I apologize if I'm posting in the wrong place. I welcome anyone directing me to the more appropriate area for this if I am. I'm still doing research on this topic while I'm looking for a new home after moving here to TN from AZ. As of now, I'm looking at several different homes with a basement for building my home theater. A few basements are finished and some are not. Can anyone give me some helpful pointers on what to watch out for or what to be looking for in a basement that may prove far more HT friendly??? Thanks. And again, I apologize if I'm in the wrong spot. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask those who have had a great deal of collective experience.
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I'm sure you'll get lots of advice. I'll tell you one tidbit I would consider if I were looking for a home again. Go for one with an unfinished area.
It'll be easier for you to do what you want and make sure there isn't anything messed up from the original builders methods.
For example...the room I am going to be using...I ripped out a piece of wall to see what was up behind the drywall. They had framed out several inches from the foundation, a large power conduit (like for adding power to a garage) was buried behind the framing, as well as a drain pipe I didn't know about...oh and two windows I had no idea about. One of them was covered with plywood and insulation in between, and the other one was still a window...no idea they were there (cause of the deck in back).
The other part of the basement was from the 70's and we ended up ripping everything out anyway. So yeah...I would have gone for an unfinished basement. It would have been much easier.
It'll be easier for you to do what you want and make sure there isn't anything messed up from the original builders methods.
For example...the room I am going to be using...I ripped out a piece of wall to see what was up behind the drywall. They had framed out several inches from the foundation, a large power conduit (like for adding power to a garage) was buried behind the framing, as well as a drain pipe I didn't know about...oh and two windows I had no idea about. One of them was covered with plywood and insulation in between, and the other one was still a window...no idea they were there (cause of the deck in back).
The other part of the basement was from the 70's and we ended up ripping everything out anyway. So yeah...I would have gone for an unfinished basement. It would have been much easier.
You've come to the right place friend. Many will hopefully chime in to lend their advice. Depending what your after and skill level will kind of determine what you'll need to look for.
If your handy and are planning to build something out yourself, you'll likely want an unfinished space so that you could build it your way.
If your less inclined to do everything yourself then maybe you'll want to find a finished space that you could work with. The thing about this though is that you have to consider sound isolation and wire management. Sound isolation may not be so important to you, depending on if your married or have little ones to worry about late at night. Wire management may be a greater concern depending on your plans and accessability.
The other thing that I can of the top of my head is utilities. It is ideal to find a home with everything centralized to one location or at least in areas which will be out of the way. Also consider HVAC. Can you tap into the existing system? Can you easily add a system? etc..
That's my 2 cents. Good luck.
If your handy and are planning to build something out yourself, you'll likely want an unfinished space so that you could build it your way.
If your less inclined to do everything yourself then maybe you'll want to find a finished space that you could work with. The thing about this though is that you have to consider sound isolation and wire management. Sound isolation may not be so important to you, depending on if your married or have little ones to worry about late at night. Wire management may be a greater concern depending on your plans and accessability.
The other thing that I can of the top of my head is utilities. It is ideal to find a home with everything centralized to one location or at least in areas which will be out of the way. Also consider HVAC. Can you tap into the existing system? Can you easily add a system? etc..
That's my 2 cents. Good luck.
I agree, unfinished, as long as you can afford to have it finished (either by a contractor, or diy). Like Oman said look at the HVAC and plumbing etc, to make sure its not going to cause you any headaches in the future. Also I'd look for a basement that has good headroom. If you end up with one that is only 7', it might be a bit short after you add a riser, so I'd look for one that is at least 8'.
The space I'm going to use was a single car garage, and its got 9' ceilings, so I'm going to do a room within a room for sound isolation, even though we don't have kids, I'd still like to hear as little as possible outside the HT. My old house doesn't have central air, so I'm looking at mini-split ductless systems for heating and cooling. Depending on where you put your gear, people and equipment can generate quite a bit of heat, especially in a "sealed" room like a HT.
Good luck.
The space I'm going to use was a single car garage, and its got 9' ceilings, so I'm going to do a room within a room for sound isolation, even though we don't have kids, I'd still like to hear as little as possible outside the HT. My old house doesn't have central air, so I'm looking at mini-split ductless systems for heating and cooling. Depending on where you put your gear, people and equipment can generate quite a bit of heat, especially in a "sealed" room like a HT.
Good luck.
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Hello and welcome.
I too will second or third the unfinished space. It is much easier to work with a "blank slate" vs. having to work with existing structures where you don't know exactly what is behind all those walls and such. You can certainly utilize an existing space but it may force you to make compromises where an unfinished space may not. Good luck in your search and keep us all posted.
Regards,
RTROSE
I too will second or third the unfinished space. It is much easier to work with a "blank slate" vs. having to work with existing structures where you don't know exactly what is behind all those walls and such. You can certainly utilize an existing space but it may force you to make compromises where an unfinished space may not. Good luck in your search and keep us all posted.
Regards,
RTROSE
I appreciate the responses. I thought unfinished might be the way to go, but it helps to hear so from people that have gone through it or are going through it. I never would have thought on my own about the HVAC. Now that you mentioned it, and I've read about it... well... it makes total sense. Thanks to all of you.
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Well if it all makes sense then we have not done our jobs properly. J/K of course. This is what makes AVS so great is to come here and bounce ideas or questions off of all the knowledge base here to see if you are on the correct path. Glad we could help. Keep us all posted on your efforts.
Regards,
RTROSE
Well if it all makes sense then we have not done our jobs properly. J/K of course. This is what makes AVS so great is to come here and bounce ideas or questions off of all the knowledge base here to see if you are on the correct path. Glad we could help. Keep us all posted on your efforts.
Regards,
RTROSE
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37,191 Posts
The Achilles heal of many a basement theater build is water infiltration. If this is your first basement you may need the advice of a really competent home inspector that you hire, Don't use an inspector suggested by your Agent because they tend to recommend inspectors who historically don't hold up a sale with discovered issues.
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