[Swancoat]

This is on a new build house, and plans are not finalized (but will be soon). The theater is on the second story (mostly above garage and laundry areas). The main room is 17' x 24'. The rear riser is 18" (seems high) and the stage up front is 12" high, mainly because I guessed at the height. Not sure how tall most peoples' are. The tentative screen size is 136" 2.35:1.


I'd love to hear thoughts on this layout.

 

[Swancoat]

Also... those aren't the final colors. Just quick colors I dropped in so the whole thing wasn't white.

 

[DBeistel]

Look at some of the builds in this forum; there are some great builds. My front stage will be built with 2X6's with 2 layers of 1 in plywood. Also there are several rear riser calculators out there and one on this forum; it is a big help.

 

[Swancoat]

I've been reading and reading for some time now, and I agree that there are some outstanding builds. I've run the riser calculation and the 18" is correct.


I'm just looking for something stupid I missed or something.

 

[Gertjan]

That riser area with the sectional looks like a great place to sit and socialize while casually watching a movie / listening to music

Having only 4 serious movie watching seats is indeed your plan? If it is, that's fine of course.

 

[Swancoat]

Yeah, only 4 'serious' seats is indeed the plan. The rear area is something my wife suggested. We'd like to try and make it so that we use the room for more than just movies. Once more than 4 people show up to watch a movie, it's hard to keep everyone quiet enough for me to watch a movie with any concentration anyway.


Pillar placement, screen size, etc are ok?

 

[Roger Dressler]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Swancoat /forum/post/18170930


Yeah, only 4 'serious' seats is indeed the plan. The rear area is something my wife suggested. We'd like to try and make it so that we use the room for more than just movies. Once more than 4 people show up to watch a movie, it's hard to keep everyone quiet enough for me to watch a movie with any concentration anyway.


Pillar placement, screen size, etc are ok?

Overall looks really good to me. My only comment would be that the rear riser could be brought up closer to the backs of the front seats (assuming they are low/zero clearance recliners), and that would let you pull the rear sectional off the back wall a foot or so--as far as you can. The bass buildup there will be overpowering.


Since the front row is where the money seats are, I'd also spread the rear speakers apart some more--they appear to be narrower than the 135-150 degree window. Not too easy to tell from the perspective.


Nice CAD work! Which program?

 

[Swancoat]

Thanks, that's helpful. Not sure if the recliners are low/zero clearance, since I haven't actually picked them out yet. I'm scared a bit by the screen size and want to have some room to push seats back if necessary I guess.


The program is awesome. It's Sweet Home 3D. It's free. It's Java, so it runs under Windows, Linux, OS X. Super easy to use. I had no familiarity with doing this kind of thing before, and before I knew it, my theater was all mapped out to scale.

http://www.sweethome3d.eu/index.jsp

 

[Roger Dressler]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Swancoat /forum/post/18171970


I'm scared a bit by the screen size and want to have some room to push seats back if necessary I guess.

As you are going with a 2.35 screen, you can tolerate a wider screen than the usual bromides suggest (40-ish degrees for 16x9). You can use 50 degrees nicely, or even more if your PJ will support the needed brightness.


This swell calculator let's you try different screen sizes and seating distances. Also helps with screen gain and PJ brightness.

Quote:
The program is awesome. It's Sweet Home 3D. It's free. It's Java, so it runs under Windows, Linux, OS X. Super easy to use. I had no familiarity with doing this kind of thing before, and before I knew it, my theater was all mapped out to scale.

Thanks for the link. Great program. I like to CAD in 2D (CorelDesigner) but tried Sketchup to see about 3D, and am too old to learn those new tricks. Sweet home looks sweet!

 

[schmidtwi]

Your riser calc cannot be correct. Make sure your bottom of the screen distance is from the floor, not the stage.

 

[Swancoat]

Looking at it again, you're right. I correctly measured the right screen height, but the two measures I took from the screen calculator default were the Height of the front row viewer's head (48") and the height of the back row viewer's eyes (36"). If the back row viewer's eyes are any lower, the riser's going to need to be taller! Ugh.


FYI... current screen is 30" from floor (and I'm off to find a screen height calculator to make sure that's right). Front row will be about 11' back, and 22' for the back row.

 

[Elill]

I like it, I can also see why your wife wanted the rear section, it looks like an inviating sort of a place....but are you really that short of places/rooms to entertain guests in a non movie fashion?


Are acoustics / treatments a concern? If so the riser should go from left to right, the whole way along and used as a trap. just one minor issue in the overall scheme of things.


It looks like you have room for a second row and a third as a bar - have you considered that?

 

[Swancoat]

Well, we're not really going to be short of room for entertaining at all, so it's not too much of a concern. As far as the riser goes... it can't really be full width due to the door at the back of the theater. I initially considered a second row of seating, but we don't really have 6-8 people over at one time focused on a movie ever. If that many people are over and we're using the theater, it's because of a TV event (Oscars, Superbowl, etc...) or something and the rear lounge area will be better utilized.

 

[Elill]

You could have a step outside the room.


As I said, it all looks very nice, but IMO I dont really see the point / think you'll use it as intended.


- forward planning, have you got children? and or grandchildren? if thats not ever going to be a concern then not having loads of seats will be either. I guarantee you'll fill it if you do have kids.


That said if its only going to be used by 2-4 of you most of the time then it'll "feel" nicer as is.

 

[Tedd]

Seeing as you aren't short of entertaining space, why not just build a performance based theater? You have the room for it.


Check your personal messages, Swancoat.

 

[Swancoat]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tedd /forum/post/18176783


Seeing as you aren't short of entertaining space, why not just build a performance based theater? You have the room for it.


Check your personal messages, Swancoat.

yeah, given my recent riser revelations, that's turning into an option. Tossing it around as we speak.

 

[DIYHomeTheater]

You may want to go for a 2.40 screen since many Hollywood movies are in 2.40 format. You may also want to get a free consult from Auralex on acoustic design issues

 

[Crash11]

Can we see the rest of the basement? I think I'd do some rearranging of the entrance and equipment cabinet.