New House/ Need advice/suggestions on media room set up!

[64met]

Hey Guys... here is the deal; this is my last house! I have to make this room work! The dimensions are 13' Wide by 17 deep with no more than 9' ceilings. My gear will be stored in the kitchen area (to the left in the pic). Up front my main speakers and sub and the plan is a 92-96 inch screen with a Mitsubushi projector. I have had several quotes/ideas as to what to do... so I thought I would turn to you all... what are your thoughts as to best maximize this room for my dedicated HT? The knee wall you see as well the couches will be gone and we are sheet rocking over the built in; plan is to have a small couch and or two chairs. Another suggestion was to basically remove the back walls which would add 2 extra feet in length; BUT the Wife doesn't like that idea because we then are loosing 2 feet in the hallway... as if I care!

Just looking for some ideas/suggestions from everyone;

Thxs in advance!!

 

[Davemcc]

It's hard to tell exactly what's going on in there. More photos might be helpful. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by sheetrocking over the built in, but if it's something like The Cask of Amontillado, where you're just going to build a wall over what's already there, probably not a good idea. If you were to remove the built in, you have an opportunity to construct some room acoustic panels at the front of the soundstage. It's something to look into.

 

[bpape]

Agreed. If you're not using the built-in, rip it out and start from scratch. While the extra 2' from the hall would be nice, the room isn't bad sized now considering only 2 seats.

I think the 92" screen is a good plan as it allows lots of flexibility for speaker placement away from the side walls.

Bryan

 

[64met]

Thxs guys for the replies.... as for the built in; my thought process was two fold:

- keep costs down by not ripping it out!
- and if we ever had to sell... the thought was the new owners might want the bulit in.

But I guess what I need to figure out is.. by ripping it out... would I gain anymore room size? My biggest fear is the current room at 13 X17 is not quite big enough... hence possibly tearing out the back walls or maybe ripping out the bulit in.... I am sure though, removing the back walls will be much more expensive with all the AC ducts, electrical, etc. that would need to be moved. The one thing for certain is the knee wall in the middle of the room is coming out. BTW... bpape... see you are from St. Louis; U a Cardinal Fan?

Thxs!

 

[bpape]

Absolutely - go Cards!

Ripping out the built in will only cost you your time and maybe a trip to the dump. When you sell the place, they'll never know there was a built-in there to start with and gives you extra space at a reasonable cost.

Bryan

 

[64met]

We are originally from St Louis and both my kids were born @ St Johns... we live in Dallas now. Anyway, thxs again for your help.... this my first dedicated HT room and I want it to be perfect.... I am going to discuss the built in/ripping it out with the general contractor.

Take care,