[jevehn]

Hi all,


I'm in the process of finishing my basement, and I want to plan ahead for a future (hopefully within the year) HT/gaming room. I'm planning on going with a ceiling mounted projector (looking at an optoma HD640), and a dolby 5.1 system. The space I have available is ~ 15'x20',


The big question I have is: What extra features should I plan ahead for? I'm trying to keep costs down, as this is my first house, and I'm not swimming in extra money. Here's what I've thought of so far: I'm going to run some speaker wire to proper locations, cat5 jacks in some places, and I've got a little spot under my stairs for the equipment rack. I don't plan on putting in a wet bar (due to lack of space).


I've been looking at other setups, and some things can get to be very pricy (double drywall, green glue, etc). What features have the most impact on a room? I'm hoping to find a happy medium between cost and overall quality.


Any suggestions?

 

[Weasel9992]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jevehn /forum/post/14263040


Hi all,


I'm in the process of finishing my basement, and I want to plan ahead for a future (hopefully within the year) HT/gaming room. I'm planning on going with a ceiling mounted projector (looking at an optoma HD640), and a dolby 5.1 system. The space I have available is ~ 15'x20',


The big question I have is: What extra features should I plan ahead for? I'm trying to keep costs down, as this is my first house, and I'm not swimming in extra money. Here's what I've thought of so far: I'm going to run some speaker wire to proper locations, cat5 jacks in some places, and I've got a little spot under my stairs for the equipment rack. I don't plan on putting in a wet bar (due to lack of space).


I've been looking at other setups, and some things can get to be very pricy (double drywall, green glue, etc). What features have the most impact on a room? I'm hoping to find a happy medium between cost and overall quality.


Any suggestions?

There's a bunch of stuff you could do, and the good news is that you don't have to do everything at once. In terms of infrastructure for future stuff, just make sure you have enough power (at least a couple of discrete 20amp circuits, three would be better), cable to the right places (you've got CAT5 and audio covered...might want to think about coax and hi-res cable to the projector location as well).


Soundproofing the room is an option, of course. As you've discovered that's a more expensive thing to do, but it's a lot cheaper to do it now than later.


Acoustic treatment for the room will pay some dividends in terms of getting the most out of your AV system...won't do anything to isolate the basement from the rooms above though.


Frank

 

[tandylacker]

As far as the sound question goes...


You can just put hat channel or wood furring strips perpendicular to the studs and double layer 5/8".


There is a lot of stuff you can do that is cheaper than clips and Green Glue. If the walls aren't framed yet and you are framing yourself, frame a staggered stud wall. That will beat any clips. Then just double layer with 5/8".


If there is anyone else living in your house, then you will likely regret not at least doing something about controlling sound in your theater...


As far as planning ahead with wiring...


Everyone seems to run cat5 to their setup. I doubted it's purpose and now I think I will probably be running some wires behind the walls in the coming months...

 

[cyrusuncc]

Since the basement is not finished yet, installing wire raceways would be easy and WELL worth the small cost.

 

[Greg613]

You may want to consider Cat 5e or Cat 6 for the cables. It will cost you a little more up front, but it could save you from upgrading the cables in the future which, if you are doing a permanent install will save you a nice chunk of change.

 

[jevehn]

Some good advice so far. I thought I'd throw out some more info to help.


Here's what I've got so far.

I framed everything up to make good use of the space, and for tax reasons. I run a small home based business, so if I plan carefully, I can write off a lot of things (including my projector

)


This is what I want to do with the space.

All the AV equipment for the house will go under the stairs. I had wired the entire upstairs when the house was still beng built, and all the speaker jacks are terminated in the wall above the cabinet, which is easily accessible from the stairwell.


I want to do a drop ceiling in the basement, as closing in the ceiling worries me for future expansion. I've run conduit from the cabinet to the ceiling for future wiring.


I was thinking about putting the projector in a hush box, possible built to fit the ceiling tile grid. I'm going to wire in an outlet for it in the ceiling, and I'll jam a UPS up there to keep the bulb cool in the even of an blackout. For the projector, I was looking at the HD640+screen package at a big store - starts with a C. Can someone explain to me why this store seems to be a bad word on this forum?


Sound dampening is looking to be a little too expensive. I'll probably put some rockwool in the 1 interior wall, and look at doing the basement ceiling in the future. Not really sure if it's worth doing if i can't do it right....


Budget is, well, low. I want to do it right, but I need to do it cheap. Hoping to find a happy medium somewhere. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd luv to hear them!

 

[Audixium]

Go bigger than 92" - people always say they ended up going bigger after their first 92".

 

[djn312]

Here is what I did in my basement. The total cost under $3000.00 and took about 2 and a half years to compleat.

Dougs Home Theater

 

[jevehn]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jevehn /forum/post/14298375

Should I put french doors in under the beam (just beside the HVACbulhead)?


Currently this space is open. Putting in doors would do a better job of isolating the space, but it would also close off the rest of the basement.......


Also... should I do a similar sized bulkhead on the other side... for symmetry?



opinions please

 

[YT74]



Quote:
Originally Posted by djn312 /forum/post/14309829


Here is what I did in my basement. The total cost under $3000.00 and took about 2 and a half years to compleat.

Dougs Home Theater

I like your theater chairs where are they from?

 

[djn312]



Quote:
Originally Posted by YT74 /forum/post/14322795


I like your theater chairs where are they from?

I got them at American Signature Furniture.