Building a false wall for plasma install - questions

[stylo]

Hi all - as the title says, after seeing all the great projects here I'm about to embark on a similar false chimney breast style of wall for mounting my plasma and speakers on. Some questions which I hope some of you can assist with before I get started:

Preparing the floor:
My current flooring is wood laminate and goes (obviously) right up against the wall which will be built onto to create the false chimney breast. I plan to build the new piece of wall directly onto the concrete floor beneath the laminate so need to cut the laminate around where the wall will meet the floor. I can cut part of the floor with my circular saw but this won't go right up against the wall - any ideas for a tool that will do this or should I go look for some kind of hand saw to do this?

Speakers:
I plan on buying some slim front speakers to mount to the side and below the screen. Some of the pics of other similar builds have the speakers within the chimney breast recess area which looks good but I'm guessing this creates a poorer sound stage compared to mounting the speakers further apart - is this correct? My viewing position will be approx 2 meters from the screen/speakers - is there a std recommendation for the speaker width at this distance?

Lighting:
Lots of builds are using LEDs etc to highlight the screen/nice handiwork etc - do you guys find this annoying when watching the TV?

Thanks for any advice - will post some pics as soon as I get my act together.

cheers
Adam

[clockworks]

It's best to lift the boards if you can, then cut and refit after the wall is finished. If you can't lift the boards, use a chisel or stanley knife to cut the awkward bits.

I've always beleived that you should aim for an equilateral triangle for speaker placement. If you are 2m from the speakers, the left and right should be 2m apart. If you don't have a centre speaker, put the L&R a bit closer together.

[stylo]

Unfortunately the boards run perpendicular to the wall I'm building onto so lifting isn't a good option. I'll maybe visit B&Q to see what interesting gadgets they have that might help get the best finish.
cheers

[rodster]

Hi Stylo,
I would suggest getting some heavy duty polythene and lay this on top of the laminate.

The stud construction can be secured to the wall, and the combination of the wall fixing and the weight of the stud will keep the construction secure.

While the polythene will protect the floor if you ever take it out.

Any further info needed, let me know.

Rod.

[clockworks]

Originally Posted by rodster

Hi Stylo,
I would suggest getting some heavy duty polythene and lay this on top of the laminate.

The stud construction can be secured to the wall, and the combination of the wall fixing and the weight of the stud will keep the construction secure.

While the polythene will protect the floor if you ever take it out.

Any further info needed, let me know.

Rod.

Excellent idea.

[stylo]

OK thanks for the ideas - I agree, the suggestion has some benefits.
Adam