Hello....
I am finally to the stage that I would like to start finishing my basement which would include a dedicated theater.

I have noticed a lot of guys saying that you should never start without drawings. Well who are the experts on these forums who do drawings? How much should I expect to pay for drawings?

I have about a 13 foot wide x 20-30 foot long space.

I am starting out from scratch....no equipment, no walls, and 10 foot ceilings in the basement. I want to do this correctly. I know what I want I just want to make sure everything is done right so I do not live to regret it.

I plan on doing as much of the work as I can myself (with the help of my dad).

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
MIKE

You can do the drawings. Visio or Sketch-up is all you need.

If you want to hire someone to do the design and provide detailed blueprints so that a contractor has step-by-step instructions, that will run you a couple thousand dollars.

Assuming you plan on doing the work, you need to invest the time and learn as much as you can before you start. Read a dozen of the large construction threads from beginning to end. It took me a year of planning before I even lifted a hammer.

Not everyone needs drawings. Some, like myself, like to plan everything out before hand to try and eliminate as many potential problems before the construction begins. I am sure you know that even the most experienced people still have snags that set them back. Now imagine the issues being compounded when you don't have the experience!

And everything that Cathan mentions above is spot on IMO.

I should have also added that the first thing you really want to do is learn enough so that you can make rational decisions as to the scope of your project. What do you want out of a room? How important is sound proofing? How important is audio? What are your occupancy needs? What format of an image do you wants? There aren't any "right" answers to any of these questions, but once you know what you are building towards, you can start asking the right questions for your particular goals.

I should have also added that the first thing you really want to do is learn enough so that you can make rational decisions as to the scope of your project. What do you want out of a room? How important is sound proofing? How important is audio? What are your occupancy needs? What format of an image do you wants? There aren't any "right" answers to any of these questions, but once you know what you are building towards, you can start asking the right questions for your particular goals.

I guess that is my problem.....
I want the room to be mainly for movies and some sporting events. So I am thinking a 2.35:1 screen would be best but thought a 16:9 would be more versitile.

I wanted to try and spring for a JVC-HT100 / RS2 projector as I have read only good things about it. Would you ceiling mount this thing or put it in the rear of the room?

Audio is important as well. I am not even sure what I want to run.
I want speakers mounted behind the screen. Probably a dual sub setup. I run older B&W CDM speakers upstairs but for the basement I am open to anything new.

Sound proofing is something I would like to do as well. The theater is below bedrooms and would like to minimize the sound to the upstairs.

The room is mainly for my family to watch movies in. Right now it is just me and the wife. I want to plan for 4 - 8 people total (couple of kids and maybe another 2-4 people to enjoy the room).

My budget would be in the 10k range to equipment plus material for the construction. I am thinking the entire room would run 15k? Maybe some more. I dont want to skimp as I am the type of person that would rather wait and get what I want than skimp on things just to get them.

I have no problem using visio or any other CAD type programs to create drawings. I just wanted to make sure I would not miss anything, which is probably nearly impossible :) I am sure even the best miss things.

Thanks for the advice so far.

So it sounds like you should do some reading on soundproofing techniques. With 25-30' of length you can do two rows of seating and a back bar/bar stool area and have a AT screen. Build the shell of the room and don't worry about the exact projector yet. New ones hit the market every few months that are cheaper and better.

So start by drawing out your floor plan. Take photos of the area, get them into your thread and then people have something to work with. But most of all, read, read and read so you know what else has been done and you can figure out exactly what you want to do.

Previous post that may be useful:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15138539#post15138539

Given how often we answer this question I really should have that post of yours bookmarked. ;)

I also need to include this link:
http://www.wikibestpractices.com/index.php?title=Home_Media

And there was a great build thread where the guy summarized a bunch of great links in the first post. Maybe I have it somewhere.

Update: Sometimes I amaze myself, took me 6 minutes to find.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14176345#post14176345

So it sounds like you should do some reading on soundproofing techniques. With 25-30' of length you can do two rows of seating and a back bar/bar stool area and have a AT screen. Build the shell of the room and don't worry about the exact projector yet. New ones hit the market every few months that are cheaper and better.

So start by drawing out your floor plan. Take photos of the area, get them into your thread and then people have something to work with. But most of all, read, read and read so you know what else has been done and you can figure out exactly what you want to do.

Here is a drawing of my basement with the proposed area for the theater marked in Yellow down towards the bottom.

The screen will be on the wall that the arrow is point to.

Hope this helps make some sense of things. Pictures will follow.

Thanks
MIKE

It would also help if you indicated what uses you have in mind for the adjoining spaces.

It would also help if you indicated what uses you have in mind for the adjoining spaces.

The use for the space to the left is the room where the rack will be and currently where the house network, power, and phone terminate. The area behind the room is supposed to be the wife's gift wrapping room, and the area in front of the stairs and to the right of the theater is just open area with a few closets against the walls.

Hope this helps.

The area behind the room is supposed to be the wife's gift wrapping room...
Well, that is a new one! :eek:

They (as in wives) get a gift wrapping room and we (as in husbands) have to beg for a media room/HT! :mad: How often will that "gift wrapping room" get used, just out of curiosity?

Well, that is a new one! :eek:

They (as in wives) get a gift wrapping room and we (as in husbands) have to beg for a media room/HT! :mad: How often will that "gift wrapping room" get used, just out of curiosity?

Yep....the gift wrapping room is the only request she has in the entire basement. It will not get used often. Couple times a month (more during the holidays) so I am trying to figure out how to make dual use of that room.

Thanks
MIKE

Here is a drawing of my basement with the proposed area for the theater marked in Yellow down towards the bottom.

The screen will be on the wall that the arrow is point to.

Hope this helps make some sense of things. Pictures will follow.

Thanks
MIKE

So you're planning to enclose the rectangle outlined in yellow, right?

Hmmm...I don't know, but $15K might be a little light if you're starting with nothing, especially if isolation is on the drawing board. The space won't be too tough to treat acoustically, though you'll want to leave some budget room for it.

Frank

Yep....the gift wrapping room is the only request she has in the entire basement. It will not get used often. Couple times a month (more during the holidays) so I am trying to figure out how to make dual use of that room.

Thanks
MIKE

Think of it as a hobby room, work surfaces, workbenches, task lighting, tool and supply storage, music and TV for distraction.

So you're planning to enclose the rectangle outlined in yellow, right?

Hmmm...I don't know, but $15K might be a little light if you're starting with nothing, especially if isolation is on the drawing board. The space won't be too tough to treat acoustically, though you'll want to leave some budget room for it.

Frank

The yellow outlines the back half of the theater and then the front has the poured walls which are not colored.

I guess that is the help I need.....how much of a budget should I set aside for things like sound isolation???

Is it enough to just do some Dricore on the floor and then maybe have one riser for a second row of seating or do you need to isolate the floor further?

I would like to use the RISC clips for the ceiling. What is the best method for the wall studs? I am thinking the DD method and green glue as well.

Thanks
MIKE


The wiki pages help a lot too.....Thanks guys.

Previous post that may be useful:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15138539#post15138539

Given how often we answer this question I really should have that post of yours bookmarked. ;)

To paraphrase nike - just sig it.

:D:D That's too funny Dave!!

I guess that is the help I need.....how much of a budget should I set aside for things like sound isolation???

Figure about 3 grand for Green Glue, clips and the extra drywall.


Is it enough to just do some Dricore on the floor and then maybe have one riser for a second row of seating or do you need to isolate the floor further?

Dricore isn't needed for sound isolation in a basement. Some people do it for the added warmth. You can save some money by skipping the dricore if you don't care about having carpet directly on the cement. If you have a wet basement then you might need it to keep the floor dry.


I would like to use the RISC clips for the ceiling. What is the best method for the wall studs? I am thinking the DD method and green glue as well.


RISC dc4 clips for the walls. Use a clip every 2-4 feet to connect the top plate to the ceiling joist.

Figure about 3 grand for Green Glue, clips and the extra drywall.




Dricore isn't needed for sound isolation in a basement. Some people do it for the added warmth. You can save some money by skipping the dricore if you don't care about having carpet directly on the cement. If you have a wet basement then you might need it to keep the floor dry.




RISC dc4 clips for the walls. Use a clip every 2-4 feet to connect the top plate to the ceiling joist.

Is sound isolation necessary sound quality in the room? I would love to have the sound isolated from the upstairs but is it really needed for quality? Sorry for the stupid questions.

Here are some of the pictures I took tonight in the basment:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3517/3178515930_5569cf187e.jpg?v=0

This is a view of the theater area from the back wall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3177680511_dfe6d71f68.jpg?v=0

This is a view into the equipment / storage room. Rack would reside in there.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/3177681183_60b1fbc83a.jpg?v=0

Here is a view of the floor joist area. Notice the cross beams and the plumbing to the right. How would the RSC clips work with the cross beams lower than the floor joists? Am I screwed?

Thanks
MIKE

Sound isolation and sound treatments are two different things. Isolation is about being able to enjoy a room where you can't hear noise from the rest of the house and you can listen at reference levels and not piss off the rest of the family.

Sound isolation is about treating the room so that the sound, well, sounds good.

You can do either, none or both.

What type of seating are you planning to use. real theater seats or Ht recliners ?

What type of seating are you planning to use. real theater seats or Ht recliners ?

The goal is to use HT recliners.....
How much space do you realisitically need for 4 across?

What clearance would you need fore and aft between each row?


Sound isolation and sound treatments are two different things. Isolation is about being able to enjoy a room where you can't hear noise from the rest of the house and you can listen at reference levels and not piss off the rest of the family.

Sound isolation is about treating the room so that the sound, well, sounds good.

You can do either, none or both.

I would like to do sound isolation as well as sound treatments (if needed).

Thanks
MIKE

How much space do you realistically need for 4 across?

What clearance would you need fore and aft between each row?


You can go to the Berkline web site and pick different model chairs. They have an on-line planner where you click and drag a seating configuration and it calculates the width.

For example four 45088s sharing armrests is 113 inches wide. four 45099s run 145 inches. So the style chair and the manufacturer makes a big difference.

You need at least 6ft 6 inches minimum from the back of the back row to the back of the row in front for the seat to recline and for normal people not to kick the row in front.

Better to have 6'-10" or more. Also it's good to have a couple feet behind the back row for better surround sound in the back row. So if you do a 8 ft deep riser or more you are in the right ball park. Front row seat backs can be 12 ft +/- from the screen.

Here are my measured dimensions....
Width of room from concrete wall to contrete wall is 158". It looks like I am going to lean towards a 3 wide setup more and more. I really wanted 4 seats wide.
The length is 25 feet. That can be extended a foot if needed.
The height a little complicated. The front 156 inches of the room is 112 inches high to the floor joists.
The rear 144" inches of the room is 101 inches high because of the two cross support I beams you can see in the photos previously posted.

If I have a 12" riser plus about an inch for drywall on the ceiling that bring me down to 89 inches high in the rear of the room where the second row would be.

Is this a decent height for head room when standing? Basically 7 foot 5 inches.

Are there typical guidelines to refer to for minimum ceiling heights?

Thanks again for the help thus far.

MIKE

Mike

My ceiling height while standing on my riser is 7'4" and thats plenty of room.

Bigs spot on with the riser mines 7'8" deep that puts my front row eyes to screen at 13' reclined and gives my riser recliners plenty of room they are set off the back wall by about 2' and when reclined with the foot rest up you can still walk in front of them to get out just in case you have to go potty :)