Game/Cinema room basement conversion

[R8Steve]

Further to my comment in a previous thread I thought I'd start a new thread to get some thoughts on my budget game/cinema room basement conversion.

I'll just upload the photos to show where it started and where it is now, about a couple of weeks to completion.

The plan was to have a fairly high quality cinema setup, pool table and bar.


How it started.

Edited by R8Steve on Tuesday 8th August 10:52

Edited by R8Steve on Tuesday 8th August 10:57

[R8Steve]

Not sure why some of the photos are upside down/sideways

[R8Steve]

Where it is now.

It's taken probably about 5 weeks but I didn't have a spare 100k

Total cost so far is about 3k

[R8Steve]

Equipment list -
InFocus IN3118HD Projector
Denon AVRX2300W AV Receiver
Kef E305 surround speakers x 5
Kef Kube 2 active sub x 2
Kef Ci160QR atmos ceiling speakers x2
Van Damme cabling
PS4
Apple TV gen 3
Raspberry PI games emulator
XboxOne

Not got too much to do now -

Skirtings
Small bit of wiring finished off
Wall art up
Furnishings in

Then it's onto the bar project...

[R8Steve]

VEX said:

Looks good R8Steve, shows what can be done with a little thought and getting your own hands dirty.

Now you have a good base, all you need to do is electronic upgrades when and if you need them.

Also shows what can be done and that you dont need to spend multiple tens of thousands to acheive it, even with a installer doing it for you.

Enjoy.

Thanks Vex, i'm really happy with the quality of the image/sound given i built the system with second hard gumtree/avforum finds (everything apart from the Denon AVR and kef ceiling speakers). It really does give a true cinema experience.

It's probably not as dedicated a cinema room as most would go for but the aim is to build the room as a sort of 'social hub' of the house where everyone can go and have a game of pool/darts/games console/etc, watch sports, watch a cinema style movie or just to go and socialise (more so when the bar is built i'd imagine!).

It's got 100mm of rockwood soundproofing insulation top, middle and bottom so it's almost soundproof when in any other area of the house which is a big plus.

I'll try and get some better pictures taken and put up here as the ones above don't really do it much justice.

The floating ceiling with led backlights should be finished off this week and the skirting complete with led lighting should also be completed pretty soon, whenever i get some time away from other work basically.

[R8Steve]

Floating ceiling is now completed and just need to wire up the hidden led 'mood' lighting.



I've adjusted the settings on the projector to give a much better image to match the room/lighting.

[R8Steve]

Today's task is fitting the recessed pool table light


Nothing's ever simple and of course there's a joist for the floating ceiling in the way, fortunately I only need to carve an inch or so out it to get the light to fit.


The stairs down to the room will be getting carpeted so laid the underlay for them.


This is the choice of carpet, not cheap at about £40 a square meter but it's perfect for the room.

[R8Steve]

RC1807 said:

Is it safe to carve 1" from a joist just to put a light in? What's above this basement room?
I would have thought you could move the light and the pool table, both easier and safer....

Perfectly safe, the joist is only part of an over-engineered floating ceiling pictured below. It's only supporting a sheet of 9mm mdf. The pool table can't be moved in any case as it was put there after calculating cue length and the rest of the furniture to ensure everything fits perfectly.

Edited by R8Steve on Thursday 10th August 10:13

[R8Steve]

Hol said:

You need one of these iconic pictures on the wall near the pool table.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/266244585/the-rat-...

Good timing Hol as last night i was thinking what artwork will be going up.

The bar area is obviously going to be drink related, the projector wall will be blank for obvious reasons, this leaves the back wall and the side wall.

The back wall i think i fancy something like this - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Printed-F1-Racing-...

The side wall i think will be a selection of pictures, some personal to me, some purchased. The one you've linked to is definitely a strong contender.

The small wall next to the door will have a black ash dartboard cabinet.

[R8Steve]

KAgantua said:

why the big boxed in area at the top

That's where the bar is going.

[R8Steve]

Managed to get the pool table light installed, fairly happy with it as it allows a game of pool to be played at the same time as watching something on the projector.

[R8Steve]

VEX said:

Magnetic Balls & Cue?

(Sorry, standard ph commentary on photo orientation)

To be fair I'd probably play better if it was in that position!

Today I sorted the network hub in the roof void and sorted all the Ethernet connections as the wifi signal is touch and go despite having several boosters. I might try some kind of power line kit to get a better wifi signal as all the apps to control the av kit/lighting/etc rely on wifi. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do this?

I also installed an 8 camera cctv system but will need to do a bit of work on the positioning of the cameras and the outside lighting.

[R8Steve]

Tidied up the av system and wiring over the weekend

[R8Steve]

That looks great Paul. I have a separate garage so have managed to keep the two areas separate but i like what you've done there.

Another good suggestion Hol, my current thoughts are having a motor related wall, sports related wall and bar/drink related wall so you're ones above will fit nicely onto the sports wall. The motor related wall i'll get canvas prints of all the best pictures of my previous cars/trackday pictures/etc (one of your old cars being one of them rather ironically! ).

[R8Steve]

Had almost forgotten about this thread and the actual room as I’ve been that busy with other stuff but thought I’d add an update to bring it up to date.

Started to build the bar...





Installed a raspberry pi emulator



Added a dartboard


Added a G29 wheel, pedals and shifter


And of course a playseat to go with it


I’m now just in the process of tiling the bar with split face slate tiles. What a ball ache they are to work with! Getting there though.


That’s it for now. Still need to finish the tiling, clean and coat the slate tiles with colour enhancer/sealer, fit the worktop then onto installing the beer keg lines/taps and floating shelves on the back wall and sort all the Bar lighting.

I got some beer taps from a friend but I’m not 100% happy with them so will be looking for some smaller, more discreet options.

[R8Steve]

Bought this colour enhancer for the slate tiles so going to give it a test on one tonight to see how it looks.

[R8Steve]

hyphen said:

Spit face tiles seemed an unusual choice for external corners!

Looking great

Yep, I hadn’t really thought that one through but after deciding that was the look I wanted there was no turning back

Spoke to a few tilers and they weren’t interested so I just gave it a go myself.

It wasn’t easy but I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out...I’ll not be in a hurry to do it again though!

Here’s a close up of how it turned out.

[R8Steve]

This is the beer taps I’ve decided to go with.


I’ve still to run the lines for the kegs/co2 canister which will be stored in the small storeroom next door out the way and where I can have a modified freezer for the kegs.

[R8Steve]

Finally got round to getting a frame for the very generous PH secret Santa gift (thanks Nigel!) so I’ll get that up on the wall tonight.

[R8Steve]

Done a test with the colour intensifier on one tile and I’m happy with the results, quite a difference.