Questions on Home Theater Construction

[naturephoto1]

I hope that some of you with experience can help to get me through some questions regarding the building of my listening room/home theater. Tuesday, we have a pre-construction meeting for my new house.

I am hoping that I can persuade Pulte Homes to install some special Romex 20 amp line cord, to install at least 1 or 2 20 amp lines, and some special outlet receptacles. Obviously it would be better to do this before the walls are all up than after the house is completed.

The room which is on the first floor will be 19' 4" long by 14' 7" wide. The projection screen will be going on (near) the far end of the room along the outer wall of the house (14' 7" wall). In all likelihood I will install an electric drop down screen like a Stewart. I need to install outlets on the ceiling for both the Projector and for the screen.

In a room this large, how far from the rear wall should the projector be installed for a screen between 100" and 110" diagonal. Along with this, how far should the electrical outlet be placed on the ceiling from the rear wall?

For those with the electric type screens, where are the electrical cords attached to the screen. Again as with the Projector, how far should the electrical outlet be placed on the ceiling from the front wall?

Do I need any extra reinforcement in the ceiling to support the projector or the screen?

I am also concerned about weight of equipment near the walls of the room. For the far end of the room (outer building wall) I will be placing all of the 3 main speakers and possibly 2 sub woofers. All of these speakers may have a combined weight of around 1200 pounds. Is this going to be an issue? Will the floor have any weight problems? Does the builder have to reinforce the floor and/or wall?

I also have the same question about the long axis side wall which runs along the garage. The side speaker surround and possibly 200 pound sub, racks with granite platforms, 5 or 6 power amps (65 to 70 pounds each), 135 pound turntable, records and cabinets, other equipment will be placed about 10" from this wall. The weight of all of this equipment could weigh between 2500 and 3000 pounds. Is this going to be an issue? Will the floor have any weight problems? Does the builder have to reinforce the floor and/or the wall?

Thanks for all of your assistance.

Rich

[Big Daddy]

Different projectors have different throw ratios. The throw ratio is the relationship between your projectors distance from your screen and the width of the image.

All my projector installations were done by Big Daddy A/V Installation Company.

My screen is a Da-Lite permanet wall mount white screen with a diagonal width of 120". It is installed permanently on the wall. My Epson 1080UB projector is installed about 12-13 ft away from the front wall and about 7ft-8ft away from the rear wall. The picture is really good. Of course, the zoom lenses on the projectors give you some flexibility in installation.

I don't believe you need a special beam. The normal beams and studs should be able to carry the weight. I cut a 2 x 2 piece of high quality plywood and attached it to the ceiling with the help of a stud finder that I bought from Home Depot. I then used a standard projector bracket to install the projector to the plywood. You can use any color you like to paint the plywood.

For electrical wiring, I hired an electrical contracter that was cheap and had him install two 20 amp plugs on the wall and a plug on the ceiling close to where I wanted to install the projector. He also installed two ceiling fans out of the way of the projector.

These sites may be helpful:
http://www.presentersonline.com/tech...distance.shtml

Viewing Distance Calculator:
http://hometheater.about.com/gi/dyna...alculator.html

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Different projectors have different throw ratios. The throw ratio is the relationship between your projectors distance from your screen and the width of the image.

All my projector installations were done by Big Daddy A/V Installation Company.

My screen is a Da-Lite permanet wall mount white screen with a diagonal width of 120". It is installed permanently on the wall. My Epson 1080UB projector is installed about 12-13 ft away from the front wall and about 7ft-8ft away from the rear wall. The picture is really good. Of course, the zoom lenses on the projectors give you some flexibility in installation.

I don't believe you need a special beam. The normal beams and studs should be able to carry the weight. I cut a 2 x 2 piece of high quality plywood and attached it to the ceiling with the help of a stud finder that I bought from Home Depot. I then used a standard projector bracket to install the projector to the plywood. You can use any color you like to paint the plywood.

For electrical wiring, I hired an electrical contracter that was cheap and had him install two 20 amp plugs on the wall and a plug on the ceiling close to where I wanted to install the projector. He also installed two ceiling fans out of the way of the projector.

These sites may be helpful:
http://www.presentersonline.com/tech...distance.shtml

Viewing Distance Calculator:
http://hometheater.about.com/gi/dyna...alculator.html

BD,

I opted to not have a ceiling fan cap put in for a ceiling fan. I thought that it would interfere with the projector. In my case the room is only 19' 4" X 14' 7". There are 4 recessed lights that will be installed that I intend to put on a dimmer. We also have to remove a closet in the corner of the room to turn it into a rectangle.

Though considerably more expensive, I am thinking of installing an electric drop down screen so as to have the best 2 channel performance when the screen is up. Unlike you, I will only have the one listening/home theater room in the house. Otherwise, I believe the screen may interfere with the optimum 2 channel performance.

Do you think that I will have any weight issues with the speakers and equipment?

Rich

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

BD,

I opted to not have a ceiling fan cap put in for a ceiling fan. I thought that it would interfere with the projector. In my case the room is only 19' 4" X 14' 7". There are 4 recessed lights that will be installed that I intend to put on a dimmer. We also have to remove a closet in the corner of the room to turn it into a rectangle.

Though considerably more expensive, I am thinking of installing an electric drop down screen so as to have the best 2 channel performance when the screen is up. Unlike you, I will only have the one listening/home theater room in the house. Otherwise, I believe the screen may interfere with the optimum 2 channel performance.

Do you think that I will have any weight issues with the speakers and equipment?

Rich

My HT room is 20ft x 25ft so I was able to have two ceiling fans installed that don't interfere with the projector. We live in the desert and it gets pretty hot and dry.

We don't have basements in California so we don't worry about weight. I am sure you have friends that weigh 200lbs or more. I have a pretty heavy safe in our master bedroom on the second floor and we don't have any special reinforcement. When the house was being built, I had them install insulation fiberglass inside all the walls, ceilings, and floors. I don't believe it helps the audio much, but it helps noise from going from one room to another room and it also helps with the heating and cooling a little.

[mtbkr]

i have brought this up in previous threads, but i cant stress the importance of it enough. before you put in your insulation run conduit the specific areas of the room back to the area that your a/v will be stored. this way you can always upgrade hdmi cables, speaker wires, ect. in my brothers build we ran three pieces of conduit to the front because this is where the bulk of the wiring is, one to the projector, and two to the surrounds. we also pulled a sring through each piece so that we can always pull an extra cord through without having to sacrifice the existing wire.it may run you an extra $500 but will save you in the long run from cutting into the sheet rock to replace that 15 year old out of date hdmi cable.

[walmat]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

BD,

I opted to not have a ceiling fan cap put in for a ceiling fan. I thought that it would interfere with the projector. In my case the room is only 19' 4" X 14' 7". There are 4 recessed lights that will be installed that I intend to put on a dimmer. We also have to remove a closet in the corner of the room to turn it into a rectangle.

Though considerably more expensive, I am thinking of installing an electric drop down screen so as to have the best 2 channel performance when the screen is up. Unlike you, I will only have the one listening/home theater room in the house. Otherwise, I believe the screen may interfere with the optimum 2 channel performance.

Do you think that I will have any weight issues with the speakers and equipment?

Rich

I would definitely ask the builder about the weight. You don't want your floors to bow. I believe you are right to be concerned about the weight because that is alot of static load.

[naturephoto1]

We had our pre-construction meeting today for the new house. Unfortunately, the builder will not do any special construction, installation of special 20 amp lines, or installation of special receptacles. All of that work will need to be done after completion of the house either with their electrical contractor or someone else.

When asked about the weight issues it was suggested that the floor is supposed to have the ability of supporting 300 pounds per square foot. Additionally it was suggested that since the weight of the equipment would be toward the walls and distributed along the length of the walls that this would probably not be an issue.

The builder has started work on the foundation of the house, should be working on the basement shortly and we have an anticipated closing on the house in October or November, but most likely in November.

Rich

[Trix]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

We had our pre-construction meeting today for the new house. Unfortunately, the builder will not do any special construction, installation of special 20 amp lines, or installation of special receptacles. All of that work will need to be done after completion of the house either with their electrical contractor or someone else.

When asked about the weight issues it was suggested that the floor is supposed to have the ability of supporting 300 pounds per square foot. Additionally it was suggested that since the weight of the equipment would be toward the walls and distributed along the length of the walls that this would probably not be an issue.

The builder has started work on the foundation of the house, should be working on the basement shortly and we have an anticipated closing on the house in October or November, but most likely in November.

Rich

As far as your builder "not doing any special construction" in terms of dedicated 20A lines and receptacles, the question you should seriously consider is asking "Why not?", followed by "Can I have an electrical contractor come and do said work before you put up the drywall?"

I know that a lot of contractors hate bringing in outside work, but in this case, your contractor is completely ignoring what it is that you want; this seems completely ridiculous. It appears that you know how much of a nightmare retrofitting can be; don't let yourself be forced to have to go through with it. If the contractor doesn't want to do it, that's fine. But the contractor should never tell you that that kind of work can only be done after they are done. Either they build it right, or they don't interfere with what you want. Is that really too demanding?

As for the weight issue, I suspect that the contractor is right. Still, I would go over everything with the contractor again, listing exactly how much weight will be where on the floor. Heck, bring in a structural engineer if you want absolute certainty; it cannot hurt.

Other than that, best of luck. I hope this turns into the dream it should.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Trix

As far as your builder "not doing any special construction" in terms of dedicated 20A lines and receptacles, the question you should seriously consider is asking "Why not?", followed by "Can I have an electrical contractor come and do said work before you put up the drywall?"

I know that a lot of contractors hate bringing in outside work, but in this case, your contractor is completely ignoring what it is that you want; this seems completely ridiculous. It appears that you know how much of a nightmare retrofitting can be; don't let yourself be forced to have to go through with it. If the contractor doesn't want to do it, that's fine. But the contractor should never tell you that that kind of work can only be done after they are done. Either they build it right, or they don't interfere with what you want. Is that really too demanding?

As for the weight issue, I suspect that the contractor is right. Still, I would go over everything with the contractor again, listing exactly how much weight will be where on the floor. Heck, bring in a structural engineer if you want absolute certainty; it cannot hurt.

Other than that, best of luck. I hope this turns into the dream it should.

Hi Trix,

Unfortunately it is Pulte Homes' practice not to do any additional work beyond what they have as options (they are not custom home builders) and they will not allow any outside contractor work done to their homes until they are completed and the buyer closes on the property. Those are their requirements that you either live with or you do not purchase their homes.

Rich

[Jwilly019]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Hi Trix,

Unfortunately it is Pulte Homes' practice not to do any additional work beyond what they have as options (they are not custom home builders) and they will not allow any outside contractor work done to their homes until they are completed and the buyer closes on the property. Those are their requirements that you either live with or you do not purchase their homes.

Rich

Is it possible for them to live the theater room unfinished so you don't have to tear up the drywall once you close on the property?

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Jwilly019

Is it possible for them to live the theater room unfinished so you don't have to tear up the drywall once you close on the property?

No that would not be possible. They suggest that it will be easy to install additional lines without tearing up the dry wall and that their contracted electricians could do it after the closing on the house, but I would have to make the arrangements with their contracted or other electricians to do the work. I have been told by others that it is not a major problem to install lines after the fact as well. It is just the nature of the beast unfortunately.

I have signed contracts for the house and the work has begun.

The other half wanted new (and only new) and this was the house design that we liked the best that we felt that we could afford in the area. Any of the basements in the new houses that we looked at in the area would have required a substantial amount more cost to finish and most or all due to the stairways to the basement resulted in about a 12 to 2 1/2 width to restrict the listening room/home theater though they would have afforded greater length. This was the only new home design that had a family room or similar that was walled (or could be modified to walled) off that at least afforded the minimum size requirements that I wanted for the room.

Rich

[Big Daddy]

In general, contractors do not do anything extra. It is against their insurance policy and city codes/permits to have outsiders come and do additional work.

In my case, the contractor was an individual and not a corporation. He agreed to do many extra things for us at extra charge. However, I brought in outsiders to build a pool and a sunroom. I had to pay them directly. Technically, I took a huge risk. If our loan was not approved and the escrow had not gone through, I would have lost a lot of money.

The builder did some extra electrical work for us, but his electrician sucked. Later, I hired a licensed company in our area and they did a great job. I even asked them to install a 220 volt circuit for an air conditioner for the sunroom and additional ceiling fans. Installing a 20 amp circuit is a piece of cake for experienced electricians. They run pipes outside at the base of the house, run wires through them, and simply drill a couple of holes where you want the wall outlets to go. They can also run wires through the walls and ceiling.

[Trix]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Hi Trix,

Unfortunately it is Pulte Homes' practice not to do any additional work beyond what they have as options (they are not custom home builders) and they will not allow any outside contractor work done to their homes until they are completed and the buyer closes on the property. Those are their requirements that you either live with or you do not purchase their homes.

Rich

Hi Rich,

I'm sorry to hear. If I were in your shoes, however, I would push as much as possible for some sort of compromise; they are basically forcing you to pay them to finish the same room twice. They can say all they want about it not being a huge deal, but if it feels like a huge deal to you, then it is. I am somewhat familiar with Homebuilder Corporations contracts, as that is all that is available in my area, however these corporations will usually bend over backwards to do anything you could possibly want as an extra, for the simple fact that they easily get to charge you double what it should cost you.

At the very least, I would have them seriously consider letting their electrical guys work on the house for 20A circuits while the rest of the crew is in there. I'm sure that would be most appreciated by them, and yourself. But again, I usually ask too much of people, as I usually seek the logical way of getting things done...