Viewing platforms (1 Viewer)

[Mike Coss]

I am in the process of building a theater room in my basement. My room is about 13 by 22 feet, and I want to build a viewing platform at one end of the room. Is it best to use 2x6's for joists or will this make it too high, and should I use 3/4" plywood or MDF for the top? I am also debating if I should fill the platform with sand, or if insulation will be good enough. I am probably going to put my subwoofers in each corner of the platfrom, and am concerned about the bass being affected. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RAF]

I went with 2x4" and plywood in my particular case since I was concerned a bit about overall ceiling height in my room which is only 7'6" It worked just fine for my particular case, although your requirements and preferences might be a bit different. I find the ~5" total height of my platform (including the carpeting) to be just right for my application.
Also, I didn't use any insulation since the carpeting took care of that in my case. And, although the riser is quite heavy by itself I wanted to steer clear of any materials that would add to the weight since I wanted to leave open the option to reposition the riser for future needs and/or maintenance without having to bring in a crane.

The position of your subwoofers on the platform sounds intriguing. (Instant bass shakers??) I'm not sure what the effect will be since I opted for more traditional placement of my subs up front, but it's worth a try. I would just be sure to allow the option of moving your subs in case you don't like the sound or "feel" rather than building anything into the platform, if that's the case.
The bottom line: Any of the options you mention should work fine. The height of the riser has to match your particular sight line requirements depending on your screen position, the location of your other chairs, etc.
------------------
RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
Link Removed

 

[Ron-P]

Mike,
I built a rear deck for my seating as well. The rear deck is 12" high. It is constructed using 2x10's with two layers of 3/4" plywood on top. The inside of the deck is hollow except for supports for the seating. The front row sits on 1-1/2" platform which is attached to the front of the rear deck. I needed a tall deck because my HT room is very small (10x12) and I did not have much depth to play with.
I did a lot of measuring and testing before I found the final height of the deck. It turned out great. I have an 8' ceiling so the higher deck worked well.
Good Luck
Peace Out~

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

 

[SamRoza]

I used a 2"x12" frame with a 3/4" Plywood top. I got about 1' of lift under my couch now, and can see movies just fine.
Sam