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Make sure you have a vapor barier between the concrete walls and stud walls (especially if you want to insulate). If you don't, you'll have serious moisture and mold problems down the line. As for electric, you can wire it all yourself. Its a very good idea to get it inspected by an electrician...

You're in the right neighborhood. Heat is a result of power. P=AV. 120 volts at 15 amps is 1800 Watts. At 20 amps, we're talking 2400 Watts. That's a lot of heat (put your hand near a 100 Watt light bulb and multiply that by 24x). Anyway, a device will only pull the current it needs, so you...

No single component will draw more than 15 amps. They won't even come close. The only thing that draws high current is a power amp. They may spike when they are first switched on, but you won't see too many that draw more than 7-8 amps. The issue is when you have many components on the same...

Thanks. I was wondering where I saw her. Nip/Tuck. I also agree that the things they do with the security system is really becoming laughable. Taking away a limp? Come on!

Anyone know who the female guest star was last night? She looked really familiar and I missed the credits.

Check this out. Its not cheap, but looks fantastic and has great absorption qualities.

You're not really going to block all low frequency sound, but if you have the clearance, you can try using resilient channel on the walls with another layer of drywall attached to it. The air space between the drywall will help trap lower frequencies. You'll probably have to fir out any doorways...

I definitely recommend a whole house audio system. You not want to keep the other rooms seperate from the main listening area (livingroom). Most receivers have A/B speaker outputs. The A speakers for the primary room with surround sound and the B speakers for a second location. If you wire...

First thing I would do is a continuity test with a ohm meter. This will tell you if the connections are terminated at all. The one that goes towards the roof may just be for a roof-top antenna. The one that goes down is probably the cable connection, but it may be open along the line. Any rooms...

You really want to vary the materials in a bass trap, otherwise you'll just catch a small frequency range. Sandwich the fibreglass between some plywood and you'll have a better trap.

I would recommend running cat5 and RG6 (2 each) through your walls to a distribution point. Are you setting up an equipment closet? There are a lot of wires you can run, including IEEE1394 and fiber, for future upgrades, but the best thing would be to install a 3" PVC pipe between your equipment...

Another option ($$$) is a slide-out rack.

Dave's right on the nose with the varying density suggestion. Different densities will trap different frequencies. The best solution is to isolate the room completely (aka room within a room), but if you can't do that, insulation, resilient channel, and drywall will go a long way. It won't stop...

From everything I read, you shouldn't use a vapor barier or fiber insulation. They both cause all kinds of problems with mildew and trapped air. Check out this document from Buildingscience.com. I'm using their advice and installing 1" XPS against the wall with studs holding it in place. You can...

Hey Colin, I'm diong pretty much what you're thinking about. I have an extra couple of feet of width, but not much. There are a lot of factors involved when finishing a basement and many of them are dependent on building codes. What do you have down there now? Do you have moisture problems...

I just got a Rudd system installed and I'm very happy with it. You're on the right track with 2 systems. Check out HVAC Talk Looks like a good source of info

Try Good-Stuff spray insulation. Fills every nook and cranny!

Not necessarily. My phases are broken up into every other circuit top to bottom. Once you take off the pannel, you'll see which legs are connected to which breakers.

Hey Chris, aren't you concerned about air flow in that closet? Add a few more components and you may have some over heating.

How about building some recessed shelves over that space for your DVD collection?

If you're looking to block sound and isolate the room, the more dense the material the better.

I agree with Tony. The only time you really need the higher current circuits and outlets is if you're running something mechanical on it, like an AC, blower, or some other large appliance with moving parts. For electronics, 15A is fine. If you do go with 20A, make sure it is end to end including...

Sound like you don't want to do a lot of work, you just want us to tell you what want to do is okay. The methods spoken of on this forum are tried and true. Its your call if you want to spend some money for performance or not.

Not really an electrical tip, but the covers usually come with an insulation ring made of foam with an adhesive side. That should prevent rattle.

I just had this done. In my case, they replaced three sistered 2x6's and took out three colums equally spaced. Now there are two 8" steel I-beams (end to end) with only two posts which hold up the end of the beams in the center of my basement (under the stairs). The other ends of the I-beams are...

Its a metal channel that seperates the drywall from the lumber. Check this out.

Ideal staircase riser height is seven inches. You want to keep your platform around that or you're probably going to have to add a step between it and your base floor. You should check local building regulations, but usually, the max height is around 8.5 inches.

Nice job! Navigation would help if the pictures were numbered or something. Anyway, welcome aboard. Never saw somebody write with a Boston accent. Reminds me of undergrad :)

Hey John, I have a whole house audio system that uses CAT5 for the controls and IR repeating. You could definitely use your existing CAT5 for IR, as long as you have a free twisted pair. What are you using the CAT5 for now?