Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler CV's Subterranean Adventure

Yeah, all that looks good.

I don't know personally about StarTech, but all my rack gear at home at work is either from Tripp-Lite or Raxxess (Chief Manufacturing).

Thanks. The reason I'm looking at StarTech and not Tripp Lite is simply because I'm thinking 36U is right for the low ceiling in the basement, and the Tripp Lite options on Amazon.com seem to go from 25U to 45U.

We have the 45U at work. Actually, two of them bolted together. They are a bit large.

If I had the height for it, I'd totally go for a 45U.

Another thing that's probably good about the StarTech, is that it looks less deep than the Tripp-Lite. The ones we have take every bit of most extendable rack rails to reach from the front to rear posts, and then there's two feet of space behind the back of the equipment. It's nice for wiring, but the footprint really dominates a room.

Oh, nice. I still have time to change my mind since I'm still not sure when, exactly, it's all happening, but for now you've given me confidence.

We still haven't heard back from the designer from the first construction place we contacted, which isn't cool. They've been in business for 52 years and have drool-worthy photos of work they've done, so I was excited to see what they could do for us. Plus, they would have been able to do basically everything, so it would go nice and quick.

Another guy came who specializes in bathrooms and works with a guy who does kitchens. I suppose those are the two areas we would need the most help with. The pictures in the catalog for the bathroom stuff look nice, but I guess I'm not too particular about the bathroom. Clean and functional and bright works for me.

The catalogs with the kitchen stuff, on the other hand, have me pretty excited. This is the company the guy uses:

Bellmont Cabinet Company

I'd probably go for the 1600 series to save money, and it would still be nicer than anything I've had before. The optional storage solutions look pretty slick.

I'm still hoping to hear back from the first place, but if we have to do it piecemeal from different contractors, I'm optimistic.

It looks like I can actually fit the 42U StarTech rack cabinet. I read the length under "Technical Details" as 82.00 inches, but in the product dimensions, it's actually at 78 inches. 82 must be how long it is boxed? In any case, StarTech's website also lists it as 78", so I think I'm good. We could still fit it if it was 82" since we don't need the drop ceiling to extend into the media closet, naturally. Up to the joists is 83", and the addition of tile to the floor isn't going to raise it a full inch.

So I think I'm going to plan on two 42U StarTech units side-by-side in the closet. I'm thinking I'll have two doors to access the gear. One door will be opaque and match the wall, and the other glass. I'll have all of the gear I need easy access to behind the glass door, and other cabinet will house the gear I shouldn't need to get to the front of except in rare circumstances. I'll still have full access to the rears of both cabinets from the bedroom.

The Tripp Lite 72" 20-amp 24-outlet power strip I bought for the closet will be mounted in between the two cabinets somehow.

My dad said he did hear back from the designer from the first contractor yesterday, so he'll be coming with his team on Tuesday to talk with us further. I guess I'll have to wake up early that day to provide my input. The sacrifices we make....

Hopefully he can get the proposed layout drawn up in a CAD program that I can then share with all of you. While the basic layout and general shape of everything will be the same as the pictures on the first page of the thread, there will have to be some fine-tuning to where all of the rooms intersect (bedroom, bathroom, HT/kitchen).

As far as sound isolation possibilities, has anyone used this stuff or something like it?: Acoustiblok. Yes, I'm still looking for ways to add at least some level of sound isolation without double-drywalling the ceiling. My dad is set on a suspended ceiling for ease of getting to all of the wiring. This is a major compromise to any sound isolation, but I need to figure something out to better separate the ground floor and basement living spaces.

I suppose the best thing to do would be to have the construction company we hire coordinate with a company that specializes in acoustics. Acoustic Sciences Corporation, which I think Chris first linked to here, is based in Eugene, OR, about 6 hours away. I'm not sure I'd find anyone closer who knows as much, but if they're simply selling their knowledge to our local contractor, then I suppose there's no real need to be any closer.

I'm thinking of perhaps this combo for the kitchen sink and faucet:

Kraus KPF-1602 Single Lever Pull Out Kitchen Faucet, Chrome

Kraus KHF200-36 36-Inch Farmhouse Apron Single Bowl 16 gauge Kitchen Sink, Stainless Steel

Or something along those lines. I just know how convenient it was to clean things in a commercial-grade sink with a commercial-grade sprayer. It would be better to see this stuff in person, of course. Maybe in Seattle when I visit my sister at the end of October.