i am in the process of designing a theater, i would like input from many others. the cost of the building is not an issue. i think i am going to stick with the size 17 feet wide 22 feet deep. 2 rows of seats, 4 and 4. i will build almost everything meaning speaker and sub boxes, risers etc. i will have a projector with a screen size of approx. 47" by 112" ( cinema scope) oh yeah, 12' ceiling. the wife is leaning toward a theme something like a tomb, or a lord of the rings type thing. anyway, like i said, any input is appreciated and think if you could build it any way you wanted, what would you do.

i am in the process of designing a theater, i would like input from many others. the cost of the building is not an issue.

That's a bad phrase to mention around these parts.

Ok, step one is you want to excavate and grade so you can have stadium seating. Depending upon the local geography, you may want to consider quarry blasting. If you're within a community or city limits, you may want to run this before the homeowners association board before trucking in the explosives.

The general recommendation is that you want the entire room to be elevated on an elaborate spring system. This will help with isolate noise just in case you happen to still have neighbors who are alive and able to hear following the blasting.

Oh yeah, and don't let these fools tell you about multiple layers of drywall, Green Glue and walls with 8" air gaps. That's for mere mortals on a budget, unlike yourself. You want double layer concrete block walls with a 2 foot air gap. A vacuum in the gap would be ideal, but it's impractical to maintain.



Alright, so you're admitting you DO have a budget. That's more than fine. Honestly, if you had no budget, then you'd probably just contract it out to a pro.

The bigger issues involved with a theater start with sound isolation. Around $1500 of subwoofers will easily put you into the range of irritating neighbors, and well into the range of not allowing anybody else in the house to sleep while you're watching stuff blow up. If you're talking about a dedicated theater, then you're not the kind of guy who wants to be requested, told or ordered by the police to turn it down a tad.

That being said, is this an existing living space? A basement? Are you building an addition to your home, a separate outbuilding? A floor plan and/or pictures would be dandy.

OK...... I should have explained myself a little better. I live in the middle of a woods, my neighbors don't bother me(i think because i have awesome guns and shoot almost every day) the local cops don't mess with me(family history with guns).i have been in construction for 17 years owned my own company for 12 of these. the building is a dedicated building. i'm not concerned with noise isolation just acoustically sound inside.

The standard acoustic treatment for inside a room is as follows...

Cover all vertical surfaces with 1" thick Dacron batting above 48" and Linacoustic duct liner below 48". Cover that combo with acoustically transparent fabric. The purpose of the batting and duct liner is to reduce echos and reverb in the room. The acoustically transparent fabric is so that the sound absorbent material can do its job.

Don't just slap up any fabric. The stuff you want has an open weave to it and doesn't burn too easy either. The two popular choices are Guilford's of Maine (GOM) FR701 and Dazian's Expo Cloth.

That combo will deal with the majority of your acoustic treatments. Bass trapping is another deal though. Low frequencies have longer waves and will mostly pass through the 1" material, bounce off the wall, pass through it again and then continue back into the room. For this, some people put up beefy bass traps in the corners. For my room I'm putting in a tray ceiling, and for the lower portion I'll be stuffing standard pink fiberglass batting to be covered with fabric.


As for isolation, I would still put in some isolation regardless. At minimum, put up a double layer of drywall inside the room with a layer of Green Glue http://www.greengluecompany.com/. I doubt you'll have a window, and your door will be solid regardless (overdo it with the weather stripping), but even then taking the extra step for some sound isolation will probably be something you'll appreciate in the end.

Sound isolation actually has beneficial effects for the acoustics inside the room as well as keeping things quiet for those outside of it. If budget is not a factor then hire an acoustician to aid in the design. This will give you better results than the cookie cutter approach that so many companies (AI?) subscribe to. Rives Audio and Dennis Erskine are two that seem to be praised by many around here. You could also get a referral from the HAA.

alright, i will say again. if you could build your theater, no worries on cost, what would you do? i can't say it any simpler than that.


an elaborate spring system.....how old are you?

if i were building from scratch i would definitely go wider than 17 feet and i would definitely have 10' ceiling at least so you can have full height over the risers.

greg

Hi Scott.

Here are some resource links that may be of interest as you consider your options

First is a link to a construction thead of the only stand alone dedicated Home theater structure I can recall on this forum. It's Gpowers at:
http://www.stargateunofficial.com/SGU_tSearch.asp

His was a 20x30 pool house of which 15x20 was dedicated to the theater.

2nd is one of my favorite construction documents of a professionally designed (Dennis Erskine) space that documents using the various accoustical treatment concepts generally accepted as resulting in a great sounding theater. His pictures inspired me to build a theater.

Kirks, Uptown Paradiso:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kirkk/uptownparadiso.html

Now as far is What would I do. I've been to a few theaters and of the one of the best sounding belongs to CurtisG who also built a Dennis Erskine design and used Triad speakers and Lexicon electronics. Curtis wrote a big check for that gear to Dennis but it sounds like it. I'd get Dennis to design the inside of your space and write him a check to go with it. You will need to figure out how to balance the desire for a space that looks like a tomb and still have decent sound.

Here is Curtis's theater, an equipment list is included:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=767522&highlight=curtisg



As for projectors, I wouldn't settle for less than one of the newer 1080P units and Talk to AVS guys about their offerings, Get a Stewart screen designed for the projector you pick.

You say you want to build your own speakers and if you want to go that route (which I did) I used the Audax HT kit

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&product=KAU&cart_id=%25Êrt_id%25%25


And used 3 subwoofers from Parts Express:
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=209
You can build your own boxes if you want I just didn't want to spend the time.

indygreg...thanks, check first post, ceiling is 12'.

alright, i will say again. if you could build your theater, no worries on cost, what would you do? i can't say it any simpler than that.


an elaborate spring system.....how old are you?

The most soundproof rooms in the world are full room within a room setups, with the concrete block and slab inner room literally on a spring suspension. It's taking the concept of decoupling a bit far, but for some specific commercial applications it is called for. It's similar in concept to how some modern buildings are made to be more earthquake resistant. There are more sane ways of doing similar for in a residential setting.


Speaking of installers, I hear these guys know their stuff: http://www.avscience.com/


With no worries on cost then I would contract it out to a professional, no question. Build the basic structure yourself, but leave all the details up to the pro. Aside from all the technical requirements, the true details that really turn a room into a theater are more along the artistic path than anything else. Also, spending 2 years building the theater yourself isn't quite the same as enjoying the use of it.

It also wouldn't be small. Even if the most people you'd ever plan on having over is a handful and even if you only put in like 6 seats, make the room big. 20 by 30 is a good start.

To me, a theater is a room that should be unlike anything else in the house. It should be a place to go and forget about the world. Think about what it's like when you go to Disney. You're in a different place and you can actually forget about your worried. It's called suspension of belief and I think it's the real goal.

That being said, at minimum I personally would have an atrium something along the lines of attempting to replicate an outdoor cafe at dusk. Have the ceiling dark blue fading into a deep purple with fiber optic stars. The wrought iron table would sit next to a sort brick wall with a bit of shrubbery at the top. I'd also replicate the facade of a small gift shop next to the cafe. Sure it sounds crazy, but a few people actually go that far and one guy even had a car in the "street".

I seriously doubt you're the cafe kind of guy, but whatever theme you go with, carry it out to an atrium and overdo it there. Few people have the space for an atrium, so don't pass up on the opportunity.

Iif this is a standalone building I'd put in 1/2 bath. It can get cold in Indiana in the winter.

I think some of us are confused by the cost is no object statement. Unless you are what I call crazy rich (assets well over 10 million dollars), there must be some limit to what you can spend. I you are crazy rich, I would get one of the most renown theater designers in from the start. A crazy rich theater will probably cost over a million dollars when it is all said and done. Now, if there is truely some limitations in the amount you are willing to spend, in terms of construction and equipment, I think proposing a budget may allow people within this forum to provide better information. A statement like, I am willing to spend $500K, $200K, $100K, $25K, or $5K, would help create a picture of what possibly could be done within your budget.

This thread has some discussion about some of the top shelf designers. I would consider them if your budget is $100K or greater.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=796413

Also, if you are crazy rich, I would gladly accept $100.00 for this post. Just PM for my address :D

The ultimate theater to me is a separate totally underground structure connected to the house via a tunnel (house side of tunnel is a hidden door). It has multiple rooms - the theater 20x30x12 minimum (likely significantly larger), control & equipment space, HVAC system/water heater/etc, media storage room, bathrooms, lounge, its own separate power/utility feeds, etc... Doubles as a safe room/shelter. Basically take all the elements of a real theater - shrink slightly - and put it underground.

Sure it sounds crazy, but a few people actually go that far and one guy even had a car in the "street".

Oh yeah! I like that idea! Something to add to my "lottery winnings" theater....

No budget = Call Dennis and get it done right. Even if you are builiding it all yourself, at least have him do the plans.

And I like the idea of a bathroom since it is a standalone room.

This is timely as I was thinking that a lot of hurdles and obstacles of having a theater in your basement or house could be solved by having a theater as a standalone building.

Also, I'm getting the idea that your budget is larger than most others due to the fact that you have a construction company and I would guess labor and materials would be minimal. Correct?

I also would recomend making theater a bit bigger, especially with 12' ceilings. I second the attached (in separate room) half bath and would also suggest a wet bar / snack area. A shooting range would also be pretty sweet.

How does your budget support hiring a consultant? The guys mantioned do great work as reported by others. You may want to look around a bit and figure out what you want your equipment to be... PJ, speakers, 5.1 or 7.1, front projection / rear projection. For instance, a 12' ceiling might be tough on a PJ with limited throw distance / angle.

The movie themed theaters are neat (star Trek, LOTR, Batman, etc.) But you may get tired of them and hobbits make me nervous. I would like a Mediteranean themed one, like a Tuscan / Meissner plaze but that's just me.

THIS (http://www.elitehts.com/home.htm) has some pretty wild setups.

THIS (http://www.hometheatergallery.com/html/theater_design.html#) is a company near me.

I think the Tuscan styled theater was Jerry Bruckenheimer, but I could be wrong. I think it was an ad for a JVC digital several years ago.

Also, you might want to post a budget before thegeek designs a flux capacitor bass shaker for you.

edit: if you are doing scope - the runco cinewide is pretty sweet. Either that or a blended pair of G-90's.

Also, you may want to post your locale.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that Runco makes a $250,000.00 projector. Would this fit in the budget? I bet it is pretty sweet and I suspect you would get top of the line service with the purchase. Apparently it weighs about 150 lbs, so you would really have to beef up the mounting location.

hello all........in my very first post i stated" cost of the building doesn't matter". not cost of the projector, super sonic bass, or those damn springs!! (i'm still chuckl'n over that one!

gonzo, i'm in indiana. and i was looking at around 30,000 for a projector. 250,000 would mean i would have to sell two of my occ bikes. that's not gonna happen.

30K for projector...so maybe 100K for the equipment? I would definitely get a consultant. One of the most important things is that your equipment works well together and is set up properly. You can have a bunch of expensive equipment that really does not work well together, or a room that no matter how much you spend will not sound good. I think money spent on a good designer/consultant will probably be the best investment you make in your theater.

I may be showing my ignorance here, but what is an occ bike?

indygreg...thanks, check first post, ceiling is 12'.

Nope, it is a 9' ceiling............ the theater is 15' x 20'.

Budget what is that?? My only advise plan plan plan, better still contact Denise E. or Terry M. buy the plans be safe it will pay off in long run.