Salt Life Hideout

[Wingnut65]

Entertainment Center, Volume 3 – The Build!, Continued


Sound Rating a Wall


Step 1 – Putty Pads

Before the sound insulation goes in the wall, all the outlets need to be covered with the sound putty pads. Let’s get started! BTW, I did use disposable rubber gloves to handle the pads. There is an oily base to them and will leave your hands greasy.

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Starting with a basic box, it was an exercise in origami to cut the corners of the pad with scissors and fold it over, around, under and between the cables and box to look like…

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This! Pushed it tight to the stud and the drywall and on to the next box!

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Even the boxes on the face of the wall also need to get covered.

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And each and every hole going through the wall also gets sealed.

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Once the Putty Pads are in place, we move on to..

Step 2 – Sound Insulation

I found the local source for the Roxul Safe’N’Sound Mineral Fiber was our local Tibbetts lumber yard. So, I didn’t have to special order from Lowes, which was my second option. I figured I should need three bundles of insulation, so I borrowed a friend’s pick-up to get it. Since I had the truck , I bought the drywall at the same time.

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The insulation for 2x4 walls comes in strips 47” long by 15-1/4” wide by 3-1/2” thick. Many of the strips can be installed straight into the wall. But when it needs to be cut, I found the easiest is an old serrated knife that I confiscated years ago for use in the garage and landscaping (its great on banana trees as well)

Just measure out..

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…and cut until it cuts through. By The Way… I used disposable gloves when handling the insulation just to prevent any fiber issues. It’s not fiberglass, but it is insulation!

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Very easy to cut!

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The most time consuming part was measuring all the different size panels that were needed. A couple studs were less than 16” on center and so I had to take a couple inches off the length.

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Even had to cut notches out and tuck in behind all the braces and receptacles.

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A little persistence and it was complete. I think this took several evenings to complete. Not a half-hour job!

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Step 3 – Acoustiblok (Mass Loaded Vinyl)

I picked up the Acoustiblok at their factory in South Tampa. My calculations were that I would need about 2-1/2 of their 30’ rolls. They have 60’ or 350’ rolls as well, but the small roll was already close to 150 pounds each. And I had to get them out of the car and into the garage by myself! These were heavy!

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Before I could hang the vinyl on the wall, I had a couple places where I needed to work on. The speaker cables were not in boxes, but had mud rings installed for a drywall opening. That means that there would be a hole in the Acoustiblok if I didn’t do something. So, I added a piece of vinyl behind the opening and tucked it deep down the stud.

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I made sure the cable was accessible and then screwed the vinyl to the stud above and below.

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One Saturday, a coworker (retired contractor) came over helped put up the Acoustiblok and the drywall. I guess we were working so fast that I didn’t get any pictures of the install process. It took both of us to hold the vinyl in place to get the nails started. One piece to install was 55 pounds (25kg) and we had to hold in one hand and hold a roofing nail in the other hand and use a hammer in the third hand to hit the nail. I don’t know how we did it, but we got it hanging. Then each seam was caulked and then sealed with a tape made specifically for vinyl.

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Step 4 – Drywall
He knew what he was doing, took all the measurements, went out in the garage and came back with a piece for me to screw in place.

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Then taping and mudding!

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And more taping and mudding, sanding, mudding, sanding…

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Lots of sanding until Mrs. Wingnut convinced me that the wall behind the entertainment center does not need to be painted. So I stopped sanding cleaned everything up and had a cold one!

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Next up, How To Stop Singing In The Shower From Disturbing the Movie!

 

[akdiesel]

Wingnut

Thats quite extensive work. We had a duplex that had the master bedrooms joined by a wall and we could hear the nightly routine in the room every night. They were newly married and 50 years old.
We ended up adding another wall as you mentioned and it worked great. We lost the 5 inches but made up for sleep at night.
Waiting to see how yours turns out for sound deadening.

 

[Modern Jess]

Nice work on the soundproofing, and thanks for the pictures. I'm following a similar path to keep noise in my shop (I'm in very close proximity to my neighbors) and have been using Roxul insulation (both the thermal kind for some walls and the Safe N Sound for others, depending on what's on the other side of the wall).

 

[Wingnut65]

akdiesel, You know exactly what I was going for! If I had the space to build out even an inch or two, I would have built a second wall with offset studs to break the sound transmission. But this method has turned out perfectly.

Thanks, MJ. Even though this work is not in the garage, I'm hoping it can be helpful to anyone else wanting to add sound insulation to the garage. I was not familiar with the Safe N Sound insulation, but one day while I was researching acoustics, a Roxul Sales Rep walked into my office to give me a sales pitch of their product line. I mentioned my project and she pulled out all the literature I needed to make a decision. She pointed me to their website and video of how stone wool insulation is made and why it is fire rated. I was impressed and have it installed.

I'm sure your neighbors will appreciate your attention to detail. And any insulation is appreciative in weather extremes... I love how your ceiling and exposed trusses look. I'll have to catch up on your progress. Thanks for jumping in!

 

[truckin23]

Just finish reading from the beginning subscribing awesome

 

[Sunbimmer]

Great how you documented this It's shopnut style

Also, ....Next up, How To Stop Singing In The Shower From Disturbing the Movie!
I'm following

 

[Wingnut65]

Thanks for stopping by, truckin23. Hope you enjoyed the adventure.

Sunbimmer, when I started surfing here, I took lots of notes of ideas and products from many other threads, like shopnut's Asylum. I realized what was helping me the most in those threads and I hope to offer some similar helpful ideas and construction techniques so others can feel comfortable to tackle something similar.

I've been enjoying your Texaco project as well. It is interesting to see how similar yet different construction methods can be across countries.

For by next update, the other side of our Family Room wall are two bathrooms, one where my daughters really enjoy sharing their vocal abilities while showering and while others watch TV. That problem has been solved and the steps to get there are in the works!

 

[akdiesel]

For by next update, the other side of our Family Room wall are two bathrooms, one where my daughters really enjoy sharing their vocal abilities while showering and while others watch TV. That problem has been solved and the steps to get there are in the works!

I think American Idol would have lots more entries if they aloud showers on stage.
I did not see if it was mentioned but are your ceilings 9' or 10'?

 

[Wingnut65]

AK, Ceiling in the Family Room is 11'-4", 10' in the Master Bedroom and 8' in the Bathrooms.

Yes, showers do bring out the songs in some people. My girls are in chorus at school and choir at church and they just like to sing.

 

[shopnut]

Putty Pads?!? Who would have known. Neat stuff.

And I must say, you are taking the acoustics to a whole new level as far as I'm concerned. Wow!

 

[IGO2XS]

Very very impressive. The professionals are not as thorough as you are. You are definitely doing it the right way. Great job on the acoustics!!

 

[Wingnut65]

shopnut, I've seen the pads on all my projects for use in fire rated partitions. I had no idea that they also had excellent acoustic control. But just wait for the next post to see what else Acoustiblok can do! I'm sold on the benefits of mass loaded vinyl.

Thanks, IGO2XS. For all the dust and work going on inside our house, I didn't want to think after it was all done, 'What if we went one more step ......'. I wanted to make sure it was done right the first time. Just like I learned from reading of your whole theater build. Do it right the first time and you won't be disappointed! Thanks for the advice!

 

[Wingnut65]

Entertainment Center, Volume 4 – The Build Continues…


How To Stop Singing In The Shower From Disturbing the Movie!


The Issue…

We last left off with the wall behind the entertainment center getting the sound rating treatment – sound putty pads, Roxul mineral wool fiber sound insulation, Acoustiblock mass loaded vinyl and new drywall.

Now on to the other side of the Family Room… The wall on the right, behind the prime viewing position, backs up to two bathrooms. Bathroom 1 has the shower controls right behind the head of the person sitting on the couch. This location means that whenever a family member or house guest would decide to take an evening shower while others are watching TV, either the TV would get cranked up, or paused until the shower was finished.

Bathroom 2 has the shower controls on the other end of the shower, which is on the hallway wall. But, having teenage twins who are vocally talented and in chorus at school and choir at church, enjoy to sing. All the time. Every day. Even in the shower during TV time…

I am not complaining about their singing at all, I really enjoy it. But for the best acoustics for the entertainment center, we decided to address the shower noise and the melodic overtones at the same time. So, we repeated the same acoustical treatment as was done on the other wall, with a little variation!

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Plus, there is an un-insulated shelf for dust collectors that creates the ceiling of both bathrooms.

Step 1 – Demolition

Since I don’t have a pick-up truck readily available for easy runs to the dump, we hired a drywaller to remove and reinstall the drywall.

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With the Demo complete, the demising wall framing is visible in the middle with the Bathroom 1 plumbing exposed on the right

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On the shelf, I carefully removed the drywall and the layer of plywood so they could be reinstalled.

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Step 2 – Acoustic Treatment

This drywall below the shelf is actually the ceiling of both bathrooms. To make this whole wall sound rated between the bathrooms, I had to install the sound insulation here as well, as can be seen in the space on the right. I tucked it as far under the upper wall as I could.

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This picture also shows where I had to create a recessed pocket for a projector. Since the shelf is only 16” deep and the projector is 18” deep, plus the plugs on the back and we wanted it pushed back far from the edge of the shelf, a pocket was the only solution. I think I made it about 12” deep. The cables were run to that location during the pre-wire step.

The wall got the sound putty pads at all boxes and mineral wool sound insulation. This even shows the new dark colored phone line I added to give another phone jack on the other end of the couch.

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The putty pads were wrapped tightly around behind the box and around all the cables. Insulation was packed in the void behind the box as well.

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This is where the big difference comes to how we acoustically treated the first wall. The plumbing is the cause of the sound issues and Acoustiblock is the solution!

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Each pipe and the controls were wrapped with at least two layers of the mass loaded vinyl sheet. It is easy to cut with scissors and the vinyl tape works perfectly.

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Each seam was lapped or covered to assure full coverage. Then more sound insulation was packed into every remaining void behind and around the pipes.

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Then more insulation packed in to cover the front of the pipes.

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Then the full strips of Acoustiblock were installed across the face of all the studs. This photo actually shows where I ran out of the Roxul’s Safe’N’Sound insulation and had to run to HD for some Owens Corning pink stuff on the evening before the drywaller was to come back to reinstall the new drywall. Well, he didn’t show up that day and had to reschedule. This gave me time to go get more Roxul and replace the pink stuff to finish the wall completely with using all mineral wool fiber insulation.

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Step 3 – New Drywall

Drywaller returned to install and tape the new drywall. Cover the furniture and let the sanding begin!

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The texturing was a challenge as the drywaller’s first compressor was under pressure and just splattered the wall. His boss brought a new compressor and made him sand off the first attempt and then reapply. This process took a while before Mrs. Wingnut was content. Not sure if she was ever completely satisfied with the attempt to match 12 year old drywall textures.

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So, How’d we do on the sound control??? Awesome!

Bathroom 1 can take a shower absolutely no sounds come through the wall.

Entertainers can take showers in Bathroom 2 and no singing can be heard through the wall.

Success! But wait… What is that sound we can still hear…????

Stay Tuned for the next episode of “The Entertainment Center That Just Can’t Finish”… Or it seems like that!

 

[JCQuick]

You can't leave us hanging like that...... back to the keyboard

 

[JMcFly]

You're killing me...I hope I don't have to wait until June for the next episode

 

[Wingnut65]

No fears, more is on its way. I was ******* in a Revit course for 6 weeks that took up all my spare time at work. And JCQ wants me to post some pix of how I've been spending my evenings and weekends since then. And that is the rust of the story...

 

[JCQuick]

well sounds like you have at least started putting some of those parts to use. Don't mind me he who lives in glass house should not throw rock.

On a side note when my house was built I had them delete the built in entertainment center without giving any thought to the bathroom behind its wall. At least I don't have any singers in the house but I know how much noise the plumbing can make so I'm digging the solution here

 

[shopnut]

But wait… What is that sound we can still hear…????

With all that sound deadening material and everything now muffled well inside, it's probably some pesky crickets outside the window!

 

[Wingnut65]

With all that sound deadening material and everything now muffled well inside, it's probably some pesky crickets outside the window!

Good idea, but I never really thought that plumbing was a sound problem.

 

[Wingnut65]

I also forgot to mention that in this last photo, I had a correctly sized box in the projector pocket. I used this as a mock-up to make sure the pocket was large enough to fit the projector and still allow for ventilation around it, and still make it deep enough so it was not too visible in the room.

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[Wingnut65]

Entertainment Center, Volume 5 – The Build Continues…

This update may seem redundant, but the problem I solved here may be exactly what someone else needs to address with minimal impact on the rest of the house.


More Noise From The Other Shower???

We finishing off the Family Room soundproofing the second wall in the previous step. The shower noise and singing coming out of that wall was gone. TOTALLY! It was amazing.

But now, when the girls took a shower, we still could hear the sound of water from their shower. Mrs. Wingnut and I would stand in the hallway and pointing to the wall, saying “There! That’s the spot!” The noise was from the plumbing on the Hallway wall for the girls shower in Bathroom 2. The sound was coming through the wall, down the hallway and into the Family Room. Not totally distracting noise, but noticeable.

Here’s a very schematic plan showing our Family Room floor plan. Bath 2 is the girls’ bathroom.

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Now we had just finished sound rating the other bathroom wall, so we knew exactly what needs to get done… Sound Rate this wall as well.

Step 1 – Demolition

Here we go again… The wall was opened just at the stud opening where the plumbing was. I used my HF Oscillating Multi-Tool to cut the drywall down the middle of the stud to allow for the new drywall someplace to nail to. I had enough materials to also fill the two adjacent stud cavities for a full 48” wide, but only if I needed the additional sound control.

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Luckily, this shower had the whole shower valve is in one stud cavity, but it was tricky wrapping it behind the 2x4 brace. (Notice where the drywall was removed to the middle of the studs. Even had to add a couple screws to the existing drywall to secure it.)

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Took out the drywall up past the shower head enough to get insulation up there.

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Step 2 – Acoustic Treatment

I missed getting pictures of the wrapping process, but it was the same routine… cut scraps of Acoustiblock and tape it around the pipes. Then add insulation.

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Now this is a good time to mention that the Acoustiblock is 1/8” thick. On the other two walls we did, I just installed it across the face of all the studs and the new drywall was actually 1/8” further from the studs. But since here I opened up just a small part of the wall, the new replacement drywall must be flush with the existing drywall. Therefore, I had to chisel each cross brace back to allow the Acoustiblock to go past it for full coverage. Notice the offset I created here:

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Had to chisel each horizontal brace and fire stop and then pack every void with Roxul mineral wool fiber insulation, just like the other two walls. I got pretty good at repeating all these steps!

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I carefully screwed the Acoustiblock to the inside of the side studs to get full coverage

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And I pushed extra insulation and vinyl up into the wall space above the shower head.

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Step 3 – Finish It

We had time after the drywall was installed before the final texturing was applied. This gave me time to solve this noise issue and have it all textured at the same time.

Since the wall is tan, pictures of the new drywall and re-painted wall really didn’t turn our well.

So, How’d we do on the sound control??? Totally Awesome!

Now, when we call for one of the girls to come to dinner and there would be no response. We go looking for her to find out she is actually in the shower. We can only hear the water running when we get to the end of the hallway and closer to their bathroom door. And, several times we didn’t believe that one of the girls was taking a shower because we couldn’t hear it.

The decision to sound rate this shower as well was completely worth the time and effort.

The only way we could improve sound ratings more would be to replace the doors to the Master Bedroom and Both Bathrooms with solid core or sound rated doors. But that can be for a future project if we really feel it is needed.



For right now, On With The Show! Let’s install come cabinets!!!!


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And, how to convert Seven To One!

448

 

[Brian R]

I can't remember if I've posted on your work but it is top notch! I'm really excited about the teaser of 7 into 1 since I built a media room but by audio / video skills are lacking and want to see how you solve the multiple remote problem.

I've got a nifty 73 VW Thing which I love but pine for a bus and can't wait to see more work done on that project (hint, hint).

 

[Wingnut65]

I can't remember if I've posted on your work but it is top notch! I'm really excited about the teaser of 7 into 1 since I built a media room but by audio / video skills are lacking and want to see how you solve the multiple remote problem.

I've got a nifty 73 VW Thing which I love but pine for a bus and can't wait to see more work done on that project (hint, hint).

Thanks for stopping by, Brian. For the Seven To One, my AV Guru went to the produce department.

I love the Thing, but the Mrs and HOA frown on too many toys scattered around.

As for the Bus, I may just have to start a thread on its restoration process...

 

[tinbender 66]

I'd like to know more about the seven to one also, although in our case it's just three to one but it's still a pain to navigate. Produce department? Do tell.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I'm curious,too. Looks like an IPad? Apple store? No offense if that a million dollar crestron or something

 

[Wingnut65]

Getting closer to the answer to the riddle!


Entertainment Center, Volume 6 – Getting Closer!


It Finally Gets Installed!!!!

Finally the big day came to have the entertainment center installed! The woodworkers brought lots of puzzle pieces that would someday entertain us. Or at least that would look nice in our Family Room…

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Big pieces came in and started to get set into place with the fireplace box going in first. BTW, I decided not to paint the new drywall so the installers could see where the studs were to fasten the cabinets to them.

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The puzzle pieces slowly got moved from the garage staging zone into their place on the wall. The base cabinets will get fabric covered doors and the curio cabinets will get glass doors. It is hard to see, but the fireplace cabinet, just next to the ladder, is actually sticking out 2” from the face of the rest of the pieces. This became Issue #1 that came up, but the install continued.

The guys on the right are adding reinforcement to the back of the TV box…

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… and with that much bracing on the back of the 3/4” plywood, we won’t have any issues! Here you can see that the TV box is deep enough so the TV can be pushed all the way in so it won’t get any heat from the fireplace below it.

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The horizontal speaker pockets went up next followed by the upper storage cabinets. The door openings on the front of the cabinets became a very big issue with us (Issue #2), but eventually got resolved. More on that later…

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After all the big puzzle pieces were in place, the fluted columns were added on the left and right sides along with the narrow end cabinet on the left. As you can see, these cabinets are very well built! The Mrs. won’t let the girls sleep in these new ‘upper bunks’!

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The installation took a break after Day 2 of the install after all the big pieces were installed and most of the doors added. They had some door size tweaking work to do in the shop and then re-staining. We also were leaving the next day for our 2 week excursion out west, which included a visit to meet Red Leader and his 1950’s Craftsman Garage! It was a great trip, but the issues on this build were at the back of our minds the whole trip.

A little more on Issue #2, the upper cabinet doors. We want the face of the three upper cabinets to be hinged door panels to access the cabinets for storage. On the face of the door panels will be three picture frames. Instead, we received was door openings that were sized for the picture frames we currently have. This would mean that we could not change the size of any picture in the future. Also, any future homeowners would have those openings visible, unless they get pictures the same size. This was not what we wanted and eventually had it corrected. Besides, trying to fill a cabinet with small door would be like storing things in a room by reaching though the window.

And Issue #3 was how the hinges on the glass doors are so huge and visible as can be seen here…

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The next step of the installation included detail work around the crown molding and its concealed feature, the Big Screen! We had to special order an ‘Acoustically Transparent’ (AT) screen since the center channel speaker would be directly behind the screen. Also, with our 11’-2” ceiling height, we needed an extra 4’ of black drop added to the top of the screen to have it drop low enough the center of the screen at 5’-0” high. This height was determined because 1) it is a great viewing height when sitting 16’ away on the couch, and 2) 5’-0” will be the almost perfect focal point for anyone playing the Wii. Yes, we have had ‘Just Dance’ contests already using the Big Screen!


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After much research on AVS and other websites, we selected Seymour AV’s 95” ‘Center Stage XD’ screen. I am very impressed with Seymour AV and Chris Seymour, its president, whom I worked with to order the screen and also to figure out a configuration issue with programing the system. (www.seymourav.com)

The screen arrived in Double Heavy–Duty cardboard boxes. It was wrapped in a velvet dust cover that was tied on the end. Inside, there were probably three layers of bubble wrap around the screen. And to top it off, inside the box of connectors and fasteners, there was a pack of microwave pop-corn. Now, how cool is that!! Thanks, Chris!

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The installers returned and finished the crown molding and concealed screen box. Then they pushed the fireplace back 2” to be flush with the face of the other cabinets. They also removed the face of the upper cabinets to replace them as the door panels we originally requested. And our electrician returned to finish the light switches on the left wall. BTW, we were anxious to use our new 60” TV and just set it in place on its stand. Worked great

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The A/V System Goes In!

Our AV Guru returned for several more days of setup. Lots of electronic puzzle pieces and many cables needed to be just right for it all to work. With such a small space for the rack, we had to go with two Middle Atlantic slide-out rotating rack systems. This also shows that we had to coordinate the size of these racks with the woodworker to assure they would fit, but we really could have used another inch wider so I don’t have to remove the door to pull out the right rack.

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Almost there… Eventually the woodworkers returned and finished their work. Gas Company came and connected the fireplace and AV system was functioning. And all the Issues were resolved:
Issue #1 – Fireplace was pushed back and now the screen in the down position is 1/2” in front of the mantle trim. Glad we made them move it back 2”.
Issue #2 – Upper panels with doors were replaced with single panels to allow for any size pictures up there as well as allowing full access to the cabinet, instead of through an opening!
Issue #3 – Hinges were replaced with surface mounted ones to match what Mrs. Wingnut wanted!

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Fireplace Gets Finished!
After several shopping trips, we decided to use 12x12” ‘Leonardo’ travertine tiles for the face of the fireplace. We loved the personality that Leonardo offers. Problem is, nobody carries ‘Leonardo’ in 12x12 gloss tiles. All we could find were 12x24. So, we bought them and had the stone company cut them in half. Sounded easy!... Issue #4, the cut edges were so rough and chipped, and Mrs. Wingnut refused them. They cut more tiles with the same results. After a month or so of them searching for 12x12 tiles for us, we ended up taking all they cut and made it work. I dressed up the cut edges with a sanding block and the she was satisfied.

We sorted all the cut tiles out in the garage to make an acceptable layout to the boss. I preferred a random pattern, but she wanted matched tiles together. Except for one of the dark veined tiles on the top that I broke, she got what she wanted.

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I used Loctite’s ‘Mirror, Marble and Granite’ adhesive in a caulk gun (got it from Home Depot). This also shows the coordination that was needed during the design and fabrication phases so that the 12x12 tiles went up perfectly without needing any additional cutting. I used 1/8” spacers between all the tiles

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My first adventure in travertine turned out pretty good!

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Next Up… The Big Reveal!!





And the answer to the burning question, How to convert Seven To One, from the produce department?

448 - (Ignore the small 8th one in the picture...)

 

[akdiesel]

Wingnut65

The media cabinet is looking great. Lots of wires to pick through.
We have a tech at work that refuses to get a universal remote so he uses Velcro attached to a VHS case to hold all four remotes together. Argh. I'll have to show him your page to get him on track.

 

[shopnut]

View media item 40009

This really gives the scale of it - people hanging out INSIDE the cabinets! Looking great Wingnut

 

[GRN96WS6]

So where is the fabric going to be used or did I miss it?

 

[Wingnut65]

GRN96WS6, the speaker fabric is across the three speaker pockets just above the TV and curio cabinets. It is also used as the door panels for the bottom doors on the left and right. The left cabinet has the sub woofer in it and the right one (missing the doors in this shot) has the whole A/V rack. We will be changing the fabric color sometime, but it works for now.

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shopnut, never thought about it, but this does put it all in perspective. Basically, the unit is 11' tall, 13' wide and 2' deep (for those that speak the other measurements, that's 3.3m x 4m x .6m).

This also shows how the TV and screen will be centered at eye level for an adult playing video games (namely the Wii games)

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akdiesel There were about 20 cables of various sizes and functions coming to the bottom right cabinet and running around the house to the garage, the master bedroom, ceiling speakers, back porch speakers, projector drops... Too much for me to even begin to understand completely. That's why I bring in the experts.

A little background on universal remotes... There are plenty on the market that can consolidate multiple remotes into one remote. Most of them are infrared (IR) remote controls which sends controls by a light signal and are good for limited distances and direct line of sight to the device. This is what the basic remote that comes with new electronics is shipped with. And if something is sitting between the remote and the TV, like my radial arm saw in the garage, then raising my hand over my head to aim at the TV can work. Sorry, where was I... There are also the remotes that use radio frequency (RF) to control the electronic devices. These can basically see through walls and don't need line of sight. Then there Wi-Fi based remotes that have more access to web based programming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.). I can also download phone apps that can control our TV or AV receiver!

So, akd, a Logitech or Universal Remote Control brand IR remote may be all your tech guy needs to get rid of his velcro remotes.

 

[GRN96WS6]

Thanks for the explanation, I assumed it was going to be black and as such just plain overlooked it on the ent center.

 

[Wingnut65]

Thanks for the explanation, I assumed it was going to be black and as such just plain overlooked it on the ent center.

The boss didn't want black. She didn't want 'taupe', either, but that is what we got. We were hoping more of a tan fabric, but we will live with this for a while.

I'm shooting pix that I didn't have of the details as I work on the Big Reveal.

In the mean time, I made a Fred Flintstone car... More on that later (Thanks, shopnut for the idea!!)

 

[metalhead140]

Nice work on the entertainment setup and sound deadening! I like the cupboards in the garage too, very neat. And an entertaining and well written thread with lots of good info. Thanks!

 

[Wingnut65]

Nice work on the entertainment setup and sound deadening! I like the cupboards in the garage too, very neat. And an entertaining and well written thread with lots of good info. Thanks!

Thanks, Andrew. I've learned a lot here on GJ and feel that maybe somewhere, somebody has a similar situation that can benefit from my experience. The step by step process is easy to narrate and easy to follow along.

The entertainment center updates were for two reasons, to explain why I haven't been working out in the shop for quite a while, and also to show some of the unique sound deadening ideas that I used that would also be useful in and around a garage workshop. A compressor room would be perfect for these ideas.

I'm interested in catching up on your shop project. My wife's cousins live a little west of you, OK, maybe a lot... The are out in Perth, but come to the states every couple years. BTW, my daughter would love your F250. She loves the older pick-up body styles.

Thanks for stopping by the Hideout!

 

[IGO2XS]

Wow the media cabinet is really coming along very nice!!! You will love the rotating rack assemblies when it comes to hooking up or servicing your equipment. So what is going on with your remote control system? Maybe I missed what you are using or you are keeping it under wraps?

 

[metalhead140]

For the remotes, I've found the Logitech ones can work really well, though they are a pain to set up initially. I love though how once set up right it is a single button press to turn on everything needed for whatever you want to do and set it all to the right channels / inputs / outputs. And a single press to turn it all off again, or to turn individual components off/on and change all inputs/outputs to suit a different task. When using a large number of components that feature is a godsend, and makes it easy enough for anyone to use, even the least technically minded.

 

[Wingnut65]

IGO2XS, I'm still working on the update that covers the remote controls, so, you haven't missed it yet. And, I agree on the rotating racks. Our UPS died a couple weeks a go and I had to get in there to move plugs to a power strip so we could still watch TV. I can't imagine having to work back there without the rotating feature.

Those macros that the new remotes can do are wonderful, metalhead140. I was leaning towards the Logitech from favorable reviews I read, but out AV tech recommended a tablet based remote system that would use Wi-Fi to control the devices. Possibly it was because we still have a vintage mid-1990's Onkyo 5-disc changer and a VHS Player/DVD Burner, both of which don't have RF capabilities. That and I don't think he could program the screen function into the Logitech. I'll explain it all in my next post!

 

[bonecrrusher]

Nice Insight/TWC cable box tuner there.

Its going to **** when it becomes Comcast....

 

[pitterpat]

Nice Insight/TWC cable box tuner there.

Its going to **** when it becomes Comcast....

Comcast ***** for sure!

 

[flybefree]

Jeff,

THAT is one amazing entertainment center...after you are done you need to quote Gladiator and stand on the couch in a leather skirt and yell "Are you not entertained!"

Just an idea.

Shaun