New Flat: Lounge design in progress....

[richiec77]

Me and the missus (noobs to all of this) are in the process of buying a flat and I was wondering what you guys thought of my ideas for the lounge.
Things were going great guns until the electrics were deemed "un-satisfactory" by Steve the Electrician. We have gone back to the vendors asking for the cost of upgrading to be knocked off the sale price (so far the vendor is getting quotes as we were qouted £4000 for a re-wire on a 2 bed maisonette!).

Hopefully this will be resolved and they knock the money off so we get the work done ourselves and can dictate where the power points go as well as laying my cat5 and media cables at the same time

This is the layout as best I can remember it. Excuse the crude drawing but I have just started using Sketch up today and the 3D ones were my head hurt.

I have been toying with the idea of using a fake chimney breast as per this thread
Homerdog's HD Lounge

I think he has achieved a great look and I would like to try to emulate it or at least try and look half as good as that.

My kit includes:
Sony Bravia 40" KDL40V4000
Vista Media Centre playing 1080p bluray rips etc
Logitech Z5450 (with wireless rears - except for the power cables!)
Wii (love guitar hero)

As you can see I am by no means a proper home cinema buff but the speakers are very good, THX certified and the picture is 1080p and is more than adequate for me.

So what do you guys think? Any ideas greatfully received.

PS as you can guess I am itching to get started but we have not completed on the flat yet I am desparate for a new project and have been salivating over the projects on this forum. Some of them are truly amazing. Once we have the keys I will give upload some photos of the "blank canvas"

[richiec77]

Well no news on the flat other than the vendors can't find the head lease and we are still waiting on their electrician's verdict.

I am itching to start on my AV setup as browsing these forums has really stoked my imagination.

I can see how these forums can become an addiction.

Think I will go with some rope lighting in there too

Where's the best place to buy?

[richiec77]

I am thinking of adding a fake wall and insetting the TV and equipment into it. The main issue is that it has a radiator on that side and this would cause a problem. Any ideas??

[dave2506]

Hi mate

Hope you secure the house soon. We bought our first one in July last year and you will love the freedom to do exactly what you want to it (except the cost element )

Regarding your false wall idea and the radiator dilemna, it shouldn't be too much problem to move it forward a little. Plumbing is one of those things that seems very daunting but is actually pretty straightforward (at lease with radiators!) and as long as you take the time to do it right should be something you can do yourself. Having no previous plumbing experience I managed to move a radiator in our bedroom from one wall to another and it's really rewarding to know you've done it yourself (and cheaper ).

I can understand why people to choose to pay a plumber but all the information is available online and once you've done one you will have all the tool and knowledge to do another one which really helps!

[richiec77]

Originally Posted by dave2506

Hi mate

Hope you secure the house soon. We bought our first one in July last year and you will love the freedom to do exactly what you want to it (except the cost element )

Regarding your false wall idea and the radiator dilemna, it shouldn't be too much problem to move it forward a little. Plumbing is one of those things that seems very daunting but is actually pretty straightforward (at lease with radiators!) and as long as you take the time to do it right should be something you can do yourself. Having no previous plumbing experience I managed to move a radiator in our bedroom from one wall to another and it's really rewarding to know you've done it yourself (and cheaper ).

I can understand why people to choose to pay a plumber but all the information is available online and once you've done one you will have all the tool and knowledge to do another one which really helps!

Thanks Dave, not sure I am that confident though! Once I am in I will update this post with photos and the like and no doubt it will take over my life!!
I'm in Vegas for NAB at the moment but there hasn't been any movement in the flat yet

[richiec77]

I am now the new owner of a flat
Exchanged and completed all in the same day. Which coincidently was the day our lease ran out on our rented flat

So now fellow forums I need your help, I am currently sitting in what feels like a building site. Not one surface is free from dust

By richiec77 at 2009-06-20

The electrician has done a complete re-wire which means I can lay my own cable.

By richiec77 at 2009-06-20

Now the main lounge area is where I need help

By richiec77 at 2009-06-20

By richiec77 at 2009-06-20

As I mentioned I would like to do something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/homerdog/hc5.jpg
Homerdogs lounge is nice but my Mediacentre is too deep to have it incased into the fake chimney breast.

So I need ideas people.

[norty mart]

Congrats on the flat...now the fun really begins - it'll soon turn from building site to a B&Q stockroom

Enjoy the ride

[SparksCW]

Nice one on the flat, but is your electrician for real??? that wiring doesn't meet regs, its all over the place and has no capping for the majority of it.. thats just from one picture...! Is he a legit qualified sparky??

[27neth]

Im not a electrician but i also thought that wiring looks very dodgy. I have worked on plenty of sites and never seen anything done like that before....

John..

[richiec77]

Yes he is fully qualified. The problem is it's a ground floor flat with a cement floor. So it all had to go in the brick walls. There area I took a photo of was capped off afterwards. Some places he didn;t want to chase too deep because the walls were only one brick deep and could compromise the structure of the walls.

[SparksCW]

Originally Posted by richiec77

Yes he is fully qualified. The problem is it's a ground floor flat with a cement floor. So it all had to go in the brick walls. There area I took a photo of was capped off afterwards. Some places he didn;t want to chase too deep because the walls were only one brick deep and could compromise the structure of the walls.

Hmm personally I'd have had the ceiling down before accepting wiring like that. But as long as you're happy with it I guess

Can't wait to see it all finished!

[richiec77]

Haven't done much over the weekend. I busted up my hand in a mountain bike accident. I did however manage to chese in my Network cables to the back bedroom. My GF's Dad used to be a BT engineer so I am going to get him to do all the terminations for the network sockets. I had a go but seems quite fiddley.
Got a boiler man coming over tonight to hook up the boiler to the new electrical wiring. HOT WATER WILL BE MINE!
I might try and get some more work done on the Main bedroom. Needs sanding and painting
Will hopefully have more of an update by the weekend.

[richiec77]

a little off topic but just having some carpet installed in the main bedroom. Went for Cloud 9 cumulus underlay as I have read on this forum it is great stuff. I have to say, it is a cliche but the carpet fitter said it is the best stuff and has it in his house

Sine my last post we have decided to get the bedrooms done first before tackling the lounge. I'll be hanging my 32" Sammy on the wall so i'll post some piccies of that to show you how I am getting on. My girlfriend has moved back to her parents as she couldn't take living in a permanently dusty environment!
Fairplay, I myself don't mind it but I have to say it is starting to grate.
Well one room down three to go!

[richiec77]

Went from this:

To this:

[kempez]

Much better