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PTAaron's Movie Room/Game Room/Bar

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#1 · (Edited)
PTAaron's Movie Room/Game Room/Bar - comments welcome!!

Latest news as of May 2016:

Major 2016 updates... Biggest changes start here: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-design-construction/55787-ptaaron-s-movie-room-game-room-bar-28.html

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Original thread
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I just thought it would be fun to start a thread here about my basement entertainment area. It isn't just a "home theater" - it is a whole basement project.

I been working on it since we moved in at the beginning of July 2010. My wife and I spent a LONG time trying to find the right house - we love to entertain and have a few other special needs so we had a few requirements: Had to have a bar, had to have a big deck (or space to build one), she wanted a "scrapbooking room" on the main floor since her mother is in a wheelchair and unable to go up/down stairs, I wanted space to build a home theater...

We eventually found this place - the day it was listed we made an offer and we got it! Main floor has a "den" so the wife got her scrapbook room. The basement had a wet bar, pool table, full bath, and another room that oddly had a full wall of mirrors... but I immediately knew it would be my movie room! Only thing keeping it from being the PERFECT entertaining house is the basement is not a walkout - so you have to go down some stairs to get from the grill to the pool table ;)

EDIT: The first 3 pages are kind of a retrospective look at the project... and it is pretty "picture heavy" because I like to document what I'm doing ;)

On to the space!
I am going to keep the first and second posts updated with the newest pictures of the space - so this page will keep changing. The 3rd post and on will outline my journey to get where I am, and beyond ;)

Equipment in the room:
Mitsubishi 73" DLP TV - 73740
Harman Kardon AVR 3600 (as a pre/pro)
Harman Kardon AVR-635 (as the amp)
Speakers: Pioneer SP-FS51-LR front towers, Pioneer SP-C21 Center, Emotiva ERD-1 surrounds, Dayton rears.
Subwoofer2: Elemental Designs A2-300 (x2)
HTPC running OpenELEC and Kodi
Sony BDP-BX58 (S580) Blu-ray Player and SACD Player
Motorola DCX-3200 Cable Box
AppleTV2 (1080p version)
PS4
PS3
PS2
Wii
System controlled with Harmony 1100 and RF extender


Old gear seen in the pictures include:
Toshiba 57h94 CRT RPTV
Harman Kardon AVR 635
Infinity TSS-450 5.1 speaker system

Here is the overall floor plan of my basement - I missed a couple of details like a door on the bathroom and sump room... but everything is to scale and you get the idea.



This was my original layout for the movie room when I first set it up:


...
Added second sub 6/11/16:


...
as of April 2016:




...
pic from 9/8/15:


Before painting the ceiling it looked like this (3/30/12):





.... to be continued ...

Funny - can't edit the post I "reserved" for the bar area pictures... so I'll add this here:

April 2015 - we added a Kegerator to the bar area...


 
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#345 ·
Over the weekend I had a little free time and decided to start on one of the projects on my list... I took stock of all the scrap boards I have from the riser build and the leftovers from the deck I refinished and I have enough 2x6s and pieces of 3/4" OSB to build my front stage - I only need to buy a sheet of plywood for the curve. That seemed like an ambitious project to start without drawing up plans first.
I decided to use some other scrap pieces I had laying around to start on a "ticket booth" - just going from a plan in my head. I figured that if it didn't turn out I could just try again - unlike the front stage ;)

The plan I came up with has a 36" high x 31" wide x 6" deep lower portion that will have a door so it can be used for storage and also to allow for access to mount it to the wall. There will be a "counter" that is 8" deep so it will stick out 2", and above that I will build the "window" part that will be 43-45" high. The top portion will have a wood frames plexiglass ticket window - the frame will be held in place with magnets so I can pop it off to change what is behind it easily - and also to allow access for mounting it.
The whole thing will be one unit - I just mention it in pieces because I'm building the sections separately and then attaching them once both are complete and in the basement.

Anyway - here is the basic frame of the lower portion made out of the studs I ripped out of my basement wall when I put in the new door and some spare shelves:


The design will make more sense soon... The gap at the bottom will be filled with 3.5" MDF with some casing as decorative trim. Strange choice - but it was the only way to get the height I wanted.
The front panel will be a large piece of MDF that used to cover my fuse box and sprinkler control valves in the basement - it already has a full length piano hinge and is the exact size I need, so that works out well.
Anyway - that's as far as I got because my wife got home and I had to do real housework. LOL!
 
#346 ·
Been busy power washing 1100 sq ft of deck to get ready for staining... So no further progress in the ticket booth.

I thought I would post up a picture of the temporary "concession stand" though:


Still planning on replacing that with a larger cabinet with glass front that the popcorn machine will sit on. I've sent messages to a few people with promising options on Craig's List but have had zero replies for some reason.
 
#347 · (Edited)
Let me update my to do list for inside the room:


  1. base molding along the riser - haven't decided if I'm going to use the MDF that I picked up or if I'm going to keep searching for the proper molding... Pretty sure I'll be going with the MDF option outside the theater but inside it won't match up right with the casing so I am not 100% sure - temp plan is in place, once I do the front stage I'll do the final plan which is to take the base molding from the front wall and move it to the back wall.
  2. hang posters - done
  3. Decide if I'm going to build a front stage now or wait until I get a projector - I have decided... I am building one before I get the projector. I have enough scrap 2x6 boards and 3/4" OSB to make the stage without having to buy anything but deck screws.
  4. Pick out carpet - and get it installed after I build the stage. - Have looked at options, not happening any time soon due to budget suddenly vanishing.
  5. Get a projector and build a spandex screen - not happening any time soon.

To do outside the room:


  1. Install and paint base molding - will be using the MDF for this because it won't really be obvious that it is thicker. - DONE.
  2. Decide what I'm doing over the door - not sure if I'm going to build it out and make it into a fancy theater style entrance or just hanging the Now Showing sign - DONE - went with Now Showing sign.
  3. buy a 40" TV to mount on the wall so my wife has something to watch while walking on the treadmill - DONE.
  4. wire everything up to allow the new TV to mirror the theater screen and to allow the new TV and the bar TV to run off the same cable box - halfway done... cable box portion is done, theater mirroring will require more parts that will have to wait until the I have a budget to work with again.
  5. Figure out something for a concession stand... need some sort of display case - DONE.
 
#350 · (Edited)
Had some time this weekend to work on my "ticket booth" - I'm not really following a plan so the design changed a few more times this weekend. Hopefully the idea will be a little more clear by the end of this post...

I actually ended up flipping the base over because it made more sense that way. Added 2x4s:


This gives an interesting look at what happens when you build using just scraps - the "2x4" boards that make up the sides are not actually 2x4s - they are the leftover from ripping a 2x10 down to 2x6 size... so they are just slightly bigger than a standard 2x4. Oh well - this will all be hidden under the "counter":


Test fit the "counter" and added some pins to make it easier to line it back up once I got the top half started - plan was to build the frame for the top and attach it to the "counter" then attach it all to the base:


At this point I realized I didn't have enough "scrap" to finish the top part so I had to actually buy some boards.. doh!



The portion above the counter is 48" - the top 12" will be a flat area for a logo lights... I haven't decided yet.


Faced the sides with MDF trim...


The front of the lower section will have a frame of 3.5" wide MDF, there will be a door with a magnetic lock to access the lower half. The top half will have a 24" x 35" ticket window that will be held in place with magnets so I can easily make changes to the display.

Anyway - there it is for now.
 
#351 ·
Looks like you will have a great addition to your HT! I wanted to have a ticket booth too, but I ran out of room. :( I will follow your progress to see how you do yours...maybe I will find a way to integrate one into our HT too. ;)
 
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#352 ·
I had decided against it at one point because the basement wall space is pretty well taken up, but my wife thought it would be cool :eek: - so of course I jumped at the idea :D

The space I will be placing it has an electrical outlet that will be covered - so I'm keeping options open to do some lights inside or above... or some sort of lighted sign. I found a motion activated plug/switch that I can use to control all of that, or I have an X10 plug adapter that I can use to tie it into my "all on" command I use for the bar signs and pool table light.

I just ordered a piece of 24"x36"x1/8" piece of plexiglass from Amazon - cheaper than Lowes or Home Depot... I just have to figure out how to safely cut out the "ticket slot" at the bottom without breaking it. Don't want to throw away $25!
 
#354 ·
A couple of months ago my wife told me she wanted a claw machine. I found one on CL for her, and we got the seller to deliver it to us. She loves it. I went to a friends shop, and he showed me his Electronic Pinball machine he built. I am thinking I might make one later to put upstairs over the pond for gaming.
 
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#355 ·
Nice, you talking about the pinball with the video screen instead of the mechanicals? My friend with the hyperspin setup was telling me about a machine that uses a screen but also has bumpers and things inside the box to make it feel like a real pinball machine too. The idea sounded really cool.
Don't mention claw machines... I'm sure my wife would want one of those too! :R
 
#360 ·
Did you do blue fabric walls, or is that paint?
 
#364 · (Edited)
Picked up the second A2-300 on Saturday...






The forum member that sold me the sub also included the platform that he had made for it - unfortunately I couldn't fit the sub with the platform into the available space. That is probably a good thing since one of our cats decided to make it his new bed!


I got everything calibrated... it was interesting to see that my original A2-300 with the updated Infinity drive in it was quite a bit louder at the same level setting on the receiver. Makes me think I should invest in another Infinity driver for the new sub eventually ;) Was also interesting to see a 7db gain when both were running! I ended up setting the subs 4db hot and ran some test clips - I have to say the improvement was incredible!


*This was going to be a longer post but apparently I fell asleep writing it (twice now... sheesh), so I'll add more tomorrow night ;)
 
#365 · (Edited)
I had a little time on Sunday to work on the ticket booth...

First thing was to add some blocks to attach the facing to the lower half... these will keep the blocks lined up properly and also add some reinforcement for the fairly heavy door...




Added a few more blocks that I didn't get pictures of... ended up with this:


The lower half is almost done... The opening will be covered by the door once I get it cut down to size. All gaps will be filled with wood putty and sanded down.
I have all of the boards for the top portion ... so that shouldn't take much time.
Plexiglass arrives tomorrow - I have a plan for the frame, so we'll see if it works


Also - wow my garage is messy! LOL!
 
#366 ·
Spent the weekend staining my deck... 1 hour Friday night, 4-5 hours Saturday, 10 hours Sunday! Only the last 2-3 hours were spent actually staining the flat deck surface - the rest of the time was spent doing the railings and stairs! A bit of advice: Don't do wood railing on your deck! LOL!



Anyway - I ended up with an unexpected day off work today - so I spent a few hours on the ticket booth.
A few weeks ago I bought a 12" board for the top section... it was wrapped in plastic and I didn't open it up until today. Discovered a minor issue with it once I opened it:

I can see straight through it!! Luckily I was going to be drilling holes anyway - so it should be ok. I would have exchanged it, but I have no idea where the receipt was and I didn't want to waste any more time.

Added some 2x2s so that I could run some screws from behind and not have any visible screws from the front - save me some time later:


Drilled dome holes in the frame so I could run wiring up to the top portion:


Here we are with the facing on the upper portion...


Test fit of the plexiglass:


Cut the pieces for the frame for the window - this will be held in place with magnets so I can pop it open to change things out as needed. Friend will be cutting a 1/2" deep groove into the frame for me for the glass.


I was getting ready to cut the piece to make the "door" on the lower portion and decided I needed a better way to do things. I was going to use a spare piece of MDF that already had a piano hinge on it - but I realized it was going to be too heavy and not look very good. Talked with a friend of mine that builds cabinets about options - and he is going to make me a door! So that is kind of cool.

When I was talking to him I did a little sketching on my phone to show him what I needed - thought I would share it here:


Trying to decide on what to do for letters... Michaels has lighted letters on sale for 60% off that look like an option, but they are powered by individual batteries so I'm not sure how to make that work off a switch. They also have regular wooden letters - but that's kind of boring.

EDIT: Wow... that "drawing" looks awful! It didn't look that bad on my phone... LOL!
 
#373 ·
Are the letter routed through the wood? If so you could get a piece of plexi for the back side of the door, and light it from the rear...maybe LED rope lights going around the whole word "TICKETS"? It appears you have enough space that you could make it into a lightbox with LED light bulbs if you wanted to use several and be brighter. You could even get some that would flash if you wanted.
 
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#367 ·
My friend sent me some pictures this morning - he already built me a door before I even had a chance to buy the wood for him to use!



He even put it on "soft close" hinges!


Hopefully I can get it from him soon... I'd love to get this thing painted and into the basement!

Have to decide on colors...
 
#368 ·
Picked up the door this morning and dropped off the boards for my window frame on my way to work... got a text message about 20 minutes later that it was all done! LOL! Must be nice to have all the right tools for a job

Hopefully I can pick up the frame on my way home from work and get everything assembled this weekend.

Just need to do a lot of filling in with wood putty, a bunch of sanding... then I can prime it and start looking at options for colors. Black seems like the easy way to go... but since this will be out in the main area of the basement I'm not sure that is the best way to go.
 
#369 ·
Black Satin Stain would look nice, IMO, and it would show off the wood grain (if you want to see the wood grain).
 
#375 · (Edited)
Boy, it's too early in the morning! I like your design so far! Can you use some small gauge wire & maybe solder to the leads of the lighted letters. Then drill a small hole where the letter will be & pull/run the wire through to a accessible location. They are most likely 1.5 volts, you could probably use a potentiometer
http://www.tedss.com/RV4LAYSA152A/?gclid=CjwKEAjwtLO7BRDax4-I4_6G71USJAA6FjN1HwoZQCFh7o_SzZgvFAb9n4AYOW301FHwDCEto_vaHxoC3wfw_wcB
to step current down & use a 6 volt battery or reasonable facsimile. Put in an inline toggle switch when you wanted them on/off.

I bet Talley would know exactly how to pull this off. You could PM him.
 
#377 ·
Just called up my father in-law and mentioned the idea of wiring the lights together - and he listed off exactly what I would need to make a little board so I could run them off a wall wart plug which could be added into the X-10 controller I use for my bar and pool table area lighted signs! Seems like an easy project - I'll be stopping by tomorrow morning to pick them up because it looks like the sale is still on ;)
 
#380 ·
Why not get a template, and route them into the wood?
 
#381 ·
Spent a little time on the booth today...
Filled in some holes and seams with wood putty, sanded it down, installed the door, took the door back off, and painted the "inside" black with some spray paint to save the trouble of trying to get it with a brush later ;)
Also picked up a can of primer - but it was just too hot and humid to work on it in the garage.





 
#384 ·
It is coming along great! I hear you on the hot weather putting a damper on working on the projects.
 
#386 ·
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#388 ·
Update for the day: friend brought my "window frame" into work for me today.
Won't get to work on it tonight because we have company coming over, but I plan to work on it Wednesday night - going to secure the plexi in the frame by putting a couple of screws in through the back so it will be removable. At first I'm not going to actually cut the speaker hole or the "ticket slot" in the plexi - but my wife is going to make me a silver vinyl decal for the speaker and a black decal for the ticket slot. I'm paranoid about ruining the plexi sheet if I try cutting it, so I'd like to have it around for a bit before I take any risks. Dumb, but oh well!
I mentioned it before... but the frame will be held in place with 4 pairs of neodynium magnets. I will be drilling very small locating holes from the back into the frame and insetting the magnets into the frame and the face of the booth.
 
#389 ·
A plus of NOT cutting a hole is you will get more dust behind the plexi with a hole than without. ;)
 
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#390 ·
Very true!

So this was the bummer of the evening last night: The groove my friend put into the frame is 1/8" ... the plexiglass is 1/8"... apparently one of those 1/8" measurements is less precise than the other and I can't get the glass into the frame! Dang it, I was REALLY hoping to have this thing painted and in the basement this weekend.
My friend is off work today - so I'll be able to pass it back to him tomorrow and hopefully have it back Friday, so it might still happen.
 
#391 ·
Frame is back in the hands of my friend that is making the groove a little wider... I forgot to bring it in on Thursday - we got very sad news that my wife's grandfather had passed away early Thursday morning so my mind wasn't on my ticket booth.
Might get some work done on it this weekend, but probably not - we are doing what we can for the family right now, and we have a few holiday related plans...
If I can find time to pick up the frame I can at least get everything primed and start on painting the parts that will be black. I am thinking of doing some trim pieces in a dark gray rather than the silver I had been planning on... and there will be a blue curtain to carry the colors of the theater out into the main "lobby" area.
 
#392 ·
Sorry to hear about your loss. My prayers are with you & your family.

On a side note, consider that paint takes up space, so you might want to figure that into how wide he is going to re-router the grooves. The wood will also absorb some of the paints moisture & swell some.
 
#394 ·
I stopped by Hobby Lobby today to see what options they had for letters...
I double checked my space and with the trim around the top taking up 2.5" and the window frame taking up 2" at the bottom I am left with 7.5" for letter height.

This is what I came up with:

5" tall letters:


3" tall letters (meant to stand, so the rounded letters have flat bottoms:


another 3" option:


Or there is this option - which will mean not adding the trim around the top and require some more filling for the screws that were intended to be hidden by the trim. It will also stick out above the top a bit because the window frame does take up 2" underneath it ( I positioned it to show what it will be like with the frame in place):


There was the option of a scrolling LED sign - but I'm thinking if I am getting one of those I will be putting it above the entrance to the theater rather than on the booth.
 
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