The Dungeon Begins

We finally managed to get all the bids from the basement contractors, and I spent an afternoon making excel charts to make sure we were actually comparing the same thing from each builder (same number of doors? right specification for insulation? did they all include vapor barrier in the wine cellar? correct sink? all that stuff). It was color-coded and everything.

We've settled on a builder from Longmont, after a glowing recommendation and visit to one of their current customers. We just liked the guy, and he was very up front about things. And (he got big points for this) he remembed all the weird specifications that I had on the first try. Double-wall construction and blue-board in the wine cellar, seat in the shower, pulling speaker wire, etc. It was amazing how the others just didn't "remember' that we had very specific plans for the cellar that would require different things. But we signed the contract and work begins next Monday, after the permits and such are pulled. I'm so excited!

And a little frustrated. The front-projector we wanted for the theater (Optima HD72) might not actually fit in the theater. The ceiling is slightly less than 8' down there, and this projector has a huge offset -- the lens is actually above the top of the screen and it project downward to the wall. It isn't adjustable. I spend the evening digging up my math skills to measure projection angle and viewing distance (yeah, I knew understanding tan() and such would come in handy). With our ceiling height, the screen ends up too close to the floor. Well, unless we get a smaller screen and I really want to stick with the one we have picked (106"). I've been reading through forum posts from the audio-visual gurus at AVS and trying to see if this is a do-able setup or if I have to start searching for another projector.

I ordered the light fixtures that match the upstairs sconces, and we'll pick carpet and tile next week, I imagine. Rather fun! Assuming that it's done in the 8-week timeframe that has been proposed. Considering that we lived in kitchen-renovation hell for almost a year, I'm hoping that this goes a bit closer to schedule. Admittedly, we had only one person doing all the work at the other house, with a bit of help from the Adorable Husband. I got used to having a microware in the living room and the fridge out in the hall! This shoudl be much less painful -- they'll come and go through the basement windows, for the most part, and mess upstairs should be minimal. We hope!