I live on a slab. The audio is MUCH better then any other floor I've been on. Keep the cement. Place a good wall-to-wall or hardwood floor over it. You will never be happier.
concrete slab vs/ wood floor - pros and cons
Audiogoners, given the choice, with sound quality being a top priority, which choice is usually better?
I have been given the green light from my wife, bless her heart, to convert our stand-alone 1935-era garage into a dedicated music/theater room - woo hoo!! The fact that it's a separate structure will be ideal for playing loud movies whenever without bothering anyone in the house. The space is roughly 11.5 x 17' and I think it will make a terrific intimate theater. It's completely unfinished inside and has a sturdy stucco exterior. It's a very solid structure. However, the concrete floor has some large cracks lengthwise due to settling so it is pretty crowned in the middle. If I keep the concrete, I will need to build a floor over the slab and shim it quite a bit to level it out enough to install the underlayment. Headroom is limited as the walls are just over 7 feet, although the roofline peaks at just over 10' in the center, enough height to hang my projector.
If I removed the concrete, then I could dig down and build a normal floor over wood joists with a nice hollow space underneath. My house is built over a crawlspace with hardwood floors and I like the quality of bass and overall sound I get in our living room. The downside is that it would be more difficult to convert the garage back later to use for parking a car if we move. I was thinking it might be cool to design this type of floor and then have space below for insulation, wiring, etc. without sacrificing any height. Maybe the floor could even be designed as a sort of bass trap to help with the sound. Any thoughts? -thanks, -jz
I have been given the green light from my wife, bless her heart, to convert our stand-alone 1935-era garage into a dedicated music/theater room - woo hoo!! The fact that it's a separate structure will be ideal for playing loud movies whenever without bothering anyone in the house. The space is roughly 11.5 x 17' and I think it will make a terrific intimate theater. It's completely unfinished inside and has a sturdy stucco exterior. It's a very solid structure. However, the concrete floor has some large cracks lengthwise due to settling so it is pretty crowned in the middle. If I keep the concrete, I will need to build a floor over the slab and shim it quite a bit to level it out enough to install the underlayment. Headroom is limited as the walls are just over 7 feet, although the roofline peaks at just over 10' in the center, enough height to hang my projector.
If I removed the concrete, then I could dig down and build a normal floor over wood joists with a nice hollow space underneath. My house is built over a crawlspace with hardwood floors and I like the quality of bass and overall sound I get in our living room. The downside is that it would be more difficult to convert the garage back later to use for parking a car if we move. I was thinking it might be cool to design this type of floor and then have space below for insulation, wiring, etc. without sacrificing any height. Maybe the floor could even be designed as a sort of bass trap to help with the sound. Any thoughts? -thanks, -jz