Hi Brent. I hate being so blasted busy - I almost totally missed this post.
Two years ago, I built out an unfinished basement and decided to create a dedicated listening room. I didn’t have a huge space to work with, but after doing a LOT of reading and asking questions, it turns out to have been the best thing by far for improving my listening experience. And I am still pretty new to the high-end audio hobby and do not have a huge budget to work with.
You asked about working with a contractor, and that is one area where I really lucked out. I was having to do the basement very reasonably and found a 2-man group that got very interested in the room, to the point they were suggesting ideas to me that ended up improving things. I had read stories where contractors completely refused to do things, not having enough time, etc. Not once did my guys (at least not in front of me) even roll their eyes at my direction to put “Green Glue” between layers of sheetrock!
Details of my room are captured in this thread on the forum. If you have questions, please ask. I was really fortunate that another member of this forum offered me a lot of help FOR FREE, so I’m willing to pay it forward. Just bear in mind that I am NOT a professional acoustician or sound engineer. But I did really enjoy doing the project and have thoroughly benefitted from what I hear in there.
Here’s a finished pic:
