[Silv]

Objective


After looking at all the basement planning and construction threads I thought this would be the best place to obtain advice on putting my own media room / games room in. At best this would be a DIY effort with much advice coming from friends, family, and of course, teh interwebs. I'm slightly mechanically inclined with a some tools.


I started planning last summer but procrastination set in and it wasn't until the last moments to cash in on the Canadian HRTC and let the feds help me out and so a week before the deadline that I did some shopping around and on the last day bought a bunch of building material.


I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, then reality set in and I started to think twice about what I wanted and how much I was willing to spend.

Planning Stages


I have a space of 33'6" and 13'5" to work with. Ceiling height will be around 7'5", which isn't a lot, but I'm not going to start digging down for the sake of having a higher ceiling.. The long sides are delimited by an external war and also a support beam which sticks out about a foot down from the joists.


Some of the thoughts we're tossing around is whether to leave the whole room open or to divide it in two with a wall. We like opening it up more but it gives us a very long room - acoustics won't be stellar, but they'll have to be "good enough." The other half of the room will be filled with one of exercise equipment for now, but a ping pong or pool table (or combination of both) is likely in the future.


I found a room dimension calculator (Sepmeyer's) online and it gave me this set of dimensions after plugging in 7'5" for the height, gave me two possible room sizes (L x W x H):


Here are the options:


1) Small media room with large games room: 11'5" x 9'6" x 7'5"

- sacrifices seating in small media room


This option gives the best "theoretical" audio performance at the price of a small media room. Being 9'6" wide, seating is a little limited and the screen size is also noticeably smaller. Having sacrificed the size of the room, the games room is much bigger, allowing for enough space for a pool/ping pong table and some exercise equipment.


2) Media room with french doors leading to games room: 17.5" x 12" x 7'5"

- sacrifices the games room space


I'd like the latter as it gives us a wider space (and hence a bigger screen) and also that I'd like to accommodate more than just the two of us when watching movies or gaming. Unfortunately, this leaves the size of the games room to be too small for a potential ping pong table. Can fit easily 5-6 people in the media room for movies and entertaining. Benefit of a huge screen and awesome sound (according to the formula).


3) One big media/games room, open to the back - 33'6" x 13'5" x 7'5"

- sacrifices audio acoustics (maybe)


Like #2, but since the separator wall is absent, the seats can be moved back and forth (or just sit plenty closer for that tennis game experience (or if you prefer, sitting near the front at a theater), but with the room open to the back, acoustics may not be the best. I say "may" because other than some million dollar room setups I've been in, I don't know how my budget build will turn out.


What do you think? I like option 1 and 3. Am I worrying too much about audio in such a big room? Right now my HT setup is in a room 14' x 15' and about 20' high (our family room spans two floors vertically), so I don't think that's ideal either, but could be better.


Lastly, off to the side of this long room there is a small 5' x 8'3" closet. Is this big enough for a small bar? There isn't any plumbing here at the moment, but creating a small wet bar here is an option. I'd have to dig up the concrete to add a drain though, so that adds more $$.


The other option for this area is a walk-in closet. Since I don't have much storage area penned in for this basement, it would make for a good closet to store whatever junk that needs to be stored - ex tires, car parts, boxes (of which we have lots), miscellaneous junk, etc.


Without further ado, some pics to make sense of it all:


Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

Full size available here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/acklee/...7623278751298/


Last week Dryco dropped off 75 sheets of drywall and mud. I haven't scheduled when Totem should drop off the remainder of my stuff, but I'm probably going to call in the next few days to arrange delivery.


Oh, if anyone can recommend some inspectors, electricians, and drywall people around the Edmonton, Alberta area that would be most appreciated!


Thanks in advance - more to come.


Edit: Messed up my acronyms already.. D'oh. Subject should be BABB.

 

[RTROSE]

I like option #3. I think a bigger open space lends itself to more flexibility and future plans and generally more options.


I am doing my entire basement with a media room, dedicated theater, kitchenette, and pub table area. My media room which is the only finished area so far is 13.5 X 13.5, my theater is roughly 13.5 X 23. I think you would be kicking yourself if you went with option 1 and the small media room. With the 13.5 X 13.5 media room I have it limits my options, but it is mainly for the kids and their TV, game consoles, so it works, but could be bigger, I would NOT want my media room to be any smaller.


Double doors look nice and add a classy touch, but in most media rooms, theaters, they don't work very well in application. They cause more problems than they solve. If you go with option three you could have a ping pong, pool table in the back and have the big game on the big screen (you were thinking of a front projector right?) and have the best of both worlds.


As for the bar in the closet it would be tight, but you can do it. You would need access to your sewer line and have to use a sump system like THIS to get the waste water out. Your right it will add additional $$$ to the budget, but it can be done.


Good luck.


Regards,


RTROSE

 

[SeveredDime]

I vote for option 3 also.


Good luck with your build, I look forward to watching it come together. I'm also in Edmonton.

 

[crc8381]

I'm also throwing my vote out there for number 3.

 

[moneypit]

I'll go against the popular vote and say that if you flip the media and game room in scenario 1, I would choose that one.

 

[gitSehT]

What about a mix of 2 and 3 by putting in pocket doors leaving them open most of the time.

 

[Silv]

Just an update - going for plan #3. Thanks for all the input.


Ordered the building material last night, should be here in a couple of weeks as some things were special order.