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I am about to build a small one-screen theater in a portion of an old grocery store that is being remodeled into a little mini mall. Are there any cheaper alternatives for auditorium wall contruction rather than the 7 layers of drywall that has been recommended?

While this subject has been discussed at length before on this Forum (check its Archive), suffice to say that only mass (weight) stops the transmission of sound through a barrier. Many cinemas have tried to go the cheap route with wallboard or wood and have produced only nortiously sound leaking walls and ceilings (yes, one must also soundproof the ceilings) which caused patrons to come there only until a competitor opened up a better built cinema nearby.

What is needed is quality concrete, brick or even in-filled sand walls to stop sound, not cheapness. If you can't afford to build it right, maybe you shouldn't be building at all.

Just curious if all that is really necessary on a single screen?

Burney Falls wrote: "Just curious if all that is really necessary on a single screen?"

What's INSIDE the theatre usually generates the loudest sound, so a single screen's NEIGHBORS might mind hearing the sounds from a loud adventure film.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Cell: +1 585-781-4036 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I built a four-plex on the second floor of a department store building. I used ½ inch sound board under the subfloor. The walls are ½” rock>5/8” rock>air space>air tight 2x4 wall with ½” rock on both sides>air space>5/8” rock> ½” rock. There is virtually no sound leakage. It is MUCH better than the local multiplex. The trick is to have nothing connecting the walls: wires, EMT, sprinkler pipes, etc.

I've read and read and read some more,bottom line.Is concrete block with sand filling our best bet for wall sound-proofing? We're thinking 8 inch block floor to ceiling.We're thinking burnished block so our hallway has a very durable finish.No wall penetrations ( I hope ). Thanks.......

Good article on sound transmission and wall construction here:
http://www.cinemaequipmentsales.com/dolby7.html

Sand-filled concrete block likely won't be sufficient by itself.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Cell: +1 585-781-4036 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Thanks for the link. We we're planning the soundproofing insulation also,we were intending to just put curtain material over the insulation.Is there a technique to create the air space between the block and insulation? I like this design,and I'm sure the additional drywall should help.

As strange as I know this sounds, there is a new technique some music studios are using in construction, but is accomplished not through the use of heavy/thick walls or air space, but by using the sound cancellation technique used in concerts to help the performers hear. By installing many small double microphones in the walls, when the microphones pick up sound, they react instantly by cancelling the sounds before they get to the other side. I don't know the technical specifics on how this is accomplished, but there you go. It would make for much thinner walls, but in a theater, I can't help but think that the low bass sounds (explosions) would still penetrate. I haven't heard of a theater being constructed using this technology, but it might be worth looking into.

When schools construct music rooms, they don't want sound to get to the adjoining classrooms either, so they build their music rooms completely separate from the opposing wall. They even build them on separate foundations. If you look real close, the siding does not even touch the adjacent walls, but they appear to be connected. As Avalon said, the trick is to completely separate the two structures as much as possible with air space in between. Anything connecting the two will transmit sound.

Personally, I think the lack of proper sound insulation techniques will help cinemas combat home theaters. TV screens can get larger and wattage can be increased, but when neighbors start complaining, it's all for not.

In studio design practice the studio is isolated by using a thing called "U-Boats". Sound Away calls their "Iso-track stud and joist sound isolators...
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These are rubber isolation clips about 1.5" thick that are placed under the floor joists.
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The walls are also isolated from the adjacent walls (sometimes with sound boats as we,,,
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Since the sound boat isolators are u shaped, and stapled/toe nailed to the studio floor joists, they don't have a mechanical connection to the floor.
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Here is a link:
www.soundaway.com/Stud_Isolators_s/182.htm
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These are the only sure way to isoalte two sound booths's/rooms.
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Do they work???
Ask Paul Simone - I used them in his Muscle Shoals, Ala Recording Studio. He was in my FM Station and remarked how the studio was amazingly quiet (even though I had the Muscle Shoals Airport as a neighbor).
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You want isolation..... U-Boats....
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Dave

BurneyFalls wrote:
I know this post is old but I just wanted to add in a little bit of info for new readers coming across this post. Many people think that sound proofing is keeping sound in as a means to not disturb those outside of a space. But you also want to consider the fact that you will want to keep sound out as well. I had an experience at a movie theater where I could hear two people having a conversation in the alley next to the screen/building. Obviously these guys talked pretty loud and it was annoying. It didn't help that their conversation was inappropriate. Proper sound proofing is important period, but even more important depending on the location of your theater. For example if your theater is located near an area that receives a lot of noisy transportation traffic (both on the streets and in the sky) you will want to ensure that your customers aren't disturbed too much by outside noise.

and sometimes the people making the noise are the staff in the lobby: we are as guilty as anyone.