Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

Helpful hints on how to build 'em, and where to get the stuff you need.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Drake
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2017 1:26 pm

Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#1 Post by Drake »

So, I built the 36 inch wide THT sub, and a couple of TLAH speakers. The system blew my mind! So awesome! Then I moved to a house with no insulation in the interior walls, and hard wood floors. I set my system up in the basement. And now I shake the whole house when I watch a movie or listen to music. I'll have to admit my wife is pretty tolerant.... I'm doing a remodel in the basement and am creating a dedicated home theater room. I would like to soundproof the room so that I don't bother the rest of the house when I watch an action movie. At first, I figured I would build a room within a room, with the inner walls layered with 5/8" drywall, 3/4" rubber, and 5/8" drywall. This would provide added mass, damping, and decoupling which should achieve a good 60-70 db reduction in sound. However, the basement ceiling is only 7 ft and by the time I frame in a 2x6 ceiling below the floor, the resulting ceiling in the home theater room would only be 6' 3" tall.... pretty short! So, I was hoping that I could get some advice on what I can do? I'm fairly short at only 5' 9", so I could stand up just fine with a 6' 3" ceiling height. And of course I could build a custom door that would fit. So my original idea is not totally out.... Is there any other way to dampen the low frequencies so that I don't shake the whole house?

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28619
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#2 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Lear Jet. When Bill Lear first proposed it people said the cabin wasn't high enough to allow people to walk in the plane. His reply? "People don't walk in a plane when it's flying!"
Another method would be to take down the existing ceiling, installing new joists in between the old, to eliminate stud through transmission with minimal loss of headroom.

Rich4349
Posts: 855
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:18 am
Location: Kankakee, IL

Re: Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#3 Post by Rich4349 »

The new, separate ceiling won't be full on load bearing, so you could probably get away with something smaller, maybe 2x4s. Is the existing basement ceiling finished? If not, could you nestle whatever size rafters you decide on in between them, so that they share the common space between them? The finished ceiling would be on the new rafters bottoms, just make sure they don't contact the existing floor joists.
2 DR250s, 2 27" Lab15 T-60s, 2 30" Neo Titan 39s, 1 Autotuba...and looking for more!

Drake
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2017 1:26 pm

Re: Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#4 Post by Drake »

Well I like the Lear Jet analogy. Unfortunately, due to duct work in the ceiling, I can't put the new ceiling joists between the old ones. The new joists are below the old ones and are 2x6s to handle the weight. Put in a layer of 3/4 plywood, 3/4 inch rubber, and 5/8 inch drywall. R22 insulation in the ceiling. So the room will be decoupled with added mass and damping! Should be pretty quiet in the rest of the house! Ceiling comes out to about 6'2"". Taller people will simply have to duck a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions!

User avatar
Tom Smit
Posts: 7457
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:24 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ont. Canada

Re: Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#5 Post by Tom Smit »

What kind of insulation, fiberglass or rockwool?
TomS

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28619
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: Sound Proofing my Home Theater Room

#6 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Any insulation would do. It won't act as a sound barrier much below 500Hz no matter what it is, but it will prevent the space from becoming a resonant chamber.

Post Reply