New HT Room Planning Stage

[htsteve]

All,
We are planning to update our basement. Part of that update will be to construct a HT room in the corner of the basement. :T Below are some facts about the planned room and also what I plan to do in creating the room. We plan to begin within a month or two.

Please provide feedback on the plan. I’ve investigated things like Quietrock, Acoustiblok, etc. But these all are expensive. I’d rather leave money for room treatment after the room is built (best use of funds concept). Please suggest any ideas and improvements for soundproofing and in room sound, along with any tips or things to be prepared for as the project moves along.

Room Facts:
7' high, 11’ wide by 16’ long, directly under my kids bedrooms
Rear wall and right wall are foundation walls. These are already framed out with ½” drywall and paneling.
Two small windows on the rear wall (glass block size). They have wood shutters on them. These knock out most of the light during the day.
New walls will be the left wall and the projection screen wall.

Room Plans:
Current walls: Remove paneling on the right and rear walls. Add R20 insulation between drywall and foundation. R13 to be added in between joists and above foundation.
Ceiling: R19 in between the joists. I’m still figuring out the actual ceiling materials. I’m leaning towards soundboard and drywall, possibly with space in between (like a resilient channel solution). I’m also figuring out how to put in a small PVC pipe so I can pull the HDMI cable across the ceiling to the projector (as well as have a pipe for any future needs). Once the ceiling is done, we plan to put black fabric on it.
New walls: Staggered stud 2X6 wall construction for the left and projection wall. These will be insulated. Solid oak door into room.

I'm planning on a Wall Damp and Iso Ceiling from ASC (Acoustic Sciences Corp.).

Wiring: Will be wired for 7.1, currently have a 5.1 system. HDMI for the projector.
Electrical: 20 amp dedicated circuit for electronics. 15 amp dedicated circuit with UPS for the projector. 4 home theater wall sconces for lighting.
Colors: Black fabric on ceiling, midnight blue on left, right and rear walls. Dark gray on projection screen wall. Burgundy carpet.
Acoustic Treatments after room built and equipment moved in.

Any input is appreciated.

[htsteve]

In Full Swing

All,

We've been busy the last couple of weeks. Ultimately we dicided to spend more money in the construction of the room. My wife was the one who encouraged me to spend more there and 'build it right'!

This is the final construction of the room.

Ceiling: Rock wool, resilent channel and perimeter gasket (from Acoustic Sciences Corp, ASC) and 5/8" soundbreak drywall.

New walls: 2X6 staggerred stud, insulation, ASC resilient channel on the inside walls, 5/8" soundbreak drywall. Wall Damp from ASC and regular 5/8" drywall on the ouside of the walls. Blocking between studs to stabilize it.

Foundation Walls: same as new walls except the 2X4 framing was already in place.

Openings: Used acoustic caulk between wall and ceiling panels, all openings. We used about 8 tubes.

[htsteve]

Pictures

All,

Here are some pictures.

[RebelMan]

How did you determine what the room's dimensions would be? Are you doing all the work yourself? What is your total construction time frame? What have you budgeted for the room project including treatments but excluding any equipment?

[htsteve]

How did you determine what the room's dimensions would be? Are you doing all the work yourself? What is your total construction time frame? What have you budgeted for the room project including treatments but excluding any equipment?

RebelMan,

The HT room was part of a larger basement redo. I researched ideal room dimensions for an HT room (I found some 'golden ratios'). I then applied that to the basement I had to work with. Obviously, the ceiling height was fairly fixed. Also, there were two poles I wanted to hide in the walls. It all worked out to 11 ft wide by 16 ft long with 7' ceilings.

I did design, tear out, material acquisition and painting. I'm having the rest done by the pros (framing, mechanical, drywall, electrical, etc.). The basement started clearing out on March 14. I used the next week to clear out and tear out.

Framing started March 24. Framing, electrical, insulation, AV pre wire and drywall took three weeks (this also included the other parts of the basement that were also done). I primed the basement this past weekend. I've been painting this week. Carpet next Monday, finish electrical Tuesday and AV install (projector, screen and calibration) is next Wednesday. Unfortunately, the HT room door is custom size and won't be available until the week after AV install. So end to end about 6 weeks.

As to cost, I will figure that out. Some costs are direct with the HT room. Others are part of the overall basement budget. I'll do a carve out and send you some info.

As to treatments, I will include the acoustic elements of the construction of the HT room. As to in-room room treatments, I plan on doing that after things are complete and analysis is done.

Hope this helps.

[htsteve]

New HT Room

All,

The new HT room is up and running. Pictures are attached. All the planning and hard work has paid off. It looks and sounds fantastic. Also made a late addition to the lineup. An opportunity came up to get a Velodyne DD-18 :E . That is the large box on the wall of the theater.
The acoustic treatments are working very well. Sound inside is awesome and you can't really hear much outside the theater, especially my kids rooms, which are directly above the room.

[John Holmes]

Nice job, Steve! Looks great!