Yes, a flooded basement can become a great home theater. This family turned their water damage into a full remodel. The 1 Sound Choice team cleaned it up and built a disco theater in less than 2 months.
Instead of drowning their sorrows in the wake of a flooded basement, these homeowners made it a reason to initiate a full remodel. It just so happened that the project’s cleanup and renovation was a function of the firm, 1 Sound Choice, whose main gig is home theater design. With Dad as an electronics buff, not much arm-twisting was needed to stretch talk of water and mold removal into CinemaScope movies and surround sound. The only catch, according to 1 Sound Choice’s Ryan Herd, was that the homeowners requested a finished room in time for their daughter’s birthday party less than two months away. “They had a little entertainment system in the family room, but the owner always wanted a theater,” says Herd. “We ended up gutting that room. They’d already ripped out the carpets after they had flooding, but water also got into the Sheetrock. Doing a theater is such a radical change, it was just easier and quicker to gut it, and then make everything look nice, symmetrical and organized.” The custom electronics pros started by taking apart the bottom four feet of Sheetrock to alleviate the mold and mildew, changing electrical outlets to accommodate the theater gear, and insulating the walls and drop ceiling. Then 1 Sound Choice brought in materials such as acoustic panels, fiber-optic ceiling panels, molding to trim the ceiling and acoustic panels, and columns that would conceal the in-wall speakers and subwoofers. (Click Here to view the rest of this article on ElectronicHouse.com)Want the family room ready for game day? See our family room game day page.
What One Sound Choice clients say
(We received) friendly, highly competent, quick and clean installation by 1 Sound Choice. The team followed up a few weeks after completion to ask if we were satisfied with our Media Room and Home Audio System. 1 Sound Choice is truly “top shelf” – they surpassed our expectations every step of the way.
– Mr. & Mrs. Blake (1 Sound Choice client testimonials)
We were surprised with what (Ryan) took away from the conversation – even reading between the lines to put everything we wanted and needed right into his designs for us. At first, we really didn’t know who to go with; we hadn’t had any renovations to our home before. We set up a consultation and liked (Ryan) because he was personable, a good listener and knowledgeable. He asked about our wish list and gave us some ideas…which were great.
– Mr. & Mrs. Caywood (1 Sound Choice client testimonials)
One Sound Choice was our second try at finding a contractor to repair our flood-damaged home after Irene blew through in August of 2011. Our Cape Cod house has a slab foundation and the entire first floor – living room, kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom – got 5 feet of water. Ryan, the owner, was highly professional from start to finish. He worked closely with us to produce a contract that was within our insurance budget, and he came in on time and on budget. In some cases, he went over and above the call of duty; for example, surprising me with some crown molding in the bathroom and dining room that I had really wanted but just didn’t have the money for. We actually had enough left to hire him to do our home theater and bedroom media center! We were so pleased to have discovered the truly good people at One Sound Choice, and hope to work with them again when we are ready to remodel our upstairs rooms.
– bethbarnhill (Houzz review)
Basement theater questions
Can a flooded basement become a home theater?
Yes. This family used the cleanup as a chance to build the theater they always wanted.
How long did it take?
Less than 2 months, in time for their daughter’s birthday party.
What did the team fix first?
They removed the bottom 4 feet of wet Sheetrock to stop mold and mildew.
What went into the new room?
Acoustic panels, a fiber-optic star ceiling, and columns that hide the speakers and subwoofers.
One Sound Choice, 8 Tilley Ave, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444. Call or text (973) 945-5275. We work in homes across Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. Written by Ryan Herd, founder of One Sound Choice.