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"The Pit of Despair"
Construction Photos -- Completed Photos -- Equipment -- Floorplan -- Home


Construction Photos
Click on a photo for a larger view

Starting 1-11-04 As of 2-22-04

 

January 11, 2004


This is the area that we decided to use as the Theater Room. It was nothing more than an area to collect junk except for an occasional game of pool when the kids have friends over. You can see the masking tape on the far wall representing the desired screen size. It is marking off an area approximately 10' x 5' 7".


We purchased some chairs off of Ebay.
They are actually out of a conference room but they work very well as theater chairs and are in excellent condition. We just set them in place to get a feel for where they would need to be positioned.


I purchased the Infocus X1 projector and couldn't wait to see how the picture might look in the future theater room (even if it was on a block wall). I hooked up my sons PlayStation and was very impressed with the video quality.

 

 

January 25, 2004


Here is the first load of lumber and plywood.


First thing was to clean the area up. We had to take down the duct work that was running down the center of the room to gain as much ceiling height as possible. The plumbing had to be rerouted in the left front corner to get a couple of valves out from behind the screen area.


Looking toward the back, the duct work has been removed. There was also a condensation drain line from the upstairs A/C that need to be rerouted.


This door opening WAS the opening gaining access to the storage area below the stairs. I wanted to use this area for the Audio/Video equipment cabinet, so, there had to be a new door cut in (visible through the old opening).

 

 

January 26, 2004


Finally! Some wood nailed to the wall.
The plumbing valves that had to be moved are visible in the corner.


The offset in the framing shown here was done to mirror the same type of existing offset on the other side of the room.


I had to get the new ductwork holes cut into the A/C trunk line at this point because there would not be enough room after the wall was built.

 

 

January 27, 2004


That's me.

They guy on the floor is my brother Jeff and standing is a good friend, Keith. They are working on level one of the future three seating levels. Level one would have a pair of seats on each side, level two would have three seats on each side, and level three would have a full size sofa in the middle.


The seating levels are angled to where the seats would be turned perfectly facing the screen.


Getting a feel for the front row, level one seats.

 

 

January 28, 2004


Level two framing going in. We used 2 x 6 floor joists with 3/4" tongue and groove plywood flooring. The plywood was glued continuously along the joists and nailed about every 10".


That's my son Jason helping out.


Just more work.


The second level is in and we're just trying it out. It's starting to feel like something now.

 

 

January 29, 2004


Jeff and Keith work on stripping out more of the block walls. We used 2 x 4's ripped down in half for these strips. We think it was cheaper than buying 2 x 2's. We used 2" cut nails to fasten them to the walls.


Me and Jason working on level three and the back wall.


Just evaluating our work.....


Keith works on stripping the front wall.


I'm not sure what Jeff is doing??


Me and Jason finishing the joists.

 

 

February 1, 2004


Here is a view toward the rear.
The different floor levels are finished here.


The door opening is framed now. We will use a 36" wide door.


View across the top floor level looking at the future electronics cabinet area.


This view is looking toward the front left corner from the electronic cabinet area.


Looking from the front right corner to the left rear corner. 


Load number two of building supplies.
This was stuff like insulation, sheetrock, wiring, light fixtures, the door and miscellaneous items.

 

 

February 2, 2004


The framing is complete at this point and it's time for insulation. Notice the areas created down each side of the room that will accommodate the duct work removed when the job began.


Insulation continues......


I'm working on the transitional areas of the duct work.


Still working on the transitional areas of the duct work.


Insulating and working on duct work.


DUCTWORK!!!!

 

 

February 11, 2004


The sheet rock is up! 


Looking toward the back.


The electronics cabinet is in and sheetrocked around. This cabinet is custom built to house the Onkyo receiver, JVC DVD/VCR combo and dimmer switches for the room lighting.


The screen became recessed because we built a "stage" below the screen and a valance above the screen. The angle of these match the angles on the front edges of the three seating levels.

 

 

February 13, 2004


Me finishing the sheetrock. Yippeee!!!


Still working on sheetrock....

 

 

February 16, 2004


We decided on a deep red paint for the walls. It looks very much like the background on this web page. I love it now that it is finished but would NOT recommend this shade of color to anyone unless you really enjoy painting. It required four coats of paint and could have really taken more!!


Me painting one of the four coats.

 

 

February 22, 2004


Even though it's not finished in this picture, this is the electronics cabinet. I custom made the black bezels from ABS plastic. They will be held in place by velcro. The white knobs are the room dimmer switches.


Nearing completion, here is how some of the lighting looks.


Here is some video. That's from Shania Twains "Up" DVD.


I am going to add two more seats. They will be one more on each side of the front rows (total of 12 theater seats). There will also be a recliner sofa along the back wall.