Open Concept basement build doubles as home theater - concerned w/ finishes and sound

[pizzaslice]

Hello,
I’ve been lurking for awhile but starting to get more serious about a golf sim build in a new construction house in Illinois. I was hoping you all could chip in your thoughts and opinions to help me decide if I can achieve my goals for a basement build out.

I would prefer the sim to be part of a more open concept basement and to have it adjacent to the bar area in the basement and use it as a hybrid home theater / golf sim / place to watch the big game… but my concerns are that it will be difficult to finish the trim around the screen nicely and without compromising safety. Does anyone have pictures or links to builds that show how this might be done? Are there any professionals that can help design a finished look? I'm attaching a photo that gives an idea of the layout i'm going for, but i'm not sure if I like the curtain finish. is the curtain really my best option?



My other concern is that the ball hitting the screen will be loud and obnoxious to the rest of the family on the main level or worse yet, possibly even up on the 2^nd story where the kids are sleeping. I don’t want a separate room so I’m probably not able to contain the sound as well. I know you can never eliminate the sound completely, but how bad will it be? What is everyone’s experience with this?

appreciate the input!

[Sixmudd]

Hello,
I’ve been lurking for awhile but starting to get more serious about a golf sim build in a new construction house in Illinois. I was hoping you all could chip in your thoughts and opinions to help me decide if I can achieve my goals for a basement build out.

I would prefer the sim to be part of a more open concept basement and to have it adjacent to the bar area in the basement and use it as a hybrid home theater / golf sim / place to watch the big game… but my concerns are that it will be difficult to finish the trim around the screen nicely and without compromising safety. Does anyone have pictures or links to builds that show how this might be done? Are there any professionals that can help design a finished look? I'm attaching a photo that gives an idea of the layout i'm going for, but i'm not sure if I like the curtain finish. is the curtain really my best option?



My other concern is that the ball hitting the screen will be loud and obnoxious to the rest of the family on the main level or worse yet, possibly even up on the 2^nd story where the kids are sleeping. I don’t want a separate room so I’m probably not able to contain the sound as well. I know you can never eliminate the sound completely, but how bad will it be? What is everyone’s experience with this?

appreciate the input!

That layout looks really great. I think you’ll want to get a super premium impact screen if you want it to double as a home theater or maybe a super sharp projector. The image on my impact screen is nowhere near the quality of the image on my theater screen.

as far as noise, yeah it’s loud but not Intolerable. Not so much the ball hitting the impact screen, but ball hitting the club, especially driver-that’s where you’ll really hear it in a basement setup. With irons, The noise level is not bad at all.

this is just based on my own experience. Others may have other opinions.

[Dax]

Some comments:

1. others on this forum have done what you are looking for and there are likely two threads with pics of what others have done. These date back around 2 or 3 years but are relevant.

2. You will see some discussion on placing speakers behind the screen etc.

3. Another topic discussed is image quality. A theatre screen is way different from an impact screen. If it were me, I would design a drop down screen into my build. This will likely require the projector to be moved when watching video versus play on your sim screen. There are rails that people have mused that allows them to move their projector back and forth.

3. If the room is open and there is lots of light, the. You will need to invest in something with more lumens and find ways to control the light.

4. I would suggest contacting Par2Pro and suspect that they can answer many of your questions and also provide much of the things you may need if you are going to do it yourself. Also they could do the install if you live in or around Edmonton.

hope this helps, but check out those other threads.

[Adrenaline]

The setup in the picture looks great to me. Where is that picture from, a sales website for a product I assume? I like the curtain option, so you can pull them out when you need, or not.

[pizzaslice]

Some comments:

1. others on this forum have done what you are looking for and there are likely two threads with pics of what others have done. These date back around 2 or 3 years but are relevant.

Thanks, Dax. Any suggestions for keywords i could use to find these threads? I have been digging but havent come across them yet.

[pizzaslice]

The setup in the picture looks great to me. Where is that picture from, a sales website for a product I assume? I like the curtain option, so you can pull them out when you need, or not.

Adrenaline - i found this picture on pinterest. its from a high end house: https://pin.it/ip2meEo

[Dax]

I will try and search a little later today, but believe one was a basement build where the person actually did a dig out. Thus, searching for basement build or dig out might be the key terms. Not sure if they did a different screen. Another search might be for acoustically transparent screen could be the other.

[Stetson]

To your sound concerns ... It’s important to have a quality door at the top or bottom of stairs. Commando cloth, can’t panels, double drywall with green glue, and insulation between basement ceiling and main level floor.