mcgsxr's basement build

mcgsxr · « **Reply #40 on:** 20 Feb 2013, 07:57 pm »

Hopefully that is the case Bob, we will see.

In case anyone is not sure what a 2K budget hit looks like, below is our new laundry team... The prior units lasted 10 years, and just gave up the ghost.

What fun it is to try to get through this project, having lost 10K to furnace, AC and laundry machines!

More pics of the good stuff later in the week.

Back to sulking!

Nick77 · « **Reply #41 on:** 20 Feb 2013, 08:46 pm »

Sure are perty!!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #42 on:** 21 Feb 2013, 01:43 am »

A month ago we replaced our 23 year old Whirlpool washer and dryer with new units.
I think we got our monies worth.

Yours look nicer than mine though. Very cool.

django11 · « **Reply #43 on:** 21 Feb 2013, 11:54 am »

If you are putting 5/8 drywall on the ceiling rent a panel lift. It will make the job a breeze. I have found it to be easier to install drywall alone with the lift than with two people without the lift...

mcgsxr · « **Reply #44 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 02:27 pm »

It is spray foaming day, here are some pics I took before the day begins.

Here is some progress on the electrical in the media closet. The wall that the pony panel is on will be finished on both sides, burying all the wiring.

Below is a pic of my hieroglyphics - roman numeral stud numbering, Chinese character for middle, and some wall scribblings that were guidance for the electrician. The foam will cover the wall marking parts, so I took lots of pics of where I had written stuff, including other areas where I had measured off the size of the display, speaker locations etc.

Lastly, here is a pic of some low voltage that passes through my basement. Several HDMI's, some speaker wire, and a Cat6 drop (the yellow wire) that goes all the way from the upstairs HT to the media closet. It will be encased in foam today, so I had to be sure I ran all I could think of... The giant white wire is the AC for the hot tub. I used to have one, but don't anymore. Left all the wiring in place in case my wife makes future demands!

mcgsxr · « **Reply #45 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 02:44 pm »

Funny how posting a pic makes it more "real". In reviewing that last pic with the 240AC and the low voltage together, I went back downstairs and tied the AC to the next joist over, to help keep space between them.

Just for the future, no hot tub present today, so that line is dead but can be put back into service.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #46 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 03:01 pm »

Umm...might now be a good idea to run low voltage wires parallel to 110.
"Crosstalk", EMI, whatever it's called.....

mcgsxr · « **Reply #47 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 03:35 pm »

There is no 120v near the low voltage. The 1 inch wire is the AC for the hot tub. I cannot move either the bundle, or the huge hot tub wire.

The hot tub line is presently dead, but can be brought back to life.

Below is a pic of how I changed it as best I can. At the closest point, the LV bundle is now 5 inches from the AC line.

Best I can do.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #48 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 03:41 pm »

It looked like Romex AC wiring was running along the CAT5 wire. So it made some of us nervous that you might get some unwanted noise.

That's the one things us downunders always wonder about; once you spray foam, you're pretty much "stuck".

mcgsxr · « **Reply #49 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 04:01 pm »

One of the 3 HDMI is a brand new white 1.4. The 2 black ones are 1.3. WOW the 1.4 is thick, and so it likely appears to be romex.

I could have put in a conduit into the floor in that joist bay, but it does not line up with my downstairs display anyway - so it would have meant cutting into the joists to run cable.

I decided I value continued structural integrity over future wiring for between the 2 systems.

I agree that once the foam goes in, you are basically stuck. Plan well!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #50 on:** 22 Feb 2013, 04:03 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 22 Feb 2013, 03:41 pm

It looked like Romex AC wiring was running along the CAT5 wire. So it made some of us nervous that you might get some unwanted noise.

Yip, that's what I saw too. Good to know.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #51 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 02:00 pm »

I took the family to Toronto last night, and we went up the CN Tower, had dinner out, and stayed overnight in a hotel. It was advised by the spray foamers to be totally safe, to stay out of the house once they were done for 12-24 hours. We were gone 18 hours.

Below are some pics. I am happy with the job they did. There is evidence of 2-3 inches on all wall areas (spec was 2 inches) and 3-4 in the joist bays. They managed to get into some tight corners where the framers did not leave a lot of space, and they were in and out quickly and cleanly.

It likely cost me 3x the price of batt insulation with vapour barrier and tuck tape and sealant etc, but I figure it does a superior job of creating a total vapour/moisture/thermal break, so I dediced to pop for it.

First up is a pic of the low voltage bundle by the hot tub AC line. You can see that it is buried in the foam now, so I am glad I spent the time to tie it off how I wanted, and ran all the cables I wanted between the upstairs HT and the basement HT.

Here is a pic of the area where the display will go on the wall. It is an angle shot into the recess into the foundation, which they sprayed top to bottom.

A pic of the exterior shower wall in the bathroom.

Lastly the wall inside the utility area that I decided to frame and finish - not finishing around the electrical panel, but up to it. This is an exterior wall that my freezer and fridge sit against. I figured it was worth doing that one wall in the utility room.

Electrical continues next week (finishing up the other pot lights, and running all the feeds to the switches etc.

Drywall starts March 4.

I have next week to insulate the ceiling, and interior walls, and run all my low voltage wiring and conduit. Should be fun evenings!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #52 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 03:04 pm »

That's cool, I'm jealous.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #53 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 11:43 pm »

Had some fun drilling to run some network and coax to one of the potential display walls.

Corkscrewed a 1 inch spade bit with my Dewalt drill, and later bought a much better bit. That worked a lot better!

Amazing how much warmer the basement is already. I guess I should have expected it, given it is insulation but I am still happily surprised. Even my kids mentioned it, unprompted.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #54 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 12:01 am »

Nice.

I regret "cheaping out" with my basement insulation.
But two, 1500 watt space heaters keep the man cave nice and toasty.......

mcgsxr · « **Reply #55 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 11:59 pm »

I am sure it is just a matter of deciding on what to invest in. I am blowing the $ on what is behind the walls in my case. Hopefully at the end I will have enough left for something to sit on inside the room!

Pics below of some progress around running feeds to the display wall. All the wires below are low voltage - some are RG6, some are Cat6, some are CL2 speaker wire. I am about half done the LV runs. Ran out of time tonight so I will have to complete it other evenings this week, juggling some work travel.

I am glad I decided to use some 3 inch perforated tube as the main conduit over the HVAC and into the media closet, it has plently of diameter to run all the various wires I need to.

I am hard wiring the various LV to the locations, and then will add conduit to 2.

I have thought it through, and will do a 5.1 in this room. No point trying to force anymore speakers. The location of the bulkhead and the pool table basically interfere with using height channels in the front, or more surrounds in the rear.

Here is a shot of the media closet ceiling, with the 3 inch conduit.

Here is a shot of some of the LV heading through the bulkhead, to the display wall.

Here is a shot of the display wall at where the panel would go.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #56 on:** 1 Mar 2013, 10:48 pm »

99% of the low voltage wiring is done, the AC electrical rough in is done, the drywall starts next week.

I am spending the weekend installing Roxul Safe n Sound batts in the ceiling and interior walls (bathroom and utility).

I suspect that the 23 pot lights in the ceiling will likely make my $ and effort with the Roxul pointless, but I figure I will do the easy stuff and see what comes of it. Even if it really only mitigates billiards noise, it will be worth it.

I have to decide if I will stuff the bulkhead with it or not, not sure.

Tomorrow I am picking up the subwoofer box I had built for me, I just did not have the time to truly DIY it with work, and the basement work on my plate. I will wire up the 2x12's, and insert it into the foundation recess, so they can build right over it, leaving a hole for a grill. Will have high WAF, since there will be no visible giant box in the room. Hopefully, will tickly my bass fancy, I suspect it will be a hit for HT, we will see about music.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #57 on:** 2 Mar 2013, 08:00 pm »

I picked up the sub box I had built for me this AM, and had a neighbor help me move it into the basement.

I will have to get it wired up (complex to me as it uses 2 DVC woofers) and into the wall cavity by Wednesday, when the drywalling begins in earnest.

Not a small sub by any means, but I am only 5'8, so it is not THAT tall either. It is about 4 cubic feet net, tuned to 22Hz.

Should be fun. Ridiculous always is!

Sorry Wolfy, no beer in the pic.

RAW · « **Reply #58 on:** 2 Mar 2013, 08:58 pm »

Nice work.Looks like you are heading down a road I did a few years ago

Few things i will give ya a heads up on if you do not mind

Spend some time using these as many as you can.They are available in different sizes for stapling down the wires.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/gb-gb-1-2-in-plastic-staple-white-15-pack/963586

I did my HT room with these and some said I was over the top but you know what testing subs in that room along with a full APEX III home theater I never had issues with vibrations from behind the walls.

Next if you are using insulation in the ceiling before you do that..
Looking around for different methods for acoustic absorption and damping I found out to use a few hints
I used 4 rolls of this roofing felt over all the ceiling before the acoustic insulation was put into the ceiling.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/vaporex-standard-sheathing/917439

Ya you may not think it is going to do much but it does.
Then after you install the acoustic insulation in the ceiling apply another layer over it before the drywall.If you use Z channel this helps as a damper from vibration from the Z channel onto the floor beams.
I did this on all the walls of my HT room.You have a complete black room one day then after drywall is up its bright again

Last being a canuck mind ya on the WET coast

we used the floating floor from HD
We used the DRYcore but this is another option
http://www.dricore.com/en/index.aspx

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/barricade-insulated-subfloor-tile/986663

Just remember to make them level as you lay them down. We did our HT room 14X16 area including cutting around the rizer steps was done in 2 hrs start to finish ready for carpet.
Last I did a swap for some speakers to a friend who was a carpet layer.He put down a commercial grade felt in the HT room.

Pointer for ya ,ya can change carpet ect but once that drywall is up it costs a lot to re do...

PS I also ran PVC channels for my location of my projector.That was never installed in that house but it was ran for it.I used 2" PVC.

Have fun brings back memories

Al

ctviggen · « **Reply #59 on:** 2 Mar 2013, 09:14 pm »

I recommend these, which hold the wires slightly separated. (The white and red holders that are holding primarily romex.)