She wants to keep it brick! I need a compromise!

Dave Poehlman · 12-30-2004, 10:52 AM

I'm posting this mostly to vent.

Okay... I moved into a brand new house over the summer and I'm hoping to start rebuilding the basement HT next year. Right now, everything is just thrown down there to get it functional:

Now, our basement has poured concrete walls that have a brick texture to them. The wife just wants to paint the brick to look like real brick. Admittedly, it does look pretty cool (we have some friends who painted theirs).

However, I'm trying to drive the point home that concrete is cold, there's no where to run electrical or cables, and hanging pictures is neigh impossible (although, I have some up now via some wire attached to the sill at the top of the wall).

I haven't even brought up the acoustics issue yet, because that would be dismissed with a roll of the eyes and a "geek" or two being tossed into the conversation.

She's looking for a more open, loungy, entertaining type space while I want a balls-out 100" front projection with stadium seating. It doesn't help that we had a Christmas party a couple weeks ago and everyone said they loved the brick.

>sigh<

Elinor · 12-30-2004, 12:31 PM

Well, you could always paint the sheetrock to look like brick

JoshGivens · 12-30-2004, 01:01 PM

You can hang pictures if you've got a good drill and some of those plastic inserts that you can run screws in. Also, there are products that can be run along the walls to tuck wires behind. You'll still have a piece of plastic stuck to the wall but you could make a design out of it or something. At least you wouldn't just be looking at bare wires.

You might want to think about some sort of ceiling stucture though.

Dave Poehlman · 12-30-2004, 01:22 PM

Well, I was thinking of some sort of half-wall with wainscoting along the bottom to at least give me somewhere to run wires and electrical.

But, I'm not sure how that would turn out.

And yes, the ceiling would be an issue.. probably wind up with some crown moulding for the transition between drywall and "brick".

Rutgar · 12-30-2004, 03:23 PM

Comprimise by putting lots of Acoustical Treatments on the walls. Otherwise your sound will suffer badly. Or, tell her the rest of the house is hers, and this one is yours. Also, show here some pictures of some nice looking GOM theaters, etc.

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CRyan · 12-30-2004, 04:40 PM

You have got to get rid of the bare brick. There is no compromise to be made. It simply will not give the sound a dedicated theater should give.

Is it not cold as HEll in there now? My wife would give in on that aspect alone. You can get creative with baseboards and wiring - that would not really be a problem. But the sound man!

I have drywall and carpeting and I am even having to conisder a few sound treatments. I am getting some reverberation with highs.

Now, you could get pretty cool with wall-to-wall curtains like a local theater would have. It would be easy if you can sew, provide acoustical deadening, and could be pulled back when she wants to see the brick. Hiding wires this way would be super easy. However, this might actually be more expensive than drywalling.

C. Ryan

Adam Gregorich · 12-30-2004, 06:39 PM

Tell her you want the walls to match the ceiling

Wayne A. Pflughaupt · 12-31-2004, 11:28 AM

Make it a point to make all the wiring as messy as possible. Pick the ugliest stuff you can find – gnarly speaker and coaxial cables run everywhere, orange extension cords laying around, etc. Women hate that - she’ll see the light in no time.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Adam Gregorich · 12-31-2004, 04:34 PM

LOL Great idea Wayne!

PaulRob · 12-31-2004, 07:35 PM

why not create a fake wall on brick wall, like put some stud timber up then some plaster board, pad the gap out with some installation foam bricks that keep the heat in. this means you could run some ducting in it as it can hold the wireing for you. ma make the room seem smaller but will make it feel more nice.
i think bare brick is just cold and doesn't give a nice warm feel to a room. which i think helps alot when watching stuff. unless you want to be cold while watching day after tomorrow!

like someone said before she can have the whole house you can have the basement. just like my dad, my mum gets a house he gets the garage. when we tell people about are new place we jsut brought he says its a garage with a house detacted.
i'm sure you can do the same in this case!

Dont let the women win they win enough already!

Tom Rosback · 01-03-2005, 07:14 AM

Dave,
Do a rendering showing all the surface mount panduit you'll need to run outlets etc. to bring the room to code. Then add condensation that will form as heated air touches the cold concrete walls. [unless your foundation is insulated on the outside.]

I did a half wall sort of concept in my theater. Top half is drywall, bottom is ductliner covered by GOM fabric. Check out my website for some pics. It is a workable solution.