Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

OK, here's my two-cents. I have just finished my theater and thanks to all here avoided some pit-falls. I did miss two things pointed out in this thread and I have been able to resolve one rather easily.

I did not put a switch on the outlet for the projector and since the fan does not ever go completely off I had to keep using the projector on/off switch. I found a remote control outlet at lightingswitch.com and it works just as advertised. Now I don't need to worry about throwing the projector out of alignment playing with the switch.

Also, would have made the risers just about 1 inch or so higher, not a big deal at this point but in hindsight I would have gone to about 8 inches rather than the 6 and 7/8's I did use.

Thats about it, if I think of more I'll be sure to come back.

JR

Can't post a URL yet but the cinema is in the galleries titled Rowland Cinema.

 

If I could have done it over I would have saved up for each component, including the component called the room and installed it as a system instead of constantly upgrading. Does anyone ever do that? Maybe Bill Gates with his personal theater?

 

Since my main concern was getting the 7.1 & 6.1 speaker wires and electrical outlets located in the correct location, I never though about where to put any alternate catv tv outlets until I started using my room Now I have to run a set of 45' component cables to my tv which is off to the left of my main screen location.
Live and learn, life is good when you have your own dedicated HT

 

I'm nearly finished my room now. I just have to put the vent covers up and a fix some of the holes in the wall the carpet installers made when they were there.

Still, there are some things I wish I would have done slightly differently.

1] I would have planned for a projector installing wiring (DVI/HDMI/S-Video) in the ceiling, as well as recepticle.

2] Moved the sat cable to where all the in-wall speaker connectors are.

3] Installed a phone line and an RJ-45 jack. Where the in wall speaker connectors are.

4] Still would have ran PVC pipping and hired someone to do the drywall and plastering.

Now, I just need to upgrade some equipment and furniture and pick up some some poster boxes and I'll be truly finished.

 

I built a "in wall" entertainment center for my 36" tv, receiver, DVD player and all the other electronics. Well after 8 years the tv died so I upscaled to a 47" rear projection, too bad the width of the niche is 40". Anyway I am in the process of reconstructing the width by use of a saws-all. I don't even want to unbox the tv due to all the dust, anyway it will be all done(I hope) this week. The staining and polying the wood will take most of the time. Lesson learned -"Always build bigger, alot bigger"
Rick bie

 

Have someone else finish my ceiling.

Measure the crooked walls (someone else built) so there's less gaps in my ceiling (because I assumed the walls were straight)

Locate my equipment elsewhere.

Put the in-the-wall-connections behind the equipment rack instead of the middle of the wall.

Seperate the 'B'-room speaker connections instead of one connector plate in the middle of the wall.

 

I should have had the laminate flooring installed by Lowes instead of the contractor I hired to do the basement.

[email protected] job is going to cost me another $700 in material. I did not pay for the install he did, but I should have withheld more due to the damage he did to the floor.

 

I put the rope light too far back on the underside of the riser so when the carpet went on it pretty much covered it up.

 

Best...Thread...Ever!
I'm just beginning the planning of my dedicated home theater and I'm making my wife read this thread before we get started on construction.

 

Things I wish were (or were done) different:

I wish my ceiling was higher. Its 8'4" at the front but it would have been nice to have enough room to add soffits and indirect lighting. (Not much I could do about it, it's a converted garage)

Wish I would have known about ButtKickers when I built the elevated area for the second row, it would be nice to have them mounted to the riser there also. Wow! what a difference they make. I currently have them on the 3 front row seats. (I did run some CAT5 and control cables in the front of the elevated area just behind the front row, so I had some cable to feed the ButtKickers, which is hidden.)

I should have waited to buy the projector... better units and less money 8 months later!

I should have backed up ALL the pictures I took during construction. My hard drive crashed on my laptop! All I have is what is on the web page, and a few my wife had on her computer.

I should have done more research on recliner-side tables. Our recliners are situated in an arc, and I can't find any tables built "wedge" shaped to fit nicely between them.

I would probably go with "theater" designed seating if I do this over again.

I have since pulled component video and digital audio coax from the theater to the living room and breakfast room. And I have installed leap frog IR extenders in the LR and Bkfst rm so I can have HD TIVO everywhere, from one unit. It would have been nice to have control cable / IR repeaters everywhere.

Wish I had an "overhang" on my elevated seating area and steps, so I could hide rope lighting under there.

Like everybody else, I should have planned for more media storage. I'm using BOLTZ now and have four sections that are full. They are beginning to take away from the original "theme" I had. I may move them into the hallways outside of the theater.

I wish I had hired an ISF calibrator to come out a couple years ago and do his thing. I am having Steve Martin from Plano, TX come out next week, finally!

I should have screwed the plywood down on the elevated seating platform. I used nails & glue on every joist, but I have one spot that is beginning to squeak slightly, and over time I suspect this will get worse.

I wish I had run some coax from the equ cabinet to the outside doors. (For video/audio) We can't hear knocking or the doorbell while in the theater. Would be nice to have a flashing light/LED and some video/audio capability when someone is at the door. This can still be done in the attic, it just would have been much easier when the rafters were bare!

I should have built another garage/shop BEFORE I "took over" this one! I have riuned a couple of lawn mowers sitting out in the rain! I am right now building a shop down the hill from the house, so I will have somewhere to park the scooters and lawn equipment.

Things I DID do and am happy with:

Dedicated power for the equip cabinet.

I wired outlets in three areas of the theater (Subwoofer, projector, and 2 duplexes behind front row seats) back to my equip cabinet and installed plugs on the romex, so they can plug into protected ckts on my power conditioner/surge protector of choice. I also wired several other outlets in the room on their own ckt to the main breaker panel for vacuum cleaner etc.

Installed Xantech IR repeater with rcvr below the screen. All control cabling is in the walls back to the cabinet.

Ran enough speaker wires to bi-wire everything.

Installed a Lutron Grafik-Eye controller with seperate zones for, front recessed lites, mid recessed lites, rear recessed lites, rope lites around steps, wall sconces, one zone left over & stubbed it up into the attic for future use. Also installed a Lutron remote IR rcvr above the screen, it's kind of large (Dang, I still haven't painted that thing to match the walls)

Stubbed up 2" PVC from my equ cabinet into the attic, and the same for the projector, future cabling is a snap.

Used slotted diffusers for heat/AC ducts, supply and return, I have yet to "hear" the heat/AC running. I highly recommend these and at least 3 turns in the supply ductwork if possible.

Insulation, insulation, insulation. I literally stuffed insulation into every crack I could get it in.

All walls are 2x6 consruction. The outside facing walls are double/staggered stud walls. Inside the theater I can't hear a thing going on outside the house.

Experimented with "taped" grout lines and eratic texture to simulate "stone" walls. Still happy with the result.

I installed pieces of 2x12 between the studs everywhere I was going to wall mount speakers, so I could hang very heavy speakers if needed. Drilled a hole thru them for the speaker wire to run through, helped keep them in place while hanging sheetrock, and I didn't have to re-measure all the time to verify placement.

This is a great thread! Thanks for the forum!

 

When you guys say you are running your AV wires through PVC in the walls you are saying you are running 2 inch PVC right through the studs correct?..trying to visualize running that through 18 inch centered studs...

 

Some may be using rigid PVC but I think most use a flexible blue tube commonly found at Home Depot, and yes, you can either run it up through the ceiling or drill large holes in the studs.

 

Thanks...I am just starting the wiring...wish me luck!

 

I know wires through tubing is popular, I did it too, but has anyone had any experience with rattles or unwanted noises as a result? I have an unwelcome noise during certain bass frequencies that I can not pinpoint and I wonder if this is my culprit.

 

I doubt it, it would seem that the drywall would dampen any bass before it penetrated the wall, unless the tube wasn't fastened and was touching the wall. Good to see a fellow North Georgian on the forums.

Ron, make sure you use CL3 fire rated wire for all runs behind walls.

 

Thanks neighbor, I have located the noise (kind of) and it seems to be one of my can lights vibrating during certain bass frequencies... not by tubing.

 

Great thread! I am still in the design/construction phase of my HT, so my list continues to grow, but here are a couple of things already on my 'wish I had done list':

1) I wish I would have found this thread 2 months BEFORE I began construction, instead of 2 months AFTER.

2) I wish a subwoofer expect lived in the neighborhood who could just tell me the perfect solution for my HT. The more I learn about subwoofer technology the less I understand....

3) I wish that my interior walls were not sheetrocked by the builder - I am having to cut holes everywhere to run lighting and speaker cable. I am starting to think that it may have been easier to tear out all of the sheetrock and start from scratch.

4) I wish that my room was 3 feet wider so I could have steps to the rear platform on both sides of the front row couch.

5) I wish my wife would make her 'suggestions' before I spent all weekend working in the "wrong" direction.

6) I wish I had budgeted for a couple of transducers and an amp for under my riser - then I would not have to go back to my wife to ask for more money for a project that is already over budget.

Thanks,

Bud

 

5) I wish my wife would make her 'suggestions' before I spent all weekend working in the "wrong" direction.
That is a classic line. I entered into my project with the family wide understanding that this was to be the man cave, my domain and all that took place was authorized by me and me alone. I thought this was a good plan, the trade off was that I agreed to give the wife complete control over the remaining home remodel project... boy did that move cost me!
Bud, cling to your wisdom and keep the wife happy... it's cheaper.
Also, another North Georgia member... very cool. Did you use RMS Audio for your HT stuff?

 

Paid to have the sheetrocking and mudding done, run conduit under my riser for Butt Kickers and paid to have the HVAC from my house connected to the HT room