Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

the drywall went up so fast in mine, I forgot to run the wire for my projector. thank god I haven't purchased one yet, cant wait to get it but I'm dreading the wiring. One other thing, I only ran 5.1 not 7.1(duh)

I'll toss in a few... after some 5 years installed...

Did'nt pre-wire for 7 channel.
Did'nt think I'd want multi-zone.
Should have wired in a few extra
input feeds....

Things I did RIGHT:

Output video & audio straight to the TV from the DVD
so the kids can watch DVD's without the whole system
running... and composite to the reciever <-> tv

I'm a transducer believer and glad I installed
the shakers ON THE FURNITURE and now they have
"isolaters" that are rubber feet to isolate the
furniture from the floor HANG ON! Big Fun

Followed the POLK guide to wiring up my subs
(l5's in isobaric chambers built into the
floor joists)

You guys hook your subs into the LFE...?
< Nube and it wont allow linking yet... ED. NOTE: I Added working hyperlink>
*READ THIS ARTICLE*
http://www.polkaudio.com/home/faqad/...cle=bassmanage

Let me (or polk) change your thinking!
-- That is if you all are into music too --

Wire the shakers on the LFE and put the sub's on the
pre-out! Only enable sub when I want the shakers runnin...

Went thru lots of testing to come into complete agreement
with Polk's findings enabling the sub in the DSP kills
the main drivers.....

I begin construction next week. After reading this thread I think I have most of my bases covered. Here is a list of what is going in. 6 dedicated 20 amp power lines for amps & AV, lots of couduit, pre wite for 7.1 ( already have the speakers), 1" wood sub floor over the slab, stand alone HVAC system, pre wire for a second sub. Not using any shakers so non issue. Interior dimentions of the room ar 13x23, 10' celeing double soffit for lights and a/c.

Gary

Only thing I need to do is put some dynamat on my big old picture windows. Watching anything w/ 1 of my dual 10" on gets annoying when the whole house shakes.

i would put a return air vent in my HT and less windows

and more electric circuits to the room

This forum helped me avoid many issues (thanks) but I still had a few.
1. Put an outlet in the corner where the sub is going. I have one 3’ away, but you can see the cord.
2. Added a switch to the ceiling outlet for the projector. My 4805 doesn’t power down all the way when using the remote. The fan runs on low all the time and my wife & kids can not reach the projector’s switch.
3. I hadn’t thought of hooking up a computer to the projector during construction, so I didn’t run the DVI to the projector. I will run one when I add the switch to the outlet. I will have a hole in the sheet rock anyway.
4. After I painted the textured ceiling, I saw little white holes the next day. I should have painted it with regular paint first, then the colored textured paint afterwards.
5. When I got another gallon of paint to repaint the ceiling, I wish I double-checked it first. He gave me the satin finish instead of flat that I asked for. Didn’t notice it until the next day after drying.
6. Used some recessed lighting. All my lights are wall mounted. I like the way they look, but they add light on the screen. With recessed lighting, I could have some ambient light without shining on the screen.
7. Gotten someone else to finish the sheet rock. I hate doing it. Spent 2 weeks at it. The finish is not as smooth as I would like it.
8. Ordered the seating sooner. The room is finished but it is another 2 weeks until I get the seating.
9. Aside from these items, I am happy with the results. I saved much money doing it myself. My kids and I had a great time working together building it and they have the satisfaction of knowing that they helped.
Dave

Alright here is my quickly thought out list!

1 Painted the walls in Flat paint to reduce refections from the screen. Bad idea, should have used a washable satin.

2 I have separate lights for my equipment and software area. All the time I go to walk out of the theater and find a light still on on the other side of the room, so I have to walk back over around the couches to turn them off. Had I installed 3way I could have put a gang box at the door.

3 installed a better IR repeater system. I still can do it but should have been ran in the wall.

4 Should have paid for a pro to do the mud and tape work.

5 Should have ran speaker wires for overhead channels. I ran 26 wires through out the room and none went over head where I now have a overhead Envelope channel!

Wish list:

More money to work with, did all the theater for under $10,000.

I am still discovering new things I should have done differently:

1. I should have purchased a universal ceiling mount (such as that sold by Chief) for my projector. I just replaced my first projector and had to buy a new mount. If I had purchased a universal mount to begin with, I would have saved $150.

2. I should have run conduit big enough for a DVI cable and all the other cables I could conceive of running along the same conduit (which probably means I should have installed 3-4 inch wide conduit). My old projector did not have DVI, but my new one has it. No way I am ripping up 40 feet of drywall to run a DVI cable. I also would have thought about how expensive such long runs of cable are.

3. I should have installed a good in-wall power conditioner in my ceiling near my projector to provide power protection to my projector.

4. I should have decided on the projector before wiring for it. As it is, my power outlet is on the wrong side of the projector, so I have a couple feet of ugly power cord hanging from my ceiling. Or else I should have arranged it so that the power and cables came out through the ceiling mount.

5. I should have given more thought to how I would hook a computer up to my projector and audio system.

6. I should have installed more in-wall wires for speakers. I only ran in-wall wires for 6.1. I should have run wire for 7.1 (though I did run two sets of speaker wires to each speaker position so I could put my sub anywhere in the room or add another sub anywhere in the room)

7. I should have installed front wall accoustical treatments at the same time as I was drywalling and installing power and speaker outlets.

8. One thing I am still very happy I did: buy an open backed entertainment center on wheels. It has made it very simple to rewire, add or remove components, etc. I no longer groan when having to made any modifications.

Well, I am about to purchase my first house. A dedicated HT room will be going into it.

Being the smart guy that I am I knew that to do it best, there would be many things this room should have done to it before its walled up and finished.

Anyways, the point being, I just read this whole thread and its awesome. Really one of the best threads I've ever run across. I hope this doesn't die.

Thanks!

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.

No one is ever "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.

Half-@ssed 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