The Basement starts

[Carlman]

OK, so the basement project is officially started.
Rich came over yesterday and helped me layout the basement which renewed my enthusiasm to have the sound room... It's a big project but I can see how it can actually get finished now.

First steps will be to get some Drylok and apply it to all the walls.
http://www.ugl.com/drylokMasonry/masonryWaterproofer/latex.php

After that's done, I'm putting in a subfloor that floats and allows air to move underneath.  There are 2 good-looking products out there that must be special ordered from the pro desks of Lowe's or HD...
1- DRICore  http://www.dricore.com/en/eIndex.aspx
2- DeltaFL  http://deltafl.com/

DRICore appears to be easier for me to install and handle... it comes in 2' squares that lock together.  Delta comes in rolls and you just lay normal 4x8 sheets of plywood on top.  Sounds easy enough but I think I can handle the 2x2 interlock concept better.

Either can be installed after or before framing the walls... I think I should do the whole floor prior to framing... but I'm going to ask my builder/contractor what he thinks also... since he'll be physically putting up the walls.

After that is HVAC.. then walls.  Rich is helping me with the proportions of the room... should be around 15' wide by 8.5' H by 27' long.  I've used the room calculator but Rich is actually helping figure out what it all means and how to get the most out of the room with a good balance of diffusion and absorption.  My goal is that the system should sound like there are no walls and not dead... but not ringy, overly 'lively' or whatnot...

After that is electrical... that's where the fun REALLY starts... I'm getting a subpanel and a new service line from the street... and the panel will only be about 20' from the transformer... and the outlets for the gear will only be about 5-10' from the panel...

The rest of the basement is getting sheetrock and will be finished first.. I need a real office asap.  There will be a full bath, fridge, popcorn maker, some storage, bedroom, and server room in the basement also... It will essentially be a finished 3rd floor of the house.  I'm looking forward to all that also.  But the sound room is the main room... oh, that will be sweet.

Thanks to Rich for his willingness to help and enthusiasm.  We're hoping this will be a fun and useable place for comparisons.

More to come...

[lonewolfny42]

OK, so the basement project is officially started.

Yahoo !!!!! 

Now....don't forget the before and after photo's - start to finish....

Good luck Carl !!!!


                    ...........Chris

[mdconnelly]

Man, I am so envious...  Can't wait for pictures!

[richidoo]

I'm excited too, it is a great space.

Once the wall, floor and ceiling construction is decided for thickness, I will find a length that minimizes modes. Then treat corners for bass and surfaces with diffusion, using Acoustisoft R+D showing the results. I hope to build most of the treatments ourselves, depending on Carl's patience.

Rich

[Carlman]

I will take photos... Right now there's not much to photograph other than some blue tape lines in a concrete box... (which I will photograph) But I'm thinking at least 1 or 2 per phase initially...
Phase 1: Drlok coating will make it super-clean looking....
Phase 2: Subfloor
Phase 3: HVAC
Phase 4: Framing
Phase 5: Electrical

I'll make a real plan when I meet with the contractor to get all the steps aligned.... I 'think' I can get the coating and flooring done before Christmas... depending on which weekend, possibly HVAC and framing also.  We'll see.... I really want to get the floor done.

I'm looking forward having folks over when it's finished.... or before, anyone want to help? Free beer and pizza!    I'm most looking forward to having a good place to do real comparisons in a controlled environment... I'm always looking for a good reference system so I can really hear the differences and not just the room interaction changes... and this will be the best I can do.  I think it'll be cool to have folks over with 3 sweet spots and 6 not-as-sweet ones in the room also... We may actually be able to cycle through more than half the gear we bring to compare! haha.

-C

[bpape]

Dricor is a great product - I highly recommend it in this application. Also, from an isolation standpoint, building your walls on top of the Dricor floor is a nice step up that costs you basically nothing extra.  Better surface contact, no need to use treated bottom plate on the walls, tighter seams to caulk, etc.

Bryan

[Carlman]

Well, as good as Dricore probably is... I decided to go with DeltaFL and use Advantech OSB as the subfloor.  It turned out to be almost half the price... (1500 vs. 2800) I could not see any difference in the actual performance but I also thought with 1200 square feet, 2x2' at a time would take a lot more time than just unrolling 3 or 4 rolls of DeltaFL and then laying 4x8' sheets...

Either way the frame will be on the subfloor rather than the concrete... and will be glued and sealed to be air tight.  Thanks for the peace of mind on going this route, Bryan... I wasn't sure if having the floor floating, disconnected from the walls would be a better idea... Laying the whole floor all at once will be so much easier.

-C

[bpape]

It's a double edged sword.  Even with pad and plywood, you'll still want the floor under your room to not be connected with the rest of the subfloor to minimize transfer.

You should also consider building your walls 1/2" short and using PAC DC-04 iso clips to tie them to the joists to minimize transfer.  I'm working with Mike Galusha right now to do the same thing to his new room that he's building.

If you have some time, drop me your phone number in a PM and we can discuss options on the phone.

Bryan

[rollo]

   Sounds like your on the path to nirvana.  There is nothing like a proper dedicated listening room. Now are your existing speakers big enough for the new room. You know something new is only par as the nervosa will set in soon and all hell will break loose. Exciting times for sure. Best of luck.
   BTW I am a retired Architect and Constr. Mgr if you need any advice feel free to ask.


rollo 

[mgalusha]

Very cool Carl. I've been planning mine since July and construction is *finally* supposed to start late next week. My shipment of Green Glue and isolation clips for the walls and ceiling from Bryan arrived this week and the electrician is in my garage as we speak finishing up the connections for the new Panel. We're putting in a 100A panel for the basement and he pulled 2GA cable for the feed. That's some big ass wire. 

I am so looking forward to getting it done. I've been stuck in a spare bedroom since August and it's only 10ft x 12ft, so even with a mountain of room treatments it's only tolerable.

Looking forward to the pics.

Mike

[bpape]

You got that straight about the #2.  We had to pull a run from my main box to my 100A subpanel for the theater and the basement.  My cuz is my electrician and he was cussing the whole way.  We also redid the main panel and the run from the main out to the meter - that stuff was even worse.

Bryan

[Inscrutable]

anyone want to help?

Hey Carl, I'm definitely in.  Just let me know what some possible days are.  Gotta tell ya I will be only slightly pissed that my house has been up for two years, and you may still beat me to the finished listening room.  Ah well, I usually only get to learn from MY mistakes    That may still be the case, but they will be happening to YOUR house 

[Carlman]

I'm driven because I realized I was losing some of my audio-mojo without a place to hear a real hifi.  Being on the path is almost as good...

I found building a sound room stangely similar to building a system... Depends on what you want, there are lots of opinions, lots of options, and then there are some limitations... like budget and real-life issues... and of course WAF.. ha.  And in my case, WAF means cheap... She thinks she's losing me to the man-cave anyway.   It'll be interesting to see how much she really wants to be in that room after it's finished... I bet more than she realizes.

As to using help.... I am the type to actually take you up on it!  My friend Allen was in town this past weekend and I put him to work putting the first coat of 'Drylok' on the walls and floor.  That was a whole day's job for 2 people.  THANKS AGAIN, ALLEN!!!   However, Allen and I figured hiring out the 2nd coat might not be a bad idea.  It's not worth inhaling the fumes again... much less the cost of a day off work.

The DeltaFL membrane and OSB will be able to be delivered next week... I'm not sure if I should do that myself or not.  It's been 20 years since I laid a subfloor... an that was on wood beams.  So, I'd love some help on that... or advice.  I planned to put green glue between the non Tongue&groove areas... The whole floor will float on the membrane.

Anyway.. that's where I am...

-C

[richidoo]

We want Pictures!

[bpape]

That's right.  "Pics or it didn't happen..."

Bryan