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my theater project, pics are up... (1 Viewer)

JohnnyN

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Messages
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After a long break from any spending on HT, I finally decided to build a dedicated theater and turn my current theater/loft into a pool/gameroom with it's own 5.1 surround system for the kiddies to play games.

Pictures are at
Have a look and let me know any thoughts... I'm really excited about this whole project.http://www.johnnyqnguyen.com/modules...bum.php&page=1

The theater will be connected to the loft gameroom, but will be fully enclosed and will have a 13' wide x 14' deep footprint. Pretty ordinary in terms of room layout except for the ceilihng... the front wall is only 72" tall and the rear wall is about 82" tall with a 10" riser platform... so I've got about the same headroom at the front wall and the rear wall. The ceiling slopes from the front to the back a few feet then runs a few feet as a flat 9' ceiling.

There will be two access areas, one in front and one in back... front one will be for the TV and rear one will be for equipment rack. Front access area is about 4 feet deep and 13' across, ceiling slopes from 72" down to about 50 something inches.

Rear access room is only about 1.5" across, but just enough room to get back there and make adjustments to connections.

Equipment will be
Denon AVR 4802
Denon DVD 2900
Sony XBR Grand Wega II 60" LCD TV
B&W 9NT LR
B&W CNT Center
B&W SNT Surrounds
B&W VM1 Surround Back
Either DefTech Super Cube II or SVS PB1-ISD (probably SVS)
Chairs will likely be a row of 3 celebrity lounger chairs from www.hometheaterinteriors.com
Some kind of power cleaner from panamax or monster

Future plans to include stewart filmscreen and runco dlp projector.
 

JohnnyN

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Messages
228
hehehehe. excellent question, in fact, it's the first question everyone asks when they see my current theater set up... the answer is yes, it's already in the loft... took off that side rail, took a sturdy table and four sturdy friends to get it up over the side... I'll probably be posting more pix up tomorrow.
 

ErnieST

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
6
Was the building inspector O.K. with the way you notched the joists for the 3" (or is it 4") plumbing lines?

Notches should be no deeper than 0.125 times the depth of the joist.

0.125 x 11.25" = 1.4"

Notches should be no closer to the structure supporting them than 0.07 times the span of the joist and no further away than 0.25 (¼) times the span. This is to avoid the area of maximum shear force, and the area of maximum bending in the joist.
 

JohnnyN

Stunt Coordinator
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Sep 10, 2001
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228
building inspectors? building codes? permits? who needs em... it's my friggin house. :) I did what I had to do and the house won't be falling apart anytime soon. errr... least i hope. :) if anything, all the extra framing and walls has added more structural support and rigidity then that part of the house has ever had... but really, I had no idea till you pointed it out and I do appreciate your letting me know, but I'm in too deep now and I have no regrets... I could've built the theater w/o the accompanying bathroom upstairs, but I have spiral stairs and it would really suck for my guests to have to spiral downstairs everytime they wanted to tinkle... if I had used any smaller pvc piping, then my guests would not have been able to do number two upstairs (not that I'd ever want them to anyway), but at least now I don't have to put in a urinal or even worry about it... I actually did have a professional plumber do the job on his day off, since he wouldn't have touched the job on the job w/o permits... but then again, I would have never been able to get the permits anywhoo, at least not w/o driving the cost of the project through the roof...
 

Parker Clack

Schizophrenic Man
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Johnny:

I like picture number 8 of 13 on the choices for a wall sconce. Kind of art deco but I like that type of decor in a HT.

Parker
 

ErnieST

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
6
My question about the building inspector was really tongue-in-cheek. No inspector would have approved what you have done. You stated "if anything, all the extra framing and walls has added more structural support and rigidity then that part of the house has ever had". It may have added rigidity but it didn't do anything to help support the floor. In fact, it only added more weight. The joists were designed to support only themselves and the weight of sheetrock on the ceiling below. Notching them the way you did (3"-4" deep) will cause them to fail even if you hadn't placed addition weight on them. No way to tell how long it will last, but I suspect that if you measure closely, you can already see the sag in the ceiling below. If your garage is below, you really need to do something to add some support, otherwise it will most certainly collapse.

"building inspectors? building codes? permits? who needs em... it's my friggin house."

Yes, it's your house, but you are stealing from your neighbors by hiding the improvements from the taxing entities. And how are you going to explain it if you ever sell? The appraiser will note the discrepancy in square footage and I believe he is obligated to report it to the appraisal district (in Texas).
 

tom derby

Agent
Joined
Jan 9, 2004
Messages
49
since you brought up building inspectors i have a question: An appraiser i had that came out to my house told me that basements are not included in the square footage of a house. He said not unless the entire basement is above ground level, which most basements are not entirely above ground level. So who would know, if this was done in his basement and not his attic?
 

JohnnyN

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Messages
228
ErnieST, check your private messages... I'll deal with the appraiser when I have to deal with selling... for the time being I could care less about any appraisers or Texas appraisal district.
 

ErnieST

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
6
What usually happens in my area (where very, very few people have basements) is that the appraiser hired to evaluate the house for a prospective buyer (his/her mortgage company, really) measures all the finished rooms and non-space-conditioned areas (garages, patios, etc.) and makes his evaluation on that. This is a private appraiser, not one associated with the local appraisal district.

On the appraisals I seen recently, there's a place on the form where he has obtained the tax office stats for a house. If they vary by very much, a comment will be made about the discrepancy and a statement about the converted or added on area will be made, noting that it was very likely done without proper permitting. This raises all kinds of red flags to real estate people.

The appraisal district appraiser drives by each property each year looking for additions and property condition for possible value adjustment. Anything not obvious from the street will most likely not be detected. Sometimes, he is tipped off by a report from a neighbor who notices construction activity. If the job was permitted, the appraisal district is notified.

As far as basements not being counted as square footage, I don't know. But in the case of an attic, where does the second floor stop and the attic start? I can assure you that they count the square footage on second floors.
 

JohnnyN

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Messages
228
http://www.johnnyqnguyen.com/modules...bum.php&page=8

I got some new pictures up... this time with almost all of the drywall finished...


BTW Ernie, looks like I'm in for some unforseen problems down the road... if and when i decide to sell my house... but heck it's almost paid off, I will just rent it out... :) Hey great info though, are you in the industry or just have first hand experience? I must wonder how much of a value discrepancy my home will have and if the appraiser will be required to report it... I've heard that I simply won't be able to factor the addition into the appraised value of the home, but will be able to set an asking price higher than the appraised value of the home and have a much easier time selling the home because of it's home theater appeal. :)
 

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