Basement Home Theater Start here!! (1 Viewer)

[Gerald LaFrance]

Hello all,

I guess I am going to attempt to make a Home Theater in theBasement. I have the spot plotted it is going to be roughly 24'x12'. Now the first thing I am going to tackl is all the concrete work and painting the floor with Behr Epoxy Paint.

I did take somepics and the basement is a bit of a mess. there is going to be a ton of Prep work and I already started. My Plan is to do a little at a time I have no budget set but as Frugle as I can make it. The sq. ft. is 1173. my plan is to just paint most of the walls no drywall just cinderblock in most of the basement. I may put in other partitions but right now I am just trying to get the floor painted and the walls waterproofed and painted..

I am going to waterproof the bottom 2 feet and the rest just regular paint with a prime. There are some cracks here and there in the floor and in the cinderblock. they are not too big less that 1/8th" so I don't think there is any structual damage just need to find out what to use to seal the crack on seam. here is a close up of the problem area:

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

As you can see in the lower left bottom there is a crack in the seam How would I go about repairing that by way of should I just use crack filler or whatnot?? As for the floor I am good there I will prep it and I am going to use Behr Epoxy 1 part Paint.. and then I will seal it too with sealer..

here are some more random pics of the basement for your viewing pleasure.

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

So as you see it is a mess and I plan on cleaning it up. you see whwere the wall spung a leak at some point in the past they are my main concern and the good news I been here 7 months and I have not seen any water coming out of those leaks yet.. the floor is a floating floor with a sub pump in one corner and the sprinkler pump in the other. I think when they ran the sprinklers before as there are some real close to the house is where the leaks manifested from.

If you can tell me what to use to plug those holes I would be very thankful. so right now I have to move my computer in the back of the space I plan on having my theater in to the other side and paing this 420sg. ft space then let it dry and move it all back then paint the other side of the floor.

I am going to try and tackle those leaks and the walls where the paint is peeling with a putty knife and a wire brush. then seal the cracks in the floor..

Well I rambled on long enough. I look forward to any insight on what to do about those leaky spots.. and yes this is going to be a long drawn out project but I hope to get it done within the year hopefully..

 

[John Dirk]

Congrats on the decision. I don't follow your math, however. A 24' X 12' room would be 288 Sq Ft. With a standard 8' ceiling you'd have 2304 Cu Ft, which is a nice-sized room. Also, I'd think cinder block walls might produce a rather anemic sound. You'll know soon enough though and can make changes down the road if required.

Good luck!

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

In the theater part 21' x 12' x 7' I am putting up walls just not the rest of the basement.. I will use insulation in the joist above me before I put in the drop ceiling.. and at some point I intend to make some acoustic panels..

I just need to find out how to fix those leaks

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

This looks promising.. but my fear now is if I take out the mortor and there is alot of water behind there lol!!

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

the above video was good but I found there is mortar in a caulk gun form. so I will chip out a bit of where the crack is and caulk it with the mortar caulk..

Now I just need to prep the walls for drylock paint.. I am going to take my time and try and get these holes patched up proper..

I look forward to getting this half done, I just need to reread the specifications to see how long until I can walk on the floor..

EDIT: well I just ordered some prep tools and such should be here monday or wed. I also found out the Floor epoxy will take 3 day until I can move furniture on it so no big deal as I am in no rush, but still would like to finish ASAP..

I am gonna start to scrape the walls tomorrow and I have my dusks masks n95 all ready to go..

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

well I relocated my PC and desk to the other side of the basement. I also cleaned out the rafters for cobwebs and dust. I had just done the sweeping of the floor and it is starting to look like I am doing something. here are 2 more pics of the progress.

Next step is to tear down the Home Theater and move it to the other side of the basement but I am only moving it not reconnecting it like I did my PC. I also will need to take all the posters and such off the wall and get ready for spackle where some small holes are.

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

My Plan is to use Drylock on the walls and some Paint on the floors. the walls will be white from the Drylock and the entire floor is gonna be a Teal color..

I think it will definetely make it so not depressing as it is now haha!! I may start the walls next week as the parts I ordered should be here this wed.

Shaping up getting pumped!!

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

I had just realised something with the basement windows, there are no screens.,.

So I ordered 3 screen kits to where I can make a custom screen on the cheap.. I am going to be able to open the windows when I am painting and with no screens that would have been a problem.. so all is good I just have to wait until next Friday when they should be here and then I can make the 3 screens up..

tomorrow I am going to clean up the windows and caulk them up where there are gaps so in the winter time no cold air blows in.. I will have to get better measurements tomorrow when it is daylight out so I can measure from outside..

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

I'll be watching this thread to see how your project commences!

We're looking to buy a house this year (yay 7% interest rates!) and one of the must haves is an unfinished basement so I can finally have my theater that I've always wanted for the last, oh I don't know, 30 years.

The basement will also need room for a home office for me, and a studio for my wife (she has a small sticker business and a Twitch setup, so we'll need room for that AND all of the tons of crafting supplies.) Ideally I won't keep by book collection down there, but there may not be enough space in the regular part of the house (we have A LOT of books - I just packed up 85 12x11x11 boxes and that doesn't cover them all.)

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

I went to the Behr webiste and they had a visulaize project and this is the colorI will select for the HT room, how does that look plus the floor will be a teal color:

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

I'll be watching this thread to see how your project commences!

We're looking to buy a house this year (yay 7% interest rates!) and one of the must haves is an unfinished basement so I can finally have my theater that I've always wanted for the last, oh I don't know, 30 years.

The basement will also need room for a home office for me, and a studio for my wife (she has a small sticker business and a Twitch setup, so we'll need room for that AND all of the tons of crafting supplies.) Ideally I won't keep by book collection down there, but there may not be enough space in the regular part of the house (we have A LOT of books - I just packed up 85 12x11x11 boxes and that doesn't cover them all.)

OH Good Luck on getting the House. hope you get your dream theater soon

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

I do love me some Dream Theater \m/ Wait, you meant a DREAM theater. I get it.

I don't even have a house yet, but I'm already looking at new receivers. What I have now will be completely acceptable so I'm sure I'll just end up using my existing gear BUT setting everything up for the future.

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

Well good news the crack I thought that was in the mortar is not a crack just some dirt or something.. I only have a few little holes in the back to be concerned with, which is good news..

I am just waiting on all the supplies I ordered to get here and I can begin full force.. well at least until I run out of funds haha!!

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

Today I had recieved the Drylock 5 gallons, spray insulation and krylon paint. I was going to paint the pipes white but now I think I will just leave them there original color black.

That Drylock is some heavy stuff.

 

[KPmusmag]

Good luck! I am enjoying seeing your journey. Jealous of your basement space!

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

Good luck! I am enjoying seeing your journey. Jealous of your basement space!

Yes I am enjoying the journey and the space will alow me to once again go with a 2.40:1 AR screen which I cannot wait until it is a reality..thank you the space is great but on the other hand more to do

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

well since
I been thinking of the 2.4:1 AR Screen I ran into masking issues. So I was looking at some solution to get an semi automated masking system and found a few ideas with some other ideas..

here is what I am going to do when the time comes just need to plan it out on parts list and what to do to get the screen away from the wall as there is a drain pipe on the right side angled away from the wall that is in the way but should be no big deal.. but I really like this guys Idea:


MixturesRich Auto masking system..