Saint Paul, MN
Hmmmm I'd rather have a new LE game. 
(Topic ID: 153786)
Quoted from dmacy:I so want to comment about you wanting the one with the vein in the middle!
But it looks awesome. Would a remnant of your size be 1/2 price (no features)? I'd feel better about missing what I wanted if it costs tons less.
Not of that type. Apparently it's sold / priced by level. Level 1 being the least expensive (but still expensive) and level 7 being the most expensive. It just so happens that what I want is an exotic and according to the woman "doesn't really have a level". Figures. 
Quoted from TheLaw:Or a pro with a 2.5k Counter top
But I see what he's saying...you get it just the way you like it you'll be enjoying it for the rest of your life
That's the way I've been doing things which is the main reason it's taking me so damn long.
$8k for granite is a tough one though. I can get really nice granite for $4 - $5k. Once I do the carpet, the plan is to go to a few other warehouses and look at their slabs. Chances are I can find something of a lower level that I like just as much.
Melbourne
Great game room build!
I loved the movie poster tv project, especially with an unused tv and wall mount sitting around.......so, a quick trip to Home Depot and now, we have one in our Gameroom. Next project is to build a frame around it and play with the app options. Thanks for the idea!!!
DF157FA9-3AAA-49E7-991C-C50EEA0B02C3 (resized).jpeg
Kitchener, ON
That granite looks like what I’ve got in my kitchen and bathrooms . The stuff we bought is called Fantasy Brown, although it’s more grey then brown. It’s quarried I think from India. We were about $5k-$6k for the 3 countertops, but they’re small pieces compared to some kitchens I’ve seen.
That’s a nice piece of rock, get what you want, don’t cheap out unless you plan to move.
Here’s a pic from google, the veins are lighter on this piece that what I have.
EB06ED08-D231-4669-8868-55068E092416 (resized).jpeg
Quoted from Nickson:awesome basement!
Thanks so much. It's been a long journey. I'm almost at the finish line. Unfortunately granite and flooring isn't the cheapest thing.
Quoted from Luckydogg420:That granite looks like what I’ve got in my kitchen and bathrooms . The stuff we bought is called Fantasy Brown, although it’s more grey then brown. It’s quarried I think from India. We were about $5k-$6k for the 3 countertops, but they’re small pieces compared to some kitchens I’ve seen.
That’s a nice piece of rock, get what you want, don’t cheap out unless you plan to move.
Here’s a pic from google, the veins are lighter on this piece that what I have.
[quoted image]
Love the Fantasy Brown, installed in our Kitchen and 2 bathrooms with it. Love the veins.
5 months later
I too was inspired by the movie poster idea, always wanted to build a movie poster marquee, but was always put off that it would only house one poster... problem solved. I too used a windows 10 pc on a usb stick... lets see how long this thing holds up. I have not decided if Im going to frame the LED panel out yet..
IMG_8795 (resized).jpgLooks awesome. I didn't bother to frame mine out. As thin as TVs are these days, I didn't think it was necessary.
Wow I just read through this whole thread and I am very impressed!
A few questions:
-Are those klipsch towers in the theater? If so do they voice match with the goldenears? Or is this temporary until you can get the Goldenear 5 that you mentioned earlier? If you are leaning toward the Goldenear 5 I suggest you go with the 7s and save some money especially since you are running an external sub.
-How will the granite counter top accommodate the pilars?
-I see you have a pretty extensive server system for media which is awesome for movies, did you consider Sonos Connects for music? With the separate music zones I find nothing is easier than Sonos and guests can easily use the system (emphasis on easily) with just the app on their phone. I have 5 Sonos Connects in my house, each hooked up to its own stereo/HT setup and it couldn't be easier to use and the sound quality is excellent (especially when run through a nice DAC).
Quoted from LargemouthAss:Wow I just read through this whole thread and I am very impressed!
Thanks for the compliment!
Quoted from LargemouthAss:A few questions:
-Are those klipsch towers in the theater? If so do they voice match with the goldenears? Or is this temporary until you can get the Goldenear 5 that you mentioned earlier? If you are leaning toward the Goldenear 5 I suggest you go with the 7s and save some money especially since you are running an external sub.
They are in the theater, behind the AT screen. I was planning on the Goldenear for the front because a friend of mine was a dealer and I could get them at cost. The problem is that he isn't a dealer anymore, so I'd have to pay retail. Anyway, from what I read, needing to voice match the rears with the front is debatable. I'm not sure if that's true or not.
I think they sound fine, so I'm probably not going to upgrade.
Quoted from LargemouthAss:-How will the granite counter top accommodate the pilars?
I have no clue.
The granite place said they could do it, so I'm assuming they would have to seam it right were the poles are, but I'm not 100% sure.
-I see you have a pretty extensive server system for media which is awesome for movies, did you consider Sonos Connects for music? With the separate music zones I find nothing is easier than Sonos and guests can easily use the system (emphasis on easily) with just the app on their phone. I have 5 Sonos Connects in my house, each hooked up to its own stereo/HT setup and it couldn't be easier to use and the sound quality is excellent (especially when run through a nice DAC).
To be honest, I hadn't nailed down exactly how I planned on handling everything. I was looking into AV matrixers, but haven't settled on anything yet.
My problem is that I keep buying damn pinball machines instead of putting money into the carpet and granite. 
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:They are in the theater, behind the AT screen. I was planning on the Goldenear for the front because a friend of mine was a dealer and I could get them at cost. The problem is that he isn't a dealer anymore, so I'd have to pay retail. Anyway, from what I read, needing to voice match the rears with the front is debatable. I'm not sure if that's true or not.
I think they sound fine, so I'm probably not going to upgrade.
I don't think it is a huge deal but considering all you spent on sound proofing the room I would have matching speakers. I owned a pair of Goldenears and I thought they were over-hyped. If you like the klipsches just swap out the goldenears with klipsch replacements.
1 month later
Well, I had the game room measured for carpet and was all ready to pull the trigger and then my wife fractured her foot and can't work. She's been out for 3 weeks, so there goes the carpet budget (for now). 
1 week later
Thanks for asking!
Better, but still hobbling around. She's allowed to go back to work on a limited basis. They said that the fracture isn't visible on the Xray she had during the follow-up so that's good.
On a side note, I've been experimenting with tying in all the machines in with my automation controller. I have it set up so that I can turn individual machines on / off by name, along with all of the machines at the same time. Alexa interfaces with my automation controller, so I do it with a voice command.
I tried it for the first time with people over the other night and it made me look stupid by missing two of the machines. Other than that, it worked.
It is nice to turn off all the games and lights with the single "party over" voice command.
I used a pile of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Zooz-Z-Wave-Double-ZEN25-Outlets/dp/B07MVX4M2Q
Happy to hear that. Fractures are no fun, my pelvis was fractured in 3 places (4 places actually hold it together). Took me months to recover.
1 month later
Good news. The wife is back to work and the bank account is recovering. I picked out my carpet and just need to start some cleanup in the room to get stuff out of the way. I spent some time installing a tablet in the wall that allows me to control lighting and the games. I can also do it through Alexa, but with 16 machines and bunch of people, sometimes it can't hear me very well.
Sure. The controller is the SmartThings Z-Wave hub. The lights are on Z-Wave switches and the games are all on the Zooz ZEN25 Double Plugs. The interface is through ActionTiles running on a Kindle Fire HD 10 that's powered via PoE.
I have another panel inside the garage entry door that allows me to control things like door locks, alarm system, etc. It's also controllable from my phone, my wife's phone and through Alexa.
The SmartThings hub is $63. The switches run anywhere from $29 - $42/each depending on what brand you buy and the double plugs run $30/each. The nice thing is that the controller can connect to any Z-Wave device so you aren't locked into a particular manufacturer.
I have a ton of other plugs, my garage doors, locks, lights, security system, themostat, etc all connected to the hub. You can just add things as you go.
Thanks for that! I've been thinking about getting some Hue stuff for my basement (currently under restore due to a flood in early summer). I'm going to check to see how well the systems work together.
Do you use any other apps on the device (like iscored) or is it purely a control?
Quoted from Deaconblooze:Thanks for that! I've been thinking about getting some Hue stuff for my basement (currently under restore due to a flood in early summer). I'm going to check to see how well the systems work together.
Do you use any other apps on the device (like iscored) or is it purely a control?
I can't comment on iScored, but anything you find in the Kindle store you can use. You can also install custom .apk files you find as long as you enable the ability to download non-trusted apps from outside the store.
ActionTiles is web based, but I run it inside of a browser that allows for a pile of other functionality that you don't get with the built in Kindle browser. I think it even supports wake on motion using the camera, but I haven't messed with that yet.
3 weeks later
4 months later
I'm back on the wagon after a long hiatus. I installed the transition strips so I can finally have carpet installed in the game room. I also got the trim done around the bar, installed some vent covers and am working on a few other pieces of trim.
The transitions were a nightmare. I ended up breaking two of them the first go-around and if you've ever bought matching transitions, you know how much they cost. They were impossible to get pushed into the track. I ended up having to spread the track with a scrap piece of wood before installing the transition.
Hopefully I can get the carpet down in the next few weeks. I have a second contractor coming out on Thursday to measure.
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:I'm back on the wagon after a long hiatus. I installed the transition strips so I can finally have carpet installed in the game room. I also got the trim done around the bar, installed some vent covers and am working on a few other pieces of trim.
The transitions were a nightmare. I ended up breaking two of them the first go-around and if you've ever bought matching transitions, you know how much they cost. They were impossible to get pushed into the track. I ended up having to spread the track with a scrap piece of wood before installing the transition.
Hopefully I can get the carpet down in the next few weeks. I have a second contractor coming out on Thursday to measure.
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
Looks great! I really like that floor.
Chris
4 months later
Well, I was all ready for carpet and then the planet exploded and my wife's work got closed, so things have been tight. Anyway, I got all my speakers installed along with the distributed audio / video system and I'm almost done buttoning up the rack. I just need a few more blank plates and then I should be all finished with that portion of things.
I'm hoping to get carpet in a few weeks, but that depends on my wife's work situation with all these restrictions.
This is the distribution block for the speakers before going into the audio matrix.
61628518686__5D988DAB-700F-4F25-9324-E2EE5E29958E.JPG
Just two of the volume source controls and the tablet in the background to control the lighting and pinball machines.
And finally the rack that's almost finished.
Quoted from Pahuffman:Are you running Emby? If so, you can login to my server if you want.
I am. The server runs a bunch of different dockers.
Emby
Sonarr
Nextcloud
Pihole
SABnzbd
Bitwarden
LetsEncrypt
Heimdall
Crashplan
I used to run a UniFi controller, but moved that to Vultr since I’m handling client setups with it.
1 week later
3 weeks later
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:I am. The server runs a bunch of different dockers.
Emby
Sonarr
Nextcloud
Pihole
SABnzbd
Bitwarden
LetsEncrypt
Heimdall
Crashplan
I used to run a UniFi controller, but moved that to Vultr since I’m handling client setups with it.
Have you tried MediaPortal for a front end? I've been using it for over 10 years now and it has been solid. Plugins for movies and TV shows makes displaying and searching your media efficient and stylish. Add a capture card or more and you can create a PVR and distribute your TV source to all other clients on the network. Version 1 is better than the beta 2 for now. If your interested, let me know and I can guide you a little regarding skins and plugins etc.
Quoted from Manhattan:Have you tried MediaPortal for a front end? I've been using it for over 10 years now and it has been solid. Plugins for movies and TV shows makes displaying and searching your media efficient and stylish. Add a capture card or more and you can create a PVR and distribute your TV source to all other clients on the network. Version 1 is better than the beta 2 for now. If your interested, let me know and I can guide you a little regarding skins and plugins etc.
https://www.team-mediaportal.com/
I've never tried it. I use a mix of Emby installed on Roku devices for distribution in the basement and my theater and upstairs TV run Kodi as a front end with Emby handling the database infrastructure of Kodi.
Kodi is more friendly for my wife which I why I do use it.
1 week later
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:Nothing much to report. I moved some games into the other room and set them up. Hopefully it's motivation for me to go buy some damn carpet and get that done. Granite for the bar is going to be the last thing, but unfortunately what I want is considered an "exotic". They want about $8k to do the bar.
The other issue with the granite is that no one seems to have any clue as to how much of an overhang I can have without needing supports.
Anyway, this is the first time all my games have been on the same floor in my house and all set up at the same time.
[quoted image]
Depending on thickness (It has to be sufficiently thick), you should be able to cantilever up to about 10 inches, but you’d be smart to add support underneath. and you have to make sure you have about 20 inches of the granite supported by cabinets, etc. in other words don’t hang more than about 1/3 over so you don’t tip over from the weight. Most places will tell you 6 inches Since that is what a lot of overhang in a kitchen will be.
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:I've never tried it. I use a mix of Emby installed on Roku devices for distribution in the basement and my theater and upstairs TV run Kodi as a front end with Emby handling the database infrastructure of Kodi.
Kodi is more friendly for my wife which I why I do use it.
I have MediaPortal a shot for a while, but overwhelmingly prefer Kodi. (That May be because I worked on the precursors to Kodi, XBMC and YAMC). Some of the recent changes are getting annoying, but it has waaaaaay more support than any of the other options in terms of assistance and in Plugins. Once Netflix started working on Linux, it was a one-size-fits-all solution.
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:Depending on thickness (It has to be sufficiently thick), you should be able to cantilever up to about 10 inches, but you’d be smart to add support underneath. and you have to make sure you have about 20 inches of the granite supported by cabinets, etc. in other words don’t hang more than about 1/3 over so you don’t tip over from the weight. Most places will tell you 6 inches Since that is what a lot of overhang in a kitchen will be.
Thanks. I ordered bunch of the low profile granite brackets. My issue is that the bar isn't 100% level. I built the wall level, but never took into consideration the fact that the floor has some slope to it being a basement and sloping down to the drain. So I need to find a way to route out a bunch of slots in the bar top of varying depths so that the brackets are all level.
It's a weird situation and one I haven't exactly wrapped my head around yet.
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:Thanks. I ordered bunch of the low profile granite brackets. My issue is that the bar isn't 100% level. I built the wall level, but never took into consideration the fact that the floor has some slope to it being a basement and sloping down to the drain. So I need to find a way to route out a bunch of slots in the bar top of varying depths so that the brackets are all level.
It's a weird situation and one I haven't exactly wrapped my head around yet.
Oh man! How extreme is the slope? You could always add some washers
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:Oh man! How extreme is the slope? You could always add some washers
It's actually not terrible. I'll have to throw a laser on it later today and post up a picture.
I spoke with the granite bracket people and was worried about all of the brackets not being flush with the top of the 2 x 6 wall. Some will be flush and others will be raised. So in some places the granite will have both the bracket and the wood top plate for support and other places it will just have the bracket.
They told me that would be fine and that I don't even need the granite to touch the wood at the top of the knee wall and that it can safely be supported by just the brackets. Washers might be a good idea actually. Unless you were being smart?
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:It's actually not terrible. I'll have to throw a laser on it later today and post up a picture.
I spoke with the granite bracket people and was worried about all of the brackets not being flush with the top of the 2 x 6 wall. Some will be flush and others will be raised. So in some places the granite will have both the bracket and the wood top plate for support and other places it will just have the bracket.
They told me that would be fine and that I don't even need the granite to touch the wood at the top of the knee wall and that it can safely be supported by just the brackets. Washers might be a good idea actually. Unless you were being smart?
I was actually making a joke, but after I posted it, I thought "well, that's basically the same as the shims we use on door and window frames all the time..."
1 week later
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