Jump to content

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


formica

Recommended Posts

Here is another view of the exterior wall... you can better see the enlarged window casement / shutters.

The electrical panel will be enclosed in a customized cabinet and the

that small front window will be hidden by a wall colour panel.

It's casement detail allows that panel to fit flush with just a slight

recess from the gypsum...

post-11489-13819286758212_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291028662_thumb.jpg

post-11489-1381929498837_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally finished the inside of the centre channel nook... more

MDF glued, nailed and screwed to the plywood and framing. The

sides shared with the IB are now 2" thick and braced at less than

18".

This allowed me to also complete the casement work around it...

including its false panels and framing for an eventual pair of

grills. I have no kids or pets, so I'll be showing off the

woofers for now.

post-11489-13819286758702_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291029162_thumb.jpg

post-11489-1381929498889_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is one last shot for today... this is my equipment rack I

SQUEZZED into my closet. It literally touches the wall on one

side and the electrical boxes (which I cut into the door framing) on

the other.

Since I'm going with a white trim look... I built the rack in white

melamine with two custom wire channels at the back. The wires

will run from the equipment on the shelves to these at the rear... so

they should not be visible from the front. One for audio signals

and the other for power signals. The two doors at the rear will

give easy hook up access.

I haven't finished it... but I'll post more images and design notes at

a later point... as right now I'm trying to finish the basics.

ROb

post-11489-13819286759212_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291029652_thumb.jpg

post-11489-1381929498939_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Formica -

First of all, nice work!! [Y] Man, you've been working like a mad-mad. Looks like the room is really coming together nicely.

I'm curious though......remind me again why you chose to build a hush box. The reason I ask is that projectors are getting quieter and quieter and I almost never hear the fan on my AE900U unless I listen for it. Otherwise, it's silent for all practical purposes.

Keep the photos coming. I love seeing stuff like this.

Oh - and another thing.....did you wire for infrared automation? IOW, make provisions for like an infrared receiver that would relay signals/commands back to a central emitter. That's what I have. My receiver is tucked up underneath my center channel Heresy and isn't visible. All you see, when a command from my Harmony remote is transmitted, is a flashing blue light. The way my system is setup, one button push and everything comes on and the pre/pro is set.

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, you've been working like a mad-mad.

Looks like the room is really coming together nicely.

Those pics are over a week ago to boot... and I've got more

coming. I skipped a couple of steps in the progress pics to get

up to speed faster.

I'm curious though......remind me again why you

chose to build a hush box. The reason I ask is that projectors

are getting quieter and quieter and I almost never hear the fan on my

AE900U unless I listen for it. Otherwise, it's silent for all

practical purposes.

Good question... I guess it's more of a safety factor as I don't have a

projector yet and don't know how noisy it'll be. The 900U (or even the

700U) is a projector I was actually interested by.

I had the room all stripped out, so it was really the only time I could

squeeze a hush box in (lots of wires running between my joists) so I

figured why not. With the low ceiling... it had to be

recessed.

Oh - and another thing.....did you wire for

infrared automation? IOW, make provisions for like an infrared

receiver that would relay signals/commands back to a central emitter

Yup... I did. There is both a CAT5 and a 4x22AWG wires

running from that electrical box you see at the right of the IB to my

equipment rack... I've wired for an IR repeater and X10 lighting.

Here are a couple of more pictures... with the lights installed

and the walls finally painted. Ironically it's not the most time

consuming task (painting the main wall colour) but the one which made

the biggest visual difference. I kept the same dark grey I used

to have... and will be adding the typical "cinema" red in the steel

beam and central carpet.

You can see my flooring materials piled at the front right...

post-11489-13819286780572_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291049608_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819295009532_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here we are looking towards the back of the room. I'll be

rebuilding the stair (probably in Birch) and replacing the fireplace

carpentry. I just don't have time before Easter though...

My colour choice actually reminds me a little of Tom's scheme... but

Grey, Black, Red and white trim is pretty common in HT's. Because

of the number of things going on (doors, windows, cabinets, beam,

etc...) I decided to keep the trim and architectural decoration as

simple as possible to avoid it look baroque (sp?) in any way.

post-11489-13819286781102_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291050138_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819295010082_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The pictures may be a little fuzzy... but it took them without a flash

as there was A LOT of dust in the air and I was too lazy to pull out

the tripod for some construction shots. You can actually see it

in the "light beams"...

Here is a picture still looking at the back, where you can see the

floor repairs I did (Planipatch) to correct some of the slopes.

The next major step is installing the actual flooring.

More pics to come...

ROb

post-11489-13819286781752_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291050668_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819295010592_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh my...that is looking freaken awesome! Hurry up and get her finished...you got me drooling now!

I agree with DrWho Rob, your room is really looking great. It's awfully apparent to me, as it should be to any others that walk into that room, that there was A LOT of thought given to how that room should look. Hopefully it is turning out the same as what your mind's eye saw. I'm wiling to bet it's looking better than what you imagined.

My hat's off to you and scooter and IndyKlipschFan and others who've turn out such great rooms. And I sincerely appreciate folks' posting the execution of their rooms. Finished results photos are nice, but seeing a room come together is cool.

Now.....don't forget to say a big thanks to all of us for being such an inspiration. [;)] [;)] [:)]

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hurry up and get her finished...you got me drooling now!

Thanks guys.... The best is yet to come...

I have to admit to trying to build up to the "reveal" as I'm actually

finished almost everything I had planned for Easter except for some

finish electrical, touch-ups, and cleaning. I've gotten inspiration

from quite a few members here as well as

insight into a couple of details which will pay off in the long

run. We've got a great community here...[:)]

Projects which I will do after Easter include finishing the equipment

rack, the hushbox (I need the projector though), fireplace, staircase,

building some Heresy stands, shelving in the storage room behind the IB

etc... Oh, and actually installing some equipment in the room!!

A couple more progress pictures... this is with the floor

in... but before finishing the trim work around it. It's a

floating floor with the look of antique pine. Personally, I'm not

a fan of floating floors but it works well with my varied subfloors, is

relatively inexpensive, and actually looks good in person.

It took the better part of a day to get it in...

post-11489-13819286795762_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291063792_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819295024156_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am proud... [:)] as it's turning out pretty much as I hoped but

building design (and project management) is my occupation.

OTOH... it does give the opportunity to pick up a hammer myself and see

the other side. I'm not as quick as a tradesman but I do have an

appreciation for their skills.

Here we are looking towards the back...

I've got a large (10' x 12') red area rug planed for the middle of the

theatre area... but I still have to choose one. It should

tie in the beam and help define the two room areas.

post-11489-13819286798202_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819291065992_thumb.jpg

post-11489-13819295026616_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Formica: The place looks amazingly rich! I think you are doing a fantastic job and you should be very proud of your accomplishment!

I have one comment: You may come to dislike the sheen of the black paint on the ceiling. It could prove to be too reflective and cause some harsh glare from the light off the screen. I found that sort of glare to be quite distractive in my own theater, and I went with flat black on the ceiling. It made the contrast of the picture improve, too. I am not trying to rip on your work, Sir. It's just a thought. Your room looks wonderful. I love all of the recessed lighting; it really makes the space look ultra-modern! Nice job!

-Glenn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear you glenn. It is just one sheen level above mat (called

Velouté here) but it does have more shine to it than I expected. [:(]

I decided to go with the black ceiling after seeing yours, in your

equally low basement. I guess I'll try it out, as is and could

always tone it down with a coat of mat if it does become too much.

I've also come to realise, while reading up on "constant height"

screens this last week, that my hush box is too far forward to really

benefit from the inexpensive "zoomed" version of it.

I originally calculated the boxes' position by using the image's height

as a limitation... but just recently noticed that at 2.35:1 the width

would become the defining limitation. I may simply ceiling mount

the projector at it's ideal position for now and see down the road if I

find it too noisy. I know that the ideal CH projections use

anamorphic lenses... but I hoped on initially getting away with simply

zooming the projector even though it doesn't use all the PJ's

pixels.

I'm in the midst of choosing a unit at the moment BTW (see http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/719077.aspx in HT forum) and I also have soo many things I'd like to upgrade....

More pics to come tomorrow...

ROb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rob: I am quite flattered that you chose your ceiling color based on my own theater. Thank you, sir! You are taking a great approach: "try it and see". Please let us know what you discover.

I'm sorry about your hush box not working out. My Sharp is ceiling mounted 10.2 feet from screen and the lens is zoomed. Our Stewart Greyhawk screen is 78" diagonally. The projector is about 3-1/2 feet above our heads while seated and the blower noise is rated at around 30 db on low. The noise from it is tolerable. When it gets a little warm, or when I switch the lamp intensity to "High" (which is never), the noise gets a bit more noticiable on quiet movie scenes. The nice part is that it's predominantly white noise anyway so it's not such a big deal. Smaller spaces (low ceilings) are a definite compromise, but heck; we love ours and I know you will love yours, too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Easter gathering went pretty well given the circumstances...

room was ready and the house was clean. No HT demo... as I don't

have any equipment there yet. I can't believe how much dust makes

it way around...

Here are not the pictures i promised but a couple more incremental

images. These are of the cabinet I assemble for my electrical panel and

DVD storage. Handles and finishing touches to come....

post-11489-13819295215108_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok finally here are the "current" pictures. Like I mentioned the

other day, I do have some finishing to do, as well as a couple of

unstarted projects... but this does give a good idea of where I'm

headed with this.

This is my typical "looking towards the front" shot...

post-11489-1381929529195_thumb.jpg

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...