Living the dream - Upstairs Theater build - Page 4

Great find! And just enough room for a small monitor at the top!

I think as long as you have adequate airflow from the roof soffits past the rack, shouldn't be an issue. However, it's probably going to be pretty warm there in the summer! You could bring it forward a bit, and fur out the front where it goes into the wall, either with studs or with a decorative frame of sorts, adding some more space behind it. Or cut off the top and shorten it some....!

Since it's not going to be seen from the back by anyone else, probably not too hard. You could then strengthen the top with some cross bracing screwed into it, either metal or wood, and you'd be set. A good metal cutting jigsaw blade, or even sawzall would do it.

Hey! Did your electrician figure in the upstairs HVAC, also? If you know what kind of unit it is, he'll be able to figure out total amperage necessary (the HVAC will be on a separate circuit, of course). If I remember right, it's a value based on total wattage plus a percentage for instant loads, etc. like when the AC unit starts up. Bad news is, you'll have to use arc fault breakers for all but the ground fault circuit to a wet area (i.e. bathroom), and they are pricey! Lowe's had them for just as cheap as I found elsewhere. There are online calculators for the circuit loads, but he probably already has that. That will help you with the wiring size, too, for the incoming main wire. Of course, I"m assuming you're wiring a brand new panel serviced from the first floor main panel.

Good luck!

No, didn't have to have change of service, probably because the house was designed with the option of having the second floor finished prior to buying it. It had one line upstairs already (an outlet and the couple of lights), so they had planned for upgrades.

You can take the information you got from the HVAC guy and the electrician will be able to figure out the load for either an 8 kW or 5 kW heatstrip. There will be a couple of numbers for peak load values, etc. (I think, from memory, so don't hold me to it!) for the unit you'll get that he can calculate from. It might be neglible, and if so, better to have a little more than you need. Of course, your insulation will be top notch, so that will help! I got a pretty good deal in that it was the last year for the energy improvement deductions (not sure if they still have that for your current year taxes) and I was able to get a higher SEER rating AC unit for about the same price as the next one down after the deduction.

I would recess the rack into the casing at least 1/2" or 3/4".
Edited by LeBon - 2/1/13 at 12:45pm

That would be a nice look -- similar to the picture above. However, you can recess as much as you want, for example to accomodate a door.

Hi Wraunch,

I recommend at least 40A to the rack if your going to do a serious audio setup. Depending on your sub choice(s) they could easily max out a 20A line.

Don't know how I missed an upstairs NC theater, Sub'd

^cool man, if your ever bored hit me up!

Which model of the Icons were you looking at? I can't speak authoritatively on the nuances of speaker matching to room size, there are folks here far more knowledgable than I on that. But, I do have a set of Klipsch RS-41 rear surrounds that work very well with the rest of the group, which is the Atlantic Technology 4400 series and 642e subwoofer. I've read that some folks find Klipsch's on the "brassy" side, due to the horn tweeter construction, but, like anything, it's a matter of personal preference. You want to make sure that they can be driven safely by your AVR or Pre/Pro at the levels you wish without clipping or distortion, but the best bet is to listen to (like you said) speakers in environments close to what you might be hearing in your own room. Also, of course, budget is a major consideration! I listened to quite a few speakers, not knowing anything about the higher quality sound from better built ones, but I took some material I was familiar with (Iron Man bluray) so I could compare more accurately. Also, room correction and other factors from your sources will alter the sound, sometimes greatly. Check out reviews from various sites such as this one, or Hometheater.com, HomeTheaterShack.com, etc. which helps you see where you might consider . Keep in mind placement will be very important, since you will need to build for that. Since you're going with an AT screen, floor standing models can work, though you may have to elevate those, too, to get them to face the audience correctly.

Better to have a little headroom and have a little more than you need than come up short wishing you went with that next step up! the speakers, projector and AV equipment were almost half my upstairs budget! And I still got a pretty good deal, I think!

Good luck!

Chalk me up as another that's missed this thread somehow. Maybe you should change the thread title to, "The Knockers Thread," and put some pictures of door knockers in your first post. I be that would get some traffic

I'm signed up now, keep the progress posts coming!

^There goes the neighborhood