Ok guys, I have been reading long enough. My dad and I have incorporated a home theater space into the new house that is currently being built. If you all would like to see pics of the construction phases of the house, just let me know and I will post them for you to see. I noticed that there were a few people that have posted pics of their house construction.

Here's the deal...we are in no hurry to get it done. We want it to be absolutely awesome! I would like to know from everyone here, what would you do if this space was yours and money was no issue? I am definetely not saying that money is not an issue...LoL! I just would like to know your thoughts and ideas since there will still be a little time before we can really even get started on the space. This is the designing phase.

Without further adieu....here is the lower level floorplan of the house (if I can figure out how to post a pdf). Basically the man cave. I would love to see your ideas for the theater and for the game room as well. This could get interesting!:D

10 ft. ceilings everywhere by the way!

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Floorplan-1.jpg

Ok, I decided to post some pics of the progress on the house. No one spoke up saying not to so I am gonna do it...LoL Maybe it will spark some interest I don't know. Please let me know if you think the pics are too big and I will resize them but I have seen a lot of people that say they like the larger pictures so they can see more detail. Anyway, I will follow up this post with our plans for the house as far as A/V is concerned. I am hoping to get some thoughts, suggestions, ideas and criticisms from all of you professional home theater builders out there. I hope that we can make this a very nice and interesting thread for you all to enjoy.

Here is the footing for the Theater and bar area of the house.
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Concrete Footing Pour/055.jpg

Here are some pictures shot today of the block layers doing their thing!
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/007.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/008.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/009.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/010.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/011.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/013.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/014.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/018.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/019.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/020.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Block%20Wall%20Build/025.jpg

Man that is some rocky ground you guys got there

Well, the plans that we have for this house are things such as automation, a/v distribution, intercom, security and lighting. Some of this stuff will just be wired for during construction and finished up later so we do not need to buy everything up front. The entire automation part of the house will be taken care of by a Crestron Pro2 automation controller. There are (3) wireless 8.4" touchpanels, (4) 3.5" touchscreen remotes and (3) 8.4" wallmount touchpanels. The security panel is a HAI OmniProII. We are using Crestron also for the A/V distribution. We will be distributing component video throughout the house to the 6 TV's plus the Theater. We will be distributing audio for the tv's to the same places but we will also be distributing music audio to up to 16 zones in the house.

For the theater. We plan to do the isolation this way...please let me know if this is going to work like this. We will mostly concrete block walls around the theater. I say mostly because there will be wood framing on top of the block walls. We will be insulating all the framing on top of the block walls using a blown in insulation. Then we will be drywalling over it with 5/8" drywall. We will then build a second wall about 1 inch from the block wall and insulate it with mineral fiber. Then, 2 sheets of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between the sheets (should we use RSIC clips and hat channel to screw the drywall to?). On the ceiling, we will be using RSIC clips and hat channel in order to isolate the ceiling from the floor joists above. 2 sheets of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between will go on the ceiling (hopefully it doesn't come crashing down from the weight?). We have not decided on any equipment yet but I would definetely like to hear some suggestions from you all out there who actually use this equipment on a daily (or at least weekly) basis. I do know that I would like to do an acoustically transparent screen with the LCR speakers behind it. Any suggestions on the screen? I am pretty sure we would like to go the 2.35:1 and just as big as you all think this room would allow. We will want 2 rows of seating as well. There will be a amll bar in the pop out area of the theater. The screen wall will be the wall that has the 2 angles on it. You can see the floorplan on my very first post. Anyway, all suggestions and comments welcome if I have sparked any interest at all. Thanks everyone for reading!

Man that is some rocky ground you guys got there


That is for sure! There is nothing but rock here but thank God the excavation is done. It took a month to excavate this property! Full speed ahead now. :D

Where is this at? As for AT screens, SMX is a great choice :)

Where is this at? As for AT screens, SMX is a great choice :)

Oh sorry about that. I guess I need to update my profile. This is in Prescott, AZ. Way up north by Flagstaff. I have looked at the SMX screens a while back but I am gonna take another look as it has been a while. By the way, I love how your build is coming! I wish ours was closer but, we will get there.

I'm a bit confused about the block. Do you guys pour foundations down there?

For the theater. We plan to do the isolation this way...please let me know if this is going to work like this. We will mostly concrete block walls around the theater. I say mostly because there will be wood framing on top of the block walls. We will be insulating all the framing on top of the block walls using a blown in insulation. Then we will be drywalling over it with 5/8" drywall. We will then build a second wall about 1 inch from the block wall and insulate it with mineral fiber. Then, 2 sheets of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between the sheets (should we use RSIC clips and hat channel to screw the drywall to?).

That sounds to me like a triple leaf wall. Don't do it.

http://www.greengluecompany.com/understandingTripleLeaf.php


On the ceiling, we will be using RSIC clips and hat channel in order to isolate the ceiling from the floor joists above. 2 sheets of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between will go on the ceiling (hopefully it doesn't come crashing down from the weight?).

Consider room within a room constructions. Separate decoupled joists are better than clips.

http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/index.php?/library/articles/room_within_a_room

There are a bunch more articles at those two websites, spend some time there. Then call Ted White or his partner John Hile.

You can see the floorplan on my very first post. Anyway, all suggestions and comments welcome if I have sparked any interest at all. Thanks everyone for reading!

You might want to convert it to a jpg (Prnt scrn - then paste into MS Paint works) and post it in the thread. We are lazy.

Looked at the plan - Lose the door to the workshop storage room. Doors are sound flanking paths and you want as few as possible.

Seeing all that work makes me very happy I have quit doing residential construction after 14 years of S$^&!...Threw my back out at the young age of 25 and it still goes out if I blink to fast.

On a side note......Good luck and hope all goes well

I'm a bit confused about the block. Do you guys pour foundations down there?


I was confused as well when I heard that this is how they do it here. I am from Southern California where they pour complete concrete foundations in one pour. Here, they pour footings, then they build block walls for stem walls and then, they pour the slab. I thought it was strange too but, there are thousands of houses here that have been here for many years and this is how they do it LoL.

Looked at the plan - Lose the door to the workshop storage room. Doors are sound flanking paths and you want as few as possible.


Thanks dc_pilgrim for the links to the soundproofing articles and everything. I will take a look at them tonight when I get home. As far as losing the door, the reason it is there is because we "felt" that we needed to have a second exit from that room for fire safety reasons. However, we never did clarify that with the city or the Fire Dept so we are going to have to look into that a little deeper and maybe lose it.

Seeing all that work makes me very happy I have quit doing residential construction after 14 years of S$^&!...Threw my back out at the young age of 25 and it still goes out if I blink to fast.

On a side note......Good luck and hope all goes well

Thanks mikieson so far all is going well. We have had amazing luck on this job so far. :eek: Did I just jinx it? :( *knocks on wood*

Thanks dc_pilgrim for the links to the soundproofing articles and everything. I will take a look at them tonight when I get home. As far as losing the door, the reason it is there is because we "felt" that we needed to have a second exit from that room for fire safety reasons. However, we never did clarify that with the city or the Fire Dept so we are going to have to look into that a little deeper and maybe lose it.

I think its over kill - but if you still feel that way, just put the door in the equipment room, and try to beef up the quality of the door seals on each door.

My two cents.

Well I thought I would throw in a little update to my thread here. Tomorrow is inspection day on the first grout lift for the block. I will take pictures tomorrow and post them. The block is about 95% complete. Once they are done grouting the block (filling it with concrete) they will start backfilling the house and prepping for the slabs.

I have been working on a drawing of the room using SketchUp. I am still learning how to use it but I am getting pretty good with it so give me a couple more days and I will have a rough drawing up for you all to look at and shoot down if need be. I am really looking forward to any comments or suggestions from all of the awesome people with awesome rooms on this forum.

Anyway, I will have some pics up tomorrow of the progress. Hopefully framing will start very soon!

As long as the HT room is have you considered building a hallway in the back using the wiring closet to go into the workshop. As is it know you have to go either through the HT or gameroom to get into the garage area. Also is that just extra garage space or will it be the primary garage? If it is primary that will be a long walk to carry up groceries plus you will quickly track up the carpet.

As long as the HT room is have you considered building a hallway in the back using the wiring closet to go into the workshop.

We have not thought of that but I will definetely see how it looks on the plan. As far as losing the door into the workshop...it's probably not going to happen because it needs to be there for fire safety reasons. We also have to have fire sprinklers in the house as well due to the fact that the closest fire hydrant is more than 1,000ft. away from the farthest corner of the house. So, I guess we will just have to deal with it but I do not think it will be a huge deal. If that is the only downfall we run into with this room I think we are doing pretty good! LoL.

As is it know you have to go either through the HT or gameroom to get into the garage area. Also is that just extra garage space or will it be the primary garage? If it is primary that will be a long walk to carry up groceries plus you will quickly track up the carpet.

That garage you see in the floorplan is not the only garage. There is another garage on the upper level of the house right off the kitchen. That is the garage that will be used for groceries and things. The entire lower level of the house is basically my dad's office for work and the rest is a huge man cave. I will post the upper level floorplan so you all can see how everything ties in.

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/Floorplan-1.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/steve_lomax/UpperLevelFloorPlan.jpg