Entertainment center

here's my plan for an entertainment center . any advice or comments are welcome. first time using sketchup. i think i did o.k. any advice about using it would also helpful.
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/GeneMiller/entertainmentcenter.jpg
Hi Gene, :wave:
That looks like a great project. Your sketch up is much better than what I can do! how do you like your drawing? What will you use your drawers for?
Nice plan!
Shaz
I am afraid your vacuum cleaner is going to end up defacing the speaker cloth on the bottom.:dunno: maybe not
 
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i think the drawers will mostly be used to store movies. i haven't given that much thought.the size was just what was left over after i placed the center of the tv at eye height. i still have to finish my other project but i'm just thinking ahead. your right about the bottom of the speaker fabric. i'll probably frame it and then put the fabric in the middle.
 
Shaz, your probably right about the size. what i did was i drew up the outside dimensions and then i put the tv at the correct height. the next thing that i did was to cover up the trim around the tv so that just the screen was showing. the bottom section i tried different types of combos until i found one that looked right to me. i can't remember if i tried 3 drawers. after that i actually laid it out full size on a large sheet of paper to check the look which i hung on the wall for a couple of days. i would of left it longer but my wife made me take it down. i'll try the 3 drawers and see what it looks like. my main concern when making something without plans is that some porportions look odd to me. i don't want something that ever time i look at it something doesn't look quite right. i don't know if that makes any sense but that is where i am at with this plan.
thanks for the input, changes are definitely in the wind
 
Shaz, your probably right about the size. what i did was i drew up the outside dimensions and then i put the tv at the correct height. the next thing that i did was to cover up the trim around the tv so that just the screen was showing. the bottom section i tried different types of combos until i found one that looked right to me. i can't remember if i tried 3 drawers. after that i actually laid it out full size on a large sheet of paper to check the look which i hung on the wall for a couple of days. i would of left it longer but my wife made me take it down. i'll try the 3 drawers and see what it looks like. my main concern when making something without plans is that some porportions look odd to me. i don't want something that ever time i look at it something doesn't look quite right. i don't know if that makes any sense but that is where i am at with this plan.
thanks for the input, changes are definitely in the wind
Hi Gene, :wave:
Take your time in the planning of the "Look" you want! You can build it if you can draw it. ( not always but it sounds good:D)
Good idea making it to scale. Your wife is more important than the TV and it's stand, it is normal that she would take it down, they are supposed to, they are girls.:D just keep looking for ideas. Scan the net for consoles and Tv stands, not to plagarize, just for ideas.
keep us posted as to how we might help.
Shaz
 
Here is the revised version. I decided to build it to take up the entire wall. 122" by 22" deep by 8' high. I would use crown molding at the top to transition between the piece and the ceiling. Any suggestions or comments are welcome.

 
Here is the final version of the entertainment center. Thanks to Dave, I have been able to learn sketchup, or maybe I should say use it better. I'm still learning and have a lot to learn but I'm trying. Let me know what you think. I also need a plugin if one exists to down load a cut list . Thanks for the help. I tried to upload the actual file from sketchup but it was to large.
 
Thanks Dave,
How do I get that into the sketchup program. Remember I'm not very computer literate. I tried dragging it from my desk top and dropping it into SU but it wouldn't take it . I went to preferences and clicked on the 3 boxes under extenstions and tried to drag it in but that didn't work. I'm out of ideas. Thanks.
 
Gene, save the file to the Plugins folder. You'll find it under C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 6. Then open SketchUp. You should find it in the Plugins menu.

Call me if you want. I'll walk you through it.
 
Dave, I can't believe that I did it. Thanks. I hate to love these computers. They can do so much, mostly drive me insane. I prefer things with moving parts that I can see and touch.
As always, it's Dave to the rescue. Again, Thanks
 
Gene: I would urge you to consider the width of the space you will devote to your components. In mine, I have to have enough room to rotate the component 90 degrees while all of the wires are still connected. This is also necessary when wiring it up for the first time. I did not build my entertainment center but have a montrous sized cabinet. We set it out further from the wall than my spouse was comfortable with, but this was still barely adequate for reaching behind to route some wires. Also, the space for my components is 29" wide and this is also barely adequate. Unless you plan on getting extra long connecting wires (and new HDMI cables are $90 and up for 9 to 12 footers) so you can pull components all the way out, then you are going to need room to turn them. I disconnected my surround sound receiver and after reinstalling, some things did not work because I pushed a connector into a hole one space off from where it was supposed to be. You might be laying on the floor with a flashlight, reaching back into the depths to reach the connectors....what an experience. Have you seen the number of connectors on the back of today's SS receivers??

Anyway, I hope you considered this aspect.
Ken
 
Thanks Ken for the advice. I'll check to make sure I can connnect everything. If I could have uploaded the file you could see I have a conduit that leads straight over to the tv. It should be a short run. The conduit was Dave's idea. I also have the fronts so that they pop off and allow easy access to reach in and run unexpected wires. I have holes running through the ribs so I can easily feed the wires. Only time will tell if I took everything into consideration. ( doubtful but hoping). I plan on going to a friends house who has a unit built by Avex. I'm going to look it over very carefully to see how they did it.
 
Ken brings up good points. I think you'll see when you check out your friend's system that the receiver has a boatload of connections on the back, so that's the real critical one to be sure to have access to.

It looks like it'll be a nice entertainment center, Gene. :thumb:
 
I'm finally ready to start this project. I "m having a hard time picking the wood to use. It will be ply and solid timber. I was thinking of using maple for the plywood which would be the insides and then quarter sawn sapele for the solid parts. I was even thinking of using a burl veneer of some sort for the drawer front. The project is a little overwhelming . I don't have experience to draw from and I'm not good with visualization. It's a large project and I don't want to end up with something that looks funny. :dunno: The left side is going to be glass shelves. The top of the middle box is an open shelf and the right side is a glass door that hold all the electronics. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I prefer to leave the woods in there natural states with just a clear gloss to bring out their beauty.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/GeneMiller/entertainmentcenter-2.jpg
 
Hi Gene :wave:,
It is nice to feel ready to begin the building process.
Several questions first.
#1 What do you intend to use the space above the TV for?
#2 Did you consider making a masking tape, to scale image of the shelves on the left side, on the floor to determine whether thos angular shelves will serve your purpose for that valuable floor space?
#3 How far back from the tv cabinet face will the actual TV image be?
#4 Since heat rises, how do you intend to get air flow, in the equipment cavity?
It is exciting to find you ready to undertake this wonderful project. We will try to help as you see fit.
Shaz :)
 
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