Seating Riser height?? (1 Viewer)

[BobMaslen]

Hi,

I am in the process of designing my theater seating and I would like to know a couple of things.

I want to have three rows of seating with the first row being on ground level. My question is how high should each level be?

I am thinking of using 2X6s, which once done would be about 6 inches higher than the previous row. Will this be enough of a rise in order to have a problem seeing over the row in front?

Can anyone else please comment if you have used 2X6s and found it not to be a problem. So I am thinking that my third row of seating would be about 12-13 inches from ground level. Will this be enough height?

The other wood I am considering is 2X8s, but they cost a lot more than 2X6s.

I would appreciate any comments.

Thanks
Bob

 

[ChadLB]

I have 2 rows of seating and I had to go with 2 * 12's for the second row because of my ceiling height. Glad I did because it works out perfectly......If I had a higher ceiling my screen could be up more and then I could have gone smaller.....
You could always test it out by putting some type of blocks under each couch/chair...

 

[Dave Milne]

Bob,
You really need to do either draw it out (paper or CAD program) or mock up some people/chairs/blocks to see what the correct height for your room is. It depends a lot on the height of the bottom of the screen... as well as the type of chairs involved and the tallness (is that a word ?) of the viewers. My riser ended up being 9" total.

 

[Bill Fletcher]

Bob,

Mine is 11" high right now. It works well but I wouldn't go that high the next time. I think 8" or 9" would be the right height. Anything less than 8" and you'll have to have the tall people sit in the back.

Bill

 

[SteveLeach]

From my point of view, if you go any higher than 9", you'll need to add an extra step.

 

[Jack Ferry]

I just built mine last week with 2"x8"s and 3/4" plywood for a total height of a hair over eight inches. I paid $5.20 each for the 8 foot boards, and used six of them. Platform is 4'x8'.

Height might be a little low, but it depends on the seating height and placement. I experimented with a sofa, some chairs, a tape measure and a warm body or two.

 

[Erik Farstad]

FYI...check the building code in your area, you may need to add a another step if you go higher than a 9" rise as SteveLeach shared...mostly for safety purposes.

E