Acoustically Treating a Bomb Shelter


Seriously.  My house came with a 1960s era bomb shelter.  It's a total of 2,200 square feet of Cold War Era awesomeness, basically divided into two 51X21 long rectangular rooms.

It's under a pool and pool house, easily 15 feet down. Hard concrete walls. Huge metal out swing doors that could keep out Bob Dylan looking for a string bean. 

We turned one big room into a giant pantry, wine cellar, and storage room.

The other I softened with hardwood floors, sheet rock (with foam insulation) on walls and ceiling, in that it could make an excellent apartment, being 1000 sf by itself, not counting the kitchen and bath.  And has two entrances, one at each end.  Very airy with good ventilation (and expensive filters).

It's this (now) 50 X 20 room iswhere my listening area is.  Ceilings are 14 foot sloping down (the short way on the rectangle) to 12 feet.

I've divided it into three areas of roughly equal area.  One end has a power rack and tons of free weights and whatnot.  On top of the hardwood is a protective layer, hardwood, and then rubber horse stall mats.  Kitchen and bath beyond that.

The other end is an emergency bedroom, with flip down Murphy beds, etc.  Area rug where the wife does yoga.  At its end are double metal doors, then stairs, then another metal door.

The middle third is my listening area.  Speakers and subs on the higher-ceiling side, although I could flip it.  Set up in the classic 60 degree triangle with a leather couch facing the speakers.  Chairs to the side, and a table I use as a desk behind the couch.  Area rug.  Decor: think Andy Warhol meets Austin Powers.

My thought is I don't get a lot of reflection from either the right or left side, due to the width of the room, and the stuff in each room.  I suspect I mainly get reverb off the back wall.  And perhaps the ceiling, although it is sloped up to the speakers.

I'm thinking all I need is some absorption on the back wall, immediately behind the couch/table (so facing the speakers), as I sit closer to the back wall than the speakers.   Perhaps something on the ceiling about 2/3 of the way across the room.

Thoughts?  I'd like to be informed a tad before I get involved with GIK or one of those groups.

davetheoilguy

So if the ceiling is concrete, that has to addressed as well as the flooring and walls.

But it does sound like a fun project.

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The underlying walls and ceiling are concrete, but I put in a vapor barrier and 1 inch insulation, then 2x4 (2x10s in the ceiling to space for steel I beams) and then 5/8 drywall on top,  The void is expandable foam insulation.  Looks like firm yellow shaving cream.

All of that is not structural.  Just insulating and gave me a place to run conduit and make it look like a normal room.

The main issues I have a acoustically are:

1.  It’s a big room.  Right at 1000 sf.

2.  It’s almost a hallway, being 50 feet long and 20 deep.  And I’m setting up across the short side of the rectangle.  So reflections from L and R are quite distant.

3.  ceiling has a fair slant to it from 14 to 12 feet, which presumably reflects sound back to the speakers, but probably somewhere between the speakers and couch.

4. I’ve got it set up where I listen closer to back wall, which is why I suspect that is my point of unwanted reverb.

 

 

 

 

What jond said. Perfect enfironment for audio heaven based on the volume. So many things going for you. Room EQ Wizard and $100 recommend micorphone and do some sweeps at your listening position. Go to waterfall chart so you can see decay which is a measurment of your reflections. With that data and your ears you should be able to make good decisions in what will assist you and see as well as hear changes such as throwing a rug down does. You can then take that info to GIK to get input. Plenty of room to push the speaker well away from front wall. Congrats on a wonderful acoustic situation of a dedicated large room. Probably sounds pretty good now.

...after the Great Upgrade, launch with the music from Apocalypse Now....;)