Man Cave - Theater Room Renovation

[slude]

i posted this in another thread but thought i'd share it here. hoping to get some suggestions or inspire others to renovate their own room/basement.

here are some pix of my design and renovation work. still in the process of painting and putting up the center 8x8 drop ceiling, then adding optic fiber for a star ceiling.

3d design of the room. originally going with 7.1 but decided to go with 5.1 and added 2 ceiling speakers behind the theater seats.



plans for drywall ceiling studs


early plans for 3 lcd's


decided to do one 100" projector screen


putting up drywall ceilings and wiring. projector mount and 2 hdmi cables from 12' center of room to opposite wall for 100" screen.




made a closet for av components with built-in shelves, access from back thru lower level



a lot of planning and work. still in progress, just finished sanding the ceiling and put a coat of paint. finishing with another coat tonight and adding crown molding trims around. star ceiling is next and new carpet tiles to complete.

[slude]

weekend progress...

crown molding is not easy

[slude]

yes the white trim, usually installed high against the ceiling. the lower white trim is a rail/chair trim, typically install to prevent back of chair from hitting the wall. i installed for decor purpose only and not for chairs.

[slude]

not to exceed 3k. it would be cheaper if i didn't have to buy new electronics. you could renovate a room and do just the walls, ceiling, paint, trims and materials for $300-$700.

[SummerBerry]

Cool!  I think I would paint last after everything is done and up.  Crown molding must be the two end that meet in the corner that is hard to trim.  I always wonder how that part is done.  I do have crown molding in my home on the ceiling and floor or bottom against the wall.  Make it easier to clean if semi-gloss paint. 

Show more update.... Or final...

[slude]

you always want to paint before the trims. if you do it last, you will need to tape a lot of areas, plus paint will bleed thru the cracks of the tape into the trims.

cutting crown molding corners is a very confusing process even with youtube tutorial. each corner is different and your house is not always straight 90 degrees. my advice to anyone doing crown molding is to buy a few extras and use it cut and make an 'inside corner' and 'outside corner' and use them as your template. once you destroyed and tested a few, it's pretty straight forward.

[Hamster_Hero]

Good stuff, bro..... keep it up. 

What kinda of stereo reciever and speakers do you plan to use?  I don't know, some people over-spend on this area because it can get VERY EXPENSIVE.  My brother is a bit of an audiophile who likes the high end stuff, you know stuff you can't find at your local Best Buy kinda thing.  But I couldn't see myself spending like $2,000 or whatever it is on a set of speakers though, kinda crazy if you ask me.

[slude]

i settled for new entry level yamaha receiver, polk audio towers and 2 ceiling speakers. also a benq 3d projector. no sub yet, will probably go with a wireless powered sub.

i'm not a audiophile, as long as i can hear the dialogue then i'm happy. i almost bought a used higher end polk surround sound system from craigslist. i decided to cut back on expenses and use some of my existing speakers.

the most expensive items purchased are the projector and optic fiber star ceiling.

[Hamster_Hero]

slude...... you need "Popcorn Ceiling" to help out with the acoustics from the sounds of your speakers.  Bare ceilings will send acoustic waves bouncing everywhere causing it not to sound true and echo, sort of like a how a cave is.  Just letting you know if you want it to be done right seeing how you've committed yourself to a pretty big project. 

I'm not familiar with wireless subwoofers.  If your amplifier (stereo) offers enough watts to power a sub decently, I would get a passive sub instead, it's cheaper.  But that's just a matter of personal preference, some prefer active subs.

[slude]

the original wall/paint is mixed with sand like texture, providing an almost 'popcorn' type ceiling. the new ceiling is flat drywall but i added sand textures to match the existing. hoping this will balance the acoustic.

[slude]

The white box in the first picture (bottom right).  Is that your refridgerator/storage unit? If not, you need one!  It's not a cave if you don't have a place for your drinks and food.

that's my koi fish tank tucked in the alcove. thanks for reminding me, i will try to fit a mini fridge somewhere.

[slude]

ceiling speakers are up.  just screw the covers and the top pins will tighten together.


installed new carpet. the install requires some tools (knee kicker) to stretch and flatten the carpet at the outter edge before it goes under the wall. lots of knee pounding. make sure you have tacks with nails to grip the carpet at the outter edges. if your subfloor is concrete, get a concrete tool or use super strong gorilla glue to glue the tacks to the concrete. prepare glue 1 day prior to installing carpet for stronger grip.

[zena]

Looks great! 

[slude]

update on fiber optic star ceiling. drilled 288 holes on (2) 4x8 felt polystyrene foam boards.


finished product


link to video
http://vid288.photobucket.com/albums/ll162/s_lor/IMG_3636.mp4

[winerice]

looking good brother...