Spaceman Theater build - Page 6

It's been me vs. the riser for the last few days. While it drew blood on more than one occasion, I think I finally conquered it. The overall depth is 8', but I'll lose 5" of that when I add 4" of OC703 to the back wall + 1" of fabric panels, so final depth will be 7'-7" +/-.

30 lb. roofing felt over existing subfloor


2x12 perimeter (shimmed all around to address crown in subfloor-MAJOR P.I.A.)






After getting half of the perimeter 2x12s up, the 8' riser depth started looking excessive, so I hauled out 2 chairs to double check clearances. I was hoping to shorten it up a bit so I could move the front row further back, but I'll need the full depth for the rear wall acoustic treatments and fully reclined seats. I'm 6'-5", so my feet stick out past the leg support by about 6".


I'm using the riser as a bass trap so I used 2x8s on joist hangers between the 2x12s. I have conduit running to 1 LV box on the face of the riser. I'll be putting a keystone plate here for an ethernet connection plus anything I might need in the future. The face of the riser also has 3 duplex outlets for power recline on the seats. I also have 4 step lights.












My stage is too shallow to have the sub behind my false wall, so I'm putting the sub behind my back row. The theater is on the 2nd floor so filling the entire riser with sand was out of the question. However, I did create a box that is the same size as the footprint of my sub and filled that with sand. It's about 180 lbs and sits over one of the floor joists. It's detached from the rest of the riser.



This build complies with all state and federal child labor laws.




After stuffing all the cavities with insulation, I topped it off with 2 layers of 3/4" OSB, using roofing felt between layers.






I don't have a router, so I put a beveled edge on the lip with a circular saw. I'll need to come up with a different plan for the stage since it has a curve.




I still need to connect the return duct that runs from the first floor to the attic. There is a sealed cavity without insulation in the corner of the riser that allows air to move from the first floor, through the cavity in the riser and to the duct. The duct will be boxed in and a symmetrical box will be built in the opposite corner of the riser. The 4 seats in the back row will recline between the two boxed areas.

I don't have one of those either, but might need to look at one for the stage.

Thanks, Jim.


Wow, 9'-8" is pretty narrow. I'll be taking a field trip to Jautor's theater in the coming weeks to get a better feel for different sizes from a 9'-6" viewing distance.

I was in HD tonight stocking up on supplies and ran across a product called QuietBrace sound deadening structural sheathing. It caught my eye because the sheets are solid black.

According to the literature, it has a higher noise reduction coefficient but is not as dense as plywood or OSB. Less dense is usually a bad thing in terms of sound proofing so I'd be interested to hear the opinions of some of the sound control experts. Is there any use for this stuff in theater construction?

http://www.templeinland.com/Building...qbbenefits.asp

I don't recall the price but I'll take a look the next time I'm there. I don't think it was cheaper than std OSB.

I originally wanted the stage to be a little lower than the riser, but was having difficulty coming up with a fabric panel layout that worked with two different heights. So to make it easy on myself, the stage and riser are the same height (2 layers of 3/4" OSB on top of 2x12s for the upper level, 2 layers of 3/4" OSB on top of ripped 2x6s for the steps). Like the riser, shims were necessary to keep everything level. Another excuse to break out the laser level.















Just waiting for some 3/4" OSB.

Thanks guys. Time to start focusing on the items I've been intentionally avoiding (column design, fabric panels vs. track, color scheme, etc.). Also need to order my OC703 or equivalent.

Thanks Will. Hard labor indeed. I'm only 40 (yes aaustin, ONLY 40) but have had to hit the aspirin bottle on more than one occasion to get started the next day. Some days, it feels like I have the knees of an 80 year old.

Thanks Jim. I'm sure most on this forum will appreciate the planning and hard work that went into getting the ceiling curve to match the stage curve. The clock has started to see if a family member even notices.

My 2nd floor theater would have quickly become a 1st floor theater if I filled the stage with sand. However, I did create a sand-filled box in my riser, since the sub is being tucked behind the 2nd row of seats.

I've been waiting for one of my neighbors or the nosy HOA to stop by and ask what I'm up to. "Well, I've got some smurf tube, some Linacoustic, some play sand, and some pretty fabric. Isn't it obvious?"

I ordered my insulation for the back wall and corner bass traps today. Got a really great price from General Insulation. It's a national distributor, so you might want to look them up if you are getting ready to order insulation.

My stacked triangles will be cut from unfaced 2" Knauf board (3 pcf). Each board came in at $1.00/sf. For comparison, the best quote I received for unfaced 2" OC703 was $1.70/sf.

The back wall will have 4" of material. It was cheaper for me to do a double layer of 2" rather than a single layer of 4", so the first 2" layer will be the same unfaced panels as the corner traps. The second 2" layer will have the FSK facing. Those boards came in at $1.39/sf. My best quote for faced 2" OC703 was $2.40/sf, so I was able to save quite a bit by shopping around. Hope to pick everything up the middle of next week.