I want carpet on my walls! (1 Viewer)

[Colton]

I noticed in some theaters they use some kind of carpeting on the walls. I kinda like this look and was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction on where I might find a good selection? If it's not carpet - what is it? Also, is there some pros/cons about this approach?

- Colton

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I would strongly recommend against that. Lining your entire theater with carpet will absorb most of the highs in your system, resulting in an effect not unlike wearing a wool sock over your head. You'll end up with a very mid and low heavy sound in the room that is uncomfortable to listen to. The idea isn't to have a dead room, but rather one that is controlled. You will get more mileage out of listening to a bare room and strategically addressing problem areas. Absorption at points of first reflection will be first. Diffusion beside and above you. It is easier to tame reflections than to add them to a room that is overly muted.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

As Jay said, controlled sound is what you want. IMO this usually means at least one surface should be carpeted to cut down on reflections. Typically carpeting the floor will get the job done, but if you aren’t carpeting the floor it wouldn’t hurt to do at least some carpet on the walls. Not the whole room, though – I’d suggest the two side walls or perhaps the back wall.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Ron-P]

I did not carpet my walls but rather placed black felt on the walls.

My room is small so I had to do some major sound control / absorbtion. I first tried placing panels up at first and second reflection points, that did not work. I then placed felt along the top 2/3's of the wall, leaving the bottom 3rd untreated, that did not work well enough either. I then did the front and side walls with felt and hung drapes along the back wall, worked perfectly. Crisp highs, good, tight mids and excellent bass. No bad reflections and no where near a dead room.

It took me a lot of time (and coin) to get the room controlled right. I started small and worked from there. Do the same. Every room is different. Try panels first, low cost, easy and quick. If those aren't enough, look into covering one wall or two, if not enough do more and keep going until your happy with the results. Don't just go in and throw up carpet on all the walls right off, you could regret it.

Good luck!

 

[Sami Kallio]

Carpet on the walls, now that's a health (allergy) risk. I am getting rid of all the carpeting at my new house, except the theater room which will still have carpet on the floor for acoustics.

 

[Colton]

Thanks for the input, guys. Let me clarify what I had in mind. The whole room would not be carpeted. First of all, it wouldn't be actual carpet. It's a Acoustical Wall Fabric. Here's the link:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/p...nt_fabrics.asp

What I would do is have a wainscoting on the lower wall with the remaining wall with this fabric. The room is open in the back (it's a loft) so it is impossible to keep it completely controlled.

Also, a wainscoting (for those who don't know) is a wood panel that covers the lower area of a wall. Looks like this:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/i...ic_systems.jpg

Here's a better example:

http://www.newenglandclassic.com/product.html

and the fabric would cover the upper part.

Comments?

- Colton

 

[Steve Lucas]

Is this similar to what you are wanting to do???

 

[David Noll]

Colton,

I have carpet on the lower portion of my walls. It is a stiff, thin carpet "similar to an automotive carpet". (At least that is was the carpet supply store told me.) It is the black part in my pictures. I agree that you should not cover everything. My room sounds awesome.

David

 

[Colton]

Steve & David:

Thanks for the clarification!

Steve: Great theater! Yes, that's exactly how I would like to do my theater - except using more traditional wanescoating at the bottom in a cherrywood color.

David: No idea about the fabric. I've yet to purchase it, but you can find the details at this link:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/...int_fabrics.asp

- Colton

 

[Steve Lucas]

Colton,
I got my fabric at Lowes. It is an inexpensive indoor/outdoor carpet with no backing on it. So in effect, it is a heavy felt. I think I paid something like $6.oo/yard for it.

Steve

 

[Thomas_A]

hehe...could use trunk liner then? I"m thinking of doing some similar wall treatments... definatly not the entire wall. Most will be determined on what kind of floor we decide on. color for paint is already picked out...

 

[hgerman]

I've worked on a few wainscoting projects and it's a nice look for a home theater since it blends technology with tradition. Check out this wainscoting site.