Help with Custom House Build

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Alright Gents. I just bought a 1.3 acre lot and I've been busy in the early stages of designing my custom build house.

Over the years, I've picked up some good ideas on AH like the following:

1. 20A Circuits x 2 for HT room
2. Whole House Surge Protection
3. High Magnetic Circuit Breakers
4. Pre-wire CAT6, RG6, Phone

If you have build a custom house or have any kind of experience firsthand or second , I would appreciate any suggestions/ recommendations/ thoughts.

 

[its phillip]

I'd get more than 2 dedicated circuits for the AV stuff

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'd get more than 2 dedicated circuits for the AV stuff

How many? Three? Not overkill?

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

How many circuits you use will depend on your equipment. I have only two, one for the amplifiers (including the receiver) and another for all the other electronics. That should be sufficient for most people, but if you have mundo DIY subwoofers with a multi-thousand-watt amp, or have a stack of amps powering inefficient speakers, you’ll need more.

My suggestions: Build a ceiling soffit all the way around the room with DIY bass traps. Symmetrical rooms are notorious for uneven bass distribution, having a bass “dead zone” in the dead center of the room, with bass intensity increasing as you move from there towards any boundary. Check RealTraps, I think they have info on built-in DIY bass traps.

Along the same lines, a sub in each corner (yes, four total) will also go a long way towards getting even bass response throughout the room.

Make sure your dedicated circuits include plenty of electrical outlets at the equipment location, as well as your subwoofer locations (assuming active subs). Also make sure the subwoofer locations have a signal feed as well.


Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[rojo]

De-couple the theater from the rest of the house? I've read info about that sort of thing, but don't remember where. Also, independent small HVAC unit dedicated for the theater room. I wish my HT bedroom had its own climate control. It gets awfully warm in there, especially in August.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but after having many listening rooms over the years the one attribute that I found made the system sound *so* much better was a high ceiling. My current room is at about 20 feet, but I'm guessing anything more than 12 feet probably works. Do you have flexibility in ceiling height?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

De-couple the theater from the rest of the house? I've read info about that sort of thing, but don't remember where. Also, independent small HVAC unit dedicated for the theater room. I wish my HT bedroom had its own climate control. It gets awfully warm in there, especially in August.

I was thinking two 5-Ton Geothermal Units into 4 Zones (4 separate thermostats).

Unit 1
Zone 1: Master Suite ~ 1000 SF
Zone 2: Bed 2 + Bed 3 + Bed 4 + Study ~ 1200 SF

Unit 2
Zone 3: Living + Dining + Foyer + Hall ~ 1300
Zone 4: Theater + Breakfast + Kitchen + Utility ~ 1300

 

[TheWarrior]

Full solar array with battery back up. You should ALWAYS have access to your theater!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but after having many listening rooms over the years the one attribute that I found made the system sound *so* much better was a high ceiling. My current room is at about 20 feet, but I'm guessing anything more than 12 feet probably works. Do you have flexibility in ceiling height?

I definitely agree. This house plan is originally for 2-story. I am thinking of doing only 1-story but keeping the high ceiling for sure. Was thinking maybe 15 ft ceiling.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I was thinking two 5-Ton Geothermal Units into 4 Zones (4 separate thermostats).

Unit 1
Zone 1: Master Suite ~ 1000 SF
Zone 2: Bed 2 + Bed 3 + Bed 4 + Study ~ 1200 SF

Unit 2
Zone 3: Living + Dining + Foyer + Hall ~ 1300
Zone 4: Theater + Breakfast + Kitchen + Utility ~ 1300

I would have a thermostat in each bedroom so that when one or some are not used, you don't heat it.
Same for theater unless it has other useful purposes or used frequently.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Full solar array with battery back up. You should ALWAYS have access to your theater!

Power Backup: 60kW Generac Guardian Genera (natural gas)
HVAC: Geothermal
Water Heating: Geothermal/ Electric
Insulation: Total Foam Encapsulation

 

[mtrycrafts]

De-couple the theater from the rest of the house? I've read info about that sort of thing, but don't remember where. ....

George Lucas built his theater like this. Totally separate foundations and walls inside his mansion.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would have a thermostat in each bedroom so that when one or some are not used, you don't heat it.
Same for theater unless it has other useful purposes or used frequently.

Excellent idea! I will do that.

How about this:

Unit 1 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2200
Zone 1: Bed 1
Zone 2: Bed 2
Zone 3: Bed 3
Zone 4: Bed 4
Zone 5: Study

Unit 2 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2600
Zone 6: Theater Room
Zone 7: Foyer + Dining + Living + Kitchen + Breakfast + Utility

 

[mtrycrafts]

Alright Gents. I just bought a 1.3 acre lot and I've been busy in the early stages of designing my custom build house.

Over the years, I've picked up some good ideas on AH like the following:

1. 20A Circuits x 2 for HT room
2. Whole House Surge Protection
3. High Magnetic Circuit Breakers
4. Pre-wire CAT6 & RG6

If you have build a custom house or have any kind of experience firsthand or second , I would appreciate any suggestions/ recommendations/ thoughts.

How is your house affected by outside noise? I was thinking of a staggered stud outside wall construction, also saves on heating or cooling with extra insulation, and consider what is called an air tight drywall method to control air infiltration or out, eating up heating/cooling costs.

If nothing else, do this for the theater to cut sound leakage with extra door seals as on an exterior door.

This is what I did with my house that took 3 years to build by myself.
Also, trace your habits of living, coming home from work, retiring at night to set up light switching patterns unless you build smart home and voice activated.

Landscape lighting? if so, think where the low volt transformer goes and how many you may need.
Think about that tub as well. We never used it, waste of $ and space. Make the shower large as possible so your elbows don't hit anything; you should be comfortable, you are custom building here.

Is fiber in the future to the house? Projector? Overhead speakers?

 

[highfigh]

How many? Three? Not overkill?

The system will dictate the power needs. As a rough guide, three 20A circuits can handle a total of 7200W. If you don't plan to use that much, don't install three circuits.

Use a central closet for the distributed audio/video, assuming you plan to have that. Place a Wireless Access Point at a high location, in the center of the house. If the house is more than about 8000 sq ft, use two. Make sure the HVAC for the theater is separate from the rest of the house. Completely separate. If the house is insulated well enough, you won't need to heat that room much, if at all. Use the rising warm air to your advantage and recirculate it- that will save you a lot of money.

Rather than accessing the equipment from the theater, I would access it from the garage. That way, you don't need to deal with the doorway in the acoustics, aesthetics or having a noisemaker near the speakers (the door, itself). If you can, avoid parallel surfaces in the theater. A smallish soffit around the room at the ceiling and several columns allows you to break up the energy in the corners (almost always a problem) and the columns make a good place to install speakers.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Excellent idea! I will do that.

How about this:

Unit 1 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2200
Zone 1: Bed 1
Zone 2: Bed 2
Zone 3: Bed 3
Zone 4: Bed 4
Zone 5: Study

Unit 2 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2600
Zone 6: Theater Room
Zone 7: Foyer + Dining + Living + Kitchen + Breakfast + Utility

Much better.
I would relocate the entry to your study. Closer to the inside of the house and preferably better access from your master bedroom. Why walk through half of your house to get to it.

Wi-fi central antenna? Internet access to bedrooms, especially if you kids are older; however, even if they are young, they do grow up too fast.

Better access to the house from that 3 car garage besides through the utility room?
Is wife into sewing or quilting? Combine utility and enlarge? That space, I think, between the utility and br4 is wasted; build it in and enlarge the utility or br or split the gained space.

Don't rush into building. Go through your plans in both of your minds how you habits accommodate the traffic patterns and needs.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... Use the rising warm air to your advantage and recirculate it- that will save you a lot of money.

My entry hall is 18.5 ft, 9 ft wide and 23 cft long that includes the stairs to the 2nd floor. Only measure a 2 deg F difference at the ceiling.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Full solar array with battery back up. You should ALWAYS have access to your theater!

Don't have battery back up but my solar is generating 130% per so far in the last 3 years.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Excellent idea! I will do that.

How about this:

Unit 1 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2200
Zone 1: Bed 1
Zone 2: Bed 2
Zone 3: Bed 3
Zone 4: Bed 4
Zone 5: Study

Unit 2 (5-Ton) Total ~ 2600
Zone 6: Theater Room
Zone 7: Foyer + Dining + Living + Kitchen + Breakfast + Utility

I must be dense... how does one control a central forced air system from five different thermostats?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I must be dense... how does one control a central forced air system from five different thermostats?

I think it just opens/closes the air ducts to the rooms. I guess a cheaper way of doing it would be to just manually open/close the vents in the room, instead of doing it automatically.

So I guess it's fancy automation vs manual.