MikeHerbst
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2001
- Messages
- 82
So my wife and I have made an offer to purchase a home here in town. Among the nice features of this home is that the previous owner has installed a 20'x12' "shed" in the back yard. He's been using it as his workshop for the last 12 years, I'm thinking it would make a decent home theater space. With the high prices of real estate here in SoCal, having a room large enough to be a decent dedicated space means giving up a lot of something else...
I use the term shed because its a "temporary" structure on pylons, no foundation. Its a stud frame with plywood walls with a gabled roof, looks like a miniature barn, I'd say.
The shed is currently lightly insulated and wired with adequate but not awesome power. The rafters are exposed and there's pegboard on nearly every wall. (It was a woodworking shed, afterall.) I'm thinking that some real insulation, drywall, carpet and a few HT seats would make this a decent dedicated space. (Much better than the "temporary" pop-up screen and projector in the living room that's driving my wife nuts).
However, I have a couple of concerns and I'm looking for advice:
(1) I'm worried about cooling the thing in the summer. Even with better insulation, I'm worried the thing will be a sweatbox once the doors are closed and I've stuffed a half-dozen people inside. My first thought was to carve out a rectangle in the wall and install a window-AC unit, but I'm pretty sure that'll be noisey as all heck. Anyone have experience? See below for additional complications.
(2) The workshop/shed doesn't have a permit. It's been there 12+ years and isn't in anyone's sightlines or anything, but its theoretically possible that the city could make me tear it down the day I close escrow or five years after that. This makes doing anything super permanent (like a full-blown AC system) or a significant investment, a bad idea. I don't mind investing in a little drywall and finishing stuff, because at least all the HT equipment can be moved into the house if push comes to shove.
(3) For ease of upgrade and wire-pulling, I'm thinking of leaving the gabled roof more or less open and just installing drop-ceiling tiles or the like. I imagine lots of basement HT theaters do this. Any problems with accoustics or anything?
For the record, I already have a complete "budget" system at home. My budget plans for the shed amount to basically refinishing the inside and moving my current projector and audio stuff in there...
Thanks in advance!
I use the term shed because its a "temporary" structure on pylons, no foundation. Its a stud frame with plywood walls with a gabled roof, looks like a miniature barn, I'd say.
The shed is currently lightly insulated and wired with adequate but not awesome power. The rafters are exposed and there's pegboard on nearly every wall. (It was a woodworking shed, afterall.) I'm thinking that some real insulation, drywall, carpet and a few HT seats would make this a decent dedicated space. (Much better than the "temporary" pop-up screen and projector in the living room that's driving my wife nuts).
However, I have a couple of concerns and I'm looking for advice:
(1) I'm worried about cooling the thing in the summer. Even with better insulation, I'm worried the thing will be a sweatbox once the doors are closed and I've stuffed a half-dozen people inside. My first thought was to carve out a rectangle in the wall and install a window-AC unit, but I'm pretty sure that'll be noisey as all heck. Anyone have experience? See below for additional complications.
(2) The workshop/shed doesn't have a permit. It's been there 12+ years and isn't in anyone's sightlines or anything, but its theoretically possible that the city could make me tear it down the day I close escrow or five years after that. This makes doing anything super permanent (like a full-blown AC system) or a significant investment, a bad idea. I don't mind investing in a little drywall and finishing stuff, because at least all the HT equipment can be moved into the house if push comes to shove.
(3) For ease of upgrade and wire-pulling, I'm thinking of leaving the gabled roof more or less open and just installing drop-ceiling tiles or the like. I imagine lots of basement HT theaters do this. Any problems with accoustics or anything?
For the record, I already have a complete "budget" system at home. My budget plans for the shed amount to basically refinishing the inside and moving my current projector and audio stuff in there...
Thanks in advance!