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New Home Construction: Don’t Forget Your Audio/Video Planning
Building a new house or remodeling your home? The pre-construction phase is the perfect time to plan your audio, video, and home network system. Whether you plan to outfit your home with the latest and greatest audio/video options from the start, or decide to add those features at a later time it’s important have future plans derived for easy installation and cost-effectiveness.
Not sure where to get started? Here is our sample construction plan to show you how to design your AV systems before you build or remodel.
Step 1 — Decide where you want your TVs, speakers, and network.
Waiting until your house is move-in ready will limit your options for audio and video placement. If you plan with professionals before construction starts, you can choose the perfect locations for all your devices. It is quite easier, and more cost effective, to run wires before the drywall is up, which we’ll discuss in a bit.
Thinking of hidden TVs, motorized lifts or articulating TV mounts? Schedule a showroom appointment to help visualize all your audio and video options for your new home.
Step 2 — Don’t forget the power supply.
Mounted TVs, projectors, and equipment locations need power. Outdoor, weather-proof TVs and speakers are a nice touch to a patio, but also need a power supply. Work with 46Solutions early on to help identify these locations so the electricians know where you will need specific outlets for power.
Recessing the power supply for clean, wire-free TV displays is a pre-construction must-do.
Step 3 — Decide where your control center will go.
Remember, you’ll need adequate space for an AV rack to house the control equipment. The most common place for amps and controllers is in the basement – but what if you don’t have one? Our AV experts can help.
Step 4 — Run wire and install speaker brackets before drywall goes up.
Pre-wire! Before walls go up, run all the wire you think you may ever need. Once the framework for your new or remodeled home is in place, be sure you have plenty – and extra! – speaker wire, network cable, and cable pathways.
If you want whole-home audio, be sure to add the pre-construction brackets for the ceiling speakers. These brackets help pinpoint the exact location for each speaker and make installation easier.
Be sure to allow yourself plenty of wifi access points for streaming services.
Types of cabling
There are four main types of wire used in structured or whole-house wiring applications:
- Coaxial cable for video transmission (should you want cable or satellite TV)
- Category 6 (CAT6) or Category 7 (CAT7) cable for data transmission, i.e., computer networks, video distribution, phone systems
- Speaker wire
- Fiber optic cable for future transmission speed needs
The finished product.
Once your construction is underway, we can help choose the right video display for your space and provide the acoustics and lighting to complement the design. Your whole-home audio, big-screen TVs with 4K or 8K resolution, and your wifi network can all be controlled easily from remote devices.
Need help figuring it all out?
There’s a lot to consider when shopping for whole-home audio, video, and home network systems. When it’s time to get started, contact our professionals at 46Solutions and we’ll be happy to help! Design to installation, 46Solutions has the experience and knowledge to guide you through your construction or remodel project.
Alex Blanton is the operations manager for the 46Solutions audio/video division. He has extensive knowledge of home entertainment systems and technology integration. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking and relaxing in the country.
