Home Theater Construction: Walls and Drywall or Sheetrock

Home Theater Construction: Walls

When building your walls, this guide will help you choose the best design for your application. Please view the STC cha

rt linked for each wall type to get a general understanding of the ratings on the major wall types and construction methods. The hig

her the STC rating, the lesser the noise pollution coming in or coming out of your controlled environment. In my theater I chose the

alternating stud with double drywall for the walls and resilient channel and double drywall for the ceiling. I live in a condo envi

ronment so for me the purpose was to keep me happy with the reference (or near) level movie theater audio performance and my neighbo

rs happy with no noisy distractions.

The basic “Drywall” guide is linked at the bottom as well. While not a replacement for experience and more in

depth how-to guides you can find at the DIY store or book store it does give you an idea of how to attack this messy part of constr

uction (you will especially love the sanding. ahhhhhh!)

Single stud & Single Drywall

Sound Qualities: Very minimal

sound proofing characteristics. Least expensive and most common design.

Single stud on 16″

center with 1 sheet of drywall on each side

STC

Chart: STC Rating chart for wall types

Staggered Stud & Single Drywall

Sound Qualities: Good proofing

characteristics. More expensive and time consuming to build but good

sound proofing qualities. The staggered stud helps eliminate sound

vibration/transfer through the stud walls.

Single alternating stud

on alternating 8″ center with 1 sheet of drywall on each side

STC

Chart: STC Rating chart for wall types

Staggered Stud & Double Drywall

Sound Qualities: Excellent

sound proofing characteristics. The staggered stud helps eliminate

sound vibration/transfer through the stud walls.

Single alternating stud

on alternating 8″ center with 2 sheets of drywall on each side

STC

Chart: STC Rating chart for wall types

Dry walling Walls

This simple guide will help

you understand the process of hanging drywall. We plan on updating

this guide with images and further depth as we build our theater.

If you have any dry walling pictures you wish to share, please contact

us