(ARA) - If you're in the market
for a new home and planning to build, you'll be pleasantly
surprised by all the options available to you. These days,
builders are offering all kinds of incentives to get customers
through the door. Among them: free upgrades to higher-end
appliances; decorative lighting fixtures; and the option of
getting wood, tile, carpet, or a combination of the three
installed at no extra cost.
But perhaps the most popular
incentive is the offer to pre-wire the home for convenience
and entertainment. Today's new home construction incorporates
three levels of A/V built-ins: whole house audio; home
automation; and home theater.
Whole house audio includes wiring for a speaker or speakers in
every room for music and intercom; home automation involves
connecting all systems in the house to a central computer that
can do everything from turning lights on and off to preheating
the oven when you're on your way home from work; but perhaps
the most popular addition to new home construction these days
is putting in a home theater.
The options in this arena are
endless so it will require careful planning to make sure you
get exactly what you want. The most important thing to decide
before the wiring begins would be all the places you want a TV
to go. In the kitchen, that may be under a cabinet to save
counter space. In the bedroom, family room or even the
bathroom, it may be the wall to save floor space.
"If you'll be hanging a flat
panel TV in your home it's important to let your contractor
know ahead of time. They are thin, sleek and classy looking
but they are also quite heavy and need to be securely fastened
to the wall, " says Keith Pribyl of Sanus Systems, a St. Paul,
Minnesota-based company that designs and builds a broad
variety of audio/video furnishings, mounts and accessories.
Deciding the location and size of your flat panel TV prior to
building allows the contractor to place wall studs where they
are needed, assuring the walls are strengthened for their
load. It also allows for more options when it comes time to
mount the device.
Flat panel TVs are getting
thinner every year, but even the thinnest are still
two-and-a-half to three inches thick so they stick out when
mounted, unless you get one of Sanus Systems' new flush mount
kits. They fit right into the wall and contain the mount and
all the wiring you need in one convenient package. The kit can
be put in after the house has been built, but is easiest to
install during construction.
"Flat panel TV users love the thin, unobtrusive look," says
Pribyl. "The flush mount kit is a decorative box that lowers
the TV profile, while hiding the wall mount and wires. It lets
homeowners take back their room."
The Flush Mount kit is available at home electronics stores
nationwide. To find the retailer nearest you, log on to
www.sanus.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content |
