ceiling in new theater (1 Viewer)

[steve*joh]

I am building an addition that will contain my new theater. I feel fairly comfortable with my design except for one detail; the ceiling. I have identified four options; sheet rock, suspended, exposed floor trusses for the second floor with sprayed acoustical/fire retardant insulation or a combination of the above. I am not terrible concerned with sound leaving the room, I am very concerned about the final acoustics inside of the room. Any thoughts?

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Well, I have a suspended ceiling in my HT. I've used sound absorbant panels and the acoustics are nice and dead. I get no echoing off of it. However, if I really crank the volume.. I get some rattles in the framework/panels with heavy bass. Something to consider if your going that route and you're a "reference level" type of guy. I suppose I could go around the room and fix all the rattles, but.. I don't crank it that loud too often.

Suspended ceilings offer a nice finished look while still allowing access to pipes/vents etc.

Sheetrock is probably the most asthetically pleasing.

Exposed joists with spray-on insulation can work.. but, you might feel like you're in a cave. But, maybe that's the look you're going for. Also, I've been in buildings that have used that stuff and left it exposed and.. it tends to attract a lot of dust because of its rough texture which may be a pain to clean down the road.

 

[Mark McGill]

My .02 is drywall definitely. Looks good if it is done right and will add value to the home. It's great also if you can add some indirect lighting around the perimeter finished off with some crown moulding. This is also a great place to run cables etc. Good luck

 

[Terry Montlick]

Hello Steve,

Since you don't care about sound transmission above the ceiling, you have some good flexibility. Ordinarily, sound isolation and high quality room acoustics are conflicting requirements. You often have to address them separately, which can result in elaborate ceiling structures.

A thick layer (2 inches or more) of sprayed cellulose insullation is an excellent acoustical absorber. If you don't mind the textured look, this is a fine alternative by itself.

I don't recommend 100% exposed drywall. It has pretty high reverberation. For a drywall ceiling, adding either sound absorbing panels or whole ceiling, stretch fabric treatment with absorption behind it is recommended.

Suspended ceilings can also have excellent acoustical absorption, if you do them right. I recommend high quality fiberglass acoustical tiles, an airspace of 2 inches or more, and a double layer of soft fiberglass batts packed to 2x density between the joists.

Regards,
Terry