Tommy's HT In-Progress

**Sonnie** · **04-26-06, 11:31 PM**

Okay... showing off the yardrats! lol I bet they can't wait for you to get finished.

As far as the riser is concerned, I glued or maybe I used liquid nail and then I think I pre-drilled holes and screwed it down, a sheet of 3/4" MDF for the floor. Then I treated it with Thompson water seal. Then padded and carpeted as normal. I think you'll wanna put a step there... that's a pretty big step up. Either a small width step on each side or one all the way across. In that step up you may want to consider a phone jack, computer connections such as a ethernet jack and maybe a port for games, and at least one electrical outlet.

Erik might be able to hook you up with a good sub... not sure if he can do mail order or not, but he could at least point you in the right direction. Another consideration there would be IB... which I know nothing about other than I know some folks who have done it with a utility room behind the front screen wall similar to what you have. You simply mount a sub in the front wall and the utility room is the volume of the box. Again, I'm not well versed in this area so I'll stop there.

**Tommy** · **04-27-06, 08:02 AM**

The kids I was using as a comparision for measuring. You can see that corner and the available height clearance because of the soffit for my 8 & 12 yr old (it is now labeled the kiddie corner). And of course everyone wants the room done by next week right... lol

Sonnie, so one sheet of 3/4" plywood or MDF should be enough? I've seen others saying use 2 sheets and was wondering if one sheet was to unstable or anything. You treated the top of it with waterseal??

I was originally thinking of 2 side steps but put that on the back burner since I dont know the width of the seating row yet.

Shoot, I wish I would have remembered about it and put more thought into it. The riser is 7' in depth I should have included the second step into that total depth. I dont want to push the front row up any further.

I will probably stop and get the plywood today on my way home. Is there any difference selecting the MDF over the plywood? Also you've mentioned previously, I should extend the plywood about 2" past the riser for a lip for the light, correct?

And ya I know I have some planning / questioning to do about wiring for the riser but trying to put that on hold for now so I'm not overwhelming everyone here with to many different questions at once.

As for the sub, I emailed the company this morning to see what there return policy is (I know too late right, should have checked that before ordering 2k worth of from them).

Anyway I'm waiting to hear what the response is to see whether or not I'll get a refund or store credit or if I'm stuck with what I got. There response may determine or at least limit the choices of what I am able to get.

**Sonnie** · **04-27-06, 11:49 AM**

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

Sonnie, so one sheet of 3/4" plywood or MDF should be enough? I've seen others saying use 2 sheets and was wondering if one sheet was to unstable or anything. You treated the top of it with waterseal??

I think one sheet is plenty, but you can use two if you want to. I treated the top simply because it's MDF and if for some unforseen reason it got wet... well you know what happens with wet MDF... it swells. Of course we are very cautious with drinks in our HT room, and it would take a lot to soak it enough through the carpet and padding, but you just never know.

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

Shoot, I wish I would have remembered about it and put more thought into it. The riser is 7' in depth I should have included the second step into that total depth. I dont want to push the front row up any further.

Go ahead and measure the width of your seating and just put the minimum width you can get by with on each side. If you are going to have separate seats then figure about 2-3 inches between seats.

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

Is there any difference selecting the MDF over the plywood? Also you've mentioned previously, I should extend the plywood about 2" past the riser for a lip for the light, correct?

I used MDF because plywood has been known to separate and might somehow cause some vibration in the layers. Just an extra precaution. And yes, a couple of inches extension over the front of the riser should be plenty. I actually don't have lights there myself and never had a problem seeing the step... nor has anyone else. The lights are on until everyone is seated and then I hit the button on my remote to turn them off. If someone needs to get up during the movie we usually pause it, raise the lights and go, or the movie screen will also put off enough light most of the time... if you don't want to pause it. It's just never been a problem for us, but I've still got it setup to install lights under the lip of the riser if ever need be.

**JCD** · **04-27-06, 01:23 PM**

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

Oh and still gotta frame a bunch of soffits in the rest of the basement. After that I guess its time to call an electrician. Havent decided yet if I should do the sheet rock or have someone else do it.

My suggestion here would totally depend on what you're going to do with the walls. If they're going to be painted or covered by something. Hanging the actual sheetrock is not terribly difficult. Taping the seams well is a fine art that borders on magic from what I've been told. So, if you're going to cover them with something, do it yourself. If not, maybe hand the sheetrock and get someone to tape it -- that's what I did at my previous house.

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

NDawg suggested I send the sub back, not sure what the return policy is or not but I'm gonna send it back if I can.

I'd agree with that as well.
However, that leads you to a new dilemma, what sub are you going go with this time? Are you still going to go for an in-wall setup? Or a standalone? The standalone is the easier way to go, but you'd end up with a box sitting in a corner..

Decisions, decisions, decisions..

JCD

**Tommy** · **04-28-06, 08:28 PM**

Ok I got the MDF flooring. I actually got 16 boards (1' wide x 8' long sections) the 4x8's wouldnt have fit in the explorer... lol

I cut it and fitted on the riser but didnt nail it down. I'll wait till after insulating, wiring etc for that.

I still have to make two riser steps but since we havent purchased the actual seats yet I'm hesitent on guessing how much room I will need for the seats. The width of the room is 168" and it looks like the average 3 seat recliners are about 110". Guessing at leaving 10" extra for space leaves me room for a 2' wide step on each side.

I think that autta be wide enough but sheetrock, carpet the seats all taking up inches of space could wind up throwing me off or limiting our selection for the seats.

I put together the midatlantic slim 5 rack frame. Made an 3/4 pine enclouse for it. Gotta start framing it into the wall and put a rear door on it tomorrow. Gonna make a recessed DVD shelving unit too.

I had a sheet rocker come out for an estimate today. He looked over everything and will give me a quote soon. Let me ask a couple questions about the sheet rock though.

I did a bunch of research on the sound proofing and see people going way overboard on the walls. I was gonna overstuff it with insulation, and put the 2 sheets of rock up, plus carpeting the walls.

Well we changed our minds about carpeting the walls and just want to paint now. Also I've beeb hearing others say the 2 layers of sheetrock isnt noticably different then one layer. I'd like to hear opinions about this and see if its worth it or not?

Im definetly no audiophile and acoustically probably will never hear the difference that most seem to sit there and make never ending adjustments for. My main concern is that it sounds decent and isnt disturbing the upstairs.

By the way, how long does it take for someone to say sheetrock the basement and ceiling? This guy estimated 2 weeks, that seems kinda long to me for a professional.

I got a reply back from the store and they ok'd the return for the sub. They didnt mention store credit so I think I'm free to select whatever is recommended.

**JCD** · **04-28-06, 09:15 PM**

Quote:

how long does it take for someone to say sheetrock the basement and ceiling?

That seems like a long time to me too.. unless he didn't have the time to do it for 2 weeks. Seems to me that I put up sheetrock with another friend and it took about 1-2 hours to do the ceiling -- which was vaulted. That didn't include the taping which I had done -- that took less than a day. I would have guessed a day for hanging the sheetrock and a day to tape it up if you know what you're doing. But then, it was a long time ago, so maybe it took longer than I thought.

Quote:

I got a reply back from the store and they ok'd the return for the sub. They didnt mention store credit so I think I'm free to select whatever is recommended.

Good news!

If you're going to be concerned about the outside noise factor, I'd think you'll be "stuck" with a free standing sub (as opposed to an inwall). If so, there are two companies I HIGHLY recommend:

SVS and Hsu. Both are internet only companies and both offer unbeatable deals on their subs. I know that if you e-mail the people over at SVS with the proper information, they'll give you the sub they'd recommend -- which is often a smaller sub than you'd expect. I e-mailed them for a friend, and got a recommendation the same day. I'm sure Hsu does the same, but I haven't personally tried.

In either case, you'll be MUCH happier with a sub from either one of these vendors than with the one you had.

JCD

**Sonnie** · **04-29-06, 01:25 AM**

Good news on the sub!

Brian, bricor, (member here) did something pretty cool with subs in his HT room if you wanna get them out of the room area. Only problem is his are in the ceiling, which may not work for you, but you could do what he did on one of your walls. He may could tell you about the outside noise. PM him and see if he'll share with you. OR as Jacen suggested... go for SVS or HSU.

Again... as Jacen says... 2 weeks for that sheetrock is way too long. A day to hang it and screw it at most. First mud and tape another day. Second mud and tape another. Another mud day. Sand and finish touch up mud day. 5 days would be max if he works every day. Of course not all sheetrockers are dependable. As is the case with many contractors it seems... but not all.

I wouldn't pack the walls with insulation, just the normal amount. For stagger studded 2 X 4's on a 6" plate, R-13 on each side is fine. I believe uncompressed is better for performance. Two sheets vs. one sheet... don't know... I went with two sheets of 5/8" on the inside walls and ceiling and my room is extremely well soundproofed. I just took no chances. Also look at my entrance door on my HT Construction pages. Two solid core doors and they are hard to shut due to the air tightness on them.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 07:52 AM**

Yea I was thinking that was kind of long. Although keeping in mind that he would be rocking my whole basement about 1,700 square foot plus the ceiling and the soffits. Also I threw in for him to rock my garage. For some reason in the newly built house they only rocked half the garage, they say they only finish whatever walls are actually touching the house.

As I said my house is a new house and its still a devlopment site with over 100 more houses that are being built. Trying to find the little helpers they use to rock the houses and see who works on the side... but I aint even seen them yet, they hide good.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 08:09 AM**

Weekend update:

Made some good progress but not as much as I would have liked. I finished the wood enlosure that will house the midatlantic rack and framed it into the wall. It looks real nice and the room is actually starting to take on an appearance of an HT room even though its just studs at the moment.

Also I made a DVD shelves/cabinet that I am also going to recess into the wall. I made it 27x40 so once its in it will be basically the same size as the movie posters that will go on the wall. I still have to remove a stud and frame it into the wall though.

I picked up 3 doors for the basement, on of which was for the HT room. Where the HT door is though is directly below a beam in the ceiling. The highest I could frame for that spot only left me 80" so I had to hack an inch of the bottom of the door. It was a solid door so it cut nice though.

Other then that I hung the other door and started the third both of which are in the basement but not part of the HT room.

Nothing worth take new pics yet but I will once I get the rest of the HT framing done. Only got to put in the dvd cabinet and make 2 steps for the riser and I think that phase will be done. As for the rest of the basement I have 2 soffits about 40' long each that I gotta frame and then that will be done too.

Not sure if I can get that much done in a week or not but I dont think it will matter. I have reserves again next weekend so it will be atleast 2 - 3 weeks before I can get an electrician in unless I start missing work and getting done during the week. That blows that I am gonna get slowed up on this part.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 08:10 AM**

Time to start actually selecting and ordering the rest of the equipment though. I was putting it off only for fear of starting this whole thing and then not completing it.

Alright now its time for me to start selecting projectors screens etc. I have the speakers and reciver and nothing else so throw out all your suggestions. Is there really any noticable differences/options in the projectors? I have read several books on this subject but sort of skipped over the projector sections all the time since we intially were set on doing a flat screen tv instead.

So I know I need a projector, screen, sub anything else? What are all those component pieces I see on HT sites about bass shakers, butt kickers etc... Not that I know much about it but it seems like nolvety type items but if there decent the kids might like it.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 08:20 AM**

Oh yea I need seats and accessories and that stuff too. Of course this non-essential stuff is more entertaining to the wife then the rest of the project combined.

I already know she's impressed with those corny movie wall sconces at almost $200 each... Also she's hinted at those carpets.

No forums like spamming / promoting retail sites but if there are any recommendations for this type of stuff I'm sure it would be helpfull for others in addition to myself.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 08:32 AM**

Wiring the risers:

Sonnie pointed out some suggestions/options for this to get wired in the riser. Now that thats actually getting closer can we get a bit more detailed about that. I have to find the post and re-read it again to see all that you suggested but off the top of my head I do have a question about the rope light. I believe it was NDawg's site that directly wired there rope lights though.

I'm thinking of two dimmer switches for the room, one for the wall sconces and the other which will be recessed lights directed onto the posters on the wall plus whatever extra recessed lights are needed for the room.

Should the rope lights for the risers be tied into one of these switches or something different altogether?

Also if there are suggestions for anything different or anything I may be missing please let me know.

**Sonnie** · **05-01-06, 09:27 AM**

If the rope lights are the same type lights as your sconce lights then you can connect them in with the dimmer if you want to, but if I'm not mistaken you have those so you don't have to cut the other lights on. Not sure if Erik has his on a switch or not.

As far as projectors... start a thread in the Display Devices forum requesting info on a projector. Make sure you let us know how much you are willing to spend.

I'm not really familiar with bass shakers... other than the two subs I got... they do plenty of shakin' without anything added. It's my understanding that they are added to your seats to give you more vibration.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 01:51 PM**

Quote:

Sonnie wrote:

If the rope lights are the same type lights as your sconce lights then you can connect them in with the dimmer if you want to, but if I'm not mistaken you have those so you don't have to cut the other lights on. Not sure if Erik has his on a switch or not.

As far as projectors... start a thread in the Display Devices forum requesting info on a projector. Make sure you let us know how much you are willing to spend.

I'm not really familiar with bass shakers... other than the two subs I got... they do plenty of shakin' without anything added. It's my understanding that they are added to your seats to give you more vibration.

How can the rope lights be the same as the wall sconces? But you are right, while the sconces and the recessed lights will need to be dimmed the rope light will be on. So should this be put on a third switch?

**Sonnie** · **05-01-06, 02:06 PM**

You have different dimmers for different type lights. Unless the technology has changed, you have to have a dimmer for flourescent lights and a different dimmer for incandescent lights... and I don't thing they make one for neon lights.

Correct... I'd probably put the rope lights on a separate switch, no dimmer really needed for them.

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 02:16 PM**

Quote:

Sonnie wrote:

As far as projectors... start a thread in the Display Devices forum requesting info on a projector. Make sure you let us know how much you are willing to spend.

Ok I started the thread

**NorwegianDawg** · **05-01-06, 03:06 PM**

I'd dim the rope light as well...in a completely dark room...depending on how/where they're installed...can be quite bright!

E

**Tommy** · **05-01-06, 06:21 PM**

Quote:

NorwegianDawg wrote:

I'd dim the rope light as well...in a completely dark room...depending on how/where they're installed...can be quite bright!

E

Should it be a seperate switch altogether or tied in with either the recessed lights or wall sconces?

Do they even sell 3 switch dimmers?

**Sonnie** · **05-01-06, 06:34 PM**

I have three dimmer switches in my wall plate. Each switch is rated to handle so many watts... I believe mine are like 600 or 800 watts. Add up the wattage you want on each switch and buy the appropriate size switch.

Here's a really bad blown up pic of my switches... I don't have a close up so I tried to blow it up as much as possible... these are the rocker style with the smaller sider rockers next to the big rocker.

Looks like this and is remote controllable:

Except there's three:

**Tommy** · **05-02-06, 07:41 AM**

Thats cool. I know an electrician that I will probably use, he's a friend of the family so I'm not worried about him ripping me off or anything like that. Only problem is hes on vacation now, and then he's also a reservist and are weekends conflict so it may be 3-4 weeks before I can even get him to come out to my house. I wouldnt be able to talk to him for another week just to make arrangements.

**Tommy** · **05-02-06, 07:49 AM**

Oh well last nights update:

Besides visiting with an installer to see what he would charge for the HT installation I hung the last door in the basement and also removed a stud in the HT room and put in framed the recessed dvd shelves/cabinet I made.

Overall it looks nice as far as its the appearance I wanted for it. Unfortunatly there were a few mistakes and I think I'm gonna tear it out and start it over. Not terribly bad but it sticks out past the studs by 1.25" instead of the 1/2" I was planning for the sheet rock. I measured the spacing in a different spot then where it winded up going and there was that difference in space with the foundation wall behind the studs. Also the bottom shelf split when attaching it to the frame.

Again it looks ok and I probably could fix it and no one else would know but at this point it would probably be better to spend the extra couple hours and do it right, it's my own house right...

Dont know if I'll be able to run to home depot tonight and get more wood to start it tonight or not though.

**Tommy** · **05-04-06, 01:00 PM**

Update:

Ok the dvd shelves sticking out a half inch further then they should and the wood splitting on the one spot annoyed me already and I did I ripped the whole thing out and did it over.

Other then that no new milestones were met, I finished the shelves, hinged the door on the rear of the equipment rack and cut a few inches from the bottom of it for room for cords and air.

Also I put in the steps for the risers. I left 2" on the lip on the steps & riser for carpet and then the rope lights, it looks like the lips to big though. For anyone else who has also done the rope lights what size lip did you use?

I had 4 installers come in this in the last 3 days and didnt actually get an estimate from any of them yet but waiting to see what they have to say. But basically I got a few ideas which I was hoping for and unless one comes back with an unbelievable low installation price will probably finish the job myself.

Sheet rock guy called with his price, he wanted 3k to rock the basement and the garage and said that was just labor and didnt include material. So I guess I'm rocking myself too. Not looking forward to trying to do that myself...

As far as framing is concerned, the HT room is done!

I still got soffits and columns/poles and in the rest of the basement to do though. Not sure how long that will take.

Still looking for an electrician and someone to do the duct work. God only knows how long thats gonna take or how much theyll over-charge for that. But I have reserves this weekend & my kid's bday next weekend so Im hoping this all doesnt get pushed to far back.

So next steps are
- finish soffits/columns in rest of the basement
- get hire electrician & hvac guy
- start ordering equipment

Any last comments / suggestions as far as framming for HT room goes?

**Sonnie** · **05-05-06, 10:37 AM**

I didn't mind hanging the sheetrock... it was the mudding I was dreading, so I hired that part out. Cost me about 200 bucks.

Sounds like you got the framing figured out pretty well. Keep us posted on your progress.

**JCD** · **05-13-06, 06:22 PM**

Maybe it's in another thread, but I thought I'd drop a line and see if there has been any progress lately?

JCD

**Tommy** · **05-14-06, 12:04 PM**

10 days since my last update hmmm... Sorry all, I havent dropped off the earth and my lack of an progress update was just because there hasnt been any new milestones to report.

The work I've put in lately has been with framing the rest of the basement so havent much new to say about the HT room. Still got another week or two on the rest of the basement because I havent got a full day to put towards it yet, just an hour or two per night.

Out of the 4 installers that came out a week and a half ago, I havent received any written quotes from any of them yet. I did get a couple calls though asking if I'd consider sending everything I purchased so far back. I think there mainly interested in the money they make for the sales of products and not so much the installation part.

However we did make an appointment and went to the one guys showroom yesterday. The wife was really impressed with the demo the guy put on and loved the projection system and sound. The room he had was actually a couple feet shorter then what we got, so we got a pretty good overall picture.

The projector he used was a Mitsubishi DLP projector, I dont know what model but he said it was around 4k. The picture looked great but I really dont have other projectors to use as a comparison. I looked real hard for that rainbow effect but couldnt see it. He said I wouldnt with this high of a model. I could see the screen door effect if I walked up close though. Again I dont know what to say because I dont know if it is better or worse to lower priced models. Has anyone have any opinions on the mitsubishi projectors?

He suggested I do either one large sub woofer or two smaller ones for my room. What do you's think one large one or two smaller ones? Also suggested I fill my risers with a fine gravel or sand (I think the insulation will be enough though). His demo room was on a second floor so it was great with the floor boards vibrating with the demo.

One of the things we discussed though and I'm debating on now is that **** soffit in the HT room. The one side of the screen will go under the soffit. He suggested I put a filler soffit straight across the room so that the whole screen would be under it.

I'm not sure if the sceen view is going to be disturbed or not if left as it. Also if I bring the soffit out 4' like he suggests I lose that section of wall that I was atleast planning on putting up a poster or something.

The pics are up on this room, what do you's think, should I run a soffit across the front of it?

Of course he also went thru the whole reflection about why that would be wrong for us to put up posters at all but that was the look we were going for, two columns on each wall with a movie poster between each.

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