[bduncan118]

Hello everybody! I am beginning the planning stage of building a home theater in my second floor walk in attic. Im handy with the saw and tools. But Im not to familiar with framing. I've get everything but the ceiling figured out. The room is 10x21. Im thinking i need to do 2x6 16" oc for the ceiling joists. My question is can i rest them on top of the top plate and toenail it to the top plate, or do i have to use hangars. There is infinite resources online on how to frame but not a lot on ceilings. There will be no storage or anything on top, the only thing it will hold is 5/8 drywall. Thanks for your time!

BD

 

[joecaption]

Got a picture?

 

[bduncan118]

Unfortunately no picture. I haven't started the framing yet. Just in the planning stages. It will be a regular room frame. by 2x4's with a window and a door. Im building 4 walls (even though it will be next to an existing exterior wall.
The attic itself is a large area (18x 25 ft unfinished). The flooring is already down with 2x10 joists amd 5/8 plywood. The ceilings are 20ft plus with a slope with the lowest part being 14 ft in the area where i will be building the room.

 

[bduncan118]

Attached are some pictures of my plans and a few pictures of the existing area.

 

[Fix'n it]

10x21' ? what size display ? and on what wall ? have you ever seen a "real" home theater, in person ?

 

[bduncan118]

Looking at about a 8 ft screen on the wall all the way to the left. Seating at about 12 ft deep (2 rows of 2 seats maybe 3 seats depending on width). I could go 14 ft wide on the room but the roof support pictured above comes down at 10 ft 8 " from the exterior wall.

Though I've never seen a HT in person I have been researching this for a while and know what I'm getting into on the AV side. Im trying to get more acclimated to the carpenter side of things.

 

[Fix'n it]

your going to have problems with that size screen in that NARROW room.

roof support. is that that pole in the middle ?

 

[bduncan118]

I will research more on the screen before I get to that. What would be an optimum size screen? What kind of issues are you thinking? The pole will be on the outside of the room. That is what is holding me back from going 14 ft wide. If the building inspector makes me get an engineer to certify the flooring I will inquire about moving the support. Thanks for the input!

 

[Fix'n it]

while i do not "know", i bet that pole was used during construction, and is no longer needed.

screen size. some people are happy with a 32" tv. others are wanting to replace their 130" screen. it really depends on what you expect and want.
i had my 119" in a 12' wide room. with tower speakers on each side, there was very little room left. then there is acoustics, and light reflections.

 

[bduncan118]

Acoustics will be a nightmare. There are similar supports running the length of the house (3 or 4) total. I am thinking of going behind the screen with the speakers. Stage 1 is get the room built. Stage 2 is get the electronics and furniture in. Stage 3 is finishing the hall walking to the room.

 

[Fix'n it]

Acoustics will be a nightmare.

I am thinking of going behind the screen with the speakers.

yeah, but you can fix that somewhat easily.

that would be ok. but there are issues with those screens, so check into that.

 

[mae-ling]

There are forums that are solely geared to home theatres. Do a google search and you will find them.
Lots of great information.

 

[bduncan118]

I've been using avs for my av research. I came here looking for guidance on framing the ceiling.

 

[GBrackins]

The room is 10x21. Im thinking i need to do 2x6 16" oc for the ceiling joists.

if ceiling joists are installed in the 10' direction 2x6 at 16" o.c. would be sufficient.

if ceiling joists are installed in the 21' direction then you'd be looking at probably 2x8 at 16" o.c.

See Table R802.4(1) for ceiling joist spans based upon uninhabitable attic without storage. This table is from the 2009 International Residential Code, your code may vary.

of course you would need to evaluate the existing construction for these additional loads.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[bduncan118]

Gary,
Thanks for the input. I looked at a similar chart yesterday so i figured 2x6's will work for the span. My main question is how to attach to the top plate. Is toe nailing the 2x6's with a cpupe of i. hes overhang OK? Or do i need to buy joist hangers ?
I know the existing construction is good enough to support new construction. It has the same components as the existing room that is upstairs. the builder did this so it could be built on if i wanted too If the building inspector makes me get it looked at by an engineer than it will be money wasted but I understand.

 

[GBrackins]

my opinion would be that toe-nails would be sufficient since the purpose of the ceiling joists is to provide support for the ceiling, not as a part of the roof construction. the person who's opinion matters is the building officials so you may want to run it past them. The BO may require an engineer's evaluation to ensure they is no compromise of the existing structure since it was not designed this way originally.