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The Cinemar Home Theater Construction Thread

240K views 848 replies 63 participants last post by  albe 
#1 · (Edited)
SEATING
* FRONT ROW: 3 Curved Berkline 45003 Black Leather Motorized Recliners
* BACK ROW: 4 Curved Berkline 45003 Black Leather Motorized Recliners

SPEAKERS
* CENTER: M&K S-5000 THX
* FRONT LEFT/RIGHT: M&K S-5000 THX
* FRONT WIDE LEFT/RIGHT: M&K SS-150 THX
* FRONT HIGH LEFT/RIGHT: M&K SS-150 THX
* SURROUND LEFT/RIGHT: M&K SS-150 THX
* BACK LEFT/RIGHT: M&K SS-150 THX
* SUB: M&K MX-350 THX (Looking to add a 2nd Sub)

ROOM DIMENSIONS
* BEFORE WALLS: 23'7.25" Deep x 17'9" Wide (excludes 10'7" x 2'7" entryway)
* NOTES: The theater is being constructed in part of our unfinished basement. There is a 23" drop in the basement to allow for stadium seating.
* SHORTEST CEILING HEIGHT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION: 8'10"
* TALLEST CEILING HEIGHT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION in Drop Down area: 10'9"

HARDWARE
* RECEIVER: Onkyo TX-NR3008 (9.2)
* AMP: Emotiva XPA-5
* BLU-RAY PLAYER: Cinemar MLP-1000 Digital Movie Player (BluRay/DVD)
* STORAGE: Cinemar MLD-4000 12 TB Mass Storage Server
* PROJECTOR: Panasonic PT-AE4000U
* MOTION: D-Box Motion Platform for front row (3 Chairs)
* SCREEN: 140" Wide (152.1" Diagnol) 2.35 AT Screen (Seymour AV)
* USER INTERFACE: Cinemar's MainLobby / MLServer / DVDLobby
* LIGHTING CONTROL: Insteon via MainLobby
* THERMOSTAT CONTROL: via MainLobby
* INTERCOM: Not sure yet - most likely go with Russound

SOUND PROOFING
The room above the theater is a nursery and office. One of the rooms next to the theater is a furnace room. So it's important to keep the sound out of the rooms above and prevent sound coming in from the furnace room.
Current plan of attack is to use two layers of 5/8" drywall and Green Glue with sound absorption clips. Staggered stud walls will be on any framed walls.
* Minimum 1-3/4" Solid Core Door with automatic door bottom.

PAINTED STAR CEILING
* This may be added later in the soffit; however, I will definitely plan for it.

UNFINISHED BASEMENT AREA


MY ORIGINAL PROPOSED THEATER DESIGN (Top View)


MY ORIGINAL PROPOSED THEATER DESIGN (Side View)


LATEST THEATER DESIGN (Top View)


LATEST THEATER DESIGN (Side View - RESERVED)

LATEST THEATER DESIGN (3D View)








FABRICS, CARPET & PAINT INFORMATION


COMPOSITED 3D IMAGE WITH ACTUAL PHOTO [There is an angled divider. The Left Upper Area is the actual photo, the right lower area is 3D]


FINAL ACTUAL PHOTO WITH NIGHT SKY MURAL STAR CEILING:


LED MOVIE POSTER DISPLAYS CURRENTLY PLAYING MOVIE AND ACTUAL START / END TIMES USING CINEMAR'S MAINLOBBY SOFTWARE



CURRENT STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION
* Finishing Mouldings on Columns
* 03.19.11 - Construction Lumber arrived and moved into Basement
* 06.20.12 - Nearly Finished Painting
* 08.13.12 - Construction Completed
* Working on Room Acoustics, Picture, Automation User Interface
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Two supplys service the room. I'm using AT-Core 6" Flex Duct from The Sound Proofing Company. They are insulated and contained within their own double 5/8" enclosure. The bottom of the enclosure will meet up with the theater ceiling.

This seems to be better practice now than trying to implement mutliple curves in the duct work.



 
#4 · (Edited)
Photos and documenation from 04/21/11:
The entire basement outside the theater is pretty much all framed up.

I have a few chairs that I took out of the box and they've been moving around the basement depending upon where they are working. I took a snapshot while they rested in the theater.



The inside wall lines were chalked for the theater as well. Anyone know if I should put Silinseal along the base plate of the outside wall?



This weekend I'll need to buckle down and make all final plans for how it's getting constructed and how I'm going to handle lighting for the room. They want to start on the massive soffit. Which drops the entire room down about 14" except for a center 12' x 12' area in the center of the room.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Photos and documentation from 05/29/11:
There have been lots of things happening but not as much in the theater. In fact, things just started rolling in the theater now that most of the basement is framed. I was looking at the backlit movie posters thinking it would be a nice touch for the theater foyer wall. After pricing them out, I ended up ordering a 40" TV to mount on the wall instead and I'll have it display the movie poster for the currently playing movie instead.
I'll post pics as the story develops on that one. The plumber also was able to stub for a urinal in our basement bath. It wasn't much extra work since he was already breaking up the concrete to move the shower drain.


Here are some pics.


Moved the bar drain out of the theater in order to make room for the dead vent.




Framed Bar wall outside of theater.




Started framing Dead Vent in the back corner of the theater. They used double 3/4" OSB since we had the space.




Green Glue in action.




Adding the final layer of 3/4" OSB to the theater side.




Another shot of the dead vent from inside the closet. The Dead vent actually sits between the theater and the back side of a closet. The heat will be pulled from the high side of the theater and then passed through the Fantech inline fan...it then routes through the lower portion of the closet pushing heat into the rest of the basement which is typically cooler.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Photos and Documentation from 06/02/11:
A bit more progress today. They were able to finish framing the main soffits. Inside walls are next.









I need to start strategizing all my cable runs and where I'll need electric. It won't be long before the first layer of OSB goes on to the walls.

My radon levels are reading high, so I've started caulking all cracks where the walls meet the floor. The levels rose after they busted up the concrete to move the drain. The hole was open for about a week. Now that it's patched, I'm hoping they drop down. I still need to close up my Sump Pump but I'm waiting on a second sump pump bobber level sensor that I can connect to the automation system and alert me when the second backup sump fails. I put a sensor in the Ejector pit as well in case that pump fails. Hopefully I'll be able to catch any major issues before they occur and possibly ruin the theater.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Photos and Documentation from 06/03/11:
And here's what 540' of Drywall Furring Channel looks like:


I'm assuming it will straighten itself out once it's aligned in the Whisper Clips.

2000' of Cat6 and 1000' of Cat5 arrived today so I can finish up most of the basement wiring and hopefully have enough left over for the theater. I've got 1000' of 12/2 coming for the speakers in the theater. Also waiting on RG6 for the Subwoofer runs.
 
#12 ·
Photos and Documentation from 06/19/11:

Today I was able to get most of my speaker cable, bass shaker, RG6 and two cat5 runs into the theaters patch panel area. Still need to come up with some clean way to hide all of this in a wall or enclosure but have some ideas in my head.

It should be pretty easy now for me to just make the final runs from the patch panel to the appropriate locations in the theater. I'll still have a few home runs from the projector as well.

I pretty much filled up my I-Beam with cable for the rest of the house...so I made a different path into the theater that was a little more direct within a soffit.




Here's where the patch panel will be terminated within the theater itself. Another set of cables will go up the right side and within the theater.



I put some puddy pads on some outlets that I know won't get moved that are on the other side of the double wall in the bar.
 
#15 ·
Photos and Documentation from 06/23/11:
The construction crew had some other projects this week so I'm on the back burner.

The new baby is due in about 6 1/2 weeks so I thought I'd try to push the project along by trying to make some can light backer boxes tonight. I ended up using 3/4" wood with 1/4" cement board. I have two of them cut to size and will get all the pieces together before I acoustic caulk and green glue them permanently. These things feel pretty heavy to be floating right on the drywall. I may attach them with IB3's to help reduce the weight unless others have had that some feeling.



This is about the extent of my wood working skills. :)

I also put up some R13 on one of the theater walls. The electrical and low voltage haven't been pulled into the room yet, but given the limited locations it shouldn't be a problem to work around later. I'll be putting two sconces on the back wall. This should help in cases where I need to light up more of the center of the room.



I think I've also figured out my lighting plan for the room. The lights are shown in pink. The inside perimiter will be 3" cans. All the rest will be 4" cans including the three pointing at the screen. 16 3" cans around the inside perimeter may be a bit much but I still may tweak that number down to maybe 3 on each side instead of 4.



Sample Rendering with Sconces:
 
#16 ·
Photos and Documentation from 06/25/11:

Here are some pics from todays activitives. Both Vent mufflers have been built. We used 3/4" OSB and then 1/2" OSB and Green Glue in the middle. Acoustic sealant was used at the joints. ONe of the Vent Mufflers was mounted using the IB3 clips. I also Green Glued and screwed four backer boxes.




The smaller hole is for the Arzel air tubes to control the zone dampers in the theater.









Some 2x4's were mounted underneath the soffit to hold the wait while the screwed the IB3's to the Joists above. The entire muffler will be 5/8" above the first layer of plywood we put on the finished ceiling.









The IB3 clips were spaced every 16".












We wrapped a thin plastic around the duct to improve air flow and prevent any fiberglass from blowing into the room. I can't imagine this would cause any issues with the sound proofing. I'm thinking of using the plastic wrapped insulation as well inside the mufflers. It seems it would also help improve the airflow.
 
#17 ·
Photos and Documentation from 06/26/11:

A bit more progress today.

These corner clamps were a great investment while building the backer boxes.



Finished putting the acoustic sealant all the around the theater.



Threw up a couple bags of R19 into the ceiling after putting 181 Metal Foil tape around the joints on the 6" ducts within the joists. I can tell I'm getting better air pressure in the rooms above because some of the vents with manual dampers actually rattled until I adjusted them slightly.



Wired for the network thermostat in the Theater Foyer and ran 18/2 into the theater for the thermostat sensor. Since the Prolphix thermostat makes a clicking noise when it turns on/off and there is no way to turn off the display, I opted to keep it outside the theater and will put a small thermostat sensor within the theater.



I caulked all the backer boxes with acoustic sealant and built one last backer box. I'll assemble it completely the next time we break out the Green Glue. Just need to add a lip to all the backer boxes so we'll have something to screw into.
 
#18 ·
Photos and Documentation from 06/29/11:

UPS dropped off another package from The Sound Proofing Company which included the automatic door stops and bottom. That motivated me to get out to Lowe's and finally pick up the 36" 1 3/4" thick solid core door along with some accessories. They only had 4" hinges. Looks like Home Depot has some 4 1/2" Heavy Duty Hinges which I'll probably pick up instead. I need my door frame to span about 11", should I just use 2x12 for the frame?

Tonight I was able to make a little progress.


Put some Pipe Wrap from the Sound Proofing Company on the boots that are going into the Vent Muffler.



I screwed all the IB3 clips to the second Vent Muffler every 16" using #8 2" Screws.



Finished insulating the first vent muffler and cut the AT-Core flex duct to size.
 
#19 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/01/11:

They framers worked till 11pm last night cranking out things while I stuffed insulation in areas that were getting boxed in. All the lines were snapped for me so I can install Whisper Clips this holiday weekend.

This is the final vent muffler mounted to the joists with IB3 clips.



Notice the cold air return in between the joists? We were thinking we should remove the carboard and replace it with 3/4" OSB. Any thoughts? This seems like it could be the weak point of the room since there's only going to be clips, channle and DD/GG below it.





The vent mufflers hang down so they are just above the final first layer of 5/8" plywood will be putting on the ceiling. Only a small portion of the vent muffler will actually be screwed to the first layer of drywall...just the area surrounding the 6x10" vent.
 
#20 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/03/11:

I spent about 15 hours in the theater yesterday hanging whisper clips and started the hat channel. I had to add some blocks here and there to accomodate for proper spacing. I've probably got about another 75 or so whisper clips still to hang. But I thought I'd start with the inside soffit first and get the hat channel in just so I could see if I made any mistakes and correct them before hanging the rest. I just had to adjust a few of the inside corner clips but other than that, it went pretty well.

I'm pretty sore though. 15 hours of climbing up and down a ladder and drilling is nothing like holding a mouse and sitting at a desk all day. :)



One thing I meant to tweak and didn't was to make the inside soffit 12'. It ended up being 12'7" x 12'11". So I had to splice together the channels. It wasn't a big deal using the tin snips to cut the channels, but getting them connected together in tight spots next to the ceiling joists was a challenge.

I'm adding some more windows to our walk-out basement where the new office will be. So I also ran some wire to accomodate powered blinds. I have some Somfy powered blinds in our main level. For the bigger blinds, the batteries were only lasting 6 - 12 months.

I'm hoping to finalize the speaker column issues, get insulation in, install all clips and channels and hopefully have the electrician here early next week.

I broke down and ordered the Emotiva XPA-5 during their holiday sale. I'm a sucker when it comes to a sale and figured it will be much easier and save me some time when I'm terminating all these cables so I only have to do it once and make it look neat.
 
#21 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/05/11:

Put in another 14 hours today in on the theater.

Here's a cold air return I wanted to sound proof.



I stacked half inch boards all around to create a square area. Then insulated the end and put silinseal around the edges.



Then I used a scrap 2"x10" board as an end cap. Then added more silinseal to the edges after screwing in place.



This cold air return was in a soffit, so I screwed 3/4" OSB underneath and then will insulate after before the first layer goes on the ceiling.



I finished up putting all clips and channels everywhere. Feels good to be done. You get pretty good at doing it by the end and I came up with a lot of techniques to speed things up.



Look up from the floor.






 
#23 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/07/11:

Made some more progress tonight. Got most of the cables ran into the theater but still need to decide how / where I'm going to pop them through into the rooms...but I think I've got a game plan.

Ordered some equipment to build my patch panel in the room.

Just got the samples of some theater carpet in and will see how it plays with the wall fabric.

I also finished sound proofing the last cold air return so I could finish insulating the entire ceiling.

I took a different approach with this one.

Here's a pic of the cold air return before sound proofing.


I started by cutting a 3/4" hole in the return.


Then I slid a 5' 1/2" board cut to the same width as my joists into the return. Be careful not to extend too far into the return. You don't want to complete close off air flow from the main return duct.


Then I attached some boards 16 1/2" wide underneath the joists. I screwed them to the joists, and then through the middle to connect with the 1/2" board within the return and sandwich them together so it wouldn't move or vibrate.


I used some scrap wood to build blocking on this side of the return.


I put some insulation in before adding 3 layers of 1/2" osb underneath. Then added Silinseal for good measure.


I also make sure they add a thin layer of insulation before the first layer of 5/8" plywood goes up. I'm hoping the extra 1/2" of osb in the return should add some mass. I would have probably used 3/4" if I had some extras.
 
#24 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/13/11:

They finished all of the hvac items related to the theater today. The final layers of OSB went on the dead vent that routes through the closet outside the theater and the interior supplys. Feels like a big weight has been lifted getting these pieces done.

An access door was built for the inline fan.

Here are some pictures taken during the process.













 
#25 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/15/11:

Here's a shot of the 4' rack I'll be using for my Theater Patch Panel. It will get mounted in between two walls within the Theater. I'll probably have them elevate it 2 1/2' above the ground. Then disguise the opening with a movie poster or something.

If I'm forced to do Audyssey calibration with the receiver in the room, I'll just put a shelf in temporarily in the rack to set the receiver on during calibration. I ran a really high quality mic cable, so I'm hoping the distance won't be that much of an issue for Audyssey.

 
#26 ·
Photos and Documentation from 07/31/11:

They started putting the first layer of 5/8" OSB and Plywood on the ceiling yesterday.


We attached the 4" can light backer box before attaching the plywood to the hat channel.



The tray around the room will be about 12". The interior can lights will be built into the plywood within the room. Hopefully the crown moulding will be enough to hide the cans.



Here's a frame around the supply vent. This is the only portion of the supply chamber we attached to the plywood ceiling.



Finished assembly with plywood layer.



View within the soffit. Acoustic caulk was used on any entry points.



Front wall. Three 4" cans will light the screen. Question....Where the plywood meets the left wall, do I need to use acoustic caulk? Or do I wait for the final layer of 5/8" Drywall?



View from the front of the room. The plywood seems pretty sturdy. I may not need any L-brackets...or possibly just a spot one near the middle of each section.
 
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