Re-doing basement - Need wiring help!

[jb5200]

Hey everybody,

I am having my basement completely redone - drywall, wiring, carpet, etc. I am having the guy come today to look at it before he starts in May and I need to explain what I want done.

I want to have as much wiring inwall as possible so I am thinking of having the surround speakers wired so that I can plug them into a wall plate so I don't have to have 20 ft of speaker wire laying all over the floor.

I was thinking of getting everything from monoprice but I'm not sure of exactly what I would need for this guy.

Thanks!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hey everybody,

I am having my basement completely redone - drywall, wiring, carpet, etc. I am having the guy come today to look at it before he starts in May and I need to explain what I want done.

I want to have as much wiring inwall as possible so I am thinking of having the surround speakers wired so that I can plug them into a wall plate so I don't have to have 20 ft of speaker wire laying all over the floor.

I was thinking of getting everything from monoprice but I'm not sure of exactly what I would need for this guy.

Thanks!

You need to sit down and compile all the audio and video you have and want to put in there, 5.1 or 7.1, front projection or not, or perhaps a possibility in the future.
How the room will be set up.
Zone 2? Sub? Component cabinet in relations with TV.
It is good that you are preplanning for May, not for tomorrow
Computer, cat cables, cable TV.

Wire is cheap; remodeling gets expensive.

 

[Electone]

Dedicated Power

At the very minimum, make sure you run two dedicated AC circuits for your equipment. You don't want your home theatre sharing power with your refrigerator, freezer, or sump pump!

 

[mperfct]

You could also just run conduit everywhere (especially if you will have a projector!!!). That way you are covered no matter what.

I suppose you could just run speaker wire to your rears. Make sure you run two cables to each speaker location. Sometimes speaker cables go bad, that way you'd be covered in case that happens. An extra $30 of cable is way cheaper than sheetrock repair.

 

[Joeteck]

I would do in-wall speakers..

 

[mperfct]

I would do in-wall speakers..

Why?

If he doesn't have to do that, I would get freestanding surrounds. You get better bang for your buck when you don't have to stick the speaker in the wall.

If his room is more than 13-14' wide, I'd use freestanding surrounds.

 

[Joeteck]

Why?

If he doesn't have to do that, I would get freestanding surrounds. You get better bang for your buck when you don't have to stick the speaker in the wall.

If his room is more than 13-14' wide, I'd use freestanding surrounds.

Looks neater and you don't have to worry about speaker wires on the floor. You can get 8" in-walls which fit just fine between studs. I guess you more into the show. You can still get a good bang for your buck either way.. depends on how you look at it..

 

[AVRat]

Coax to 4 midwall locations for sub placement options.

 

[Exit]

Might want to add telephone wire (for satelite receiver and phone) and wiring for buttkicker shakers. Also wire to satelite dish and cable hookup.

 

[mtrycrafts]

At the very minimum, make sure you run two dedicated AC circuits for your equipment. You don't want your home theatre sharing power with your refrigerator, freezer, or sump pump!

Yes, but they all share the same main panel and would still have their own circuit breaker as you cannot place the fridge on the same outlet circuit as it needs its own appliance breaker, by code.

 

[popotoys]

If you run all of your wire through some sort of conduit, you can easily pull more if you need it. I would make sure you know where your sub will be and un separate power for that. Also, wire for 7.1 because you never know.

IMO think off:

how power will be supplied, Satellite, phone, Video, TV placement and power, HDMI cabling, componet cabling, stereo cabinet placement, pull wiring for second and third zones, run a powered FM tuner to attic, pull RCA cable to sub location(s), lighting, window treatment, run pvc conduit and place wires inside, run zone wiring to deck, and where is the beer fridge??

 

[Electone]

Yes, but they all share the same main panel and would still have their own circuit breaker as you cannot place the fridge on the same outlet circuit as it needs its own appliance breaker, by code.

What about the people with an extra beer fridge or freezer in the basement? Do you think they really care if it's plugged into a dedicated circuit? They just plug it into any old outlet and chances are it could be on the same circuit they have their home theatre equipment plugged into.

 

[mtrycrafts]

What about the people with an extra beer fridge or freezer in the basement? Do you think they really care if it's plugged into a dedicated circuit? They just plug it into any old outlet and chances are it could be on the same circuit they have their home theatre equipment plugged into.

But, that is not what you posted:

refrigerator, freezer, or sump pump!

 

[jb5200]

Holy Schneikies! I got my work cut out don't I. Where is the best place to get this stuff. I looked at monoprice, parts express, etc. and monoprice seemed to be the best priced stuff.

Here's kinda what I'm thinking! I am going to keep the theater portion on one end of the room only for movies w/LCD and keep another separate rack on the other end that will be strictly audio. I have Par Sig 8's for speakers and I am going to get a rack and amp just for audio. For movies I have a Par Sig C5 for center and I am going to use my Studio 20 for the time being til I pick up S2's since it is just for movies. My Yammy 3800/emo XPA-3 will be for movies and my Yammy 1600/(amp don't have yet) will be for audio only. I listen to music/movies - 90/10 anyway that's why I am concentrating more for music.

This is my list so far:

CL2 Speaker wire
Ethernet cable
Wall Plates that have banana plugs/RCA all around the room for speakers/sub

What else do I need to add to the list?

Thanks for everybody's help!

jb

 

[Joeteck]

Holy Schneikies! I got my work cut out don't I. Where is the best place to get this stuff. I looked at monoprice, parts express, etc. and monoprice seemed to be the best priced stuff.

Here's kinda what I'm thinking! I am going to keep the theater portion on one end of the room only for movies w/LCD and keep another separate rack on the other end that will be strictly audio. I have Par Sig 8's for speakers and I am going to get a rack and amp just for audio. For movies I have a Par Sig C5 for center and I am going to use my Studio 20 for the time being til I pick up S2's since it is just for movies. My Yammy 3800/emo XPA-3 will be for movies and my Yammy 1600/(amp don't have yet) will be for audio only. I listen to music/movies - 90/10 anyway that's why I am concentrating more for music.

This is my list so far:

CL2 Speaker wire
Ethernet cable
Wall Plates that have banana plugs/RCA all around the room for speakers/sub

What else do I need to add to the list?

Thanks for everybody's help!

jb

The electrical part would be where I would start. When I did my computer room, I tried to figure how many outlets I'm going to need, and how much power draw I'm going to use. Since it is new construction, 20A circuits is what you'll be installing, hoping your electrical panel can have more breakers added. Each 20A circuit can do 2300 Watts, but you never want to max this out. I would say 80% would be a safe number. so 1840 Watts or 16 amps. I would put 3 to 4 outlets per breaker. You may want to do a 4 gang instead of a 2 gang of outlets, then I would only put two 4 gangs on one breaker. I would also put all the speaker wiring in the walls too, but away from the AC, dont want cross talk or AC hum. I even added a separate line just for my AC unit, and all my lighting. I did all the electrical work myself. The white wires are speaker wire, the yellow is networking and AC. You really need to have a plan..

 

[highfigh]

The electrical part would be where I would start. When I did my computer room, I tried to figure how many outlets I'm going to need, and how much power draw I'm going to use. Since it is new construction, 20A circuits is what you'll be installing, hoping your electrical panel can have more breakers added. Each 20A circuit can do 2300 Watts, but you never want to max this out. I would say 80% would be a safe number. so 1840 Watts or 16 amps. I would put 3 to 4 outlets per breaker. You may want to do a 4 gang instead of a 2 gang of outlets, then I would only put two 4 gangs on one breaker. I would also put all the speaker wiring in the walls too, but away from the AC, dont want cross talk or AC hum. I even added a separate line just for my AC unit, and all my lighting. I did all the electrical work myself. The white wires are speaker wire, the yellow is networking and AC. You really need to have a plan..

Why are you using 115VAC as your reference? Is that what you have in your area?

 

[Joeteck]

Why are you using 115VAC as your reference? Is that what you have in your area?

Yes, electrical theory is still the same though....

 

[mtrycrafts]

The electrical part would be where I would start. When I did my computer room, I tried to figure how many outlets I'm going to need, and how much power draw I'm going to use. Since it is new construction, 20A circuits is what you'll be installing, hoping your electrical panel can have more breakers added. Each 20A circuit can do 2300 Watts, but you never want to max this out. I would say 80% would be a safe number. so 1840 Watts or 16 amps. I would put 3 to 4 outlets per breaker. You may want to do a 4 gang instead of a 2 gang of outlets, then I would only put two 4 gangs on one breaker. I would also put all the speaker wiring in the walls too, but away from the AC, dont want cross talk or AC hum. I even added a separate line just for my AC unit, and all my lighting. I did all the electrical work myself. The white wires are speaker wire, the yellow is networking and AC. You really need to have a plan..

I see someone else writes notes on the wires

The only problem I see with installing switches and such before the drywall is up and textured is that you will have to be that much more careful when you do that task and cut the holes, unless they are just temporary for the work lights.

 

[Joeteck]

I see someone else writes notes on the wires

The only problem I see with installing switches and such before the drywall is up and textured is that you will have to be that much more careful when you do that task and cut the holes, unless they are just temporary for the work lights.

You have to write on them, can get very confusing during the build, and if I ever tear it down, I'll remember when I see it again, in 10 years....lol

Well, that 4 switch gang is none adjustable, but they do make them adjustable with a side screw just for that purpose. Screw it main part to the stud, and the a depth screw on the side, works very well. Since I did not need this feature, having a fixed 4 ganger was fine.