Flooring for HT/Office (1 Viewer)

[Justin.A]

Hi there

Im busy building a Home Theatre / Study room.

The room will be aprox. 4.5m x 5.5m x 2.5m.

Although this room size and function will not be dedicated to being a full-on professional HT room, I would like to make it as well suited as possible within my given limitations.

The general idea will be that the TV will be against the wall surface on the desk area, and the sofa in the middle to middle back of the room.

All the walls (brick) will be curtained and the roof insulated. The door is a heavy fire-proof firedoor with rubber seals.

At this point Im busy planning the flooring, and this is where I need advice.

My budget allows only two options, porcelaine tiles or laminated-wood flooring (both ontop of a concrete floor).

Tiles would be the best as they are hard wearing, easy to clean and are cold (live in a hot climate).

Laminated wood on the other hand adds a bit of "warmth" to the room and may help accoustics?

Could you folks perhaps give your pro's and con's of the different materials? Will the sound quality drop / be affected to a very large degree with one of these materials?

Please do keep in mind that for the next 5odd years I wont be investing in a high end stand alone component system for my HT - most prob. a higher end "kit" (60w sat. / 130w Sub) configuration.

So, in a nutshell I guess Im leaning towards porcelain ceramic tiles just out of convenience and aesthetics and am wondering if, with roof insulation, wall curtains and the spec HT I have if the tiling will have an overly negative effect?

Any input appreciated.

J

 

[Demetrius]

Well my first thought would be to build a floor on top of the concrete. Anything mounted directly on top of the concrete will leave an undesirable result if you ever use it for serious HT application.

 

[Demetrius]

Well my first thought would be to build a floor on top of the concrete. Anything mounted directly on top of the concrete will leave an undesirable result if you ever use it for serious HT application.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I hope you mean “drapery” instead of “curtains.” “Curtains” suggests thin or sheer material, and the mid-to-higher frequencies will pass right through and reflect off the bricks.

As Demetrius noted, a hard floor is typically undesirable. Between the (hopefully) draperied walls and insulated ceiling you’ll probably be okay overall, although if I had my choice between the two I’d prefer a soft floor (carpet) and hard ceiling. Still, you could always add an area rug to the floor later, if it turns out the floor reflections are too bad.

Of the two surfaces, I’d pick wood over tile, because it will be less reflective. Tile is essentially the same a brick or concrete, from a reflective standpoint.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt