Install New wood floor soooon, need advice.

CaligulaPolk

I plan to install new wood floor maybe this sunday or next week, and what will i need to buy to improve listening sound when i get the rti a speakers. I was told that i will need special pannels install on wall, becuz sound will bounce hardlfoor?
Im installing wood floor becauz it will carry vibrations from speakers and sub.

Im not sure what its all about, can anyone help! thanks

Hawkeye

Wood floors look really nice but they would not be my first choice in an audio room. I have them and wish I did not. I much prefered the absorption carpeting provided in my last house. You might be a big bass head and like the floor vibrating but I do not. I prefer a tight accurate bass without the floor adding its resonance. The added reflection points are of additional concern to me. They can be dealt with throw rugs and other items to try and break up the reflections.

RealTraps has a great learning section on the panels for your walls. They are very expensive to buy from and there are other companies who offer similar panels for much less. ATS comes to mind. I have several pieces in my very lively room and they have made a big impact on the reflections and stengthened the bass.

http://http://www.realtraps.com/

Pablo

Personnaly, I wouldn't install wood floors for the audio part of it. The less flat surfaces the better. Wood floors may resonate the bass, but they will also reflex every other frequency. If you want to feel the bass, get an **** kicking sub. If you do put in the wood floors (and they will probably look great, so don't skip it just for the audio), put some stuff on the walls. If on a low budget, try hanging some nice quilts or something. I lined the wall behind my entertainment center with black carpet, and built some fabric panels for the walls on my stairs (I'm in the basement), and the sound improvement was dramatic.

CaligulaPolk

If left over wood, i may install them on the ceiling for contemporary feeling with contemporary ceiling fan

John30_30

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

If left over wood, i may install them on the ceiling for contemporary feeling with contemporary ceiling fan

The ceilings I put wood on, we had to use scaffolds, which might screw up your nice new wood floor unless you put down cardboard or something.

I used DarqueKnight's mod for putting sticky-back insulation strips on the driver baskets of my towers. Once I got them set up in the livingroom, I had to do this.
That totally damped them without killing any of the middle or bass, and I have hardwood flooring. It sounds great now.

p.s.
I don't have wood ceilings, and it gives me a cramp in my neck just thinking about nailing that stuff up. I hated it.

p.p.s. Not to be rude, but looking at your sig, do you still have hearing loss? If so, you may want all the resonance you can get and not mod anything.

Pablo

Sorry, you didn't have that signature line earlier. If that's the case, then vibration is something you want (but not neccessarily reflection). I wish I was more of an audio freek so I can give you more suggestions. I just think of it from a logical stand point. Sound waves are nothing more than the movement of air. When they hit something, the bounce off. For a more natural sound, you want to eliminate the waves intersecting each other (i.e. keep them from bouncing off the walls). But your story is a little (a lot)different. You need to create the vibrations throughout the room. As far as a wood floor, I would go for a good 3/4" stock. I would also put down a cork underlayment (to issolate the floor), and make sure all the joints are as tight as can be (to eliminate rattling). This sounds like something that other people may be interested. I'm not sure if there is anything out there for sound rooms for the deaf, but it's probably something that would be worth looking into.

Face

If you decide on a hardwood floor, get a area rug. If you have other people over to listen to tunes or watch movies, do them a favor and don't put it on the ceiling also.

I have a few deaf friends, and IMO, your best bet is to invest in a large sub for your own listening(and tactile sensation) pleasure.

CaligulaPolk

John30_30 wrote: »

The ceilings I put wood on, we had to use scaffolds, which might screw up your nice new wood floor unless you put down cardboard or something.

I used DarqueKnight's mod for putting sticky-back insulation strips on the driver baskets of my towers. Once I got them set up in the livingroom, I had to do this.
That totally damped them without killing any of the middle or bass, and I have hardwood flooring. It sounds great now.

p.s.
I don't have wood ceilings, and it gives me a cramp in my neck just thinking about nailing that stuff up. I hated it.

p.p.s. Not to be rude, but looking at your sig, do you still have hearing loss? If so, you may want all the resonance you can get and not mod anything.

I was born deaf, i never heard anything before. Deafness is in my generations, most of my family are deaf. My son is deaf also, he is 6th generation deaf family.

Hawkeye

Have you considered adding some Butt Kickers to some of the furniture? If you require the feel of bass, these may provide that little something extra.

Gordon

WilliamM2

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

I was born deaf, i never heard anything before. Deafness is in my generations, most of my family are deaf. My son is deaf also, he is 6th generation deaf family.

If you can't hear, why any interest in audio systems? Just curious.

CaligulaPolk

WilliamM2 wrote: »

If you can't hear, why any interest in audio systems? Just curious.

My wife can hear. Audio system have bass!

jflail2

edit: Question answered

CaligulaPolk

Hawkeye wrote: »

Have you considered adding some Butt Kickers to some of the furniture? If you require the feel of bass, these may provide that little something extra.

Gordon

Yes plan to add buttkickers (8 of them) and powrful sub sametime maybe 4 if i feel that sub is sufficient.

shadowofnight

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

Yes plan to add buttkickers (8 of them) and powrful sub sametime maybe 4 if i feel that sub is sufficient.

Double up on the buttkickers , but dont go too overboard on the subs...as you mentioned your wife can hear...and you may turn it up to levels that cause her hearing problems ( Actually separate amps would be a really good thing....hers controls the audible sounds and she sets that level...and yours controls the buttkickers in your seat and you set that level. )

I have the opposite problem... I can hear good , but my wife is about 95% deaf. I have had to get so used to closed captioning now, that I just leave it on by default now.

CaligulaPolk

any suggestions on installing matching floor woods on ceiling? (that if i decide to do this) I dont want to use nails. What kind glue do you suggest? I will install floor first and decide if I still want do this. Will molding help?

Face

You're going to create a echo chamber.

CaligulaPolk

Face wrote: »

You're going to create a echo chamber.

even with rug on the floor? or DIY 45 degree aucostic (SP?) material molding around the room? Will that help?

Hawkeye

I helped a guy install a wood ceiling. First off, I do not think glue is enough to hold it up. We nailed through the tongue into the rafters. We did install 3/4 inch boards, but if your going to use the thin 3/8 with the paper backer, it may be enough but I doubt it.

I would stongly suggest if your going to do the ceiling, do it first! The scaffoling and pieces you may drop will damage your new floor UNLESS you cover the whole thing with 1/4 Masonite first as a protector.

Finally, go to RealTraps and read over some of the excellent papers Ethan has posted.

http://www.realtraps.com/

Gordon

John30_30

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

any suggestions on installing matching floor woods on ceiling? (that if i decide to do this) I dont want to use nails. What kind glue do you suggest? I will install floor first and decide if I still want do this. Will molding help?

You do it with nails. Period. Get or rent a compressor and a finish nailer that shoots 8 penny nailsize. You nail it to the dadgum joists, or if it's a cathedral ceiling, to the doggone rafters like Hawkeye said. That means you tap around and find the suckers, either 16" or 24" O.C. You do this religiously.
Are you hearing me here?;)

You can use liquid nails or yellow glue as well as nailing it if you're a mind to, but only a fool that wants a ton of lumber in his lap at some point just uses glue. Why is that? Because you'd be relying on the paper skin on the ceiling drywall to hold all that weight, and sooner or later, it'll give.

CaligulaPolk

will "liquid nail" be visuable? I havent decide if i want to install wood on ceiling.. hmm, how is it difference with drywall plaster ceiling to wood on ceiling with echoing?

Will Rug help?

John30_30

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

will "liquid nail" be visuable? I havent decide if i want to install wood on ceiling.. hmm, how is it difference with drywall plaster ceiling to wood on ceiling with echoing?

Will Rug help?

liquid nail won't be visible if you don't overdo it. i.e. squeeze-out through the cracks. You just don't use that stuff by itself because it won't hold.

I'd imagine carpet on the ceiling would be just about one of the best audio-dampening materials you could use.
But, you'd have to have a wife with 60's-70's fashion decor sense, i.e. zero fashion sense to approve this. Please don't ask her, just move on.

No, not zero. Probably -50 degrees. So, that's not really feasible either.

Come to think, I recall some people from back in the day used parachute silk somehow. Orange, iirc. I don't know how they draped that up there. Or where you'd find some today.

Back to reality-

Alot of ceilings have an acoustic "popcorn" mix shot on. That's better than typical plaster texturing, unless you were to glop the texture on really lumpy. I"m sure you've seen it. Actually, it's not hard to apply after you've taped, bedded, sanded down the ceiling drywall. You've done any of this stuff before?

Rent, borrow, or buy a 1-man hopper & compressor, get the acoustic mix from Home Depot. You need a mixing paddle and a 1/2" drill to mix the mixture up with. Ask the store help with this. Also, a 3-5 gallon bucket.
(This is all after you've masked off your walls, your floors are either unfinished or protected)
You can play around with spraying that stuff. It scrapes off easy enough wet.
Also you gotta get the consistency right with the right amount of water.

Or hire someone.

Or you can buy some boxes of pre-mixed texture mud, wet it down just a tad, lay it on the ceiling with a coarse, wet sponge and make up your own stucco pattern by dabbing that sponge around. You can get pretty creative that way without knowing what you're doing and still have it come out good.


This has been Norm Abrams for This Old Man-Cave.

CaligulaPolk

Ok, Well, the floor install plan went south on sunday, it was too cold and flurries, and another day of snow. But, I want to prepare installing speakers cables this week (will have 4 of my wisdom tooth pulled tomorrow!! )

So, what kind cable should I buy to install before installing the wood floor. I am thinking about putting wires behind floor molding. I can not fish wires under floor.

1. SAFETY FIRST!! Have beautiful family!! is it ok to install cables behind molding and walls??
How did you conceal your wires with wood floor?
2. What brand speakers cable should I buy for either RTi a series or LSi? (good affordable brand ones) (please provide cables web links at Best buy or circuit city)
3. Should I use audio plates on molding?

CaligulaPolk

BUMP!!

Please help providing info for speakers cable so i can get ball rolling and get things done by next week.

CaligulaPolk

Is this good wire?

Pablo

If you have a local Circuit City, check it out. Since they are going out of business, they may have some open box stuff at a good price.

CaligulaPolk

Pablo wrote: »

If you have a local Circuit City, check it out. Since they are going out of business, they may have some open box stuff at a good price.

yes.. i need to know what cable first before i buy.

CaligulaPolk

can anyone whos viewing the clubhouse, help, i am about to go best buy or circuit city.

Systems

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

can anyone whos viewing the clubhouse, help, i am about to go best buy or circuit city.

Well I've used it, was a little overkill though for running the speakers I'm using. You won't get very much compasion on here though for Monster products....

mmadden28

CaligulaPolk wrote: »

Is this good wire?

:eek::eek::eek:

I am currently in the process of replacing all of the cable you pictured.

CaligulaPolk

mmadden28 wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

I am currently in the process of replacing all of the cable you pictured.

So this is the right cable i should buy for rti a or lsi? I need double check before i install it? Will it be ok behind wood molding on the floor to conceal? am going to wiring ready before or after installing floor so ill be ready when speakers arrive sometime soon in the nearest future.

John30_30

I just scored an open-box special 1000 feet of audio/ security plenum-rated commercial cable. It's 6-pair, 22AWG. I was thinking of putting it up in the flea market. And forget that 2800 quote, that's nuts. I'd make it reasonable.

Not even sure if this fits what you'd need, though.