Another Erskine-designed masterpiece (if I don't screw it up).

So, I have officially embarked on my maiden HT voyage. My wife and I are building a new house in Texas. We allotted a 20’ x 24’ room for a media room in the original plans. As you can probably tell from the title of this thread, I eventually hired Dennis Erskine to design my room. Smartest damn thing I have ever done!

Flashback—This is not my first post on the Forum; it is the second. The first was back in the fall when I asked for advice on how to spend my equipment budget. After all, that is what any good newbie needs right? Just some expensive gear with no idea how to use it?

I was shocked that the majority of responses “politely” informed me that I was an idiot for looking at equipment before examining the room itself. OK, so I was an idiot (perhaps still am), but I was smart enough to know that I needed help. So, I contacted Dennis. And I highly encourage anyone thinking about building, remodeling, or designing a room to do the same.

His design is awesome. But working with Dennis is even awesomer. Despite working with people who know much more than me and others that have much, much more money, Dennis still takes the time to tailor the project to my individual thoughts, needs, and budget constraints. Hopefully, he will continue to hold my hand through the process, and my 10 emails to him per week will not wear out my welcome.

Here is what we started with:



Here is what Dennis designed:



So far, we have the exterior walls of the room framed and the plumbing and HVAC roughed into the space. The plan is to use clips and channels and attach two layers of 5/8” drywall with GG in between. Ted White’s products and literature have been extremely helpful. I have read them so many times in an effort to understand them that I feel like I could recite the entire Green Glue instructions manual by heart. Once the isolation shell is built, the interior walls, risers, and drop ceiling will be framed.

Here are some pics of current status:

Entry from Living Room:


Screen Wall:


Right and Left Walls:



Back Wall:


I have not made official selections on equipment just yet. I would love to hear suggestions and thoughts. The only thing I have locked in is a Procella speaker system.

So that’s it for now. I will post updates and more pics as I have them. Electrical is beginning this week and low voltage wiring should come shortly thereafter.

 

Barber_Residence_media_oct17_2010_revised.pdf 43.20703125k . file

 

Barber_Residence_email_oct12_2010_sht2.pdf 321.7763671875k . file

Well, when we started, the room was 24' x 20'. I gave Dennis full editorial discretion, and after he and the architect went to work on the entry design, they decided they needed a little more space to make everything work. The wife objected a little. I did not.

Thanks for the help. Learning as I go.

I think the current forcast is for:

3 Procella P815's for the LCR.
6 Procella P6's for surrounds.
2 Procella P10 subs.

UPDATE:

Wiring, plumbing, etc. for the past several weeks. Hope to pass inspections this week and start insulation and drywall. Will probably drywall the HT last in the house.

HT is now prewired for electrical, lighting, and AV. I have about half of the isolation clips installed. I installed the lower ones myself to make sure the stagger was correct. I am going to have the drywall crew install the rest on the upper walls and the ceiling (after proper instructions).

Here are some current pictures:

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I plan to take a day (or two) off work to help/supervise the DD & GG process. It should be an adventure. Ted, make sure you have your cell phone turned on this week!

I made a template jig for the clips. Pretty simple--just a board with clip-sized rectangles cut out every 24". It has guides that fit over the studs and then rests on the ground. Another way to do it is to just snap chalk lines horizontally every 24", but the jig worked for me.

On the radius wall, the furring channels will run vertically up the studs rather than horizontally. The clips are made to pivot for this application. We will then use 4 layers of 1/4 drywall on that section to bend around the curve.

Trying to stay ahead of the game, I bought the two doors that will lead to the theater and did a little DIY soundproofing this week. The doors are cheap ($62), Solid Core slabs from Lowes. They measure 80" x 36". I added 1/4 inch MDF to each side with GG in between. I will be using Zero sealing hardware from Ted White when the doors are installed. Ted suggested using thicker MDF to help soundproofing, but since I had already bought and transported the 1/4 inch material, I took the lazy route and went with that. I am hoping that the fact that there are two sequential doors will do enough to deaden the sound to make up for my corner cutting.

The first entrance door will be veneered with Sapele wood and possibly some decorative moldings. The second door will eventually be fabric covered to match the interior of the theater room. Here are some pics of the process:





Sapele:







The HT itself is being insulated this week and we should start DD & GG next week. More pics to come soon!

Progress has been a little slower than expected. The record hot weather in Texas has had many of our subcontractors falling behind in the house. But I am hopeful that we will get the channels up in the media room this week. After that, the first layer of OSB on the ceiling and 5/8" sheetrock on the walls. Then, bring on the Green Glue party!

Here are the 25ga channels that we will use.


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Here are some cell phone photos of the R19 insulation that got put in the walls last week. In the exterior walls of the home, we also put 1.5" of foam underneath the batts for thermal insulation.





While the subcontractors are delayed, I have been trying to keep busy with other projects. Here is where I am on one of the theater doors. I added some moldings, painted them black and added some textured resin panels to the center for looks. I still need to put another coat of paint on it, but you get the idea.