[robmark]

Making progress....


Spent today gluing accoustik mat tiles down and then gluing down the 3/4" TG plywood. Halfway there. The attachment is the view from screen right looking towards the back of the theater.


Robert


For more progress pics:

www.fdfb.com

 

[Chris Otto]

... it smells like victory.

 

[Diver]

Fortunately the smell goes away in just a few days. Doesn't it feel great walking on the floating floor?!?!?! Wait until you watch a movie, and the LFE seems to shake the whole room. You will be so glad you made that extra effort with the floor.

 

[jcmccorm]

Boys!


You bring up a question that's been bugging me. I recently attended CEDIA and took a few of the classes. One of the presenters recommended floating the floor, even if you're on a concrete slab.


I was all set to go with it and decided to take a look here to see what the general consenus was concerning floating the floor. It's decidedly mixed.


So, Robert, are you on a slab? How is your floor constructed - acoustik mat on the bottom and one layer of plywood on top?


Diver, I care about my LFE and the guy at CEDIA (I'll find his name) said exactly that, I'll lose the enveloping effect of my subs if I don't float the floor. Is the difference really noticable?


Thanks guys.


Cary

 

[robmark]

Cary,


My theater is located on a second floor above the garage and part of the house...part of a current remodel project. The second floor was built with the Tru-Joist system (I believe that was the name on it). They used 14" joists spaced 14" apart and then covered them with OSB 1 1/4" plywood, glued and screwed. Once the floor was in place, the framing crew could not believe or understand why I would want or need to put anything else down on top of what they had just constructed. Just walking around on the decking was causing shaking and vibration with every step. Even if the plan had not been to use this area as a home theater, I think I would have wanted to reinforce the floor....although I suppose after the carpet was down things would be a bit better. It just didn't feel as stable as I thought it would be.


I glued down all the Acoustik Mat, let it set and then yesterday and this morning glued and temporarily screwed down 3/4" tongue & groove plywood. I left a 1/2" gap between the plywood and the drywall, which I am getting ready to fill in with acoustic sealant/caulk. I was thinking about using small filler strips of the Acoustik Mat mixed with caulk to fill in this gap. However, as many on this forum have mentioned, cutting the Acoustik Mat is not an easy task. Additionally, there seems to be quite a bit of inconsistency in the pallets that I received. Some pieces cut very cleanly, while others crumble along the cut line.


Regardless, the results are definitely worth the effort. The room is totally different. My kids were in there this afternoon jumping up and down and running around and you can barely feel anything. I haven't removed the screws from the plywood yet.


My inclination, from what I have read and from judging how things feel on this new floor would be to use a similar system over a concrete sub floor. Additionally, when you look at the costs, it is definitely worth it. The Acoustik Mat tiles are probably one of the best values-for-your-dollar of any of the items that go into the home theater building process.


Robert

 

[Diver]

My purpose for installing the floating floor was to minimize bass outside the room. I have a neighbor across the street with a cheap sub in his audio system. He likes to play his music loud. The only place in my entire house where I cannot hear his bass is inside my HT. Having experienced that, I sought to make sure my room would not be a problem for my neighbors.


The side effect of the floating for is that the LFE through my single SVS CS1646 sub, is nothing short of amazing. The 3/4" T&G plywood provides ample stiffness - I don't believe there is any concern about a daiphram effect on the bass.


I have experienced great LFE in only two rooms other than my own, so I am not an expert, however, the effect is noticeable and I am glad I did it. You might be able to simulate the same effects, to a greater degree, by using buttkickers, or Aura bass shakers.


The Acoustik Mat and T&G floor is a tiring 2 day process to install (my room is .... omg, I used to know these things.... it is 14' x 17'. Not a big room, but it was a big chore getting the floor done correctly. You want to make sure to leave a gap around the perimiter of the T&G, about 3/8" from the wall. Fill this gap with silicone caulk. This keeps the floor from making contact with the wall and passing along vibrations.

 

[jcmccorm]

Thanks Guys!!


Diver, are you on a slab? Does both the mat and the plywood come to 3/8" from the wall and then the wall is attached (nailed) to the slab?


How is the plywood attached to the mat, glue?


Thanks for the help guys.


Cary

 

[Diver]

Cary,


No slab, I have a 1¼" subfloor on a perimeter foundation.


There's a lot of good information in the following thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...79#post2461379


After installing 2 layers of sheetrock, and sealing all seams, I installed the mat so that it was right up against the wall. If you are going with double walls, I believe I saw a post where someone was advised to install the floating floor, and then to build the second inner wall on the floating floor.


To attach the tiles to the subfloor and floating floor, I started out using a Henry's mastic from Home Depot to glue the AM tiles to the subfloor, and then to glue the T&G to the AM. I ran out of mastic, and switched to Liquid Nails part way through the process. Initially I used 8 screws in every sheet (of plywood) to hold it against the mat - The T&G wanted to bow away from the AM. I left all of the screws in place for a few weeks while I worked on the procenium and stage, removing screws as I went along. I chose to leave 1 screw in each corner sheet of T&G, hoping that would help to keep the T&G from creeping - not knowing if it is even possible for it to creep. Idealy, there would be no rigid coupling of the floating floor to the house srtructure, but I felt the need to compromise this ideal slightly for the sake of ensuring everything would remain in place.


Feel free to contact me for any advice.
[email protected]

 

[jcmccorm]

Good stuff. Thank you!


Cary