Looking at building theatre seat base (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

I want to build a base for 6 theatre seats (3 in front and 3 higher ones at the back). How do I go about doing this? I will be installing in the new house once I move in.
Thanks,
orangeman
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Neil's H.T. Site
(plus large selection of H.T.Links and movie images)

 

[RAF]

We used a full 3/4" sheet of plywood for the base, framed out with 2x4's with some cross members for support. Carpeted, this makes the total height about 5"+ (depending on the thickness of the carpet) and the 4x8 area is fine for three seats. I actually bolted 4 wide theater seats to the base and it is quite steady.
See my HT site for some pictures to get a small idea of what was done.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
Link Removed

 

[Neil Joseph]

Thanks Rob. In your opinion, if I wanted to do a second tier of seats like that in the back, would you build a second seperate base for them, or build one huge (and heavy) base supporting all 6 seats?
BTW, I still think your site is the single most awesome personal site around. Love it. When you get tired of the 10HT, just send it my way will ya??
orangeman
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Neil's H.T. Site
(plus large selection of H.T.Links and movie images)

 

[Ron-P]

Neil,
I built a back deck for my theater seats. The deck is 3'x8'x12". I built the perimeter of the deck with 2x10s, then I doubled up 2x10s (making 4x10s) and placed them vertically every 16" OC. I then covered the deck with 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood. The reason I used 2 sheets of plywood was to give me 1.5" of deck to lag-bolt the seats to.
The front row sits on a 2x12 platform attached to the front face of the back deck via 3/4" galvanized pipe and "L" brackets. I used the pipe on the ends of the platform attaching the pipe to the face of the back deck and then extending it out to the front of the platform to keep the platform from flexing up when peeps sit back in the chairs. It works great.
Visit the Green Room and there is a pic of the seating. If you want more let me know and I can take some close ups to give you a better idea of what I did.
The deck is completely independent, it is not attached to the floor or any walls allowing me the freedom to move it around if I want.
Peace Out~

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http://home.earthlink.net/~peregrinefalcon/

 

[Burke Strickland]

The deck is completely independent, it is not attached to the floor or any walls allowing me the freedom to move it around if I want.

What kind of forklift do you use for that? :>)
Burke

 

[Neil Joseph]

Thanks for the responses. I may go with 2x3/4" plywood for the lower base and the build a higher upper deck about 6" above that using the same 2x3/4" plywood base. Would 3' x 8' be a big enough base for 3 seats, and 3' x 10' be a big anough base for 4 seats?
orangeman
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Neil's H.T. Site
(plus large selection of H.T.Links and movie images)

 

[RAF]

Neil,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I've found that my modest little base for my 4 theater seats is remarkably heavy for its size. It sits on the floor and will allow me to move it around if I ever have to for room modifications.
However, if it was any bigger, I'd be hard pressed to move it (as Burke mentioned) so I would favor a separate second base for an additional tier of seating. I would only consider a single structure if I knew, for sure, that I would never, ever, have to move it. (And one should be very careful about saying "never" in the HT game!)
Another thing to consider is the height of the structure. 5" was ideal for my needs, but your heights are determined by the seating arrangement (for clear line of sight), the room dimensions, the ceiling height, the location of the projector and screen, etc. There is no one stock answer.
Good luck.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
Link Removed