Hi Laundrew
I got a question if you don't mind.
I do renovations and construction work (I am a Glazier by trade) so I looked at your pictures,the before and after look. You did well and I got the same Dewalt sliding saw,although mine is the original they came out with which I slightly prefer over the latest redesigned saw. Now judging by the towel under the door in the 1st pic,you must of had draft coming through. What was the other side? a garage ,unheated space?
So the question is why did you build a drop ceiling? I mean I think it wasn't required , plus you decrease the headroom. Also why use 2x8 lumber and 2x6 for the ceiling. Are you trying to sound proof the room?
Anyway great effort and I hope you enjoy the room.
Regards
George
Greetings George
First and foremost - Laundrew is a very green rookie when it comes to renovations
This is all on our basement level and I used the towel to stop dust from coming into my listening room as I was working on the other side of the wall. The previous owners had a walk in closet and in my case, was just used for storage. The first photo is of the closet and the second photo is it removed.
The main consideration for the renovation was to open up a little more space between my chair and audio gear. My antique librarians desk takes up a lot of floor space and you can see by the bottom photo, my chair is not very far away from the speakers.
I considered many reasons for using a dropped ceiling. As the room addition is basically a "mini den," the dropped ceiling creates the feel of two separate rooms - even though it is only a single room you get a sense of transition from one part of the room to the other and their functions are very distinct. The built in CD rack and bookshelf also accents this. I enjoy the sensation of walls pressing in around me and I find the mini den very comfortable and secluded, the dropped ceiling really made this work for me and with the light dimmers it will truly be my Xanadu.
An unplanned bonus, as you mentioned, is for the extra sound proofing. The area above the mini den is a hallway and the floor joists are already insulated and with the 2X6 dropped ceiling it doubles the insulation to about ten inches. The dropped ceiling also has all the ruff-ins for ceiling speakers and 2X6's gave me a little more room for the speaker modules (for my computer). This is rather an experiment for me as I want this room to have a Victorian Gothic atmosphere. Perhaps when it is completed I could post a photo essay from start to finish. Thanks for your interest and hope this answered your questions.
Be well...