pommybloke Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Hi All, Firstly, Im posting this way in advance of when Im actually going to get this done but I want to get an idea of who to speak to and rough cost, timeframe etc. Im going to be building a new house which has a Theatre Room. The room is 4.5m by 4.5m. Only 1 wall is internal, the other 3 walls are all external. I want to find out about what I would have to do re soundproofing this room. Obviously, the opportunity is there to get in while the build is taking place and place products in the walls etc. Basically, I want to ensure that the room on the other side of the internal wall is not disturbed by me watching a movie or playing my PS3 with the surround system absolutely blasting out ! The other issue is that the door to the theatre room will be a double door. So what im after is an idea of what companies do this sort of thing, so that I can get an idea of what I would need to do to get my required outcomes and a rough estimate of the cost required. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Curious Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Start off with a chat to the guys at AudioTrends, they have several rooms set-up in the shop that were built with different degrees of soundproofing. Additionally your local Plaster supplier will have access to soundproofing plaster products. Good luck Cheers, Curious
50mxe20 Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 If you can get out of it, don't make the room square. It is an accoustical disaster. If building a new house, take the opportunity to extend it to 6.5 by 4.5!
Guest EZYHD Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Theres an old thread here on the subject. http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=38053
Hydrology Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 If you can get out of it, don't make the room square. It is an accoustical disaster. If building a new house, take the opportunity to extend it to 6.5 by 4.5! Agreed. Even if you cant make the room longer/wider in one dimension, perhaps look at the possibility of putting in a fake wall. Will improve acoustics AND allow you to build your AV components into the wall if required, creating the illusion of more space.
betty boop Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Start off with a chat to the guys at AudioTrends, they have several rooms set-up in the shop that were built with different degrees of soundproofing.Additionally your local Plaster supplier will have access to soundproofing plaster products. Good luck Cheers, Curious I can recommend that too. well worth a visit to check out.
pommybloke Posted May 11, 2008 Author Posted May 11, 2008 I have tried talking the Mrs into getting the room made bigger, you can get 6.5m x 4.5m, but it didnt go down too well....... I will keep trying. As for the different types of soundproofing available, from everyones experience, whats the best way to go ? Is the soundproof plasterboard any good ? Or should I be looking for something to put in the walls ?
Hydrology Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 Is the soundproof plasterboard any good ?Or should I be looking for something to put in the walls ? What about a bit of both? Rockwool in the wall cavity and acoustic plasterboard to seal the wall up.
Chesty Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 If you can get out of it, don't make the room square. It is an accoustical disaster. If building a new house, take the opportunity to extend it to 6.5 by 4.5! A square room, treated correctly, can sound just as good as a rectangle room.While not ideal, every one seems to get hung up on square rooms being no good.
RodN Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 A square room, treated correctly, can sound just as good as a rectangle room.While not ideal, every one seems to get hung up on square rooms being no good. Square rooms result in massive peaks and nulls in frequency response. That is because each dimension will produce a set of 1st, 2nd... etc nodes. If you have 2 dimensions the same size you end up with the nodes working with each other producing extreme swings in FR. Rectangular rooms do not escape these but because the dimensions are all different they are less extreme, they still exist though, corners are worst.
Hydrology Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 A square room, treated correctly, can sound just as good as a rectangle room.While not ideal, every one seems to get hung up on square rooms being no good. Thats because physically and acoustically it isnt the ideal shape. But you are correct, they can sound good with treatment (my HT room is square). However, a room that does not have multiple dimensions the same can sound even better. As the original poster is trying to get an idea prior to the building process of whats good or not, the advice given so far I reckon is sound (no pun intended). Had I realised prior to building that the room my HT currently resides in was indeed going to be the HT area, I too wouldve changed dimensions. However it was only during the construction phase that myself and the missus decided to leave the living area less cluttered (living area is where the Hi-Fi resides now - as seen in my updated stereo setup thread in this section). In a funny way Im glad we did decide as the Im really happy with the Hi-Fi, but as good as the Ht sounds also, it is a little bit of a compromise, largely because of the room shape and size.
ArthurDent Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 I have tried talking the Mrs into getting the room made bigger, you can get 6.5m x 4.5m, but it didnt go down too well....... I will keep trying. Assuming your ceiling height is 2400mm then 4500mm x 4500mm results in a primary resonance of 38hz so a peak at that frequency and at ever multiple, ie 76hz, 114hz, 152hz, 190hz, 228hz etc etc. Not good and why you should avoid square rooms. Changing one dimension to 5100mm will avoid the 76hz, 114hz, 152hz and 190hz peaks which would be a major improvement and should keep the wife happy.
Guest Conifer Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 If you can get out of it, don't make the room square. It is an accoustical disaster. If building a new house, take the opportunity to extend it to 6.5 by 4.5! Wise advise. Some best not to have the room perfectly squar, but some times you don't have a choice
50mxe20 Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Wise advise.Some best not to have the room perfectly squar, but some times you don't have a choice Looked at house to buy on the weekend.The room that would be perfect for the HT room was exactly square (and had too many windows). I could have cried because otherwise it was a nice house and affordable. Needless to say, the better half was NOT impressed (with me and my idiosyncrasies).
Guest Conifer Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Looked at house to buy on the weekend.The room that would be perfect for the HT room was exactly square (and had too many windows). I could have cried because otherwise it was a nice house and affordable. Needless to say, the better half was NOT impressed (with me and my idiosyncrasies). HAHA My wide and I looked at buying a new house, but we thought nah... I've changed my HT set up completely in the last 12months. I will have to send you a photo. As the new set up fits the room a lot better then the prevoius setup. I didn't know you were in the market for a new house?
50mxe20 Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 HAHAMy wide and I looked at buying a new house, but we thought nah... I've changed my HT set up completely in the last 12months. I will have to send you a photo. As the new set up fits the room a lot better then the prevoius setup. I didn't know you were in the market for a new house? Been looking off an on for 12+ years. Now the kids are all out of H.S., it's on again.Seriously thinking of building, just a matter of finding a block we like, and that we can afford. However, the 18 month wait to build is a real drag so we are looking in the hope that we might stumble across something that will do. Hence my interest in this and other threads re- building. One thought I did have, is if one sound proofs the room, one can't annoy the neighbours!
Hydrology Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 One thought I did have, is if one sound proofs the room, one can't annoy the neighbours! Stuff the neighbours I say!
brodricj Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 ..One thought I did have, is if one sound proofs the room, one can't annoy the neighbours! Who's worried about annoying the neighbours...I'm more worried about the WAF annoying me...that's the number 1 reason to sound proof MY theater room!
50mxe20 Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Stuff the neighbours I say!Exactly! Who's worried about annoying the neighbours...I'm more worried about the WAF annoying me...that's the number 1 reason to sound proof MY theater room! I hear you. (And vice versa).
BrisVegas1503560691 Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 I planned a HT room when I built 3 years ago. It's 6.5 x 4.5m and that's plenty big enough for a projector setup and a couple of rows of seats. On my front screen wall I have two slim cupboards in the corners. One is setup as shelving for DVD's, the other is a hub for all my data, audio and video cabling. I also ran a pvc conduit back to that cupboard from the projector location. I ran DVI & component cable because HDMI wasn't out back then. As long as you put in a conduit with string, you can pull whatever you want through later. At the time, the Gyprock Soundcheck was only just becoming more recognised in the industry and so it took a bit of convincing to get my builder's head around the idea. In the edge, our plasterer used a different brand of board (Lafarge) but they were able to produce the same effect. I only went for "Level 1" single sheet walls and double-sheet ceiling, with Accoustic Batts in the walls and ceiling (the HT is downstairs, below living areas on timber floors hence the extra ceiling insulation). I've also got double doors, but I just paid a bit extra to get them solid core. That weather stripping stuff works well to seal up any gaps around door frames. My room is pretty quiet...
Guest Conifer Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 I really hope that's a typo mate and your glw doesn't read the forums LOL HAHAHA my wide, meaning my wife.....hehehaha Well she's not wide at all and she's cycles 400km a week.
Volunteer Kazz Posted May 12, 2008 Volunteer Posted May 12, 2008 One thought I did have, is if one sound proofs the room, one can't annoy the neighbours! Bugger the neighbours..............................if they can hear noise coming from the HT then they know not to come over and annoy me..................... :lol:
Guest Conifer Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Been looking off an on for 12+ years. Now the kids are all out of H.S., it's on again.Seriously thinking of building, just a matter of finding a block we like, and that we can afford. However, the 18 month wait to build is a real drag so we are looking in the hope that we might stumble across something that will do. Hence my interest in this and other threads re- building. One thought I did have, is if one sound proofs the room, one can't annoy the neighbours! Custom building your HT room would be great! I know i did in ACT and the guy was building and we got in when the frame and roof were up and pre wired everything and made life a lot easier! I asked the owner if he was going to get a access hatch for the roof and he said "no" as it was a flat tin roof! So I'm glad i got in earlier and pre-wired. Any jobs that came to me with a flat tin roof I said "No" I also advised the owner to out in Sound/installation bats, but he went with normal installation on the walls. But the room in the end looks great and sounded good also.
Thudd1503560234 Posted May 13, 2008 Posted May 13, 2008 Bear in mind you're talking about sound deadening, not sound proofing... because proofing means a whole new level of building complexity. Are you concerned more about sound leaking through the house or outside of the house to the neighbours? My efforts in sound deadening were successful in that it is virtually impossible to hear any sound from outside at neighbour distance except at ludicrous volume. Inside the house it's a different story, although having 8 15" bass drivers venting into the roof space might have something to do with it...
50mxe20 Posted May 13, 2008 Posted May 13, 2008 I think "deadening" is the operative word. For our part we are trying/planning to keep the HT room as far away from the MBR and 'other' music room as possible. Thus, the home is zoned for entertainment.
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