Timber Frame Hybrid Home - Owner Builder

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Jeremy, hope that Pittsburgh ultra lasts a long time. That doesn't look like the funnest of jobs.

For me, I would like to have a projector in my barn when I have a party. they are often auctioned off nearby at the college but I think they are standard definition with the ability to hook up a computer.

 

[jk96]

Kyle I sure hope it does as well. There has been some sense of pride and satisfaction in most of the work I've done on the house. Not so much with this portion. Just relief that its done. I could have made a great commercial for Bosch with as many hours as I've got under my belt with my sander. Standing on the very top of 3 sections of scaffolding was not my idea of fun either. The older I get the higher things seem to be.

BitChin not sure off hand the exact dimensions but the main couch will be about 14 feet away from the wall. For the timbers I used 60 grit paper. 40 on the tough stuff but then went back over with 60. Funny that you mentioned your hail marks. Here is what we got a couple days ago. I couldn't believe this much hail was coming down just a few days after finishing the stain. Luckily it looks like our timbers were unscathed. We've got pretty good size overhangs that probably helped.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks, I was thinking it would take a lot of sanding to get the results you did with the stain. Just hated hearing it since I have something similar going on at my place. I bought the stain, but I don't want to be out there sanding in the summer heat and humidity.

 

[jk96]

Thanks, I was thinking it would take a lot of sanding to get the results you did with the stain. Just hated hearing it since I have something similar going on at my place. I bought the stain, but I don't want to be out there sanding in the summer heat and humidity.

If you do go the sanding route one thing I found out was that is was well worth the money to pay for a better quality sand paper. I started out using masterforce pads at about .58 each. I ended up giving a "Norton" brand pads a try. They ran about a $1 per pad but were about 4 times as effective and lasted twice as long. I couldn't believe the difference between the two and quickly found the better quality pads were well worth the money.

 

[milligjg]

Looks awesome:thumbsup:

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

If you do go the sanding route one thing I found out was that is was well worth the money to pay for a better quality sand paper. I started out using masterforce pads at about .58 each. I ended up giving a "Norton" brand pads a try. They ran about a $1 per pad but were about 4 times as effective and lasted twice as long. I couldn't believe the difference between the two and quickly found the better quality pads were well worth the money.

I believe that. Chinese sandpaper is not that good compared to 3M or Norton.

 

[EddieWalker]

If you do go the sanding route one thing I found out was that is was well worth the money to pay for a better quality sand paper. I started out using masterforce pads at about .58 each. I ended up giving a "Norton" brand pads a try. They ran about a $1 per pad but were about 4 times as effective and lasted twice as long. I couldn't believe the difference between the two and quickly found the better quality pads were well worth the money.

I agree. I learned the same thing sanding cedar logs for my gazebo's and porches with my 4 1/2 inch grinder. Norton used to be my favorite, but then Lowes started carrying a brand called Shopsmith, or something like that. It's noticeably better then Norton. I never understand why companies switch brands, but Home Depot used to carry Norton, but now I have to go to Northern Tool to get it. I still use Norton for sheets that I cut into quarters for my small vibratory sander, and I like their belts for my belt sanders. For the random orbital, it doesn't hardly matter what brand I get.

 

[jk96]

Looking great, but good luck on "someday it will be done)!

I have a dedicated media room in my house with an Epson 5300 projector - depending on your desired size it is much less expensive than a flat screen. My room can be totally darkend, but we often watch sporting events with lights on and I find the projector to be plenty bright in this case. Movies are just like going to the theater, with a big perk of being able to use the pause button. There are some good forums (I mainly use AVSForum) with others experience. Start with screen size and sitting distance (blue tape on wall helps to visualize). I picked up a DIY screen for low cost from Carl's Place - Projector Screen Material, Kits & More!, but there are other options (just more expensive or more work - lowest cost seems to be using spandex on a wooden frame, I have not tried this but several threads over at AVSForum). Lumens; there is a tool on Projectorcentral, that will give you lumen output vs distance/screen size for most projectors available. For gaming you need to be concerned about lag time - I don't game on our projector so I did not look into this much.
One word of warning though - once you get the home theater bug it is very difficult to cure!

Hey Bitchen1,
re-reading your post and checked out carlofet.com. I'm assuming you picked up the material from this website and then made the frame/screen yourself? Are you happy with the screen quality? I picked up the projector and have it mounted and just projecting on our painted wall right now. Medium grey color and actually looks great just on the wall. I originally planned on a regular tv so I have outlets in the center of the wall that need covered. I need to either make a screen or purchase one and the DIY price looks much better as long as I can make something that looks decent even when not in use.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

What type of projector did you end up with? I was reading up on them today and some people actually still buy a 4:3 so they can watch old movies on them. Not me. I want HD picture.

 

[jk96]

What type of projector did you end up with? I was reading up on them today and some people actually still buy a 4:3 so they can watch old movies on them. Not me. I want HD picture.

I ended up with the Epson 5030UB. They were on sale earlier this week for $300 off. Best Buy had them backordered but I was able to pick one up at NFM with a price match. We watched Avatar tonight and the image quality was absolutely stunning, even on the painted wall. I had it set to 120" diagonal size. You do need the lights out or very dim for the picture to really pop but when the lights go out the picture quality is very close to my plasma which I never thought I would say. The amount of detail is simply amazing and just a whole different viewing experience. I will say that a regular DVD looks kind of crappy on a screen that large though. Blue-ray is a must.