Project "C8" - building Norways smallest(?) home cinema

170157 Views 129 Replies 13 Participants Last post by roffe, Feb 13, 2009

roffe

Discussion Starter · Nov 17, 2008 (Edited)

Status so far - Finished!:

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roffe

Discussion Starter · #2 · Nov 17, 2008 (Edited)

In the beginning

Project "C8" has started!

I may be Norways slowest home theater builder, at least when you include the fact that I have been planning this particular room since 2003. I'll not dwell on the reasons for this taking me so long. But you may say I have had enough time to make plans.

I have named the project "C8". This may mean a lot of things, but for me it stands for "Cinema 8". The number 8 has many meanings, it is a chinese symbol for happiness, the floor area of the room is between 8 and 9 square meters, there are 8 channels in a 7.1 system...
There may be other reasons, but by now you may be saying: "8 square meters!???". And, yes, it will be about that size when finished.

This is the reason I think it will be Norways smallest home cinema. There may be some smaller, but i doubt they are dedicated HT rooms, and I doubt they can seat a whole family.

Here are some early planning sketches:

The first sketch shows something about how I imagine the front speaker setup. It is rather old, andsome changes may be made.

Here is another sketch. The speakers will not be like this, but the seating arrangements are close to what I'll be making:

I am not going to spoil the excitement by telling every detail, but here are some points to keep the expectations to a realistic level:

There is no room-in-room solution. That would steal too much floor space.
The bass acoustics will not be perfect. This must be solved using electronic room correction.
It will not be the most beautiful home theater in the world. The finish will be limited of my limited carpentry skills and the fact that the room will be mostly dark.
It will not be an all black bat cave.
There will be compromises.
There will be DIY-solutions
A lot of stuff will be done to save and utilise space.

The project has started with cleaning up the room. Here is the unpromising start:

After cleaning and some deconstruction:

I guess a lot of my spare time will be spent on this project. I don't know when I'll finish, that's part of the excitement.

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frodo1

· #3 · Nov 17, 2008

:bigsmile:This will be an exciting thread to follow, im having planns for a simullar sort of project, although my floorspace will be a bit bigger.
Wll you be using a big screen tv?, or a projector and a screen?
Have you been thinking about the accoustics?, becouse of the planns that i have, and the size of the room i descided to buy a 5.1 system instead of a 7.1 system and skip the troubles of to much room reflections and phase problems.
(but mayby my way of thinking is incorrect, correct me if 'm wrong)

Snds i live in Sweden, we can say that we are neighbours so.........

Lycka tll!!:wave:

roffe

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 17, 2008

frodo1 said:
:bigsmile:This will be an exciting thread to follow, im having planns for a simullar sort of project, although my floorspace will be a bit bigger.
Wll you be using a big screen tv?, or a projector and a screen?
Have you been thinking about the accoustics?, becouse of the planns that i have, and the size of the room i descided to buy a 5.1 system instead of a 7.1 system and skip the troubles of to much room reflections and phase problems.
(but mayby my way of thinking is incorrect, correct me if 'm wrong)

Snds i live in Sweden, we can say that we are neighbours so.........

Lycka tll!!:wave:

Thanx.

This HT will definitely use a projector and screen. The screen will be a based on a professional screen material, but the frame and masking will be custom built by me for this room.

I have thought a lot about acoustics, and decided that I will have a 7.1 system. The reason is that I have visited small HTs with 5.1 loudspeakers, and the surround speakers usually get so close to your head that the position of the speaker is clearly revealed, and the space between them not properly filled with the illusion of seamless surround. This works better with 7.1, IMHO.

The biggest challenges is in the bass, but I have some plans there, too... ;-)

bpape

· #5 · Nov 17, 2008

Looks like fun. The one suggestion I would have would be to not do 2 center channels. You'll cause all kinds of cancellation issues.

Bryan

roffe

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 17, 2008

There is no problem with two center speakers as long as they perfectly in phase.

The problem with the sound coming from below the picture is a larger problem, IMHO. I have also experienced HTs with two center speakers which does the job as good as a center placed behind a sound transparent screen.

bpape

· #7 · Nov 17, 2008

Your call. There are most definitely cancellations with 2 center channels. Center channels are usually specifically designed to have limited horizontal but good vertical dispersion. When you use 2 of them, you're essentially limiting their vertical dispersion by allowing them to cancel in the center.

If you ever measure 1 vs 2 top and bottom, you'll see it very clearly.

Bryan

roffe

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 17, 2008

Yes, the vertical dispersion will be limited. No, there is no cancellation when they are time aligned perfectly in sweet spot, in pretty much the same way as stereo speakers do not have good horisontal dispersion if they are playing pure mono, which is essentially the same as when two center speakers play the same center channel.

roffe

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 19, 2008

Color palette for C8

Hi again. I have played around with colors, and have arrived at a palette for interior colors. I'm not sure if reality will match the plans exactly, but these are the approximate colors of C8:

The use of the colors are (from left to right):

projection screen
grey on door, side walls and back wall
ceiling
front wall and furniture
floor

I think these colors makes this a "quiet" theme. Please note that nothing is said yet on textures... Time will show.

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roffe

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 20, 2008

Back again with a status update. This time I am discovering big holes in my english vocabulary, because I don't know what the english word for "spikerslag" is. I'll let the pictures tell the story so far, but know that making holes in concrete has been a time consuming job:

The last wall is not that simple. Here, there is about 80 cm between the "spikerslag", while the standard is 60cm:

There is still some way to go...

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Space

· #11 · Nov 21, 2008

Would "spikerslag" have anything to do with the nailing or fastening into the concrete being difficult?

tenzip

· #12 · Nov 21, 2008

I'm guessing that "spikerslag" refers to either the vertical or horizontal studs shown in the last picture above, but that's just a guess.

roffe

Discussion Starter · #13 · Nov 23, 2008

"Spikerslag" refers to the vertical wood boards which enables me to fasten stuff to the wall with either nails or ordinary wood screws. In Norway, the standard for this is a center to center measure of 60cm, also referred to as a CC60-standard.

tenzip

· #14 · Nov 24, 2008

Then spikerslag = stud in English. The standards for spacing vary, I've seen 16" and 24". (40 and 60cm, near enough.)

Can you put in new spikerslag, and then remove the old? Why exactly is it causing you a problem?

Space

· #15 · Nov 24, 2008

or furring strip

The time consuming part is most likely from driving cut nails (fluted or hard nails, etc.) into the solid concrete with a small mall. It is tedious and often aggravates my wrists.

roffe

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 24, 2008

I haven't said anything about problems, have I? That something takes time doesn't mean it is a problem. ;-)

The last wall will not be torn down because it is an "anchoring point" (probably not the correct phrase to describe it) for the stairs leading down into the basement on the other side of the wall. Keeping a standard of CC60 all around the room makes symmetry in both construction and esthetics. Keeping the wall is one of the compromises I have chosen to make.

tenzip

· #17 · Nov 24, 2008

Well, you said it "was not that simple" with the non-standard spacing, so I assumed it was causing you some difficulty. If not, so much the better. Carry on!

roffe

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 25, 2008

First layer of paint in the ceiling and...

Back with new pictures again. Not many structural changes this time, even if the new doorframe represents a bit of work. I have painted the "spikerslag" and two walls. Actually I am uncertain myself why I painted the entire wall, but I think I wanted to check out the visual impression of a complete dark gray wall against the color of the ceiling. But compared to what I have planned, this is unnecessary use of time and paint. I am going to use this color on the door and on the woodwork around it, in corners and towards the floor. I have bought dark gray fabric for the walls, but that is a bit lighter than this color.

I need one or two more layers of paint in the ceiling. It will be a bit exciting to see how it turns out, my first impression is that the color is a bit too much towards red.

The lamp is temporary moved to the wall while painting the ceiling. What do you think I am preparing in the lower part of this wall? You'll get the answer later. ;-)

And, no, I am not talking about the door frame... ;-)

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roffe

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 2, 2008

Sub floor started

Just got started on the floor. Didn't get the time to finish everything at once, but laying this is work that progresses pretty fast. You may notice that the walls and floor aren't perfectly rectangular, but I guess this won't be noticable in the finished room.

This picture is from another angle. It may be clearer what I am preparing for in the wooden wall now. ;-)

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roffe

Discussion Starter · #20 · Dec 4, 2008

Sub floor done. Ceiling painted, second layer.

Now the sub floor is done. Next is floor heating. Waiting for electrician.

The ceiling is painted with a second layer of paint. The shine is because the photo was taken when it was newly painted. It will be less shiny.

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