[esdubu]

Just thought i'd start my own thread about the construction of my home cinema/boys room loft.
I'm a fair way along with the construction of it now but i've been taking photos as i've been going along.
Never would have thought of doing this if it wasn't for these forums! Here's a few pics from before i started proper construction.

[esdubu]

Unfortunately i haven't got any pictures of the work that was involved in lowering the floor by about 2 and a half feet. Now that was a big job!

[esdubu]

Some more pics of insulating the roof


[IMG]

[/IMG]

I had to make the rafters deeper to accomodate 75mm thick celotex insulation board and still leave the right gap behind them to let the roof breathe.

[cosmic023]

Great project esdubu, i wish i could have started with an empty shell for my attic cinema!

Sounds like you have great plans for your project, i'll look forward to the progress pics.

Cheers
Lee

[wingnut121]

this looks like a mint project, please keep us updated
and have you got any drawings/plans of the finnished lay out just so i can be noisy

[velvitjester]

has the floor been raised,joists strengthened?

Looks like it will be a nice room,looks big.

[esdubu]

Originally Posted by velvitjester

has the floor been raised,joists strengthened?

Looks like it will be a nice room,looks big.

Absolutely gutted the upstairs of my house, when i put the new joists in, basically got rid of the old ceiling joists as i wanted to lower the floor. Me and a mate spent a couple of hours up there kicking the old ceiling down into the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, and removed 6 (i think) courses of brick from all upstairs walls. Then we put new joists 10x2 fixed to the wall plates with joist hangers and sat on the internal walls. Next we fixed the rafters to the new joists so my roof wouldn't slide off and finally got rid of the old ceiling joists. It was actually a lot more complicated and time consuming than i've made it sound!

If you look at the pictures above there is a line of plaster about 2 feet tall all around the bottom of the wall. That's where the old ceiling in the bedrooms came to.

This is the only photo i've got that'l show you what i mean. Unfortunately it's from a cameraphone.

[esdubu]

This is my bedroom floor after we kicked the old ceiling down. There was a suspended ceiling underneath it as well so that's 2 ceilings worth we had to "store" upstairs

[esdubu]

Originally Posted by wingnut121

this looks like a mint project, please keep us updated
and have you got any drawings/plans of the finnished lay out just so i can be noisy

Haven't got any drawings of the fininshed layout it's all in my head at the moment. It should be more or less finished in the next couple of weeks though so you won't have long to wait!!

[enablerbro1]

Originally Posted by esdubu

This is my bedroom floor after we kicked the old ceiling down. There was a suspended ceiling underneath it as well so that's 2 ceilings worth we had to "store" upstairs

Have you done a lot of this sort of thing because if I looked down and saw that lot I think I'd find it pretty dispiriting. Must be essential to keep what it will eventually look like in your mind during the early phases amongst the rubble.

Any more photos of the work so far?

[esdubu]

Never tried anything like this before! The missus wasn't too happy but i did all the loft floor as the first job before i renovated the whole house, so she's got an almost finished beautiful house now while i've had to wait 18 months to do my loft! If you think that's bad you wanted to see what we looked like after the ceiling came down. The loft was about 3 inches deep with black sooty dust. We looked like black and white minstrels!

I'm just in the process of organising my photos so i do have more but they're not sorted yet. I've literally just finished plasterboarding the walls in there just now so i'll be taking some more photos when i've had a shower.

[enablerbro1]

I love following these threads. All you need is Sarah Beeny and that chap off Grand Designs to crop occasionaly. More Sarah Beeny that the chap off Grand Designs.

[cjmilner]

Hi mate, looks like a similar project to mine, hope all goes well, keep us all posted on the updates

[esdubu]

Here's a few more pictures as promised

[esdubu]

Just realised in most of these threads people have listed what components they will eventually have going in these rooms so here goes....

Panasonic AE2000 Projector
Pioneer VSX-LX70 AV Receiver
Media PC
PS3 (For Bluray)
Toshiba EP10 (For HD-DVD)
Xbox 360
Freesat box (when they get around to releasing the PVR)
Cable Box (For movies and sports)
Kef 2005.3 Speakers
Self built DVD Server

The media pc will also double as my desktop PC as i will be using the room as my office as well as home cinema. Dual output graphics card should take care of that so i can switch between projector and 22" widescreen monitor

[Kenny Glasgow]

Good luck with the conversion

Looking forward to the progress pics

[tojo]

Originally Posted by esdubu

Some more pics of insulating the roof

I had to make the rafters deeper to accomodate 75mm thick celotex insulation board and still leave the right gap behind them to let the roof breathe.

Hi - looking good so far. What is the correct gap behind insulation to allow the roof to breathe? Have been wanting to insulate loft to keep it cool but am concerned that I will be blocking up some vents.

[GavT]

Just found your thread, looking good so far. Did you fit the Velux window yourself? Is it straight-forward? Does it come with instructions

[esdubu]

Correct gap for insulation depends on what you've got in between your roof tiles/slates and the insulation. If a breathable membrane like mine then the correct gap is 25mm, 50mm if it is felt.


Velux window the roofers did when i had the roof re slated. Don't think they're too difficult but i wouldn't fancy going up on the roof to do it!! As far as i remember it does come with fitting instructions.

[Fast Eddie]

Excellent work there mate, you must have plenty of confidence and ability with building work to do this. What are the dimensions of the loft roughly? Keep up the good work. Love seeing these builds progress.
Ed

[esdubu]

Originally Posted by Fast Eddie

Excellent work there mate, you must have plenty of confidence and ability with building work to do this. What are the dimensions of the loft roughly? Keep up the good work. Love seeing these builds progress.
Ed

Thanks mate. The dimensions are about 4m front to back (a bit less in front of the chimney breast) by 5.5 metres wide. In the centre of the room it's 2.2 metres high and i can stand up nearly the whole way in between the purlins. I'm not the tallest of people though!!

[esdubu]

Here are some more progress pics a bit more studwork and plasterboarding.

This is going to be the screen wall. I'll be projecting straight onto the wall. Was planning on just painting it white but i've been following the thread in the screens section about the uk version of black widow, so thinking of trying that.

This is the other main wall studded out with a bit of boarding on it. I'll be having a sofabed in the middle of the chimney breast.

Front speakers and sub cable pinned to back of the purlin

Here is the chimney breast wall fully plasterboarded. It's starting to look like a room!!!! Was getting sick of looking at knackered brick.

[esdubu]

Just been reading back through the thread so far in preparation for a progress report and realised i've made it sound like i've done all the work myself! Didn't mean to that's just the way it's come out. In actuality i've been more of a helper to the project. I've actually got mates who are tradesmen to come in and do most of the work with me helping as much as i can. Just been getting slagged off by them for not mentioning them!!!

I'll have some more pics posted tomorrow as it's been plastered now. (Not by me)

[HandsomeBWonderful]

Originally Posted by esdubu

Just been reading back through the thread so far in preparation for a progress report and realised i've made it sound like i've done all the work myself! Didn't mean to that's just the way it's come out. In actuality i've been more of a helper to the project. I've actually got mates who are tradesmen to come in and do most of the work with me helping as much as i can. Just been getting slagged off by them for not mentioning them!!!

I'll have some more pics posted tomorrow as it's been plastered now. (Not by me)

Well presumably you're the one paying for it all so we'll give you credit for that... unless of course your mates are working for free
Looking great so far - keep those pics coming.

[enablerbro1]

Originally Posted by HandsomeBWonderful

Well presumably you're the one paying for it all so we'll give you credit for that... unless of course your mates are working for free
Looking great so far - keep those pics coming.

Did Michael Angelo ask to be paid for the Cistern Chapel? I think not.

[HandsomeBWonderful]

Originally Posted by enablerbro1

Did Michael Angelo ask to be paid for the Cistern Chapel? I think not.

Would that be Michael Angelo the plumber a.k.a. Mickey Angel?

[enablerbro1]

Originally Posted by HandsomeBWonderful

Would that be Michael Angelo the plumber a.k.a. Mickey Angel?

Could be.

[Fast Eddie]

Originally Posted by enablerbro1

Did Michael Angelo ask to be paid for the Cistern Chapel? I think not.

3,000 ducats was all he got I think? Anyway let's hope this loft gets finished quicker than that chapel did, and with less bickering between the patron and the "craftsmen"

[esdubu]

Right here we go, some pics of it after the plastering has (nearly) been completed.

This is the wall where the projector will be mounted, note the power socket and hdmi cables poking out the top in the middle of the chimney breast. Got brush faceplates on order to cover those. All the kit will be on a 5 shelf rack to the left of the chimney breast and my low level desk and monitor will be in the corner on the left underneath the purlin. Have to be careful not to bang my head!!

This is the left hand wall as you're looking at the chimney breast, this will be bookcases right across the wall in between my desk and the other end of the room. I have a lot of books

This is going to be the screen wall, you can just make out the speaker cables underneath each purlin and centre up near the roof, cable sticking out the wall on the bottom right is the sub cable.

This bit has only been built today, hence why it isn't plastered, this will be my storage cupboard, the door you can see is from the larder unit in my kitchen. It was used as a template to make the frame as the doors i will be getting will also be larder unit doors but they will be in matt black. I am a kitchen designer by trade so i can get discounts on that kind of stuff. Finally the little alcove on the right will be where i will store all my movies. Just got to find some shelving that will fit there neatly, or make some.

Got to wait for the doors to arrive now so progress will slow a little bit for at least the next week, possibly the week after. I'll keep you updated on any little bits i get done in the meantime.

[wingnut121]

looking great, the finnishing line must be in sight