# Dedicated Basement Home Theater Build



## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

Hello fellow HT enthusiasts!

I have always wanted a dedicated Home Theater and now the time is finally right! I am not ready to build as there’s so much that I don’t know, but a fellow forum member convinced me that it’s best to go ahead and start a build thread to get many questions answered. 

The primary use will be for anamorphic content. The primary audience will be my family of four with additional friends on occasion. I don’t want to see any speakers, so I’ll be building a screen wall and hiding the rear and surround channels in DIY built columns. All audio equipment will be placed in a separate room to control the heat and to simply hide the equipment from view. I will build a DIY mask to mask the sides of 16:9 content. I may place the projector in a separate room depending on orientation of the theater also to reduce heat, noise and clutter in the HT room.

I am no expert regarding Home Theaters. My new member’s post is located here:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/welcome-member-introduction/67612-new-member.html

I've been browsing this site and reading as many posts as I can and following others’ great HT builds. I am asking for your help along the way to provide guidance and advice, so please provide input to any questions or roadblocks that I come across.

Overview of my future theater:

Physical Considerations:

Located in the basement
Either 9’ or 8’ high walls (depending on room – see below)
Room dimensions (either 24’ x 11’ or 16’ x 12’ – depending on room – see below)
Black or near black ceiling
Suspended ceiling (for access for repairs) - update: one idea would be a trayed ceiling with the upper portion sheetrock and the bottom of the tray using suspended ceiling tiles. This would allow the best of both worlds - good noise insulation of sheetrock along with the ability to easily chase wires in the future.
Fiber optic stars in ceiling - may need to cancel this if I go with a sheetrocked ceiling
Dark walls
Front stage filled with sand
Front screen wall with speakers, bass traps and subs hidden behind

Sound Considerations:

Build 2 x 6 offset stud walls only on non-cement block walls
Acoustical drop down ceiling or trayed sheetrock ceiling with ceiling tiles for the trayed portion
Acoustic padding in carpet
One layer of sheetrock (no green glue & second layer) is planned. I don’t know how much benefit the second layer of sheetrock will add. Most likely, we would either be watching a movie, or using the other parts of the basement – not both. So, would this really help?
Mufflers on incoming and outgoing air ducting
Sand filled main stage
Insulation filled riser (if I have enough room for one)
Additional sound treatments such as bass traps, sound absorption materials on walls, etc. to be added in Phase II of project (see below)
Equipment:

Projector – TBD – needs to be black and automatically switch between anamorphic and 16:9 (and send out a trigger so the screen mask will move automatically)
Screen – acoustically transparent, manufacturer and size - TBD
Cinemascope using an anamorphic lens (Constant Image Height) – TBD – I want a fixed anamorphic lens
7.1 Surround with columns for the surround and rear channel speakers
Acoustically transparent front screen with speakers placed behind screen (screen wall)
Receiver – Existing for now
Speakers – Existing for now in a 7.1 setup (see below)
Seating – plush movie theater seats, or traditional flip-up movie seats? Could I get more seats with the flip-up type as they are smaller and closer together?

This project will be at least two distinct phases:

Phase I – Building of theater, screen wall, columns for speakers, purchase of screen and projector, but using current receiver and speakers. Note: I have two Bose Systems, which I can combine to create a 7.1 system. I know that these are not the best for a great HT, but this is what I have and they are free for me. I’'ll have two subs with this system and they are not separately powered, so the bass is very weak.
Phase II – I plan on building my own speakers and subs as I learn more about HT and after my theater is finished. I will probably build the subs first due to my existing subs being so underpowered. After my theater is completed (1st phase), I’'ll have more time to work on the speakers.
Now, the first major consideration is which room to use for the theater.

*Room 1 (Bedroom)*: This is an existing bedroom that is not really used often and it measures 24’ x 11’. This ceiling height is 8’ due to an existing suspended ceiling and HVAC ducts running perpendicular to floor joists. The room is plenty long enough; however, I am concerned about this room because this will limit the size of my cinemascope screen. Also, this room has windows (which I can cover) and a doorway to a bathroom, which can’t easily be reconfigured and it’s the only bathroom the basement. The bathroom is opposite the wall with the windows (lengthwise across the room), so this kind of rules this room out. I would also be able to build a second raised row for seating in this room since it’s so long. A disadvantage of using this room is this is taking a nice guest bedroom and converting it to where it might not appeal to a potential buyer if we ever needed to sell the house (if they were wanting an extra guest bedroom).









*Room 2 (Workshop)*: This is an existing storage room / workshop that measures 16’ x 12’. The ceiling height could be 9' (or slightly higher) as there is no existing suspended ceiling and no HVAC ducts in the way. The advantage of this room is that there are no windows and the entrance is along an 8' hallway that could be kept dark at all times (even as people come and go during a movie). This room is completely underground, with two walls being cement block. The advantage of this room is the 12’ in width and having no windows or bathrooms. The only disadvantage is the length. This room also has several locations nearby (outside of the room) where I could place all of the electronics (this would be harder than Room 1). 









If I convert the workshop to a theater, then I could separate the 24’ x 11’ bedroom into two rooms each being 12’ x 11’. One would be a workshop and the other would be a bedroom with workout equipment with an adjoining bathroom. I am really leaning towards this option as this preserves the windows and bathroom to be in a bedroom and converts a really dark workshop into a HT.

I am not going to start the construction for several months. I want to build something that I'll enjoy for years to come. I want to learn as much as possible so that I don't regret some of my decisions later on (I know that this is impossible), but I'm just not in any hurry. I want my theater to be nice and I'm looking at doing everything myself (except laying the carpet)!

Thanks, everyone!


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## jstanley214 (May 22, 2013)

It sounds like you're on your way to one hell of an awesome home theater setup. Good luck! Looking forward to following along and seeing how it goes!


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## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

Hey Morpheus. I think you've got a great setup planned, though I do have a few random comments.

I would definitely use the 16x12x9 room. The ceiling height is desirable...especially if you are going to use a tile ceiling. The room proportions are pretty good and the width is nice for maximizing your anamorphic screen. The downside is the depth. With a screen wall, you will probably be left with 14 feet of depth, which may not big enough for more than one row of seats. You'll have to do a floor plan to be sure. Certainly, classic flip up seats would be more compact, but I just love the plush theater recliners. Maybe you could fit one row of each....:huh:

I wonder what are your sound isolation goals? You mentioned using staggered stud walls, but if you are only using tiled ceilings, there is no point of going into any extra effort elsewhere. I may be wrong, but as far as I know, a tiled ceiling is is as good as a wide open door. So, let's define your sound isolation goals then work a structural plan from there.

Disclaimer: I am biased against anamorphic lenses, but it's great if that's what you want.
I just want to point out that if you use a fixed anamorphic lens, you will be discarding 25% of the pixels in your movie source data for a 16:9 format image. In other words, you will have to compress your 16:9 image width coming out of the projector so that the lens can stretch it back out to it's original format. Since you can't compress your horizontal pixel density, the projector will discard every fourth column of pixel data (probably with some processing to blend it though). However, you stated that your most important goal was to show anamorphic formats, so your plan definitely accomplishes that. 


Alright...i gotta run, but I'm looking forward to your build and hope that I can help out with your plans. Have FUN!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

The 11x24 is kind of breaking one of the rules and can end up giving you kind of a tunnel effect. What if you turned it into an 11x20 room? Or 11x19? Use the rest of it as the equipment location. Doesn't have the higher ceiling but has the length to do a couple of rows if desired and is only 1' narrower than the other room.

Bryan


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## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

One very interesting idea you can do with the long room is rear projection. You could locate your equipment and projector behind the screen. I don' think you can do acoustically transparent and rear pro, but you could put speakers below the screen behind GOM cloth panels. It would make wiring/upgrades dead simple and it has a certain appeal to not see the projector. Just food for thought.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Just a thought... Wouldn't it be better to build the speakers first? Then you could determine where they will sound the best and plan your build by the results you get with testing.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

If you're using an AT screen, then an 11' width is ample because you can have your screen almost as wide as the room if you wish..
The L&R speakers ideally need to be well inside the width of the screen anyway to eliminate boundary effect.

Closing off the back of the room to reduce the overall length and placing your equipment there as Bryan mentioned is a good idea..


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## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

jstanley214 said:


> It sounds like you're on your way to one moo baby moo of an awesome home theater setup. Good luck! Looking forward to following along and seeing how it goes!


Thanks, jstanley214!



hddummy said:


> I would definitely use the 16x12x9 room. The ceiling height is desirable...especially if you are going to use a tile ceiling. The room proportions are pretty good and the width is nice for maximizing your anamorphic screen. The downside is the depth. With a screen wall, you will probably be left with 14 feet of depth, which may not big enough for more than one row of seats. You'll have to do a floor plan to be sure. Certainly, classic flip up seats would be more compact, but I just love the plush theater recliners. Maybe you could fit one row of each....:huh:


The ceiling in this room might even be able to be slightly higher than 9'. This room is not finished. I can take the ceiling nearly to the floor joists. The ceiling of the other room is already finished and HVAC ducts run perpendicular to the floor joists, so I can't go any higher than 8' in that room. One option is to knock out a wall to extend the length of the 16 x 12 room so that I can get a second row of seating.



hddummy said:


> I wonder what are your sound isolation goals? You mentioned using staggered stud walls, but if you are only using tiled ceilings, there is no point of going into any extra effort elsewhere. I may be wrong, but as far as I know, a tiled ceiling is is as good as a wide open door. So, let's define your sound isolation goals then work a structural plan from there.


Good point. I am not sure what my goals are. The majority of the time, the whole family would be watching a movie together leaving no one else to bother. I don't know my sound isolation goals yet, so I'll have to think about it. Your point makes me think that one option would be to sheet rock the ceiling and install a tray around the edge and put in suspended ceiling tiles in the bottom of the tray with insulation above. This way, I can minimize sound transfer in the middle of the ceiling, yet still have access around the periphery for running additional wires, etc. However, with this approach, I'd probably have to lose the fiber optic stars. Great point, thanks for the feedback!



hddummy said:


> Disclaimer: I am biased against anamorphic lenses, but it's great if that's what you want.
> I just want to point out that if you use a fixed anamorphic lens, you will be discarding 25% of the pixels in your movie source data for a 16:9 format image. In other words, you will have to compress your 16:9 image width coming out of the projector so that the lens can stretch it back out to it's original format. Since you can't compress your horizontal pixel density, the projector will discard every fourth column of pixel data (probably with some processing to blend it though). However, you stated that your most important goal was to show anamorphic formats, so your plan definitely accomplishes that.


Great point on losing the pixels on 16:9 format. I hadn't thought of that. Why are you biased against anamorphic lenses? Maybe you could PM me? I majority of movies that I watch are widescreen (2.35 or 2.40:1) and I would love to create that experience at home.



hddummy said:


> Alright...i gotta run, but I'm looking forward to your build and hope that I can help out with your plans. Have FUN!


Thanks a lot for your help thus far and getting me started on my build thread!



bpape said:


> The 11x24 is kind of breaking one of the rules and can end up giving you kind of a tunnel effect. What if you turned it into an 11x20 room? Or 11x19? Use the rest of it as the equipment location. Doesn't have the higher ceiling but has the length to do a couple of rows if desired and is only 1' narrower than the other room.
> 
> Bryan


Good idea. This is possible. I am leaning towards using the other room now. I was originally planning on using this room and creating a screen wall as well as a 4' wide AV room, which would accomplish what you are recommending. Thanks for the feedback.



hddummy said:


> One very interesting idea you can do with the long room is rear projection. You could locate your equipment and projector behind the screen. I don' think you can do acoustically transparent and rear pro, but you could put speakers below the screen behind GOM cloth panels. It would make wiring/upgrades dead simple and it has a certain appeal to not see the projector.  Just food for thought.


I really am wanting the AT screen. I really like the clean look. I thought about hiding the projector in an adjacent room (still front projection, though).



ellisr63 said:


> Just a thought... Wouldn't it be better to build the speakers first? Then you could determine where they will sound the best and plan your build by the results you get with testing.


You're probably right. Very good point; however, I can only purchase some of the components at a time. To your point, I will reconsider my plans. I'll build the columns for the speakers, but not permanently attach them. I'll wait till have I have the new speakers and wait for sound treatment (walls, bass traps, etc. until I have the speakers and can test them).



Prof. said:


> If you're using an AT screen, then an 11' width is ample because you can have your screen almost as wide as the room if you wish..
> The L&R speakers ideally need to be well inside the width of the screen anyway to eliminate boundary effect.


Very good point, Prof! I had originally planned to do this, but then read up on bass traps. Are bass traps effective behind AT screens? If so, then this is the way that I'll go!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Morpheus said:


> Very good point, Prof! I had originally planned to do this, but then read up on bass traps. Are bass traps effective behind AT screens? If so, then this is the way that I'll go!


Most definitely...Plus your bass traps will be out of sight..


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## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

Does anyone have suggestions for the screen wall depth? I will build subwoofers at a later date, which I would expect to be the primary constraint for the depth of the screen wall (as the L/C/R speakers should be shallower than the subs).

Also, what are your suggestions for the depth of the columns, which will house the surround and rear channels? I will likely build my own speakers as well, but what is a general depth that will fit the majority of surround and rear channel speakers?

Does anyone have any ideas with using curtains? Could I use this to mask the sides when showing 16:9 content, or will this interfere with bass traps? I don't know how much space I'll lose on either side of the room when the curtains are fully opened, but I like the idea of the screen opening at the beginning of the movie. Any thoughts?

Any other advice or comments?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Absolute minimum I would do would be 24" from the face of the TREATED front wall to the back side of the false screen wall framing. 

Bryan


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## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

bpape said:


> Absolute minimum I would do would be 24" from the face of the TREATED front wall to the back side of the false screen wall framing.
> 
> Bryan


Ok, thanks Bryan! The treatment is usually about 2"? Is there any advantage to keeping the cement block walls (2 of them), or should I cover them with studs and Sheetrock? 

Which walls are better for the stage or rear wall (cement block vs. traditional wall with studs)? Since I have two adjacent block walls, I can choose to project to either a cement block wall or wall with studs.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

From an isolation standpoint, you're better to build, insulate, and drywall and wall decoupled from the block.


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## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

bpape said:


> From an isolation standpoint, you're better to build, insulate, and drywall and wall decoupled from the block.


Ok, so it doesn't make any difference on the orientation, then? What about for sound carryover into the adjacent room? I'll put 2 x 6's with staggered studs, but would there be less sound transmission if this wall is where the screen wall is built or just the opposite (that this wall should be the back wall of the theater room)?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

You want the studs and drywall on the inside so it can flex a bit which helps with not transmitting sound. The block is a nice chunk of mass between inside and outside. The combination works well


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Morpheus said:


> Does anyone have any ideas with using curtains? Could I use this to mask the sides when showing 16:9 content, or will this interfere with bass traps? I don't know how much space I'll lose on either side of the room when the curtains are fully opened, but I like the idea of the screen opening at the beginning of the movie. Any thoughts?
> 
> Any other advice or comments?


When using curtains for masking, you'll need to ensure that you have a straight edge on the curtains..To achieve this just sow in a thin straight piece of timber or alum. at the edge of the curtains..
This will give you a nice straight sharp edge to the mask..


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## Morpheus (May 13, 2013)

Prof. said:


> When using curtains for masking, you'll need to ensure that you have a straight edge on the curtains..To achieve this just sow in a thin straight piece of timber or alum. at the edge of the curtains..
> This will give you a nice straight sharp edge to the mask..


Nice! Great idea, Prof!


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