[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Sonnie,

This has nothing to do with home theater, so I’m moving it to the Off Top... Oh wait, you’re that Sonnie! Sorry! Sorry about that!

Couldn’t pass up a chance to rib ya a little.

On to the topic at hand - this is really pretty simple. Calculate how many square feet of carpet was removed from the floor. That’s how many square feet of treatment that needs to be applied elsewhere if you want things to get back to the way they were before. If you want to reduce the current reverb problem by half, then treatment coverage equaling half the amount of lost carpet is needed. And so on.

Bottom line, I can’t see how treating the area below the chair rail will make a dent in the problem. It’s a waste of money to even try. Just imagine if that area was covered with carpet. Now imagine that carpet removed from the wall and laid down on the floor. What would it cover, about two tile-widths around the outer parameter of the room? It’s nothing, a drop in the bucket compared to what was lost. And you’re talking about panels, which won’t even cover as much area as a solid length of carpet would.

You do have more of a chance by treating the upper area above the chair rail, but pretty much fully covering the walls with some kind of soft covering is about the only way you’ll ever restore things back to the way they were. By “soft covering” I mean something thick enough to have a nap – something between wall paper and carpet. That’s what you need in order to have any absorption. I have some stuff in mind, but it’s hard to describe. I’ll show you some next week when you’re here for the meet.

I’ll admit I’m pretty jaded when it comes to this kind of stuff, but if the ladies prefer their choice of aesthetics over the annoying echo, I say let them have it. If enough church members get their ire up, maybe they’ll be overridden. Save your money for when that happens.

Regards,
Wayne