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My "Mini" Home Theater Projecthome theater basement
Closing credits...
I know it's been awhile since I last talked about this, but I'm pleased to say that my basement project is now complete (at least the structural aspect of it). With the holiday season upon us, it's been difficult to find the time I've needed to share the last part of this story with you. By the way, I hope you've also had a joyful, fun, and safe holiday season with your family and loved ones.When I last left this story, I had started the preliminary painting of the finished area. I had applied primer to all of the drywall surface as well as all of the trim. At this point, I began the process of caulking around the baseboard joints, the top of the baseboard where it meets the wall, window trim, door jambs...pretty much anything that had a crack or small nail hole to be filled. This was very tedious work...
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I bought the best caulk they had at my neighborhood Lowe's. I figured it was so inexpensive anyways and that a tube will go such a long ways that I might as well get the best. I made sure read the fine print to make sure the caulk was paintable. With my water bucket and caulk gun in hand, I worked my way around the entire room. I merely used my wet finger to clear away any excess (which you can control by applying a smaller bead). Needless to say that my finger was a little raw after wiping away all of that caulk. In the end, I was pleased with the results. As long as you take your time doing this, your results will turn out professional, as well.
I then turned to painting fully painting the ceiling. Not the most fun either, since it's rather awkward to paint something that's directly above you. It's a nice little workout for yourneck and arms, though.
Next, I painted all of the baseboard and trim. I used the exact same paint that was used in the rest of my house, which was an oil-based trim paint. For those of you who haven't worked with oil based paint before, it's a little more tricky to work with as opposed to your commonly used water-based latex paints. First, you'd better have some mineral spirits on hand because you won't be washing any of that stuff off your hands and brushes with good old H20. While the cleanup process is much more difficult, I really liked how oil-based paint spreads and covers. After a couple of days painting trim, I was ready to move on to another tedious job -- applying painters tape to the ceiling and baseboard to prepare for the big paint job.
While I have a pretty steady hand, I typically apply tape to everything to give me those perfectly straight lines that I desire between the ceiling/baseboard/trim and the walls. I know it takes a lot of time, but it also makes a short work out of rolling on the paint and the results leave me with very little touch up to do. Once the tape was applied, I brought back my dad and father-in-law to help me get through this part of the process as quickly as possible. I painted the nooks and crannys and they rolled everything on.
All of my painting was now finished and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I called my electrician back in to finish up all of the electrical work -- installing the receptacles (and making them "hot"), installing the lighting, and installing a phone jack. I had him put in some dimmer switches in a couple of places, which I've totally fallen in love with. I enjoy the flexibility in quickly adjusting the lights to just about any light level you want, in addition to the fading on/off effect when I sit down to enjoy a movie with my family. I highly recommend spending a few extra bucks to put these in your house, and I'm sure they're functional in just about any location that you'd put them in your house.
Now that I had all of the painting complete and my eletrician's work was done, all that stood in my way was getting the flooring installed and having my plumber come back to install my toilet, vanity/sink, and faucet. But as my luck would have it, my project hit another "snag".
I had put in my order for my carpet and other flooring well in advance of getting it installed. In fact, it had been sitting in a local warehouse waiting for me to give the word that I was ready. I encountered my first snag when the installers came by to install the ceramic that I had picked out for our bathroom. By the way, if I hadn't mentioned it before, I was installing an upflush toilet system and had to build a platform around the tank that the toilet would ultimately sit on. At any rate, once they saw what I was trying to do, they quickly recommended that I go with a vinyl/laminate flooring because of the "give" caused by standing on the platform. From their experience, the grout between the tiles have a tendency to crack. So I had to go back to the dealer and pick out something else. I can at least say the the vinyl flooring that we picked out looks just like the tile that we were going to install, so that all worked out well. Within a couple of days, the vinyl had arrived and they were ready to get the show on the road.
They first installed the bathroom flooring as well as the slate flooring that we had picked out for our future wet bar area. They left about midday to go get the carpet. An then my project hit another little snag.
When they unrolled the carpet to cut it at the warehouse, they noticed a black streak that ran the length of the carpet. It was too visible for anyone's liking so they had to send it back and get it replaced. For my time (and anguish), they gave me a nice little discount on the carpet. Three or four days later, the carpet was in and was ready to be installed. It only took them about a half day to install the carpet -- and I must say, these guys were great. I was worried from what others had told me that I should be prepared to do a lot of touch up because of all of the marring the carpet installers would do during the process of putting the carpet in. Since I had spent so much hard work painting, I ran contruction grade paper (less than $10 for a huge roll) all the way around the perimeter of the room just a little off the floor. I think this, in combination with their attention to detail, preventing me from having to do any re-painting in the room (I did have one deep scratch in the baseboard to fix, but that's hardly worth mentioning). They did a great job and I was relieved not to have to paint again.
I then had the plumber come back and there's really nothing worth mentioning there. He installed everything and I could finally say that everything was done!
I've since been customizing the space a little at a time. The home theater is up and running (the entertainment center that I got for free from a friend is working out great as a temporary solution until I break down and purchase my big LCD TV. It holds all of my media components just fine (I had to shove my 30" widescreen TV into it, but it's all good). Most of my DVD collection has now been moved down to my fabulous K-B Toys cabinet (see pic below). And I've pulled out most of my cherished movie collectibles (posters, action figures, statues, etc.) that I've been anticipating putting on display for quite some time.
I've still got so much that I want to do with the space. Regardless, I'm now enjoying all of my spare time down in my basement! Time will take care of the other things I want to do. It's been awesome kicking back and enjoying a movie or gaming with my buddies. I've really been pleased with the performance of my Klipsh Synergy series ceiling mount speakers -- they really create some impressive sound. All in all, it's turned out to be a great, spacious environment for me, my family, and my friends to enjoy. Here are some pictures to show you what the room looks like now:
I hope you have enjoyed reading about what turned out to be my 4-month adventure. I think there's a lot for anyone to take away from the building experiences of others, especially when you're talking about home theater design. Many elements of my project are inherent in a home theater building project, so it should prove helpful in that sense. I also hope you enjoy the pictures I have taken as the project has progressed, because talking about it and seeing for your own eyes can certainly yield different insights.
I hope to see you back again soon! Now I'm off to enjoy my little home theater in the basement!
Bill
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