We are about to embark on an adventure to finish our basement and could use any help/suggestions/wisdom regarding the layout, specifically regarding our yet-to-be-named "Miniplex" ...

I'm not very computer savvy and this is the best sketch I can give you of my current plan. Currently, the stairs are a straight shot down. I want to put a landing about three steps up and do a u-turn to give our cramped cinema some breathing room. Please check it out and tell me what you think about the layout:

http://roomplanner.icovia.com/rcwilley/resources/icovia.aspx?planID=7B0708C8-E94A-4B5F-9F3B-39ABD6245E19&

Some info about my theater. As it's drawn up now, the dimensions are about 13' x 19-1/2' x 9'. (If I don't move the bottom of the stairs, the width would only be 10')

The only way I could talk my wife into letting me do this (onaverytightbudget) was to keep a 3/4 bath/walk-in closet behind the theater with access from that room in case we or future residents want to turn it into a bedroom. I'll use the closet for my A/V equipment and DVD storage, so that will work out nicely.

Some questions I have after reading for hours and hours and feeling baffled for hours after that:

1. Our best entry option right now is on a side wall instead of at the back. Is that bad? Will it lessen the ambiance/sound quality? Should I give up storage space in the basement to build a hall on the other side of the stairway so that the entryway into the theater could be in the back?

2. With the bath/closet in the back of the room, it makes sense to have the screen on the opposite end. However, there is a 6'x4' window there. Any suggestions on covering it besides simply framing that whole wall?

3. I plan on doing staggered studs for the wall that is adjacent to stairs and our open living area in the basement. The other walls are against concrete (two of them) and against storage/closet/bathroom, so those I'll just have them done with 2x4s.

The ceiling soundproofing is the scariest part for me. Our master bath is directly above the theater room and about a 1-1/2 x 15 slice of our master bedroom is above as well. I'm considering using RSIC clips with 5/8 drywall on the ceiling. Is that enough soundproofing?

4. I want to build soffits for a few cans and have a lip that would allow the use of rope lights for that great ambiant glow. Any links for construction tips on soffits? Also, is it best to build the soffits before or after the sheetrock goes up? I've read that cans can let sound escape so I'm wondering how to tackle that problem.

5. A framer who's doing a bid for me said he'd charge $200 for the soffits, $100 for the riser, and $250 for the stage/speaker columns. I could maybe make the riser, but the other stuff scares me as I'm not very handy. Does that sound reasonable or like a rip off?

As for A/V equipment, I've only got some B&W speakers and an old Sony receiver (not sure which one). I'll try to make a DIY screen and hopefully convince my wife to let me buy a less expensive projector to start off....

3)Consider a double layer of Dw and the use of Green Glue for the ceiling in addition to the RSIC.

4) From a sound and fire-safety perspective AFTER

5) if that includes the material it's a bargain.

Tell us a little more about your thoughts for seating in this theater room and what kind of dog that is.

1. It is what it is in order to get you the room. It will be fine - just understand that some of your reflection points will fall on it. Plan on a solid core door and having some treatment on it.

2. You can easily just put up a sheet of plywood/MDF screwed into the studs around the window. Pull the trim first if it's there so you can put it back up and cover the screw holes later and not have to redo the trim. How you cover that to make it look good depends on the size of the screen. You may just be able to wrap in cloth and trim it as a backer for the screen.

3,4,5 BigMouth hit on the money.

Bryan

I know I'm not the first to get this, but my wife just asked: "Why are you obsessing so much on this ... if you worried this much about something productive ... our family room isn't decorated and you want to spend money on the theater room .... blah, blah, blah ..." She wants the theater, I guess the neurotic husband's just driving her nuts!

Anyway ... what matters is the tight budget. My projector selections down the road will probably boil down to what's on sale at Costco. But I want to cover my bases by spending time/money/brain cells the shell of the room now so I can upgrade someday when I get rich!

Thanks for the responses...

1. Definitely go with the solid core door. In fact we're going to swap out our master bed door and our kids' doors upstairs for solid core doors as well. Love that idea. Any suggestions on treatment? I'll keep poking around the site, too ...

Honestly, I guess my biggest concern about the side entry is losing the symmetrical effect of the decor and the wow factor of walking in from the back. I thought maybe I could have two columns framed out flanking the entryway and the opposite wall...

2. I like the plywood idea. We won't be putting any trim up on our windows, so that's not a worry.

3. I'll have to price GG for my ceiling. Would I also have to box out any cans and the projector mount? What about HVAC vents in the ceiling? So much to think about!

4. I'm not going to be doing my own drywall, but maybe I could throw up a strip of drywall as wide as the soffit so the framer can build that correctly before the drywallers close it up.

5. Those prices were labor only. I have to provide the materials. His base basement finishing price is $1.50 per square foot. I'm tempted to try to build the riser and towers, but I'm really, honestly not handy.

As for seating, my idea is to eventually have a row of 3 (space constraints) Berkline-type chairs on the riser, a couch or more chairs in front of that and then bean bags up front. The riser would be in the 7-8" range and eyes would be about 17' from screen. The front row would sit about 12' from screen.

Maybe I could squeeze a third riser with real theater seats along the back row and kick the other two rows up a foot? This wouldn't be ideal for the 7.1 sound I'm gonna wire for, but if it was just kids sitting back there, who cares? Or is that too much in this space?

The only way I could talk my wife into letting me do this (onaverytightbudget) was to keep a 3/4 bath/walk-in closet behind the theater with access from that room in case we or future residents want to turn it into a bedroom.

I'll try to make a DIY screen and hopefully convince my wife to let me buy a less expensive projector to start off....

Your wife must be planning a large family to need to add 3 bedrooms to the basement (I assume you already have 4 upstairs)

My recommnedation is that you tell her that for your mental health (once all 6 bedrooms are full) and for future market potential you are going to be creating your Man-Space

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020900084.html

Take out that 3/4 bath and put the money toward AV gear and a good projector.

Too funny, DC -- and I agree wholeheartedly. The 3/4 bath is currently under debate. In our original basement plans, she had this area pencilled in to be a guest room with a walk-in closet and a full bath. That seems a tad too accomodating to me, especially since it would mostly be her family using it!

We compromised that I could proceed with a theater but had to keep the bath/walk-in just in case down the road we want to turn it into a bedroom. We have three currently filled bedrooms upstairs and a fourth (w/o closet though) is my office. Bedrooms downstairs would be used as a craft room, an exercise room and a kids play room/guest room.

I'm trying to convince her that once we get this (eventual) Kick A theater, nobody in their right mind would want to mess with it and turn it into a stinking guest room.

Still, I don't hate the idea of having a close-by toilet for a quick drive-by during a movie. So I'm trying to convince her to at least let me turn it into a half-bath to give me another foot or so in the theater. She isn't budging so far. I don't know why she cares. It actually would save us some moolah right now.

P.S. The dog on the LoveSac beanbag is a pug
P.S.S. I LOVE the idea of dedicated Man-Space! That was a fun article, thanks.

Anybody have any photos of theaters with side entries that look good to ease my troubled mind?

Or any ideas on how to reconfigure the basement layout to get the preferred back entry?

I think if you read through the Sandmans Thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=574704&highlight=sandman
(it will take several days) you will see a pretty spectacular side door theater.

Here is a link to his personal site.
This link has his floor plan but if you register and look around you'll get plenty of ideas. He has organized his posts by topit there.

http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16

Or any ideas on how to reconfigure the basement layout

If you really gotta have the bath how about flipping the bath and the closet (or is it pre-plumbed?

That way you could bump out into the space (above the stairs) in the diagram and lengthen the bedroom (aka the HT) a foot or so.

Bumping out there just might work. I'll have to play with the plans. I think I've talked my wife into letting me trim that down to a half-bath from a 3/4 bath with shower.

If I could get rid of the bath altogether -- or move it to that storage space there by the stairs, then I could switch the room around, get the screen away from the window and have an entry in the rear.

And thanks for the Sandman link. It's amazing what all you guys have done.

I just drew up a sketch, which would give me an additional foot and one less shower:

http://roomplanner.icovia.com/rcwilley/resources/icovia.aspx?planID=7B0708C8-E94A-4B5F-9F3B-39ABD6245E19&

Should I keep fighting the battle with the wife on the bathroom?

How much more advantageous would a 25-foot long room be versus one that's 20-1/2-feet long? How about a room that's just one foot longer?

How many rows could I comfortably put in at 19 feet vs. 25 feet?

One worry about putting the bath/closet in that unfinished area above the stairs is that that is our only decent junk-storage space in the whole house.

Oops...I think that link took you to the old layout. Basically on the far end of this 25-foot-long room, we'd use the last 4.5 feet for a half-bath (on the left of my amazing graphic here) and the L-shaped room would be a closet for DVDs, A/V setup and "pillows and blankets" for my wife.

_________________
| | A/V |
| |_____ |
| bath closet |
|______\ /_____|
open
entry (with curtain?)
____________
| |
| riser |
| |
|___________ |

I'll try the link again....


Anybody want to give a whack at your suggested layout plans?
Anyone want to tell my wife that walking an extra 45 feet to a bathroom isn't that big of a deal? Or is having a bath so close a good thing?

Dang it -- I suck at this! Sorry.

Do what I do, just sketch it on a piece of paper, napkin or back of an envelope. Take and pic with your Digital camera and post.

I'd really like to see a plan that allows you to run the riser the full width of the room and all the way to the back wall. That would give you the most room for seating and should be the safest.

Not sure what that is behind the couch but it is preventing optimal seating position. As it is drawn now, your couch is in what we call a null. From an acoustic stand point, this is not a good thing. Optimal seating distance from the front wall where the screen will be is 2/3 back. Also, if you want to save some money, do not build your speakers into columns. This degrades the potential sound quality and since this will be a dedicated room, it should be more than acceptable to the spouse.

I'll go try to find a clean napkin ... pics coming later!

I like the full-width riser idea as well. Would you just have steps going back to the "dreaded" potty/closet area off the back of the riser?

Behind the couch is a 5-foot deep riser for more seating -- the prime seats. I tried to place seats on top of it in that program and the riser ate it. Maybe it knew the seating was too expensive for my budget ;)

I'll go try to find a clean napkin ... pics coming later!

I like the full-width riser idea as well. Would you just have steps going back to the "dreaded" potty/closet area off the back of the riser?

Behind the couch is a 5-foot deep riser for more seating -- the prime seats. I tried to place seats on top of it in that program and the riser ate it. Maybe it knew the seating was too expensive for my budget ;)

Then you are in good shape.

Steps or just a simple ramp with some rope lighting would look good and add safety.

P.S. You can set objects on top of another if you set the seat to always be on top. This should be a selectable setting somewhere.