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Building a listening room in new house; Texas?

Contemplaitng either Sierra Vista, AZ or San Antonio, TX for new home build in the next few years. From my initial research, Texas has what they called a Texas basement, not really a full basement and maybe something called a FROG. This is because the earth settles a lot there from what I have read. That probably means a listening room above ground (God help my wife), or in AZ; we can have a basement and all issues would be gone.

For both our careers, it looks like TX for now, so with that information, I looked into new home construction options in TX. Can you build an entire above ground home that is concrete, cement or brick? I know that we would like radiant floor heat (we are coming from Europe), and my current listening room is in a bomb shelter for a basement, literally, we designed the house around my listening room with almost 3 foot thick basement walls, and double insulation within that, so that I can blast away with music all night long and the wife could sleep in peace. I am not seeing any options like that in Texas. Would a general contractor be good for this or do I really need to take the bull by the horns and sub myself to get what I want?

Having built a house in Germany and getting the specs we wanted was a great experience. I would love to bring the basement with me, ha. I will need the essential listening room size at least 19x26 with at least 8 foot ceilings. The walls will have to be inert enought to absrob the sound of me blasting 2 15" subs, massive mono tube amps and N800 speakers. I will also need a sound proof door as I have now. What is great right now, is that my ceiling is concrete, and is about 20 inches thick, because it is both the roof of the basement and it incorporates floor heat. Total house size, about 3500-4500 square feet, with 3 car garage.

I saw someone posted a while back about celluose insulation, looks promising.

If anyone has any thoughts or ideas, I would be glad to hear from you. You know longterm planning is better than waiting until the last minute.
Thanks in advance.
Ciao,
Audioquest4life
audioquest4life
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
In this economy you can probably get anything you want built in Texas. I live in Dallas and although we've not been hit with falling home prices like some areas, there is absolutely a slow down.

I've done photography for a couple of custom home builders here, I can call them and get references for quality people in the San Antonio area. Just send me an email via Audiogon system and I'll do what I can.

The catch? You have to visit Dallas at some point and join us for dinner and music after you move to Texas :^).

I think a basement is possible with some planning. I've photographed new construction homes here in Dallas that have basements. With some planning, a drain system and sump pump you should be good.

The sump pump may or may not be needed, depending on elevation. It's a common addition in many areas around the country as insurance against water seepage.
audioquest4life OP
727 posts
 
Hi Albert,

That is a 10-4 buddy. A big thanks. My wife and I would be delighted to visit and listen to music on your system and visit Dallas. The invite goes both ways, after we complete the build and integrate a lot of the German engineered audio equipment we picked up while stationed in Germany. I will send you a private PM later on. Both of us are so done with the cold German weather for now. The European vacation should end right just before 2013.

We look forward to building another house though, she has her requirements, custom kitchen, pool, sun room, giant master suite and bathroom, walk-in closets, etc; all I want is a private listening room, that is all.
Ciao,
Audioquest4life
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albertporter
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My Son John is here for Spring break, a short rest from college studies. He made the Deans list including an A+ in German.

Maybe you two can chat it up and help him with vocabulary. John reports text books are unimaginative in their dialogue, prefers reading from the back of my German open reel boxes :^).

Let me know when and if you want builder names for your project.
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drubin
3,267 posts
 
If you have school-age children you would send to public schools, you might want to think twice about Texas, which has just enacted an unbelievably backwards set of textbook standards.
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Drubin,

Public education is not the only option, Texas has many private schools and some public schools here are excellent. There are independent schools within Dallas and the suburbs. Some are among the best in the country.

http://www.hpisd.org/

My son's been in private school since pre K. It's expensive but the money saved by living in Texas easily pays for the tuition.

Not only is the cost of homes less, we have no state income tax and one of the only states that did not accept the governments hand outs which obligates us to more government intervention.

Texas has become home for many corporations and is growing due to their friendly attitude and work ethic.
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