Building a house - living room set up

[Atty]

I'm helping a friend build his house and we have the ability to add wires and hardware to the rooms before any dry wall is put up.

He wants to do surround sound in his living room and make sure all the wires are pre-installed for whatever tech he wants to add later on.

I need some help putting together a plan for this. He's technologically lost and I'm savvy enough to do most anything but I've never done this before.

I know we will need wall or ceiling mounts for speakers, run speaker wire from where the entertainment center will be to all the places we want to mount speakers. What else?

Are there any guides available? Does anyone have any advice for doing something like this?

 

[fralexandr]

crutchfield's guide to in wall wiring
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-opDHu6fQL5F/learn/learningcenter/home/inwall_wiring.html

you might want to get wall or floor plates for speaker cable binding posts, usb (if using wireless keyboard w/ htpc or something similar), etc.
http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=109&cp_id=10425

have you planned out how many speakers you are setting up? 5.1? 7.1? 7.2? front highs? are you going to plan extras for potential future use?
are you going to be using an htpc from another room?
are the receiver/consoles/etc going to be near the TV?
will things be moved around?

hdmi over ethernet
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=8009&format=2

If you don't like the cables being visible from where they exit the walls, there are also cable covers like this for the parts that run outside the walls
http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c...d=1052005&p_id=8288&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

 

[Plugers]

Run conduit to all locations, 3/4" is only $1.80 /10 ft. you'll always have access to it later.

I ran 2" for my interconnect wires and IR repeater to a basement closet. To a A/V rack

 

[purbeast0]

please please PLEASE just tell him NOT to mount a tv over a fireplace!!!!

 

[Plugers]

please please PLEASE just tell him NOT to mount a tv over a fireplace!!!!

This....

Center of screen to sitting eye level worked great for me.

 

[alkemyst]

impossible to future proof. I haven't seen it done, but if I was doing a greenfield I'd figure out a way to make a channel around the room perimeter with either hinged or easily removed trim with a cavity behind them.

 

[Atty]

please please PLEASE just tell him NOT to mount a tv over a fireplace!!!!

Haha. It is Florida. No fireplaces!

He just asked me to figure out how we can install speakers into every room and tie them all together. I'm looking on mono price for ceiling speakers. I assume we just decide on one location to control them all, install each speaker in the ceiling, and run them all to that control unit.

Anyone have any ideas for where to get control units? The other question is power, I'm guessing we can just wire in a On/Off switch (or volume control?) for each speaker in each room since we have to lay the power cables, it wouldn't be too hard to patch something in.

 

[alkemyst]

Haha. It is Florida. No fireplaces!

He just asked me to figure out how we can install speakers into every room and tie them all together. I'm looking on mono price for ceiling speakers. I assume we just decide on one location to control them all, install each speaker in the ceiling, and run them all to that control unit.

Anyone have any ideas for where to get control units? The other question is power, I'm guessing we can just wire in a On/Off switch (or volume control?) for each speaker in each room since we have to lay the power cables, it wouldn't be too hard to patch something in.

Florida has fireplaces in many homes, even the southern most parts.

You are probably looking more for really an intercom system with music if you absolutely want every room to have a speaker. That way it can be locally controlled.

Many receivers can do dual zone or even three zones and would probably suit you better.

This is a relevant thread on whole home audio though: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1306803/outfitting-a-house-with-speakers-in-every-room-any-tips-or-advice