# Need a place to start



## schrammhse (Jul 13, 2016)

Hello all, I am currently waiting for my new home to be built. This is the first time I will have a dedicated media room. Not really sure where to start. Attached is the layout of the room. It has what I assume is a false wall for storage, but not sure how I would put equipment back there and still control it.

I will be putting all new equipment in the room as the current TV will stay downstairs in the great room. 

So that being said I have roughly 15 to 18K from the bettter half to work with. 

Where do I start. :dontknow:


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

is it a fabric and stud wall or is it drywalled?


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## schrammhse (Jul 13, 2016)

drywall


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

An IR repeater will work great. The only thing you'll need to go back for is to put in a DVD. You can keep the discs back there too.

Check out Xantech


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## schrammhse (Jul 13, 2016)

Thanks for the link, looks like that will work great I can hide it in the wall somewhere.

Do you think I could get 2 rows of seats in a room that size and not be sitting to close to the TV?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

That all depends on how big the TV is. You don't want the 2nd row slammed against a wall. Ideally the front row would be about 7' or 14' from the TV wall.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

A lot of the Audio/Video equipment anymore can be controlled via your phone or tablet using WIFI. I like this option as WIFI goes through walls. :T


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## schrammhse (Jul 13, 2016)

Should I pay to have the contractor pre wire for speakers or is that easy enough to do. I want to buy the speakers myself and install them due to the selection the builder provided. I would have to let them know by the end of the month.

I was thinking of in-wall for the front and in-ceiling for the rears? 

I am assuming carpet is what I want for flooring.

Do I need to add any extra lighting or outlets in the room?


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## DqMcClain (Sep 16, 2015)

schrammhse said:


> Should I pay to have the contractor pre wire for speakers or is that easy enough to do. I want to buy the speakers myself and install them due to the selection the builder provided. I would have to let them know by the end of the month.
> 
> I was thinking of in-wall for the front and in-ceiling for the rears?
> 
> ...


I have in-wall speakers myself, due to limitations presented by the layout of my room, and the look I wanted... but they're DIY designs and well-suited to their environment. If you have the option, you'll probably be happier with something free-standing. If you want side/rear/atmos channels, definitely have the builder run wiring for you unless you have access to an attic space above the ceiling in that room. Otherwise (like in my case), running wires behind walls can be a major headache. The only caveat is that you have to know ahead of time where those speakers will be mounted, and where your equipment rack is going to be... but it sounds like you've already got a good idea on both of those questions. 

Extra lighting... that's up to you. They can't really sell you a house with lighting that doesn't meet some minimal standard, but whether or not you're happy with that is a matter of taste. It also has a lot to do with how the room is decorated and what you want to highlight and/or mute. 

Extra power is a different matter. If you can get them to do it, having a dedicated breaker for your equipment rack is advisable... even better if they can give you a ground-isolated circuit. If you're planning on having monstrous subwoofers it might be a good idea to provide an additional dedicated circuit (or perhaps one-per-unit for multiple subs) for that as they can be power-hungry and you might notice the performance suffer a bit if they start to approach the limits of the power that is provided. 

Flooring - carpet is a good move. It sops up unwanted reflections off the floor, and gives you an acoustic environment with one less surface to try and tame. You might notice slightly better or worse performance in this regard between different styles of carpet, but in general carpet is carpet. Choose it for its qualities as a floor covering, and don't worry about anything else.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

You can do your own speaker wiring if the walls are still open. As far as carpet... get a good thick dense pad, as it will also effect the acoustics of the room.


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## Zakk (Jan 6, 2017)

ellisr63 said:


> You can do your own speaker wiring if the walls are still open. As far as carpet... get a good thick dense pad, as it will also effect the acoustics of the room.


I think the GC with have an absolute coronary if a homeowner started adding wires in the walls before permits are closed out! :hissyfit:


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Zakk said:


> I think the GC with have an absolute coronary if a homeowner started adding wires in the walls before permits are closed out! :hissyfit:


I paid the works some cash while they were building our last home, and the Supervisor never knew anything until we did the walk through. He then saw the Russound Keypads, and asked where those came from, and I said I had them installed. With just speaker wire being installed...you could just have them installleave the wires bundled up in the wall cavity before the sheetrock is installed. Then no one will know it was ever even done. I did it this way because the Contractor building the house had already charged me $10k to install the LAN wiring, speaker wires, and network/alarm panel. :T


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Another way to do it (that I did in my first home) is to figure out where you want the speakers, cut the holes, and then run the wires down to the floor, remove the baseboard, and run the wires behind the baseboard. If you take pictures of the walls before the drywall goes up you can figure out where the cross beams are (if there are any), and use that info after the walls are buttoned up.


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