Advice needed on new room

[xrapidx]

Hi Guys

I've dedicated a room in our house to our AV area... and need a bit of advise before building begins....  I plan on redoing the whole room. So feel free to offer any advise, from flooring, to doors and paint. According to the plans, the room is 5.7 x 4.2 = 23.94 m2

My main issue is the fireplace, I'd like to keep it, or swap it out for a gas one, but I'm not sure how feasible it is with regards to speakers and the choice of screen - still deciding on LCD/PLASMA/PROJECTOR.

My speakers are Polk Audio RTiA9s, CSi A6 (not sure where this will go) - and soon to add FXi A6 and subs later on.

Proposed front - the red is where a wall will be built to close off the kitchen:


Back:


Plans - room, in red:


I don't like the tiles in the house, so they'll be going - I'd prefer to replace them with wood as apposed to carpet/tiles.

[KenMasters]

Nice, I always enjoy setting up from scratch.

One piece of advice I can give is to do with the TV placement, above the fireplace is simply too high. The centre of the screen should be at least level with your line of sight when seated, preferably even slightly lower than that.

 I would also recommend rather using a TV stand than wall mounting, it may look nice but it's not terribly practical for a variety of reasons.

Something else you might want to consider is to paint the room a neutral grey (D65) to ensure correct colour perception. Of course, if you're not into video calibration, it's no biggie.

[Rodney_gold]

The fireplace is not an issue - you get what is called a No Vent fieplace , uses 1/2 the gas of a conventional gas fireplace and you need no vent or chimney - very efficient - in your case a small 6kw one would do. You can get em as a wall hung "picture" frames or one sided built into the mantel of your choice against any wall  or double sided or as a drop in ...we installing a drop in one in the middle of a coffee table in our top lounge - cost is around 7-8k installed. All you need is a gas line to it. You can just block off your existing one in that case with some sound deadening material and drywall. Google novent or no vent
As to the floor , why not just lay a good quality wood effect one over the existing tiles - then you have no issues as they are layed on a sound deadening type thin foam - a lot easier and less messy than removing tiles. You can even lay em over carpet or underfelt if you want more deadning than the foam provides.
Your dining room entrance might cause issues , but a sliding door or french doors with drapery would cure that.

[xrapidx]

Nice, I always enjoy setting up from scratch.

One piece of advice I can give is to do with the TV placement, above the fireplace is simply too high. The centre of the screen should be at least level with your line of sight when seated, preferably even slightly lower than that.

 I would also recommend rather using a TV stand than wall mounting, it may look nice but it's not terribly practical for a variety of reasons.

Something else you might want to consider is to paint the room a neutral grey (D65) to ensure correct colour perception. Of course, if you're not into video calibration, it's no biggie.

The fireplace is one of the reasons I'm considering a projector for the room - I agree about the LCD being to high when placed above it, another issue is where I'm going to place the center speakers.

The fireplace is not an issue - you get what is called a No Vent fieplace , uses 1/2 the gas of a conventional gas fireplace and you need no vent or chimney - very efficient - in your case a small 6kw one would do. You can get em as a wall hung "picture" frames or one sided built into the mantel of your choice against any wall  or double sided or as a drop in ...we installing a drop in one in the middle of a coffee table in our top lounge - cost is around 7-8k installed. All you need is a gas line to it. You can just block off your existing one in that case with some sound deadening material and drywall. Google novent or no vent
As to the floor , why not just lay a good quality wood effect one over the existing tiles - then you have no issues as they are layed on a sound deadening type thin foam - a lot easier and less messy than removing tiles. You can even lay em over carpet or underfelt if you want more deadning than the foam provides.
Your dining room entrance might cause issues , but a sliding door or french doors with drapery would cure that.

Thanks - I'll look into it - I was actually thinking of the fireplace this weekend, and what to do with it - I was thinking of getting a gas based one replace the current one, and having the front a heat resistant glass, then run ducting in the chimney to the center of the room in the roof - that way you can still have the fireplace effect without worrying about extreme heat affecting the screen or speakers - not sure if this is possible, or even feasible in South Africa.

The room will sort of double as a 'formal' lounge and my little cinema room - so that needs to be taking into account.

With regards to the dining room - still deciding how to close that off there's also an open passage way (no door) to the bedrooms which needs to be dealt with.

The plans I posted are quite old - the actual house underwent a major renovation after that - it went from 110m2 to 314m2...

[dotVIBE]

how about a retractable screen over the fireplace? or are "fire & tv at the same time" a requirement?

[xrapidx]

Nope - that would work - I'm assuming you mean retractable projector screen?

The house roof is one of those flat roofs - about 30-60cm of space - so no space for a LCD.

Only issue then is the center speaker.

[Rodney_gold]

I really wouldnt do the ducting thing , especially if you arent converting to gas , build up of soot etc is an extreme fire risk and you might need fans to recirculate the heat - potential noise makers
If you converting to gas , it will cost as much as a no vent anyway , or perhaps a bit cheaper. A 900 mm wide normal gas fire will lose more than 1/2 its heat trhru the flue and will consume round a kg of gas per hour , currently a 48 kg bottle costs round R800 - almost R20 an hour!!!
The wow factor of having a fire in the middle of the room is high. You could also relocate the fireplace to a free standing one in the corner if you want wood or anthracite.
As to the dining room , you could use doors on rails that slide to either side and then have the whole entrance open (same with folding french doors)
The bedroom entrance would probably be well served with a trellidoor and 2 frenchj type doors folding against a wall - giving you a secure "inscape" area.
Maybe you should just tell the family that the family lounge is now your hifi room and to use the other lounge? Then you might not have the issues with aesthetics and ergonomics

[xrapidx]

Sorry - I meant going the gas route with the ducting.

I'll do a bit of research on the center fire thing... might work. I guess I'm just attached to the fireplace with a chimney - even if I won't be using the chimney :p

The main lounge is too big... not sure of the exact size... but I think its quite a few m2. I'll double check, it must be at least 7-10m x 7-10m - it also has three sliding glass doors, a bar, and a built in braai... so definitely won't work.

Loosing the current fireplace is probably my best option at the moment...

[dotVIBE]

How about just changing it to a corner fireplace or Morso style unit and sticking it in the corner to the right of the current location? Take the chimney straight back out the wall and then angle it on the outside of the house to run back into the original stack.

c'mon buddy, blow some cash. you know you want to 

[xrapidx]

Can't find much on novent - found the website, but its very limited.

How about just changing it to a corner fireplace or Morso style unit and sticking it in the corner to the right of the current location? Take the chimney straight back out the wall and then angle it on the outside of the house to run back into the original stack.

c'mon buddy, blow some cash. you know you want to 

Hahaha - I still want some money left over for subs

[Rodney_gold]

Lots of fireplace shops do no vent , they got a nice brochure
Here's the website
http://www.noventgas.com/index.html
That the one you saw?
PS I meant banish the family to the formal lounge and annexe the fam lounge for yourself

[xrapidx]

Yip - thats the site, I'll see if I can find a brochure somewhere in Cape Town. I know I've seen them somewhere.

Family = girlfriend. So that should be easy 

[Rodney_gold]

Progress fires in durban road - speak to Hardu there
Hardu van Rhyn
(071363 9691)

[xrapidx]

Thanks - do they have a store I could visit - to see these things?

[Rodney_gold]

I dunno if they are on display in their store , its in durban rd going down to bellville from the N1 - we just had our big gas fireplace serviced in our downstairs lounge and wanted a fireplace upstairs too - the no vent was the only solution
Ive seen their one that sits against a wall at a pvt residence and it looked and worked real good
im considering converting our vented one to a no vent too - r2k