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


john_z
Jaffe, "qualified to do so" is/was my point as well. Plumbers tape for shear is just one example. Clearly, an unqualified bit of advice, that if followed, would have led to a bit of pain, had the OP followed it. I'm sure you cringed as well. The forums are now somewhat populated by "professional" posters. IMposters if you ask me. How this or that worked for me, or how this or that "might" work for you, is more appropriate, as you stated. I agree. Thanks. Z.
The point of my previous post was only to infer that IMO it is not appropriate to give advice regarding repairing or modifying the structure of one’s home without first physically inspecting the structure and then only if you are qualified to do so.

I cannot agree more.
Well! Now that makes three of us! Do I see a trend here! Gump, you gettin all this? Troll away was it? Ha ha!! Z.
I’ll make one last point and then I’ll shut up. I find the bantering on many A’gon threads to be distasteful. It certainly was not my intention to end up in the middle of this one. And John z my apologies for hijacking your thread. I’m sure that you have the savvy not to be ripping up concrete or modifying the structure of your home without seeking the advice of professionals.
Jaffe, Don't leave! We construction professionals can provide valuable suggestions, (including advice to seek local professionals) as well as nip the bad advice in the bud. As to the bantering (what a polite term!) I have seen a huge increase in pure pontification. Is this bantering distasteful? Sure. Curative? I certainly hope so... Z.