# My odd shaped room



## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Hello fellow shacksters,

I have this odd shaped room which I was hoping to do something with in terms of being able to watch movies, tv, etc. with surround sound.

For those who followed my intro I have (finally) sourced all the components and have jury rigged it to test it out. It works quite well but I know it can do better.

Here is a floor plan which I hope won't scare you too much. All walls are single brick and at the moment the breezeways can't be infilled, although I'm working on that. Ceilings are 31 courses (8' 9") with an extra recess over most of it (rectangle in the drawing) of another 3 courses taking it to ~9' 6".

When I mentioned why I was taking measurements the WAF went from "Why all the speakers?" to "You're mad if you think you're doing THAT!" Oh well...........

View attachment HT_Imp.pdf
All units have been rounded and are only approximate. If anyone would like it metric I can do that too. BTW I couldn't work out how to attach the plan inline, sorry.

What can the HT gurus say about this option?

Thanks
Cheers,


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I think it might be clearer to us if you can take some photos of the room..
Are you looking at a projector and screen set up, or a TV room?


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Prof. said:


> I think it might be clearer to us if you can take some photos of the room..
> Are you looking at a projector and screen set up, or a TV room?


+1 I looked at the pdf; which area do you intend to use as a HT, and how do you intend to place the equipment and speakers? We will be more than happy to help, but I think that a bit more info is needed, or I'm simply overlooking the obvious. If so, it would not be the first time that I made such an error!


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Agreed, we love to help, but I too can't seem to get a handle on what the room really looks like. Some pics would help a lot.


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

OK will get some pics but it's a bit "messy" at the moment with an overload of furniture and equipment.

I have no idea where to put anything, whether I should be looking for a screen or pj, or what would be the best place for the rack, etc. I am completely open to ideas, suggestions, options, etc. due to the odd shape. If it was a rectangle then it would be easier to say the viewing wall will be that one.

Will get back to you soon.
Cheers,


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

Dotball said:


> OK will get some pics but it's a bit "messy" at the moment with an overload of furniture and equipment.
> 
> I have no idea where to put anything, whether I should be looking for a screen or pj, or what would be the best place for the rack, etc. I am completely open to ideas, suggestions, options, etc. due to the odd shape. If it was a rectangle then it would be easier to say the viewing wall will be that one.
> 
> ...


Hi, I was unsure what your diagram meant as well. 
Is the rectangle your "Listening area" ?


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

robbo266317 said:


> Hi, I was unsure what your diagram meant as well.
> Is the rectangle your "Listening area" ?


We could help with placement issues, but- as noted- the pics of the HT room would be a GREAT help.


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Photos as requested. Note the recessed ceiling, that is the square in the drawing.

































So what can you recommend?

Thanks
Cheers,


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Dotball said:


> Photos as requested. Note the recessed ceiling, that is the square in the drawing.
> 
> View attachment 37426
> 
> ...


OK..The obvious problem is that you have too many openings in the room..
The large opening in the left of the last photo would need to be either closed off or have doors fitted to make it anything like a theatre room..

My recommendations would be to place the screen on the wall where the two smaller openings are situated..
If they can't be closed off then you could look at a retractable screen..
That wall also provides the most symmetrical layout for speaker placement and it's the shorter of the two..

You'll only have enough room for one row of seats and surround speakers should be able to be mounted to the side walls..
You could even fit in a Popcorn stand in the back alcove area or a small bar!..

Others may have other ideas..


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks for the reply Prof.,

Sorry, should have said the large opening you picked is, in fact, a door frame and would have two doors added. Depending on cost I could possibly make them solid core. Is that necessary?

As you can see, the adjacent room (through the two openings) is the current lounge/tv viewing room and if we want to use both at the same time then those openings would definitely need to be blocked off. Unfortunately, the WAF on that is zero at the moment. :foottap: Can you get sound proof curtains?? onder:

Is anyone interested in buying some furniture so I can make room?

Hadn't considered doing anything in that alcove, so there's food for thought.

Anything else please feel free to ask.

Cheers,


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Dotball said:


> Thanks for the reply Prof.,
> 
> Sorry, should have said the large opening you picked is, in fact, a door frame and would have two doors added. Depending on cost I could possibly make them solid core. Is that necessary?
> 
> ...


TBH, when I saw the pictures and read Prof's suggestions, I was thinking "that is how I would do it too".

After reading your reply, I tried to come up with alternatives, but they involve framing off portions of that back area to create more room symmetry and make a screen wall. However, that seems like it would make the room too small.

Perhaps someone else will think of other alternatives.....


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## ambesolman (Apr 25, 2011)

I agree with the above posts. Since your wife doesn't want the wall closed up, just get everything ready and watch your first movie while she's in the tv room watching something else. She'll come around


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Ambesolman,

I had a good chuckle at your suggestion, I'd probably find out pretty quick she does know how to use a set of side cutters. lol

I guess I'm OK with setting it up as a movie room and really only using it when we sit down to watch a movie, so the ideas so far will come in very handy. If it became an argument between normal TV and the movie room the normal TV would win because she can see that from the kitchen and I don't want to rock that boat. :nono:

Is it best to have the rears facing directly at the seating position or can they be angled towards the front due to the walls?

Thanks for all the ideas so far, if there's anything else please keep them coming.

Cheers,


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Dotball said:


> Thanks for the reply Prof.,
> 
> Sorry, should have said the large opening you picked is, in fact, a door frame and would have two doors added. Depending on cost I could possibly make them solid core. Is that necessary?


That would certainly help to give you some isolation from the rest of the house..



> As you can see, the adjacent room (through the two openings) is the current lounge/tv viewing room and if we want to use both at the same time then those openings would definitely need to be blocked off. Unfortunately, the WAF on that is zero at the moment. :foottap: Can you get sound proof curtains?? onder:


What you could do here is to make up some removeable panels..It would basically consist of a framework to fit inside the openings, with a surrounding frame to cover any gaps..Then fix a plasterboard panel to the frame..
You would then cover the plasterboard with acoustic insulation and finally cover that with some GOM or grill cloth..These are known as "Window Plugs"
So when you want to watch a movie, you would place the plugs in the openings and held there with a couple of screws..and then when you've finished, just remove the plugs..

These panels will also help with the acoustics in the room..


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Hey Prof. that might just work! How would one go about creating these beasts?

Just re-read your post and you gave a brief outline. Care to elaborate please?

Cheers,


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Here is a site that has a description on creating a window plug:

http://www.soundaway.com/window_plug_s/56.htm

You can find several more by doing a Google search for _window plug_.


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Prof. has some great ideas! :TT

Would you be able to do (or hire someone to do) some custom installation? 

You _may_ be able to put the equipment in the little alcove, run wires (1 HDMI, 3 speaker for the monitor, left, right and center speakers and 1 RG6 for subwoofer) to the central point and use bipoles/dipoles on the side of the couch (where the chairs are currently located) for surrounds. Just a thought...:scratch:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The material shown on the link that Joe has provided would certainly be the easiest and simplest way to fix the problem..
The foam however is only 2" thick and your wall is obviously thicker than that..So on the TV room side, you're still going to show a cavity in the wall..

Thinking about the WAF..my idea is to completely fill the cavity, so it looks just like the wall on the other side of the theatre room..
It will require more work, but I think it would be more readily accepted by your wife..

Here is a rough sketch of my idea..










The only thing the sketch doesn't show is the frame which fits into the cavity..
This is simply a box frame..the same size as the opening with slight more depth than the cavity..
The surround frame on the TV side is permanently fixed to the wall with the internal dimensions slightly smaller than the opening..This will provide a stop for the plug when inserted.. The theatre room side surround frame is attached the edges of the box frame..

The end result is that when the plug is pushed into position, the plasterboard on the plug hits up against the surround frame on the TV room side..and the surround frame on the Theatre room side is flush against the wall..thereby sealing off the two rooms..

I hope I've explained that clearly enough for you to follow..


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## Dotball (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks Joe for the link and thanks Prof. for the description. I'll have to see how good my carpentry skills are. 

Cheers,


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