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Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
Murph #382759 09/12/12 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted By: Murph
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.

Well, it's a scientific fact that water has a much higher thermal mass (or, more accurately, specific heat) than air. Since beer is mostly water, it's a perfectly logical conclusion that your fridge will hold a steadier temperature with fewer cooling cycles when filled with beer. smile

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
Murph #382857 09/15/12 11:03 AM
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Originally Posted By: Murph
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.


As always, Murph, I appreciate the thoroughness of your replies. On this point, I was wondering if you could post links to any specific examples of the racks or shelving you're thinking of.

As far as airflow, I was thinking of a fan blowing in through a vent at the bottom and out through another vent at the top... on the bedroom side. That way I could have the bedroom side closed up instead of leaving it open like I was originally thinking, and I would simply have a cover to remove or something when I need to access all of the connections.

Good call on wire management. That's one of my major goals, since they've always been kind of a mess in my systems so far. I've never had a media closet before, so I'm excited.

I hadn't done much considering of an RF to IR blaster. I'll look into it when the time comes.

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #382866 09/16/12 06:43 AM
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Just talking to talk. I'll never be as detailed as certain other members whose home theaters I'll never come close to.

My dad met with a designer, and they're talking about finishing the whole basement at one go. My dad's going to get the loan to pay for it, and my rent will basically be paying off the loan for the next three years. This will mean a major increase in my rent, at least for those three years, but if it gets me the living space I want, and soon, I'll bite the bullet. But if my rent is going up, I want to fit as much of what I want done into this remodel as possible.

Sooo... since it's not going to be a gradual thing, and I need to map out what I want done with haste, I'm simply trying to pool some of the ideas I've come across for the designer/construction company to look over, and see what can be achieved.

The basement's ceiling is one problem. Since the ground floor will be a separate rental space (after my parents eventually move out), doing nothing for sound isolation probably isn't a great idea. My dad is set on suspended ceiling throughout the basement for the ease of getting to wiring, which I can also see the benefit of, as often as I may want to change gear and cabling for my home theater. However, the basement is already short, and this makes it even shorter, around 79" high with the suspended ceiling in place. It would probably have to be even lower if thicker-than-standard ceiling tiles were used. Is anyone familiar with sound isolation options for suspended ceilings? Since the upstairs is going to go through an overhaul at some point, too, do you think it would be easier to try for soundproofing from above, perhaps with lots of this?: Sound Barriers. We would still want to caulk everything we could from below, right?

For sound treatment, not isolation, do you think bass traps are worth attempting when you see that concrete ledge that runs along the front and right walls of the home theater area? The front two corners could be done, and some material could definitely be stuffed into the right rear corner, but the kitchen area in the rear left obviously wouldn't allow for one. If you still think it would be worthwhile, then what kind of bass traps would you go for? Something premade, like MegaTraps by RealTraps? Or should I have them make me something here? I'm not sure how much further I'd want to go with sound treatment.

They may be designing the media closet, but I'll definitely provide input based on Murph's suggestions.

I'm also hoping to make the custom shelving along the ledge (for music, movies, books) part of the remodel. I just think I'd benefit from having as much as I can made part of the initial design, since they'll probably have a better idea of how to tie it all together visually better than I would by trying to tack it on later. Oh, and the support beam will kind of be out in the middle a bit since the wall that it's close to now is moving further to the left, which I mentioned in the post with the pics.

Final dimensions for the basic rectangle (kitchen area alters that corner) will be very close to 18' by 28.5'. As I said, ceiling height will be 79". From ceiling to top of the concrete ledge (after being topped with something) is around 28".

My dad has been taking my power needs seriously. He installed 20 amp spec grade receptacles all the way around. I may end up with a 30 amp receptacle in the media closet if I get the UPS I want.

As I said, a lot of this is simply me rambling, but of course I welcome any feedback you may have!

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #382882 09/17/12 08:14 AM
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Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #382883 09/17/12 08:15 AM
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For the kitchen, does anyone have links to large, affordable sinks and proven faucets with pull-down sprayers?

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #382884 09/17/12 01:04 PM
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I would look for a faucet that has magnets to hold the pull-down securely in place when stowed. I didn't spring for that feature when I replaced my kitchen faucet and the pull-out part didn't stow as securely over time. I paid <$150 for the faucet, so better quality non-magnetic faucets might be better.

This one, for example, advertises good retraction. It also has a pause feature on the pull-down, so if you've not right by the sink, you can stop the flow of water easily.

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
pmbuko #382895 09/17/12 04:57 PM
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Thanks, Peter! That helps.

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #383130 09/22/12 05:07 AM
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Just more brainstorming.... I think instead of a normal dining room table, I'm going to have two long tables made custom that have spaces below them for holding PCs or video game consoles. The tables will face each other, and on the bottoms of the far sides of the table will be power strips. I'll keep the look as simple as possible, but of course I'll want it to match the rest of the basement. Perhaps bench seating, if that can be comfortable for extended LAN gaming sessions. I'll have ethernet jacks on the wall that the tables will be pushed up against. A bookcase may provide some separation between this dining/gaming area and the theater area. The space under the stairs will also be its own computer/gaming desk. I'll have to play with the space to see how I can get this to work. I know it'll work now, with my 60" screen, but once I move to a projector, I'm not sure what size screen I'll end up with, and how far back I'll need the seating. I'm also hoping to somehow mount the rear surrounds to the bookcase instead of ceiling-mounting them like I originally planned.

I've never actually hosted a LAN party, but I've always wanted the capability.

For the media closet, since I was thinking I would want it wide enough to accommodate two shelf spaces, I might want half to be actual rackmount, and the other half just normal open shelving.

I bought "industrial" USB 3.0 hubs to be attached to the theater seating riser, for whatever peripherals I may want running from the gear in the media closet to the seating. One for my PC, one for my Xbox 360. I seem to prefer using the wired Xbox 360 controllers versus the wireless since battery life is not an issue, and I've never really minded the cord.

I've decided not to put subwoofer jacks around the room, as I'm not sure on final placement, and I think I'll be fine with paintable surface-mount raceways (or something along the floor) for the cables after I do find the best locations. I'd also want to wire for both RCA and XLR ends if I did the subwoofer jacks, and that seemed like a lot of hassle.

The Kinect may be an issue, since that should still be at the front of the room. The official extension cable for it extends the length to 20', but that might only get it to the left edge of the front of the room. Obviously, I'd want it closer to the center of the display. It's $50 for the official extension cable, too, and I'm not sure why I wouldn't just try a longer, non-sanctioned USB cable. I'm sure I'd be able to tell pretty quickly whether the increased length was affecting play.

I sure am looking forward to experimenting with placement of the LFR1100s. I'm looking forward to a lot more experimenting in general, now that I'll have more space, and the media closet will make the backs of each piece of equipment easily accessible.

I've been looking forward to this for a long time, so I'm really anxious to see progress on the whole project soon. We still need to meet again with the first designer who stopped by. We're waiting on a quote from a second guy who can at least do the bathroom for us. Hard to be patient.

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #383131 09/22/12 05:33 AM
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Instead of home theater seating, I think I'm going to opt for actual movie theater seating for the front row. I've always found them comfortable enough, and they're a better deal. I still need to figure out which brand and model I'm going to get, though. I just emailed the local theater whose seating I like the most, so hopefully they can get back to me with what seating they use. Since they're working on a new location, I also asked if, on the off-chance, I could have my seats added to their order, and I would buy from them. Ha ha. Worth a shot, right?

The seats do have high backs, which I hope won't interfere with the surround at all. I always thought it would be cool if theater seating had removable headrests, like in a car, for the people who want unobstructed audio. I've never found any that has that.

Of course, I could always just by car seats... if I could find any that would look like they fit the decor.

Re: CV's Subterranean Adventure
CV #383132 09/22/12 05:40 AM
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Originally Posted By: CV
I just emailed the local theater whose seating I like the most, so hopefully they can get back to me with what seating they use. Since they're working on a new location, I also asked if, on the off-chance, I could have my seats added to their order, and I would buy from them. Ha ha. Worth a shot, right?


Oh, and I found out from perusing their Facebook page that they do intend to have Dolby Atmos surround, so I'm excited about that.

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