[tract0rb0y]

Well the extension is built and now we have just about finished first fix so I thought it was about time i documented my build and the continuing trials and tribulations that come with it.
Firstly i should point out this is mainly about the Lounge with a budget AV build, the other rooms will be only simple TV setups but we may think of a few more things for those rooms in the next few months...

Build Overview

This is basically a small three bed house attached to another house, to cut a long story short the main house is the in-laws and we shall be living in the new bit! Although we have a house around the corner we thought this was a good idea as it allowed us to rent ours out and enjoy living in a nice area with a big garden etc etc.
So without further ado here is what the equipment list stands at for the lounge -

Panasonic 42PX600
Sony HW10 Projector
Onkyo 606 Amp
Kef 2005.3 Speakers
Sky HD
PS3
Wii
Beamax M Series 106" 16:9 Electric Screen

Most/Some of the above is on order as i type, pictures of the new gear will be posted as it arrives.

I am also fitting in all wiring to add a Sonos/Squeezebox type sound system around the house but this will be after we move in.
I have wired the usual speaker/coax/Cat5 cabling around the house and now we are just about ready to start plasterboarding next week. Woohoo!

Now, something i would like to know from you guys?
How to persude SWMBO that the PJ wall has to be Black???
She is adamant the room stays white all over
I need to work on this one,,, I NEED YOUR HELP

Photos/ Sketch Ups etc will follow shortly.

[tract0rb0y]

Some pictures of the start of the build, this was late September.

Firstly we started to put in an extra driveway

Groundwork starts on the house

Me in action, well sort of; the foreman (father inlaw) in the background!

The build actually gets under way

More upto date photos to follow....

[deefadog]

Wow, a real full build literally excellent, will be watching with interest!

Originally Posted by tract0rb0y

Now, something i would like to know from you guys?
How to persude SWMBO that the PJ wall has to be Black???
She is adamant the room stays white all over
I need to work on this one,,, I NEED YOUR HELP

Couldn't you meet somewhere in the middle and paint it... er... grey?

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Marky P

Couldn't you meet somewhere in the middle and paint it... er... grey?

Ive suggetsed Grey, Brown, dark anything but it seems its going to be all white (to start with).
They do some nice black flock wallpaper im trying this as an option as i think it will work well for the pj wall and also look good to keep her happy!

Does it make a huge difference? I pressume, yes?

Anyway, a few more photos to follow...

[tract0rb0y]

A couple of shots of the ground floor, originally this was just going to be one room, open plan but after a few visits from the Building Inspector it was obvious this wasnt going to happen

Note the staircase kit, OMG that was a fun week installing that!

The central stairwell

Some more upto date photos to follow later...

[tract0rb0y]

These were all taken yesterday, so this it how the build stands today.
Basically 90% of the first fix is complete and hopefully i can start plasterboarding maybe at the weekend.

The pictures below show the main AV wall which is going to house my Panasonic 42" plasma, although i am sinking it flush into the wall i have left quite a large gap around the set as I will probably be upgrading this set next year.

Cheers.

[Lemon_Sherbert]

Looking good, hope you are not leaving the loo there though, speaker placement could be an issue

Could you not box in a motorised screen to the ceiling? that way it could still be white.

There are some lovely setups on this forum that show white rooms, but with accent colours such as black, have a look around and show swmbo, she might find something she likes, all white is going to look a little clinical (and a nightmare to clean!)

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Lemon_Sherbert

Looking good, hope you are not leaving the loo there though, speaker placement could be an issue

Could you not box in a motorised screen to the ceiling? that way it could still be white.

There are some lovely setups on this forum that show white rooms, but with accent colours such as black, have a look around and show swmbo, she might find something she likes, all white is going to look a little clinical (and a nightmare to clean!)

The screen is motorised and will be boxed in behind a pelmet and will drop infront of the tv, thats the plan anyway.
Im hoping to come to an agreement regarding the screen wall colour, i started at black so i can trade off and get a good comprimise, that way the wife thinks she will have got it her way

Cheers

[Lemon_Sherbert]

Originally Posted by tract0rb0y

The screen is motorised and will be boxed in behind a pelmet and will drop infront of the tv, thats the plan anyway.
Im hoping to come to an agreement regarding the screen wall colour, i started at black so i can trade off and get a good comprimise, that way the wife thinks she will have got it her way

Cheers

Ah, so your just looking for a colour that is darker so the light isnt a factor at the sides of the screen? I think i see what you mean

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Lemon_Sherbert

Ah, so your just looking for a colour that is darker so the light isnt a factor at the sides of the screen? I think i see what you mean

Well i think so, im always open to sugestions on here though; thats one of the main reason i started the thread as there are so many people on here that know much more than i ever will.

So any good sugestions, feel free to fire away.

[tract0rb0y]

Just going back round to the house to finish the last few cable runs, we are hoping the plasterboard will be delivered tomorrow but this depends on the weather!
Now heres a question.
I have mains and a hdmi cable to come out of the ceiling next to the projector, whats the prefered method of doing this?
I was thinking a single plasterboard back box with a brush type thingy to look neat.
Any other good ideas?

[Dave_Gregory]

Me in action, well sort of; the foreman (father inlaw) in the background!

Surely you could have got more in that barrow

Looks a lovely spot, I wish my outlaws had a garden big enough for us to build a house (he says green with envy)

[Dony]

Originally Posted by tract0rb0y

Im hoping to come to an agreement regarding the screen wall colour, i started at black so i can trade off and get a good comprimise, that way the wife thinks she will have got it her way

Cheers

Plum is the new white.


Seriously though, it looks really good on a feature wall (tell her it will add warmth to the room).

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Dave_Gregory

Me in action, well sort of; the foreman (father inlaw) in the background!

Surely you could have got more in that barrow

Looks a lovely spot, I wish my outlaws had a garden big enough for us to build a house (he says green with envy)

It is a great spot and im very lucky, i will post some more shots later.

Re the photo,,,,,it was an action shot

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Dony

Plum is the new white.


Seriously though, it looks really good on a feature wall (tell her it will add warmth to the room).

Plum, hmm, Maybe, im working on it.
Put it this way im sure by the time we move in it wont be white
Unless SWBMO reads this

[tract0rb0y]

Well the plasterboard arrived late yesterday, so today ive been busy insulating all the walls and staring the plasterboarding.
I thought it was Christmas this morning, snow outside, knock at the door and father christmas was standing there...

1 x Onkyo 606

1x Sony HW10 PJ

1x Kef 2005.3

Cheers Santa
Ok well it was santa it was a DHL delivery man but much appreciated all the same
And thanks to thehomecinemacentre.co.uk for a cracking price and quick delivery, all im waiting for now is the Beamax screen.

I will pop a few more photos on tomorrow as a work in progress.

[tract0rb0y]

Picture of the house/ extension taken yesterday..

[tract0rb0y]

Well its snowing like mad here in the Cotswolds so the good news is I can get a days work in at the house plenty of insulation needs to be fitted into all the walls and ceilings.
Plasterboarding is going to take a couple of weeks i would imagine and then hopefully we can get the plasterers in, the plan is for them to skim the bathroom ceilings first which will allow us to start work in the bathrooms whilst they carry on with the rest of the house.

[albriscoe]

Hi Tract0rb0y

What a lovely great big place that looks now, fabulous

Just read all the thread and it too me back a little as we`ve just done it all.

The screen wall colour issue mate Well as our dedicated HC room was in its first year going to be our main tv room as well it was painted with a white ceiling and Antique Cream walls.

Everyone on here said no Al, thats a def no for a room with a pj in and how right they were.

Eventually I managed to convince the missus that a darker screen wall would benefit our picture and WOW it certainly did when I did it a chocolatey browny colour.

So for the last 8 months or so thats whats its been like, then after visiting miniholics room the other night which is dark everywhere (not black) just dark/mid browns it instantly made my mind up and the wifes as well if I`m honest.

Last night I went down into the room which at night is as dark as you can get and I mean blacker than black and when I fired up the pj and started watching a film believe me it looks like I`ve turned all the lights on so this next week is gonna see me colour all the walls and ceiling.

Anyway I`ve rambled on enough so I`ll let you battle on with your place and keep the pics coming as they`re great

cheers Al

[ballyg]

Really beautiful looking house/mansion you got there

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by albriscoe

Hi Tract0rb0y

What a lovely great big place that looks now, fabulous

Just read all the thread and it too me back a little as we`ve just done it all.

The screen wall colour issue mate Well as our dedicated HC room was in its first year going to be our main tv room as well it was painted with a white ceiling and Antique Cream walls.

Everyone on here said no Al, thats a def no for a room with a pj in and how right they were.

Eventually I managed to convince the missus that a darker screen wall would benefit our picture and WOW it certainly did when I did it a chocolatey browny colour.

So for the last 8 months or so thats whats its been like, then after visiting miniholics room the other night which is dark everywhere (not black) just dark/mid browns it instantly made my mind up and the wifes as well if I`m honest.

Last night I went down into the room which at night is as dark as you can get and I mean blacker than black and when I fired up the pj and started watching a film believe me it looks like I`ve turned all the lights on so this next week is gonna see me colour all the walls and ceiling.

Anyway I`ve rambled on enough so I`ll let you battle on with your place and keep the pics coming as they`re great

cheers Al

Cheers Al, ive read and re-read both your build threads and they are a great inspiration along with many others on here.
I think the colour will make a massive difference on the pj wall and hopefully when the time comes she will see the light....hold on we dont want to see the light do we.

[tract0rb0y]

Today, i have spent most of the day insulating the stud work and ceilings with rockwool type stuff, bloody itchy!
We have started plasterboarding some of the rooms and they are really taking shape.
Im afraid photos wont be up untill tomorrow as i forgot to bring my camera back with me and trust me, walking back in 2ft of snow isnt going to happen today.
The Av stuff is going to be a long way off so i will just do some little updates when the build progresses just to keep the diary going and feedback/ideas most welcome.
The projector bracket was meant to arrive today but due to all the roads being unpassable it wont be here until Monday i guess.

Cheers

[tract0rb0y]

Due to the snow we have had no post for a few days, so no projector bracket yet
For the last two days ive been insulating all the ceilings and walls and we have started plasterboarding

The lounge AV wall now insulated and starting to plasterboard the ceiling.

To save strugling up the stairs with the sheets of plasterboard we cut a hole in the ceiling and got them up that way, still hard work though.

We are using Knauf Soundshield plasterboard which seems twice as heavy as a normal sheet of plasterboard hopefully this should do the job.

Nothing going on tomorrow so expect an update later in the week if the snow eventually goes

[Quantas]

Originally Posted by albriscoe

Hi Tract0rb0y

What a lovely great big place that looks now, fabulous

Just read all the thread and it too me back a little as we`ve just done it all.

The screen wall colour issue mate Well as our dedicated HC room was in its first year going to be our main tv room as well it was painted with a white ceiling and Antique Cream walls.

Everyone on here said no Al, thats a def no for a room with a pj in and how right they were.

Eventually I managed to convince the missus that a darker screen wall would benefit our picture and WOW it certainly did when I did it a chocolatey browny colour.

So for the last 8 months or so thats whats its been like, then after visiting miniholics room the other night which is dark everywhere (not black) just dark/mid browns it instantly made my mind up and the wifes as well if I`m honest.

Last night I went down into the room which at night is as dark as you can get and I mean blacker than black and when I fired up the pj and started watching a film believe me it looks like I`ve turned all the lights on so this next week is gonna see me colour all the walls and ceiling.

Anyway I`ve rambled on enough so I`ll let you battle on with your place and keep the pics coming as they`re great

cheers Al

Hi AL,

Thats the very reason that my colours are a deep matt colour on the walls, the ceiling black and the the screen wall is covered with a dark charcoal carpet, which helps with the sound as well of course. Watching a movie I think is enhanced with no light reflection....IMHO

[tract0rb0y]

Originally Posted by Quantas

Hi AL,

Thats the very reason that my colours are a deep matt colour on the walls, the ceiling black and the the screen wall is covered with a dark charcoal carpet, which helps with the sound as well of course. Watching a movie I think is enhanced with no light reflection....IMHO

The trouble is this is a lounge with the PJ as an extra rather than a dedicated HC room but im hoping to go down the natural darker brown colours so hopefully that will be better than white.

Although my wife likes the wallpaper below so i think this might work well on the screen wall, any opinions?

[albriscoe]

Originally Posted by tract0rb0y

The trouble is this is a lounge with the PJ as an extra rather than a dedicated HC room but im hoping to go down the natural darker brown colours so hopefully that will be better than white.

Although my wife likes the wallpaper below so i think this might work well on the screen wall, any opinions?

No no no definatley not absolutle disaster

sorry to be so blunt but I could just imagine all I would do is be distracted from what was happening on the screen

IMHO you need at least the screen wall to be plain and dark

[tract0rb0y]

I wasnt sure, glad i asked its bloody expensive too!
Right, so its got to be

1. Dark
2. Plain

It seems the biege/brown combos are the way forward then

[albriscoe]

Ooohherrr!!

I hope your gert doesn`t get nasty when/if ever I`m invited to tea

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

Your planning officer let that through? The windows are out of proportion with the original building, plus the velux and patio doors don't fit either.