Floating Wall build (yes another one!)

shamm

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Hello all av buddies

Well its been a long time coming and i thought i would share my build with you guys.
It is with thanks to this superb forum that i found the inspiration to get a project underway.

So after finally getting the new kitchen done a few weeks back the project got started on the floating wall build.
As funds are tight i still need to purchase a few items before it is complete.
So far the most important item i require is a new tv for the lounge as i have decided after holding back as long as i could to embrace 3d tv.
I have chosen the panny p50vt20 to delight my eyes.Updates as and when.

We started the project this monday just gone.

On my take of the build i intend to have a floating style wall but with no cupboards running along the bottom.
Instead all my equipment will be put in the kitchen in a spare cupboard/hub.

ok first photo is of the room before build , the fireplace has just been removed only the lights still working on it before complete disconnection(apologies for poor iphone cam quality)
these photos where taken a few months ago.
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view from the other side you can see old kitchen
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more up to date piccies now
I got rid of the arch which was there so to sperate the lounge from the kitchen and had a hole in the wall incorporated so i still have access to my ps3 and wii from the lounge.(as all my gear will be in the hub in kitchen)
IMG_0545.jpg


now i need some advice here in regards to the hole in wall as i would like to have some sort of door which should blend in to the room and as and when i need to change a disc i can open/close the door.
Any idea on what i can do to make it look neat.

And if you have noticed the network cable in view i had over the last few weeks run cat6 cables to all the rooms in the house barr the batroom and attic.
I also ran highspeed 1.4 hdmi cables to kitchen , bedrooms and now working on the lounge.
 
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the following photo is of the the hub cupboard in the kitchen where the old arch used to be.
IMG_0542.jpg

the rack will be housed in the cupbpoard(hub).
A hole has been cut into the back so the cables can be managed easily.
Behind the lcd (sepertated by white panel) is the hole in the wall in the lounge , which is where the ps3 will sit.
The rack arrives
IMG_0576.jpg


ok here some more picture of the wall going up but before that some more chashing into the walls
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wall chased for the cables from the hub to the tv in lounge
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and now trunking inserted
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in the picture the mdf panels almost ready for first mounting to the frame
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and first mdf panel up
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now i have a couple of more days off work this week so work shall commence.
As its getting close to installing some gear i have been testing things which i have accumilated over the last few months and not even had time to take out of the box.
Tested all 3 appollo lighting kits for tv"s and they all work ok and the led rope light looks very good which is to go around the frame in the lounge.All are ir controlled and i shall assume command of the gear via a harmony control with an rf extender housed in the hub.

here is a photo whilst testing appollo led kits .(note only 2 small tubes are hung freely behind lcd just for testing purposes)
IMG_0575.jpg
 
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Mark and i got some more work done yesterday,mainly feeding all the wires and getting it ready to plaster.

here the lights are all done and out of the way.
I will be using x10 micro module home automation around the house for all the lights, I choose the x10 as its affordable for me and i can use the pc interface to create scenes and control it all from the iphone and harmony 1100 via the ir543 add on.
IMG_0577.jpg


ok here are the cables going to the tv in the lounge all nice and snug.
we have here 4x cat6, 4xhdmi, speaker cable , optical, subwoofer cable, usb, and coming back from the av panel to the hub we have extended the ir cable for the led lights wich go behind the tv and the led strip lights which will go around the frame.
IMG_0585.jpg

IMG_0583.jpg

also going back to the hub in this run is a skyhd cable, freeview aerial and virgin cable from other side of room to give it a clean look once done.
IMG_0582.jpg


in the following photo you can see that i have had mark add 2x usb (1 will run to pc in hub and the other runs to the tv. 1x hdmi (runs to tv so i can easily from the comfort of my sofa plug in laptop and other hdmi eqiupment) and also x2 cat6 cable for good luck. all have faceplates.oh and you can also see one of the rear surround speaker cable dangling there in view.

IMG_0584.jpg


and the hub with the cables from the lounge
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Oh and I can't forget the famous pre floating wall completion led light check.
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one more
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Looking very bright glad they are dimmable
 
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The next task will be mounting my suround kit, I have opted to stay with 5.1 and not 7.1 due to the size of the lounge, also the rack will start to get built as the management of cables in the hub needs to get started as its getting very busy in there .
should crack on at the back end of this week .
 
I can't believe the size of that bunch of cables :)

Looks great so far! Keep up the good work, and keep the pictures coming.
 
I can't believe the size of that bunch of cables :)

Looks great so far! Keep up the good work, and keep the pictures coming.

Thanks for the comments.
Now you can never have enough cables :)


Ok little update , ordered a new onkyo 608 to handle the 3d media. Also orderedthe home automation gear.Still no new tv yet.

Busy day with the build today so here are some more progress photos.

All capping on the run to/from the hub,also included a length of cable in trunking so I can add more if ever needed.
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All the tv cables managed up to marks standards.
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Also added more timber in the frame to fix the kefs too also sorted all local power .
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and the hub with the cables from lounge
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Next it was time to knock up the rack , very solid build quality.

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Next was to gather all the cables from the rest of the house through into the hub

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And finally before a long day tomorrow sorted and organized in to order.
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That's it for today, and tomorrow the plan is to gather all the gear that is to go in the rack and plan the placement and also plan in advance for stuff I have yet still to purchase to go in there.
Not much more to do in the cinema/lounge as I need to get the tv mounted then prep room for decor .
 
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great work. great share. good luck with it all :)
 
I have been working away alot of recent so only have spent one full day on the build since the last update.

This took the majority of the day to get organized and looking very neat and manageable
a230df47.jpg


Then we organized placement of equipment in the rack . Oh and the postie turned up with my new amp
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A bit patchy
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And it was late by the time we got to here
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So plenty to do hopefully get another day or two in this week.
 
Looking very good. I'm especially impressed at how neat and tidy it all looks so far, despite the insane number of cables! If it had been me, I would have had to tear it all out by now as I remembered one vital cable I missed :confused:

I always wondered about having everything in a central hub, including the amp, BD etc... maybe in the next life! When we extend, I am planning on a "node 0" for ethernet, radio, TV and satellite distribution. Will probably only need to properly rack mount the network switch though, the rest will be on shelves :)

Just one thing springs to mind - are the current Onkyo amps as prone to getting hot as previous generations? It might get a bit toasty in the cupboard - any plans for active cooling?
 
Looking very good. I'm especially impressed at how neat and tidy it all looks so far, despite the insane number of cables! If it had been me, I would have had to tear it all out by now as I remembered one vital cable I missed :confused:

I always wondered about having everything in a central hub, including the amp, BD etc... maybe in the next life! When we extend, I am planning on a "node 0" for ethernet, radio, TV and satellite distribution. Will probably only need to properly rack mount the network switch though, the rest will be on shelves :)

Just one thing springs to mind - are the current Onkyo amps as prone to getting hot as previous generations? It might get a bit toasty in the cupboard - any plans for active cooling?

Props go to my good friend Mark for the tidy finishing , he is the perfectionist.:thumbsup:

I have been having a look into cooling options as the rack will be full by the time its done and i can imagine it gettting very toasty as you say:eek:
Looking around on the web i have seen rack mountable 1u fan systems, at around the £100 + mark.

I may have a look to see if i have anything knocking about to make a couple of my own cheapo versions.
I have also thought about cutting a couple of holes in ceiling of cupboard and running fans for air flow.

Any suggestions are welcome on how to keep the hub cool:)
 
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hey, i see your looking for a 1u fan system thats rack mountable. i may have one kicking around in work. will check tomorrow and let you know. if i do have one you can have it for the price of postage.

only slight issue is that its for a server rack and is pretty noise but i spose you could change the fans to quiter ones.
 
hey, i see your looking for a 1u fan system thats rack mountable. i may have one kicking around in work. will check tomorrow and let you know. if i do have one you can have it for the price of postage.

only slight issue is that its for a server rack and is pretty noise but i spose you could change the fans to quiter ones.

Hi matey

Now that is a very kind offer , it will be a very welcome and helpful addition to the build.

cheers
:thumbsup:
 
Hey Shamm, tried PM'ing you but it says your not accepting PMs.

Managed to find the rack fan unit, someone was keeping it in a safe place for me. There are 4 fans in the unit (room for 6). the 4 fans currently in the unit are 240v fans and are extremely noisey but do push alot of air. I think they are 120mm fans so you could probably replace them with normal 12v PC fans but you would also need to change the power supply.

here are some pictures i took of it.

IMG_0100-1.jpg


IMG_0101-1.jpg


IMG_0102-1.jpg


IMG_0103.jpg
 
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Looking good mate watching with interest as im looking to do the same:smashin:
 

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