[GuyVXT]

Well me and the gf moved into our first ever house (im 23 and she's 21) on the 31st March and since then I been doing quite a bit of work so thought I would start a little progress thread as I have taken a couple of snaps over the past week or so. Nowhere near the standards of some of the installs on here mind!


The previous owner had their TV sat in an old fireplace, with 3 downlights shining down. with a 2seater at the side near the window. and a 2 seater in a little 'recess' section.
Photo from house advert:

We have ordered a corner sofa to fit along the fireplace and under the window. (we having a shelf put in the fireplace to make use of the already fitted downlights and the rest filled)

Ripped the little AV rack out they had fitted.

And started work on the 'recess' section where we want our TV to be.

First I mounted the TV bracket and I chased out a few channels for Power/HDMI leads, speaker cables, and aerial cable. Didn't get any pic at this stage. I had to trial fit the TV to check it all worked and see where it would sit:

small yamaha satellite speakers fitted for testing purposes (plan to upgrade fairly soon!!)

TV then removed, socket backboxes fitted and time to start running in cables!

Reason for all the cables is the understairs cupboard on the reverse of that wall will have an amp inside hooked up to computer/touchscreen setup packed with media for playing music in the bathroom/bedroom/dining room.
So I have
-a pair of flat white cables going up to loft for bathroom
-Pair of flat whites going up to loft for bedroom
-2xCat5e going to loft as Im going to relocate the BT mastersocket up there
-2x Van damme blue 2.5 going up and back across to the back dining wall
-2x van damme blue 2.5 going up and back across to the living room for surround speakers.
-and some brown satellite cable for the aerial socket

Im waiting on an optical Lead so I have re-fitted the TV and the satellites back to it. Also the GF was missing not having somewhere to sit and watch TV apart from the bedroom so we have borrowed a temp sofa from her father and going to have the TV how it is for a few days till optical cable arrives so I can finish off.

The study is becoming the Xbox room, so far Got the TV wall bracket fitted, and just in the process of repainting it. Luckily im on my 10day off shift period so trying to get as much done as possible. Bedroom 3 becoming the GF's wardrobe / getting ready room.

oh.. I do know its not quite sat in the centre of the bracket at the moment!

Will update when I get some more done!

[rusty73]

Looks promising! Thats a nice place you & your girlfriend have there & only 23 im jealous!!

Tim.

[bluenose24]

you'll do that place out very nicely be a v nice home setup keep up the good work and keep the updates coming too

[GuyVXT]

thank you.

Little update if anyones interested

Purchased a High gloss black wardrobe door which was cut and fitted into the recess by the gf's dad

the Plasterer has been and gone.

just in process of painting the room and now just waiting on corner sofa to fill that corner and a 3 seater for the dining room to go between the jukebox speakers.

also Xbox room has been painted, came home from work and the GF had kitted it out with a mini bud fridge full of bud and another chair. one of them is a massage chair

I recycled the previous owners AV shelf that I removed from the fireplace, painted it and used it in the Xbox room. (cables havent been tidied yet)

cheap 15inch monitor that I fitted with touchscreen glass after reading about on here, coupled to a cheap computer with big harddrive and a Denon Amplifier for a cheap jukebox. everyone seems to love it. gets used alot!

couldnt hide the cables as there is a mains cable in that wall.

also I changed every socket and switch in the house to brushed stainless ones.


slowly getting there! Really annoyed with all the painting so will be relieved once its all done.. but I guess i will find something else to do then.. doh!

[Lemon_Sherbert]

Very nice

[DJ_Bucho]

Originally Posted by GuyVXT

I've got to say that looks a lovely house, and a great setup your starting to put together I'll most certainly be keeping an eye on this thread. Just out of interest what film is that on the TV, looks like something I'd enjoy

[Rod_W1985]

Originally Posted by DJ_Bucho

I've got to say that looks a lovely house, and a great setup your starting to put together I'll most certainly be keeping an eye on this thread. Just out of interest what film is that on the TV, looks like something I'd enjoy

I'll answer that if you don't mind. You're looking at the back of a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, which means that this movie is called "The Dark Knight"!!!

Your welcome!!!

[aberdeenpaul]

Your place is lookin great.
I was wanting to ask you about the Jukebox.
Can you tell me how to make it and all the cabling you require?

I would love one in a room and somehow be able to connect this to in ceiling speakers, how can i do that?

Thanks
Paul

[DJ_Bucho]

Thanks "Rod_W1985" I knew it was a Lambo Murcielago LP640 but didn't know what film it was. I thought I'd seen 'The Dark Knight' I must admit, but it was very late when I did (or should that be early ) so I might have nodded off halfway through it . I'll have to give it another watch.

On a different note, "GuyVXT" where abouts did you get the High Gloss Black Wardrobe Door from, and was it expensive? I'm after something just like that to replace some old window sills

[yorkshirecath]

Fabulous set up

[pmanson]

Like the look of the touch screen.

I've got a small 7" wide touch screen on our AV rack that we use to control the media centre PC.

Would be interested in making a slighly larger one though...

Can you point me in the relevant direction?

Cheers,
Phill

PS. House is looking great. We brought ours nearly two years ago and it's still not how we want it!

[GuyVXT]

as rod says it is indeed The Dark Knight on BluRay, I love the tunnel scene on that film.

DJ-bucho the wardrobe door was from argos' website.
we looked in B&Q and they were charging £90 and would take couple weeks to order, so I googled it as you do and ended up on argos' website, its a modular black gloss door and doesnt have holes in it so is ideal, cost £60 delivered and was here in a few days. not the cheapest of things in the world but alot cheaper than B&Q

The touchscreen jukebox I had read about on here:
we finally moved!

Basically the touchscreen glass panel is USB, so obviously just need USB, VGA cable, and power lead going to the touchscreen. then I just used standard stereo jack in the soundcard to two phonos on an old denon stereo amplifier. The computer and the amp are both in the cupboard under the stairs. My speaker wires (van damme blue) go up the walls, across the loft, down then through into the garage, in conduit then back through the dining room walls to the speakers. 5.1 surround speaker wires also routed this way. The software is from albumplayer.com and is about thirty quid I think for life.

can anyone answer why sofas take so long to be made?! We ordered ours in the 3rd week of Feb and they still said to give it to the end of the month before they can chase it up!

We've done those two plastered walls in a brown and the other in a magnolia, painting the corners where the two colours meet with a crisp line is proving a right 'mare!

[pmanson]

Thanks for that mate.

Once i've got our place finished (final rub down, then gloss all the woodwork in the kitchen, lounge, stairs and landing) and ready for the new carpet I might give the touchscreen a go.

As i said before my Media Centre PC is currently outputting to my TV and a small 7" touchscreen but an upgrade to that would be benefical (even better if I run it through to the kitchen as well!)

Have you got much more work to do?

[DJ_Bucho]

Originally Posted by GuyVXT

DJ-bucho the wardrobe door was from argos' website.
we looked in B&Q and they were charging £90 and would take couple weeks to order, so I googled it as you do and ended up on argos' website, its a modular black gloss door and doesnt have holes in it so is ideal, cost £60 delivered and was here in a few days. not the cheapest of things in the world but alot cheaper than B&Q

Brilliant mate, I'll take a look on the Argos website. It really does look a lovely house you've got yourself there, I can't wait to see photo's of the walls all plastered and painted and the furniture in, oh and the finished AV stuff obviously

[alz2605]

Wow the house already looks great! Can't wait to see the end result

[Tyler Durden]

Looking great. Just a couple of questions.

What AV unit you now have in place beneath the screen? And also, what factors made you put the screen at that height above it.

Thanks

TD

[GuyVXT]

all painted! ready to rehang the Pioneer back on the wall. will try get some pics over the weekend. Really need to pester them about our sofas now!

Tyler, The AV cabinet is this one
Alphason Ambri TV Stand ABR1100-B ABR1100-B

it has a nice sparkley effect to it.

Chose to wallmount the pioneer as I just prefer the neatness of wall mounts and didnt really want to put it on a pedestal stand.

Pmanson, for the future, I have a 4way switch and I have ran cables from the under stairs cupboard up to the loft to provide stereo speakers for above our bedroom and above the bathroom, looking at a dual tweeter single ceiling mount speaker to go above the bathtub. However I have left all that at the moment and just run the one pair of speakers in the dining room. I also have 4 of these inwall volume controls sat around for when I do decide to finish the bedroom/bathroom setup.
Btech wall mounted speaker volume control BT936
The plan was to have bedroom, bathroom, dining room, and conservatory/decking areas however I might possibly look at going the Sonus wireless route in future to simplify things.

Once we have the living room sorted I can hopefully calm down on the spending for a while and just enjoy the Pioneer goodness. I've had it since march and its been used for about 4 hours

Oh and my current yamaha AV receiver / yam satellite speakers need upgrading in the future, but think I need to buy myself a motorbike first and get some adrenaline back in my life

[IanW]

21 and 23 Fair play to you guys, very smart to get on the housing ladder. And what an impressive ladder you are on, the place looks great and looks like it is going to get even better!

Ian.

[Tyler Durden]

Originally Posted by GuyVXT

Chose to wallmount the pioneer as I just prefer the neatness of wall mounts and didnt really want to put it on a pedestal stand.

Thanks for the info on the unit, and I agree wall mounted screens look better. I was more asking about why you had put it so high?

[GuyVXT]

Originally Posted by Tyler Durden

Thanks for the info on the unit, and I agree wall mounted screens look better. I was more asking about why you had put it so high?

the bottom of the screen is 110cm from the floor? doesn't seem too high really?

[Tyler Durden]

Originally Posted by GuyVXT

the bottom of the screen is 110cm from the floor? doesn't seem too high really?

Each to their own on this kind of thing of course, but I thought it was best to have the centre of the screen somewhere near eye level when sitting down, and if your sofas are anything like mine then your eye level is about 80cm.

[deefadog]

Mine at the moment is a lot higher than others - the Center of the TV is eye level with me when standing up (5Ft 10), but angle down slightly, i did this as we used this with the Wii.

And i don't find it a problem, even when we mostly lay down on the sofa to watch the TV.

[pmanson]

Originally Posted by deefadog

Mine at the moment is a lot higher than others - the Center of the TV is eye level with me when standing up (5Ft 10), but angle down slightly, i did this as we used this with the Wii.

And i don't find it a problem, even when we mostly lay down on the sofa to watch the TV.

Sounds very similar to ours which is mounted on the wall with a sofa underneath it. The TV is angled down and we don't have any problems.

[Tyler Durden]

Fair enough, each to their own, as I said.

[GuyVXT]

I thought the TV was a bit too high initially but the gf was convinced it was fine. after watching it for a few days it does seem ok.

and now some almost finished photos..
waiting for some mortar filler to dry before mounting the next ceiling light, and also waiting on 7way belkin surge protector to put behind the AV cabinet to tidy cables up.

excuse the temporary sofa, been told our leather ones will be another 3 weeks but they have knocked 90 quid off so cant complain too much.

going to change for some silver downlights i think.

[Liam_G]

I love your house! im 23 and im so jelous lol, Where do you both work?

[GuyVXT]

Originally Posted by Liam_G

I love your house! im 23 and im so jelous lol, Where do you both work?

Thank you
we are up in Lincolnshire so it will have cost less than a terraced house down south.

Im an Electrical Technician on a dock, and the mrs is a 'civil servant' during the day, and works behind a bar on evenings and weekends.

[v o l u m e]

Very nice mate!

for 23 you've done a pro job on that gaff!

[GuyVXT]

these photos from a few months ago:

more recently (poor pic)

A year on from the house purchase and some changes.. the gf has gone, I sold my motorbike the other week so decided to update my equipment and installation.

During my original installation I was a bit short sighted and didn't future proof it, just running a single coax to the plasma.

I've recently purchased a Humax HDR box so needed two coaxes running down to the AV cabinet, this time I've thought to the future and in the event of Freeview HD coming to this area, I've ran two spare coax's down to the AV unit. Van damme 2.5mm cable run in for the centre and two fronts.
Just awaiting the plasterer to fit me in.

Oh, also lowering the screen a touch while I'm at it, only about 9cm's

[phil5366]

You have done a great job there mate! I like the Sun Tube in the hallway, they let the light flood into dark areas, I have one in my hallway.
Also, I love your internal doors, great taste!!

A GF is like your eqipment, eventually they need upgrading when something better comes along. Lol.

Regards

Phil.