Jump to content

Formica's Audio / HT room... the construction


formica

Recommended Posts

Hey Formica!

Great that you are finally getting round to doing a real HT room. Lots of work eh! In July I just finished a basement finishing project that started in Dec 2002 (Moved the hot water heater to make room for a toy storage closed under the stairs). The basement now has a nice play room for the kids, and a great gym for mom an dad (thats me and my wife). There are 2 nice french doors that open up to what will be a 12 x18 HT room. Last weekend I finished splitting the big room above the garage into my office and my 8 year old daughter's room. Now at least all the kids have their own room.

So what's next: Move the laundry room into the basement, and then maybe I can start the HT room! My idea was not to do a full drywall with joints etc (I hate mudding drywall!), but prepare some nice sound deadening panels and put them up, plus have removable baseboards with room for cable underneath. I will do a play by play like you have! Maybe we can get together at the Audio show this winter in MTL?

Am currently in hotel room in Syracuse...visiting customers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just finished a basement finishing project

that started in Dec 2002 (Moved the hot water heater to make room for a

toy storage closed under the stairs). ... There are 2 nice french doors

that open up to what will be a 12 x18 HT room.

I too moved my hot-water, wash basin, and central vacuum (as well as add drainage for the toillet, etc..) when I built

the basement washroom several years ago. It's a lot more

work than it seems... The 12x18 sounds like it'll make a nice

room.

This time around, I'll be rearranging all the existing wiring that has

been added or modified over many years... it's a real mess.

Maybe we can get together at the Audio show this winter in MTL?

Sounds like a good plan... I think it's some time in March-April...

ROb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, lots of prework:

Move existing hot water heater and add a second one. But I built a basin first in case of leaks!

Add sister 2x4 to floor joists.

Remove some 2 x10 beams to make hall look nice, Put them on other side...

Remove crappy fiberglass insulation from header and have urethane foam blown in by pros.

Move copper pipes to go around room, and not in middle of ceiling.

Replace rotten 2x4 layed in cement holding up floor and stairs. Straigten remaining 2x4s.

Build new stairs (I am pround of that one!)

re-route heating ducts to make more room in ceiling. Add return ducts to all rooms.

Add central vacuum pipe.

Fish out crappy insulation from behind 4x8 plywood panels where electrical box is and blow in foam.

Build nice covers around wiring into electrical box.

Add nice inserts aroung windows in foundation

insulate heating ducts (gym has soundproofing...I like to pump iron at 5 am while watching dance music videos with scantily clad women...)

Run Cable and phone lines, and all electrical wire.

I also had a real weird problem: Water dripped out of the 400 amp electrical mains whenever it rained alot for several days. Tried to find an entry point. No luck. Turned out that the heating system was sucking moist air into the cold box (colder in basement) thru the small pile used for the electrical meter and it condensed inside! It took a few days, so only happened when there were several days of rain and high humidity!

Basically the jerk who built the house didn't give a damn about anything, just put anything anywhere whithout any consideration of future basement finishing!

BTH my basement is basically dry, so I did not build a subfloor. I put very good quality rubber underpadding and a top commercial carpet

http://www.krauscarpet.com/kraus/servlet/Navigator?Order=vafEnter&style=1685

It is just beautifull!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Formica: what are you going to be using for flooring?

Right now, we are strongly considering a floating laminated floor, my

GF saw one she particularly likes. Given the mixed subfloors,

real birch strip flooring (my preferance) is out of the question.

I like to pump iron at 5 am while watching dance music videos with scantily clad women...

[:o][;)]

just put anything anywhere whithout any

consideration of future basement finishing!

I think they

are all built that way, unless you have it built. You've

definitely put your share of work into it... BTW, which year is

your home?

ROb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Built in 91, we purchased in 96. with no kids...Interior was finished in contractor white. Figured we would paint quickly and customize to our liking. Well, wife got pregnant a month after we moved in... and 9 years, 3 kids later...most of the house is still contractor white!.

We did the bedroom first, crown moulding and all, then the 2 kids bedrooms, then the basement, and this summer my home office and eldest daughter's bedroom. Next is the basement laudry room with bathroom. Wife wants kitchen redone next, but I may squeeze in the HT room first, at least get it operational if not looking like a formal theatre. Want to do something real nice looking, with stage, rear seats raised on platform etc. So far my ideas are to put a base in front with subs in them. This will raise the LaScalas to a better level. It could also be a stage for the some instruments like electric piano and drums. The surrounds, rear, and center will be stock or modified Heresy if only to change formfactor. Still just a vision right now. But what I find works is to think about these things way in advance. That way you come up with many ideas and solutions to problems, get to churn them in your mind, usually discard the first ones, and finally settling on the best all round solution. Too often the first idea is not the best, but when you are rushed, the first idea is the one that gets built. One of my longer term ideas is to make a wallhorn. That is use the front wall to build a long semi folded horn. But I may have to wait for retirement to do that one!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More pictures... Here you can see walls, floor, and ceiling fully

stripped and hauled out. You can get a glimpse of the sub-floor

extension I built.

BTW, I'll try to assemble all my posts and pictures into a web page

when I get a chance. Just been very busy with work (the paying

type) recently...

post-11489-13819276665032_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The low point in the slab is closest to the camera in this shot.

I'm figuring that I could have lowered the total level 3/4" had I torn

everything out... which included about 5000lbs of sandcoat. I

opted to "value engineer" it instead... [;)]

Later...

ROb

post-11489-13819276666582_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once the subfloor was done, this gave me a reasonable working area to

start building my manifold for the IB. It didn't look that big on

paper, but once I got starting cutting the pieces, this is going to be

a pretty hefty unit. This is basically the rear panel you are looking at.

The drawing was posted on page one in pdf format... http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/635819/PostAttachment.aspx . It's 73" wide x 22 " deep and 39" high... built using 3/4" MDF sandwiched to a 3/4" plywood structure.

Still more to come...

ROb

post-11489-13819278305694_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were to start from scratch I would do exactly as you have done. I

think insulating between the concreteand the floor is an

excellent way to go, my HT is also in the basement. Although it can get

a little cool when its under 10 degrees outside I bet if I had a

subfloor in like the one your doing it would make a big difference.

Great progress!

scooter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it can get a little cool when its under 10

degrees outside I bet if I had a subfloor in like the one your doing it

would make a big difference.

It definitely makes the floor much more comfy to the touch, even though

basement floors don't loose a significant amount of heat

(theoretically, the greatest heat looses in a normal home is through

the roof and infiltration losses... but that is an entirely

different subject).

My parents' un-insulated basement floor feels quite a bit cooler even

though they live a couple of blocks away in a home also built in the

mid 50's.

I'm kinda embarrassed of my progress [:$], as you seemed to have ripped through yours in a couple of weeks.

How tall is your basement ceiling, and were

you at all worried about losing some of that height by installing the

subfloor?

Yes I was very concerned with height... as the existing finished

rooms have ± 6'6" clear only! (check out my first two posts of

this thread) I decided to match the existing levels, as replacing

the subfloors would only result in a minor height gain.

My slab-on-grade purposely slopes 2-1/2" on 13' towards a floor

drain... this was typical 1950's construction. This gives

6' 9" to 6' 11-1/2" rough. Given I wanted (needed) a flat floor,

I'm limited to starting at the high point and removing:

1/2" resilient ceiling bars

1/2" ceiling gypsum

5/8" subfloor

3/4" wood furring (at the high point)

This would give 2-3/8" loss + the 3/4" for actual floor finish...

OTOH, I'm now loosing 3-1/8" by not stripping it all out, BUT given the

mixed sub floors, I'm forced to use a thinner floating finish of

1/4"... and hence a net height loss of about 1/4". I'm also stuck

with floating floor rather than real hardwood.

Like I mentioned in one caption, that picture shows you worst-case scenario.

You, I would imagine... have a lot more options available to you, given your home's modern construction.

Note that many modern, concrete, apartment buildings feature 8'

ceilings and only 7' clear in bathrooms, kitchens, and corridors in

order to clear mechanicals.

ROb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...