I get to start an official Contruction thread very soon! Here's where i'm at:

I have reseached and read this forum off and on for about 2 years, and intensely for the last month. I have transfered a nice sum of money from checking into my "Theater" savings account as a start. I have begun to collect busness cards from contractors.

I live in florida, and i'm starting off in a much worse position than most of you. I have no basement. I'm going to have to build an addition to my home.:(
The addition will be a simple rectangle off the back of my home, and will consist of a single monolithic concrete slab, and wood framed structure. Pretty basic stuff.The size of the theater will be about 16' wide, and 22' deep. I'll need to confirm these dimensions with a contrator, as i'm limited in width due to a septic system, and kitchen window. Depth will be limited by the property line.

Heres the plan so far:

I will attempt to do the impossible, and create a '"budget" version of the theater created by SandmanX. I'll have a contractor dry in the additon Shell, and I will finish the interior of the theater with a combination of labor from myself, my son, and subs. I hoping that the building slump may afford be a better deal on the contracting? The biggest hurdle is I'd love to do this with cash. Finishing the theater this way will not be an issue, but paying for the contracted "Shell" in a lump sum is going to be very dicey. I may need to suppliment savings with a small loan. This means that what the contractor builds must be pretty basic, as I know that specialty requests will eat me up.

The point of this thread?

I need to decide on some very basic stuff to discuss with the contractor!

My first request will be a 9' or 10' ceiling. Not sure how much this will affect the price, My home has 8' ceilings BTW. Do I need a full 10'? I will be adding soffits myself to the theater.

The next Item is stagger walls:

I'm sure i'll pay a contrator dearly for those, but do I really need them?

The facts.... I am not concerned with sound intrusion within the house, nor from outside. I am concerned for a neighbor, whos home will be about 40' from the back of my screen wall. Can I just be concerned with this one wall? Can I just go with a standard framed wall, and deal with the issue using GG, and d sheetrock later in the build?

Remember that these extra costs will mainly be a concern only during the intial contracted "SHELL' phase. I don't mind these additional extras when using my labor, But I really need to Dry this thing in as cheaply as possible so I finally can start doing something other than reading the forum!!! The truth be told, if I continue waiting for the perfect structure, other things will always come up, and this will never get done! After 2 years, it's getting old walking into the backyard, and staring at that patch of grass. I'm ready to buy some tools now.....

Anything else I need to think about beyond a basic addition build, other than the issues i've mentioned? I'll start gettin estimates this week!

Well, That didn't go to well? I guess i'm on my own for this stage. The good news is that my first general contractor should be here in an hour!

Doesn't look like the experts are dying to chime in. I am also in the preplanning stage of my sunroom/HT room and I feel for you. If I may ask, why go with the 10' ceiling at all? Does it help with your projector or screen placement? Or let you add more seating rows? Please post a picture or sketch of your plan...

Doesn't look like the experts are dying to chime in. I am also in the preplanning stage of my sunroom/HT room and I feel for you. If I may ask, why go with the 10' ceiling at all? Does it help with your projector or screen placement? Or let you add more seating rows? Please post a picture or sketch of your plan...

Maybe we'll have to help each other.:)

I want something taller than 8' to get that big open feeling. "Especially since I want to add a soffit. And yes, it should also help out with the `12' screen i'm planning.

BTW, the contractor was a no show, no call. Nice!:rolleyes:

I can see this is going to be fun!

I feel for you on the Contractor issue - I am a native Floridian and live in Central now. We have had our share of contractor issues. I try to do it all on my own at this point.

Jason

Yeah it's got me thinking. I orginally wanted to contract this myself, and I may now do this. What I need is a very basic set of plans that the county would accept, and a hours time from someone that could look at my backyard, the septic tank, the property line, and then tell me exactly how big it can be, and where I can put it. I haven't found this magical person as of yet.

Maybe not the expert advise you were looking for but here is a few things just from the info you provided.

1. Ceiling height I would think would be based upon your existing roof line. You want the addition to match up with existing lines to keep the curb appeal. Higher is always better to allow for you soffits and not feel closed in. If your existing roof is a wood truss style, perhaps stick framing the new roof would open it up for a higher ceiling without changing the roof line.
2. Electrical service - have enough in the existing service to expand for the new needs? If not you may need a sub panel.
3. HVAC - is the existing enough to handle the new?
4. If this is an addition, if you leave the existing wall up you may avoid having to stagger stud frame along the existing. You would only need to worry about the access point for sound intrusion. The rest you can decide if you g/g later if your concerned about your neighbors.
5. Do you have a plan of the addition you can post?

You contractor should be able to give you pricing options on the roof framing styles and heights pretty easy for you to compare costs.

Good luck with your contractor and the build.