by Trenna Sue Hiler

Created on: June 16, 2008

A home theater is a fun addition to any home. However if you don't get the sound right there is really no reason to have it. What does "right" mean? Well for us it meant having great sound quality it that room and have that sound stay in that room. Nothing is worse than being told to adjust the sound down on a scary movie and stop screaming because others are sleeping. What's the point?

First we have to think a little bit about how sound travels. Sound is composed of waves that travel through a medium. Some mediums offer little resistance and this just adds to the noise in a room. Other mediums block or dampen the sound. Another way that sounds is a vibration. That would be the thump, thump, thump that bounces from one wall to another.

We began building the most sound proof room we could. This meant handling the walls and the materials differently than in other areas of the house. Our sound proof room has dual layers of drywall. The first layer of drywall is attached to the studs. Non-hardening silicone caulk is placed where every nail or screw will be placed as well. Then comes a six inch "air space" and that is filled loosely with fiberglass. Then comes your layer of caulking and your second drywall to further prevent the sound from traveling. We have ceiling tiles that are very dense and help keep distractions out and movies and entertainment in.

The ventilation in room had to be handled differently as well. Air ducts where treated with professional foam.

We also used solid doors and doubled them. One goes out to the hall and the other goes into the room.

The next part of the project is the acoustics for your entertainment. This includes setting up your surround sound equipment and making sure the sound quality inside the room is what you need. Equipment usually comes with very detailed information. We also used a professional decibel monitor to help us get the sound set correctly for the size and area of our theater.

Setting the room up came at quite a cost. Having the family and friends at our home and together has proven to be one of the wisest family entertainment investments we have made. Our bedroom is right next door and we have to set an alarm if the kids are up to late to check that things get shut down. The sound proofing works that well. It's worth every dime to be able to offer friends and family a place to gather and know where the kids are. Spend that money!

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