Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Lets plan a theater space

I havent figured out anything but its size so far. Most likely it will be diy using sealed double pane inserts and layers of mdf. I'll keep you posted.

I insisted on a door and she insisted on an open passthrough. This is our comprimise. It came up today after I double studded the wall. "This is staying open, right?" she said.

Panic swept over him.

Staying open ?

I was thinking more along the lines of a 1" steel plate that slid between the two rows of studs when you wanted to get in or out

^^^ You could also add a sensor, motor, and a small sound setup and have it automatically, open when someone walks up to the door with a "Star Trek" like whoosh sound


I can't imaging going through the efforts of all of the soundproofing just to have a massive hole that lets out most of the sound anyway... I read somewhere that there was a calculation based off of room size, opening size, and of course db level as to how much sound was actually escaping a room through that doorway. It was a surprisingly high number. Pretty much a "don't bother soundproofing without a door" type of number for most spaces.

There is a "strong wall/weak wall" calculation in one of my books somewhere. Basically, you can calculate total stc by adding sq. area of each value at different weightings. Way too involved for me.

I almost passed out when she said that. Good thing she came around to what we had agreed upon earlier. I heard in my mind a toilet flushing and saw $ going down it. I think it was a reaction to how cut up the basement seems now. It should look larger once drywalled.

I have left a 1/2 inch gap between the double wall and floor joist above. Right now it is temp pinned with deck screws. Should I beef it up or leave it as is? Concern here is decoupling, but I dont want the wall to fail either.

Oh yeah, it is pinned to blocking above at 2' intervals.

You still want the walls to be structurally sound. Yes, some flanking sound will go along the ceiling joists between the two walls, but unless someone uses clips to isolate the walls from the ceiling:


I didn't do this and I am very happy with the soundproofing with my staggered stud wall for 2 of my walls (the other 2 were basically double walls with the inside studded and the outside concrete with a 3 inch gap). I then focused on decoupling the ceiling, and doing double drywall and greenglue. If I could prevent a lot of the noise from even getting to the ceiling joists, then it wouldn't matter for the flanking sound. It too seems to work well.

So long story short, nail those suckers in at this point. Short of starting over and using those hangers, the walls are touching the joists anyway.

Once again, thanks!

I have read so many threads where there is zero tolerance in soundproofing, and others rail someone for cutting a corner. In reality, how would I know the difference unless someone like you, WITH EXPERIENCE ,chimes in.

Thank you! Invaluable.

Yup. Some people go all out nuts. I thought about the hangers like the ones I pictured above, but the more I thought about it, my weakest link would still be sound getting up through the ceiling, so instead I put my few extra dollars there to try to keep the sound from ever getting to the joists in the first place. Or at least stopping as much of it as possible.

Sorry i hadn't seen this earlier or i could have replied.
This is pretty standard practice for running vapour barrier into the joist ends or at the ceiling, however most builders don't bother with the acoustiseal caulking. I however do and thankfully, (but with exception in our basement), the rest of our house was constructed in this method. I was pleasantly surprised to find the tarry black substance while drilling down from the attic into a wall stud below.

Thanks Chess! Luckily I'm nowhere close to that step yet. Just thinking ahead I guess.

Been busy with tying up loose framing ends and starting electrical. All boxes are mounted and basement is half pulled. Theater side is close to done. Have to finish lighting zones and low voltage wiring. 2" PVC conduit ran to front and back of room at center of each wall. Front will get LCR, IR and sub feeds behind false wall. Rear pipe will get ethernet feed and HDMI for projector.

We decided to incorporate the oppo into the rear media shelf, along with the blurays etc. Now there should be no reason to go into the main av cabinet when others are in the room with the harmony remote. The rear 2" sleeve tees off to the projector and carries on down the wall to hit the oppo at end of line.

So far I am at 4 dedicated theater circuits. Back wall, side walls, subs, lighting. 5 if you count the 20A ups feeding the av rack outside the room. I am also roughing in for a future TV mount location, should we ever decide to sell the house. The TV location will have a plug at standard height and a plug at 5' directly above. This will also feed a TV loction in the workout space adjacent.

The panel swap is tentatively scheduled for Friday. Hopefully it goes off without a hitch. Feeds coming in from meter base are long enough to reuse in the new panel. Bonus! We are moving up to a 100A 32/64 circuit with surge arrest panel.

Things are really chugging along. Goal is to get inspected late next week and order drywalling material. Have to call a plumber to get a heating zone installed outside the theater too. Inside the theater will be a 240V panel convection heater, should the need arise. Now about that HVAC. Things to do....