Installing Speakercraft AIM Wides in Ceiling

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:51:14 +0000

The Speakercraft AIM Wides were chosen for their aimable dual tweeters/cones. They feature the same easy-install flip out drywall supports as the in-ceilings. They were a little heavier than expected which made installing a little tricky for one person, but I managed. Having banana plugs on the wires helped a lot here.

I aimed the tweeters/cones as follows, with the side surrounds going front to back and the rear surrounds going side to side:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Placement

The woofer in the AIM Wides is 8″, giving the total diameter close to a foot:

Speakercraft AIM Wide

Handy push spring connectors:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Connection

The drywall Support clamp in closed position, where it is when raised into the hole:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Support Clamp Closed

The AIM Wide’s drywall support in the open position, where it flips to after you start screwing ii in:

Speakercraft AIM Wide

Speakercraft AIM Wide Template:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Template

…and the hole!

Speakercraft AIM Wide Installation

Word of CAUTION: If you are using a power screwdriver/drill of sorts….which really helps with an above-head installation, be very careful and slow…the clamp sort of sneaks up on you and can damage teh drywall:

Speakercraft AIM wide installation

Basement Drywall – Recessed TV

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:48:53 +0000

In a previous post on my basement renovation I mentioned a nice architechtural detail that I found hidden behind a lousy old drywall job. The previous owner framed and boxed in the brick columns seen below. It was framed crooked, no corner bead, and basically the corner cutting that could be found everywhere down here when I moved in.

Basement Renovation: Brick Columns

I decided to to leave this section exposed and I’ll install dark wood shelving in between the columns. The depth is perfect for DVDs.

Basement Renovation: Brick Columns Exposed

The insulation for this basement renovation is R19 in the ceiling and R13 in the walls. I spent a lot of time making sure it was stuffed into every crack, nook, an cranny. I did not think about insulation when wiring the lights, however. I wish I did and used more romex by making the runs up and down between the joists nice and tight up against each joist. I had romex running every which way including diagnal. This made for a very itchy night of insulating, have to rip and cut and stuff many small peices.

Basement Renovation Drywall

Basement Remodel Drywall

The one thing I don’t do myself anymore is drywall. I’m outta that biz. I’m too slow, get too frustrated, and the end result is bad. I always hire a friend who does home improvements for a living to do it. It was very important to let them know about the in ceiling speaker cables. Four Speakercraft AIM wides will populate the back area. The side AIMs wile fire the dual tweeters front to back while the rear AIMs will fire left to right. More on the Speakercrafts to come.

recessed plasma wall

The recessed section was made about 2″ wider than the screen all around for venting. The Panasonic th-58 plasma has it’s fans running along the top back, facing upwards. I made the top part of the recessed tv area sloped upward from back to front to help with venting as well. The indide will be painting flat black, like the av rack cutout, and have the same dark stained poplar frame.

My Basement Renovation » Speakercraft AIM Wide

Installing Speakercraft AIM Wides in Ceiling

Basement Drywall – Recessed TV