Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Questions as I start to plan new room.

Hi folks,

Sorry for the big post but it's a big project.

Finally getting around to filling in the GST rebate form from the house build. Most of it will go against our line of credit we built up during the build and after but I want to save a few hundred to start prewiring the 'planned' HT room. Currently the TV room is in a square room in the picture below. It is the only basement room finished. The AV gear sits nicely on a shelf that is inset in an alcove.

I want to create more of a theater type room in the longer room to the left. It is currently unfinished and just used for storage. There is another room to the right that is my office (also yet unfinished) and also leads into a utility room. They are not shown.

The distances are not correct for the square room. It is actually 32" smaller and the long room juts out to the bottom of the picture instead of lining up square as it does there. I was having trouble fixing that as it's my first serious Sketchup. Other things are not quiet right as well as some of the scaling and the stairs should be mirrored (up to landing on the left.)

In any case, it suits the purpose for my questions.


Question 1.
The new room is very long, but at 12x24 it is a .5 ratio which, as I understand it, is almost as bad as a square room. I don't want to play with the width as adding some room behind the screen wall will be the easier solution. All the proper ratio calculations seem to be dependent room height but I'm not sure I want to get into a dropped ceiling to play with that.

Any suggestions on how much I should inset the far wall? I'm thinking 5' to make it an oddball number 12x19. That also leaves me enough room to inset an equipment bay and still be able to walk behind it.

I'm not going to obsess with getting a perfect ratio unless it's easy. I just want to have better than my previous 'square room'.

Question 2.
Currently my AV gear sits in a nicely ventilated shelf that is out of the way in an alcove of the old room. I could leave my gear here and still be able to operate it with my RF remote.

This.....
a. Removes the need for an equipment bay in the new room.
b. Nicely removes any equipment noise in the new HT room.
c. I still want to run music in the old room as a 'zone 2' so it still works. (also means more Axioms...)
d. Saves reversing the 2 sets (2 circuits) of wall outlets currently pointing into the square room close to the shelf.

but on the downside
- It creates a short walk to swap DVDs, (minor)
- I won't be able to see equipment displays. I might miss being able to see the volume display & could complicate troubleshooting.
- I have to train the new kitten to stop chewing the top of the antenna on the IR Blaster !!!

Comments on this idea anyone?

Also any other thoughts would be appreciated. In fact, feel free to submit complete designs as if it were your own.

Right now I plan on
- Wiring for 7.1 & projector
- Wiring for 4 subs (Ill never have 4 but it gives me placement options)
- Going to have a raised platform for 2nd row.
- Might angle the corners (bass traps perhaps??)
- Will be the only carpeted room in the house.
- Forgot to mention a large (large for a basement) window is on the back wall that is not shown. However, it faces north and is covered over by a deck above it so it is not a major light source. It will have some kind of curtain, blind etc.

- Wall decor, shelving, colors all undecided and of course, this is where the wife will help out.
- Screen size, type, distance to projector, not yet researched.
- Beer fridge + bar will go into old room someday as it gets converted to pool table room.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Sorry for the large post but I appreciate your wisdom and this is the only way to get it.

PS
Ignore the little 8" men walking around. They are a figment of your imagination just like BOSE quality control staff.

I would move all the equipment into the new room and just leave another cd player in the other room for use there; just wire it back to the Amp in the other room for zone 2. This allows easy cd changing in either room.

No room left in the electrical panel to run new wires? Is that why you would have to flip the outlets?

A near perfect room should be achievable. Hutzal had posted a link to a site to figure the sizes out, I seem to be missing it in a search.

Wow, Murph! Too cool.

I envy you. Enjoy the process.

It seems to me that - overall - the goal at this stage is to plan so that you have flexibility to deal with unknowns. The key unknown is probably "how does the new room sound". I'm not sure there is a guarantee that framing a screen wall out 5' is going to end up being optimal, but it would certainly cost you a lot of real estate and limit your flexibility later. I'd probably lean toward just framing as is, planning for room treatments and wiring for some flexibility.

I sort of like the idea of leaving the equipment where it is if you like it there. If it works, why fix it? It seems like moving the equipment really complicates the design of the theatre room, and all you get is to "see the LED's". Get a mirror or a webcam or something If you WERE going to relocate the equipment, I'd be tempted to examine the feasibility of putting the rack in the BACK of the room, since you already have the window to contend with. Maybe you could do something creative that addresses both issues.

Actually, what I would do with the equipment is leave it where it is, and frame an OPENING into the theatre room. In effect, make the current alcove area a closet in the existing room and rotate the relevant equipment 90 degrees. That way, you can see it from the theatre AND you can access the back from the current room. I know, you probably spent big money on the furniture it's sitting on

I'll be interested to see how you work the elevation and entry transitions for the raised second row and the door.

Just plain cool. Have fun.

Thanks Guys for your input. 50-50 so I need at least one more to sway the vote

I read some of Alan's articles last night as well and picked up a good tip about silicon sealant between the layered drywall & studs to reduce vibration. Thank you too. That is a problem I currently have in the existing room. The wall behind the EP500 vibrates and can be very distracting.

It will be a long project as I will be picking at it as the extra funds present themselves. So probably years but hey, I'm not going anywhere. At least, I hope.

I put a ton of electrical outlets on two circuits at that end of the room just because I knew thats where the equipment would be regardless of which side of the wall I was on. The new room is not drywalled yet so flipping one or even both of them in is just a matter of a few screws and patching the old drywall.

I have a plan for seating but it was dependent on weather or not I change the room dimensions so I won't reveal it yet. I'll provide pictures when it gets to a point they are worth taking. Cameras will probably be 3d by then.

Lots to think about aand thankfully, no rush so I do appreciate your thoughts and ideas !

You should consider using 5/8" drywall and if you are gutting the insulation too, go with Roxul mineral fiber for mold and fire resistance as well as a little bit more R value. And you never have to worry about Roxul sagging. It's also easier to install. Make sure you use a bread knife to cut it. And if you're re-doing the ceiling, glue it and screw it. For interior walls, use 6" studs on the top and bottom and then stagger the 4" studs to acoustically decouple the two walls.

I have a 11.5 x 26 room.
I wouldn't worry about the inset. Your better off getting a bookshelf(s) with stuff in it or big DVD rack a rack with gear. Its is the wall reflections which is the issue so bookshelves (with stuff), DVD rack, equipement rack absorb the sound and have less reflections and prevent square corners.
...unless you really like framing and drywall.
Size of the screen will also depend on your ceiling height and the distance of main speakers from the side wall. I had to cap it off at 92 inches as I wanted my speakers at least 2 ft plus away from the side walls. I tried 100 inches and had to have my speakers close to the side walls and the picture was towards the top half of space closer to the ceiling. I went down to 92 inches for a more centered viewing and best imaging for the speakers. Your room is slightly wider than mine so 100" might work.
Carpet is a great absorber. I wish I used carpet for my HT but with a kid and dog the carpet would be toast within a year. Bad for my allergies.
Currently using California shutters to block out the light (pretty effective) from the basement windows at each side of the basement.