Howdy everyone. I'm in the initial design process of finishing my basement and building my new home theater. Because of a column and the placement of the mechanicals, the best place for the theater appears to be against the walkout part of the basement. Also because we are planning on renting this out someday, just doing away with the sliding door and window seem like a bad idea (for some reason people are willing to pay more for walking out than for a nice theater).

My main question is how bad are those windows going to mess me up when soundproofing the room? I don't care about sound getting outside, but I want to minimize the sound going upstairs. I'm planning on whisperclips, double drywall, and green glue. However, I just can't think of how I can isolate that wall (and I think I'll need to omit the whisperclips from that wall as well). Will not disconnection the window portions of that wall completely negate soundproofing the rest?

Just for kicks, I've attached drawing I did in SketchUp. I'm in the process of mapping it out in AutoCAD and getting to work in earnest. The dimensions of the theater will be about 15x20.

Bonus question: What issues will I have with the fireplace?

Thanks, y'all. I've been silently reading this forum for a while, and I'm excited about actually getting involved.

Rex

It looks like eliminating the window and walkout door would be against code because they can be used as emergency exits in case of a fire upstairs. Some areas just require them for bedrooms other areas for any finished basement space.

If you haven't framed yet you should think about using isolation clips for the walls as you can achieve a similar result as the whisper clips and channel by isolating the wall framing from the ceiling joists.

You can make a window plug for the window. Something that you can lift out any time you want and leave out when you move. The door is going to be more of a challenge.

post some pics, not those cartoon images.

but from what i can see. that slider is the least of your problems. other than blocking incoming light.

I'm happy to provide the pics. First, here's the overhead to provide context (top is North):
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/basement.png

Here's the sliding glass door:
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1912.jpg

Here's the window:
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1913.jpg

And now the rest in order to paint what I'm going for:

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1910.jpg
Facing North. This is what will ultimately make up the home theater. I'd like to put a vent-less fireplace where that pipe is on the right. On left you can see the sump pump. I plan on building a bench to go over that that will lift up. The middle section will have a GoM screen hiding the sub.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1914.jpg
North-east corner

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1915.jpg
North-east corner again. Here you can view the Column of Inconvenience. Without this column I might be more willing to put the theater toward that end of the basement.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1916.jpg
South wall. You can see all of the mechanicals here. On the right are the stairs. Behind the stairs I'm putting all of the wiring, and I plan a cut out or pocket door in that wall for the media rack.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1917.jpg

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/IMG_1918.jpg

And that concludes the photo tour! Aren't you glad you asked?

The proposed theater will run from the east wall to the column. I do like the idea of a window plug. Also, I don't really care about sound filtering to other parts of the basement. The rest will be a bathroom and craft room.

One last thing. And I'm a bit embarrassed to ask, do the windows and fireplace disqualify me for the dedicated home theater section?

Thanks again.

:eek: that is a GREAT room for a HT !

those pipes, beams & windows are a non issue. build the wall/ceiling out enough to cover the pipes/beam. non issue, as you have plenty of room to spare a few "s.

i would center the screen about about where those 2 bags of stuff are.
and i wouldn't worry about the i-beam support, paint it.

on the right side. you have the 5'11"x6'1". i would take that 5'11" and continue wall it straight back to what ever works for you = up to the mechanicals perhaps.
in this wall. put your media rack and fireplace. & perhaps, subs. your going to need mucho subs :cool:


you have lots of concrete there. i have more concrete than you. i recommend a drop ceiling with those heavy panels in it. and heavy carpet/pad. and put heavy insulation behind the drywall on the screen wall.

the sump pump, and opposite corner. just wall around them, as if they were not there.. then make corner bass traps to hide em.

Okay, so after lots of fun compromises with the better half, here's what I've arrived at:
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/BasementLayout.jpg
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/fuxuepeng/Basement3D.jpg

The room specs are roughly 15'x16'. The fireplace goes in the upper-right hand corner (the 45 degree part). The sump pump is covered by an 18" high bench. The center section of the bench has a false front (GoM). The subwoofer(s) will go there. The right end will have some shelves just in case we move and the future tenants don't want to figure out the AV closet and patch panels.

I've drawn in a 110" 16:9 screen, though I don't see why I shouldn't make it 139" 2.35:1. What I don't have drawn in is a set of shelves the the screen will actually go in front of (1' deep). I plan on building an acoustically transparent screen and placing the speakers behind it on the shelves. The shelves will also server to house a standard HD TV for future tenants.

The french doors are a concession to my wife. She wants to be able to make the basement feel more open. I might be able to win that battle over time, but I'll take what I can get.

The window will have a removable window plug. The idea is that when it's peaceful and snowing outside we can pull out the plug, light up the fire, and snuggle up to a chick-flick (this image practically sold the wife on the theater).

The projector will sit in a soffit above the door. I still need to research how to keep this guy well ventilate and quiet.

The AV equipment and patch panels for the entire house will go under the stairs. There will be a little door on the wall opening out to the hallway where someone can open it and access the equipment. I'm looking into getting HomeSeer to control all of the equipment (run a USB-UIRT from the room to the rack).

I've got a relatively modest budget for this bad boy (which will largely be determined by Uncle Sam). So nothing too high end. This is my first theater, and I plan on building at least two more. The equipment I'm eying at the moment is:
-Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector
-Onkyo TX-SR707
-Aperion Intimus 5B (7.1) (Figured I might as well get something pre-packaged)
-XBox 360 (used as media center extender)
-PS3

I'd love to get a blu-ray player that supports RS232 that doesn't cost a fortune. Any suggestions? I'd be happy to hear what you guys think about this in general.