I started construction early in January of 2002 and had a budget in
mind of "about" $4000 dollars Canadian just for the materials. I had all
of the audio equipment and got the projector for nothing so the only expense
I needed to get an operational set up was the cost of the HTPC and some
misc cables etc (about $1500 total). I don't think I'm going to come in
within budget as some of the materials were more expensive than I thought
they would be, plus, I've had to make numerous trips to pick up sundry
items like nails, screws, more dry wall compound and yet more drywall
compound. Those things soon add up! I've kept the majority of the receipts
but I don't want to add them up until the end of the construction. I've
decided to do some work outside of the theater to finish the basement of
a little more and create a lobby kind of area. I thought it would be better
to do it now rather than later and then get dust etc in the finished theater.
This will add maybe another $2000 to the total. I'm doing all the work
myself because I like to do that kind of thing and it will cut down on
the costs by quite a bit..
I decided to use a combination of metal and wooden studs
for the construction. The interior wall that contains the two doors and
equipment closet was constructed using wooden studs as they are sturdier
for the doors and there was already a partial wooden wall at the bottom
of the stairs. The perimeter was constructed using 1 5/8 " metal studs
to save space and because I heard they were easy to use. They are very
easy to use but I found that the walls were still quite flexible, even
with drywall on them. The metal track is great and can be used with the
wooden studs. It makes it a snap to put up a wall. Just anchor the steel
track to the floor with nails or tap-con bolts and then use a plumb bob
to put up a track on the rafters. The studs then twist into place and you
use a few wafer head screws to secure them. No more toe nailing 2x4's!
I'll probably use the track and wooden studs for the other walls in the
basement. Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures that show the construction....
Click to go to the studding and insulation phase.
Click to go to the drywall phase
Click to go to the construction of the stage, seating platform and cabinets