what wiring to get in - converted loft?

[BERGS2]

hi guys

new to the forum - so any advice welcome

we have an odd shaped loft space which we are in the process of boarding out

have a plan to make this into a (relatively budget) cinema room

at the moment its all open joists and rafters

other than having an idea about where everything should go - what wiring considerations/routing should be put in at this stage?

speakers?
electric curtain?
floor lights?

anywhere else to go for ideas & inspiration?

thanks!

bergs

[justin220]

BERGS2 said:

hi guys

new to the forum - so any advice welcome

we have an odd shaped loft space which we are in the process of boarding out

have a plan to make this into a (relatively budget) cinema room

at the moment its all open joists and rafters

other than having an idea about where everything should go - what wiring considerations/routing should be put in at this stage?

speakers?
electric curtain?
floor lights?

anywhere else to go for ideas & inspiration?

thanks!

bergs

Power points, Ethernet points and speaker cables under the carpet. I'd double up on ethernet points and speaker wires as a back up

[JEA1K]

BERGS2 said:

hi guys

new to the forum - so any advice welcome

we have an odd shaped loft space which we are in the process of boarding out

have a plan to make this into a (relatively budget) cinema room

at the moment its all open joists and rafters

other than having an idea about where everything should go - what wiring considerations/routing should be put in at this stage?

speakers?
electric curtain?
floor lights?

anywhere else to go for ideas & inspiration?

thanks!

bergs

I would concentrate on getting a network cable up there for connectivity. Before you start pulling any cables to locations, you really need to know how the room is going to be laid out/used.

Inwall or free standing speakers
Number of channels & configuration
Projector or TV
Seating distance from screen
Number of seats/people
Power sockets for kit/devices

You need to have a clear idea of these before you start pulling any cables, otherwise you could be wasting your time.

[sociopath]

More power sockets than you think you'll need.

Ideally count how many you want, then double it

Then double it again.

[Miserablegit]

As others have said plan it all out first and build in some options.
I run a projector that is, fortunately, on top of the cinema cabinet - a lot of people have the cinema electronics below the screen which, if using a projector, means a long run of HDMI.
Get a couple of runs of Ethernet cable and, as others have said, get as many sockets as possible. Might also want to put an fm aerial / tv aerial connection in - put plenty of wiring in for speakers now and later. Much easier and neater to do it now obviously. If you are doing this then mark the cables with both the channel identification AND polarity. It would be a real PITA to do this later on with a multimeter (ask me how i know 😂)