Home theatre build....DIY..slowly..

[Superdave]

ALL outlets in basement are 20amp outlets with 12 gauge wire.

So I should be good on power draw. Just seemed easier to do 12/2 for everything and not have to worry then run 14/2 and wish I had more capacity later on down the road.

Now you are planning right! The cost is so minimal and you won't kick yourself later! Good job on planning!

[MercedesBerater]

Ok... So I'm still pretty new to home electric. (My knowledge base is all automotive)

But I'm pretty sure this is the most efficient & best way to wire outlets in series.

I looped the same wire around each screw so the wire never has a break in it- same with ground. Only needed to use one wire nut to daisy chain in the power feed from panel- and then daisy chain every outlet after that.

Is this pure genius? Or is this the norm??

Fits amazing into the 4gang box. - I was going to do 6 total outlets here but opted for 8 - always seem to need that one extra at a computer desk..

[Superdave]

Ok... So I'm still pretty new to home electric. (My knowledge base is all automotive)

But I'm pretty sure this is the most efficient & best way to wire outlets in series.

I looped the same wire around each screw so the wire never has a break in it- same with ground. Only needed to use one wire nut to daisy chain in the power feed from panel- and then daisy chain every outlet after that.

Is this pure genius? Or is this the norm??

Fits amazing into the 4gang box. - I was going to do 6 total outlets here but opted for 8 - always seem to need that one extra at a computer desk..

Normally, you would have your main feed of hot and neutral "spidered" out to each rec. I don't know the elec. codes in your area but code in my area only allows for one ground per component, no piggy-backing from each component in the same gang box. You will prolly be ok, but might be worth looking into.

[MercedesBerater]

I'll ask an electrician I know in the area- I just thought it was brilliant- the wire is never broken along the whole circuit. You'd think that'd be the most correct way to wire instead of dozens of wire nuts per room.

Looks hella pro - but hey, what do I know

[derrickdj1]

You are  keeping the eye on the target.  Just keep pushing and you will hit the down hill slope.

[MercedesBerater]

Well- branching off to do the office & bedroom- I'm perfecting some wiring techniques & drywall things that I've gotten rusty on. Which will make the HT faster & a better build in the end.

Practice makes perfect.

Also- checked with a local electrican I know and he said daisy chain "looping" the white/black wires is great- cleaner install, but more time consuming to do/undo. Which I don't mind - I like the idea of an unbroken wire

The ground can NOT be looped- it MUST be pigtailed. Which I did. So I'm up to code. Sweet!

[derrickdj1]

You do learn a lot  doing most of the work yourself.  It is like building a house.  Some people say build it and sell it.  Then build a 2nd one with all the newly acquired knowledge, lol.

[MercedesBerater]

Basement office progress...

[MercedesBerater]

It's been about 3 months since I've logged in. Had quite a few other projects to complete first.

Staining a fence.

Building an office in basement

Building a spare bedroom in basement

And some other small odds and ends.

But- I'm back. Got some green glue shipped and 14 sheets of drywall carried into basement!

Working on my second layer of 5/8" with green glue!

Still planning on doing the ceiling last - keep it open for wiring runs / changes, PJ location changes.... Etc.

Got about 7 sheets up today, then had to go mow the yard. I'll finish off the rest of drywall and green glue next weekend.. Then it'll be another month til I get another case and 12 more sheets of drywall.

Slowly but surely! We're getting there!!

[Ceptorman]

I think you've a lot of rain like we have, so that grass might require more attention than normal

[derrickdj1]

That's the ticket, get the women in the house to help!  Just keep chugging away.

[agile1966]

Funny, has been a while since I logged in as well. Work got in the way. Good to see your back at it. Keep it up looks fantastic.

I learned so much doing the wiring in my last basement. Amazed at the shortcuts some people take instead of taking the time and doing it correctly.

[MercedesBerater]

Thanks! I am having fun and learning a lot!

[MercedesBerater]

2,500 lbs of dry play sand hauled... Filled. Caulked edges... Two layers of OSB glued and screwed.

This think is a rock! Feels like walking on concrete, but jumping it has no vibration. Kind of a weird feeling.

Wood subfloor you expect the flex & noise... Very much worth the effort.

Working way around to back of room still slowly hanging second layer of 5/8" drywall with green-glue.

The front wall has been hung for at least a month.. (Cure time) when knocking on wall it's so solid!

Very cool to knock on one layer of 5/8" and then move a few feet down to the doubled up 5/8" and feel how solid it is, and how knocking on it decays so fast.

[Ceptorman]

It is rewarding doing your own labor on a project like this around the house….keep the pics coming!

[MercedesBerater]

For anyone who's building a stage- I thought this might come in handy.

I wanted a 1.5" overhang for my stage "lip". I thought maybe I could use the tape measure under the OSB and measure how deep it was, then subtract 1.5" and trace the top. This seemed very tedious... And too prone for math error and I do t want to worry about subtracting from 8 & 15/16"... So I built a very easy scrap wood tool.

I screwed three board together withhold & bottom boards having a perfect 'factory' edge. The top board is affixed 1.5" shy of the bottom board.

Slip tool under/over the OSB and no matter where you measure, it's always an exact 1.5" lip.

[MercedesBerater]

So the template tool worked great.

Now some after cutting pics! It looks great!! The curve is so much nicer now that I can see it without all the excess OSB hanging off the sides.

[MercedesBerater]

16 feet wide

Deepest portion of stage is 48" (center)

[bobdog]

I am curious about not hanging the ceiling drywall first.  At least before the final wall layer.   

 

In my room I used CASCO SF-181M Acoustical flex duct.  It really does work.  You can not hear the furnace/AC or any noise from other parts of the house through the ducts at all.

[MercedesBerater]

Well, the only reason I did not hang the ceiling first - or after the first wall layer was really a matter of conveinace - for two reasons... Well- maybe one and a half.

1) I wanted to leave the ceiling open and live in the room for a while and make sure I don't want to run any extra wires or move something - let's say, stage lights out 8" or forward 6". Or maybe add two more lights.

2) if drywall wall to wall & ceiling to wall are not supposed to touch for vibration reasons in a HT build- I assumed it shouldn't matter. (Had this been a contractor & a normal room- I'm sure ceiling first because the wall helps hold up the outer edge?? Although I don't buy into that thinking either- if 20 screws in a sheet of drywall can't hold it- what really is the 1/4" edge overlap going to do??)

So really it was a matter of making sure I had easy access later on, before I "finalize" the room & put up the ceiling.