have rattled when glass doors were use. Now these had metal hinges and magnetic latches. If the glass were encased in wood with maybe a rope seal it might not be a problem. I def like the idea of a glass door though. In to see what your experience is.


I agree, a glass door would definitely look nice. I would probably encase the glass inside of a custom frame so it doesn't rattle. Unfortunately, since the rack will be in the main room it's going to be a challenge with room acoustics.


----------



## HTB2015

Ok so this was quickly done but what about something like this?


----------



## ALMFamily

My first concern would be bass trapping - if you are planning to do it, corner super chunks are the best way to go IMO and you will have removed one of the front corners from use. Is that the front corner?

Also, you will want to try to stay as L/R symmetrical as you can or risk introducing odd modes - I have a feeling doing a door like that would do this.

I think I may have missed it, but are both your potential locations for locating gear up front? If so, you may want to consider just hiding it altogether. I would be concerned about any twinkling lights being a distraction when watching movies, etc.


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> My first concern would be bass trapping - if you are planning to do it, corner super chunks are the best way to go IMO and you will have removed one of the front corners from use. Is that the front corner?
> 
> Also, you will want to try to stay as L/R symmetrical as you can or risk introducing odd modes - I have a feeling doing a door like that would do this.
> 
> I think I may have missed it, but are both your potential locations for locating gear up front? If so, you may want to consider just hiding it altogether. I would be concerned about any twinkling lights being a distraction when watching movies, etc.


I agree, glass cabinet would be cool but there are too many variables associated with it. We'll have to conceal AV equipment in front cabinet if not enough room in the back. I'm planning on super chunk bass traps in front corners only. I wouldn't be able to conceal them in the rear corners. There are no major issues not having them in the back right?


----------



## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> I agree, glass cabinet would be cool but there are too many variables associated with it. We'll have to conceal AV equipment in front cabinet if not enough room in the back. I'm planning on super chunk bass traps in front corners only. I wouldn't be able to conceal them in the rear corners. *There are no major issues not having them in the back right?*


No. I would just do them in front and then take some measurements to see where you are at. You can add more as needed after the corners are done.

Were you planning to take REW measurements?


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> No. I would just do them in front and then take some measurements to see where you are at. You can add more as needed after the corners are done.
> 
> Were you planning to take REW measurements?


Yes, at some point we will definitely take measurements. I've been following mcascio's REW posts and that should be enough info for us to get things started but we'll definitely need some help analyzing.


----------



## bamabum

i had not thought of the power consumption for receiver. Thx for heads up on my design.


----------



## HTB2015

bamabum said:


> i had not thought of the power consumption for receiver. Thx for heads up on my design.


bamabum, I really hadn't either till I did my research on this website. Looks like you have a fun project ahead of you too. I'm subscribed! 

-Jared


----------



## HTB2015

This may be a stupid question, but if you cut your speaker wire short, can you just splice with a wire nut to extend it further or is that frowned upon? We have pics for the progress we've made so far and I'll post within the week.


----------



## ALMFamily

You can just splice it together - it is low voltage so you could just get away with black electrical tape if you wanted. Just remember, the more connection points you have, the more chances for a connection to come loose. I also think there is a slight loss in a connection, but the loss is really minuscule.


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Here ya go.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ve-guide-splicing-speaker-wire.html#post45769

Regards,
Wayne


----------



## ALMFamily

And, this is why I love this hobby - you learn something new every day! Thanks Wayne for the link!


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Hee hee – I’m surprised that you’ve been here for over 3000 posts and haven’t seen that thing! 

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## ALMFamily

I have been so busy reading your house curve thread I must have totally missed that one in your signature!


----------



## HTB2015

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Here ya go.
> 
> http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ve-guide-splicing-speaker-wire.html#post45769
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


Thanks Wayne! I've read through some of your technical articles before but I too did not know you had one for splicing wires. I figured it wouldn't have effects to sound quality but coming from you guys it gives me peace of mind.


----------



## HTB2015

The fun has begun! The first weekend went great. We were fortunate enough to have some great help from Adam's Dad, brother, and father-in-law. 5 people was just enough. Any more and it would have probably been too crowded. Our plan was to complete all demo, wiring, and osb/drywall. While we did run into some issues(details shortly) we have completed everything but osb/drywall which should be pretty straightforward.

Demo was as expected; fun in the beginning with bouts of martial arts moves and He-man stunts and then ending with cutting out annoying little pieces that stuck on the drywall screws. The room is on the second floor and after the first trip down the stairs with bags of drywall we decided it would be easier to park my truck underneath the
attic opening and create an assembly line and drop it directly in the bed of the truck.





































Below is a picture of what the 3010 looks like on the painted wall the
night before demo 









Below is screen wall column we _thought_ was just for asthetics to create symmetry on the opposing wall. 









Below is Partial demo of the right wall.









And here is the excess of wiring and plumbing we'll have to enclose behind the screen.









Our first look at the rear wall guts.


















I was unhappy to see what lied behind the walls of this column. I knew that the A/C ducting would be there but didn't think it was tightly sealed from the lower floor. My plan was to move the ducts to either side to create room for the riser sub driver but I don't think that will work. My plan is to extend this column to the right(when looking at the picture) and fit the sub in the extension.









Here's the attic space right behind the old attic door. When you walk into the room this door is in the left rear corner. We have planned to put the A/V equipment in this general area but no firm location has been set. I thought that a corner hutch style cabinet/closet would not be possible due to size constraints but after looking at the area again I've reconsidered. I believe space is no longer a problem.


















This is the opening we through the drywall out into the truck.









After demo and cleanup we started furring strips for the staggered stud walls. We used QuietSeal acoustical sealant from Lowe's for a coupling medium between the strips and floor plates. Here's where one of our issues arose. Electrical wires running through the original studs did not have enough slack on them to allow the staggered studs to run parallel to original studs. After discussion, we decided to rotate the staggered studs 90degrees so that the 3.5" face is showing. I wondered if this would create more surface area for vibrations to enter the wall cavity however I didn't think this to be a serious problem since they will not be directly coupled with the opposing wall. Another thing I thought about was flexing of the studs but with the weight and thickness of the OSB and drywall I thought it was not a serious factor either. Thoughts? We also insulated before putting studs up.

Applying QuietSeal to furring strips









completed wall of furring strips









Here I'm nailing a furring strip in the wrong direction and later had to fix it :doh:









Insulation went up fairly quickly.


















Here's a good look at the Staggered studs. It looks like they are close to the original framing but I promise we made sure they were not touching. 









Finally, the wiring. Since there was no crawl space or attic space above the room we decided that the canned lighting would be too difficult to run wire to without taking down the ceiling drywall. The alternative we chose was to run can lights shining upward out of the columns. This should illuminate the ceiling enough to create decent lighting when needed. After all, how much light do you need in a theater? We added two 20amp circuits to the electrical panel and wired the dedicated lines to the room. Adam's dad seemed to be the only nervous one(picture below):sweat:

This is Adam's dad. Needless to say, all of us looked like this at one point or another.










The top two 20amp breakers.









We had to pull this cardboard backing that covered walls on the attic side in order to run wires to the theater.









The dot with a square around it represents where the center of the speaker will be. I'm still comtemplating whether or not it's necessary to fish the speaker cable to the exact spot or not since the columns will hide the wires.









After everything, I believe the most important things we need to figure out are how we are going to fit the sub into the rear column wall, how we are going to frame the column on the screen wall, and what the exact location of the A/V rack will be(portruding into the attic or closet/cabinet in corner of room. 

We are hoping to get all sheathing up in the next week or so in preparation for the next phase which will be the risers and columns.

We do not pretend to know how to do any of this professionally...so if you are looking at some of this and thinking "that doesn't look right", then let us know. I promise we won't be offended :bigsmile:

-Jared


----------



## ALMFamily

Nice progress Jared! :T

You should be fine IMO turning the studs 90 degrees for the staggered studs - I do not think the extra inch or so will make that big of a difference.

You guys are doing good work - keep it up!


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

HTB2015 said:


> After all, how much light do you need in a theater?


Depends: Do you ever plan on doing any vacuuming or house cleaning in there? If so, you’ll appreciate some good lighting. Might want to install some “work lights” that you can turn on as needed



> The top two 20amp breakers.


 Can’t tell from the picture, but are both those breakers on the same phase? Basically you want all circuits for the electronics to be on the same phase, and lights and other power outlets on the opposite phase. For the electronics circuit, if you can run a separate ground wire to the ground stake for them, that would give you nearly the equivalent of isolated ground circuits.

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## BD55

Some good progress going on here!


----------



## jgourlie

I am liking the progress going on here....keep up the good work


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Nice progress Jared! :T
> 
> You should be fine IMO turning the studs 90 degrees for the staggered studs - I do not think the extra inch or so will make that big of a difference.
> 
> You guys are doing good work - keep it up!





BD55 said:


> Some good progress going on here!





jgourlie said:


> I am liking the progress going on here....keep up the good work


Thanks guys! We're hoping to do short periods of intense work every 3 weeks or so. We would love to get done by the week of the Super Bowl but we all know how deadlines work.


----------



## HTB2015

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Depends: Do you ever plan on doing any vacuuming or house cleaning in there? If so, you’ll appreciate some good lighting. Might want to install some “work lights” that you can turn on as needed


That's a good point. Cleaning will be a must with 2 young kids!



Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Can’t tell from the picture, but are both those breakers on the same phase? Basically you want all circuits for the electronics to be on the same phase, and lights and other power outlets on the opposite phase. For the electronics circuit, if you can run a separate ground wire to the ground stake for them, that would give you nearly the equivalent of isolated ground circuits.
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


Could you explain this a little more. Specifically, how to tell if the phases are correct or not? Thanks.


----------



## ALMFamily

Please correct me if I am wrong Wayne, but as I understand it, you have two phases on a breaker panel - one is all the breakers on the left side and the other is all the breakers on the right side. 

In order to ensure proper grounding for your equipment (and reduce the chances of a ground loop) you want to try to have all your equipment plugged into outlets that go back to breakers on the same leg of the panel.

I am not quite sure why lighting should be on the other leg - hopefully someone else can shed some light there.


----------



## bpape

Not 2 phases but 2 110v legs. Also, Many boxes alternate what is on what leg. So maybe all the odd ones on the left side and even ones on the right side on one leg, then the opposite on the other leg. 

Bryan


----------



## ALMFamily

bpape said:


> Not 2 phases but 2 110v legs. Also, Many boxes alternate what is on what leg. So maybe all the odd ones on the left side and even ones on the right side on one leg, then the opposite on the other leg.
> 
> Bryan


Interesting - thanks Bryan. How does one determine which breakers are on which leg without consulting an electrician?


----------



## bpape

You may be able to find a picture of the box brand/model that you have online without the breakers installed. If it's a good picture that you can zoom in on, you can look and see how the breaker sockets are connected.

Bryan


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## HTB2015

I'll see if I can find the brand and just call the company who makes it. I would hope they could answer the question. I did a google image hunt for breaker box phases and one person says the phases are by rows. 
So how important is this. What are the possible ramifications?
-Jared


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## bpape

All you're trying to do is to get any motors, fans, flourescent lights, mechancal dimmers, etc. on one leg that's NOT where your AV equipment is. The other thing is that you are trying to keep the AV equipment together to avoid any noise issues. It's not a huge issue unless you're OCD like a lot of us are..... :dumbcrazy:

Bryan


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

To clarify my poor use of terminology a bit, there are two legs that are on opposite phases. Meaning, one leg is swinging (+) while the other is swinging (-). You can look up the fundamentals of alternating current for more clarification, but basically ALM and Brian are right, that you’d want all the HT gear circuits on one leg, and everything else on the other leg.

As Brian noted, it can be tricky to figure out which breakers are on which legs. You’d logically think that everything on the right side would be on one leg, and everything on the left on the other, but usually this is not the case. Usually the legs “crisscross” between the right and left side.

If you can’t find a picture of your panel to figure it all out, a volt meter can help. Set the meter for AC voltage and touch the meter leads to the screw terminals for the black wire of two of the breakers. If you get a reading in the order of 220-240 volts, that means those two breakers are on opposite legs. If you get no reading between a pair of breakers, this means they are on the same leg. 

Doing this for different breakers you should be able to get an idea of the breaker’s “pattern” for distributing the two legs – e.g., the top left and right breakers on one leg, the second right and left on the other leg, etc.

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## HTB2015

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> To clarify my poor use of terminology a bit, there are two legs that are on opposite phases. Meaning, one leg is swinging (+) while the other is swinging (-). You can look up the fundamentals of alternating current for more clarification, but basically ALM and Brian are right, that you’d want all the HT gear circuits on one leg, and everything else on the other leg.
> 
> As Brian noted, it can be tricky to figure out which breakers are on which legs. You’d logically think that everything on the right side would be on one leg, and everything on the left on the other, but usually this is not the case. Usually the legs “crisscross” between the right and left side.
> 
> If you can’t find a picture of your panel to figure it all out, a volt meter can help. Set the meter for AC voltage and touch the meter leads to the screw terminals for the black wire of two of the breakers. If you get a reading in the order of 220-240 volts, that means those two breakers are on opposite legs. If you get no reading between a pair of breakers, this means they are on the same leg.
> 
> Doing this for different breakers you should be able to get an idea of the breaker’s “pattern” for distributing the two legs – e.g., the top left and right breakers on one leg, the second right and left on the other leg, etc.
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


I looked around on the breaker panel yesterday and couldn't find a diagram. Seems like it will be pretty simple with my volt meter though so that's what we'll do. I'll take better pictures and post our findings. Thanks Wayne!

-Jared


----------



## HTB2015

Limited progress this weekend, we didn't have a lot of time to spare. We did manage to get the right wall wiring finalized and OSB hung. 

We ran a bead of acoustical sealant along the 1x2 strips before hanging the OSB. 



























These 12/2 wires are for the can lights in the columns. We put wire protection plates on the wires themselves to not only keep them in place but to protect them from an errant screw. However, later we decided to take them off due to the fact we'd never need to use a screw longer than 1 1/4"....




































This is the string of wires on the attic.










We spread out all of our A/V equipment and measured it all. We took into account the spacing between equipment and decided there should be plenty of room to build a little rack into the attic space. We'll just enclose it and create a temperature control system. 
One other thing we need to find out is the diameter of our SI 18. Specifically the diameter of the frame so that we'll know how much to extend the rear column to fit it. 

-Jared


----------



## HTB2015

Adam got some OSB up today around the entry door. He also started to fish the electricity for the PJ outlet. The joists run perpendicular to the direction we are running the wire and there is not enough room in the attic to crawl around and fish it through.


----------



## HTB2015

We picked up the MDF for the columns yesterday. There are 4 columns on the lower level, not including the corner units. We will start by assembling these and after the riser is built we will build the other 4.


----------



## cavediver

Are you really going to build your riser with a convex curve instead of a concave curve?


----------



## HTB2015

cavediver said:


> Are you really going to build your riser with a convex curve instead of a concave curve?


I'll have a look again at the sketchup but I think I did this to fit the center columns in on the lower level. Is this a big no no to build a convex curve? I can see how it may add a little room.


----------



## cavediver

HTB2015 said:


> I'll have a look again at the sketchup but I think I did this to fit the center columns in on the lower level. Is this a big no no to build a convex curve? I can see how it may add a little room.


Theater seats come either straight or curved on a concave curve. They do not come with a convex curve. If they did, then the viewers on the ends would be facing the side walls rather than the screen. If you're planning on using a straight set of seats then the only problem using a convex curved riser will be a trip hazard due to the gap between the back of the seats on the ends and the front of the riser where someone could step into the gap in the dark and break an ankle or leg. The riser should either be straight if you're using a straight set of seats or curved with a concave curve to match the curve of the seats you're planning on using.


----------



## HTB2015

cavediver said:


> Theater seats come either straight or curved on a concave curve. They do not come with a convex curve. If they did, then the viewers on the ends would be facing the side walls rather than the screen. If you're planning on using a straight set of seats then the only problem using a convex curved riser will be a trip hazard due to the gap between the back of the seats on the ends and the front of the riser where someone could step into the gap in the dark and break an ankle or leg. The riser should either be straight if you're using a straight set of seats or curved with a concave curve to match the curve of the seats you're planning on using.


I think you've convinced us cavediver. I'm going to sketchup a new model. What is the normal depth of curve? I used a 1' curve for the convex. In other words, the middle of the curve is 1' from the middle of a straight line that starts and ends at the same point the convex curve does.


----------



## cavediver

You should match the curve of the seats you're going to purchase. The seat manufacturer should have detailed spec sheets for each seat configuration which should show the curve radius.


----------



## HTB2015

Ok here's an unfinished photo just showing the concave look. Also a picture of the bracing and porting of the 18cu.ft. riser enclosure. Suggestions?


----------



## BD55

Will that small neck with the window bracing going to the port on the left act like a port? What are the rules for how an enclosure is shaped? Would it maybe be better to have the enclosure sectioned off more to the right where you can keep the volume more in one place? I know the porting wouldn't be symmetrical anymore, and I'll let the experts disprove my ignorance, but it seems that neck would have some type of effect.


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Will that small neck with the window bracing going to the port on the left act like a port? What are the rules for how an enclosure is shaped? Would it maybe be better to have the enclosure sectioned off more to the right where you can keep the volume more in one place? I know the porting wouldn't be symmetrical anymore, and I'll let the experts disprove my ignorance, but it seems that neck would have some type of effect.


I posted your questions to the riser sub thread I've made. It's a good question. The only reason I have one port way off to the left is for symmetry.


----------



## bpape

Or cut holes in all of the braces and make the entire thing into an IB sub cabinet instead of a ported one?

Bryan


----------



## HTB2015

bpape said:


> Or cut holes in all of the braces and make the entire thing into an IB sub cabinet instead of a ported one?
> 
> Bryan


Won't I need a lot more displacement and power? It would probably be something like 70 or 80 cu.ft.


----------



## HTB2015

bpape said:


> Or cut holes in all of the braces and make the entire thing into an IB sub cabinet instead of a ported one?
> 
> Bryan





HTB2015 said:


> Won't I need a lot more displacement and power? It would probably be something like 70 or 80 cu.ft.


Oh you mean no ports at all....What is the difference between 14cu.ft. ported and IB like you're talking about?


----------



## bpape

IB's tend to be very very fast. You'd need to select a driver suited for that type of situation though. It was just a thought. The ported design can work very well too.

Bryan


----------



## gorb

Nice progress. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed build


----------



## HTB2015

gorb said:


> Nice progress. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed build


Thanks gorb. So are we :bigsmile:


----------



## shananigans

HTB2015 said:


> Ok here's an unfinished photo just showing the concave look. Also a picture of the bracing and porting of the 18cu.ft. riser enclosure. Suggestions?


What software u use to do visuals?


----------



## HTB2015

shananigans said:


> What software u use to do visuals?


Just Google Sketchup. It's easy to use and it's free. I haven't really done too much searching for other programs though so I can't tell you how it compares. I tried using Blender which is another free software that can render your models to look like real life photos but it is not intuitive like sketchup. mcascio's Cinemar thread is quite easily the best rendering and completion of a project I have ever seen. His theater inspired many of the characteristics of our build.

One thing about sketchup is that there is no rendering engine that comes with it. Luckily there are many purchasable ones that are compatible with it. I used a free trial from IDX Renditioner to get one of the "Final Draft Pics" on the first page of this thread. 

-Jared


----------



## HTB2015

Nice Progress this past weekend by Adam, his dad, an father in law! They hung all of the sheet rock with Green Glue with the exception of the Sub enclosure area on the back wall. They enclosed the screen wall column and framed part of the cabinets under where the screen will go. Adam ran 14AWG speaker wire for the SI18 which will hopefully be coming in soon. I stopped by Sunday afternoon to help start the riser platform. I entered a lot of information into a home theater calculator that Carlton Bale designed. It says that the platform really only needs to be 4.6". I see how he calculated it but I tend to think it does not take into account for if someone tall is sitting in the seat in front of you. With that said we are lowering the height of the stage from 12" to 10". 

Shelf made for center channel speaker.









We tried to center is as much as possible but there were obstacles that could not be moved easily so we settled for a little off center. You can barely make out a small black dot on the subfloor in this picture, that dot is the horizontal center of the screen. We're about 3" off I think. Is this horrible? I tend to think it will be ok.









Installed sheet rock on the back side of the 2x4s to accommodate recycled denim between sheet rock and back of screen. 









OSB continued on back wall. 









Adam's father in law putting the finishing touches on the OSB


















Time for sheet rock and green glue



























Here's Adam taking the first up into the gun.









Application of 1st tube.









With 2 Full tubes of GG.









Adam's dad had a more calculated approach.









Completed right wall


















Also got a start on the "mini" A/V rack enclosure


















We are yet to figure out the most economically efficient way to ventilation in the A/V rack cabinet. I'm wondering if we can just run some ducting from the cabinet to the another location in the room. Seems like that would be a good idea for the winter time because it will add heat to the room but may be uncomfortable in the hot Texas summers.

Sheet rock on the sides of the screen wall column and also installed a PVC pipe to run cables through. 









The cabinet framework on either side of the screen wall column.



























Sheet rock w/ GG going up on rear wall.









Completed sheetrock. And a little preview of the riser platform.









This is me in a slight panic due to miscalculation of the rear wall column position. The column that is housing the A/C ductwork and extension to fit the subwoofer is exactly 1 foot further to the right than previously thought. I simply miscalculated somehow. 









Knowing that it would take a while to get the exact measurements we decided to do some rough cutting and try to layout as much as we could. We cut just about everything that was not needed in the sub enclosure portion of the riser. Tar paper went down before all of this.





























I finished to final riser layout last night. 


















Adam's FIL also did the majority of the tape and bedding first coat. We aren't too worried about having the floating perfect except for above the crown moulding. 

-Jared


----------



## ALMFamily

All I can say is :yikes: - that is simply amazing progress! Nice job to all of you!

I bet Adam was extremely happy when the sheet rock was up - it was at that point in my build that I could truly "see" how the room would end up.

Edit - sorry, forgot to respond to your question. 3" off center for the CC should not be an issue IMO.


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> All I can say is :yikes: - that is simply amazing progress! Nice job to all of you!
> 
> I bet Adam was extremely happy when the sheet rock was up - it was at that point in my build that I could truly "see" how the room would end up.
> 
> Edit - sorry, forgot to respond to your question. 3" off center for the CC should not be an issue IMO.


Thanks Joe! Sheet rock is a definite motivation for us. We are under a delusion to get this done by the SuperBowl....:rofl:


----------



## Owen Bartley

Great progress report. Things are looking really good so far. How's the room sound with the drywall and GG up? Any noticeable difference? Was the bucket/dispenser easy to use? Don't sweat the little mistakes, there are bound to be a few along the way, you just do what you have to to fix them and keep moving forward!


----------



## HTB2015

Owen Bartley said:


> Great progress report. Things are looking really good so far. How's the room sound with the drywall and GG up? Any noticeable difference? Was the bucket/dispenser easy to use? Don't sweat the little mistakes, there are bound to be a few along the way, you just do what you have to to fix them and keep moving forward!


Thanks! It's kind of hard to tell with in-room acoutsics but we can definitely here a difference with sounds coming from next room. Adam's son has a drum set that we pounded on after the sheet rock went up and there was a noticeable difference. Most of the sound we could here was actually coming from the door into the theater. Anyone know of a way to seal double doors? 
I was not there but Adam told me it was very easy to use after initial troubleshooting. The nut that fastens the suction mechanism was loose and made it impossible to suck up the GG. After fastening it everything worked flawlessly.


----------



## HTB2015

Adam got to town yesterday on the framework of the riser (nothing nailed yet, just dry fit). Also finished up some mud work.



















He's going to tackle the angled cuts for the front face piece today. Any suggestions for angle cuts on 2x10s? I think he plans to use a speed square edge and circular saw's bevel adjuster. I made some protractor measurements in Sketchup to get exact angles for the curve.


----------



## BD55

Wow, the build is really coming along! :T I think you may be going for a bit too much perfection trying to get those angles for the 2x10s to a tenth of a degree. What is the facing? You should be able to get the curvature without worrying about angling the ends of the boards and save yourself some time and potential headaches. Just my 2c


----------



## NBPk402

Your progress is amazing, and it looks great. You might just make it for Superbowl! How did you determine your arc for the stage... Did you use bender board?


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Wow, the build is really coming along! :T I think you may be going for a bit too much perfection trying to get those angles for the 2x10s to a tenth of a degree. What is the facing? You should be able to get the curvature without worrying about angling the ends of the boards and save yourself some time and potential headaches. Just my 2c


Thanks! The facing on the front of the riser is going to be two layers of 1/2" MDF this will give me enough material for a 1" roundover for the port flares. That's a good point. We were actually stressing a little bit over the angled cuts. Just spoke with Adam and we are going to countersink some screws at an angle into 1/2" MDF which will allow us to screw into joists head-on.


----------



## BD55

Cool; I was thinking to myself, 'there's no way they're going to want to cut all those annoying angles...' That will be a good solution, and I really doubt you will have a problem with the curvature unless someone goes a little crazy with tightening screws off-kilter enough to warp the boards. Plus 1/2" mdf should have enough integrity to want to keep a gentle curve. I was worried you were using that .25" or .125" stuff layered or something. Add the other 1/2" on that and it'll look great! 

1" roundover...sweeeet!!! That's a big bit!


----------



## HTB2015

ellisr63 said:


> Your progress is amazing, and it looks great. You might just make it for Superbowl! How did you determine your arc for the stage... Did you use bender board?


Thanks! I used the arc tool in Google Sketchup. An arc line in this program is not a continuos curve, instead it is made up of numerous straight line segments. You can choose how many segments you want the and in this case i chose 24 segments. The center of the curve is 8" from the center of a straight line that connects the ends of the arc. Not sure if I explained that very well...


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Cool; I was thinking to myself, 'there's no way they're going to want to cut all those annoying angles...' That will be a good solution, and I really doubt you will have a problem with the curvature unless someone goes a little crazy with tightening screws off-kilter enough to warp the boards. Plus 1/2" mdf should have enough integrity to want to keep a gentle curve. I was worried you were using that .25" or .125" stuff layered or something. Add the other 1/2" on that and it'll look great!
> 
> 1" roundover...sweeeet!!! That's a big bit!


It is big, and most are expensive but I found a Grizzly 1" roundover for $32 on amazon. Probably not Freud quality but should be fine for the minimal use it will get on these port flares.


----------



## HTB2015

First part of the curve went up today. Left out the center because I'll have to rout out the 2 port flares before installing it. Bought the 6" PVC, ordered GreenGlue's Joist tape, more mud work done, looking at where to buy the eggrate insulation. Anyone know if you can just use the stuff they use for mattresses? Is it this same? 





































Decided against cutting exact angles and just screwed into ends of joists.


----------



## HTB2015

The sub has arrived!! It is BIG!!


----------



## bamabum

Very nice. One thing I noticed on my stage was adding cross block bracing up front near your mdf will really help stability. It will also take pressure of the mdf for support.


----------



## HTB2015

bamabum said:


> Very nice. One thing I noticed on my stage was adding cross block bracing up front near your mdf will really help stability. It will also take pressure of the mdf for support.


Thanks, I agree, adding 2x4 blocking really solidified the gaps between the 2x10s. Looking forward to seeing you start the riser in your HT.


----------



## bamabum

I doubt I will have anything as nice as yours. I started down a curved stage and riser path but my house has strait lines every where so I decided to keep it simple. 

Your sub build is pretty awesome.


----------



## HTB2015

Not much to this post but thought I'd show today's progress. My wife took some pictures of Adam and I this morning while cutting large sheets of MDF into the column dimensions. It's days like this I realize why I bought this tablesaw!

The column design comes straight from mcascio's cinemar theater design. I really liked how his turned out. I adjusted some of the measurements to fit this particular build but overall they are about the same. 





Cutting the height before ripping them. Us Texans don't spend a lot of time in the cold (42 degrees) weather so there's not much point in keeping with current toboggan fashion. 




































First cut didn't go so well with the jigsaw.









Decided to make a small butt jig and use the circle saw.


















Hoping to have all them cut and assembled within a week or so!


----------



## NBPk402

Love the progress. You are using 6" PVC... I had some on my pond and that stuff is expensive! Is that for your ports? If so why wouldn't you use a Sonotube?


----------



## HTB2015

ellisr63 said:


> Love the progress. You are using 6" PVC... I had some on my pond and that stuff is expensive! Is that for your ports? If so why wouldn't you use a Sonotube?


You're right, I think it was $4 or $5 a foot. Ace Hardware was the only place that had a piece close by and they would only sell us a 10' piece so half will not be used. I think I will take the rest though for my future HT build in the future . I thought about concrete forms but our local home improvement stores didn't have any below 8" and to tell you the truth the size was not that accurate in either of the stores. One store had a tube inside of another tube inside of another tube and they were ALL marked 8".....weird.


----------



## HTB2015

Proud to say we made some great progress this weekend. We insulated the stage between the risers and put 2.5"foam in sub enclosure, constructed the in-wall sub cabinet and installed it and lined the entire enclosure with Acoustical Sealant, applied GG tape across top of joists and also applied acoustical sealant on top of that for good measure. Cut the 6" PVC into two 21.63" pieces, routed out the 1" flares, painted and constructed four columns, routed the riser subfloor to match the curve, and made front baffle for the SI18.













































































































Kreg Jig came in handy.



























So easy a child can do it :T









Cutting holes for the port flares.









Nice fit.














































We used 1/2" MDF doubled up to create the 1" front plate for the stage. I used a flush-cutting bit to create a perfect match. 




















Dressed for cold weather and masked for the dust storm.



























Unfortunately, the collar of the 1" roundover bit fell into the small gap between boards and caused this error. We are going to spackle and sand since it's so small. 









Sub front baffle. 









T-nuts









Dan flush cutting the edges of the columns.











Adam sealed the sub cabinet with AS.





























Flooring almost completed


















Probably the most fun part this weekend for all of us was flush cutting the stage subfloor to the face curve.



























After cutting the curve we pulled off a piece of the flooring to install the 6" PVC ports.









We made a temporary face plate for the port area while flush cutting the subfloor just in case of any mishaps! After removing the temporary piece we installed the final piece with the port flares. This is the only piece that is doubled up right now. As you can see the outside piece is taller that the inside piece because we wanted the MDF to cover the edge of the subfloor. 











We used liquid nails to fasten the PVC to the MDF. Hoping this will stick!









On the enclosure side we used acoustical sealant. On the opposite side if the 2x10 there is another layer of liquid nails. 














































We really wanted to get the sub hooked up but just didn't have time in the end. We will get it hooked up soon though. I know it's just a sheetrock filled room ad we don't have a mic but what is the best way to test out the sub? Is there anything I can download to my phone and play through the receiver that will show some of it's power and capabilities. I have a dB meter...


----------



## BD55

Wow, awesome progress! Those are some serious ports! :T I'm looking forward to first listening results.

On a side note; you lucky guys and your 40 degree weather... sheesh. I can hardly go into my insulated garage to do anything because it's 2 degrees in there.


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Wow, awesome progress! Those are some serious ports! :T I'm looking forward to first listening results.
> 
> On a side note; you lucky guys and your 40 degree weather... sheesh. I can hardly go into my insulated garage to do anything because it's 2 degrees in there.


Thanks! Not to salt the wound but it was in the 50's Saturday :neener: On the other hand, there's no snowboarding in Texas :sad:


----------



## Owen Bartley

This is a very cool, original project. I like the ingenuity it has taken to pull off, and I especially like the liberal use of pocket holes! (my wife got me the jig for Christmas, but I haven't had anything to use it on yet)

I can only speculate, but it seems to me that this will be a very immersive sub when its all set up. It seems like it should be harder to localize, with the woofer behind you, the enclosure below you, and the ports pointing out in front.

Oh, and for some reason it was +13°c in Toronto this weekend, what's that about 50°F? It was weird.


----------



## HTB2015

Owen Bartley said:


> This is a very cool, original project. I like the ingenuity it has taken to pull off, and I especially like the liberal use of pocket holes! (my wife got me the jig for Christmas, but I haven't had anything to use it on yet)
> 
> I can only speculate, but it seems to me that this will be a very immersive sub when its all set up. It seems like it should be harder to localize, with the woofer behind you, the enclosure below you, and the ports pointing out in front.
> 
> Oh, and for some reason it was +13°c in Toronto this weekend, what's that about 50°F? It was weird.


Thanks! I also received the Kreg jig for Christmas! And you're right....there was liberal use in the sub box just to make sure! We haven't yet perfected how to get a very flush right angle joint and this is why we had to flush cut the corners with the router. It is very quick though!

We are more than excited to see how everything turns out. I'll go ahead and say it again that I can't take credit for everything...a lot of this design is inspired by the Cinemar Home Theater Build by Mario. It's hard to see now but with luck it will start to look similar to his styled design. 

I will say we've worked hard to make many other things original. This whole process is entirely too fun, and entirely too frustrating!! And....without HTS we wouldn't have been able to pull it off.



-Jared


----------



## HTB2015

Any reason u couldn't use some 3/4" open cell foam for an acoustical dampener? We are going to be putting in fabric panels between the columns. The fabric will be hiding the acoustical foam. Is this foam sufficient. I know some used recycled denim, is this better?


----------



## ALMFamily

Hey, you guys know that building a HT is supposed to take at least 1.5 years right?! You guys are really moving along and it looks fabulous!

And, it ain't cold outside unless you can see your breath and there is at least 12" of snow on the ground! :heehee:


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Hey, you guys know that building a HT is supposed to take at least 1.5 years right?! You guys are really moving along and it looks fabulous!
> 
> And, it ain't cold outside unless you can see your breath and there is at least 12" of snow on the ground! :heehee:


Thanks! You know, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut about the warm weather on Saturday....:crying:


----------



## ALMFamily

Funny story - years ago I took a trip to Texas in the winter. When I got there, they had closed the highways because there was 2" of snow. When I got to the front and the officer told me that the highways were closed due to the snow, I told him I am from Wisconsin. He waved me right on through.... :rofl2:

Next picture needs to be of the snowman you built!


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Funny story - years ago I took a trip to Texas in the winter. When I got there, they had closed the highways because there was 2" of snow. When I got to the front and the officer told me that the highways were closed due to the snow, I told him I am from Wisconsin. He waved me right on through.... :rofl2:
> 
> Next picture needs to be of the snowman you built!


Good story! I know what you mean, I lived in Massachusetts for 8 years. A dusting of snow is just paralyzing here. My 8 year old may go out there in a little bit to build a snowman but Frosty never lives long in Dallas...


----------



## HTB2015

Adam and his brother worked hard to get 8 columns finished and 6 of them installed. They also finished necessary taping and mudding along with texturing the walls above where crown moulding will be. Also, the sub has been hooked up and despite some initial issues it's pumping some serious bass!

Can anyone pick-out the problem with this photo??
































































Here's the hopper Adam bought to texture the walls with.


















Before









After



























Securing the columns to the wall. 













































They also bought the 3/4 MDF for below the chair rail. Once this is installed we'll start working on the corner columns on the screen wall.


----------



## phillihp23

Some great work you guys have been doing. Its really pulling together. Those colors are going to look sharp together. Before you know it you will be able to sit back and take it all in. :T


----------



## mcascio

Nice progress in a short time! Keep it going. It's turning out fantastic.


----------



## ALMFamily

Again, WOW! You guys are really scooting right along - looking great!

And, the problem in that photo would have to be the inability to get the car out of park......


----------



## HTB2015

phillihp23 said:


> Some great work you guys have been doing. Its really pulling together. Those colors are going to look sharp together. Before you know it you will be able to sit back and take it all in. :T


Thanks! We were just talking about it today how we can't wait to sit back and admire the work.


----------



## HTB2015

mcascio said:


> Nice progress in a short time! Keep it going. It's turning out fantastic.


Thanks Mario!


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Again, WOW! You guys are really scooting right along - looking great!
> 
> And, the problem in that photo would have to be the inability to get the car out of park......


Thank you, and yes he had to pull out all of the pieces and rearrange!


----------



## HTB2015

We've been pondering this A/V rack a bit. Looking into pushing the hot air through duct work back into the room at a different location. The room, however seems to always be warm. Even in the winter time. We thought of having some sort of in line cooling system that could cool the hot air but the only thing we could find like this at a reasonable price is an air-conditioner. So what about constructing a door for the cabinet that is sealed off from the room? Then just ventilate the cabinet so that the heat from equipment is dispersed throughout attic. How hot is too hot for the equipment? Not sure how hot the attic will get in summer time.


----------



## bamabum

Looking great!

How do you think you will wrap/hide the fabric on the columns?

Do you find the MDF stable and strong? Im having issues with weakness in the kregg joints.


----------



## HTB2015

bamabum said:


> Looking great!
> 
> How do you think you will wrap/hide the fabric on the columns?
> 
> Do you find the MDF stable and strong? Im having issues with weakness in the kregg joints.


Hi Bamabum,

Thanks! We would have liked to use the speaker grill kits like Mario did but we'd like to save a little dough and do them ourselves. I think we are planning on attaching the grill fabric onto the frame moulding itself. Then, like Mario, we are planning to use magnets. However, I've pondered other attachment ideas like clips. The only one we want to be removable is the main large window in each column. We have a select few columns that we want the bottom windows to be removable as well. 

My experience with the Kreg Jig has been good. I just got it for my birthday and haven't been able to use it a lot in my workshop. I'd say my joints are good and strong. We used wood glue and screws. The instruction video said to use them every 6-8 inches I believe. The one thing I didn't like was that the 90 degree joints weren't perfectly flush. We had to use a straight edge bit and rout them perfectly flush. How far are you spacing them apart? Are you using glue as well? I'm assuming you're using 3/4" MDF. They say you're supposed to use 1 1/4" screws for that size. We used the Kreg self tapping screws as well. Hope that helps!

Jared


----------



## bamabum

i wasn't aware there was a video. I definitely was not using glue in the screw holes. Did you use the 90 right angle clamp?

So did you leave a 1/16 edge and just flush route them? I'm thinking this is what I might do. 

Also I noticed a connection from the side of the MDF was much stornger so I might use bracing on the next try.


----------



## HTB2015

bamabum said:


> i wasn't aware there was a video. I definitely was not using glue in the screw holes. Did you use the 90 right angle clamp?
> 
> So did you leave a 1/16 edge and just flush route them? I'm thinking this is what I might do.
> 
> Also I noticed a connection from the side of the MDF was much stornger so I might use bracing on the next try.


The video came with the master kreg jig set but if you didn't get it then you can find them on the website. We didn't use glue in the screw holes we used glue along the entire joint in between the screw holes. We didn't use a 90 degree clamp because our wall bracing was going to achieve that. 
Yeah 1/16 or so, we were very happy with those results. Also, don't forget to use some spackling on the edges of the MDF to get a smooth profile. We're going to post photos of this soon.


----------



## HTB2015

Here are more shots of the room with columns setup. Acoustical foam was also installed into the lower portion of the columns. We may buy more foam to line in the upper portion of the columns as well.


----------



## BD55

It's looking great in there! :T


----------



## ALMFamily

Where did you get the acoustical foam? That looks like a good solution for lining my middle columns.


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> It's looking great in there! :T


Thanks!


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Where did you get the acoustical foam? That looks like a good solution for lining my middle columns.


We got the 2.5" from The Foam Factory. I did a lot of price hunting and found that most places were about the same.


----------



## ALMFamily

HTB2015 said:


> We got the 2.5" from The Foam Factory. I did a lot of price hunting and found that most places were about the same.


Great - thanks!


----------



## HTB2015

Both of us were not able to work on the theater a couple weekends ago but this past weekend and some nights during the week a little progress was made. We've hit the point of meticulous work where things are starting to go from 'more or less' to 'right on'. Steps were installed, MDF below chair rail installed in most places, cabinet below screen wall has been turned into a fake cabinet, corner columns have been started, and other small things have been done. 

Side steps








































































As you can see here we tried to cut kerfs into the back of the 1/2" MDF to make a nice curve....



























MDF below chair rail.



























Adam picked out this moulding for the columns.
































































Painted ceiling




























Installed can lights




























Cut more moulding for columns





































We turned the double doors around so that they open outward.



















Painting the MDF tonight. With help from Adam's wife!










I think we have a decent plan for the AV Rack. We are going to seal the cabinet off from the room and install a cooling fan system from coolerguys.com. It has a relay that switches on the fan when the cabinet gets too hot and you can adjust what temperature activates the fan. Temperature is also displayed on an LED panel.


----------



## ALMFamily

Great progress mate! I wish I could have got my wife to do just a little painting! :scratchchin:


----------



## BD55

Looks like a lot's been done in a short while! :T Also looks like the kerfing didn't work too well on the curved step faces . Appears that you've finished up already, but for future reference there are plenty of kerfing demos.


----------



## bamabum

great progress. Are the bottom column openings decorative or functioning?


----------



## HTB2015

ALMFamily said:


> Great progress mate! I wish I could have got my wife to do just a little painting! :scratchchin:


Thanks!


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Looks like a lot's been done in a short while! :T Also looks like the kerfing didn't work too well on the curved step faces . Appears that you've finished up already, but for future reference there are plenty of kerfing demos.


Awe man! That would've been helpful to see beforehand. Oh well, I'll remember that for my build in the future. Thanks!


----------



## HTB2015

bamabum said:


> great progress. Are the bottom column openings decorative or functioning?


Thanks! What do you mean by functioning? Like, acoustically transparent? If so, then yes we'll be putting grill fabric on them. Or maybe you mean able to open and close freely....we are contemplating putting hinges on a select number of them because we plan on using some of the columns as storage.


----------



## HTB2015

Each little thing we do is starting to make things come to life in the theater. This weekend Adam and I put some small touches in some good areas. AV rack cabinet closed off, support shelves for the speakers, magnetic holders for the grill fabric panels on the columns, painted final coat of paint on them, and layed wood border on lower level. 















































Speaker stands



















Some trim on front cabinet.



















Floor border. The carpet is 13' 6" wide and the room is 13' 9". To keep the pattern of the carpet aligned how we wanted without buying a lot more carpet we needed to close the gap. This 3.5" border on either side will do that and also add some more character to the room. We haven't decided whether or not to paint the border the same color as the moulding or to paint it a darker black like the grill fabric. 










We used some scrap to make the magnet holders for the grills.














































SNAP!










You can see the metal corner "L" brackets on the back of the panels. These brackets are what snaps to the magnets. 



















Installed


----------



## mcascio

Looking great. Keep it up!!


----------



## HTB2015

mcascio said:


> Looking great. Keep it up!!


Thanks Mario, we're going to order some of that 3/4" denim soon. We're anxious to see the fabric panels go up!


----------



## Owen Bartley

You're right, it is really coming together with some of the last few details. The columns look great, and I like the system you're using for the magnets and corner brackets. How strong is the hold? Any danger of them popping loose when the subs get going?


----------



## HTB2015

Owen Bartley said:


> You're right, it is really coming together with some of the last few details. The columns look great, and I like the system you're using for the magnets and corner brackets. How strong is the hold? Any danger of them popping loose when the subs get going?


Thanks! Adam probably has a better idea as to the strength of all of them. As for the one I saw, it was OK before we added the grill fabric. After we added the fabric there was a little bit of a pinching from the overhang of the fabric which actually made the frame snug. I think the upper 4 column frames will have to be more snug than the others in the theater because the sub shakes the stadium seating area A LOT when volume is up.


----------



## ScAndal

Awesome build! What are the dimensions of your columns?


----------



## HTB2015

ScAndal said:


> Awesome build! What are the dimensions of your columns?


Thanks scandal! They are 17"W X 8 1/4"D X 7'10"H. The height is the only thing that we adjusted from the original design.


----------



## ScAndal

HTB2015 said:


> Thanks scandal! They are 17"W X 8 1/4"D X 7'10"H. The height is the only thing that we adjusted from the original design.


Awesome! Thx for the quick response.


----------



## HTB2015

Adam was on his own this weekend and he made some great progress. Chair rail went up around most of the room, bass traps have been installed, more painting, and fronts of the corner panels are in place. Our "To Do" list is dwindling fast!! 


This is not technically "chair rail". However, it was easy on the budget and we think it looks great! Looks like the wall space between the columns has turned into a message board/university logo/artwork/scratch paper. 




























OC703 for bass traps arrived.





































I knew I bought this tablesaw for something! Exactly 63 degrees. 










Ready for departure to Adam's house.










Cut the windows.










Installed w/ chair rail. We need to raise the two TLs so that the lower woofers are not being blocked. 










Paint!




















I am looking into a DIY projector mount. Anyone have comments about that. I'm a little curious if it will shake when the bass gets going.


----------



## BD55

Awesome progress :T This has been a really fun build to watch move along _very_ quickly! Nice work :T


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Awesome progress :T This has been a really fun build to watch move along _very_ quickly! Nice work :T


Thanks very much!


----------



## HTB2015

We could use some help with projector installation. I think it will be easy enough to center it left and right but I'm wondering if we have to be exact about the distance from the screen. I understand that the farther the PJ is from the screen, the larger the image and vice versa. If I'm off by a little is there an adjustment on the PJ itself for fine tuning?


----------



## NBPk402

I assume that your Epson has a zoom and focus just like my Epson 1080 does. You can zoom in or out to get it to where you need if you are off a bit. If you want to get a guestimate to where you want it you could put it on a table and see where you get the screen size you want and the brightness you want. Projector Central has the calibrations so you can see what your brightness will be for a set distance and screen size. I would do a mock up just to make sure you like it first.


----------



## bamabum

The Epson manual also has some good info in it about adjustment ability. If you haven't bought it yet the online manual are a good resource.

Which model do you have?


----------



## HTB2015

Thanks for the suggestions. We will for sure do a mock run before finalizing. It's the 3010. I just didn't know if zoom meant my picture quality would suffer like it does on other electronic devices.


----------



## bamabum

Yours is like mine. I looked at your manual online. You have plenty of adjustments. Make sure you get a good mount that can angle up and down slightly and align with the top of the screen. Then use the keystone keys to adjust for the angled screen. 

You can get a feel by setting up on a table or crate even with the bottom of the screen. The only difference will be when mounted on the ceiling you use the inverted picture settings. 

I run mine at the very rear of the room at almost the max distance. I wanted max silence and a cleaner look. I will probably relocate at some point above the second row in a hush box. 

The further back the less bright it will be and you will sacrifice some clarity. 

Use the online calculator others do for optimal results. The manual also has good distance suggestions.


----------



## BD55

It's been almost a month! What's the update on this awesome theater build??? :boxer:


----------



## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> It's been almost a month! What's the update on this awesome theater build??? :boxer:


SORRY!! It's 95% done! And IMO it looks awesome! I honestly fell so far behind with the updating that I got discouraged from how long it is going to take to catch everyone up :doh: I'll get some time soon and post the goods


----------



## HTB2015

Ok, Sorry for the delay. While we are just about done (95%) I can't seem to find a large enough amount of time with my 5 kids and job to sit down and load all the pics with all of the intricate details. We may have skimped on the pics towards the end but there should be enough to have a good idea of most things we did. Please ask questions if something doesn't look right or make sense.

We decided to go with the concave curve to match the main curve of the stadium platform.


















Adam made all of the frames for the fabric panels out of 1X knotty pine material. Mitering all the corners.










A little more support





































The concave threshold was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I believe we used 1X8 material. We staggered the middle board and then joined them. We then screwed that long piece to the riser subfloor and routed out the curve with a flush cutting router bit. After that we made a jig to create a 4 1/2" width threshold. We used the negative scrap cutout as a guide to route out the back side of the piece(hope that makes sense). Then applied liquid nails and finish nails.



























































































Adam attached fabric to frames. 





































We ordered the same 3/4" denim as mcascio did for the fabric panels. Adam cut to size and installed.























































Unfortunately, the thickness of the knotty pine and MDF were not exactly the same. We had left a little lip on the chair rail so that we could slide the fabric panels in for a snug fit. However, it turned out to be too thick with the pine boards plus fabric. We settled with resting the panels on top of the chair rail which really looks just as good. 

The rest of the denim was use to line the wall behind the screen. Even thought the pic doesn't show it we eventually covered the whole wall. We also had enough left over to put more denim in some of the columns that didn't have eggcrate foam.










OC703 arrived and Adam installed the bass traps.























































PAINT!!! Not too many pics but you get the idea.



















CARPET!!!!!!!!!!



























































































Very pleased with how the carpet turned out. The carpet to wood threshold turned out perfect!


Crown Moulding. Only a few pics here. 




















Screen. Pretty much followed this online tutorial to a "T". 128" DIY Spandex Screen














































Dry Fit



















Unfortunately, not many picks of us putting spandex on the screen. It took every bit of 2 people to make sure everything was tight. Only had pics of side black felt bars...we did put top and bottom felt bars on as well.






































We haven't finished the Sub grill nor the door for the A/V cabinet. 










Finished pics will come later next week when I actually get in there to watch a movie. Adam has been watching quite a bit though. We plan on getting a mic soon and doing some REWing.


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## NBPk402

Coming along very nicely!!


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## Greenster

Love it.


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## ALMFamily

Great work! Really looking forward to the final pics - kudos to you all on the work so far....


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## HTB2015

Thanks everyone! We'll be watching the game national championship tonight, ill be sure to take some pictures.


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## BD55

Awesome work! The riser trim work turned out great (as did everything else!). The red and black look really classic and the carpet looks great. Nice work all around :T


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## HTB2015

BD55 said:


> Awesome work! The riser trim work turned out great (as did everything else!). The red and black look really classic and the carpet looks great. Nice work all around :T


Thanks!


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## HTB2015

Here are some half-time screen pics from my iPhone. 








[/IMG]


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## HTB2015

Hi, 
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post the final pictures of the theater Adam and I built. We finally got around to pulling out the camera and taking some pictures. We finished back in the middle of March which means the entire build took about 3 months and our wives are happier now that the long weekends of work are over! 

Unfortunately my photography skills are not the greatest even though I have a nice camera. The pictures will (as I'm sure is the case with all other forums final pictures) not do it justice. The paint color looks brighter in the pictures. In person without a flash and the low lighting of the room it looks great. 


An example of the brightness below....the camera flash brings out the outlet plug but in person with the room lighting on you can hardly see it.














The space behind the seating is pretty narrow but not too bad.


There are still so small touch-ups that need to be done. We didn't even notice we needed to touch these areas up until we got the camera out and started taking pictures with the flash. 


The riser sub is my favorite part about this theater. The whole riser shakes during big bass scenes.




We have nailed these panels on for now but plan on adding hinges to some of them and create more storage.


You can see some small gaps (again, only with camera flash) between the fabric panels and the chair rail. The idea in the beginning was to slide the panels behind the lip of the chair rail. We purposefully left a lip. However, we did not take into account the thickness of the fabric and it simply would not fit. 


Probably the least eye-popping part of the build was the A/V Rack. It was a worry for me from the start, in such a small space. If I had it to do all over again I think I would have figured out a way to put it in the front under the screen.


One little piece of patchwork left to do behind where the projector is mounted. Should be a quick job though. 


Carpet turned out perfect! Can't say enough about that.


Adam has started to hinge some of the grill panels to create storage for DVDs and 3D glasses. 


The Spandex Screen has to be the most cost effective way to an AT screen. It looks great to me! 


All-in-all we are very happy with the outcome. This was our first theater build but definitely not the last. There's at least one more in the future for me as I plan my own. We plan on getting a mic and testing the room acoustics using REW but not sure exactly when. 

Thanks to everyone for all of the support through this project. I have no greater statement than to say we could not have done it without you. Happy building! 

-Jared


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## tripplej

Wow. Very impressive. Excellent work. The look is awesome! I am sure that the riser sub does shake just by looking at it! 

Always good to see a project go from the start to the finish and for you guys it is truly a great accomplishment!


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## BD55

This was a truly fun build to watch. Awesome job from start to finish, and even better, you get all the advantages of the lessons learned from your buddy's theater to implement in your own! Looking forward to when you start working on it!


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## Mike Edwards

wow, looks stunning. great job man!


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## ewardjr69

Really handsome looking theater! Congrats


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## phillihp23

Very nice work. Elegant in a way. Nice use of patterns and colors, couch color aside :R


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## FlashJim

Very nice! I think it's time to invite people over for a demo.


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## HTB2015

Thanks for the responses everyone! As unbelievable as it is, I haven't even watched an entire movie in there yet. Just bits and clips of my reference blurays and Life of Pie in 3D. The summer is just way too busy for my family. 

Adam has told me though that the immersion of the room is quite addictive. I think he was in there til 4am one night playing a video game and then another late nighter watching a season of Breaking Bad with his wife so it's definitely getting a lot of use. 

I haven't taken any measurements yet but when you are blasting a movie in the theater and walk into the room next to it you can hardly hear what is going on. Aside from the bass of course. Is there an easy way to test this with a dB meter?


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## HTB2015

phillihp23 said:


> Very nice work. Elegant in a way. Nice use of patterns and colors, couch color aside :R


Thanks! I know, my preference is black as well but these were the seats he already had and I'm afraid new seats would have popped the budget cap. :spend:


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## HTB2015

FlashJim said:


> Very nice! I think it's time to invite people over for a demo.


Showing off the theater we built is probably our favorite thing to do!


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