Pre-Construction - Best Time To Plan

[OnMedic]

Time to build a new house, and what better time to plan then pre-constuction. Below you will find a floor plan, and I am hoping to pick some of your brains for the best HT plan.

The plan is to build the HT in the location on the Basement level showing as option recreation room. It shows the spac will be approx. 12-9' x 19-9'.

FLOOR PLAN

Should I plan the enterance from the side at the front or back, or from the rear (at the "Games Room" section? Is this a good size for a HT?

Should I go risers and projector? Are wall pannels worth the cost? I really like the packages at

WIll be Reference 35's all around w/RW-12, powered by Denon 3805/6 series or like... or Outlaw seperates.

I will say Budget to be $10K for completing the HT Room. (Speakers already owned).

Thanks

Steve

[Cal Blacksmith]

This is more of a bump for you than anything else as there are many here who know more than I about room sizes but if I were doing it from scratch, I would put the entrance on the back of the room and a projector is the only way to go with a dedicated HT. If the screen is high enough but not too high, you don't need risers but they are cool to have if you have the money.[]

EDIT: With all that concrete you will need wall treatments for sure. If you can, build the optional room into a full room. Use false walls (a wall in a wall) and an isolated floor (floating floor over the concrete) with lots of insulation to isolate sound in the room. The boys in the Architecural forum will be able to help you a lot with these details.

[damonrpayne]

I am also designing a room right now Cal, you may have better luck in the Architectural area of the forum.

I would say that if you are putting a door in the back of the room, perhaps try to center it so that if you move up to a 7.1 surround setup (very plausible when you have a dedicated room) you can place the door in between the rear speakers. Are you able to pour the basement a foot deeper? 8' is standard but many people opt for 9' in order to still have a 'normal' ceiling after you've finished and such. Also ask for a basement plan and be sure there are no vertical support beams in the movie area. If there are, you can often pay a reasonable fee for a sturdier horizontal beam so that the veritcal beams can be moved out of the middle of the room.

[oscarsear]

I'm just at the beggining of a spec home project. Closing now on a 1/2 acre lot. Do not have anything to offer but will follow the input closely. Insofar as my considerations go I'm less interested in evolving a home theater plan and more intent on building a ideal 2 channel system that will serve as much of the home as possible. Since we have yet to scratch at home plans I've not posted any questions...yet.

[rplace]

There are so many different ways to skin this cat. You really have to read a ton, look around and decide what is right for you. Tons of bright people here with a lot of knowledge and opinions. Take it all in.

I'll give you one absolute from the build I did on my room. You have to have a projector and screen to get that movie house feel. And that screen must be a 2:35 to 1 Aspect ratio. I'll leave the brand of projector and screen up to you and your budget.

Have fun, enjoy it. Good Luck!

[TheSoundBroker]

This is what I'd do. Gives you a nice symmetrical space, room for all the gear, a nice lobby, etc. Only thing that wasn't clear is if any of your house systems were in that space...in which case they'd need to be moved, probably into the storage room area.

[Capa]

I work for a company that does low voltage work in new construction...we've actually been wiring a few 9.1 setups(for future expansion)..may be something to consider as well. Are you planning on doing a whole house audio system as well?

Other things to keep in mind--it is now possible to do component video and HDMI over cat 5 (intellix just announced the HDMI equipment). I would run cat5 to every CATV outlet, along with the RG6. I would also run cat5 to each room by the light switch, and loop any ambient sound speakers through the same box, then back to the media closet. This way, if you want to use the standard analog volume control knobs, you can, or you can use the ABUS systems, or you can use the new Russound type distributed audio/video stuff.

Basically, I would run cat5 to every appliance, entry to every room, and every CATV outlet in the house (and I would seriously consider 2 at each TV and 2 at each phone location)

If this is a house you plan to be in for a long time, I would think of every possible expansion or technology upgrade you may make, and wire accordingly.

[DrWho]

This is what I'd do. Gives you a nice

symmetrical space, room for all the gear, a nice lobby, etc. Only thing

that wasn't clear is if any of your house systems were in that

space...in which case they'd need to be moved, probably into the

storage room area.

Ah, you beat me to it...I would definetly look into making the theatre

bigger. 13x19 is a little on the small side and will be quickly used up

as you start adding furniture. It is definetly a workable situation,

but just keep in mind that the smaller it gets the harder it gets to plan out everything.

So what all will this $10k be covering? You mentioned that you already

own the speakers - are you talking $10k for the video displace,

seating, acoustical treatment, etc etc? Does it include the cost of

finishing the room? (ie, drywall, paint, non audio wiring, etc etc).

[damonrpayne]

19' is also the wavelength of sound at 60hz; you could have some 'bumps' of the electrical humm kind.

[OnMedic]

OK Damon, you lost me there... After talking to my wife, I think we will be planning for the space at the back of the basement and will place a movie theme "concession" (aka Bar) at the back of the room. Th room will be approx 24 x 15 as we are bumping out walls to sqare off the foundation along the side and the back.

WOW, great feedback so far! You guys are great as usual.

Yes, we are looking at whole home audio with a local company that installs Nuvo.

The 10K budget would be for construction and decor.

Thanks again, steve