[Mike_Stuewe]

I've already received (and followed) some advice from Ted and others about soundproofing, but I wanted to post my basement design prior to sending it off to contractors to see if the experts have any opinions.


Total square footage appears to be 700 square feet not counting the steps.


Some notes on the design:


- Chairs and speakers are just there as place holders, not an accurate representation of what we want.

- When you come down the steps and turn right, that area represents a bar/kitchenette. Theres also a door to the unfinished area.

- The bathroom is 7x7, not sure if that is possible. I like deep design because I want the door to the utility area to be inside of the bathroom.

- The closet in front of the bathroom will be used to store my AV equipment, and have doors on the front and back for access/wiring/ventilation.

- All doors are 80" tall and 36" wide except for the one in front of where the furnace is. There needs to be a door there so that I can access the furnace filter, without sacrificing a lot of space. It can't be 80" though because of the ductwork above.


I'm still not 100% sure on all the soundproofing I want to do, but at a minimum I want to do the following:


- Double Drywall with Green Glue in between for all walls and ceiling. I'd also like to do this for the area around the steps to upstairs. There is currently 1 layer of drywall up there.

- Staggered stud wall around the utility/furnace area with drywall on both sides.

- Solid core doors

- Insulation or wrap around all ductwork


EDIT - NEW DESIGN AND PICS BELOW

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

I was very much inspired by this design by Dan:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1022589&page=1

 

[BeerParty]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike_Stuewe /forum/post/18208721


I'm still not 100% sure on all the soundproofing I want to do, but at a minimum I want to do the following:


- Double Drywall with Green Glue in between for all walls and ceiling. I'd also like to do this for the area around the steps to upstairs. There is currently 1 layer of drywall up there.

It looks like your design has the theater open to the rest of the basement, correct? So are you planning to use double drywall with green glue on all the basement walls and ceiling? I am assuming then that your goal is to isolate the basement from the rest of the house, right? Are you also planning staggered stud walls and isolation clips on the ceiling?

 

[Mike_Stuewe]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BeerParty /forum/post/18212397


It looks like your design has the theater open to the rest of the basement, correct? So are you planning to use double drywall with green glue on all the basement walls and ceiling? I am assuming then that your goal is to isolate the basement from the rest of the house, right? Are you also planning staggered stud walls and isolation clips on the ceiling?

Thanks BeerParty for helpin out.


Yes, its open to the entire basement, figured it would be a better atmosphere for parties and gatherings.


Yes to double drywall on all walls and ceiling.


I figured staggered stud walls around the utility area, which I didnt really mark but its across from the steps as you would walk down them. I would DD and GG in there not for visual purposes but just for sound. Might have the contractor do that last or by myself if its needed.


Where else would I need staggered stud walls? Only place I could think would be along the wall that rests against the steps.


For the ceiling I would like to do R-19, DD with GG, and Isolation Clips. At a later date my wife wants to redo the flooring on the first floor so I would throw in material on that side as well if needed.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]



Are those two massive pillars just there to hold the rear surrounds or is there a support column in there some where?


If they don't include structural elements I would figure a way of hanging the rears from the ceiling and keep this view as open as possible.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

The 3 of the 4 pillars around the room are just for speakers. The one against the steps (on the left wall of the picture you posted) also houses a support post.


The pillars are 15" wide to accommodate the speakers which are 14w x 7.5d x 10t


I would like all the rear speakers to be at the same height, approximately 1-2 feet above my prime listening position. I have no idea how I would accomplish that without the support beams. But you are right, it would certainly make the room feel more open if I got rid of the columns.


I was inspired by this design, but do not like having the rear surrounds up against the side walls

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

I understand your preference for speaker location. For my taste once you make a decision to open up the space it should be as open as possible. I would go with with in-ceiling speakers for the rear surrounds and use something like this Triad:

 

[Mike_Stuewe]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC /forum/post/18215569


I understand your preference for speaker location. For my taste once you make a decision to open up the space it should be as open as possible. I would go with with in-ceiling speakers for the rear surrounds and use something like this Triad:

My wife would kill me if I bought new speakers.


What I could try is to space out the columns more. Put in a 3 foot wide entryway into the seating section instead of a 4 foot, and move the other over a foot. That would then give me 6.5 feet between the pillars and open it up more. I'll tinker with the drawings and see how it turns out.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

I spaced out the rear columns and I think it makes a world of difference.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

For reference, cell phone pics of the basement unfinished:


First is from where the bar level seating would be located in my finished drawing. The water line on the left of the pic is where the water comes into the home. Im hopeful that I can move most, if not all of that to the unfinished side.


Second is from the screen looking back. You can see the dreaded super loud furnace there.


Third and 4th are of the bonus TV section I have on my plans. And yes, I need 3 tv's going to keep myself motivated to workout.

 

[T3ddyG]

I fully agree about the rear columns taking up a lot of space in the room. It looks better in the redesigned photos above, but it would open it up even more if there was a way to not have the columns at all. Those columns define a separate space, but the bar already accomplishes that goal. If you didn't have the columns, more people would be able to see the screen while walking around or in crowded situations.


Is there a way to have a long drop speaker mount? Maybe something like those pipes they drop ceiling fans several feet on? Anyone know of a solution like this? The speaker would be kind of floating there. But if it was above the bar, and the wires were run inside the drop pipe, I think it could look professional.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Yup, drop then down via a pipe mount, and then angle them down even more toward the seating.

 

[T3ddyG]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC /forum/post/18216856


Yup, drop then down via a pipe mount, and then angle them down even more toward the seating.

Ohhhh... good idea. I was thinking to have a long pipe drop. But you raise a good point. He could use the existing speakers he has, drop them down a little bit, then angle them on the mount. So they don't have to be dropped down as far at all...

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Couple of these and a piece of pre-threaded pipe (off-the-shelf) from HD. Paint them all with a flat black paint, Run the wire down the center. Then fashion a wedged shaped piece of wood as the transition between the speaker and the flange.

 

[Ted White]

I'd say one issue is the exposed stairwell. Stairwells and support beams are the two things that we fear most. These two elements are connected to most house framing directly or indirectly. They become excellent conductors.


You can treat an exposed stairwell wall by decoupling from it. Without at least a door at the bottom, you would have sound flowing around to both sides of these walls. You would have to treat both sides of the wall.


Obviously airborne sound is headed straight up through the door on top. Doors are a weak link in the whole process.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted White /forum/post/18222668


I'd say one issue is the exposed stairwell. Stairwells and support beams are the two things that we fear most. These two elements are connected to most house framing directly or indirectly. They become excellent conductors.


You can treat an exposed stairwell wall by decoupling from it. Without at least a door at the bottom, you would have sound flowing around to both sides of these walls. You would have to treat both sides of the wall.


Obviously airborne sound is headed straight up through the door on top. Doors are a weak link in the whole process.

I was looking to demo the existing stairwell drywall walls and ceiling, and redo them with insulation, DD+GG. Then put up a solid core door at the top of the steps.


Unfortunately, I dont think I can do a door at the bottom of the steps because of the post that is there when you immediately walk downstairs. I would only have 2'8" from the door to the post, making furniture nearly impossible to get downstairs.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

Ted, thanks again for the assistance.


With the door and access panel I have planned to the furnace area, am I wasting my time to do DD+GG w/ staggered studs on those walls? Or can I button up the doors and access panel well enough that I can minimize furnace noise. A low hum honestly wont bother me, but I dont want to have to change the volume of what I am watching because the furnace kicked on.


I grabbed my SPL meter and the furnace pumps out a solid 70-75 db when it is running, from 4 feet away.

 

[BeerParty]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike_Stuewe /forum/post/18215318


Yes, its open to the entire basement, figured it would be a better atmosphere for parties and gatherings.


Yes to double drywall on all walls and ceiling.


I figured staggered stud walls around the utility area, which I didnt really mark but its across from the steps as you would walk down them. I would DD and GG in there not for visual purposes but just for sound. Might have the contractor do that last or by myself if its needed.


Where else would I need staggered stud walls? Only place I could think would be along the wall that rests against the steps.


For the ceiling I would like to do R-19, DD with GG, and Isolation Clips. At a later date my wife wants to redo the flooring on the first floor so I would throw in material on that side as well if needed.

Sounds like a lot of thought and effort went into isolation, good for you. The staggered stud walls would only be between areas that you want sound isolation, so in your situation they would only make sense around the utilities and possibly in the stairwell. If you have details about the stairwell and the door to upstairs, we would like to hear some more about that.


The plan looks excellent so far (from here anyway

).

 

[Ted White]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike_Stuewe /forum/post/18223929



I was looking to demo the existing stairwell drywall walls and ceiling, and redo them with insulation, DD+GG. Then put up a solid core door at the top of the steps.

It would really be advisable to decouple those walls to reduce conduction, increase isolation.


Unfortunately, I dont think I can do a door at the bottom of the steps because of the post that is there when you immediately walk downstairs. I would only have 2'8" from the door to the post, making furniture nearly impossible to get downstairs.

I hear you. We expect practical compromises. If anything could be done along those lines, things would improve.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

2 more contractors scheduled to come out this week.


Had one on Saturday. He looked at me completely dumbfounded when I told him I wanted to do double drywall and use a special product called green glue. He then went on to say you could spend all the money in the world on this stuff but is it really worth the benefit. Valid point.


But then he wouldnt shut up about it. My wife said I was rude to the guy because APPARENTLY I grabbed my netbook and started surfing the web while he was talking