Mann's Dream Theater

Decorating...

2007-10-23T08:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess we're just about all bu done with the major aspects of the theater. Not much more to do but some little things. We did get some of the decorating started. These pics are in the entrance/hall to the theater. It's starting to take shape, but we have some open wall space yet. :)

Just a reminder to click on the pictures to see larger versions....

Carpet is in...

2007-10-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

Finally, we got the carpet installed... we were waiting for what seemed like forever, but was really only about 10 days. :) Still a little decorating to do. Wall art to hang etc., but it's just about done now.

Almost There II

2007-10-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

More pics...

Almost there...

2007-10-11T09:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it's about all done except for the carpeting. That should be installed within a week. Until then... here's the latest photos:

Getting pretty close...

2007-10-05T05:46:00.001-05:00

I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel... Won't be too much longer now. Lots of trim and touch up painting, but other than that, it's mostly just waiting on the carpet now.

2007-10-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Well... I'm pretty happy with the results from our first attempt of Bellagio Faux painting. We applied the first coat over our base color tonight and it looks pretty good already. We have a second coat to apply that will add some gold metallic highlights. I think it's going to turn out pretty well when it's all done.

We're trying to get ready for the contractor who comes back on Thursday to start the finish work. Door, chair rail, casing, baseboard, electrical switches/dimmers etc. Furniture comes this weekend and the carpet (delayed) is scheduled for install on the 15th. We're getting close, but waiting on the carpet is going to be a pain.

Theater seats...

2007-10-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

We got a great deal over the past weekend on some theater seats. So, though we originally planned on a love seat for the back row, we've now decided on a row of 4 theater style seating. These are used but are in near perfect shape. We couldn't be happier with them. They're pictured below sitting the area behind the theater. We'll get them mounted on the riser when the carpet is installed.

Colors go on...

2007-09-29T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well.. mixed results so far with the first round of colors in the room. I think we're going to love the color scheme, but as I've always heard, painting red (any shade) is a pain. We've put one coat of red (wine) on the walls and as you'll see, it's going to take at least one more coat. We're only keeping the base coat solid half way up, then there will be a chair rail and the top part will be a Behr 'Bellagio Faux' finish.

I think we learned one thing for sure. My wife was painting the top half of the room and I was coming along behind her doing the lower. Well, if I got too far behind, my coat didn't blend with hers and actually became a second coat where they over lapped. Thus giving us dark overlaps in the middle. I'm hoping it fades a bit as the paint drys, but I don't know... The paint in the pics had only be on the wall for a couple of hours. It's going to deepen much more yet. Or at least it's supposed to.

Dark Primer

2007-09-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

Since we're painting the ceiling black and the walls burgundy, we decided to give the entire room a coat of dark gray primer. This should help the final coat cover better and stay true to color.

Primer/Texture applied

2007-09-26T18:04:00.000-05:00

Drywall primer and texture applied today. Next step is painting!

Mud, tape done...

2007-09-25T17:02:00.000-05:00

Just about all of the mudding and taping of the drywall is done. Just a bit of touch up and some sanding left. We should be putting on texture and sealer/primer before the end of the week. Painting should start this weekend!

The picture below shows how we used drywall mud to smooth out the cinderblock wall by the stairway. We'll add some texture and paint it as a normal wall. Should look pretty good when done.

Drywall and risers done

2007-09-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

All the drywall is hung and the risers are built. Drywall is being taped and sanded as I type... Here's some updated photos...

2007-09-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

We're getting close now... all the drywall is hung, cornerbead is on... Stage and riser will be built this Friday and the drywall taper starts on Monday. It's really starting to take shape and we can for the first time get a feeling of what it's going to be like when it's all done.

Enjoy the pics...

2007-09-17T19:35:00.000-05:00

More work completed today. Some inside room drywall went up and LOTS of insulation went in. It's actually done. Thank God. I placed all the insulation and it about kicked my butt. Hot, sweaty, itchy work. Nasty stuff...

Anyway... tommorow the rest of the drywall, including the ceiling should go up. Then maybe the next day, the rear riser and stage will be built. It looks like all of the construction should be done by the end of this week, and then the drywall taping/finishing will begin on Monday.
See more pics here

Progress is being made...

2007-09-14T17:07:00.000-05:00

New photos of the last couple days progress. All wiring is complete. Speaker and electrical. Drywall is going starting to go up. We started on back side of the theater walls.

Cut out in wall is for soon to be built-in component rack.

Click on pics for larger images. Even more photos are here.

Construction: Day 1

2007-09-10T18:46:00.000-05:00

We hit the ground running today. Got started at about 8:00 AM this morning and made a lot of progress through the day. My contractor and I worked together throughout the day and man, can I feel it. I knew there was a good reason I worked in IT. This manual labor stuff is TOUGH work.

Anyway... The contractor will continue through the week with his helper and I'll be home again on Friday to pitch in again. At this rate, we're hoping to have the electrical in and have the drywall up by the end of the week.

The first pic is taken from the back of the room and is of the front wall where the screen will go. The next pick is a closer view of the screen wall.

Lots more construction pics can be viewed here.

Okay... here we go....

2007-09-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the time has finally arrived. Construction starts on Monday morning and the basement has been all cleared out. Some of the materials have been moved to the basement and things are ready to proceed. One more day to wait..

Construction Date Set

2007-08-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

We had our last pre-planning meeting with our contractor this week. We're all set to go. Construction materials are ordered and we're set to get started on Sept. 10th. I can hardly wait.

I've uploaded some final photos of the room as it is now. We're using still using the projector/screen for another week or so, then it'll be time to get everything moved out of the way. The new photos can be viewed here.

Seating and Sconces Ordered

2007-08-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

We picked up some wall sconces today. Ordered a total of twelve. They should look really nice on what we think are going to be a maroon walls. That is still subject to change though...

We found HT seating we liked over the weekend and placed the order. They're scheduled for delivery towards the end of Sept.

Screen Arrives...

2007-08-05T06:58:00.000-05:00

Well, first off... our Mits 65" TV sold quicker than expected (that's a good thing though), so now we're going to be using the projector and screen for our evening viewing until construction starts the first part of Sept.

I've got some pics below showing how we have things 'rigged' to get us by for now. The picture from the AX100U is amazing right out of the box. I'll be doing some calibration on it later today and that should make it even better. Again, the basement is very 'rough at this time... Ignore the mess. :)

The Carada screen is wonderful. We're very happy with it. Great quality and workmanship. It went together very easily and reflects a great image. I would recommend this screen to any and everyone.

Projector Arives

2007-08-04T12:50:00.001-05:00

This is how we were using the basement while we waited to finish the room. The Mitsubishi 65" TV has just been sold (last night) and now we're ready to setup the screen and projector to do some preliminary testing.

Here's a shot of the projector. It's a great looking unit just sitting on a table. The Panasonic AX100U projector arrived yesterday. I have it temporarily mounted from the ceiling in the basement. It looks freaking amazing just shining on the cinder block wall. The screen is supposed to arrive later today (c'mon FedEx!). I'll be posting pictures of the screen and screen shots of the images produced by the projector then.

Updated Design

2007-08-02T12:28:00.000-05:00

We changed a couple of things to simplify the overall design. Got rid of some unnecessary walls and doors around the laundry room. Makes for a more open floor plan in that area which should give us more storage space. Plus, it will reduce construction costs slightly.

Several have asked what the black posts/pillars are in the theater area. Those are the support posts that hold up the floor beams. We can't get rid of those, but we did move them a bit to get things to line up .

Equipment Ordered

2007-08-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

Well, we've started... equipment was ordered on Wednesday. New Harmony 1000 remote, Carada 118" fixed screen and Panasonic AX100U projector. These both have gotten great reviews and I'm excited to get them. If all goes well, we should receive them this Friday. While construction has yet to start, I'll certainly be rigging up some temporary fixings so that I can test these out over the weekend. We can't wait to see the picture on the 118" screen.

Initial Theater Designs

2007-07-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

These are some of the initial designs for our new home theater. Construction is scheduled to start in early September. Equipment such as projector and screen are on order. We're getting pretty excited about the project and know it's going to be hard to wait until September to get started.