Hey, all. Long story short, just bought a house that recently began construction, and I just got confirmation from the builder that I can pull my own LV wiring. Unfortunately, that looks to be happening in just about a week, which doesn't exactly give me much lead time to figure this all out. Hoping you folks can help me on short notice, as I'm also traveling this coming week, further reducing my time.
Anyway, house is a 2-story with an unfinished basement, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what all I want to plan for. I'm looking to have whole-home audio for sure, with keypads in the various zones. Distributed video holds some level of interest, as I would like to have a media pc in my wiring closet, but will be running Directv boxes for my primary source of video (probably a Genie). I'd definitely like to be able to stream music (Spotify, Pandora, etc) from a mobile device to the distributed audio system.
- should I be running wire for a security system, or are security companies adept at installing after the fact?
- Would be nice to be able to mount a camera outside the front door, and access that feed from tvs
- What should I be considering in terms of running conduit?
- do folks typically terminate coax/ethernet near the floor, or figure out exactly where your displays will be, and recess there?
- should I put a box at ever termination point, or just tack behind the wall? Particularly for future zones that won't be in use initially.
- what am I not thinking of, that I'll be annoyed about later?
I'm planning a full home theater with projector in the basement, utilizing a Markertek rack to house the HT equipment (did this in my last house). Do folks typically tie their distributed systems into the same wring closet/system as their HT? The basement will be unfinished for a couple years, I would imagine.
I think at this point I'm mostly concerned with planning/running the wiring, rather than the exact system of controls/amps - I figure with the right wiring scheme, I should be able to shim in most any system. That said, would definitely be interested in recommendations there.
Zones:
- family room/kitchen (shared space with no walls - figured they should be the same zone?)
- master bedroom
- master bathroom (does it make sense to to the bathroom separate?)
- office
- deck/patio (planning on both a deck and patio eventually - would like speakers for both levels, but same zone, with a control panel in both levels - not sure if this is possible)
- garage
Possible future zones:
- 2nd/3rd/4th bedrooms
- HT room (would like to be able to feed the shared audio into HT)
Another challenge I'm trying to figure out is how to deal with my family room. The tv is designed to go above a fireplace with built-in cabinetry surrounding the fireplace. Trying to figure out how to deal with supplying video to that tv location (blu-ray, steaming device, etc). There is no connectivity from the cabinetry to the tv, though I could add it, if I wanted - just not sure about punching through the woodwork.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Anyway, house is a 2-story with an unfinished basement, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what all I want to plan for. I'm looking to have whole-home audio for sure, with keypads in the various zones. Distributed video holds some level of interest, as I would like to have a media pc in my wiring closet, but will be running Directv boxes for my primary source of video (probably a Genie). I'd definitely like to be able to stream music (Spotify, Pandora, etc) from a mobile device to the distributed audio system.
- should I be running wire for a security system, or are security companies adept at installing after the fact?
- Would be nice to be able to mount a camera outside the front door, and access that feed from tvs
- What should I be considering in terms of running conduit?
- do folks typically terminate coax/ethernet near the floor, or figure out exactly where your displays will be, and recess there?
- should I put a box at ever termination point, or just tack behind the wall? Particularly for future zones that won't be in use initially.
- what am I not thinking of, that I'll be annoyed about later?
I'm planning a full home theater with projector in the basement, utilizing a Markertek rack to house the HT equipment (did this in my last house). Do folks typically tie their distributed systems into the same wring closet/system as their HT? The basement will be unfinished for a couple years, I would imagine.
I think at this point I'm mostly concerned with planning/running the wiring, rather than the exact system of controls/amps - I figure with the right wiring scheme, I should be able to shim in most any system. That said, would definitely be interested in recommendations there.
Zones:
- family room/kitchen (shared space with no walls - figured they should be the same zone?)
- master bedroom
- master bathroom (does it make sense to to the bathroom separate?)
- office
- deck/patio (planning on both a deck and patio eventually - would like speakers for both levels, but same zone, with a control panel in both levels - not sure if this is possible)
- garage
Possible future zones:
- 2nd/3rd/4th bedrooms
- HT room (would like to be able to feed the shared audio into HT)
Another challenge I'm trying to figure out is how to deal with my family room. The tv is designed to go above a fireplace with built-in cabinetry surrounding the fireplace. Trying to figure out how to deal with supplying video to that tv location (blu-ray, steaming device, etc). There is no connectivity from the cabinetry to the tv, though I could add it, if I wanted - just not sure about punching through the woodwork.
Any help would be much appreciated!