My Theater Project

[Squintz]

Here is what i have to start with

Here are the walls Taped Off Painted black. After i painted it i Spakled it. I know this is the reverse order of how its supposed to be done but i thought i had spakle at home and did not. Needless to say i was to lazy to drive back to Home Depot

Here it is in its current State. The black is on and im ready to start building the stage and the ceiling

Now i have to go buy a Jig Saw to but out the molding and that will become a platform with a curved front and the ceiling will miror the platform

 

[Squintz]

Here is the projector shining on the black wall. It looks like total crap. It makes the movie way to dark.

 

[Squintz]

justonemore Wrote:

No experience with projection. But aren't the screens kinda white? Maybe a lighter shade would work better for ya?

 

[Squintz]

lol, I should have explained. The black is not the screen i was just trying to get an idea of how big i would be able to make my screen. I am using SilverScreen paint from behr 770e-2 at the screen color. The black ruins the picture so yes you are right that the black does not make a good screen color

 

[Squintz]

justonemore Wrote:
Gotcha. That makes sense now

 

[Squintz]

Boy was this a pain in the ass. Messed up all my paint trying to get this damn thing in place and i damaged my air vent. Would have been easier if i had a helping hand. Now i have to cut the ply wood to size and cut the front edge into an half oval shape. I will do this with two pieces of 1/4 plywood and the face the front edge with bender board. The cur will stick out from the side wall 5"

 

[Squintz]

Finished the curved frame for the stage now i have to cut the 1/4inc plywood to size. To make the curve i riped a 2X4 into a 1x4 and then made a ton of notches in the center of the 1x4. Then easily bent it to shaped and nailed it with a air gun.

The curve is not perfectly curved but its not noticable to the naked eye and will be even less noticable once i get the plywood on.

 

[Squintz]

Added the ply wood and cut the curve with a jig saw. Now i need to head off to home depot to figure out what i am going to cover it with. I would like to do some snap together wood flooring but im not sure how i would get it to follow the curve. Then i will trim it out with thin molding

 

[Squintz]

JohnBullard Wrote:

To get the snap together wood flooring to follow the curve is easy. Just lay it front to back, letting it overhang the front curve, then use your router with a straight bit with with roller bearing and viola! instant curve.

Don't forget to run control wiring for the Red Velvet automated drapes that your fiance will make to cover the screen when its not in use. Then when the projector turns on, the drapes also open, and when the projector goes into cool down mode, the drapes close.

 

[Squintz]

I ended up going with a vinyl floor that looks like wood. Its a lighter color than i wanted but it still look good. I need to trim it our with molding still and i am going to trim the front edge with rope lighting. Does anyone know of a good source of rope lighting. I will need about 8 feet.

 

[Squintz]

smee Wrote:

I've seen rope lighting at Target and HomeDepot. I'd imagine it's available at any comparable store. It's always pretty cheap.

 

[Squintz]

JohnBullard Wrote:

Another source for dimmable and chasing rope lights in many different colors:

http://www.noveltylights.com/rope_light.htm


They also have LED rope lights and some great tracks for mounting.

I buy 150 foot spools and cut to my own custom lengths

 

[Squintz]

Thanks smee. I though i had seen it there also. Ill look at target on my lunch break today. I am fairly happy with the way my project is turning out. I wish i had alot more space to work with but its all comming together. Ill post another picture of the floor tonight

 

[Squintz]

WayneW Wrote:

I've seen rope lighting at Target and HomeDepot. I'd imagine it's available at any comparable store. It's always pretty cheap.

Smee, Do you know if that stuff is trimmable to various lengths? I had never tried it, but I had heard that unless it was labeled as trimmable or you bought it by the foot, it wasn't safe to cut. The by-the-foot stuff I have seen was marked for cutting every 18 inches or so.

 

[Squintz]

smee Wrote:

None of the cheap stuff I've seen is trimmable. But it's usually quite a bit cheaper than trimmable. For something like Squintz's stage, I'd expect the cheapest solution will end up being to stuff the extra under the stage (lighting up the inside of the box).