Building Theater room from scratch.

[t3031999]

I am finishing my basement and i am building a home theater in part of it.
I have a few questions associated with building the room from scratch.

1) Can the carpet have padding underneath it? (i'll be usings spikes)

2) Is a suspended tile ceiling or a standard sheetrock ceiling better? (or bare rafters and ductwork)

3) How can I cheaply sound-proof a window and doors? (i know how to do the walls)

4) Should I run an isolated ground to the component stand outlet? (any electricians out there)

5) Should I build absorbers into the walls, instead of putting them on top of the walls?

6) any other tips or suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[bpape]

1. Yes. Use good pad below - it will help make the floor more absorbtive at slightly lower frequencies.

2. I prefer sheetrock. It's better at isolating the room and also frees up the possibility to put more absorbtion scattered through the room in more effective places without overkilling the high frequencies. Whether you go with suspended or drywall, plan on filling the cavities totally with fiberglass or rockwool.

3. Cheap and soundproof don't go together - sorry. You can put a removable panel over the window that has 2 layers of drywall on the front and is filled with fiberglass. Leave a lip around the outside and weatherstrip the back. That's about the best cheap soundproofing you're going to do. As for the door, replace it with a solid core dore and get the edges sealed up. Consider a drop seal for the door bottom.

4. No need. If you run a dedicated circuit to the rack from the box and ground that appropriately, that will be fine.

5. If you can plan for it - sure. That will work fine for the bass treatments. Just understand that this means that those places will need to be sealed up and heavy drywall put on the back of the wall to keep sound from leaking in and out.

6. Plan, plan, plan. Consider everything together. Don't buy too big a screen - that's the biggest mistake people make. Figure out how many seats you want first. Put them in good locations acoustically. THEN look at the screen size that's appropriate for that seating distance that will also allow good speaker placement (not buried in the corners).

Don't forget to plan for cabling for things like IR repeaters, Cat5 or 6 for control, network, phone, masking systems, fan controllers, etc.

Also, run conduit everywhere! No matter how well you plan, something will come along that you didn't plan for or a new standard will come along that you need to rerun cable for, etc.

Welcome to the madness...

 

[majorloser]

I am finishing my basement and i am building a home theater in part of it.
I have a few questions associated with building the room from scratch.

1) Can the carpet have padding underneath it? (i'll be usings spikes)

2) Is a suspended tile ceiling or a standard sheetrock ceiling better? (or bare rafters and ductwork)

3) How can I cheaply sound-proof a window and doors? (i know how to do the walls)

4) Should I run an isolated ground to the component stand outlet? (any electricians out there)

5) Should I build absorbers into the walls, instead of putting them on top of the walls?

6) any other tips or suggestions?

Thanks.

1) Yes, and you'll need the spikes.
2) Definitely sheetrock. And add insulation, too.
3) Heavyweight curtain. You can put foam behind if they will never be opened.
4) First, verify the house electrical ground is good (ground rod and tie). Can be replaced if needed. All of your house electrical system must have the same common ground bonding (and not using the plumbing system). Cable/sat systems will usually put in their own ground for those cables (not power). I don't know if you live in an area of heavy electrical storms, but a different ground then the house can become the primary path for ground if the path is better. In other words, through the stuff you want to save. NOT GOOD
5) If you mean so it can't be heard out side the room. there are methods of isolating the room drywall from the other spaces. Send me a message with what you are thinking and I'll give you some ideas. If you mean accoustic panels, they will need to be place on the outside. They are meant to absorb or reflect sound waves.
6) Just use quality CL plenum rated cable for your in-wall runs. Do not run audio and power cable parallel to each other, only cross at 90 degs. If possible run them at different levels in the wall to give separation. Leave a little extra cable in the wall (12 inchs?) when you terminate the ends (gives you a little room if you need to strip back and re-terminate later).

Think FUTURE! If you are not going to have a 7.1 system at first, run the cables anyway. If you are going to have a ceiling-mounted front projector, run a 2 or 2 1/2 inch PVC conduit to the position in the ceiling you want the projector (follow manufacturer's throw guidelines). I ran the conduit. You can heat and bend PVC. Makes cable pulls and changes a snap.

 

[frankf]

1. Yes Definitly Use Padding,a Thick One.
2.good Soundproofing Is Not Cheap.my Dedicated Room Has 1/2" Drywall And 5/8" Drywall With Sheetblock In Between. Same Format On The Walls. Plus Mineral Fiber.....liken To Insulation Only Better For Sound Deadening.
3.windows Can Be Cover With The Same Application But Only Make It Removeable.or Just Eliminate The Window By Just Applying The Application. Especially If It Is A Small Window That You Really Don't Need.i Purchased Three Soundproofed Doors From Home Depot Reasonably Priced..........especially When The Clerk Only Rang Up Two Of Them.about $250.00 Each.
4.grounding Is Very Important! A Good Surge Protector Is Recommended.also Try To Have Your Equipment On There Own Line. The Same For Your Home Theater Lights.lastly, Run Ground Wire From All Of Your Equipment To A Central Post Then Run From The Post One Wire To Your Grounding Rod Outside Your House.don't Be Cheap With This Part Of Your Installation.you Won't Regret It.
5.same Process As In Number Two.auralex-auralex
6.don't Be Afraid To Think Of Future Upgrades. You Never Know When You Might Decide To Buy Those Rear Surrounds With Built In Subwoofers In Them That Have To Br Powered. Also A Great Idea That I Did........if You Are Starting From Scratch, Is To Run Your Cables That Are For Your Equipment Thru Pvc Pipe. (cheap)go With At Least 1" 1/2 To 1"3/4. Spray Your Cables With A Silicon Spray So The Cables Will Slide Thru Easily.
7.have Fun Doing Your Project.relax, Take A Break Or Two, Have Good Beer Or A Good Glass Of Wine And Enjoy.
Hope These Ideas Have Helped. Need Help Just Ask!