Charles, it probably doesn't matter if it's ceiling hung or wall hung. As long as it's well hung.

Oh, come on! You were all thinking it.

It's all about the mounting.

Amie, I finally looked up Baxi Luna. I was thinking just of heating water, not heating the house. When I did my brief searching, I was thinking of something like this:

Hubbell Ceiling Hung Horizontal Water Heater

Of course I'm interested in tankless, but I don't think I'd find it satisfactory in the winter. Having a tank like the one I linked to would at least let us put it in a space that otherwise wouldn't really be utilized.

Since we're closer to deciding on flooring, would you guys still recommend bamboo? I like the look, but it sounds like it would be hard for me to choose between engineered and stranded, and I'm not sure what the cost difference is between the bamboo flooring made without much adherence to standards and that made with stricter regulation. My dad is hesitant to install any type of wood flooring in a basement that has flooded a couple of times when the sump has backed up. Not terrible odds in 29 years of living in this house, but still something to perhaps warrant a little paranoia. In any case, I thought I'd ask again since time has passed since the last time I asked. The plan was to floor the whole basement at once with the same flooring, since he wants it easier to move walls later on if he feels the need to change the layout.

CV, not sure how much this will help, but FWIW, I installed engineered bamboo in my basement office and love it. Very durable so far. Actually, this was the last flooring in the house that went down after renovation, but in retrospect I would have used it in other areas as well if I had known how well it worked. It was kind of an experiment that ended well. And it was considered ok for below grade installation as it was an engineered floor.

Cheers,

Dan, I appreciate the feedback. My dad seems set on some kind of tile, not wood, but I'll mention bamboo to him again. I know I like the look of it in my friend's basement.

Does anyone have any links handy for equipment closet builds? Beyond the convenience of having the gear to the side of the seating, as well as improved aesthetics, my goals are to isolate the sound of the gear and provide effective cooling. I'm still foggy on how to accomplish this, so if anyone knows of great references for these questions, I'd be indebted.

I suppose the heat from the gear shouldn't be an issue since I will most likely keep an open back for easy access to the connections. The room behind the equipment closet is my bedroom, and I'm not too concerned with how things look in there. I'll just need a nice-looking glass door for the front that will create a nice seal to keep noise out of the home theater area. Any recommendations there?

I'm thinking I'll have the closet wide enough for two columns of shelving. I plan on having a lot of gear in there, so I'll need the space. Of course, some of the gear I won't need access to from the home theater side, so I guess we'll see.

I'm also concerned about refrigerator noise, since the kitchen area is part of the space, and I won't really be able to isolate it. I suppose I'll just need to read enough reviews to see what the quiet ones are.

A designer is supposed to be coming by on Friday to help us work out our plans a bit more. What are some things I might not be considering that I can bring up?

A few things learned from computer racks more so than audio, but still apply

Rear access to the wiring closet will prove super valuable.

You pay a bit more for proper racks with metal, mesh shelving but it helps a lot with cooling as many items have vents on the bottom.

You can sometimes find used server racks for cheap that might fit in your space. Nice because some have built in cooling and some are filled with AC power access up anbd down. However, they are often still very overpriced for used because they sell fast. Probably overkill unless you stumble upon a bargain.

Getting a rack that allows for rack mounting is nice if you have gear that can utilize it.

If you need extra cooling (and extra never hurts) you can get very quiet fans if you do your research. Quiet PC fans can be a very inexpensive option if $ are tight, if properly located.

As per above, if you are buying additional cooling, plan you airflow accordingly. Having every fan blow inward at your gear will be much weaker than having air blown in and also blown out, making a constantly moving stream of fresh air.

You would need or benefit greatly from some sort of RF to IR Blaster device, but I'm sure you knew that.

Plan your wiring. Keep it as structured as possible. Nothing is worse than a peicemealed, rat's nest of wiring. Keeping all the AC cords running down one side away from the audio cable on the other gives good peace of mind, if nothing else, on the interference/shielding front.

Most importantly, have as many glowing, blue LEDs as possible.

I hear filling your fridge with Beer reduces fridge noise as doesn't have to work as hard cooling the empty space. At least that is what I keep telling my wife.

Excellent advice, Murph!

Just two tidbits- It's probably obvious, but if you want to see up fans for both intake and output, look for a rack with sides. If you're NOT going to power-ventilate, get a rack without sides or with removable sides.

If you can't access the back through a door, you can put the rack on wheels by either building a platform with low-profile, heavy duty casters or by using a workshop tool mobile base. I've used both in two different situations with two different racks.