31' L X 25' W X 18' H

[oublie]

Hi looks like im moving to a new house soon (buying a house with my girlfriend). Anyway since i'm a computer and cinema nut and she's just a houseproud woman there wont be a cinema room in the house nor will i be able to use my projector and surround system in the house. Now that might be a down side but the upside is that this house has a brick built workshop with it the measurement on which are in the title and guess what its basically going to be all mine to convert to a cinema!! Now i need a little advice before i start planning to convert this. So here's the questions

1. with an average projector (e.g. i currenly use a panny ax100) is this space too big and should i consider using half i.e. 15 X 25 ?

2. The shed is 2 storey basically but with no second floor is it a major job to put in steel to make a second floor i.e. cutting the height down to a more sensible 8 or 9 foot?

3. As you can imagine the wall are just breeze block with no plaster or insulation i've read alot about folks putting insulation etc and then double plasterboard on the walls is this my best option or is there an alternative way.

4. The floor is currently concrete so will i need to build a wooden floor on this or will i be able to just use carpet directly onto the concrete & underlay.

5. I was at the local cinema the other night (28 weeks later- damn good especially with a hip flask of vodka in my large diet coke ) and notice that the walls had pleated cloth on them what the reason for this? does it help acoustics or is it just for show?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated guys. I will be doing all the work myself as i'm fairly handy and as there is no rush on this i'd like to plan everthing up front before we move in (crosses fingers).

Last question am i mad to start this project?

[XANTECH]

One point at a time, height of the room could be reduced by installing joists in to the walls and then flooring over, may be a better alternative then steel.
With regards to the walls we just did a job in Kent for a client, we used 4 x 2 stud work and built almost a room with in a room, between the breeze and the stud work we left a 100mm air space, in between the uprights we used rockwool and then we used 1 layer of 18mm plasterboards and 1 layer of 12mm plasterboard. You loose overall width and length but you get a quiet room, the benefits with the studwork was that we were able to run all the cables for surround sound very easily, as well as all the lighting.
Leave the floor as it is, no need to cover with wooden boards unless you want that type of floor.
And finally and I am no cinema goer, and am prepared to be corrected if wrong, in a cinema they tend to run many speakers up the left and right of a venue, I presume what you were looking at was the acoustic cloth which would be hiding the units.
Regards

[oublie]

Thanks xantech appreciate the info. I've been doing a little research but was unsure of the suitability of wooden joists for a 25' span considering the upper floor will be used for storage and possibly be used as guest rooms eventually. The room in a room idea makes sense as it will allow me to run any cabling i need sound wont be a problem though as my neighbours are all cows . As for the folded cloth, i dont think it was acoustic as i could clearly see the side speakers mounted on the walls of the cinema maybe it was just a decoration ''feature".

Im still in the planning stages but once im in and am able to show some photos etc ill post them.

At this stage the room will also be used as disco / party room so i will be planning to use dj speakers and amps but linked to a good 7.1 preamp for cinema use I will also put in a few night club type lights so after a movie showing the party can start. Have any of you done this and will sound quality suffer? I'm guessing that this is probably what is used in the average real cinema?

[Pupster01]

for the roof / floor speak to your local building inspector they should be able to advise what the requirement is

P.A. speakers are good for the purpose but useless for fine detail plus they need a much more powerful amp using them with a home cinema amp will damage either the speaker or the amp and you'll get way below the best performance from both.

Personally ( and this is what i have done) get the best set up for your day to day requirements and if you want to have a private rave look on yell.com for a disco supplier and hire an amp, speakers and lighting its usually about £25 for a weekend rent and you dont risk damage to your kit.

[oublie]

hi pupster, i dont plan on using a cinema amp, just a cinema preamp for sound stage control etc. i was planning on using both dj quality amps and speakers. space for the kit isnt going to be an issue i.e. 18" bass bin will have all the room they need its more a case of seeing if its worthwhile as my budget will allow for a good preamp and all the amps and speakers i need if i go the dj route (no rosewood finishes or pretty little tweeter) however, if i go the usual integrated receiver and decent speakers (approx 3k i may be selling myself short) im just wondering if it would work and has it been done?

Spoke to a fitter today as well - outfits pubs and shops - regarding insulation etc it seems like the way everyone else seems to do it is probably the most suitable route to take he did however mention the use of a suspended ceiling which i will look into.

PS what do they actually use in a big cinema?

[mattym]

cinemas can have a variety of acoustic treatments, heavy curtains will hide acoustic foam or fiberglass, sometimes they have fitted panels on the walls(ala odeon) or even slightly more exotic materials(sintered glass panels, as in leicester square) The ceilings will most likely be suspended ceilings with thin rockwool or melamine panels in the grid. it really depends on the system installed, the size and the acoustic requirements, each is different. Some have even had diffusors built into the walls and curtains fitted over or cloth over.


if you build a stud wall, be aware that the wall can leak bass if it resonates at the wrong frequency and if its not sealed can leak sound. These details are often overlooked, though xantech is on the right track using 2 layers of PB