My wife and I are getting a home designed for us with a few specific items that we really want, but the biggest item we want is a home theatre. Right now we have a few options to keep it seperate from the other rooms in the house so it doesn't affect anyone late at night.

We're thinking of a bonus room above the garage, or building it under the garage. One builder told us it would be cheaper to go below, and the other said that we'd have moisture problems if do that. We going to have a basement apparentment as well, but we'd be able fully soundproof that section by building it a few feet away underneath the garage.

We're in Northern Ontario where the weather fluctates quite a bit.

I'd like to get your opinions on which way would be better in the long run.

I vote for under the garage, though there are specific design elements that need to be considered for either location. Are you planning to hire a real professional to design this for you? If so find a good one there are a lot of hacks out there along with the good ones.

If not then you need to spend some serious time on here reading there is SO much to consider if you want a really great result.

But I do think the under garage is the way to go but be SURE you get all the height you can get, I know that could be a problem there.

Good Afternoon Shane,

My wife and I are in a similar phase; we are going to excavate under the garage for a dedicated 22X26X10 HT room. Operating in a concrete bunker should isolate/decouple the HT well from the rest of the home; however, I'm still investigating how this will impact the sonic performance.

Larry

I don't know if I could ever truly relax with my car over my head. That being said, I think I'm in a similar boat. We just came from our first meeting with our architect and he's recommending putting the HT under the house in a basement. I think this makes a cheaper HT in the long run (meaning less expensive to build, not lower quality).

But pay CLOSE attention to what McCall said about height.

Unless you've got an underground river, you should be able to build a moisture free garage. That doesn't mean you WILL get one, just means it can be done. Find the lot, take water table samples to be sure. And, by that I mean, hire a professional. I live in northern alabama and all of the builders here will tell you that they can't do a moisture free garage. But this is just because they don't want to build it. If you insist, they'll do it, it just costs more.

I'm hoping to have at least 12 foot ceilings for under the garage, but another option would be a basement under the basement. I've seen that in a few homes, and it does scare me a little about the cars being parked above my head, but I know a few other architects (friends of mine) who I can pass this by.

The rough estimate for this room will be 24x24x12. I'm hoping to cut a small portion of that off for a media library and washroom.

I'm not so worried about moisture in the garage itself, but in the HT room under it. If I had the proper ventilation I believe it can be done without any issues.

Do you get nervous in parking structures? In the bottom floor of big buildings? Underneath bridges?

My point: As long as you do everything with an engineer's approval, which you must of course, then you'll be plenty safe with a suspended slab under the garage.

Sincerely, a person who's still kicking himself that he didn't spend the extra time/money to research doing that while building his house..... (I ended up with a 12.5x20.5 theater instead of what could have easily been 20x25 or 15x25 underneath my garages).

I didn't mean to imply I had any real concerns that the garage floor would give way. Just that I think I'd always have that in the back of my mind. Yeah, you need approval, but the engineer that gives it could be a moron, distracted, or psychotic. But yes, it is very possible to build this structurally safe, and I was not saying it was a real problem.

I'm hoping to have at least 12 foot ceilings for under the garage, but another option would be a basement under the basement. I've seen that in a few homes, and it does scare me a little about the cars being parked above my head, but I know a few other architects (friends of mine) who I can pass this by.

The rough estimate for this room will be 24x24x12. I'm hoping to cut a small portion of that off for a media library and washroom.

I'm not so worried about moisture in the garage itself, but in the HT room under it. If I had the proper ventilation I believe it can be done without any issues.

If you care about your sound you absolutely do NOT want 24x24x12. Square is bad for acoustics and so is any multiple of itself for instance 12 x 24 would also be bad. you might try something like 24 x20x 11 or something of that nature.

If you care about your sound you absolutely do NOT want 24x24x12. Square is bad for acoustics and so is any multiple of itself for instance 12 x 24 would also be bad. you might try something like 24 x20x 11 or something of that nature.

What she said. Although I think this is kind-of handled by the statement that you'll be cutting room out for a media library and washroom. Just my $.02, but I think long theaters look better. If I were doing 24' length, I'd probably do about 16' width. Depends heavily on screen / seating requirements. At 16' width, your seating choice may require a single aisle and would likely be limited to 4 seats wide, assuming you want fat plush seats.

Is that 24x24x12 the "superstructure" with plans for a room-in-room design, or is it the actual interior dimension of the finished room?

yes cutting out one side to add auxillary rooms would work. My building is actually about 18.5 by 18.5 but my theater is 18.5 x 14.5, with the concession, equipment and media storage rooms through a door on the right, and a closet on the stage to the left. [it was there stage and all when I started]

Is that 24x24x12 the "superstructure" with plans for a room-in-room design, or is it the actual interior dimension of the finished room?

The room will end up being 16x24x10 in the end. With the media library/washroom/stairs/equipment room taking up the remainder of the space.

That's the exterior walls of the room.

The room will end up being 16x24x10 in the end. With the media library/washroom/stairs/equipment room taking up the remainder of the space.

That's the exterior walls of the room.

Have you picked out your seating width and basic wall structure yet? My initial 2 designs for mine did not adequately house my seating (with a usable aisle on each side), and if you are building soundproof walls just keep in mind they'll be thicker than the standard wall.

Id do it in the basement. The other posters are right - make sure you get the highest ceilings that your budget can handle. It will make a world of difference. I have 8' now and would love another 1-2 feet.

Have you picked out your seating width and basic wall structure yet? My initial 2 designs for mine did not adequately house my seating (with a usable aisle on each side), and if you are building soundproof walls just keep in mind they'll be thicker than the standard wall.

I have not picked out seating yet, but my current room is only 11ft wide and couldn't handle the seating I wanted. So, in the new place it will fit nicely with room to spare.

The walls will be soundproofed, and I have taken that into account and it'll be the other rooms that take the hit so the HT room might end up 16x23 or so.