Ok, I'm officially kicking off my theater roombuild thread. I studied this forum for the past three or four months andI still have a lot to go, but I believe I've absorbed enough to getstarted. By the way, I'll probably change the theater name at some point,I just needed something to get this thing started.
I bought the house in September of last year and thereis a place in the basement set up as a "theater room." Inquotes because it is simply an area in the basement, open to the rest of thebasement, where the previous owners hung a screen and threw up somecheap in-wall speakers. I was originally going to just build a wall toclose in the room and call it a day, but then I decided that as long as I'mgoing to do anything, I might as well do it right. The room is 14'7" wide, and because of design constraints, I am limited to making the room 21' long. The room is 8'6" high in the tray and 7'6" high at the bottom of the chase.
Here is what the space looked like
I have since started the demolition, and the space now looks like this
Here is the basic design. There will be a false wall with AT screen, ~125in 16:9 with electric masking system. First row eyes will be pretty close at about 9ft. I will be using some combination of buttkickers/Aura Pro. Recliners in the front row and a sofa in the second because of length constraints. The equipment will be in an unfinished storage room that is near the theater room
This design will actually be changed slightly as I'm removing the half wall behind the second row and adding that space to the half wall / foot rest between the rows. The idea is that I want to fit two SI HT18 in that half wall for near field effect and to supplement the subs behind the AT screen. I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried this and if it is a good or bad idea.
For lighting I will use Insteon and I'm currently planning on 8 zones:
1) recessed lights - sides and back of room
2) recessed lights - sides nearest the screen (got this idea from the "what I would have done differently" thread)
3) recessed lights - screen wash
4) uplights behind screen (if they will fit in the design)
5) Sconces on columns (this may be removed)
6) step lights in riser
7) Color changing rope lights in soffits
8) Black lights in soffits for star ceiling mural
I plan on having a painted star ceiling in the tray
Equipment is up in the air at this point, but I'm hoping to fit 6 SI HT drivers in ported enclosures behind the AT screen. I was originally thinking JTR for L/C/R, but now I'm thinking DIY, maybe a set of the 1099s, to keep costs down a little. I already have a cheap projector to hold me until 4k becomes reasonable. I also have a perf 125in AT screen, but I will eventually go with a 4k screen.
Currently my main issues are HVAC and soundproofing.
Soundproofing:
Soundproofing is important, but I have space constraints (especially in the width and height dimensions) and I'm not sure how much interior space I'm willing to give up to achieve a soundproofed room. I can control the height of the ceiling, at the lowest point, by making the shell at the tray height and then building the chases inside the shell (and making them shorter by the comparable amount of height I lose from decoupling the ceiling from the joists). The side walls are a different story because I have a non-standard construction that may present additional challenges. I started a thread a few weeks ago about this, but didn't get any responses. My basement was built with Superior Walls Xi http://www.superiorwalls.com/products/xiwall.php. This manufactured wall has concrete studs (with rebar) encased in foam with galvanized stud facings (see link and/or attached photos). The builder has attached drywall directly to the galvanized steel facing. If I want to add DD/GG, I'm thinking I need to reinforce the studs and the manufacturer recommends building a frame between the studs for hanging or attaching heavy items. Before I go to the trouble of framing between every stud, I'm wondering if I even need to decouple the walls. How much sound will transmit through foam covered concrete and is DD/GG even necessary on these walls? I would obviously like to be able skip this process if possible, and only DD/GG the ceiling.
Here is a pic of the wall from an unfinished room in the basement:
Width is at a premium, so I don't want to do something that really narrows the room. I'm also guessing that it really makes no sense to decouple the ceiling if the walls are coupled. Anyone have any ideas what to do with these walls?
I'll continue with the HVAC questions in my next post.
I bought the house in September of last year and thereis a place in the basement set up as a "theater room." Inquotes because it is simply an area in the basement, open to the rest of thebasement, where the previous owners hung a screen and threw up somecheap in-wall speakers. I was originally going to just build a wall toclose in the room and call it a day, but then I decided that as long as I'mgoing to do anything, I might as well do it right. The room is 14'7" wide, and because of design constraints, I am limited to making the room 21' long. The room is 8'6" high in the tray and 7'6" high at the bottom of the chase.
Here is what the space looked like
I have since started the demolition, and the space now looks like this
Here is the basic design. There will be a false wall with AT screen, ~125in 16:9 with electric masking system. First row eyes will be pretty close at about 9ft. I will be using some combination of buttkickers/Aura Pro. Recliners in the front row and a sofa in the second because of length constraints. The equipment will be in an unfinished storage room that is near the theater room
This design will actually be changed slightly as I'm removing the half wall behind the second row and adding that space to the half wall / foot rest between the rows. The idea is that I want to fit two SI HT18 in that half wall for near field effect and to supplement the subs behind the AT screen. I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried this and if it is a good or bad idea.
For lighting I will use Insteon and I'm currently planning on 8 zones:
1) recessed lights - sides and back of room
2) recessed lights - sides nearest the screen (got this idea from the "what I would have done differently" thread)
3) recessed lights - screen wash
4) uplights behind screen (if they will fit in the design)
5) Sconces on columns (this may be removed)
6) step lights in riser
7) Color changing rope lights in soffits
8) Black lights in soffits for star ceiling mural
I plan on having a painted star ceiling in the tray
Equipment is up in the air at this point, but I'm hoping to fit 6 SI HT drivers in ported enclosures behind the AT screen. I was originally thinking JTR for L/C/R, but now I'm thinking DIY, maybe a set of the 1099s, to keep costs down a little. I already have a cheap projector to hold me until 4k becomes reasonable. I also have a perf 125in AT screen, but I will eventually go with a 4k screen.
Currently my main issues are HVAC and soundproofing.
Soundproofing:
Soundproofing is important, but I have space constraints (especially in the width and height dimensions) and I'm not sure how much interior space I'm willing to give up to achieve a soundproofed room. I can control the height of the ceiling, at the lowest point, by making the shell at the tray height and then building the chases inside the shell (and making them shorter by the comparable amount of height I lose from decoupling the ceiling from the joists). The side walls are a different story because I have a non-standard construction that may present additional challenges. I started a thread a few weeks ago about this, but didn't get any responses. My basement was built with Superior Walls Xi http://www.superiorwalls.com/products/xiwall.php. This manufactured wall has concrete studs (with rebar) encased in foam with galvanized stud facings (see link and/or attached photos). The builder has attached drywall directly to the galvanized steel facing. If I want to add DD/GG, I'm thinking I need to reinforce the studs and the manufacturer recommends building a frame between the studs for hanging or attaching heavy items. Before I go to the trouble of framing between every stud, I'm wondering if I even need to decouple the walls. How much sound will transmit through foam covered concrete and is DD/GG even necessary on these walls? I would obviously like to be able skip this process if possible, and only DD/GG the ceiling.
Here is a pic of the wall from an unfinished room in the basement:
Width is at a premium, so I don't want to do something that really narrows the room. I'm also guessing that it really makes no sense to decouple the ceiling if the walls are coupled. Anyone have any ideas what to do with these walls?
I'll continue with the HVAC questions in my next post.