MykeH

pre-planning for our theater

we wife and i are having a house built and i'm planning a theater in the bsmt. the construction won't be for at least a year after the home is done (time for the bsmt to dry out and house to settle). however i'm laying out the future theater since i have to figure out where the bathroom is going to be located (having the builder pre-plumb for the bathroom). just didn't want to have to work around the bathroom later.

i've done a lot of reading on this site and am finding that the more i read the more confused i am becoming. hopefully i'll be able to sort thru all of it and apply the necessary techniques to our theater. the room i'm planning will be approx 23x14. 3 of the walls will be adjacent to the concrete block, the 4th will be next to an open play area. i've read about using 2x6 headers/footers to stagger the 2x4 studs. should the 3 walls next to the concrete be 2x6's or can i just use 2x4 headers/footers. what about the ceiling. i plan on adding a set of joists to the theater room in order to separate the theater from the main floor joists of the 1st floor. can i use 2x4's to span the 14' width. lastly, regarding the 4th wall, instead of 2x6's, what about using 2x8's for the header/footer. is this overkill. i figure with the 2x8's & using 2x4 studs, there would be a 1/2" gap between the 2 rows of studs. i figure this would help with noise reduction.

i have many more questions but just wanted to get a starting point for the basic layout. thanks for any assistance.

PhilBoy

If I had a fresh start for a basement HT the one thing for sure I would do is plan on 9 ft. clearance to floor joists. Low basement ceilings are annoying.

Use 2X6 for walls. Additional cost is minimal. Soundproofing will be close to double from 2X4 and you will be able to use thicker pipes for wiring thru the walls.

simplicity is genius...

Eddie L

I agree with Philboy on everything except I think going with 2 x 6's on the concrete walls is way overkill. I replied to one post that most times I couldn't hear people driving up into the driveway which is right in back of the screenwall. This included our plumber's diesel pickup. Because of this I only went with 2x2's, 1.5 in. of styrofoam and 1/2 sheetrock. That was plenty. On the 2 interior walls I went with 2x6's, insulation, soundboard, felt roofing, and 2 layers of 5/8 sheetrock, glued and caulked.
And YES, having a 9 ft. ceiling will be nice!
Ed