Tweedbean's Home Cinema Build

tweedbean

tweedbean

tweedbean

Associate
Joined
12 Apr 2010
Posts
363
Location
Balsall Common
I did post up an initial thread discussing ideas on this however recently we made up our minds and decided to go for the log cabin type structure. Custom designed by myself to fill the space we have and meet our needs. I submitted the design to a local company and they are happy to supply and install it.

The brief for the space was to provide a building that did three things, firstly a home cinema room for watching football, gaming and movies. Secondly a home office as I work from home atleast 1 day a week, giving a quiet space away from the children while working. And finally a shed type storage space for all the gardening tools and patio furniture cushions as I have a rule in our house which is garages are for cars and car tools, not lawn mowers and junk.

I feel my design delivers all three of these spaces. Here are some details of what we are having:

Dimensions

Plans by James Baker, on Flickr

Elevation 2d

Plans by James Baker, on Flickr

Elevation 3D

Ignore the wonky window. This is just to show location and dimensions.

Plans by James Baker, on Flickr

Layout

Here is a rough idea of where I want to place furniture etc.

Plans by James Baker, on Flickr

As you can see this design allows for an uninterrupted view of a projector screen which will be placed on the wall represented by a TV cabinet in the plans as the software I used didn’t have anything for a project screen. Projector to be located above the sofa, distance to the screen around 4.5m. I will ensure a power supply is placed up high where the projector is to be mounted.

My desk is set back at the top of the design on the right and I have included a window looking out into the garden here so I have some natural light on the desk area.

The building is to be fully insulated, tongue & groove interior finish, also looking at under floor heating for winter months. All windows and doors are double glazed. The building will be finished in a lightage colur with grey tiled roof and white doors/Windows to match those on the house. The room will also have 5 double power sockets, two ceiling lights and a wired network connection to our existing home network. Internal wiring all done by the suppliers hooked up to a small garage sized consumer unit. I then need to get an electrician in to connect that to the house supply.

I will be updating this thread with build progress aswell as seeking advice on audio/visual equipment.

The build progress so far

Here is the space located behind our garage, a strip of grass with garage wall on one side, border wall in the other and a fence lined with massive conifer trees which were at least a metre deep. I don't have a before pic as such but here is me starting to strip the turf off. I enjoy getting my hands dirty so will do most of the prep myself but leave the building of the cabin to the professionals:

Build in progress by James Baker, on Flickr

In came the tree surgeons to remove all the conifer trees which left a much larger space. I'm going to paint that brick wall. All that unsightly bit on the right will be hidden by the cabin:

Build in progress by James Baker, on Flickr

We decided to lay a plastic base filled with pea gravel, so myself and the brother in law did this last weekend. We were a little sceptical but it's turned out with good prep to be a solid and level base to put the cabin on. The guys supplying the cabin came and looked at it Wednesday and they were really pleased with it saying it was better than some of the concrete bases they have seen in the past:

Build in progress by James Baker, on Flickr

We plan to install a patio across that square of grass infront of the cabin to avoid mud getting in and give an informal seating area or possibly the hot tub which is being delivered in July. This can't be done until the cabin is in as we will need to raise the level of the ground to match it and also run a small perimeter of slate clippings for drainage.

This coming Monday the suppliers are coming out to deliver and construct the cabin in one day. So much easier than getting builders in and faffing with planning etc. The office will be within the 2.5m height restriction etc so as to not require planning.

In terms of wiring for the audio visual setup they are leaving off one of the wall papers along the bottom and top of the wall so I can run candles at my own leisure them pin the panels I place when wiring is complete.
 
Thanks, I am planning to move the sofa out its just the software kept locking furniture to walls.

I am also looking for advice on the audio visual side of things.

We have a richer audio store near us so I plan to visit there aswell as shopping around online for parts. Below is my shopping list so far with a rough idea of budget for each item:

#Projector Screen – Recommendations required on brands, this will be a permanent screen as it is a dedicated room. Had about £200 put aside.

#Projector – Recommendations again on this based on size of room and connectivity. Budget around £800. I was looking at the BenQ W1080ST+.

#AV Receiver to take input from PC/Xbox etc and send a single connection to the projector via a long HDMI cable. Budget around £200, I was looking at the YAMAHA RXV379. Could stretch a little more if required.

#Speakers wise I was looking at a 5.1 setup. I was recommended the DALI ZENSOR 1 5.1 @ £979, what do you think?

#Speaker, sub and hdmi cables. The only thing to worry about here is the length of the hdmi cable and does it need to be active or is there a cat 6 solution that's simple to use to run the visual signal from AV receiver to projector. The cable will need to run along the insides of the walls and up into the projector.

#iMac connected to the projector. I have this already. Will be used to stream Sky/BT sports etc online.

# Skq Q mini box maybe

#Electric recliner corner sofa – I already own a super comfy that we no longer require in our lounge as we have had all new furniture. It's has 2 electric recliners, 2 manual and a corner piece. Need to work out how much of it will fit in the room. So it will either be a corner or a 3/4 seater sofa.

#Xbox One - I already have one so will chuck that in there.
 
Thanks I will take a look.

Electrician has been out today and found a much similar route to get power to the cabin and hot tub that we has thought. They are going to try and get in as early as possible in the next two weeks to make the connection to the cabin so should be all up and running within the next two weeks. Just to decide on a projector and AV receiver as a starting point.
 
After a long day for the installers, the cabin is now built and I couldn't be happier. Exactly as I had designed it, with plenty of potential in inside.

Here are progress photos throughout the day. They got here at 11am and finished around 7.30pm.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Shed section

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Main interior

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Going to pick up some spot lights later today and carpet/underlay has been ordered and should go down this weekend. I am also putting in a patio right up to the front of the cabin with a strip of slate chippings running around the edge where you currently see plastic and pea gravel.

They have also left the bottom row of wall off so that I can run the cabling for speakers in the walls and a high plug socket on the back wall to power the projector. I have also placed string in the wall near that high socket so I can pull up the hdmi cable from the bottom of the wall to the top once I have it.
 
Thanks, been following your thread closely as well.

Just trying to work out layout on mine in terms of equipment such as xbox, sky box and AV Receiver. Trying to minimise impact, which location would you recommend:

Location A: Under my desk, out the way but would require longer cables for everything

Location B: Under the screen in a low profile TV cabinet, reduce size of screen.

Location C: In a short TV cabinet down the side of the sofa so it doesn't interrupt TV view or screen size,

Location D: Overhead on the wall under the projector, on some funky shevles. Reduces need for long HDMI cable but means remotes will have to be pointed backwards and Xbox one Kinect camera wont work.

AV receiver location choice by James Baker, on Flickr

The wall the screen will be located on is 320cm wide and 200cm high. Its roughly 420-430cm from the front of the projector if located above the sofa. Need to work out what sort of image size I will get with those distances.
 
Thanks, the one we had I actually designed myself and they produced it based on my plans. Excluding the base which I did myself, the whole thing delivered and installed was £5250 which I thought was good for something custom built. They offer cheaper off the shelf options but I wanted something that 100% utilised the space we had behind the garage. It is wired up for two ceiling lights and 5 double sockets. It has an insulated roof and walls.

Looking on ebay prices vary so much, there are some really cheap ones and some really expensive. I based my decision on recommendations from others that have used this company, Woodhouse Garden Buildings. They dont have the greatest website but who cares, its their log cabin I wanted not their IT skills.
 
That's why I was considering locations C and D. C is out the way and will allow the use of the kinnect camera. Location D I could make a feature of the equipment on the wall but when I say it out loud, that just sounds ugly, so thinking location C.

Love some of your ideas there, I wonder how easy the fibre optic star lighting would be, off I go to look it up...
 
Not really, the office part has 22 mm external cladding, an air gap stuffed with insulation then 16 mm internal cladding. It's only the shed part that isn't insulated or internal,y cladded but will only hold garden tools. These cabins are used for a variety of things including hair salons, groom parlours, home offices, CB radio shacks with no problem.
 
Taking advice from lots of people I have started to order equipment.

Firstly the AV receiver, I went for the Denon AVR-X2200W

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_images/midsize/avrx2200b.jpg

** Do Not Hotlink images **

Seems to do everything I need it to do including air play, bluetooth audio and 4k. Ordered to petertyson.co.uk

Next I have ordered a10m long HDMI cable I needed from overclockers.co.uk. I went for the flat cable due to lack of space in predrilled holes in the walls.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...-with-ethernet-cable-cdlhd-010-cb-038-op.html

CB038OP_93040_285x255.jpg


I will finalise my choice on speakers+projector tonight and get them ordered.

Speaker cable to be ordered tonight, looking at 25m of Van Damme 2.5mm, any concerns around this?
 
Last edited:
Van Damme subwoofer cable and 25m of their 2.5mm speaker cable ordered.


Also after being delivered Astro turf by mistake yesterday the carpet supplier has this morning sent the right carpet and underlay which I want to get down tonight so I can start moving furniture in.
 
Thanks yeah had a look at projector central a calculator last night with the help of a mate to work it all out. Going to get the projector installed and then decide on what screen I need once I see the size of the image on the wall.
 
Not sure yet, I was planning to just buy a curtain rail and some black out curtains but need to look at all options first. Curtains I would maybe need to use Velcro at edges to ensure light doesn't bleed around the edges in the day time.
 
Time for a further update, been busy the last two weeks getting the garden, cinema and house ready for our sons 2nd bday party. It was the first time most of the family had seen the house so I wanted to make sure it was all tip top.

Flooring:

So before I could get furniture in I had to install the underlay and carpet while I awaiting my delivery of speaker cable. I thought I may as well give it a try myself and it went down pretty easy. Carpet and underlay were eBay bargains:

Underlay:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Carpet laid:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Lighting:

Next in went some cheap ceiling spot light units until I decide what I want and what wont interfere with the projector. Easy again as the wiring had all been done during the installation of the cabin:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Seating:

In goes the recliner corner sofa, with the end seats being extra wide electrical recliners units and the centre seats are manual. We had this in our previous house in the lounge but fancied a change for the new house, therefore this was surplus to requirement and ideal for the cinema room. It is quite a large leather sofa and only just fitted along the back wall.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I have now shortened it since taking this picture, so it currently sits as follows:

Back Wall left to right: Extra wide electric recliner seat, manual recliner, corner piece
Side Wall left to right: Extra wide electric recliner seat

Shortening the sofa on the longer wall meant I was able to gain the addition room for a stand for my A/V receiver, xbox etc, the Sub and a combined beer fridge/wine cooler(Still need to purchase this).

Work space:

I also decided to have a go at chopping a desk from my previous office down to fit in the gap leading into the L shape of the cabin. Recessing my desk here meant the desk and chair would not interfere with the view of the screen. Although the ikea desk was filled with honey combed shaped cardboard, after cutting it down it was still solid and the cut line hidden against the wall. Free desk so I cant complain, I like to recycle/repurpose existing furniture:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Ignore the loose bottom boards in all these photos, I haven’t nailed them in place until all wiring is done and hidden behind them.

Patio:

While waiting for the equipment to arrive we decide to install a patio across the entire area in front of the cabin as the grass would only get trampled from people going in and out of the space and we were also having a hot tub installed to the left. Luckily the brother in law is a builder so he again gave me a hand doing this. I had to shift 1.5 tonnes of sand by wheel barrow into the garden to build up the level of the lawn to that of the office. Over the coming weeks we will be doing the same to the lawn to level it with the patio then re-turfed so ignore the rough edges, all will be hidden:

After an hour of raking an ensuring it was perfectly level, our son decided to run across it, hence the foot pints:
Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Car legends Displates:

Up went my car legend displates the children got me for father’s day, absolutely love these. Movie characters and their on screen cars printed onto metal plates. Easy to hand with adhesive magnets supplied with the prints:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Projector and screen:

Finally the projector arrived and I quickly mounted this to the ceiling and started to play with screen size, I could easily get a 120” image on the end wall no problem, so off I went to search for a 16:9 screen:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I went for the Sapphire Premium Manual SWS270WSF-ASR2 Projector Screen which is 122”. I originally wanted a fixed screen but with this being outside I can see the children wanting to play in there so decided a manual screen meant I could put it away when they were in there, avoiding dirty hand prints etc. Really please with size and clarity of the picture I ended up with, not the greatest photo but here is what it looks like:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

At this point I was still waiting for an electrician so everything was working off a 30m extension lead for testing purpose only. And speakers are temporarily on the floor until I build some shelves to get them at ear height.
 
6 Month Update
So 6 months down the line I wanted to provide a little feedback following the drop in temperatures as this was a big concern for me on whether I could use it during the winter.

After a bit of DIY its perfect in the winter, I have been in here with it minus 3 outside and I was cosy in my PJ's watching a film.

Not much progress
In terms of fit and finish it hasn't really progressed inside from the above pictures other than all the speakers being wall mounted now after I build myself some speaker shelves that work really well. Its been nice of the last 6 months to just enjoy the room for what it is an office for working from home occasionally, a gaming room and a space to chill and watch TV/films. The whole family have used it, not just me so had plenty of use.

Dealing with the cold
Next came the colder months where the air temps outside started to drop. Originally when I had the cabin in I planned to put underfloor heating but the supplier said it would be overkill and I wouldn't need any heat. I knew this wouldn't be correct but waited to see as it would be a quick fix if it wasn't. When the temps dropped I could start to feel a couple of drafts in there, very easily identified as tiny little gaps around the edges and with this thing made of wood it was always going to happen. I just did what I would have expected the supplier to do which was to run a bead of silicone around the doors/window cutouts and the vertical gaps between each of the wall panels(These are cover with beads of wood so cant be seen once covered over). This immediately improved things and showed when the room was air tight that the insulation in the walls and roof was up to the job.

Getting warmer
However unlike recommended by the supplier, the room still wasn't warm enough to have no heat supply at all when it got really cold. So as expected I needed a simple heating solution so I nipped to the local Argos and picked up one of these which I have attached to the wall and works perfectly:

Dimplex 403TSFTie 3kW Electric Convector Heater
4151955_R_Z004A


http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4151955

This warms it up perfectly, has a thermostat so maintains the temperature at all times which is what I wanted, I didn't want something I had to switch on and warm up the room when I wanted to use it, I wanted to be able to walk out there at any time and use the room instantly and this does that job.

Next steps

- This year I plan to sort out some proper black out blinds for the doors and windows.
- I am looking to paint the interior as I have got bored of looking at all the wood and it looks like a Sauna to me now. Any hints and tips on what to use to paint the interior, please post up. I plan to do a white ceiling, matt black wall around the cinema screen and then cream walls everywhere else to lighten up things up in here.
- Looking to purchase or build a better storage unit for the sky box, xbox and AV receiver as its currently sitting in a chopped up chest of drawers which does the job but isn't pretty.
-Finally I want to resolve wifi coverage as we put in a wired connection to the house network last year so now need to use that to wire in the xbox etc but also provide a local wifi network just for use in there and the garden as the house wifi doesn't reach out here.
 
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