A home theater

Robert Schaubhut · May 24, 2008

The entry door was not so simple but it turned out well. Some on that later.

Some of these photos were taken in the beginning, in the empty room. Since then much has occured and the photos shown here will not reflect that change, sorry.
The attic door opens into the screen room.

This is the wall showing the placement of the door and here is the door itself.

It differs from the projection room door which opened out.

The new situation was this.
#1 1 3/4" exterior,
#2 paneled door,
#3 weatherstripped,
#4 out of plumb, and the
#5 jamb set back 3/4" plus or minus 3/16" from the face of the sheet rock which had
#6 rounded corners. :doh:

Ed Nelson · May 24, 2008

They didn't make it easy for you did they?

Robert Schaubhut · May 24, 2008

Hi Ed

,
You love a challenge, it is something you would like. Not easy but not insurrmountable either.

This thread has been shaped by the "sequence" of the buildiing process.
I have been building several days ahead of my posting due to the fact that I build faster than my energy for posting. By posting in sequence all you can do is imagine where we are headed and try to understand the heiroglyphics known to me as explanation of work completed. Thankfully it has been brought to my attention by "Greg :thumb:

" that some of you may not know where in the heck we are and where in the heck we are going. :huh:

I figured,

I'm driving, just sit back and don't be to concerned, just look at the pretty pictures. We will get there.

Let's take a new approach.

This is the room in which I am and have been working. It is located on the third floor with a powder room, attic, projection room, elevator and stair landing, and wet bar. All of these areas are outside the screen room (as I call it). The entry door will not have chair rail but the projector door will as has been seen in previous postings. The door to the attic will also have the chair rail. These two doors with the chair rail will also (as I understand) have metal and leather below the chair rail and soundboard above the chair rail. You have seen the work on the projector room door, I will now show you my process for doing the door that opens to access the attic....As soon as I can resize some photos.

Robert Schaubhut · May 24, 2008

This is where we are going.

The attic door as left to the others.jpg

This is the visual location of the attic door, just to the left of the cabinets on a perpendicular wall.

This door opens into the screen room. It is supposed to get soundboard above the chair rail, and metal and leather below the chair rail.
What makes a door visible on a wall? Another question, same thought, what would help it become less obvious?

Greg Cook · May 24, 2008

Aahh, now I got it!

Thanks for putting it in perspective. So the whole theater and adjoining rooms are in the attic of the house, and the "in opening" door you are going to show us what you did to just opens up into the remaining "attic" space?

Will there be insulation between the door and the sound board? Do you have a pic of that sound board so we can see what you are up against in building the "framing" on both the doors?

With the other door opening "out" and this door opening "in", did you have to "re-invent" the work to fit the opposite opening, or could you have changed the door to open out and use the same jigs/design?

I notice the door handle is still there, unlike the cool latch and built-in handle on the other door. Will this be the final design, or am I getting too far ahead?

Robert Schaubhut · May 25, 2008

Robert Schaubhut said:
Looking at the below mentioned items you may ask yourself "what relevance do these things have on the build out?"

The new situation was this.
#1 1 3/4" exterior, (solid not hollow, heavy)
#2 paneled door, (certain places will need 3/4" filler for the sound board, not too much though, due to the weight. The door to the projector room was extremely heavy and it was an interior door, 1 3/8" thick)
#3 weatherstripped, (my modifications will need be weatherstripped when I am done)
#4 out of plumb, and the (It needed to be plumb "as goes the door, so goes the column,panel etc." Out of plumb parallel lines are out of plumb.)
#5 jamb set back 3/4" plus or minus 3/16" from the face of the sheet rock which had (Do I move the jamb and door up flush to the sheetrock?)
#6 rounded corners.You saw on the door to the projector room pics where the rounded corners were taken off and plywood was used to create the new door opening, copy and pasted below

I needed to remove the curved corner at the jamb so I cut the sheet rock.

Ed then took off the sheetrock and curved corners.

And this was the result of the removal at the projection room door.

Greg Cook said:
Aahh, now I got it!
Hi Greg , Double Aahh...21 pages and 4 months later..No wonder my "books don't sell! No one knows what I'm doing, even when it's done." Oh well, I have seen an improvement in my typing. S

Thanks for putting it in perspective. So the whole theater and adjoining rooms are in the attic of the house, and the "in opening" door you are going to show us opens up into the remaining "attic" space? "That is correct."

Will there be insulation between the door and the sound board? "since this is an exterior door it will have no need for insulation from the heat or cold." Do you have a pic of that sound board so we can see what you are up against in building the "framing" on both the doors?
I had several pictures posted here but came to realize I was infringing on private property, thus you will have to wait til later til I can post some of my own work.
With the other door opening "out" and this door opening "in", did you have to "re-invent" the work to fit the opposite opening, (yes, completely different animal) or could you have changed the door to open out and use the same jigs/design? (Good thinking! This was considered however there was a roof rafter in the way of opening the door into the attic.)

This is a photo a bit out of sequence, with the sheetrock removed and me trying to dry fit the new hinge part of the jamb. See the AC duct work and the roof rafters that were in the way.

I notice the door handle is still there, unlike the cool latch and built-in handle on the other door. Will this be the final design, or am I getting too far ahead? (You are asking questions that are all relative. Thanks for relaying your interest. The handle will get an extension on it to bring it out beyond the soundboard. I needed to save use of the handle, the tongue and the strike plate as this is an accessible attic for AC and water heater. The bullet catch used on the other door was not considered reliable enough for this door application.)

Here is a view of the attic space with the door plumbed, another out of sequence photo.

Robert Schaubhut · May 26, 2008

Robert Schaubhut said:
This door opens into the screen room. It is supposed to get soundboard above the chair rail, and metal and leather below the chair rail.
What makes a door visible on a wall? Another question, same thought, what would help it become less obvious?

I thought early in the project that making a door less visible would occur by making the door less visible. Redundant I realize but nevertheless true. What makes a door look like a door? Ideas? :dunno:

allen levine · May 26, 2008

Robert Schaubhut said:
What makes a door look like a door? Ideas?

if there was a neon orange sign that said exit, thered be no mistaking it for a door. (or a sign that says Women or Men, usually a door)

Greg Cook · May 26, 2008

Shaz said:
What makes a door look like a door? Ideas?

Door handle
Visible hinges
Visible. continuous, separation of surfaces around a wall area.
Door stop on baseboard
Kickplate on lower portion
Small dirty or worn carpet or mar marks on flooring next to "wall"
"Welcome" floor mat next to section of "wall"
:thumb:

Robert Schaubhut · May 26, 2008

Excellent job Greg :wave:

,
I guess it is just you and me to finish the theater.

The visible hinge was going to happen. I have used the big Soss hinge, a great piece of work but we all have our limitations as does the Soss.

The Soss did not kick the chair rail out far enough to clear the adjoining chair rail as well as some of the other additives to the door face.

I researched gate hinges, pivot hinges, (like the top of a bifold door), and chased a number of other ideas but the one I settled on was setting the door, with the wide throw butt hinges, from hardwaresourses.com... It was the biggest they had, I believe it was a 5"x 10" when open. I really needed the 5"x 12" but could not find it. Even then I had to modify it with a few more holes in the right places.

I tried the hinges in a number of different settings and found them to work well.

Yet even with all my attempts to ascertain the correct placement, I still made a 3/4" error in the mock up, which left me having to bevel the chair rail, much to my disappointment.

We will address these other items in my next post.
Visible. continuous, separation of surfaces around a wall area.
Door stop on baseboard
Kickplate on lower portion
Small dirty or worn carpet or mar marks on flooring next to "wall"
"Welcome" floor mat next to section of "wall"
:thumb:

Toni Ciuraneta · May 27, 2008

Greg Cook said:
Door handle
Visible hinges
Visible. continuous, separation of surfaces around a wall area.
Door stop on baseboard
Kickplate on lower portion
Small dirty or worn carpet or mar marks on flooring next to "wall"
"Welcome" floor mat next to section of "wall"

You forgot to mention the most important thing. A ringer either on the right or left hand side

( in case of a main entrance door)

Greg Cook · May 27, 2008

Ooop, you're right Toni... :doh:

I also thought about a "peep hole", but that might be anywhere..depending on the home owner...

Toni Ciuraneta · May 27, 2008

Giving it a second thought, I believe that what truly makes a door to be a door is the square hole in the wall. If there is no hole, a door is useless.

" The potter turns a vase on his lathe but it is its void that makes it useful"
" 15 Spokes converge to the center of a wheel but it is the void between them what makes them useful to the chariot"
Tao Te King.

Gosh! I thing that wood dust is starting to affect us!! :rofl:

Greg Cook · Jun 5, 2008

Hey Shaz...

Has the door disappeared yet?

I'd never heard of a Soss hinge before....Kewl! (the wonders of forums and Google.... :thumb:

)

larry merlau · Jun 5, 2008

well shaz took few mins to see what you were up to

i thought that it was just the egyptians and the aztecs that made hidden passage ways :huh:

now i see shaz is tryin to do it too..another clue guys that says door is that there is nothing in frt of it.

Robert Schaubhut · Jun 6, 2008

allen levine said:
if there was a neon orange sign that said exit, thered be no mistaking it for a door. (or a sign that says Women or Men, usually a door)

Hi Allen

,
Very creative

, thanks!
S

Toni Ciuraneta said:
You forgot to mention the most important thing. A ringer either on the right or left hand side ( in case of a main entrance door)

Hi Toni

,
That is a true clue :thumb:

.
S

Greg Cook said:
Ooop, you're right Toni...

I also thought about a "peep hole", but that might be anywhere..depending on the home owner...

Hi Greg

,
A common indicator, for the peeping homeowner.

S

Toni Ciuraneta said:
Giving it a second thought, I believe that what truly makes a door to be a door is the square hole in the wall. If there is no hole, a door is useless.
A hole in the wall with the lines/crack around it, which show a separation of the two parts ie. the door and the wall would look like a door but as Toni says no hole = useless door. There was a job I did one time on a stepladder. I painted a window on a house to make the house look symmetrical. They could not add a real window so I just painted on a faux window. It looked like a window, but it wasn't! Now how did we get to that? Senior moment?
S

" The potter turns a vase on his lathe but it is its void that makes it useful"
" 15 Spokes converge to the center of a wheel but it is the void between them what makes them useful to the chariot"
Tao Te King.

Gosh! I thing that wood dust is starting to affect us!!

Greg Cook said:
Hey Shaz...

Has the door disappeared yet? Nope/ not yet! S

I'd never heard of a Soss hinge before....Kewl! (the wonders of forums and Google.... )
They are really high quality hinges and vary greatly in size. Worth a look to know it is available! S

larry merlau said:
well shaz took few mins to see what you were up to i thought that it was just the egyptians and the aztecs that made hidden passage ways now i see shaz is tryin to do it too..another clue guys that says door is that there is nothing in frt of it.

Hi Larry

,
Doors do not usually have anything in front. :thumb:

Thanks!

There are some really nice hidden doors we may cover later, with a different thread as they are really trick and easy to do, but this one had great limitations and therefore will not completely disappear.
S

These were the givens, only as I determined it. If any other ideas come to your mind I would be very interested in the ideas! :thumb:

#1 The door knob had to stay because the opening in of the door and the secure closure to keep it shut.
#2 The hinge knuckles and pins would be showing due again to the opening in of the door.
#3 Some cracks between the door and the "not door" space around it, due to the fact that it is not a sliding door but a hinged door.

This is the door the way I left it for sound board folks and the leather/metal people.

Considering the givens I decided to focus on those things I could do something about.
#1 The crack at the base board
#2 The crack along the hinge side of the door
#3 The crack along the top of the door and
#4 The chair rail

Since I couldn't hide the hinges, I decided to get them as close to the column as possible so as to hide them from view as best I could.
This was the determining factor for placement of the columns both by this door and the one in the same place opposite wall.

So much info to share with no direction as to sequence. :huh:

I had to cut the sheet rock around the door. I needed square corners not round and the corners needed to be wood, substantial enough to affix other stuff to it, right to the edge, what ever it might be. Hard to understand/ hard to explain! :dunno:

As far as the sheet rock cutting, thanks to divine intervention I discovered a great way to cut sheetrock over a stud. I hate cutting sheet rock especially when I have to use 1/2 of the stud for an adjoining piece of something, in this case it was 3/4" plywood. How would you all do it?

allen levine · Jun 6, 2008

robert, are the homeowners as anxious as I am to see the finished room?

Greg Cook · Jun 7, 2008

Quick question....

Will the leather be on top, or on the bottom of the door. What about the metal? Colors and patterns?

Could the leather be a clue as to "how to hide things"?

A leather covered door knob in a custom shape...? If if it's gonna be there physically, make it an accent, or fade into the background as much as possible.

Could the leather be used in some way to "cover" the hinges and the space between the wall and the hinge side of the door? Leather could be "tight" when the door is closed, but "fold out" when the door is opened. :dunno:

Since the door opens in, could the leather be extended out around the door on the top and side to cover the opening between the door and jam?

Could the metal be fashioned in a similar way, top or bottom?

Without knowing more about the leather and metal, all I can throw out are wild ideas....

Robert Schaubhut · Jun 7, 2008

allen levine said:
robert, are the homeowners as anxious as I am to see the finished room?

Hi Allen

,
Naturally the home owners would like to see this finished. I have been told that as much as they like my company they would like to see me gone

, meaning done. :rofl:

We both laughed as he thanked me and left the theater. :rofl:

It is not like they are hurting for a TV. I come in in the morning through the garage, enter the elevator, go to the 3rd floor and leave the same way. The dogs don't even bark at me any more. :thumb:

I'm not milking this project, I have a contract price + extras.
Shaz

Greg Cook said:
Quick question....

Will the leather be on top, or on the bottom of the door. What about the metal? Colors and patterns?
Hi Greg ,
The metal will be below the chair rail.

This was the first rendition of the metal. It is to be changed to thin round bars criss crossing and a thinner surrounding bar, dipped for plating in an antique brass I believe. The leather will wrapped around padded plywood diamonds and triangles to fit into each hole.
S
Could the leather be a clue as to "how to hide things"?
Not really an issue for me. That is up to the leather and metal folks to do their best on both the doors. I set the doors and surround up to best accomodated their program, hope they try to help hide the seams.

A leather covered door knob in a custom shape...? If if it's gonna be there physically, make it an accent, or fade into the background as much as possible.
Matter of fact, I heard they are having an extension made so the knob will stick out past the sound board, and just be a door knob.

Could the leather be used in some way to "cover" the hinges and the space between the wall and the hinge side of the door? Leather could be "tight" when the door is closed, but "fold out" when the door is opened.
That is a good idea except that the leather is to cover individual shapes specifically.

Since the door opens in, could the leather be extended out around the door on the top and side to cover the opening between the door and jam?
(LTHP)
Could the metal be fashioned in a similar way, top or bottom?
(LTHP)
Without knowing more about the leather and metal, all I can throw out are wild ideas....