GWCR New Design/Build

Well, I guess it is my turn to start a HT design/build thread. We built our house this past fall/winter, and set aside space for an HT. We will get our final inspection on the house by the end of June, and then I get to start on the theater. Hopefully the planning stage will be done by then. With the budget overages on the house, this has quickly become a 95% DIY project, so thanks in advance to anyone who jumps in with ideas/info/answers.

The room is in our basement, and the rough framed dimensions are 21' 4 L x 12' 11 W x 9' H. Basic room plan is:

Decouple walls and ceiling with clips and channel.
Insulation, DD+GG.
AT Screen (SeymourAV DIY) 110 - 120 wide. (Currently going back and forth between scope and 16:9).
Stage.
2 rows of seating (style tbd). 2nd row on riser.
Leaning toward fabric covered walls instead of paint.
Can lights in soffit, sconces on walls/columns.
Screen accent lights.
Star ceiling (Future)

Planned Equipment:

Projector - Panasonic PT-AE4000U.
Blu-Ray - Sony BDP-N460. (have)
HD Cable Receiver/DVR - whatever Mediacom gives me at that time.
AVR - Sony STR-DA3500ES.
Power Conditioner - APC H10BLK.
Speakers - Axiom Epic 50-350 (7.1).
Remote - Logitech Harmony 900. (have)
Lighting Controller - Lutron Grafik Eye 3106 (have).
Equipment Rack will be outside of theater in utility area.

Here is the cropped portion of our floor plan that shows the theater area along with part of the basement.



Here are my ideas for two possible layouts for the room.





The challenge here is the angled corner side of the room. Initially, my thought was to have that side be the screen wall so the visible theater would be rectangular. However, with the position of the door, I think it makes better sense to flip my original thought and have the screen opposite of the angled corners (for easier entry). One of those angles is load bearing, so I won't be changing that out. There are also a couple of cleanouts to deal with on that wall.

I would appreciate some feedback on what you think the pro's and con's of each layout are with respect to the angled corners (acoustics, aesthetics, other). I should be able to finish cleaning out that room and get some pictures this weekend. Thanks in advance for your input!!

Thanks everyone for the feedback.


Good catch. I hadn't given that part much thought yet. Will keep that in mind. BTW, love how your wood floors turned out!


Thanks Ted. The framing is already done (was done when the house was built). Are you suggesting to re-do the framing to staggered studs or double wall? With the room as narrow as it is, I am trying to keep as much width as possible. That's why I thought I would do channel on the walls. Perhaps I have my terminology wrong.

The airlock suggestion is interesting. I was planning on a solid door, adding mass and making sure it seals well with an automatic door bottom seal. How much room do you need for the airlock? I'm picturing a hotel adjoining room doors type of setup. Is that what you are talking about?


Thanks Dennis. I appreciate your comments. That is probably the way I will go. Just wanted to make sure there would be enough entry room without it being too cramped.


Thanks Cappy. I will definitely test before final placement. Had to put it somewhere in the layout, and that seemed like a good spot to remind me that I have one Any thoughts on the best placement for the side surrounds with two rows of seating?

Thanks again everyone. I will post some pics of the actual space in the next day or so.

I have an opportunity to get a large quantity of 3" EPS (extruded polystyrene) insulation for free. Wasn't planning on using any of it, but since this just fell into my lap, I want to see if there might be any use for it. What would be a good use (if any) for 3" EPS in an HT?

Winner!

That's what I thought. Thanks Ted.

Another question for Ted or anyone. I know that 5/8 dd+gg is better than 1/2 dd+gg, but what is the actual db difference?

Thanks. Reason I ask is I have sufficient quantity of American Gypsum Fiberlock Type C available to me at no cost that would dd the entire space. It is 1/2 instead of 5/8, so that's why I was wondering. Doing a cost benefit analysis to see if the additional 1/4 inch is worth the cost.

Got the room mostly cleaned out except for some leftover insulation from the house build, and some lumber that I can re-use. I would appreciate any additional feedback based on these pics, or let me know if you want to see anything specific.

Entry. Equipment rack will be on the right wall.


Wall w/ angled corners (most likely the screen wall). Note the cleanout in the right corner.


Back wall. Soffit will need to come out about 4' from the back wall.


Back corner where the return is. What is the best way to deal with that return? Leave it as duct board, or change to something else?


Ceiling


Anything jump out at you? I'm at 90% that I will go with option 1 for the layout, unless there is something in these pics that shows I should flip the room to option 2.

Things are finally starting to move again since the kids are back in school. I posted this question in the speakers forum, but didn't get a response so I'll try here.

The design phase is nearing its end, and my original choice for speakers may not be the best solution. Since the Axiom drivers are white they may show through the AT screen. I did some looking around and found the HSU Enthusiast 2 package. However, for my room bipole/dipole surrounds will work the best (per DE). So now I am thinking the HSU HB-1 MK2 for the L/R, HC-1 MK2 Center and VTF-2 MK3 Sub. For the surrounds I am looking at Emotiva ERD-1 or Klipsh S-10, VS-14 or RS-41 II.

I have no doubts that all these speakers can produce great sound on their own. I have read enough reviews from multiple sites to convince me of that. My biggest concern is which surrounds will match best with the HSU fronts and sub. Anyone have any thoughts on this, or am I over thinking? Other suggestions are appreciated. Basically trying to keep the speaker budget between $1500-$2000.

Thanks!

Thanks Adam. Option 1 is the winner and the final design is being worked on now.

Unfortunately the DW ship has sailed. I was too nervous about the weight of 3 layers of DW so I passed on it. Hopefully I don't kick myself later.

BTW, been following your thread for a while. Looks great!

The items on the "honey do" list got re-ordered and prioritized... Been working on built-ins around the fireplace upstairs. I have a drop-zone by the back door and a locker/storage area in the garage to build next. Then I can move on to the bar and theater. I hope to get started sometime in the spring.

On the upside, I did get the design finalized. I took advantage of the theater layout service that is stickied at the top of this forum. It was quick and easy. Dennis did a great job (as if there was another option). Now I just have to use that plan before the paper I printed it on disintegrates...