04-07-2021, 08:13 PM
I started already, but I can reconstruct the first steps pretty well. I'll do my best. Here goes...
So I have this space in the basement. Well, let me start by saying that I won't stage pictures of my shop or the area at all, and hopefully make some of you feel better about the conditions in which you work. My shop can't stay clean for more than 15 minutes, and neither can my house. My daughters have seen to that. In any case, here it is, along with the 48" entertainment center that I built for the equipment about ten years ago.
I want something bigger and better there. I'm limited only really by the access panel (the outdoor faucet is on the other side, and the panel is there after I had to fix everything the builder screwed up). Centering the unit and butting it up against the wall will let me have about 80" of width. That lets me get a 75" TV on there with a little room to spare. That's also helpful because I would like to do a "fireplace" down here, and by that I mean an electric fireplace in the cabinet. The basement, like many, does get cold, and it would be nice to not only have the ambience of a fireplace (even an electric one) but also the heat. I settled on this one:
https://www.amazon.com/PuraFlame-Western...453&sr=8-3
Behind the existing entertainment center I have one outlet and a low-voltage panel with two coax and four ethernet. Based on my past experience with an electric fireplace, I've decided to run another circuit back there just for the fireplace. You can't, for example, expect to run a vacuum and the fireplace at the same time without tripping a regular 15A breaker. Fortunately, behind that near corner (where the portrait of my dear departed rabbit is) is unfinished space, so I won't have a lot of drywall cutting and patching to do.
I came up with this design. It's pretty straightforward. As you can see, pretty much any surface in my house is subject to crayons, markers, or anything else my kids can get their hands on.
The 4 1/8" dimension was chosen to house this speaker:
https://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Signat...764&sr=8-4
...while also allowing about 5" on each side for things like remotes, an IR repeater (more on that later), the Playstation controller when charging, and random things my kids put in there. I fully expect it to be used for Play-Doh, markers without caps, legless Barbies, and other sorts of things like that.
I tried to maximize the depth since the original unit being replaced was limited to the Onkyo A/V receiver that's in there - all others were too deep. I don't have any need to replace this one, but were I to do so I could have considerably more flexibility.
Now, with the center channel and fireplace occupying the middle two compartments of the unit (indeed, being built specifically for them), the A/V equipment has to go on the sides. This means that to use them I either need an A/V repeater with regular doors, keep the door(s) open, or use glass doors. Two of these options at the very least mean the equipment will be generating lots of heat and have nowhere to go with it. I opted for an IR repeater and a heat exhaust solution. They are here:
https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-AIRPL...082&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ZG...UTF8&psc=1
The AC Infinity unit looks very well made and has a beautiful finish on it. I chose that primarily because its dimensions matched well and the ability to only turn on when needed (when the sensor reaches a certain temperature) is very useful. The repeater, on the other hand, is definitely Chinesium, and I knew that going in. I have no idea how well it will or won't work. If it doesn't, I can certainly spend more money and get a better unit. The repeater receiver, which is quite small, will sit next to the center channel in the top middle compartment.
I should note that I use my computer in an enclosed cabinet, and when playing games or mining some useless cryptocurrency a lot of heat is generated. It gets warm but it appears to draw enough airflow from the gaps around the door, so I don't think I will need much more than what I have. I'll be using Blum hinges, which also offer a bit more offset from the face frame (and thus allow more airflow). Also, what's not reflected on the design is that there will be grommets on the sides of the unit (bottom/back corner) to allow the speaker wire, subwoofer cable, split HDMI, and whatever else to exit. This should also allow for more airflow from the outside in.
Now that it's designed, we can start building.
So I have this space in the basement. Well, let me start by saying that I won't stage pictures of my shop or the area at all, and hopefully make some of you feel better about the conditions in which you work. My shop can't stay clean for more than 15 minutes, and neither can my house. My daughters have seen to that. In any case, here it is, along with the 48" entertainment center that I built for the equipment about ten years ago.
I want something bigger and better there. I'm limited only really by the access panel (the outdoor faucet is on the other side, and the panel is there after I had to fix everything the builder screwed up). Centering the unit and butting it up against the wall will let me have about 80" of width. That lets me get a 75" TV on there with a little room to spare. That's also helpful because I would like to do a "fireplace" down here, and by that I mean an electric fireplace in the cabinet. The basement, like many, does get cold, and it would be nice to not only have the ambience of a fireplace (even an electric one) but also the heat. I settled on this one:
https://www.amazon.com/PuraFlame-Western...453&sr=8-3
Behind the existing entertainment center I have one outlet and a low-voltage panel with two coax and four ethernet. Based on my past experience with an electric fireplace, I've decided to run another circuit back there just for the fireplace. You can't, for example, expect to run a vacuum and the fireplace at the same time without tripping a regular 15A breaker. Fortunately, behind that near corner (where the portrait of my dear departed rabbit is) is unfinished space, so I won't have a lot of drywall cutting and patching to do.
I came up with this design. It's pretty straightforward. As you can see, pretty much any surface in my house is subject to crayons, markers, or anything else my kids can get their hands on.
The 4 1/8" dimension was chosen to house this speaker:
https://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Signat...764&sr=8-4
...while also allowing about 5" on each side for things like remotes, an IR repeater (more on that later), the Playstation controller when charging, and random things my kids put in there. I fully expect it to be used for Play-Doh, markers without caps, legless Barbies, and other sorts of things like that.
I tried to maximize the depth since the original unit being replaced was limited to the Onkyo A/V receiver that's in there - all others were too deep. I don't have any need to replace this one, but were I to do so I could have considerably more flexibility.
Now, with the center channel and fireplace occupying the middle two compartments of the unit (indeed, being built specifically for them), the A/V equipment has to go on the sides. This means that to use them I either need an A/V repeater with regular doors, keep the door(s) open, or use glass doors. Two of these options at the very least mean the equipment will be generating lots of heat and have nowhere to go with it. I opted for an IR repeater and a heat exhaust solution. They are here:
https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-AIRPL...082&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ZG...UTF8&psc=1
The AC Infinity unit looks very well made and has a beautiful finish on it. I chose that primarily because its dimensions matched well and the ability to only turn on when needed (when the sensor reaches a certain temperature) is very useful. The repeater, on the other hand, is definitely Chinesium, and I knew that going in. I have no idea how well it will or won't work. If it doesn't, I can certainly spend more money and get a better unit. The repeater receiver, which is quite small, will sit next to the center channel in the top middle compartment.
I should note that I use my computer in an enclosed cabinet, and when playing games or mining some useless cryptocurrency a lot of heat is generated. It gets warm but it appears to draw enough airflow from the gaps around the door, so I don't think I will need much more than what I have. I'll be using Blum hinges, which also offer a bit more offset from the face frame (and thus allow more airflow). Also, what's not reflected on the design is that there will be grommets on the sides of the unit (bottom/back corner) to allow the speaker wire, subwoofer cable, split HDMI, and whatever else to exit. This should also allow for more airflow from the outside in.
Now that it's designed, we can start building.