[Crescent]

I've started framing the basement for my home theater. YAY! I thought I had all the design considerations worked out. Not. Boo, Hiss.


I'm building 2X4 walls within a concrete basement. I don't want to compromise the room acoustically by building a closet that opens into the room with a glass door. I understand acoustic glass exists, but I imagine that it's prohibitively expense. This would be equipment design choice one.


If I had the equipment outside the wall in the basement using an IR extender for the remote, would the temperature (I live in the Northeast) in the unfinished portion of the basement cause any condensation issues with the equipment?


My gut instinct says that the basement doesn't really ever drop below 50 degrees F in winter. I will have a dehumidifier in summer. Any real life experiences?

 

[dkramer3]

Your basement probably does not get that cold, unless a substantial portion of your walls are above grade. Below the frost line, the ground maintains a pretty stable temp of about 55 and with the heat transfer from the conditioned spaces of your home, your air temp may be more along the lines of 60-65.


In any case, condensation occurs on cold surfaces exposed to warmer temps. Your equipment will be the opposite, a warm surface exposed to colder temps and this will not create any condensation on the equipment.

 

[Crescent]

Thank you sir!

 

[settopguy]

I live near Boston, Massachusetts.


I have a basement partially above ground on one side. The temperature gets down to about 40 degrees farenheit in the winter.


You can check the suggested operating ranges for your equipment.


Humidity may be a problem. You probably want a dehumidifier or two to lower the humidity in the summer time.

 

[empirebuilder]

Definitely dehumidifier for the summer. Winter should be fine.....

I had it so humid in my old basement that books were warping....

 

[ELB_III]

Quote:

Originally posted by empirebuilder I had it so humid in my old basement that books were warping....

A-HA! So that's what happened to my sense of humor! Spending too much time in the basement. Go figure!


I, too, live in the Northeast (baby, it's cold outside right now) and haven't had any issues with it being too cold to date. If this is truly a concern, you can always build a temperature-controlled (at least insulated with temperature-sensing exhaust fans) enclosure on the unfinished side (kind of like a dog-house looking thing) for your equipment.


Good luck!


- Ed.