Basement Project Journal

[Mark J]

8 minutes ago, Mick S said:

I've always thought dialing in speakers to the sound of a rocket releasing the energy equal to 85 Hoover dams in a matter of seconds is the best way!

True.  If your floor doesn't measure at least a 3 on the Richter during that scene then the portrayal is not realistic.

 

Of course it's not just the floor quaking ability, you'll also need to test the surround capability, so for that there are the combat scenes Pear Harbor.

[JohnG]

3 hours ago, Chestnut said:

I haven't seen this one yet is it any good? The book was amazing.

 

3 hours ago, Mark J said:

I enjoyed it!  I think they did a reasonably good job adapting the book, which I also enjoyed.  

They made some pretty big changes, not just condensing for the time limit, so don’t expect a true adaptation. I enjoyed the (audio)book. I thought the movie was entertaining, but it was good that it had been a while since I listened to the book. 

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, Mark J said:

Of course it's not just the floor quaking ability, you'll also need to test the surround capability, so for that there are the combat scenes Pear Harbor.

Just be careful to only watch the battle scenes, which are excellent. The rest of the movie is beyond horrible and should be avoided at all costs. 

[Chestnut]

I kinda of like The Incredibles. There is a good scene when there are some flying things that zoom around and have a great effect on surround sound.

[pkinneb]

Ok I have a question for you folks:

Here is a pic of the baseboard design I am working on. There will be cloth wall panels that will stick out 2 1/8" from the wall even with the front of the baseboard. Here's the question, how would you attach the top portion to the wall? Couple of things of note; It can not rattle (may be a bit of bass in the room ) and must be removable to access the LED strip lights. 

Some thoughts I have had

1) Just screw through the top into the studs. Since the top will not be seen I could screw or otherwise fasten through that. My concern is at that angle it will pull the bottom away from the wall.

2) Use a key hole bit and have a screw at the bottom and then screw in from the top as suggested above

3) Sliding DT of some sort

What else does the collective have?

 

[drzaius]

2 hours ago, Chestnut said:

I kinda of like The Incredibles. There is a good scene when there are some flying things that zoom around and have a great effect on surround sound.

The rocket launching out of the volcano is a good scene

[drzaius]

44 minutes ago, pkinneb said:

Ok I have a question for you folks:

Here is a pic of the baseboard design I am working on. There will be cloth wall panels that will stick out 2 1/8" from the wall even with the front of the baseboard. Here's the question, how would you attach the top portion to the wall? Couple of things of note; It can not rattle (may be a bit of bass in the room ) and must be removable to access the LED strip lights. 

 

Some thoughts I have had

1) Just screw through the top into the studs. Since the top will not be seen I could screw or otherwise fasten through that. My concern is at that angle it will pull the bottom away from the wall.

2) Use a key hole bit and have a screw at the bottom and then screw in from the top as suggested above

3) Sliding DT of some sort

What else does the collective have?

 

Maybe a French cleat? I think if it was cut at a more acute angle, it would hold tight enough to not rattle.

[Chestnut]

Could you install it with some dampening material on the back so in the event that there is some sort of movement sound isn't made?

The french cleat idea with some neoprene rubber will help it stay in place the compression from the rubber will hold the cleat together and the grippy will stop it from moving around.

[pkinneb]

hmm i'll need to play with the french cleat idea. Thanks guys

[Chet]

Years back, actually now that I think about it decades back Bose used to pack a Demo CD with all their systems that had all sorts of different songs and sound affects like race cars and fighter jets to demonstrate the system.  It was pretty impressive and a lot of fun to listen too.

[drzaius]

There are quite a few Atmos and other sound demo videos on the youtube.

[Tom King]

I did a Google search, and found some interesting stuff:

https://www.audioholics.com/music-reviews/cd-sacd-and-lp-demo-material

My standard first test of any new audio equipment is Dark Side of the Moon, and since the remastered version became available, that test is even better.

[wtnhighlander]

If you think ot has the structural integrity, use mdf instead of poplar for any painted trim. It's fiberous nature is better at dampening vibrations.

[pkinneb]

15 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

If you think ot has the structural integrity, use mdf instead of poplar for any painted trim. It's fiberous nature is better at dampening vibrations.

Good point. My main concern is that the bottom piece is thinner 5/8" vs 3/4" and I do not want to plane MDF. If I use different woods I'm concerned the finish wouldn't match although its black so probably not an issue. I guess I could run the MDF through my sander hmm

[drzaius]

You can always get some 5/8" MDF. I'd rather do that than sand it down  

[wtnhighlander]

You can shoot mdf 'end grain' pretty well with a hand plane, but I can't imagine thicknessing it with any sort of a blade, powered or otherwise.

Buy the 5/8" or sand it if you are desperate!

[drzaius]

Hey @pkinneb, I just ran across your massive build thread on AVS Forum. I think it's one of the better builds on there by quite a margin. That forum is an excellent resource & should be mandatory reading for anyone undertaking a home theater build.

But following this may prove to be hazardous to my financial health. My home theater is more of a multipurpose TV & party room than a dedicated home theater. The sound system, I'm super happy with. The TV is only 75", but is a good Bravia & I have no complaints about it other than size. Being that it's a multipurpose room, the seating is not optimal for theater use and there is no rear riser.

I had built the room before the notion of home theater entered my head. It is reasonably insulated, except the exterior walls are not decoupled & I wish they were. Neighbors and all. I've had no complaints & don't intend on getting any, so my 'loud' hours are limited.

[pkinneb]

2 hours ago, drzaius said:

Hey @pkinneb, I just ran across your massive build thread on AVS Forum. I think it's one of the better builds on there by quite a margin. That forum is an excellent resource & should be mandatory reading for anyone undertaking a home theater build.

But following this may prove to be hazardous to my financial health. My home theater is more of a multipurpose TV & party room than a dedicated home theater. The sound system, I'm super happy with. The TV is only 75", but is a good Bravia & I have no complaints about it other than size. Being that it's a multipurpose room, the seating is not optimal for theater use and there is no rear riser.

I had built the room before the notion of home theater entered my head. It is reasonably insulated, except the exterior walls are not decoupled & I wish they were. Neighbors and all. I've had no complaints & don't intend on getting any, so my 'loud' hours are limited.

Thanks! That forum has been very helpful to me, lots of great info for sure. I’m sure I just scratched the surface but I think I gleaned enough that it should provide a pretty good experience. Not gonna lie at this point I want it to be done so I can go back to making furniture 

In Dallas on business this week but should be finished Trimming out the rest of the basement this weekend. Then bar and bath cabinets so carpet can go in. Still shooting to have it done by thanksgiving but wouldn’t put money on it lol. I really want to get going on the Morris chair but not going to start cutting corners at this point just to get it done either.

[drzaius]

10 hours ago, pkinneb said:

but not going to start cutting corners at this point just to get it done either.

That's something that I battle with towards the end of a big project.

[legenddc]

42 minutes ago, drzaius said:

That's something that I battle with towards the end of a big project.

Me too. I need to shift my mindset to stop thinking just because a project is built that it's done.

AVS Forum is a big rabbit hole with lots of people nerding out. I read enough to get overwhelmed and decide to go the easy route. I'm sure everyone there would cringe if they saw my setup. It's basic/beginner at best but we've been using it and happy for almost 8 years. While I'd love to make it as good as pkinneb's theater we don't use it enough.

[drzaius]

36 minutes ago, legenddc said:

we've been using it and happy for almost 8 years.

That's what counts the most. It's nice to dream of ways to make it better though.

[pkinneb]

Lots going on but nothing getting finished 

Started trimming out the main basement hoping to get carpet installed in early November

Back to the shop to make the projector shelf. Again I decided to use some curves, my first try (read fail) was to use some bent laminations but found the curve to be to tight. So I glued up some poplar blocks and cut them out on the BS. Ultimately this will be painted flat black so nothing lost from a looks perspective.

Cleaning up the shelf lip...nice to be using hand tools again  

Still need to paint it and add the bottom panel but I like the way it turned out

Then Last week end I took advantage of what will most likely be our last nice weekend for a while to spray the columns

Next project was a wiring project I am going to inset a black light into the stage to charge the center of the star ceiling. Since I'm ultimately quite lazy I decided to tie it into the Insteon automation I am using in the basement. Now I can hit the scene from my iPhone app and the system will turn on the lights and raise the light out of the stage via the actuator after 15 minutes it will retract the light and shut everything off. That way when we go in the ceiling will be charged.

Works! Now to tidy things up

ready to be installed

Then I installed the columns

Since the riser will have sub woofers installed in it I kept them 1/2" off the riser so it can do its thing without hitting the columns.

Finally I started finishing the stage

The little cavities got filled with insulation the larger ones sand/sawdust

Bottom is complete except for the round over on the top front lip

[pkinneb]

So progress since the last update starts with finishing the theater stage. Still need to work on the light actuator set up but other than that its complete

Then it was back to trim in the main rec room. Carpet is coming on the 27th so I have to get everything trimmed out and painted by next Saturday to give it time to dry before the install.

Stair well is pretty much done just some fine tuning on the patch at the bottom, the only stair skirt I could find was sold in 8' lengths. Some MH Ready Patch and no one will ever know

Then I made a corner block for the other side.

After my two failed attempts at making the curved baseboard (one steam bending & one kerf cutting) I gave in and bought a piece of bendable baseboard. It was actually bigger than my other trim but in talking with their tech support before buying it they said it could be worked just like wood so that's what I did. I did run the SS in bypass mode just to be safe but other than that and a small mess at the drum sander it worked great, check that off the list.

You use construction adhesive and pins to nail it up and then support it where needed for 24 hrs. Not gonna lie its not cheap at $70 for a 12' piece but it worked awesome.

[Chet]

I've never seen bendable baseboard like that.  Is it a plastic material?

[pkinneb]

9 hours ago, Chet said:

I've never seen bendable baseboard like that.  Is it a plastic material?

Polyurethane, its really heavy and smells a bit when you work it but for what it is worked well. My only concern now is paint but they say it will be fine. My last option was to make a bent lamination but just ran out of time and want this project done so went this route. If it paints well this would be my first choice if I ever had to do it again.