Dedicated HT room, live with what was done or remodel? (1 Viewer)

[Rich Pascarelli]

Hello all, I found your site the other day and have really enjoyed reading the posts. It's nice to find a place that people can ask questions at any level and get a clear informative response.

I'm about to buy a house that has a dedicated HT room. The builder did a very nice job with his lighting, wiring and cabinetry but I'm worried that the size of the room will prove to be a problem. The over all dimensions are 15 X 13 with the cabinetry for the future RPTV on the 13 foot side. The ceiling is coffered and about 8.5 to 9 feet at it's highest point. There is a six inch riser approximately half way down the 15 foot length. My major concern is that the room is almost square. Along with that, the riser falls in such a place that I believe it will make proper seating difficult or imposable.

There is an exercise room next to this HT that is 18 X 12. This is the room I wished the builder would have used for the TH as the size and shape lends itself very nicely for that purpose. I could switch the rooms myself but that would require extensive remodeling (and cost that I would rather use for equipment) for both rooms, but it could be done.

What do you people think I should do, use it the way it is or remodel? I have even considered not getting this house for this reason but it is perfect for us in more ways than other houses we've looked at.

Rich in Indiana

 

[Scott Page]

How long do you plan to keep the house? If a long time, you might be kicking yourself if you don't change it. As you likely know, acoustically, a square is less than desirable. Acoustic treatments may help some put I think you really need more length than the existing room will give you. My room is 25' long and I could really use another 5 feet or so.

You really need plenty of room behind the seating area for a spacious surround sound experience. Especially if you opt for a 6.1 system with rear center surrounds.

Good Luck with the new house.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Hello Rich and welcome to the HTF. You will get lots of great advice here. Many of the people are very knowledgeable. I agree with Scott, particularly regarding the breathing room for the surround speakers and the square room being more difficult soundwise. I belive the surrounds should (if possible of course) have as much breathing room as the front speakers do to make the audio experience more realistic. We also have another section of the forum dedicated to this very subject Building A Home Theater Area. If you provide us with more details, costs, specific design ideas We can move the thread to that area if you wish.

 

[Rich Pascarelli]

Thank you Scott and Neil

We plan to be in this house for about six years. This is an excellent point because I don't want to put in too much into a house that I'm only going to be in for a short time. If this house was intended to be our "forever" house, I would remodel.

It's difficult to determine the costs of remodeling. Thinking about it, I would have to open portions the walls and maybe the ceiling in the new room to run all the wires. So someone here could probably have a better handle on the cost of wiring but I'm assuming $300 to $500. There is recessed lighting in the room so, unless I wanted to coffer the ceiling there shouldn't be any additional cost for lighting. The existing built in unit will not fit in the new room so if modification wouldn't work (make a foot shorter) , the unit would have to be recreated and that cost could be $1000 or more. The cost of building a riser, patching and repainting the walls should be about another $300. New carpeting in both rooms will cost about $1800.

Wire: $500

Built in wall unit: $1200

Walls, ceiling & floor: $300

Carpeting: $1800

My estimate to change the room could run about $3800. Maybe people who have built their rooms could tell me if I'm way off on my estimates. Spending almost $4000 before I even start buying the hardware is not an exciting thought, but neither is having a square HT room.

Rich

 

[MarkMaestas]

Rich,

You have to decide how much of a perfectionist you are when dealing with home theater. A square room may not be perfect, but a lot of people have enjoyable home theaters in square rooms. The fact that you are even asking this question indicates that you are looking to do this right. My recommendation is to do just that. You will most likely spend thousands of dollars on your home theater equipment, furnishings, etc. It stinks to spend that money and then not have it the way you want it. Everytime you sit down to watch a movie, if the sound isn't as good as you'd like, you'll regret it. I'd get some further estimates of what it will cost, and if it's within your budget, go for it. As an alternative, you may want to consult with a home theater design professional. A professional may be able to give you cost effective ways to effectively use your existing room and perhaps alter it so the room's shape won't be a problem. You can do a search on this forum to get some referrals if needed.

Good Luck.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Rich,

I'm going to move this out of basics and into construction. You obviously understand the basic of design (square room issues)- so I think it might be more helpful to you in the Building area.

-Vince