[m7cky]

After stumbling across this forum whilst researching a projector a few weeks ago I was inexplicably drawn to the home cinema DIY forum & Gallery.
Oh dear.
After several hours drooling over your set-ups I happened on a thread by the one known as "Groove" & woooooooooooow!
I had to have one. And, thanks to the quality work achieved by afore-mentioned member, so did the missus.
Unfortunately I am DIYlexic. But I'm going to try anyway.
Our 1st night at our new home on tuesday involved us having a little drinky to celebrate, and we turned to these hallowed pages for inspiration.
Fueled with a mix of Vodka & the evil redbull & decided to make a start right there & then. So armed with a puny hammer & a large screwdriver I decided to remove the chimney breast (don't worry, it didn't go through the house, just up to the ceiling, i wasn't that drunk).
I expected it to be a wood frame with plasterboard attached, but alas, it was breeze block
So my plan was foiled until the next day, when I could rope some friends into doing it.
The beauty of the drunken wall removal is that now, it has to be finished. Otherwise I would have talked about it endlessly before deciding I couldn't be bothered.
Anyhoo, here's where I'm at so far. Sorry for the lack of proper "before" pics, but i couldn't find my camera (drunk you see )

This is the sight which greeted me when i stumbled down the stairs the next day. I had honestly forgot I'd done it so was quite a shock!

My friends Jason & Jonny were down in a shot with the promise of knocking walls down with big hammers & a couple of brews.

Had the Gas fitter round to remove the fire & cap it off.
£40 for 10 mins work nice work if you can get it!

All Gone!

After many years of fixing friends networks & PC's I was finally getting to call in some favours.
So a quick call to my mate Andy & Dave resulted in me gewtting the ceiling patched & the artex skimmed over on the ceiling & the holes where the dado was for the price of a few beers & a couple of pizza's! Result!

[m7cky]

All done & drying. Although the ex-chimney breat needs skimming as there was no room for plasterboard so was done with browning.

I'm in desperate need for some new speakers & the missus left me a big box when i got in from work. I was so excited. But more on that soon.

Bracket ordered yeaterday afternoon & came this morning from rs100.
Impressive

[m7cky]

Actually it might be a good idea to tell you what I have in mind for the room

The wall where the fire was will be the spot for my great big nabru sofa (again seen on this very forum).
The opposite wall is where the floating wall will be, as behind it is under the stairs where I plan to house my AV Kit (9 month old son in the house). To give you an idea of how I plan the wall to look, hop on over to groove's thread. I'm not going to tell you I plan to add my own twist etc. I'm going to copy it. Probably right down to the colour (sorry dude, but you can't improve on perfection!). But maybe not cabinets. I haven't decided quite yet.

[mr_gee]

Originally Posted by m7cky

Jeez, you had a gunfight or something?!

Na your making good progress mate, looks good!

[m7cky]

Yeah I knocked loads of holes in the plaster 1st, whilst the missus had nipped upstairs, so she couldn't change her mind .
Cheers dude

[dazm41]

this is when the fun stars keep up the good work ,once the floating wall fever gets ya theres no going back, i know it got hold of me,its that dam grooves fault , have a look at mine see what it dos to ya






http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...ml#post9701596

[M.D. Klapwijk]

And yet anotherone builds a "Groove wall". Welcome to the club....


Here's my rip, ehhh, work in progres: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...ting-wall.html

[m7cky]

Good work boys. If my wall turns out half as good as yours, I'll be a happy bunny!

Got the majority of the frame up today, no piccies tho as I can't find my camera charger .
Lots of adventures which I will convey when I'm slightly less knackered.

I need a bit of help with the rope lighting. Looking at this stuff Duralite Rope Lights
& need as near as dammit exactly 7 meters. However, I'm wondering what exact length to order. Can you order it to exact length or does it have to be to the nearest meter? How durable is this stuff, do I need to order slightly more to take the bend into account?

Thanks for any help.

[M.D. Klapwijk]

I needed about 5m and ordered 8m. on first install, one section 3 lights out and one section 1 light out. After a wiggle the section with 3 out died, so I cut out the to broken sections an now I have 1m left as spare.

Tip: order 1 or 2 connection sets with it...

[m7cky]

cheers for the tip. Didn't realise it came in sections, that makes things a bit easier. I'll crack on with the ordering.

[m7cky]

Has anyone built a floating wall without cabinets a the bottom?
Can't seem to find one on the forum.
This was my plan but I'm struggling to picture it looking good. My frame goes right to the floor so It'll need to be covered with the MDF which I think will look a bit naff,

[M.D. Klapwijk]

No cabinets means that it should really float and not touch the floor....

Sorry, I don't remember seeing one without cabinets. Seen them with beds though. But I think most of us use the cabinets to cover the holes, which are needed to reach the outlets and place the electronics for the lightning etc (though one could place those in the hole for the tv).

[m7cky]

I built it to the floor to help support the weight as the wall is studded plasterboard. I wasn't planning to have holes as there is a cupboard directly behind (under the stairs) where I planned to house my kit. I'm a bit stumped on this tbh. Really didn't plan on a cabinet so the chances of me finding one to fit are slim. but on the other hand I'm not sure that it would look good with board sat on the floor. Gonna need to think hard about this one.

[Stoke192]

Mines not going to have any cabs underneath, have a look here and this will give you an idea of what one looks like without any cabinets.
I've some more up to date pics which i havn't posted yet with the (dare i say it) rope light installed, i'll upload them tommorow.

[m7cky]

Looking good Stoke!
I'd like mine to look like that, but i dare not have it actually "floating"

[m7cky]

aaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
Being a complete moron, I forgot to order my rope lights! Just done it, but now i'm stuck, as I'm ready to attach the MDF but with only 2 inches from the overhang to the wall, I'm figuring that I'm going to struggle to fix the rope light if i attach the MDF first .

To make matters worse, I've taken the day off to do it! DOH!

[M.D. Klapwijk]

I have 77mm clearance and 80mm overhang and still able to reach and replace teh lights. This should always be possible, since the lights can as normal lights die....

[m7cky]

Good point.
So i think i'll crack on. If I can't fit them with the mdf on then it's a bad design & I should be shot .

[cinemajic]

Originally Posted by m7cky

I built it to the floor to help support the weight as the wall is studded plasterboard. I wasn't planning to have holes as there is a cupboard directly behind (under the stairs) where I planned to house my kit. I'm a bit stumped on this tbh. Really didn't plan on a cabinet so the chances of me finding one to fit are slim. but on the other hand I'm not sure that it would look good with board sat on the floor. Gonna need to think hard about this one.

hey.. if ya have gone to the trouble of replastering the ceiling then maybe striping the boards off and fixing plywood patrasses... or even timber between studs were you fixing points for the wall.. and re board n plaster,just an idea... way i see it if ya gonna do summat do it how ya want it ("dont make do mate")

[m7cky]

I agree, but the budget didn't.
I really have had to cut back on most things as I found out the day after I started that I was facing redundancy .
It wouldn't have cost that much to do, but now this is pretty much a solo project as I work funny shifts at the mo, so friends aren't available when I am, & that kind of work would be very much out of my depth.

Good luck with this mate, loved how it started

[m7cky]

Cheers dude.
Got plenty done, all frame up, most of mdf up speaker cable run, ordered my speakers (which were definately a compromise, but I'm broke) & got the lighting up. Will post some piccies in the morning.

[m7cky]

Here's a couple, from the mobile, my dad still hasn't returned my camera!!

I originally cut the MDF flush round my bracket, until my brain kicked in & I realised the uprights that attach to the tv would not be able to fit on the bracket! Like I've said, apart from hanging pictures, this is the only DIY i have ever done. EVER!

So then i cut it flush to the uprights. Then realised there needs to be room at the top of them to lift them on & off the bracket
Do you see a moronic pattern forming?

Phew. Mission accomplished.

Test Hanging the TV:

It fits!!

Testing lights:

With MDF on:

This has turned out to be a lot more difficult than i thought it would be! Especially getting it level as the floor isn't.
Got to run all the cables (there is a cut out in the wall in the middle going into the cupboard behind the stairs), Then cut the wood to fill the middle sections. Then the fun starts! Filling, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding etc.....
Wish me luck

[Stoke192]

Looking good so far

[M.D. Klapwijk]

Originally Posted by m7cky

.... Then the fun starts! Filling, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding etc .....

Boy, are you wrong, it is: Degreasing, sanding, filling, sanding, sanding, degreasing, filling, sanding, sanding, filling, sanding, sanding, sanding, some more sanding, degreasing, base painting, sanding, base painting, sanding (and at this point I will be calling a professional spray painter in!), degreasing paint, sanding, degreasing, paint...

Suc6 m8!

Is it me, or is part of the frame missing (in the middle)?

[m7cky]

There was a bit missing, but I always planned to put this in later.....honest!
Anyhoo, been at lots lately, including the kitchen which had half the space taken up by a through floor lift for the disabled brother-in-law who has now moved with the mum-in-law to a bungalow. Twas a big job but I wasn't willing to pay the £1500 the lift company wanted to take it out!
Got lots of time now due to quitting my job (don't ask) but start my degree in october so need to get everything done!

Things I've learnt:
1. Try not to be distracted when building your wall, or you could very well forget to screw one side of the middle piece to the framework, which will show itself as a huge crack approximately 1 week later after filling & painting .

2. Get the wall behind the floating wall skimmed before starting. That way the rope light won't highlight the poor state the plaster is in. You don't realise how bad it is until you see it glowing at night!

3. If you want to do it in a couple of weekends, leave the TV off the wall! Or it will take you a couple of months as you have several "test screenings". So have a holiday on your lovefilm account.

Here's some quick snaps. My lenses are packed away somewhere so apologies for the angles

Behind the wall.
Of course this will be much tidier one day. Still gotta route the sky cables into here & grab a new amp.

Carpet going down tomorrow due to an 11 month old boy starting to potter around.

The opposite wall. Either side of the wallpaper will have dvd shelving. The sofa will be replaced by a nice big nabru one.

Will post more pics as it progresses. Thanks for looking

[cjmilner]

Nice looking mural wallpaper, goes well with the floating wall paint colour

[fightfear]

Nice work mate - I'm woeking on my flat now (started about 5 months ago!) and planning to make a floating wall or two as well.
Although I came up with the idea of floating wall before I found the forum it is absolutly brilliant for advice and clues on how to do it.


I really like your wallpaper - where did you get it from?
I bought this: IKEA | Frames & pictures | Ready to hang | PREMIÄR | Picture
but the wallpaper idea is much cheaper and possibly more impresive due to even bigger size

[m7cky]

Cheers guys.
Saw the paper on this very forum. Can't seem to find the thread though.
Got it from eBay. Search sellers for "wallart2go" .
Got a few different designs & only cost £65 with p&p which i thought was very reasonable.