I am considering purchasing the house with the floor plan shown below and turning the game room into my second home theater. I am still in the dreaming stage since no decisions have been finalized but I thought some people may like to dream with me. The room is essentially a bonus room. There are 2 steps that drop you down into it. The ceiling is 8 feet high but the side walls come up about 4.5 feet and then angle in. There is a flat spot on the ceiling but I foolishly forgot a tape measure when I walked through the model today. Imagine my heartbreak.

Equipment I have to start with:


Sony VPL-HS51
Fronts: Paradigm Reference Seriese 40s
Rears: Paradigm Reference Series 40s
Center: Paradigm Reference CC
Sub: Paradigm Servo 15
Screen: Stewart FireHawk 100" Diagonal with Deluxe Border
Aura Bass Shakers
Xbox 360 Gaming System
Denon 3801
1 Row of 3 Coaster Studio theater seats
Other random stuff that's probably not so important for this discussion


Questions I am currently considering:


What sound proofing can/should I do? Only 1 wall is shared with the living area. The room has attic above and garage below. Could I get away with no sound proofing or only sound proofing the one wall? Will sound transfer through the ceiling?
I am only planning on a single row of seating at this point in time as the theater is used by 1-2 people for 95% of the time. Do I have enough room for a false wall in front?
What should I do with the equipment rack?
Can I fit a drink fridge somewhere?
What can I do with my bookshelf sized rear speakers (Paradigm Reference Series 40s)
I am planning to place the screen wall where the window is shown. Good?
What else should I consider?


http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/3610/picture3wa.png

My 2 cents worth follow. Nice floor plan on the rest of the house BTW.

2. I am only planning on a single row of seating at this point in time as the theater is used by 1-2 people for 95% of the time. Do I have enough room for a false wall in front?
If you have a 2' deep false wall, first row could be at 12' and you'd have 2'+ behind that for isle. Sounds like a plan to me.

3. What should I do with the equipment rack?
Can you cut a hole in either side wall and mount a slide out rack there? Not many options in my opinion.

4. Can I fit a drink fridge somewhere?
Same as the rack.

7. I am planning to place the screen wall where the window is shown. Good?
Plug the window.

I am considering purchasing the house with the floor plan shown below and turning the game room into my second home theater. I am still in the dreaming stage since no decisions have been finalized but I thought some people may like to dream with me. The room is essentially a bonus room.

wow, great timing. i built my own theater 1.0 while following your build and i'm moving out on saturday to build a new house, and one possibility has a floorplan a lot like yours. just got on today to look at soundproofing options for an upstairs room.



Questions I am currently considering:


What sound proofing can/should I do? Only 1 wall is shared with the living area. The room has attic above and garage below. Could I get away with no sound proofing or only sound proofing the one wall? Will sound transfer through the ceiling?
I am only planning on a single row of seating at this point in time as the theater is used by 1-2 people for 95% of the time. Do I have enough room for a false wall in front?
What should I do with the equipment rack?
Can I fit a drink fridge somewhere?
What can I do with my bookshelf sized rear speakers (Paradigm Reference Series 40s)
I am planning to place the screen wall where the window is shown. Good?
What else should I consider?


i've done some tests around my basement theater which has double drywall, green glue, and a solid exterior door. i know there are better soundproofing techniques, but it was fine in a basement with all bedrooms on the top floor (2 floors up). however, it is just isn't good enough sound isolation for an adjacent bedroom, based on my tests last night. so if someone would be sleeping in that adjoining bedroom of yours, i would definitely look for more soundproofing than dd/gg.

in another plan i'm looking at, i would build a room-within-a-room in a 1st floor space with 9' ceilings, so i could still have an 8' theater ceiling. if you step down into your bonus room, something like that may be an option, but with a sloped roof it sounds tough. but another big concern i have with a 2nd floor theater is sound leaking through the floor. neither one of us is looking at a bedroom or living room directly beneath, but i wonder how bad the lack of floor soundproofing is to the rest of the house.

equipment rack...if that bedroom is a guest room or something, you could mount the equipment in that wall so you have rear access from the bedroom, although that wouldn't help the soundproofing any. you could possibly something with the utility room (if stackable washer/dryer) is an option, or even the linen closet. fridge could go in there too. obviously you could stick it in a rack in the room somewhere, but i prefer to have the equipment outside myself.

and i would definitely project on the window wall (after sticking in some blinds and walling it off), but that roof line concerns me for the width of your screen.

i'll let the speaker experts throw out ideas for those. i'd just get mounts big enough and stick them on the wall. or get smaller rear speakers so i could do that (and let the sub do the heavy lifting).

house has a great floorplan. good luck with the design.

Actually, I have no ability to change anything about the room before the house is built. This is not a custom or even semi custom builder. They build these places fast and in the same way every time to keep costs down. So, I am going to be delivered the room as shown. In thinking about it a bit more, I am considering selling a pair of my 40s and buying some ADP to address the rear surround issue. I can mount those to the side or rear walls.

I would agree on using Bedroom #2 as either your office with some wall changing to accomodate your equipment rack, etc. or as an entry room/bar/? to the theater. Besides, the downstairs "Study" makes more sense as a guest bedroom -- away from your family bedrooms and it has what seems to be its own bath for all intents and purposes.

At first I thought you move the washer or dryer (one of them) forward and turned so its door would be to your right when standing at the door. Then put your rack there in the corner -- however, you then have to overcome washer/dryer noise transfering to your theater room -- no good.

Guess it depends how many bedrooms you need as bedrooms!

Nice general house floorplan by the way, I like it.

[QUOTENice general house floorplan by the way, I like it.[/QUOTE]

ALways makes me wonder

Where is the second closet in the master bedroom? No woman on Earth wants to share a closet like that (Look! I can put all my shoes on THIS wall!).

And why do they INSIST on putting a window over the tub? Then you have to climb INTO the tub to open the window or the shade.

And am I missing something? Where do you hang your coat?

Decision has been made to use bedroom 2 as an office. No one will be sleeping there, at least for next few years.

My wife is an engineer like I. She hates shopping for clothes. So, we're good with that closet.

Dunno about the tub window. I had one at the last house but never touched it. It simply let some nice natural light into the bathroom.

There is a rather sizable coat closet under the stairs. It says "Coats" on the floorplan.

Most of the new houses built now use glass block windows over the tub

Or frosted glass. My first house had a frosted glass window that didn't open so you got all the benefits of the light it lets in without privacy issues.

Our current house has a double window with clear glass and it opens. We opted to not install any blinds since it would be a pain to operate. Instead we chose to install a decorative window film. It looks very nice and again, still lets the light in.

Here are some images from the walk through we did the other day. The floorplan was flipped in the model.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3338/2009112210.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4011/2009112211.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/5323/2009112212.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1535/2009112213.jpg

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6695/2009112214.jpg

There is a rather sizable coat closet under the stairs. It says "Coats" on the floorplan.


It's blurry on my monitor. Now that you say that, I can make out what it says. Overall, it's great floor plan. Doesn't look like a lot of wasted space with hallways, etc.

in out bathroom, I installed the blinds that open from the bottom OR the top. You can let the light in from the top and still not be seen from the outside. Funny thing is the exact model is across the street. I guess one of these days I should tell them to pull the shade.

As much as I like my floorplan, I wish I had that first floor study.

Here are Pass 1 Renders. A couple of concerns so far:

I am showing some ADP rear speakers. The aisles are already tight with the sloping ceiling. These make it worse.
I am not sure where to put the equipment. Wife is not open to putting it in a different room. She thinks I should build a ceiling level shelf in the back of the room and put most of it up there.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/742/newtheaterpass10001.jpg

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/641/newtheaterpass10002.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7092/newtheaterpass10003.jpg

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7092/newtheaterpass10003.jpg

I'm onto you Reaper ! You're not the mystical man of magic that you once were!

I have now purchased "Rhino" Version 4, plus the rendering software "Brazil." Your days are numbered.

Well, that's my scariest intro. Please take it all tongue in cheek, and honestly you're still the Render Man. Having dived into this software (it's FUN isn't it) I can now appreciate the effort needed to create a good rendered image. I mean, LOTS of effort.

Having said that, it actually IS possible to create some damn good (non-existent) scenery. That's the whole point of 3d modeling and rendering, of course. See it before you build it. Did an airplane or two, plus my upstairs renovations, and now that I think of it, I really should model the unfinished theater.

Keep 'em coming. Your images are very inspirational.

Cheers, Tom.

I'm onto you Reaper ! You're not the mystical man of magic that you once were!

Hehe... that's cool. I look forward to seeing some of your work and learning from you. I certainly could do better myself.

I'm moving to get away from clipped ceilings. You want my house?

Looks about the same square footage (2150), but mine is all one level except for a larger (14' x 19') bonus room over the garage. 5 minutes from RTP.

Sounds like you are close but the sq footage is a bit low for me. This plan is nearly 3000.

Pass 2. Thinking it will be easier to build/attach panels to the false wall than to cover the wall as originally shown. Also, considering 6.1 surround sound.

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8656/newtheaterpass20001.jpg

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/771/newtheaterpass20002.jpg

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/2298/newtheaterpass20003.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2771/newtheaterpass20004.jpg

Speaker positioning:

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7172/newtheaterpass2speakers.png

Can't give credit to the builder, but his design ideas might work for you...

Av rack framed in, and flush the kick wall.

The soffit design could provide cabling runs and accomodate some spot lights, if the electronics get mounted up high at the back of the room. (And that black cave is going to need lots of lights...;) )

If the bedroom 2 is going to be used as an office, an av closet could be framed in there.

Been considering different color schemes and sound treatment options. I have a question... is there some easy way to put these dramatic down lights above the panels and make them controllable by the wall switch *without* running power over there? Or is it best to run the power?

WRT to the color schemes, I like the panels with more character to them in the 2nd image down. But I don't like the darker paint that accompanies them. I like the lighter paint in the first image but the panels are boring.

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5329/newtheaterpass40002.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3646/newtheaterpass50002.jpg

Reaper - with the bedroom 2 being an office, is there an opportunity to turn it into a projector room too. Then you could put equipment, media, a fridge, etc all in there, and keep those noise makers out of the theater. Might pose some sound isolation issues, but would be a step forward for your noise floor. There is a killer example in the Big Red theater if memory serves.

Welcome to the 2.0 dreaming posse. Sorry I missed the thread earlier. Renders look great as usual. For downlighting the panels (cool look) and controlling/dimming them, I am guessing you'd probably prefer to have them hard wired.

Unfortunately, no. The bedroom next door will be my wife's office and she has effectively thwarted all of my attempts to steal her space. I think you're right about having the outlets there. Now I need to decide if I pay a contractor/builder some big $$ to put those in, forget about them or try to wire them myself after we move in. There's an attic above this space but it will have a lot of blown insulation making wiring difficult.

There's an attic above this space but it will have a lot of blown insulation making wiring difficult.

I doubt will be blown insulation over a vaulted space...... I know they use the standard fluffy stuff in my vaulted area and blown elsewhere.

Can you not use areas behind the knee wall for your equipment? Or is that the outside wall? Looking at the floorplan you should have a couple of feet behind those walls. Or, what about the linen closet across from the entrance?

I doubt will be blown insulation over a vaulted space...... I know they use the standard fluffy stuff in my vaulted area and blown elsewhere.

Same here. Not to mention it is difficult to get all the way to the end of the room to blow it in.

Good to know BritInVA. I hope they do that for me too.

I'll have to consider the built in rack. I definitely like that idea...

Still playing with colors (don't like the panels in this one) but the interesting idea here is to build 45 degree angled panels in the back corners of the room to conceal the floor standing speakers and possibly some more acoustical treatments. I like how it looks... seems more finished.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7213/newtheaterpass70004.jpg

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1705/newtheaterpass70003.jpg

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/7082/newtheaterpass70002.jpg

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/9863/newtheaterpass70001.jpg

Not tempted to go scope on the screen? Or AT?

The panels do dress the front a bit. Subtle but nice.

Tempted but I already own a pricey 16:9 screen and I'd say 90% of the content I enjoy is 16:9. So, I am resisting that temptation :)

Reaper, would your wife let you at least put part of the rack in her office? If I remember right it would only go about 2 feet into the room at most and if you put it in the corner, it wouldn't take too much room up.

Ya know... that would be nice. I know she said "no" already but maybe I'll take a second look. She's a geek too (mechanical engineer) and already has autocad layouts of furniture placements for every room in the house. I'll ask her for the office layout and see if I could squeeze something in there. I guess then, I'd have to run some wires through the wall, but it may be worthwhile if only to get the Xbox 360 noise maker out of the room. :P

It's a little hard to read since the room layout is flipped from the floorplan posted above but wow, she has it packed...

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2782/bedroom2.jpg

So, I got confirmation from an official contractor to Lennar, that they are able/willing to provide sound isolation services for my theater. So, here are my choices...

1. I can receive the house with the room finished and no sound isolation. If that happens, I'd have to live with it, band-aid the problem as best I could, or rip it all out and do it again.

2. I can pay this company to sound isolate the room.

I am leaning towards option 2 but I have no idea what services they provide nor how much they charge. Curious if anyone has any experience paying someone for this service and how much it is worth. I would like isolation clips, double drywall and green glue with sealed openings but I don't know if they'd do that.

I would wager that their idea of sound isolation and yours are different. Find out their scope of services.

So I just had chat with the contractor and we discussed the idea of using some type of heavy duty mat that would go underneath the carpet pad to reduce bass vibration through the floor. He also discussed using sound isolation clips on the walls to reduce bass transfer through the walls. We discussed the idea of ensuring holes in the walls were closed up (like vents). He said he'd ask the builder about that.

But the final interesting though was that I asked him for a ball park quote on just the isolation clips. He ran some calculations and came back with about $3000. I was kind of hoping in my head (without any real knowledge of the cost of this stuff) that the total for all the sound isolation would be closer to $2k.

So, now I am considering questions such as:

1. How much cost would it be for me to rip out the drywall, install the clips myself and re-do the drywall?

2. Is this floor pad thing worth it considering the garage is beneath the room. Will sound transfer through the floor to the other bedrooms upstairs or other rooms downstairs?

Send a PM to Ted White. He might know more about the pad. Make sure he was talking about using clips, nor just resilient channel.

My guess is the most you could hope for is staggered studs, insulate all walls and double drywall from most tract housing builders.

I just called a random web company that sells sound isolation clips and they said that a ballpark for the clips is about $1000. So, given that, a $3k installation price from this guy means $2k for a few hours of labor. That seems high to me. One possible difference is that this company I called recommends QuietClip:

http://www.soundisolationcompany.com/sound-solutions/walls/quietclip/

Whereas the official contractor was talking about using some type of clips with bars?

I am now wondering if I can twist the builder's arm into letting me use a different (cheaper) contractor to install the clips or if these clips are just less effective and less costly than what the other company would install.

Your guy sounds like he is using RSIC-V clips which are a bit cheaper than RSIC-01 clips (and perform a bit worse than RSIC-01 w/LFE). They are $2/clip vs $4-5 a clip.

It would be a lot cheaper then $3000 to rip the drywall off, install the clips and drywall by yourself.

How can I tell which clip is which? For instance, that QuietClip I linked above... is it 1 or v?

1 or V are PAC Intl clips. There are a few other products out there. That one appears similar in design to the 01s.

Ted White gives a lot of advice here. Drop him a note via pm, or here is his website:

http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/

Well, the builder made the decision for me... no sound isolation may be installed during the build. So, it looks like a room tear down after move-in!

See if you can get a builder credit for not finishing the room. Even if its only 2-3k it saves you from demo-ing all the drywall etc.. If they just used faced insulation and left the floor bare with a sealed utility door, im pretty sure that would meet code. Its worth a ask.

Tried that as well. They refuse to deliver the room unfinished. In many ways, it's a relief. Now I don't have to make a decision and I know I can get it done right. Erm, well, I think I can :)

Sorry about your hassles. Perhaps my comments are moot at this point.

I would not rush to use clips on the walls, but rather look to decouple via the framing. Clips are good for ceilings, as secondary framing is difficult on ceilings.

The mat can be used but needs to have much more done to prevent noise transference.

IMHO, arrogant builder who can't be bothered with custom features. Probably barely hanging on financially and is scarred of attempting anything that might consume more time and money than he wants to spend.

Well, the builder is Lennar, a fortune 500 company. Not sure if they fit your description or not.

Ted, I always appreciate any feedback about the theater. I'm here to learn and share. If I get a room that is already framed, how would I decouple the framing? Do you have a link I can read that describes the procedure involved?

If you are suggesting creating a room within a room type of idea, I would worry that I am already a bit tight on space.

Also, how important do you think it is to redo the floor with a second layer of flooring material... perhaps with green glue in between? I want to keep the sound from bothering people in the house in the bedrooms or living space on the first floor. But since the room is above the garage, I am not sure how much is needed on the floor of this room.

Ted, I always appreciate any feedback about the theater. I'm here to learn and share. If I get a room that is already framed, how would I decouple the framing? Do you have a link I can read that describes the procedure involved?

http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/library/articles/staggered_stud_wall_construction/

If you are suggesting creating a room within a room type of idea, I would worry that I am already a bit tight on space.

This will work by bumping out the framing as little as 1/2"

Also, how important do you think it is to redo the floor with a second layer of flooring material... perhaps with green glue in between? I want to keep the sound from bothering people in the house in the bedrooms or living space on the first floor. But since the room is above the garage, I am not sure how much is needed on the floor of this room.

You could go a few ways with the floor. Depends on how much space you can give up. You could add another sheet of subfloor on top of what you have now, or add a few layers. You're looking for damped mass.

Well, the builder is Lennar, a fortune 500 company. Not sure if they fit your description or not.


Basically the same. It is just a different scale, Last 12mo they lost 400+ million on revenues over $3 billion.

As I've said many times in other threads the Home Buyer is King in this market. If you want a room with special sound proofing treatments, negotiate it as part of the original contract. Of course this assumes you know what to ask for.

Ted I see this as an opportunity for you to write a white paper/check list on this topic. Something that home buyers could take to the table when meeting with a builder.

Basically the same. It is just a different scale, Last 12mo they lost 400+ million on revenues over $3 billion.

As I've said many times in other threads the Home Buyer is King in this market. If you want a room with special sound proofing treatments, negotiate it as part of the original contract.

I agree with Big. Any builder that isn't willing to work with a buyer to give the buyer what he wants isn't worth anything. The buyer is king. Find a builder that will work with you.

I agree with Big. Any builder that isn't willing to work with a buyer to give the buyer what he wants isn't worth anything. The buyer is king. Find a builder that will work with you.

The sad thing is while I agree 100% with Big and yourself, the builder knows that when 1 well educated buyer walks away from a deal 2 more uneducated push-overs are waiting outside.

Just be careful.

A builder called "THP" was the #1 builder in the area. Not sure if fortune 500, but nobody ever saw this comming.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/TH-Properties-Stops-Down.html

Ted I see this as an opportunity for you to write a white paper/check list on this topic. Something that home buyers could take to the table when meeting with a builder.

Hmmmm... Might such a thing get used?

the builder knows that when 1 well educated buyer walks away from a deal 2 more uneducated push-overs are waiting outside.


Those days are over. Around here agents are willing to lie down in the middle of the road to get cars to stop for an open house.

My thoughts... I'd look elsewhere. (unless you've already bought).

Bedroom 2 is too close (hope you don't have kids). Upstairs in general will preclude loud viewing at night.
Room size smallish.
Sloped ceilings create difficult acoustics.
That Window at the front likely cannot be eliminated

I think you could dream a little better:)

Hmmmm... Might such a thing get used?

I see your point, home buyers don't know what they don't know. It would take some clever promotion. Last year new home sales were only 370,000, down from over a million annually.

I wonder what it would take to get 1% penetration

I agree with you, thebland, the room is certainly not ideal. I was hoping for something larger, straight walls, no windows. The unfortunate reality in Raleigh is that very few houses have basements which adds to the issue. There are other factors involved here too, price, location, WAF. The bottom line is that this is what I've got to work with and I feel somewhat lucky to have anything. It was looking precarious for a while there. Thought I might be ending up with a house where no theater could be built. So here I am and I'm going to make a go of it and try to get a usable room.

Ted, Thanks for the link! That was a great read! I never really looked into staggered stud construction much and therefore didn't know much about it. I can see how it'd be better than isolation clips. I also didn't realize I could retrofit my room with it and it would take up so little space. So, I am now pretty excited about it and thinking I may go that way. However, I still feel like I have a ton of questions about isolating the room... questions that need answering :P. Luckily, now I have lots of time to read and chat about it. Maybe I'll make a list here and fill in the answers as I go along. You guys can feel free to help .. or not. As always, I appreciate advice and links. I'm going to start by reading through the rest of the site that Ted linked me to. A few years back, I would have poured over it 3 times by now. But since we just welcomed our 3rd child into the world a few weeks ago and work ramped up at the same time, I am just trying to find time to post and read what you guys have said.


How do I reduce sound penetration through the vertical portion of the walls?
Answer: Current plan is to do staggered stud retrofitting with double drywall and green glue as suggested by Ted. http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/library/articles/staggered_stud_wall_construction/
How do I reduce sound penetration through the angled portion of the walls?
How do I reduce sound penetration through the ceiling?
How do I treat the floor?
What do I do about the ventilation into the room, especially this hole they cut above the doorway? The heating unit is located inside the house on the second floor. To allow the unit to suck air from the rooms, they cut these big holes above each door. Can I seal it up? Will the room get stuffy? http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6695/2009112214.jpg
What do I do with outlets? Seal 'em with caulk?
Do I somehow seal the top and bottom of the drywall to the ceiling/floor? Is the drywall finishing sufficient for this?
If I pull the carpet after I move in and do the staggered stud upgrade, will a carpet installer be able to lay the original carept down and trim it properly?

I agree with you, thebland, the room is certainly not ideal. I was hoping for something larger, straight walls, no windows. The unfortunate reality in Raleigh is that very few houses have basements which adds to the issue. There are other factors involved here too, price, location, WAF. The bottom line is that this is what I've got to work with and I feel somewhat lucky to have anything. It was looking precarious for a while there. Thought I might be ending up with a house where no theater could be built. So here I am and I'm going to make a go of it and try to get a usable room.


That is a great attitude to have Reaper! I know all to well about the lack of basements. It seems like you have to custom build your own in order to get one around here too. Where in Raleigh is the new house? We have some friends that live in Four Oaks.


Ted, Thanks for the link! That was a great read! I never really looked into staggered stud construction much and therefore didn't know much about it. I can see how it'd be better than isolation clips. I also didn't realize I could retrofit my room with it and it would take up so little space. So, I am now pretty excited about it and thinking I may go that way. However, I still feel like I have a ton of questions about isolating the room... questions that need answering :P. Luckily, now I have lots of time to read and chat about it. Maybe I'll make a list here and fill in the answers as I go along. You guys can feel free to help .. or not. As always, I appreciate advice and links. I'm going to start by reading through the rest of the site that Ted linked me to. A few years back, I would have poured over it 3 times by now. But since we just welcomed our 3rd child into the world a few weeks ago and work ramped up at the same time, I am just trying to find time to post and read what you guys have said.


How do I reduce sound penetration through the vertical portion of the walls?
Answer: Current plan is to do staggered stud retrofitting with double drywall and green glue as suggested by Ted. http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/library/articles/staggered_stud_wall_construction/
How do I reduce sound penetration through the angled portion of the walls?
How do I reduce sound penetration through the ceiling?
How do I treat the floor?
What do I do about the ventilation into the room, especially this hole they cut above the doorway? The heating unit is located inside the house on the second floor. To allow the unit to suck air from the rooms, they cut these big holes above each door. Can I seal it up? Will the room get stuffy? http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6695/2009112214.jpg
What do I do with outlets? Seal 'em with caulk?
Do I somehow seal the top and bottom of the drywall to the ceiling/floor? Is the drywall finishing sufficient for this?
If I pull the carpet after I move in and do the staggered stud upgrade, will a carpet installer be able to lay the original carept down and trim it properly?



2,3 I think for that you will need to either use clips and hat channel or come up with a clever way to use new ceiling joists on top of the new staggered stud wall.

8. If you are careful in removing the carpet it should be able to be used again. Just store it in a dry place and cover it up with some plastic!

Ted has a whole bunch of articles on the other soundproofing questions. If you PM him with your email he will send some to you.

5) Forced air HVAC systems are push/pull systems and you need both supplies and returns in a sealed room to achieve any decent cooling/heating. IMHO your biggest challenge will be cooling it in the hot summer months. When you tear down the walls you should really check all the insulation and make sure that it is the best that it can be.

As for those holes over the doorways they probably communicate some where to a ducted return vent. Maybe the return is in the ceiling in the hallway? If you block it up you really need to replace it with some return pathway to the air handler. If you could run a duct using true acoustical duct from the theater room to the existing return duct work, that would probably be your best bet.

You could run it to somewhere outside the room that is connected to a space serviced by a return duct. You could also use a nearly silent in-line or bathroom exhaust fan to boost the flow and increase the air exchanges in the room.

When I say true acoustical duct here is one example:
http://www.flexmasterusa.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=lI%2fL68olSC4%3d&tabid=67 The difference to regular flex duct is the liner.

If price is no object you could install a dedicated HVAC unit just for the theater and then none of the ductwork would connect with the rest of the house. A good number of guys here have had Mini-split systems installed in their theater spaces. These are ductless coolers/heaters that have a compressor outside and a fan and coils housed in a wall mounted unit. You still need to provide fresh air to the space.

Need to read though some of these responses and more data. But in the meantime, I have some images of the framed out room:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/540/2010021340.jpg

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4769/2010021332.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/247/2010021331.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1977/2010021330.jpg

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3905/2010021329.jpg

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/2421/2010021328.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6500/2010021327.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2569/2010021326.jpg

Back to crazy work and the crying baby...

I agree with you, thebland, the room is certainly not ideal. I was hoping for something larger, straight walls, no windows. The unfortunate reality in Raleigh is that very few houses have basements which adds to the issue. There are other factors involved here too, price, location, WAF. The bottom line is that this is what I've got to work with and I feel somewhat lucky to have anything.

Well, IMO, a house is a MAJOR investment and I wouldn't consider purchasing one unless it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Before having our house built 6 years ago, we looked for almost 1.5 years. We found some that were close, but none that were perfect. We had a list of 20 some items that were non-negotiable in the home we'd buy (good space for a theater being one fo them). I'm very glad we waited.

We don't have basements here either, so it had to have a space for a theater (one of our requirements among many). I know everyone's priorities are different, but I was not willing to pay for a house for the next 30 years that wasn't exactly what I wanted.

I realize, of course, that not everyone thinks that way.

The longest I have stayed in any one home is 4.5 years. I'm 33 and this is my 3rd home. May explain the difference in perspective.

The longest I have stayed in any one home is 4.5 years. I'm 33 and this is my 3rd home. May explain the difference in perspective.

Maybe. My 6 year stay in this home is my longest ever too (it's the longest I've ever had the same address in my life - including childhood). I'm 45 and this is the fifth house I've purchased. Even though history is a good indicator of the future, you never know. Each time I've purchased a house, I've done so with the thought that I would spend the rest of my life there - even though I know that probably won't happen.

Well, IMO, a house is a MAJOR investment and I wouldn't consider purchasing one unless it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Before having our house built 6 years ago, we looked for almost 1.5 years. We found some that were close, but none that were perfect. We had a list of 20 some items that were non-negotiable in the home we'd buy (good space for a theater being one fo them). I'm very glad we waited.

We don't have basements here either, so it had to have a space for a theater (one of our requirements among many). I know everyone's priorities are different, but I was not willing to pay for a house for the next 30 years that wasn't exactly what I wanted.

I realize, of course, that not everyone thinks that way.

No basement in my home either (well, sort of... it is for storage only as it is small). We have basements all over Michigan but I didn't want a basement theater... I am not a fan of basements but fully understand that homes with a dedicated room on the first floor are rare (we built our home, so I was able to put my theater right where I wanted it - off the family room).

I agree with Stu, if home theater is that important, keep looking.. the right house will show up at some (unknown) point. My wife felt the kitchen had to be perfect. Regarding the OP, I would say a basement theater is far better than a small bedroom theater - for many reasons (too close to sleeping kids, Windows, small, etc).. The home we renovated had the right floor plan to make it such. Be patient, you'll eventually get everything you want.