Building a Home Teater

[sirkus]

On the 1st of November my roommate and I will be moving into a house and getting out of a god awful apartment. My roommate has always been into having a nice theater for the apartment. We currently run a 72" projected screen through a Mitsubishi HD1000U projector. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player with around 60-70 movies. We have 5.1 surround with mainly Polk Audio speakers. However, The 2 fronts are Bose 401's. He just bought a Onkyo TX-SR804E AV receiver to push a beautiful sound from all of these speakers. Right now we have this whole setup in a 16x12 room which limits us to the small screen and being in an apartment makes it hard to turn up the sound. We will be moving into a house that my dad has owned for several years and I am planning on buying it. The basement has a 18x26 room in it that will be made into a theater room (I will post pics of the progress.). Right now though, the room isn't completely finished. Some of the walls need some sheet rock put up and we still have to run the HDMI/Component cables and speaker wires. I am trying my best to make this room a bad ass theater with around an 120" picture. There are no windows in this room either so it will be a perfect blackout with the lights off. :ninja:

I was just wondering though if anyone has built a home theater and actually went through the trouble of buying lights, switches, wall plates, etc.. just trying to make it a beautiful setup. If so please post some pictures because I'm looking for some ideas. I am looking to get this room finished in around a month of so... maybe two. I need to find an electrician or someone who knows how to move switches and run power for lights in the front of the room. I'll also need someone who can teach how to do drywall. Or even knows someone who can come in and finish some drywall and get it ready to paint for cheap. I'll post a picture of the room as it sits now (crappy cell pics.. minus all of my dads junk laying in the floor.). The room will be painted a dark color and the projector will be mounted on the ceiling. Plan on getting it were we can seat around 6 and still have a nice experience.

I've also included a pic of our current limited space that we are using..

I'm interested in seeing what some people on here have in their homes.

[Jimmy B]

Projectors are not the best for theaters, get a 60" Plasma :)

My brother and i install them,... good luck, take your time, and make sure the speakers are positioned right

[ueyedgr8tness]

Reps man i like it...

[ATK_Designs]

looking goood there mang.

Mine at home are more of the eastern culture.

[Jecht]

I'll go take a pic of my setup.

[sirkus]

Projectors are not the best for theaters, get a 60" Plasma :)

My brother and i install them,... good luck, take your time, and make sure the speakers are positioned right
Those are really nice but they're a bit pricey. I like projectors for the fact that you can run 120" with $1000. It's pretty crisp and clear and runs at 720p. Works for now.. until I get a lot of money.
Speaker wise, my room mate pretty much calibrates the audio every day. He can always tell imperfections in the surrounds or how much the center is getting compared to the LF and the RF.. Do you use any sort of high end calibrator? We are using one that come from Radioshack that works.. but I'm sure there's better.

Also, do you recommend any kind of HDMI cables? I found several 75ft. cables that I can use but I'm not sure if I should go with HDMI 1.3 or just the normal cable. I know that the PS3 is the only thing in our living room that supports 1.3.


Reps man i like it...
Thanks a lot.. Reps back to ya :goodjob:


looking goood there mang.

Mine at home are more of the eastern culture.

Have any pictures? I'm interested in seeing some of you guys layouts. Give me some inspiration. :yes:


I'll go take a pic of my setup.
What all is in your setup?

[Frög]

ill post pics of mine this weekend.. my dad and i built it, and its a true home theater.. back row seating is raised, 150 inch screen.. its not finished, but ill post the pics of how it looks now.. as you know; projectors are the best way to go.. DVD high def, with a screen, its perfect quality.. projectors have really improved and prices are very cheap..

[Frög]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=3/

[Jimmy B]

Those are really nice but they're a bit pricey. I like projectors for the fact that you can run 120" with $1000. It's pretty crisp and clear and runs at 720p. Works for now.. until I get a lot of money.
Speaker wise, my room mate pretty much calibrates the audio every day. He can always tell imperfections in the surrounds or how much the center is getting compared to the LF and the RF.. Do you use any sort of high end calibrator? We are using one that come from Radioshack that works.. but I'm sure there's better.

Also, do you recommend any kind of HDMI cables? I found several 75ft. cables that I can use but I'm not sure if I should go with HDMI 1.3 or just the normal cable. I know that the PS3 is the only thing in our living room that supports 1.3.




to be honest, as long as its a good quality cable, you arent going to tell MUCH of a diffrence.. a diffrence yes, but not much.. just get a good, high quality cable, thats not gojng to break your bank and you should be fine..

my brother has a calibrator, i do not.. he and one of his buddy's do all that, his buddy is great at it

[fire7882]

Sheetrock is a PITA to do right. If you have never done it, hire someone or you will go crazy trying to get everything perfect.

On the other hand, the electrical stuff is fairly easy as long as you do your research.

Projectors are a lot better for dedicated theater rooms for many reasons. Plasma's and lcds are way to bright for a dark room and can cause eye strain plus the sizes are very limited.

If you are looking for a large screen, chech out this link.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/ele/462847234.html

I bought 2 100" ULTRA 16:9 screens for $15 each and they were new in the box. He has so much stuff you need to make the drive up there and look around.

Good luck with the build.

[ATK_Designs]

I'll take some pics once we clean things up. :)

[sirkus]

Sheetrock is a PITA to do right. If you have never done it, hire someone or you will go crazy trying to get everything perfect.

On the other hand, the electrical stuff is fairly easy as long as you do your research.

Projectors are a lot better for dedicated theater rooms for many reasons. Plasma's and lcds are way to bright for a dark room and can cause eye strain plus the sizes are very limited.

If you are looking for a large screen, chech out this link.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/ele/462847234.html

I bought 2 100" ULTRA 16:9 screens for $15 each and they were new in the box. He has so much stuff you need to make the drive up there and look around.

Good luck with the build.

I've heard from several different people that it's a real pain to do drywall. I only need to move some air duct and run the lights and move a switch here and there.. easy stuff. Thanks for that link too, I'll have to look in to getting a REALLY large screen. This guy has some really nice prices.. I was thinking about buying this stuff called Screen Goo too, it's just paint that you put on your wall how ever big of a screen that you need.



to be honest, as long as its a good quality cable, you arent going to tell MUCH of a diffrence.. a diffrence yes, but not much.. just get a good, high quality cable, thats not gojng to break your bank and you should be fine..

my brother has a calibrator, i do not.. he and one of his buddy's do all that, his buddy is great at it
Cool, I've heard that HDMI is HDMI no matter the cable. I was just seeing if you had one you would recommend. I ordered a 75'(22AWG) cable from Monoprice.com for $76. I'll be ordering a component cable too within the next week or so. I also bought 200' of 12AWG speaker wire to run through the walls. So I should be in nice shape when it comes to running the wires.

I'll be 100% moved in Wednesday so I'll be able to get my hands dirty every day.. :yes:

[Jimmy B]

yea, thats not to bad of a price at all.. and you only got 200 feet of it? you might want some more.. when i do the theater in my basement, i will have no less than 500 feet.. and when i do my whole house with in -room speakers, ill prolly use about 4000 feet of it

[sirkus]

yea, thats not to bad of a price at all.. and you only got 200 feet of it? you might want some more.. when i do the theater in my basement, i will have no less than 500 feet.. and when i do my whole house with in -room speakers, ill prolly use about 4000 feet of it
:doh: I thought about getting more when I bought it. 200ft. seems like a lot until you run the same path 4 times over for the surrounds. I'm glad you pointed that out. I know I'll need more now. I'll just get another roll of 200-300ft when I get the component cables.

:goodjob:

[thinkfast®]

I GOT A HOMEY THAT CAN KNOK THAT SHEETROK OUT FOR YA, LMK

[Jimmy B]

ricky, you do? i need my basment done in a few weeks..

i will ahve all the sheetrock up, it will jsut need mudding and sanding.. (im really impatient when it comes to sanding.. lol)

[thinkfast®]

yea man, he does the hanging and everything else I think, Im somewhat of a frail individual so I dont work too much w/ my hands

Ill find out and shoot ya a PM homey

[SL65AMG]

i can do sheetrock and painting.

pm me if u got questions

[sirkus]

i can do sheetrock and painting.

pm me if u got questions

PMed both of you guys. :goodjob: Any and all help will be great!

I was also wondering something. As for running the cables to the projector, are there any other cables that I should run other than HDMI and Component? I heard VGA would be nice but I can't seem to find a wallplate for VGA. Any other plugs that would make it a whole lot easier to upgrade to?

[ep9716]

Im Not Done Yet....It Cost Too Damn Much LOL..I Should Be Done In Sometime In Dec.
Check It Out..Guys Tell Me What Yall Think.

[ep9716]

Heres One More

[sirkus]

Hell yeah man, looks good. I like the trim. Gives it a real traditional look. How long have you been working on it?

[ep9716]

I Been Working On It..Like A Year Dude...I Think Its Gonna Be A Year This Nov.
It Used To Be A 2 Car Garage It Also Has A Storage Closet To The Right And A Bath Room To The Left.

[sirkus]

Damn man.. looks like it's going to be well worth the wait. I like that tile too. You're really making it look sweet. Whats your finished plan look like?

[ep9716]

Well Its Just Going To Be A Like Chilling Room Ima Pop A Nice Tv In There Im Thinking 42 In Or Bigger And Nice Sound. And A Desk For A Computer. Not Really A Theater But W/E Its Gonna Look Sweet...And Yes I Am MEXICAN LOL...

[jaystar]

Mine should be done in Jan 08 i cant wait. iAM waiting on black friday 2 pick up the tv

[sirkus]

Mine should be done in Jan 08 i cant wait. iAM waiting on black friday 2 pick up the tv
Hell yeah, we're going to go and pick up another HD DVD (HD-A2) player that day. Post up some progress pictures if you don't mind. I want to know what I should expect to be seeing. :D

[NewGen33]

This is something I plan on doing once we move into a new house.

[ep9716]

Being Mexican FTW!!!...

[Seymour222]

Kewl thread. I just got through doing some research on home theater setups. The install is set for the 5th. Im pretty amped. If I was "ballin", I would have liked to have done the whole floating floor and ceiling setup. Does anyone know if anything is 7.1 capable yet?


Oh yea, Ive also heard it is a good idea to pane every other set of studs, it is supposed to help with the acoustics.

[sirkus]

Kewl thread. I just got through doing some research on home theater setups. The install is set for the 5th. Im pretty amped. If I was "ballin", I would have liked to have done the whole floating floor and ceiling setup. Does anyone know if anything is 7.1 capable yet?


Oh yea, Ive also heard it is a good idea to pane every other set of studs, it is supposed to help with the acoustics.
Hell yeah man.. Post pics of it when you're almost finished.

I'm going to look into adding panes to the studs. If money allows it.

Well, we got moved in tonight. We just sat the projector on the table and shot it up on the wall to see what kind of picture we can get. It's pretty freakin huge. I think we got pretty much what we were shooting for. Now all we need is that room finished and the projector mounted to the ceiling. And a really big screen! :yes:

I've got 2 pics that we just took to show how big the screen is (I'm 5'10" btw). When it's day light I'll take some better pics of the progress. We come in and cleaned the room a good bit getting it ready for work to be done. :bannana:

[Jimmy B]

Kewl thread. I just got through doing some research on home theater setups. The install is set for the 5th. Im pretty amped. If I was "ballin", I would have liked to have done the whole floating floor and ceiling setup. Does anyone know if anything is 7.1 capable yet?


Oh yea, Ive also heard it is a good idea to pane every other set of studs, it is supposed to help with the acoustics.

accually yes.... my brother and i (jb tech) will be installing a 5.1 AND a 7.1 in a home in about 2 weeks...

they are both TV's also,. no projectors

[ISAtlanta300]

Hell yeah man.. Post pics of it when you're almost finished.

I'm going to look into adding panes to the studs. If money allows it.

Well, we got moved in tonight. We just sat the projector on the table and shot it up on the wall to see what kind of picture we can get. It's pretty freakin huge. I think we got pretty much what we were shooting for. Now all we need is that room finished and the projector mounted to the ceiling. And a really big screen! :yes:

I've got 2 pics that we just took to show how big the screen is (I'm 5'10" btw). When it's day light I'll take some better pics of the progress. We come in and cleaned the room a good bit getting it ready for work to be done. :bannana:
Looks badass, but get rid of that ceiling fan...

[4dmin]

when i build my next home theatre i won't go w/ a projector either, i think the colors/shading is far more vibrant on lcd/plasma or highend tv... my parents have this JVC in their living room and it is a freaking monster 1080p + all the options... split screen is sick on this tv as well (two 30"+ pictures).".

http://tv.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028209&pathId=139&page=10

http://tv.jvc.com/images/products/HD70GC78_lobbyimage.jpg

[4dmin]

Philips has some nice cheap home theater options for those on a budget and for those not wanting to run cables... they have 3 products that do 5.1 sound w/ 1 or 2 center channels + 1 sub. I have their slot loading system in my bedrrom which you can get new at walmart for 249$ and sound is freaking awesome!

http://www.consumer.philips.com/ (http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/us/consumer/cc/_categoryid_cat30004/#;filterStates=%5BFK_DVD_HOME_THEATER_HOME%3Btrue% 5D%5BFK_DVD_MICRO_THEATER_HOME%3Btrue%5D%5BFK_HIGH _DEFINITION_HOME_THEA%3Bfalse%5D%5BFK_IPOD_DOCKING _HOME_THEATER%3Bfalse%5D%5BFK_AMBISOUND_SURROUND_S OUND%3Bfalse%5D%5BFK_USB_DVD_HOME_THEATER%3Bfalse% 5D%5Bcompare%3Bfalse%5D)

[B18c1Turboed]

Im in the process of building my home theater also, well i actually started it already,i bought the movie reclinable seats and all,I had a 42 Samsung Lcd mounted up but i tought the Tv was to small for that room. I am looking at getting 58 or 60 LCD in the next few weeks.

I never liked the way projection screen looked, the quality isnt the same!!

[Jimmy B]

I never liked the way projection screen looked, the quality isnt the same!!
thats what im sayin!!!! lol

[fire7882]

Make sure to pick a darker color for the walls and paint the wall behind the screen black if possible.


thats what im sayin!!!! lol

The only advantage of a flat pannel over the projector is its versility and brightness IMO and the brightness is only good for rooms with ambiant light. If you are building a dedicated theater room with controlled lighting, the projector will look better and be 4 times bigger if the equipment is properly matched and set up. If you don't have the luxury of having a dedicated theater room, I would agree that the flat pannels would be a better choice. In almost all cases but movies, I would prefer a flat panel tv because I wouldn't want to be sitting in the dark watching sports wih a group of friends because that is more of a social event.

I guess it's just a matter of opinion.



HD80 1080p projector
http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=22991

Screenshots taken from avsforum.com (looks better in person)

[sirkus]

Make sure to pick a darker color for the walls and paint the wall behind the screen black if possible.



The only advantage of a flat pannel over the projector is its versility and brightness IMO and the brightness is only good for rooms with ambiant light. If you are building a dedicated theater room with controlled lighting, the projector will look better and be 4 times bigger if the equipment is properly matched and set up. If you don't have the luxury of having a dedicated theater room, I would agree that the flat pannels would be a better choice. In almost all cases but movies, I would prefer a flat panel tv because I wouldn't want to be sitting in the dark watching sports wih a group of friends because that is more of a social event.

I guess it's just a matter of opinion.



HD80 1080p projector
http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=22991

Screenshots taken from avsforum.com (looks better in person)


Exactly, It's all really in the projector and screen that you have. Everything looks washed out when you're running a cheap projector that doesn't put out enough light to even barely handle 480i. Our old projector (infocus something) was a 480p projector and you could really tell a huge difference in colors and light when we upgraded to the 720p Mitsubishi HD1000..

Main reason why ours looks washed out now is because it's on a painted wall. We're going to wait to buy the screen until after the painting is done.

My issue is, where can you find a 120" LCD or Plasma? :thinking:


Looks badass, but get rid of that ceiling fan...
Yeah, that fan will be gone once the drywall work begins. Either have some dim can lights on both sides or 2 sets of track lights. Not too sure yet.

[ATK_Designs]

Again, bad ass setup dood. When I get another house, I'll definitely do my Theater room like that.

But for now, this is good enough for my Bed room, pretty ghetto as of now. But since it's only the BR, I don't feel like spending money on extra furniture stuffs. Saving money for new place.


Sharp Aquos LC-46D64U
Kenwood VRS-7100 7.1 Digital Receiver
Phillips 1080P DVD Player
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player
Belkin PF60 Power Conditioner
Onkyo 2 Channel Amplifier
Shure Wireless MICs
VocoPro Mixer/Equalizer
Sharp VHS Player - I'm still sporting that stuff though rarely used it for HK Series.
Original XBOX Modded
Polk CSi3 Center Speaker - Hidden
Klipsch 12" Sub
Sony Floor speakers for front stage
Polk R150 for the Sides and Surround back
Polk R50 for the Onkuo amp and Karaoke setup

All linked up to my HTPC on the other side of the room


http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff315/tknqnknv/BedroomHTsetup.jpg







My Family room setup is kinda similar with couple extra DJ equipments as well

[Seymour222]

Hell yeah man.. Post pics of it when you're almost finished.

I'm going to look into adding panes to the studs. If money allows it.

Well, we got moved in tonight. We just sat the projector on the table and shot it up on the wall to see what kind of picture we can get. It's pretty freakin huge. I think we got pretty much what we were shooting for. Now all we need is that room finished and the projector mounted to the ceiling. And a really big screen! :yes:

I've got 2 pics that we just took to show how big the screen is (I'm 5'10" btw). When it's day light I'll take some better pics of the progress. We come in and cleaned the room a good bit getting it ready for work to be done. :bannana:


Absolutely man, no prob. Its nothing really special, but Im proud of it. I wish my basement was a little bit bigger so I could put a couple rows of theatre seats. BTW, WTB Theatre seats. Georgia Home Theatre?

[ISAtlanta300]

GA Home theater has killer gear, but you can definitely shop around for theatre seats....even places like Haverty's and other furniture stores are sellign them.....

[The Ren]

My "theater"

[sirkus]

My "theater"
Damn thats a huge ass TV. :goodjob:



Just thought I would post an update. I'm currently getting ready for an electrician to come out and price how much they're going to charge me to move some wires around and fix some little issues I have with plugs down here. Once that is finished someone is coming out to finish the drywall.
I also purchased all of the cables that I am going to need for the in-wall installation. I received all of my wall plates for the speaker wire (12awg) and another 200ft of speaker wire. All of the HDMI and Component plates too.
I hope a 50ft HDMI and 50ft Component cable will reach.

HDMI Silver-Plated Copper CL2 Rated (For In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) - 50ft (Gold Plated)
PREMIUM 50FT 3-RCA Component Video Coaxial RG-6 18AWG 75Ohm CL2 Rated Cable
2x 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Cable - 100ft
I'm pretty much ordering everything from monoprice.com. They seem to have everything I need at really good prices. I just can't think of anything that I would need to go a head and run through the wall. So that I don't have cables just hanging around. I was thinking about running a VGA cable through the wall but that wouldn't be cheap and I figure if I ever wanted to hook my computer or something else up, I need to swap it to DVI.
Just thought I would update on my current status. I'll post some pictures of what it currently looks like tonight. :yes:

I want to see some more pictures of peoples theaters, see what other ideas I can borrow. :ninja:

[fire7882]

You might also want to consider running a 2 inch pvc pipe through the wall as well(from video source to projector). If you ever needed to run aditional wires or one of your current wires becomes damaged, you could easily run new cables through this pipe without cutting into the walls. A lot of HT installers do this to allow the addition of new cables that might become necessary as technology progresses as well.

If you do install the pipe, Keep the # of bends to a mnimum. 1 bend is ideal but more than 3 and running the cable could become very hard if not impossible.

[JayKnight]

Building a home theater is a blast, and costly at the same time. We did ours on a semi tight budget, and it turned out pretty good. Our room was originally part of the garage, but I had plans for that.

Anyways, for a room that is 11 feet wide at the front two thirds and about 18 feet wide at the rear, by 25 feet from front to back, we think it will serve its purpose, just fine.

I am not a fan of pull down screens due to the wrinkle factor. I love our wall mounted screen with a diag. measurement of 110" and the projector. capabla of all forms of video 720i 1080i 1080p yada yada yada, and HD.

We were extremely picky on the sound so we went with BOSE LIfestyle 28 to stay in budget.

Well here are a couple pics. All we need now is some furniture then we will be happy.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Jayknight_98Lude/DSCN0453.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Jayknight_98Lude/DSCN0452.jpg

For size comparrission, that wall is 11' wide and the screen is 8' wide and I am 6'-1.

Later !!!

[Jimmy B]

you coulda gotten WAY better than bose for the same money..

IMHO, bose is overpriced mid-range quality

[VooDooXII]

Awesome, and good luck!

I'll get some photos of what my parents have at their house. It's a Bose surround sound system, and a BenQ projector with a pull-down screen. I'll get dimensions, and like I said, photos up.

[sirkus]

Building a home theater is a blast, and costly at the same time. We did ours on a semi tight budget, and it turned out pretty good. Our room was originally part of the garage, but I had plans for that.

Anyways, for a room that is 11 feet wide at the front two thirds and about 18 feet wide at the rear, by 25 feet from front to back, we think it will serve its purpose, just fine.

I am not a fan of pull down screens due to the wrinkle factor. I love our wall mounted screen with a diag. measurement of 110" and the projector. capabla of all forms of video 720i 1080i 1080p yada yada yada, and HD.

We were extremely picky on the sound so we went with BOSE LIfestyle 28 to stay in budget.

Well here are a couple pics. All we need now is some furniture then we will be happy.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Jayknight_98Lude/DSCN0453.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Jayknight_98Lude/DSCN0452.jpg

For size comparrission, that wall is 11' wide and the screen is 8' wide and I am 6'-1.

Later !!!

I like that room man, it looks damn nice. Pretty good setup too. I've met you before at the Accord/Prelude BBQ, I drove the S2k up there back in March. :goodjob:
What kind of projector are you running? I like those lights too.


You might also want to consider running a 2 inch pvc pipe through the wall as well(from video source to projector). If you ever needed to run aditional wires or one of your current wires becomes damaged, you could easily run new cables through this pipe without cutting into the walls. A lot of HT installers do this to allow the addition of new cables that might become necessary as technology progresses as well.

If you do install the pipe, Keep the # of bends to a mnimum. 1 bend is ideal but more than 3 and running the cable could become very hard if not impossible.

I was thinking about that the other day at work. We use metal conduit a lot and I noticed the electricians using other wires to pull new wires through it and I was wondering how often that is used in home theaters. Would I be better off with just the standard PVC piping or is there a type of conduit made for projects such as this? I'd probably say I'll need somewhere between 40-50' of tubing and I'd need more than one turn. I'd have to run along with the beams for the floor upstairs. (ceiling is drywalled to that.)


you coulda gotten WAY better than bose for the same money..

IMHO, bose is overpriced mid-range quality

I've heard that from several different sources. My roommate says a lot that Bose hasn't made any great speakers since the early 90's. :tongue1:

I've also read that their systems are prefect for some rooms that have limited space. I really don't know though. We have that Onkyo 804 and it sounds amazing.

I really can't wait to finish this basement and have it nice down here so I can actually bring people over and show them my theater. All of my cables and all of my plates have come in. I'm just waiting on the money for the electrician to come in and finish my wiring and move some plugs. I'm looking to be atleast 90% completed by Christmas (everything but paint and carpet).

[fire7882]

Regular pvc should be fine. Try running a string through it as you put the pieces together. Then when you need to pull a wire, the string is already in place.

[Frög]

not a fan of bose.. We got Cabasse speakers, French company (<- go figure lol) and they are amazing.. couldn't be happier! www.cabasse.com (http://www.cabasse.com)

I just ordered a 124" 16:9 motorized screen, so it comes down from the ceiling when I turn on the projector.. i will post pictures of my home theater this week..

[Frög]

You might also want to consider running a 2 inch pvc pipe through the wall as well(from video source to projector). If you ever needed to run aditional wires or one of your current wires becomes damaged, you could easily run new cables through this pipe without cutting into the walls. A lot of HT installers do this to allow the addition of new cables that might become necessary as technology progresses as well.

If you do install the pipe, Keep the # of bends to a mnimum. 1 bend is ideal but more than 3 and running the cable could become very hard if not impossible.

i have that in my home theater.. crucial thing to have!!

[The Ren]

I got an awesome deal on my TV.. The TV and the entire entertainment center was $1,500. I couldnt pass it up.

[Jecht]

Sorry I never posted mine... we have a 60" Mitsubishi and a basic 5.1 surround sound system.

[ISAtlanta300]

I'll take some pics of mine once i get a new TV........

[Frög]

im down sizing my current 153" to the 124"..

[sirkus]

im down sizing my current 153" to the 124"..
Jesus, what kind of projector do you run? Haha That'd also take a pretty good size room too. :goodjob:

[Frög]

Jesus, what kind of projector do you run? Haha That'd also take a pretty good size room too. :goodjob:

ill post pics, dimensions, and the equipment this weekend.. i promise!

[sirkus]

ill post pics, dimensions, and the equipment this weekend.. i promise!
Weekends up.. I'm excited to see it.

I've run into a little issue. I want to move the screen to the other side of the room. If we turn everything around we can go from our current 136" screen (just about 11ft) to something a little larger. But if we do that we have to move a doorway. Which won't be much of a deal. Electrician says it will be easier on him too.

I have a question about it though. How do I go about getting out nails that have been put in? I was going to just try to cut the doorway out but I don't own a saw that can cut that close to that 2x4. I figure I can take it all out and cut it and put it back up. Move the 2x4's to the old doorway and board it up. I really need to hang some drywall on the wall to see how large we can make the screen. Before all that is done too I need to run some speaker wire.

Here are a couple pictures of what I'm talking about. (yeah they're a little big.)

http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0075.JPG
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0076.JPG
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0077.JPG
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0078.JPG
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0079.JPG

[fire7882]

just use a Bear Claw nail puller

Be careful when moving walls and doorways. If the new doorway is going in a load bearing wall, It will need a sufficient header. Also, the above joist should be supported temporarily while everything is being rebuilt to prevent sagging.

One last thing. Don't remove the current doorway framing, just add some studs at 16" on center and sheetrock over that. Then buy a few 2x4s to frame the new doorway(also appropriate lumber for the header if it is needed).

[Frög]

your project is coming along great!! really excited to see the end results! im changing mine a little bit. the old projector got fried in a thunderstorm so we are getting a new one.. also, i ordered the motorized screen which I will mount inside the ceiling by cutting the drywall.. When we finished the basement, before the walls were up we had pvc pipes put in to pass wires to the projector.. all speakers are also wired through the wall with speaker wall outlet plugs majiger.. seats are lazy boy and recline, the back row is elevated about a foot.. i was in a hurry so i took really bad pictures.. if you need a better picture of anything let me know and ill take it..

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1179.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1177.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1182.jpg

wow these pics are bad.. i will take some more Tuesday..

[Frög]

Weekends up.. I'm excited to see it.

I've run into a little issue. I want to move the screen to the other side of the room. If we turn everything around we can go from our current 136" screen (just about 11ft) to something a little larger. But if we do that we have to move a doorway. Which won't be much of a deal. Electrician says it will be easier on him too.

I have a question about it though. How do I go about getting out nails that have been put in? I was going to just try to cut the doorway out but I don't own a saw that can cut that close to that 2x4. I figure I can take it all out and cut it and put it back up. Move the 2x4's to the old doorway and board it up. I really need to hang some drywall on the wall to see how large we can make the screen. Before all that is done too I need to run some speaker wire.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/door.jpg

easy, either you cut it with a wood saw (cheap hand saw) or you just take a hammer and hit as hard as you can close to the nail: red arrows.. once you get either the top or bottom loose, just those studs will come right off.. so if i get it right, your trying to make a new door way (green?).. you can make the new frame (pink) at least the two vertical studs before taking the other studs out for safety.. but the studs are not bearing studs, the blue one is critical so no worries if you take those out..



One last thing. Don't remove the current doorway framing, just add some studs at 16" on center and sheetrock over that. Then buy a few 2x4s to frame the new doorway(also appropriate lumber for the header if it is needed).

very important..

[jaystar]

2 more days until i pick up my tv i cant wait

[sirkus]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/door.jpg

easy, either you cut it with a wood saw (cheap hand saw) or you just take a hammer and hit as hard as you can close to the nail: red arrows.. once you get either the top or bottom loose, just those studs will come right off.. so if i get it right, your trying to make a new door way (green?).. you can make the new frame (pink) at least the two vertical studs before taking the other studs out for safety.. but the studs are not bearing studs, the blue one is critical so no worries if you take those out..




very important..

The hammer trick worked, went and found the eastwing, knocked the boards right out with 2 swings. Thanks!
Now I'm wondering something else, all of my doors are 81-1/2" tall by 36-1/2" wide. I knocked out the 2 studs, and I've known that I need to cut the wood at the floor. That whole section where I'm trying to remove the 2x4's from is just one little framed section that was built before they put it up. Well, in order to cut out a 36-1/2" wide section of the top and bottom of the frame (because without the frame there it was an old pathway. It will look like the door to the right in the pictures.) The top section is nailed into the old door framing, that I can not get the claw into. There are around 15 nails in this part too. So I took all of the concrete nails from the bottom, and tried to knock the whole wall section out from under it so the nails would slip back out. But the only way I can get it out like that is to destroy the boards.
I started thinking while hitting it that when I finally get it out all I'll have to do it cut it to the same specs as this other door. And I need to remove the 2x4 on the left side of it too so that I won't have to do any extra dry wall work for the framing on the door.
Here's a couple pics of my progress in the past 10 mins.
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0087c.jpg
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0088c.jpg
http://www.x2sirkus.com/imgs/iphonepics/IMG_0089c.jpg

Thanks for all of your help... I'm truly grateful. :D

[sirkus]

your project is coming along great!! really excited to see the end results! im changing mine a little bit. the old projector got fried in a thunderstorm so we are getting a new one.. also, i ordered the motorized screen which I will mount inside the ceiling by cutting the drywall.. When we finished the basement, before the walls were up we had pvc pipes put in to pass wires to the projector.. all speakers are also wired through the wall with speaker wall outlet plugs majiger.. seats are lazy boy and recline, the back row is elevated about a foot.. i was in a hurry so i took really bad pictures.. if you need a better picture of anything let me know and ill take it..

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1179.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1177.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/ll_shprelude_ll/Random/100_1182.jpg

wow these pics are bad.. i will take some more Tuesday..
Damn man... I want those chairs.. That's a bad ass setup! :goodjob:

[fire7882]

First, before you remove anything else, make sure 100% that the wall isn't load bearing. If you start removing load bearing studs, you could run into a lot of trouble costing you thousands of dollars to fix.

Are you trying to raise the height where you have 38.5" marked?

[sirkus]

First, before you remove anything else, make sure 100% that the wall isn't load bearing. If you start removing load bearing studs, you could run into a lot of trouble costing you thousands of dollars to fix.

Are you trying to raise the height where you have 38.5" marked?

I'm 100% sure that it isn't load bearing. The place that is being framed used to be a pool room. Those doorways used to be wide open. Dad just built a frame for a door then installed it in that big doorway. And I can just get that framed part out I can cut the wood that I need gone and then stick it back up there. The doorway is 81-1/2" tall. Whenever I get that framed part out I can just cut that top, bottom and side boards out. And then get my actual door size from the framed section that I put back up. I think

I'll be able to explain better tonight whenever I get home.

[fire7882]

I think I underatand. So, the old door isn't in a load bearing wall.

You would be better off just reframming the new doorway than trying to move the old framming. I'll try to provide steps below.

CLOSE IN OLD DOOR
1. attach 2x4 to bottom of old doorway
2. cut and install studs in old doorway(toenail). Measure off the exhisting studs(not the door frame) to keep the new ones at 16" on center.
3. cover with sheetrock

MAKE NEW DOOR FRAME
1. Remove the 2x4 on the floor
2. Since the opening is already 38.5 inches wide and a 36 inch door requires a 38 in opening, just add a 1x4 to one side of the opening to make it 37.75(close enough to 38)
3. As long as the height is correct, you're all set as long as the new door isn't going in a load bearing wall.

Is the new door going in a load bearing wall?

[sirkus]

I think I underatand. So, the old door isn't in a load bearing wall.

You would be better off just reframming the new doorway than trying to move the old framming. I'll try to provide steps below.

CLOSE IN OLD DOOR
1. attach 2x4 to bottom of old doorway
2. cut and install studs in old doorway(toenail). Measure off the exhisting studs(not the door frame) to keep the new ones at 16" on center.
3. cover with sheetrock

MAKE NEW DOOR FRAME
1. Remove the 2x4 on the floor
2. Since the opening is already 38.5 inches wide and a 36 inch door requires a 38 in opening, just add a 1x4 to one side of the opening to make it 37.75(close enough to 38)
3. As long as the height is correct, you're all set as long as the new door isn't going in a load bearing wall.

Is the new door going in a load bearing wall?

Thanks a ton man.. I'm going to Home Depot to buy that claw tool so I can get all of those nails out. I'll just frame that whole section and make it so that both doors are 38". I think I might go a head and buy all of the wall boxes too for the receptacles and speaker wires. After this doorway situation is finished (hopefully tonight or tomorrow). Then I'll be ready for the electrician to come in and run all of my plugs and fix some wires. :goodjob:

Then on to the drywall! :D
I really can't wait for this room to be finished.

[Seymour222]

Mine is now fully functional. I am enjoying it throughly. I still haven't selected theater seats so I am currently using some bean bags. (I know pretty janky). I want to stage the theater chairs like Frog did. I am having trouble deciding between the Lane setup, or Ebay Interior Express. Ill post some pics of the setup later.

Frog-Do you regret making the platform a foot tall for your rear seats?

[sirkus]

Mine is now fully functional. I am enjoying it throughly. I still haven't selected theater seats so I am currently using some bean bags. (I know pretty janky). I want to stage the theater chairs like Frog did. I am having trouble deciding between the Lane setup, or Ebay Interior Express. Ill post some pics of the setup later.

Frog-Do you regret making the platform a foot tall for your rear seats?

Cool, bean bags make the screen look really tall I bet. ;)

I really like his chairs too. I plan on getting a nice little set up like that in sometime. It's just hard forking out 2k+ for a place to sit when I have 2 couches sitting down here that I don't use already. I'd like some though, makes the room look more like a theater.

Did you ever go with the acoustic padding?

I made it by Home Depot today too, checked out a few color options that I can go with in the room. There's a color called Sailboat (deep blue) by BEHR that I may go with in the whole basement. I also bought me several tools to get things rolling faster down here.

Seymour222 - you should post up some pics of your masterpiece. :goodjob:

[Frög]

Frog-Do you regret making the platform a foot tall for your rear seats?

what do you mean? should i have made it taller? i think the height is perfect, because its just enough so that the person in front of you doesnt get in the way..


ya those seats were not cheap, but well worth the money! it makes the whole room..

the motorized screen is coming in soon, and im going to order a huge curtain to close off the entrance of the theater.. hopefully i can get it motorized with a remote.. that would be cool..

oh and we are still looking for a new projector.. cant beleive the other one got fried..:rant:

[VooDooXII]

Sorry I took so long to get photos up. This is my first weekend back home in a while.

[fire7882]

any updates?

[Seymour222]

Okay. So I finally took a pic of "Theater Room". Not much of a theater without theater seats, and just bean bags and video game chairs. Eventually I will make time to update. Here are a couple pics.

[Seymour222]

Edited. I had a pic that didn't belong.

[ugacivic]

heres my setup:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/mediasetup.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/htpc.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/rearchannels.jpg

[sirkus]

heres my setup:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/mediasetup.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/htpc.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/nuspinesteven/rearchannels.jpg


I love that tv and comp.. what kind of processor you running? Wish I had a setup for the upstairs similar to that. :goodjob:

[Jimmy B]

you need that thing hung on the wall!