Hi,
Interested in starting a HT in my unfinished basement. Only half of my basement will be used as the HT. There is already several electrical outlets dispersed throughout the basement (done pre construction). Since its an unfinished basement, running all of the cabling should not prove too difficult.

My questions are as follows:

Does a perfect rectangle room pose any issues with sound reverberation? I only ask because most are not perfect rectangles from what I've seen.

Covering up windows: There is one small window in my basement. Im going to have the room framed, will leaving the window behind the studs and drywall pose any issues?

Do most use two layers of drywall in construction of HT's in basements?

What is the average cost of a HT in the basement. Would a $6000 budget get it done?

Thanks

810, I hardly consider myself an expert on these matters, but I can take a shot at answering your questions:

Does a perfect rectangle room pose any issues with sound reverberation?

Not sure what you mean by "perfect rectangle", but the rules of thumb you read about most often are to avoid square rooms, like 15 x 15, and dimensions that are multiples of each other, like 20 x 15 are multiples of 5 (I think ceiling height might play a role in that as well).

There is one small window in my basement. Im going to have the room framed, will leaving the window behind the studs and drywall pose any issues?

Read through some of the build threads (which is a good idea anyway); many, if not most builds, have had to deal with covering a window along the way. The most popular approach seems to be to stuff it with insulation of some type (to absorb any moisture that might get trapped beind the wall that you're putting up), and maybe board it over with some plywood before you build on top of it.

Do most use two layers of drywall in construction of HT's in basements?

Again, I would suggest reading through the various build threads for yourself, but yes, it does appear that most builds in this forum...the ones that get posted anyway...use GG (Green Glue) and two layers of drywall. It all has to do with sound isolation; how important is keeping sound in the theater from leaking out to the rest of the house, and keeping sound from the rest of the house from leaking into the theater.

What is the average cost of a HT in the basement. Would a $6000 budget get it done?

This one is nearly impossible to answer for anyone else, and certainly not without some more information. When you say $6,000, do you mean just to build the room or for equipment as well? If you say just to build the room (because if the answer was really for equipment and room, the answer, in a nutshell, is likely no), are you planning on doing any of the work yourself or paying a contractor to do everything. Again, if you look around the forum (starting to sense a trend here?) you'll see builds that stress small budgets in the title.

It also depends on what kind of room you want to end up with: 4 walls, a couple of couches, a 720p projector, DIY screen, 7 inexpensive speakers, decent AVR, and an entry-level BD player...yeah, you might be able to squeeze it all together for $6k. But as the room and equipment upgrades go higher, so does the price.

Hope that helps...good luck,
CD

You don't define what you mean by HT and a budget amount.

Theater in the Home is actually a done deal with light control, comfortable seating, a projector and a screen. All the rest is just decoration or "eyewash" that no one in the room can see or cares about once the lights go down and the Theater sized screen lights up.

Once you have the above basics (easily done with less than $6k) you can decide if you really need the fancy ceiling, fancy wall decorations, stage, columns, concession stand with popcorn machine and etc., back-lit movie poster frames, multi-row riser mounted seating then up a notch to a "lobby area" (LOL, at this point) special printed tickets, usher or usherette, velvet roped walking guides and on and on and on and on - BUT - again, all Home Theaters are gray in the dark - just like cats in your yard - do the basics and sit back and enjoy the show and let the eyewash develop as the mood takes you - just IMHO.

All we have is the basics for watching movies - allowed us to afford stuff we can actually use for more fun like big bar, a row of pinball games, foosball table and the like which all sits in our "Concession and Lobby" area (big area behind the viewing area adjacent to our kitchen counter.

Definition of Home Theater is whatever you want it to be so long as you have those four simple basics done really well in your room.
Best of Luck - now get on with the show!!

I'll throw in on the window question, been there done that.

Pop the old framed window out and replace it with glass block. This will take care of any moisture concerns with an air tight seal. And it will look better on the outside of the house if that is an issue.

Check your yellow pages for an installer, there are a few in my area. It was cheaper to have them come out and do the work then for me to do it myself. They did 6 windows, 3 with vents, for around $300. In and out in under two hours. Best money I ever spent on my basement.

Mike

I'll throw in on the window question, been there done that.

Pop the old framed window out and replace it with glass block. This will take care of any moisture concerns with an air tight seal. And it will look better on the outside of the house if that is an issue.

Check your yellow pages for an installer, there are a few in my area. It was cheaper to have them come out and do the work then for me to do it myself. They did 6 windows, 3 with vents, for around $300. In and out in under two hours. Best money I ever spent on my basement.

Mike

What did you find them under in the yellow pages? I need this sort of thing done just because my basement windows are old and dated and I dont want to replace them myself. PM me your response if you dont mind

thanks for the responses guys. The $6k budget is without equipment. By $6k I mean framing, drywall, gg, flooring, insulation etc. Yes I want to eventually have a stage, riser mounted seating etc.

We will be moving from this home in around 5 years. So this is going to be practice. I have experience with data drops, in-wall installations etc etc. I had the builder put extra outlets in the basement during construction. My father and I will be doing the framing and hanging the drywall, as I've never done this before.

I guess I'm looking for the first step? Would the first step be to check for any moisture in the basement and then seal off the windows as stated above?
I expect this project to take me around 1.5 years to complete. We're having a baby so I'm selling all of my motorcycles and the HT will be my new hobby

Thanks fellas

thanks for the responses guys. The $6k budget is without equipment. By $6k I mean framing, drywall, gg, flooring, insulation etc. Yes I want to eventually have a stage, riser mounted seating etc.

Then I would say you should be fine. Have fun.

CD