Hello everyone. Happy Labor Day and I hope you are all enjoying your day.

First I want to thank everyone who posts on AVS. I have mostly been a lurker for many years, gathering information from the very knowledgeable folks who post here. Thanks to many of you who unknowingly helped me out over the years.

I have had a "theater areas" in the past but not really a dedicated Home
Theater. With the purchase of a new house a few months ago, I have decided to build a home theater in the basement. Unfortunately, the area is not "ideal" for the theater. Half of the basement has already been finished by the previous owner so I am stuck with some constraints. I have sketched around 12 or so "ideas" but none have really stood out in my mind and all have there problems. Since this is my first build, I was looking to you all to give some pratical knowledge and ideas on how I can design the theater given my constraints. Included is a sketchup picture of my basement with the measurements of the area I would like to convert. Some of the constraints are below.

1) Want at least 4 seats for the theater. (4X1, 2X2)
2) Since the area is finished already, I do not want to tear down to scratch. I am willing to alter some walls and add additional lengths to walls.
3) Ceiling is ~8 ft in some areas, but HVAC creates areas of 6.5 ft height.


Any help is appreciated. As I mentioned I have racked my brain with many concepts but I need the practical knowledge and know how help from you.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/Basement.png

Where are the stairs? Maybe show the furnace and the main duct runs as well.

Below outlines the info you requested:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/Basement2.png


Below is one of the ideas I have but there are a couple immediate problems:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/mediaroom11-1.png

1) The riser height (8" - 10") is not high enough according to the calculations for the back row
2) with a 96" screen, it can only go up ~ 24" from the floor because of the Duct work.

Can the closets in the southern finished area be eliminated?

If so, I'd probably go there, orient it north to south, and put the screen on the north wall? Possibly adding a wall to make the room more rectangular?

That closet houses the main water line, electrical panel, cable, telephone, etc. ... so I can probably shrink it but I cannot eliminate.

Here is another one ...only 3 seats though.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/mediaroom6.png

Would you be willing to rip down these 2 circled walls (nothing structural or otherwise preventing you)?
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/helpful/Basement.jpg

I would be willing to take them down. None of the walls are structural. Initially I thought about this route; however I was unsure what the next step would be.
What did you have in mind?


EDIT: Messing with the current layout, I have come up with the configuration below. The riser is 8" plus another 2" under the seats. (This idea came from another thread as to help prevent hitting your head on the soffit when you stand up in the back left seat.) With a 2.35:1 screen at 8 ft. wide. the screen height off the floor is ~35 inches, thus the 10" total riser seat height will give enough clearance for the back row. Any feedback??

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/mediaroom12.png

What is the viewing distance of your rows (and screen size) in your latest revision?

I guess my thought was remove those two walls, and then make the short remaining wall full length. Then, assuming part of yous screen placement issue was the way the HVAC duct jets out, flip the orientation of the room so the seating is along the new rear wall.

On the front wall, Possibly make the utility door behind an AT screen and false wall. This would open up a ton of space for treatment, particularly if the door was re-oriented (and closet shrunk a little, if code permits, mine requires 36" from the panel).

Now your room is more rectangular, and bigger. You still have too many doors if sound isolation is a priority (maybe eliminate either the side door, or the rear door), and you need to make a choice about the windows.

The screen size in this latest is 96" with viewing distances:

117" first row
~185" for back row

I am working on your recommendations and I will post it when I finish the sketch. Good pickup on the door situation. Once I have the room orientation determined, I will work on the sound isolation.

Here is a sketch based on dc_pilgrim idea. The screen is 2.35:1 at 120" wide. Distances are 144" to front view and ~215" to second view. Screen height is 32 inches with a 10" riser planned for the back row. This design will required a sustantial more amount of work than the previous. What do you think?

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/MysticalJet/MediaRoom14.png

Looks good. Just remember "work" is relative. A few extra weeks for a theater you will use for years really isn't that big of a deal. I'm on a two year time table on my basement finishing/theater building project.

I like DC's proposed plan. Concensions/bar in the nook in front of the first row? I can't tell from the pic, does that last plan incorporate a false wall and AT screen. If not, I think it would be worth while to build your back wall even further back to create more room at the front for an AT set up.

Is the boxed in area in the front left corner required (stuff behind there)?

Gonzo - unfortunately yes, the main water line, electrical panel, cable, etc all reside in that corner.

The basement was originally designed and finished for an in-law/nanny apartment which I have no use for. They cut up the basement in a weird fashion to accomidate this.


There could be a false wall but I am not sure about going with an AT screen. The false wall idea is to create a larger flat area for a bigger screen. BTW - how much space do you need behind the false wall for an AT setup?

I was trying to figure out why your stairs came into an unfinished space, with other finished areas. An in-law space. Now it makes sense.

Build what you want to build, by all means, but I think it looks pretty decent.

An AT screen - more is better for space behind - mine will be 18" and I wish it was 24"+.

How close will your seating be to the side walls? Its a factor in the performance from the surrounds, but by no means a dealbreaker.

Considering the expense to go 2.35:1, I am now certain I will go 16:9 initially - potentially moving to 2.35:1. To do this, it now appears I will have to work on raising the ceiling. Right now is drop ceiling and I think I can gain some room there, but I will have to really check it out this weekend.