# Need advice on finishing out my theater room



## superfly19 (Jan 19, 2009)

I managed to clear out my stand alone workshop that would be ideal for a home theater. The internal dimensions are 27 X 15 X 10 (H). It's a standalone stucco exterior building with a asphalt shingle roof. The ceiling is currently unfinished with the joists are exposed. I haven’t dug into the walls yet, but I expect that they are 1/2" drywall with no insulation behind them. The floor is cement and there are two smallish windows that can be easily plugged.

I’m planning to finish the ceiling at the 10ft height (unless someone recommends a better one) with 5/8” drywall and R19 insulation on top of that with six canned lights split into three zones for front, middle and rear and put carpet for the floor. I ran the room mode calculator and the dimensions of the room looked reasonably favorable.

My questions are regarding the walls and general room treatment issues. Since this is an out building and I have no need to isolate the sound to this room only, I’d rather not rip down the existing drywall and insulate the walls. I can live with no insulation if the result will still be good enough acoustically. I’m considering adding another layer of 5/8 drywall with green glue in between, but is that going to buy me a difference that I can hear?

I am planning to treat the room with the standard assortment of bass traps and wall panels, run REW and treat the responses with the DSP1124P. My system is a 7.1 with dual subs. 

I don’t want to get carried away and I don’t need to squeeze every bit of performance out of the room. I’m looking for the 80/20 type of approach. 

What will get me the most bang for my buck? Insulate the walls, double layer the drywall with no insulation, special treatment beneath the carpet? I’m looking for realistic expert advice on how to proceed. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jon


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Welcome to the Shack! If no need for isolation, no need for Green Glue.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

I'd insulate the walls so they can work for you for a little bass absorption instead of ringing like a drum.

Agree with Ted on the Green Glue. 

Bryan


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## superfly19 (Jan 19, 2009)

Just exploring options here, has anyone had any experience with blowing cellulose insulation between the wall studs without removing the existing insulation? It looks like that may be an option.

What about adding another layer drywall with a sheet of foam insulation in between? Would the empty wall cavity still cause ringing?

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks for the help.

Jon


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

You can certainly blow in insulation from the top of each cavity and then patch up the small hole. 

As for the wall, think of a bass drum with and without a pillow in it and how different it sounds. Same thing.

Bryan


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## superfly19 (Jan 19, 2009)

The good news is that I opened up the wall in a couple of locations and discovered that the walls are indeed insulated. It's a huge relief knowing that I won't need to deal with fixing that problem. 

So the next question concerns the canned lights I'm thinking about putting into the ceiling. I have a couple of different ideas on how to install them: Either build a 3' wide step around the perimeter of the room to create a recessed ceiling with the lights in the step along the walls; or forgo the step and put the lights right into the ceiling. A third option would be to build the step and put the lights in the recessed area. 

One of the goals of this room will be to get that chest pounding bass. I'll probably end up with two or more subs to get there, but the real question is how sealed does the room need to be. Should I seal the lights with boxes and really go after the tightness of the room, or is that necessary if I don't care about the sound escaping from the room. So many of the recommendations I read on this forum are for people that are concerned about sound proofing their room. This is not the case with this room. This is an out building situated on two acres of land. I can turn it up as loud as I like.

Here are some pictures of what I'm starting with.


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## Matteo (Jul 12, 2006)

That looks like a fun project. My first thought is that you should build an IF sub and use the attic as the box. Once you have an IB sub, all other subs in a reasonable price range seem wimpy. Also, it is fun and cool to say you built your subs. 

If that is not something you want to tackle, or you really have good subs now, I am a big fan of suspended ceilings. I think acoustically they are nice and it makes for easy re-wiring when something new develops. If you did that, you can still have a recess around the edge to put some track lighting or cans. My 2cents.

matteo


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## Mansionmanager (May 13, 2008)

Have you built your ceiling yet?


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## superfly19 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks for asking and unfortunately not. I got hit with a few unexpected expenses (like needing to get a new car) and had to redirect the money I saved up for the project. I did ultimately decide to go with an IB subwoofer composed of four FI 18" woofers mounted in two separate baffles located in the ceiling above the front main speakers, but I haven't been able to move forward with my plans yet. It will probably be a couple of months before anything happens.


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## Tommy077 (May 15, 2010)

While a suspended ceiling would be easy to get back into if you made any changes, the concern I would have is if you're planning to run the systems wide open a lot, unless you use clips to keep the ceiling tiles in place, you may have an issue with the tiles rattling if the don't fit snug. Of course you could use the tiles made of sheetrock which would give some weight to them and have less of a chance of rattling. I have seen some tiles that are so loose that they rattle with the opening of an outside door. Don't know how well the walls are built and if the building will have a pressure difference or not, but it is something you will want to consider. At least with a sheetrock ceiling, you won't have to worry with a rattle issue.

When it comes to sound treatments (if you use them) with recessed lighting, you will have to consider placement of those as well for your treatments. An option you may want to look into is some low voltage track lighting. You could run the perimeter of the room with that and you could add what you need as far as fixtures to get the light you need should you make the room a multi-purpose room.

Hope you get to start on that project soon!


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## Mansionmanager (May 13, 2008)

I have always liked a "tray" ceiling. Yours would be fairly easy. I believe you have about a 10' celing. I would leave that height for the center area, and just frame in a soffit that comes in 2' - 3' and drops down about 20". 

I had the opposite situation where my ceiling was only 8' and I had to cut out and reframe the trusses to make it about 10' in the center.

 

I installed recess lighting and made different zones connected to a Lutron Grafik Eye QS. That way you can have several different lighting scenes.

Here is my ceiling "after":


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