I need help finalizing my riser lighting so I can close-up the platform. Here are a couple of questions I could use everyone's input on:

Option 1: Go with rope lighting and hardwire it (cut off plug and and splice to wire from Graik Eye) If I hardwire, do I need to use a junction box to meet most codes? I prefer to get things quickly, Home Depot sells 3/8" does that size work well?

http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/dbaiano/Cnv0563.jpg

The first row of seating is on the floor against nestled against the right angle and against the riser. I am going to build a second riser 5' x 6' x 6" and place it on top against the back of the front row.

I planned on putting the rope light under a 36" bullnose on the right when you first walk in the door, under the step on the left in this picture and around the perimeter of the second riser. I felt that by doing this I would get some walkway lighting.

Option 2: The simple solution. Just a few 25watt step light installed on each step. (the kind with the louvered cover) I feel this wiring is easiest because I do not need to figure a way to conceal access to the junction boxes that would be necessary to hardwire the rope lighting. I feel the downside of this solution is that I would not get the same traffic lighting I expect to get from the rope around the perimeter of the second riser.

What do you all think?

Thanks,
Dave

I've looked at the pic, read your description, and I don't understand why you have such a wide space waster on the left. It would seem you are limiting your seating. Do you have an overhead view somewhere on how you are planning your seating?

in this picture it looks like the seating is not centered on the screen and that a lot of space is wasted on that walkway.

http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/dbaiano/Cnv0562.jpg

Thanks for your input Bigs...your theater is probably my favorite on this forum. (Although I really like many others)

I have designed the seating as follows:
Row 1 - Is 3 La-Z-boy recliners. You can see the white tape outline on the picture in front of the riser. The first row is perfectly centered on the screen (within and inch).

Row 2 - A la-z-boy love seat. It will be elevated 12 1/2" above first row and set for both people to look over the shoulders of the three in the front.

In actuality, both rows will be centered on the screen. The riser /platform allows space along the side and back walls for 10" deep media storage racks I will build. I first need to complete the risers and get the furniture in place to make my final decision on the media racks on the riser vs in my equipment closet.

What may be confusing is the off-set I have built-in to position the two rear occupants over the shoulders of row 1. I will work on a diagram of this and post it when ready. I am not as good with the drafting as you are and I am not big with computer CAD stuff.

Thanks again,
Dave
http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/dbaiano/Basement.gif

Do you already own the seating? You have such a great looking entertaining space under development and to limit your theater to 5 seats seems lacking.

Do you already own the seating? You have such a great looking entertaining space under development and to limit your theater to 5 seats seems lacking.

Yes I do already own the seating. It is just me, my wife and the dog. Initially, my focus was on only having seats that were ideal for audio as well as video so I based my measurements and capacity on THX specs. and that limited me to 6 seats.

The choice of a love seat for the back row limited me to 5 dedicated seats meeting THX specs. I decided on the love seat figuring I could always replace it in the future with a row of 3 recliners. (although the row 2 seat on the far right would not meet specs) I also started to consider a bar behind row 2 like you have and add three stools. I have 3' from the love seat to the back wall however I also planned on doing the media racks and therefore felt things were getting a bit tight. I will make that final decision when the seats are in place.

I now realalize that the capacity is an issue for the big movie parties I expect to have. There were aesthetic (and acoustic/ modal) reasons I located the back wall where I did thus limiting my seating.

On projects that stretch over a long duration like ours...I think you tend to commit to decisions early on that you find limiting a few years later.

Thanks,
Dave

Given what you've said. before you finish the riser you might want to think of possible changes to your seating capacity that you might do later if even for special events like a Super bowl party. You could build a wider riser, even if it isn't filled up with seats in normal mode. That way you could bring in additional non THX compliant seats for a big event

I might re-think that bump out so that you could maybe squeeze 4 across seating in the front row.

All I know is that I am getting one of the good seats...to hell with everyone else!!!

I have done a lot of thinking about the aesthetic I am going for and have settled on three seats in the front. I like the spacious feel it provides. Also, that leaves me with another possible upgrade for HT 2.0...along with constant height and everything else. I have accepted the fact that I may be doing some reconstruction down the road. (mostly becuase I enjoy it and it allows me to finally settle on a decision instead of being stuck in analysis paralysis!) I am going to seriously consider more seating in row 2 and the bar behind it. I do have a super bowl party every year and fully expect to pack the people in this room.

OK enough on seating...assuming I go with what was previously described, should I go with Option 1 - Rope lighting or Option 2 - Step lights?

Thanks,
Dave

Me personally, I love the soft glow of rope lighting.
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/330601039.jpg
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/330601191.jpg
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/330601116.jpg

Yes I do already own the seating. It is just me, my wife and the dog.

You'd have an extra seat if you make the dog sit on the floor.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mahler007/TheatreRoom#

I am leaning towards Option 1 - Rope lighting as well.

Bass Addict - the pic looks good...dark but good. Is that 3/8" or 1/2"? Also, is it blue or clear? Did you hardwire it or plug it into a socket and is it controlled by a dimmer? Do you have any construction pictures? Sorry for the battery of question...but...

Thanks,
Dave

You'd have an extra seat if you make the dog sit on the floor.


My black lab would enjoy this much more...especially with the popcorn bowl!

http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/dbaiano/asset_upload_file896_5506.jpg

Finish..your pictures look great! I am going to take some time and look through them all.

By the way, that would be a total waste of $900! No matter how expensive a bed I get her, she just loves to curl up on the floor in a tight corner. Go figure...

I am leaning towards Option 1 - Rope lighting as well.

Bass Addict - the pic looks good...dark but good. Is that 3/8" or 1/2"? Also, is it blue or clear? Did you hardwire it or plug it into a socket and is it controlled by a dimmer? Do you have any construction pictures? Sorry for the battery of question...but...

Thanks,
Dave

I had to shoot them dark so I could get the rope lighting effect to show. That is the 1/2" led light from HD. It's a lot less "yellow" than the standard white. Mine are plugged into an Insteon plug in the riser and are scene controlled. I don't really have any in depth construction pics. Here's a pic of it carpeted. If you look to the very right you can see a small black cord. I installed the Insteon in a removable step in case it ever failed. I'd hate to have to bust into a riser to mess with it. The white spot in the front was for a speaker terminal cup that my buttkickers plugged into. Ignore the red walls, they were soon covered up by linacoustic. :)
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/345881582.jpg

The Home Depot I was at today only had Hampton Bay 3/8". It was from an LED Company, therfore I assume it was LED. Were yours Hampton Bay? Can you cut LED at intervals like the incandescent and can it be dimmed?

The Home Depot I was at today only had Hampton Bay 3/8". It was from an LED Company, therfore I assume it was LED. Were yours Hampton Bay? Can you cut LED at intervals like the incandescent and can it be dimmed?

I might have the size wrong. It was an LED by Hampton Bay. I don't believe these one's were able to be cut like the bulk one's you purchase. They are dimmable, and step down incrementally quite nicely. I was worried they would freak out when dimmed but no issues whatsoever.

That's good to know. Thanks Bass Addict.

I am now leaning towards option 2 - Step lights. It seems that it is going to be easier that trying to deal with the necessary junction boxes for hardwiring the rope lights and plugging it in to the outlets shown in the picture seems klugy.

Is anyone plugging their rope lights into exposed sockets? I would love to see pictures.

Thx

It seems that it is going to be easier that trying to deal with the necessary junction boxes for hardwiring the rope lights and plugging it in to the outlets shown in the picture seems klugy.
Thx

What's the difference between hardwiring rope lights and step lights?

What's the difference between hardwiring rope lights and step lights?

Perhaps that is where I am getting too anal. It seems to me that in order to meet code, you would have to have an accessable junction box at every location where the ropes would start from. (The cord from the rope light should be in a box and spliced to the line coming from the Grafik Eye) In my situation that is at least 3 that would be seen from the steps.

I have seen lots of people on this forum with rope lighting andI have not really noticed any plugs so perhaps I have it wrong.

If I go with step lights, I just run romex from the G.E. direcetly to the fixture...nice and clean.

By the way Bass, I don't see any plugs on your pictures...just a little black wire. Where is your plugged in?

Here is a link to the step light (http://www.prolighting.com/noname.html)I think I will order on Monday.

I will build the second riser, put it in place over the weekend and make my final decision. I will post more pictures when it is done.

Now on to the Christmass lights and decorating...urgh!!!

For my riser lights I have rope light under the overhang for step lights and under the bar counter.

To wire these, I have two outlets on the same circuit. One outlet is under the bar and the other is on the front of the riser. I also had outlets added for the power recline on my theater chairs.

I simply plugged the rope light into the outlets (hidden by the counter on the bar and by the first row of seats).

A more stealthy install could have included a recessed outlet with some sort of cover plate. I probably wouldn't hard wire the rope light for code/safety reasons. The chairs and bar hide the rope light outlets very well.

Amazingly, I don't think I have an actual picture of my step lights on with the carpet installed. :)



http://www.mostlyharmless.org/theater/elec11.jpg

http://www.mostlyharmless.org/theater/carpet1.jpg

http://www.mostlyharmless.org/theater/litt6.jpg

By the way Bass, I don't see any plugs on your pictures...just a little black wire. Where is your plugged in?

The step has an access box that I can remove that allows access to the Insteon Dimmer. As mentioned above; I went this route in case the dimmer fails, I don't have to rip apart my riser to get to it.

Jamis,

I love the last picture. I have seen your thread previously and I really like what you have done. I agree with you on the possible code/saftey issues with hardwiring...that is why I would only do it in a box if I did it. Thanks for your details! Isn't it funny with all the pictures we take that when you are searching for a particular shot, you realize you never got it.:)

Bass,

I figured you did something like you described because I could not see anything except the thin black cord. Nice work!

By the way, what are those two round black things you can see in the picture around the middle?

Bass,
By the way, what are those two round black things you can see in the picture around the middle?

Those are speaker terminal cups. I have a row of 5 theater seats that will have buttkickers mounted to them. I originally had the buttkickers mounted inside the riser, but for some strange reason they were causing a horrible resonancy that I couldn't get rid of so I yanked them out and will mount them to the seats instead.

Bass,

That' interesting...I was figuring on pre-wiring for future butt kickers and I was going to mount them in the riser. I will learn from your issue and do something similar. I am not familiar with speaker cups. Do you have more info on them?

Also, what pre-wiring is necessarry for buttkickers, power and what type of audio cable? Does it get it's information from the LFE?

Thanks,
Dave

Would you consider FLATLITE EL lighting?

We use this for HT installs in Vancouver often.

All made in North America, and is a very high quality product

See the pic attached of a recently completed board room with Flatlite integrated into the baseboard and wrapped around the table

PM me if you would like more info.

Thanks

Mat

Bass,

That' interesting...I was figuring on pre-wiring for future butt kickers and I was going to mount them in the riser.

Each installation is different, there are many who have them installed in the riser with good results. I don't know what the issue was with mine, after spending an hour on the phone with Buttkicker, and exhanging numerous emails, we couldn't resolve the issue. I do know of a couple other people who had the same problem so it is something to be aware of. If you do install them in the riser, make sure you build an access panel to them in case they fail.

I will learn from your issue and do something similar. I am not familiar with speaker cups. Do you have more info on them?

The speaker terminals can be found at Crutchfield, Parts Express, etc. Here is one version. Mine have the spring loaded connectors, either will work fine.
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2005/125/h1257001-fp.jpg

Also, what pre-wiring is necessarry for buttkickers, power and what type of audio cable?

You can either go with a wireless kit Buttkicker sells (I tried one and was not happy with it so I hardwired YMMV), or hardwire. They take any ol' 12-14 gauge speaker cable. Your wiring will depend on the amount you use for each LFE amp. If running 4; you would wire 1 and 2 in series, then wire 3 and 4 in series. You would then wire the 2 pairs in parallel.

Does it get it's information from the LFE?


Yup, it will plug into the sub out on the back of your receiver. Seeing as you will probably be using that jack for your sub, you will simply need to pick up a y adaptor at your local rat shack. http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:90LsX0S_uTHnkM:http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/2e/42/24/45836885-177x150-0-0_.jpgHTH

Bass,

Thank you very much for that detailed post! I will let you know what I end up doing.:)