Where to start to build a booth?

[MillburyAuditorium]

Well, I pretty much run the auditorium, but there is no designated group who is in charge of it, I make the decisions to buy new things and what not, but this is different of course. So I will have a meeting with the school board/principal about it.

Thanks.

[NickJones]

A few things: Make sure it's big enough, a small booth is hell. Audio guys normaly prefer to be in the auditorium so they can hear what the audience hears, it might sound nice in the little monitors, but this may not be so. Your current booth looks fine, so long as the audio mixer is taken outside, leaving more room for the lighting guys. Make sure you include the ability to close the door while running lead, it's annoying having doors propped open so all the lead can fit in. Little tubes to feed lead through is so useful. You need lots of desk space in a booth.
Nick

[fredthe]

Originally Posted by NickJones

Your current booth looks fine

Nick, and others...
He doesn't have a current booth! The picture he posted (if you actually read his initial post) is what he'd like to do....

Originally Posted by MillburyAuditorium

The sound board op. will have two monitors to mirror the sound outside, so no windows will be open

Monitors do not equal what the audience is hearing. They will only tell the sound guy what is comming through the microphones... the audience is also hearing the performers directly. Please keep the mixer in the open. A roll-top desk works very well for keeping things safe and secure, and some even provide space for your rack-mounted equipment and wireless receivers.

Could you provide some pictures of your space? In smaller theaters, it can be quite common for the lighting board to be in the open. However, many times it's put in a back corner, rather than in the center by the sound board.

It might be good if you can more specifically state what you are trying to achieve. You mentioned safety... is it a concern over cables run on the floor, or is there something else. Are you concerned about talking during the performance over the intercom? If you can get more specific, perhaps we can recommend better alternatives than a full construction project.

Lastly, it's still unclear (to me, at least,) what your affiliation with the school is. The typos and mispellings in your original post may have led some to believe that you are a student; if you're a teacher, administrator, or other support staff, please let us know.

-Fred

[rwhealey]

I strongly recommend putting a sound mix position in the house.

However, I think this might be a bigger project than you think. Is the school willing to renovate the whole auditorium?

"They" do not sell "kits". You will probably have to work with a contractor. Think about hiring a theater consultant.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Thank you Fred for clearing that up,

My affiliation is as you suspected a student, I am Going into my Senior year, I have been running the lighting and sound in the auditorium since I was in 7th Grade, And now that I am graduating, I want something built as a gift from my class. Which my hope is building a booth, getting a intercom system and new light board.

Well, back to the topic,

I cant really get any pictures for a while ,it being summer, If I cannot get any while I am in programming the light board for the new year in two weeks, I will get some when school starts back up. Also, We have all the equipment locked up in the storage closest, so nothing is setup, for saftey, also, thats another reason we want a booth, so we dont need to lock up the lightboard when we leave, and pack everything up at the end of the year. And we simply just want one because it would be a great addition to the theatre.

As far as I can say in text for the room is that it holds about 450 people, and if you see the picture in my first post, that is actualy almsot exactly how our room is setup, big row in the middle, and two wings. Except now, there is a little cutout in the backrow of seats for a table, where we setup. What I want to do is take out the back row of seats, wont be a problem there since we dont allow people to sit in those seats anyways, and have the booth the whole back wall, (the middle of the back wall, in-between the doors that is), minusing about 5 feet on either side for standing room. And then have it go right up to the back of the first row of seat, if its enough, if not we will remove the second row, which also doesnt matter because noone can sit there either, have a platform to level it off (the room slopes down tot he stage because our seats are not teired) and make it a little higher than the ground. Then building an independant structure on said platform, not connected to the rest of the building. So no renovation to the room will need to be done, besides a few minor things, like removing two rows of seats, which they just screw into the floor, moving the fire alarm pull to the other side of the back wall because it would be blocked by the booth wall, and really thats all that needs to be done to the room itself, besides installing two outlets and installing two lights. Fire and Collapse codes I think are the only codes that would apply, collapse can be cleared by obviusly, building a sturdy structure, and fire code will be fire code, Which I dont see what could happen, if at all need be people can go through the boot to the other side, Because think about it, oyu need to be at the end of the row of seats to get to the doors on either side of the room, so even if there wasnt anything in the back, theres no reason for people to go to the other side in the event of a fire. Also electricle code with the lights and outlits, But if installed correctly that will be fine. So anyways, the booth would not be attached to the school at all, besides the floor. It will just be an enclosed space on a platform. It will even have its own ceiling as the one in the picture does, because the ceiling of the auditorium is pretty high.

Hope it cleared some things up.

[tjrobb]

Check out the Electric code, in the 400's. This may throw a wrench into things, as follows:
If you have an enclosed space, and have a need for power, you are going to need power taps (or surge suppressors). Problem is, if you need more outlets than you have, you're stuck. Article 400 says you can't run flexible cords under the following conditions: through a door, through a ceiling, or as a replacement for permanent wiring (with some exceptions that don't apply here). Also, running them across an aisleway is a MASSIVE trip hazard in a dark house. Lastly, there is a part of the code that says no to 'chaining' power taps one off the other (and let me tell you, finding a tap with a 15' cable can be tough).

What does this mean for you?
I hope you have a bunch of outlets on the back wall where you plan to build, otherwise the fire marshal is liable to get upset... and running new circuits is never cheap.

Also, the theatre I work at had to build a temporary space when our main one was flooded. Even then, the UNDERSIDE of ALL wooden platforms had to be rendered flame resistant / flame retardant. If this booth is 'permanent,' remember that the FR coating has to be re-applied periodically. Might mean you have to build with steel...
And no, collapse code is not "just that easy," ever had to design a moment-resisting frame on a sloping floor? Not to mention that all services (fire, water, elec.) have to be built to the code as well.

Lastly, DO NOT MOVE THE FIRE ALARM PULL WITHOUT CHECKING THE CODE. This is the fastest way to get a building shut down. Consult a pro.

Don't mean to rant, just giving you a warning from a guy that BUILT a temporary space (obviously not alone )
(Please note that I am assuming you are from the US)

[rwhealey]

Hmm. I still think you're looking in the wrong places.

Rather than thinking of "things", like a booth or, as in your other post, an intercom system, I think you should start thinking of the big picture: talking your school board into renovating your auditorium.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Hi rwhealey, I think a full renovation would be great, but not doable, We just had had to replace the the lighting system because it was blown, so that set us back $6000 dollars. We do need some renovations though. Well, not necessarily renovations, just new equipment. Like, our house is pretty nice if I do say so myself, thick cushion chairs and nice air conditioning and what not.

But we could use some new lights, and we are working on a surround sound system, but that is later in thee future.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Originally Posted by tjrobb

Check out the Electric code, in the 400's. This may throw a wrench into things, as follows:
If you have an enclosed space, and have a need for power, you are going to need power taps (or surge suppressors). Problem is, if you need more outlets than you have, you're stuck. Article 400 says you can't run flexible cords under the following conditions: through a door, through a ceiling, or as a replacement for permanent wiring (with some exceptions that don't apply here). Also, running them across an aisle way is a MASSIVE trip hazard in a dark house. Lastly, there is a part of the code that says no to 'chaining' power taps one off the other (and let me tell you, finding a tap with a 15' cable can be tough).

What does this mean for you?
I hope you have a bunch of outlets on the back wall where you plan to build, otherwise the fire marshal is liable to get upset... and running new circuits is never cheap.

Also, the theater I work at had to build a temporary space when our main one was flooded. Even then, the UNDERSIDE of ALL wooden platforms had to be rendered flame resistant / flame retardant. If this booth is 'permanent,' remember that the FR coating has to be re-applied periodically. Might mean you have to build with steel...
And no, collapse code is not "just that easy," ever had to design a moment-resisting frame on a sloping floor? Not to mention that all services (fire, water, elec.) have to be built to the code as well.

Lastly, DO NOT MOVE THE FIRE ALARM PULL WITHOUT CHECKING THE CODE. This is the fastest way to get a building shut down. Consult a pro.

Don't mean to rant, just giving you a warning from a guy that BUILT a temporary space (obviously not alone )
(Please note that I am assuming you are from the US)

Yes we are in the US.

I was thinking moving the pull wouldn't go over good, but instead of moving it, putting it inside the booth, because usually, if there's a fire in there its more than likely one of the lights, so we might need one too. But now there isnt one for the audiance int he back, so maybe we would need to install two new pulls, I think those systems work like that, can have 1, or 100 kind of thing?

And for the power code,
We wouldnt need to run cables over guest places or walkways, and if we cant install an outlet in the booth, we can just get a extension cord running just outside the booth to an outlet on the backwall, theres about 4, and it will be taped straight down then udner the edge of the wall we have, its kind of odd, theres a kind of lip at the buttom of our wall in there, the wall is one long thing of wood, than black mesh stuff, then wood, then mesh, and so on. So it will be out of the wya and hardly noticable. But then the problem is, if that comes un-plugged, the whole booth gets shutdown. Would need to figure out a way keep the plug held in the socket. Probobly mount a sort of case around the outlet.

And thanks for about the platform. Suppose it iwll be worht it spending the money on a steel platform than.

[tjrobb]

You would need a pull beside the exit (I can only assume they had a reason to put it there), but fire alarm wiring normally needs the services of a pro with NICET certification. It it true, though, that having a second one in the booth shouldn't be an issue. Problem is, you can't store anything in front of it... or below it.
I feel you missed the part about "replacement for permanent wiring." If the cord is being used to supply power to a room so frequently that it needs to be kept from being unplugged then it falls into that category (the exception is for items like sump pumps that have to be unplugged & moved for maintenance). My suggestion is to look into having a spark come in to run some surface raceway along the wall. It's the cheapest way to add a few extra outlets, and might be able to be fed from your existing outlet.
I missed something earlier. If your theatre isn't too old, it likely has a sprinkler system. If you have a ceiling in the new booth, it's going to need to have sprinklers inside. This, again, needs a pro (for the water calculations, etc.)... and is a pain.
If you can work with it, an open "bar counter" style booth might be the best route at this point. It has the convenience of lockable storage (roll tops anyone?) while avoiding a few of the problems of an enclosed space. Plus, you can move the sound guru in there as well.