Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 22, 2014 10:40 pm Can someone please explain to me theater rooms? I have never seen a house with one. Although SOOOO many plans these days have them. Why? If you have one how often do you use it? I don't have one in my plan and am wondering if I should try get one in there. At the moment I think what is the point isnt that what the rumpus room etc has in it?........but my kids are all very young and maybe it will be popular when they are teenagers so maybe I should? Maybe it will be more popular with DH and I when we can actually sit down and watch a movie but right now that is impossible with four kids under 6. So tell me all about theater rooms please Re: Theater rooms?? 2Jul 23, 2014 12:03 am We renamed ours the Gym. It will have a small TV in it, but also my treadmill, weights etc. 10 years ago (before kids) we had a full theatre setup, projector, big screen, surround sound, the works. Have hardly used it since having the kids, and now most things I tend to end up watching on my iPad or tv in bed. We don't have any use for a home theatre - let alone the ones with reclining movie seats etc. I'm sure they work for some people. I'm happy enough to pay to go to the movies though. And I figure, since most homes have them now - the kids can go to their friends houses when they want to use one. We have focussed more on the pool and a music room to entice the kids friends here. My Building Thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66087 Re: Theater rooms?? 3Jul 23, 2014 12:13 am We have a setup to install but will be keeping it fairly low key and integrated into a family room. We will be including some minor sound insulation but some people take this far more seriously. I wouldn't call ours a theatre room but I find much of the planning nomenclature to be related to marketing and the target market of aspirational buyers. Butler's pantries, alfrescoes and media rooms seem all the rage but there are other names and uses already existing for such spaces. People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Re: Theater rooms?? 4Jul 23, 2014 12:14 am We have a setup to install but will be keeping it fairly low key and integrated into a family room. We will be including some minor sound insulation but some people take this far more seriously. I wouldn't call ours a theatre room but I find much of the planning nomenclature to be related to marketing and the target market of aspirational buyers. Butler's pantries, alfrescoes and media rooms seem all the rage but there are other names and uses already existing for such spaces. Re: Theater rooms?? 5Jul 23, 2014 9:48 am I think for a lot of people having a dedicated theatre room is probably either a bit much to ask or would be a seldom used room. Two of my clients have what you could call multi-purpose rooms. They are reasonably good sized at probably 4.5 x 6m rooms and are setup well as a theatre with big screen TV, sound system etc but they get used as much for a rumpus and spare bedroom when guests stay as much as a dedicated movie room. I think being flexible is the key but that depends on your lifestyle and whether you have kids etc as much as anything. Others would probably prefer to have a decent home gym instead. It all comes down to personal preference and what your priorities are. Stewie Re: Theater rooms?? 6Jul 23, 2014 10:04 am It is really "horses for courses", most people would be happy with simply one of the squarish shaped media rooms that are so common in new homes these days. These media rooms are generally more than satisfactory for most people as they become a family/rumpus room, home gym (instead of in the colder garage). For myself though, a HT room is essential for me to call my house my home. IMO, to call a room a home theatre it needs to accoustically insulated. with full height walls and doors which can turn it in to what some people call a "bat cave". Most of these project builders who call a room a home theatre have incorrectly labelled it, as the room is often very squarish with cut away walls and no doors. That to me can not be called anything more than a media room. It unfortunately gets people thinking that they really do have something more than what they really do. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with media rooms as such, as many people prefer them just that way. But to the OP, only you can decide what you really want to have in your own home. If all you want is a large led tv in it, they are perfectly fine. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Theater rooms?? 7Jul 23, 2014 11:27 am I am in the bpratt camp. I will a dedicated double brick (all walls) theater room that I am very much looking forward to. Currently movies and tv are in the same room and would really like a separate space. Again its personal preference, I like movies and have frequent movies nights. It will also be for music as well. Lastly it will be a quiet place I can go. When designing my house I actually started with the home theater and then built the house around it. Because of its size it can also have secondary uses as other have described (except no gym equipment). Re: Theater rooms?? 8Jul 23, 2014 11:56 am im building a custom home and cant wait to have a theater room with an xbox , projector, surround sound ... NO WINDOWS! the works .. honestly if you have it and you know how to make it the way it should be with massive doors and the right sound and visual and lighting it is an awesome advantage on them nights when your home and you just want to watch a movie away from the outside world Re: Theater rooms?? 9Jul 23, 2014 12:04 pm Hmmm not sure about massive doors.... In the West (not sure about other states) you are not allowed to have habitable rooms without windows. There is a formula for calculating the minimum sized window for any given room. My room was originally specc'd with double doors and I changed it down to one door. All other points spot on. Don't forget that the dimensions play a part in acoustics, so its worth getting it right when building so you don't have to pay to correct it at the back end. The room ittself is a major component of any theatre. Re: Theater rooms?? 10Jul 23, 2014 12:26 pm AussieMark Hmmm not sure about massive doors.... In the West (not sure about other states) you are not allowed to have habitable rooms without windows. I think it is pretty much everywhere. I've had to put in windows to comply with light and ventilation requirements, however after we move in the windows will be dealt with, i.e. blocked off with 'plugs', so I'm going to have to make it look half decent looking from the outside so that the 'plugs' won't look too bad, such as el cheapo curtains between the 'plugs' and the glass. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Theater rooms?? 11Jul 23, 2014 12:36 pm when you build custom it may be different .. our theater room is called "Store" it was hard to get the room without a window but it was done ... BUT... the doors that we have are translucent frosted glass which allows light in from various windows, very minimal but still some light... you can also build your house without any doors into the theater i believe and it can be passed that way too and then after the house has been built you can put your own style doors on Re: Theater rooms?? 12Jul 23, 2014 12:44 pm I went with double glazed and will have heavy block out curtains. I want the ability to air the room as well. I would wait til you are in and assess the plug situation. @johnno a store is not a habitable room and if inspected you could be pulled up. It's a remote risk I know. How will the acoustics be handled as large glass doors are less than ideal. Re: Theater rooms?? 13Jul 23, 2014 1:18 pm Ours is our main TV/lounge room. We have a small kids lounge in the main living area, but the theatre is 'our' room. It has our big TV (+ gaming console), plus a projector and screen, as well as surround sound speakers. We use it every night, and the projector if we are watching a movie, or sport. We love it. It has windows to let in air, and blockout curtains so you can make it dark if you want, and a door. We don't have theatre style seating, just our comfy couches. Re: Theater rooms?? 14Jul 23, 2014 2:14 pm Tina, sounds awesome and love the fact that it's getting used. I envisage mine to be the same. Although I am skewed towards movies I do want it to be utilized. I am trying to make it a room that once the doors are closed you are in a different world, if that makes sense. Re: Theater rooms?? 15Jul 23, 2014 2:33 pm Use ours everyday as it is position away from bedrooms and have sound batts in the walls its good for night time tv without interupting others and kids can play their playstations/xbox. Plus love watching a good movie loud with a good 5.1 system Re: Theater rooms?? 16Jul 23, 2014 4:22 pm We designed our theatre room to be able to be used as a formal lounge and if required in a pinch, a bedroom for aged parents as it's the only room downstairs. Having said that it is also designed correctly. We put in small thin windows at the seating end that are easily light controlled with block out blinds. We have dark carpet and walls. A solid core door and I prewired everything. I built a spot for the projector in the bulkhead when I built them so it discreetly sits out of the way. I also made a custom entertainment unit so all the components are neat and tidy. With the blinds up its a nice comfortable room. When its time to watch a movie sitting back and watching on a 130" screen with fantastic sound beats going to the movies. We're quite happy to wait for a movie to come out on blue ray than pay $40 to go to the movies. If the kids have friends over they can watch movies while my wife and I stay in the family room. It all depends on what's important to you. I've always enjoyed my sound systems and listening to music so I enjoyed the ability to have something I wanted, however we didn't want to limit the use of the room and think we found a balance that works for us and any future purchasers, should we want to sell. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Theater rooms?? 17Jul 23, 2014 9:24 pm A theatre room without windows would end up pretty stinky and gross. Much like most theatres. People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Re: Theater rooms?? 18Jul 24, 2014 8:41 am hi I have four kids too 6, 4 and twins at 20m we are having a family room, we turned the games into a kids TV room and will be having a theatre room too. our theatre room is the adult room. 4.6x5.1 it is enclosed room this room is for adullts only (I am going to put a lock on it ) Hubby and I love to sit down in a clean kid free area to watch our pre-recorded TV shows and movies. Hubby is Big on his Xboxes and wants to have the Full experience of a large screen and full sound around him (he is a bit of a child LOL) Not sure on what stuff we are getting for the theatre room that's hubby's job. sometimes when you have kids you need couple time and a kids free zone!!! (once the kids go to bed) Re: Theater rooms?? 19Jul 24, 2014 9:35 am We have a fully enclosed 5 x 4 theatre room. I don't watch an awful lot of tv at home and neither does hubby, we also don't watch an awful lot of movies together he watches what he wants on his iPad and I watch what I want on the media box at work (as background noise) we have an 11 year old with the requisite xbox wii ds etc. I envisage this is where we will lock the child away and friends and not have to hear any noise. Interesting how everyone is using their's differently <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=62083">viewtopic.php?t=62083</a><!-- l --> Re: Theater rooms?? 20Jul 24, 2014 10:43 am Johnno1224 when you build custom it may be different .. our theater room is called "Store" it was hard to get the room without a window but it was done ... BUT... the doors that we have are translucent frosted glass which allows light in from various windows, very minimal but still some light... you can also build your house without any doors into the theater i believe and it can be passed that way too and then after the house has been built you can put your own style doors on I'm not sure I see the point in going to the effort of removing the window only to then put glass doors on the room. If it was to stop light entering the room then the purpose has been defeated, similarly if it was for preventing sound entering/leaving the room, the glass doors will perform poorly. A double glazed window with heavy drapes will perform much better on both counts, plus you have the benefit of being able to air out the room after several stinky teenagers have been in there for a movie marathon. If you ever want to repurpose the room or sell the house the lack of a window is a problem. But each to their own. If it's what works for you then that's what matters. We have a dedicated theatre room and use it every day. We watch all our tv and movies in there, it's fantastic for the kids who can have friends around for a movie experience without the cost of a cinema trip (kids movie themed birthday parties and sleepovers are a big hit in out house!) we have the PS3 and Xbox in there as well and when the kids go to bed my wife and I can sit in there and watch whatever and not disturb them due to the soundproofing added. It's also an awesome space for a quiet read as well or for listening to music. Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. |