Construction Time Again

[Johnny B. Galt]

Greetings! Seems like I've always got some project going. This time its a tv-friendly family-room finish in our new house. I'm after ideas and general smart how-tos. I've read some of the threads over the past couple years (RichinTexas addition and the MyHomewithTheater stick out) and have found them to be valuable and informative.

I haven't purchased a set for the room yet as I'm in the process of framing it. I've got the audio/video components already sorted out. The only pieces I need to buy are the television, the new Oppo BR player (when it comes out) and some sort of line conditioner/power center. The rest will be 7.1 with a Denon 2108, Denon 1940, the new Oppo player for BluRay when it comes out, a Cambridge CD, Paradigm PS1200, CC390, Monitor5s, ADP390s, and MiniMonitors (for 7.1- I might end up putting in AMS200s inwall or CS60s in ceiling instead). Is 7.1 even worth it? I'm guessing that at least half of the viewing won't even be movies- it will be the Disney channel or cable news...

I originally wanted a corner fireplace and a large DLP in the center of the wall. That didn't pass- the fireplace is to be in the center of the wall. Much to my surprise, my wife decided she'd like the set mounted over the fireplace. She didn't really seem to care when I told her that meant the center channel would be on a stand in front of the fireplace. The room is fourteen feet wide and twenty six feet long. Sixteen feet will be carpeted, ten feet will be hardwood. It has one eastfacing three by six window four feet from the closed fourteen foot wide end. Opposite the window the room is closed off for ten feet by a stairway and then opens up- so it is roughly "T" shaped with the main area being the 14X26 rectangle. The end opposite the tv/fireplace wall will be 14x10 of bar/game table area.

The fireplace is to be the center of the family room. It will be six feet wide in the closed end (the fourteen foot wall between the window wall and the stair wall) and protrude 16 inches into the room. It will be finished with ledgestone veneer. It will be flanked on either side by built-in maple credenzas (possibly with bookcase hutches on top of them). The credenzas will house the components. They'll probably be 28 to 30 inches high and the front speakers will sit on them. The fireplace itself will be two inches off the floor (with those two inches being a flagstone hearth) and the unit is 42 inches wide and 34 inches tall- so roughly fifteen inches of stone on either side of it.

So, I've got a mix of questions. The first being, how large of a TV should I be looking at? I'm probably about six months away from needing it but I want to frame for it now. Room light isn't an issue so I guess I'm looking at anything from a 42 to 50+ inches. Heat isn't a big issue with the fireplace- it is largely decorative because of infloor heat. Given that it must be at a minimum height of 40 inches above the floor because of the fireplace, how low/ high should it be? The room will have 94 inch (7 foot 10 inch) ceilings. We'll probably have primary seating nine to ten feet away with additional seating closer on the side and we'll want to view it twenty feet back in the game table area. Would a large TV look funny if it is larger than the fireplace? Is a mantle needed? How large should the recess for the TV be? Or, do I need to pick out a TV and size the frame around it? I was really hoping to put off buying the TV until Black Friday (November).

Fixed tilting mount or swing-arm mount? Are mounts fairly standard- such that I'd be safe putting a couple of 2x6s in fairly close together to make sure that I'd have something solid to attach to? How deep should I make the recess? Do I want to put an outlet and cable jack up in the recess? I thought I'd run 2 inch plastic conduit from one of the credenzas up to the tv recess to accomodate hdmi cables, etc- could I snake the TV power cord through it as well? Would one dedicated 20 amp circuit be sufficient for the TV, electronics, and sub? Or, should I split them between two? I'd like to add separate power amps at a later date.

Thanks for any ideas or input you might have. I apologize for the lengthy post and for using a Depeche Mode album for its title! Its only about 25 years old now...

[Rich-n-Texas]

Well we certainly can't say this post isn't detailed! Welcome Johnny. :thumbsup:

Just some random thoughts... A dedicated 20 amp circuit would be ideal, especially from a clean power and from a future consideratiions standpoint. It may eliminate the need for a power conditioner as well.

I watch my 57" DLP TV 9 - 10 feet away, and it sits at eye level when I'm sitting in front of it. If you want to watch HDTV from longer distances as you describe, make sure it's a true 1080p TV (you'll want that anyway when you purchase your Blue-ray player), and from my POV, a plasma would be the best choice. Plasma TV's are becoming more efficient these days. I personally don't like the idea of mounting any TV on a wall, especially over a fireplace but then again I don't have a WAF (wife acceptance factor) to deal with either. Nevertheless, you should try to mount it as close to eye level as possible when you're sitting in the main viewing area. That will dictate whether or not you want a mantle for your fireplace but seriously, what is a fireplace without a mantle?

I don't know what the Plasma TV market or technology will look like by November so I'd suggest you keep an eye in the Home Theater magazines and such.

Hope that helps some. Maybe someone with more HT building experience will provide some input. Good luck.

[Johnny B. Galt]

Thanks! I'm a little concerned about the additional height necessitated by having it over the fireplace because the top of the fireplace unit will be about at eye level. So, I'm thinking at least a tilting mount.

How susceptible are TVs to heat? What happens when they get too warm? Do plasmas run a lot warmer? The fireplace's flame and blower are adjustable with a remote control so I could turn it way down when the TV is in use. Or, I'll probably tell my wife that it is simply too distracting to have the fire on when we're watching the TV. I'm planning on installing a small exhaust fan in the credenza where the a/v gear is hidden.

I'm having second thoughts about recessing the area where it will be mounted- I wonder if that area will just trap heat? Otherwise, I might just leave a few stones off so that I can get a good mounting point.

It seems that 42" and 50" are standard plasma sizes and 40", 46", and 52" are standard LCD sizes. I have a 37" LCD in another room and, while I like it, I wish I could have gotten a larger set. Any thoughts on what might be appropriate for the space (72" above a fire unit that is 42") to be viewed from about 9 feet? It's definitely going to be 1080p- having bought an HDDVD player last year (and only having 720p on my TV), I'm anxious to go Blu...

[Rich-n-Texas]

It won't take long for your wife to realize that watching a big beautiful HDTV picture over top of a lit fireplace is a big no-no. I was under the impression you wouldn't be using the fireplace most of the time. I can't give you a ballpark price on titling mounts, but obviously the bigger/heavier the TV, the more expensive the mount. Tilting it out over the hearth is just not a good idea.

Again, manufacturers of plasma are making more efforts these days to reduce the set's power consumption, and more efficient equals less heat output.

42" & 50" may be standard today, but not necessarily so in November or even by the end of the summer.