# Stone veneer in the theater



## Guest (Nov 6, 2007)

John Simpson wrote:

Yeah, that's shaping up to be spectacular, Mif -- good job!

That stone veneer you're using... is it Eldorado stone? We're about to start building, and will be using stone veneer extensively. As we're doing the stone ourselves, I'm keen to hear about other experiences (and I saw your note about screwing the wire support to the wall -- point well taken!).

I wouldn't worry too much about the sound properties of the insulation -- you can always add diffuser/absorption panels once the room's complete.

Thanks John. The stone veneer brand is 'Dutch Quality Stone'. I could bore you with the details of my evaluation but it will suffice to say that the price/realism/availability ratio worked for me. While there were certainly some brands that did not look very good, for me the key was to over-grout the joints so that it wasn't possible to see the thickness of the veneer or the substrate to which it was attached. The pictures in the theater do not yet show grout, but much of my house is covered in the stuff and it looks very convincing with the over grouted joints.

It's interesting (read: messy) stuff to work with and getting the mortar mix right makes a big difference. As does establishing a sound base (metal lath). Kind of fun though. 

Feel free to ping me offline if you want to hear any more about my fledgling stone work.

Cheers
Andy


----------



## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Post some pics!


----------



## Guest (Nov 6, 2007)

Oops, sorry. This was linked to from another thread where I had provided a link. Forgot that someone might drop in here directly.

With luck, this is what I'm supposed to have done:



Hmmm. That only shows one pic without a way to get to the others. Let's try this:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/9109

Apologies if this is not proper etiquette!

Andy


----------



## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

Looks very very cool but how would the stone veneer affect the room acoustics?

I could see it being a bit diffuse in nature due to the unevenness of it, but I bet it would be pretty reflective otherwise. It would probably add to the soundproofing of the room since it's pretty high mass.

DO you plan on adding panel absorbers and/or bass traps?


----------



## Bob_99 (May 8, 2006)

> Looks very very cool but how would the stone veneer affect the room acoustics?


That would be my question also. It would be great if you posted measurements when you're done. I am very curious at what the response of the room might look like.

Bob


----------



## Guest (Nov 6, 2007)

MatrixDweller said:


> Looks very very cool but how would the stone veneer affect the room acoustics?
> 
> I could see it being a bit diffuse in nature due to the unevenness of it, but I bet it would be pretty reflective otherwise. It would probably add to the soundproofing of the room since it's pretty high mass.
> 
> DO you plan on adding panel absorbers and/or bass traps?


Probably pretty reflective, yes. But only a small bit of stone is in the actual listening room. Most of the stone is on the entry hall. And even then there's not really all that much of it. I don't see it being any more of a problem than the raised panel woodwork (which might be a problem as well!)

I'm not planning on any additional accoustical treatments at this time. I used the Excel room mode calculator from this site to set up the fundamental dimensions of the room (13.5W x 18.5L x 9H) so that I'd have my basic response characteristics under control. From everything I've read, I can tweak minor acoustic issues with wall coverings/bass traps/etc. I'll cross that bridge when (and if) I come to it I guess. With any luck, maybe I won't need to do anything?


----------



## Guest (Nov 6, 2007)

Bob_99 said:


> That would be my question also. It would be great if you posted measurements when you're done. I am very curious at what the response of the room might look like.
> 
> Bob


Hi Bob - by measurements do you mean a frequency response graph? I'd be happy to do that if I had the equipment. I suppose I could use my laptop and I have a number of microphones but none have a flat response. Some are good vocal/acoustic guitar mics. Some are good kick drum mics, etc.

Or am I making this too difficult? How would you measure your room's acoustic properties? :dunno:


----------



## Bob_99 (May 8, 2006)

Room measurement is relatively easy and I think many of the members of this forum would agree that it's a very worthwhile thing to do. The REW software is available for free on this site and all you would need is an external sound card (see http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/ for more details) and a moderately inexpensive microphone like the behringer ecm 8000. If you have questions, ask them on that thread and there are many very knowledgable people that will be happy to help you.

Bob


----------



## John Simpson (May 10, 2007)

I wonder... although the stone will be very reflective, the angled diffusion could be quite desirable. People forget that surround sound requires a small degree of reflected sound in order to be totally convincing -- acoustically dead rooms are only needed for sound recording studios.

And did I mention, those feux-footings look **** sexy!


----------

