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Home Theater/ Gameroom Combo

885 views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Larry Fine 
#1 ·
Forgive the cross post for those who notice but I previously posted in the wrong forum.


I am looking to do a home theater big enough to accomodate a pool table, small bar, poker table, and a video game or two. Anyone have anything like this or any other helpful hints? Thanks.


Derek
 
#3 ·
I'm building a similar room. Big rectangular space.


HT on one end with a built in RPTV in a "media wall"

7 channel sound with the two sides even with the main seating and two rears behind the seating and up on the ceiling aimed at the seating.



Other end is an "entertaining" kitchen with Refrig, Dishwasher, Oven, Micro, Sink and large (12 ft long) island counter.


room for a game table and/or pool table in-between.


Will it work? who knows


This is a basement room and I'm taking several steps to improve the outcome as suggested in this forum.


I ripped out the cheap metal ducts and replaced with flexible insulated, I'm stuffing the ceiling full of insulation, I'm putting up 1/2 inch of soundstop, and I'm prepared to put up a double layer of Drywall (one on RC) if I need to so the party guests can talk upstairs if the stereo is cranking downstairs.


I wired 7 zones of lighting including sconces so that I can really control how bright the HT end is.


I'll be building a 17 ft wall media wall with a built in 65 inch RPTV. The wall backs up to a office and one side is a hallway to the office so I will have door and rear access to the equipment stack.
 
#5 ·
Doing the same thing here. I've got an 850 sq ft L-shaped basement area, in which will go a storage room, pool table, buffet/bar area and a home theater. See the attached floor plans.


I'm doing some things that will help segment the space into distinct looks so that it doesn't just turn out to be a big room with a tv, bar stools and pool table.


For instance, the columns in which I will place the rear surrounds are dividing the HT from the rest of the space along with a soffit running between the two (this also happens to exactly match the above floor's interior).


The colors will also be different in the HT section vs pool/bar area. The plan is that people will feel like they're in a dedicated HT when watching a movie cuz they can't see behind themselves, but we will also be able to have more enjoyable superbowl / final four parties.


And YES, the WAF for a completely dedicated HT in the basement was pretty low. Bottom line - I'm sacrificing some of the audio experiences and minor visual acuity setbacks (IMO) in a dedicated HT for a more versatile area with higher WAF.


Check out my construction pics on my basement consruction project site.

 

basement_draft.pdf 323.5888671875k . file
 

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#7 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by NathanH
Doing the same thing here. I've got an 850 sq ft L-shaped basement area, in which will go a storage room, pool table, buffet/bar area and a home theater. See the attached floor plans.


I'm doing some things that will help segment the space into distinct looks so that it doesn't just turn out to be a big room with a tv, bar stools and pool table.


For instance, the columns in which I will place the rear surrounds are dividing the HT from the rest of the space along with a soffit running between the two (this also happens to exactly match the above floor's interior).


The colors will also be different in the HT section vs pool/bar area. The plan is that people will feel like they're in a dedicated HT when watching a movie cuz they can't see behind themselves, but we will also be able to have more enjoyable superbowl / final four parties.


And YES, the WAF for a completely dedicated HT in the basement was pretty low. Bottom line - I'm sacrificing some of the audio experiences and minor visual acuity setbacks (IMO) in a dedicated HT for a more versatile area with higher WAF.


Check out my construction pics on my basement consruction project site.
Our basement was very similar in size and shape, and we ended up with a similar layout, save the fact that we did put up a wall with a 36" door between the HT and Gameroom. At first we thought about a large opening in the middle with either french doors or pocket doors to open up the space for those superbowl/final four type parties. But then we figured, that the space would get far more use as a daily/weekly HT for our family versus the few parties we had a year, so we opted for the enclosed look.


I agree with your idea about it being more accessible for the SB and Final4 type gatherings, so to compromise, we put a TV in the gameroom as well for the overflow type traffic. That way, the diehard Football fanatics (the men) enjoy the full effect of 7.1 surround and 120" of HiDef, while the casual viewer (the women) can lounge in the gameroom and still watch the game.


Slipping on my sexist flame retardent suit ;)


PS...I don't have enough room in my main game room for a pooltable (too many Arcade and Pinball machines), but I wonder about using all that extra space upfront in the theater to stick a table. Think I'll start a thread on that idea :)
 
#8 ·
Here's a zip of the steel framing pics I have yet to update my construction site with....


I put the 2X4 PT plate down with heavy duty liquid nails, then attached the steel stud tracks all the way around. Then, I went around and put power hammer nails through the stud track and PT plate into the concrete. (I pre-drilled holes in the steel stud track for the nails before driving them.)


BTW - Steel framing was neater, cleaner, easier and less expensive for me than traditional wood framing... So far, so good...
 
#9 ·
There is an article on a basement theater without walls in the april/may 2003 Robb Report Home Entertainment and Design magazine. It's a nice compromise between a dedicated theater and open area.... here's a link to some pics...(it's the theater called the "Casa Nostra"). There are other HT pics on this page, but the Casa Nostra is the one with curtains as partitions between the theater and the rest of the basment.

http://www.howellandassociates.com/Portfolio.asp
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by patrickwebb
One day my heart tells me to put in a dedicated HT, the next day my brain says do a combo room...


...I think my heart is going to win the argument though!
My brain won this argument, although the WAF was much much higher, so perhaps something else will be the real winner...


Anyway, the HT room is 19' x 21', and is actually set apart because it is sunken, about 8" (as is our family room directly above it). However, the side walls only come back I'd say about 8-10' on one side, and about 6' on the other. To one side will be a bar/billiards room, approx 24' x 16', and on the other side is the area to which the welled exit doors open, approx 10' x 21' - that area will have an arcade-style basketball game, probably a foosball table, etc. There really isn't a back wall to the theater itself, although there is an approx 4-5' wide hallway-like area which backs to the side wall of the stairs, which will be extended for some extra storage, so that back wall will run the full width of the HT room, although a few feet away.


The good thing is, there will be logical places to "end" the HT room visually, the downside is acoustically it will be far from ideal, but I can live with that.


The main thing I'm trying to figure out right now is where to put the equipment rack. My wife really likes the idea of hiding it, and I do as well, but there are a couple of difficulties. There's only one wall where the screen can go, and that's a foundation wall, and I'd really like to figure out something that will allow rear access. Second, I'm going to have my X-Box as part of this setup, and I don't know of any solution to having the console near the players but still connected to the HT equipment.


The closet under the stairs is an option we're considering, but the X-Box definitely seems like an obstacle, and it's also a pretty tight space to access unless I can put a door on the other side, which would be ok since the other side will be a home office area, but I'm not sure if it will be possible structurally as there are already studs there, and I don't know if one can be removed for a door. I need to figure it all out soon (enough to pre-wire at least) - framing will be done Weds and Thurs this week, and things will proceed quickly after that. Any ideas?
 
#12 ·
Seems my steel framing pics didn't get uploaded...


Take 2.

Quote:
The closet under the stairs is an option we're considering
This is what I'm going to do. Right now, there is nothing under the stairwell, and I'm going to convert the part towards the bottom of the stairs to a component rack set in the wall. Then I'm going to build a little extension to the current framing and build a closet under the rest of the stairwell.
 
#15 ·
Jeff123


Removing a stud in a wall shouldn't be a problem as long as you make up for it by putting an appropriate size header overhead and a replacement stud from the header up to top plate.


One solution would be to remove a stud, sister two studs the height of the door (+ 2 to3 inches check with door mfg.) to both remaining left and right sides. make a 2x6 header that would rest on the two sistered studs. The header would be two lengths of 2x6 sandwiching something 1/2 inch thick like plywood. put a short stud back where you removed the first one above the header up to the top plate.


If your good at this, you could just cut the stud at the right place and insert the header under it.


you need to check the weight on this wall but I think the 2x6 is big enough.


If it's not load bearing it's probably over kill.


I just did this and I'm one county over from you. One last thing, measure the remaining width and subtract 2 inches that's the size door that will fit.


If the door is too small you'll need to fiddle with the location of the original studs.
 
#16 ·
Jeff, I'd like to make a suggestion:


Chop a 3" or 4" wide channel in the floor, from about 2' to 3' in front of the approximate seating location to where the space behind where the stack will go. Bury a couple of 1/2" PVC conduits in the trench, with a PVC box on the room end of each, flush with the finished floor, and a 90º on the other end of each.


These ends will be in the stack area. The power conduit should run directly into the bottom of a junction or receptacle box behind the equipment, possibly directly inside a wall, and the other coax can just stub up near a wall for connection to the appropriate input jack(s) on the rteceiver or whatever switches your video.


If you want something fancier, look at this or even this . See more here . Another place to look is here . Then, patch the concrete with typical Quicrete mix.


After patching the concrete, run some 12-2 or 14-2 in one conduit for a power receptacle, and some coax and/or S-video in the other. Then, use a suitable floor plate, either the ones above, or more like the typical 1-hole and 2-hole brass plates with screw-in or flip-up covers. You can get the necessary video jacks at HD. I like the Leviton Quik-ports. The snap into frames that fit standard receptacle plates or Decora-style openings.


Then, buy or build a suitable coffee table with drawers, a lower shelf, or some other type of compartment that could double as a gaming console. Now, you can plug the X-box (and whatever else) in for game-playing, and hide them away for safe keeping during movie-time.


How's that for a dual-purpose room that doesn't have to look like it? Plus, if you ever get a front projector, and decide you'd like it on the floor, and/or built in to another table, you already have the power and video feeds in place. If you like, use a 3/4" or 1" conduit for the video run, for RGB-HV, component, or other multi-cable video needs.
 
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