# Help needed for new HT placement on basement.



## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Hi All,
My new house is under construction and I was really excited in finishing my basement for HT until I found out below hurdles... Hope experts here can guide me through this and make my dream come true.

I am finishing 23x20 rec room (hall) at my basement and found out that I got 2 obstacles to ruin my HT dream. 1. Lolly column rite in the middle of the hall & 2. Bulk head/Trunk line 3-4 feet away from lolly column... I spoke to the contractor and got nothing as its a new construction in a huge community (2000+ houses) so they are least bothered about my HT dream.

So here is what I was originally planning. 

1. Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010 Projector
2. 120" manual screen.
3. 7.1 Denon AVR (I already own it)
4. 3 in-wall speakers from Monoprice for front speakers
5. 4 in-ceiling speakers from Monoprice for surround side/back.
6. Decent subwoof (might go with Polk PSW110)

Attaching my basement floor print with approx dimensions. Looks like i can place a 100" screen on the left side wall (left to the stairs) and hook up the projector 11'10'' away from the screen in the ceiling (close to lolly) and have my couch 10'' away from this wall. I am not sure about my surround back in-ceiling speakers positions can it be too close to lolly? or any other suggestions for the setup?

Hope to get some help...
-Sri.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

wow 80+ views and 0 reply.... I am new to this forum and not sure whether I have missed anything basic on my original question. Please let me know if I need to put in more info to get at least one response.


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

The bulkhead and the joists supported by the lally column shouldn't cause a problem for your screen or your PJ. The bulkhead would limit how far "north" in that room you could place an in-ceiling speaker, but there shouldn't be a problem placing a speaker to the "south" of the joists supported by the lally column.

The biggest issue, as far as I can tell, would be the column interfering with your seating area and/or sight-line(s) to the screen.

Any chance you could post a pic:
- without the bulkhead (or at least with it minimized) or the joists;
- with the "vertical" distances moved to the outside of the room;
- showing the location of the column; and
- showing the proposed location of the screen, seating area and in-ceiling speakers?
(Sort of like the image below, but with the missing items filled in.)

By the way, what's the distance from the "left" wall to the lally column, and from the "south" wall to that column?

Oh, and congrats on the new home!


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Thanks a lot for the encouraging reply Eljay... Sure, in fact I was trying to post the actual pics on my original post, but since it’s more than 200KB, I couldn’t... I will try to compress it and post it tonight.

"distance from the "left" wall to the lally column" is about 9Ft... I guess I can put a couch close to it, if I can place the in-ceiling speakers & projector between the bulkhead and the joists. I was even thinking of asking them to frame both of them as a single 13" low-ceiling column, so that I need not put the in-ceiling speakers in-between them and block the sound by any chance.


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## MrAngles (May 1, 2012)

sridhar_amudhan said:


> Thanks a lot for the encouraging reply Eljay... Sure, in fact I was trying to post the actual pics on my original post, but since it’s more than 200KB, I couldn’t... I will try to compress it and post it tonight.


Instead of attaching the images, try using imageshack or photobucket.



sridhar_amudhan said:


> "distance from the "left" wall to the lally column" is about 9Ft... I guess I can put a couch close to it, if I can place the in-ceiling speakers & projector between the bulkhead and the joists. I was even thinking of asking them to frame both of them as a single 13" low-ceiling column, so that I need not put the in-ceiling speakers in-between them and block the sound by any chance.


This is what I'm doing. I didn't want my seating right up against the back wall and the support pole was too close to the screen wall, so I set my rear wall about four feet back from the pole and will have by rear row backed up against the pole. I enclosed the support beam in a soffit and mounted the projector and speakers to the bottom of the soffit. I'm not using in-ceiling speakers though, but you could do it just how you said, extending the soffit back behind the beam to make room for speakers to go in it.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions...

Here is what I am planning for... Since I am doing the pre-wiring with the electrical agent next week, I need to give them the exact positions for each speaker wires...

Below are the thumb rules I am planning to follow... Please correct and/or add more to it.

1. Front right speaker would be 2 feet away from the wall and about 4 ft high (listening pos from couch).
2. Since I am going with 100" screen, I will place the Front right & left speakers to either side of the screen (that should make 87" gap between them and satisfies 5" to 10" gap for good stereo effect).
3. Projector will be 11’ 10" from wall/screen.
4. Seating will be 13" (rite below the Joists & beside Lally)
5. Subwoofer will be placed at the SW cornor (below the right speaker).
6. Surround right will also be 2 feet away from West wall (any specific distance from screen/seating??
7. Any specific distance for surround back from seating??


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## MrAngles (May 1, 2012)

I'd put the surround side speakers back further, even with or slightly behind the couch, but that's my own preference and there are differing opinions on that. I think ideally the back speakers should be a bit further back as well, but personally I think distance correction settings on receivers do a fine job of adjusting for that.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I have concerns with the front speaker thats in the corner, how far away from the side wall is it?


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

@MrAngles - Thanks for your input...between, can I place the side speakers close to lally joists or it should also be 2 feets away from any wall?

@tonyvdb - I am planning to place it 2 Ft away from the side wall.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Can you move everything over another foot? your going to have some bad reflections off the side wall if you dont given you cant angle the speaker in.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Sure... I will make it 3 feet away from the side wall... Will go and do the measurements again today....Thanks for your inputs. 

Quick question... reflection issue is true for in-ceiling speakers as well or just in-wall front ones?


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## MrAngles (May 1, 2012)

sridhar_amudhan said:


> @MrAngles - Thanks for your input...between, can I place the side speakers close to lally joists or it should also be 2 feets away from any wall?


You don't want in-ceiling speakers right next to a wall or soffit, but if you are putting them IN the soffit that you are mounting the projector on and putting the back speakers in, you can avoid reflections on the support beam by having the speaker mounted where it projects below it without hitting it.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

sridhar_amudhan said:


> Quick question... reflection issue is true for in-ceiling speakers as well or just in-wall front ones?


Yes, you want to keep them as far away as possible, 3' is much better for the fronts. Do the speakers have amiable tweeters? That makes a huge difference.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

@MyAngles: Thanks again for your input... I am going to check with my builder to see whether they can finish both lally joists & bulk head together as one soffit.

@tonyvdb: I am planning to get below speakers from monoprice... I have Denon AVR1910 7.1... Hope these speakers will go good with this amp.

Front Center = 4881

Front left/right = 6816

Side (in-ceiling) = 4104

I need suggestions on subwoofer... I was planning for Polk PSW110


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The receiver should do fine, Im concerned about the sub. I highly recommend stepping up to something better. Your room is large enough that that sub is hardly going to make a dent.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

I am looking for a sub below $250. Will do some research and check with you folks.


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

One option: The JBL ES250P, which is currently on sale at Amazon.com for $199.99, including shipping.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I know this puts you above your budget but this Klipsch RW12 is a fantastic deal at 65% off.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Great options. I might pull trigger on JBL. Anyways I need to upgrade all speakers in future, so will go for lower now.


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Here are my basement pics... 
Pic 1 - View from North to South... planning to place the screen on the wall down (south wall in my original post)...
Pic 2 - View from West to East...Bulk Head will be starting rite behind the stair case opening, and will run towards west...few feet away from Lally....


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Is this Polk PSW505 a better deal than JBL & Klipsch... it has great reviews...


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## GPM (Jan 14, 2007)

Beam wise, I had a similar situation, so reinforced/braced the beam to allow removing all the posts except at the ends. You wind up with a wider beam and budget wise may delay finishing the HT, but over the years you'll be glad you did. 

GM


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Is this a valid statement? As I have mentioned earlier they r building 2000+ houses (at least 500+ in Phase 1) in this community and the builder/contractor is not that supportive... should I go back and fight for this?

"Contractor said that he cannot, per code, make the ceiling level across the trunk line all the way to the steel beam. He is only allowed to drywall around a trunk line and then he has to immediately go back up until the next impediment, the steel beam. "


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## MrAngles (May 1, 2012)

sridhar_amudhan said:


> Is this a valid statement? As I have mentioned earlier they r building 2000+ houses (at least 500+ in Phase 1) in this community and the builder/contractor is not that supportive... should I go back and fight for this?
> 
> "Contractor said that he cannot, per code, make the ceiling level across the trunk line all the way to the steel beam. He is only allowed to drywall around a trunk line and then he has to immediately go back up until the next impediment, the steel beam. "


Code in my area is that the ceiling has to be at least seven feet high, so technically, if going below the beam would bring the ceiling lower than seven feet and the area is big enough to be considered a ceiling, rather than a bulkhead, it could be a code problem. I don't know where the line is drawn between a ceiling vs a bulkhead, but you should be able to have them frame it up at least a couple feet back from the beam, rather than all the way back to the trunk line.


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## GPM (Jan 14, 2007)

The only time I've seen a local code like this is in a seismic zone. Regardless, without the architect/builder getting a variance, which I imagine is near zero in your case without a serious $$$ incentive to do so, you're screwed............ 

Also, I forgot to consider that I bought the [tri-level] house/garage free n' clear, whereas you probably have a significant mortgage that would require the lean-holder's approval, which again means you're probably screwed if you wanted to do it as a home improvement as I did since it involves changing the structural design. 

In retrospect, my experience in such endeavors is probably mostly irrelevant today since there's been so much more gov't. regulatory 'involvement' in our lives in the ensuing ~44 yrs., but 'hope springs eternal', so checking it out for a possible home improvement before the next HT upgrade might be worth the effort.

GM


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## GPM (Jan 14, 2007)

MrAngles said:


> Code in my area is that the ceiling has to be at least seven feet high........


Ditto here, so the beam had to be stiffened by welding angle iron across ~70% of the span, making it wider. With no poles now in the way, I was able to use the beam for an overhead dolly to remove/install motors, etc. or lift entire vehicles off the ground.

GM


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

Sorry guys... got little busy with work and didn’t get time to post here... 

I have quite a few updates as I was getting more and more surprises from my builder...

- They had to put a door with 2ft walk-in area on the south side wall as that is where my main water line is coming in...:coocoo:
- I worked out dimensions to move to West side wall (towards North) and went in for meeting with electrical agent for wiring and another SURPRISE....:neener: Since I have dual-zone HVAC...there were 4 trunk lines and it was all over North side (starting behind the stair-case).... builder agreed to finish them all as one soffit (all the way to North wall).
- Luckily, I had the builder move the North side wall 4ft further before it narrows down…which gave me 10ft on that wall… addle:

So, finally I got the wiring done to project on the North side wall… couldn’t get much space between side & back in-ceiling speakers, but I hope I can place the couch in between them to get better sound…

It’s all framed/wired now… have my dry-wall meeting on 5/1… will update the picture with latest dimensions/positions soon…

Thanks for all your suggestions/help.

I am researching on mounts/screens...will ask for help soon...


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## sridhar_amudhan (Apr 9, 2013)

sridhar_amudhan said:


> Is this Polk PSW505 a better deal than JBL & Klipsch... it has great reviews...


I am pulling trigger on this one... the price went up to $229.99 for past few days and back to $179.99 today.... Hope its a good deal...


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