Trying to get started - suggestions?...

[ShootingBlanks]

Hello, everyone. I spend way too much time reading these forums!

Anyway, I'm planning my attack on a home theater. I have a good friend willing to help me who is the most gifted person I've ever met in my life when it comes to home construction. The guy can build anything. The thing is, he doesn't know a thing about home theater construction. Not that he can't do it (I'm sure he can - he literally built his entire house on his own, minus the foundation work), but he hasn't ever done home theater work in the past.

So, that's one resource.

My other resource is another great friend of mine who not only does high-end home audio installation for a living, but also gets all audio equipment at cost. He's an amazing asset for any of my audio questions and hookups (he'll do the work), but doesn't deal in construction at all, nor does he know about video.

That's my other resource.

So, my question is how should I go about this? I don't want to go hire out a contractor to do the work because I have tons of talent at my fingertips. I basically need a guy that can spec-out (in detail) a way to convert a room of my house into a home theater. Then I'd give those specs to my construction friend who would make that happen for me (at a considerable less cost than if I hired a contractor to actually do the work). Then I also need someone savvy in the "video" end of things.

Okay - that's my story. What do you all think I should do in order to save the most money but still get a top-quality environment. I plan on a front-projection 7.1 system.

Thanks!

[Beta Man]

Well.... I suggest getting your tech-savvy friend in the same room as your construction-handy friend, and rough out some ideas....

I don't know what space you have to work with, but risers, a proscenium, columns, and a decorative ceiling (Coffered for example) are all pretty "Common" for theater design......

You may be able to pay a local shop just for the design aspect, and handle the build/install yourself (with the help of your two resources of course!)

Can't wait to see the progress!

[ShootingBlanks]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Can't wait to see the progress!

Me neither!...

...But to be honest, I won't even be starting this until the Fall, probably. I'm just so super anal and overly organized that I want to hash out all the specs beforehand so that when it's time to get the ball rolling, I can just start right in on it!

I'm sure you haven't seen the last of me on these boards! Heheh...

[Uniquely]

I would absolutely try to get the three of you together in the same room at the earliest stage possible. Tell them you have some great steaks and their favorite beer. You'd be surprised what you can get from a brain storming session between people with different areas of expertise all working towards the same goal. If at all possible.... I would also bookmark your favorite HT's in the Gallery here and show them some of the things you like.

[Brain Sturgeon]

two suggestions:

You and your friends should have a look at AVSforum's dedicated theater design thread. There are a TON of great design ideas for home theater there, and the threads frequently documented how they were executed. Try here: www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Given that your construction friend does not have a design idea, you may want to consider sending your room specs to a theater designer to come up with a design/construction plan that would work for your room. The cost should be nominal, and will be well worth it for you. Several of the very high end theaters at AVS were planned by Dennis Erskine, who is very well respected there-- he pays attention to all details: aesthetics and audio/video performance. His website his here: www.erskine-group.com

[ShootingBlanks]

Thanks for all your help, everyone. Like I said, it'll be a number of months before I get going. But I'll be sure to posts pics beginning-to-end throughout the entire process. Thanks again!...