Call Me Crazy But....

[timone]

The next time I buy a house or lease a new place, one of my prime considerations is the "home theater possibility" that it provides. I want to be able to build a decent home theater which would allow me to have a minimum of 92" screen.

So with that in mind, I will seriously consider a house with unfinished basement, adequately insulated so as not to wake the neighbours.

I know, as they say Location, Location Location. I'll consider that too, but behind the reason I stated above. If I buy from blueprint, I will make sure it's pre-wired for it.

Have you guys thought of this yourselves or have purchased a property with that in mind?

 

[hifisyd01]

I absolutely considered "HT Friendlyness" during my extensive house-hunting adventure. While my wife was looking for granite counter tops and crown moulding, I was looking for TV placement and in-wall wiring options. I'd say "HT Friendlyness" was a pretty big factor in my buying decision... Kinda like cup holders were for my wife when buying our Acadia.

 

[jamie2112]

The next time I buy a house or lease a new place, one of my prime considerations is the "home theater possibility" that it provides. I want to be able to build a decent home theater which would allow me to have a minimum of 92" screen.

So with that in mind, I will seriously consider a house with unfinished basement, adequately insulated so as not to wake the neighbours.

I know, as they say Location, Location Location. I'll consider that too, but behind the reason I stated above. If I buy from blueprint, I will make sure it's pre-wired for it.

Have you guys thought of this yourselves or have purchased a property with that in mind?

I have been thinking the same thing...I want a room to be dedicated to HT and music. The next house I buy or rent will have to have a room for my toys.

 

[Midcow2]

Apartments suck for sound!

The next time I buy a house or lease a new place, one of my prime considerations is the "home theater possibility" that it provides. I want to be able to build a decent home theater which would allow me to have a minimum of 92" screen.

So with that in mind, I will seriously consider a house with unfinished basement, adequately insulated so as not to wake the neighbours.

I know, as they say Location, Location Location. I'll consider that too, but behind the reason I stated above. If I buy from blueprint, I will make sure it's pre-wired for it.

Have you guys thought of this yourselves or have purchased a property with that in mind?

When you buy a house any house you can normally play your music as loud as you can stand.

I thank you idea of looking for an HT friendly house is a great idea. And a basement, if they exist in your region , would be excellent. LOL if you tried to fiend a basement where I live you would still be looking. My last house I had to find a game room to perfectly fit my pool table without wasting space. In hindsight maybe a HT centric would have been a better idea!

 

[Bryce_H]

good space for a home theater was a requirement on our new house purchase. We had a production build house that we speced. We did not get a finished basement so I could finish it the way I wanted. Some extras we paid to have done:

- higher basement ceiling
- electrical subpanel installed in the basement (most end up in the garage - made wiring the electrical MUCH easier)
- prewire everyroom for 2 cat 5e and 2 RG6 and have a central termination in the basement

Other things to look out for are how the HVAC and plumbing are done in a basement. Our builder was very good about centralizing plumbing and keeping HVAC in the joists when possible. We have a single "trunk" of HVAC, plumping, and electrical in the basement. All the branches are above the joists. Also look out for support beams (1 of ours is part of the trunk - the other I had to work into the theater ceiling) and support posts (this actually eliminated several houses - major issue to move a support post)

When building a HT in a basement, neighbors are not the issue - it is the rest of the house. Look into construction techniques for preventing the transmission of bass to the upper floors.

 

[timone]

I have been thinking the same thing...I want a room to be dedicated to HT and music. The next house I buy or rent will have to have a room for my toys.

Toys!! We never outgrow them!

Too bad, two years ago when I went house-hunting, it never occurred to me to make "HT friendliness" as a consieration. I would have built a much nicer home theatre than I have now.

 

[Soundman]

This is very important. I wish I had thought of this when I bought my house. I've had to make alot of comprmises because of it. When I buy my next house, this will be one of the first things I look at.

 

[64met]

YES! A dedicated HT was an absolute MUST when we moved about 2 months ago; and although not exactly what I wanted from a size perspective
(13X17); My dedicated room is nearing its completion.... in fact, I am planning on posting pics very soon.... these pics will reflect the start and the finished product. in the mean time this is a list of my gear:

PROJ; JVC RS-2; SCREEN; Carada 104' fixed; receiver; Onkyo 805; Amp; Outlaw 7700; DVD Player; LG Dual 200 and all Polk speakers (RTi10; CSi5; FXi3) Outlaw LFM1x sub.

 

[timone]

Your devices are tops, 64met. I'm looking forward to viewing your pics soon.

I'm a bit surprised over the response to this thread. I'm not crazy after all

More and more home owners are seriously considering this option. Building contractors should make this as part of their marketing strategy. Offering this as an upgrade to home buyers won't be a bad idea, if you ask me, and as I said, would be one of the primary considerations when looking for my next house.