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DIY In-Wall AV Rack Thread

87K views 39 replies 19 participants last post by  Bent 
#1 ·
Or, "I have champagne tastes on a beer budget!"

In response to some inquiries about my rack adventure, I'm starting a thread here to put everything in one place and help answer as many questions as I can about my in-wall setup.

Background: I wanted a professional looking in-wall rack, complete with custom cut-out faceplates - but could not bear to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for something that is essentially a fancy shelf. I loved the look of the Middle Atlantic brand and other commercially available racks, but felt that I could maybe "MacGyver" something decent out of commonly available (and inexpensive) parts.

The "finished" product ended up exceeding my expectations:

Front



Back


All told, I spent in or around $150-200 "ish" for the materials. In essence, the rack shelves are comprised of double-tang shelving brackets, plywood, paint, some molding trim, aluminum plate along with some drywall screws and washers.

I will do my best to document the process and procedures I used, in hope that it may help others realize a decent DIY rack for their setup. As there is a fair number of photos, I will be breaking up the posts to keep things simpler.

Cheers, and see you in the next post!
 
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#31 ·
Moosebump - looks great!! I'm willing to bet you get a lot of positive comments from guests on it as well ;)

I've seen another variation as well where plexiglass was used - turned out well, but I recall it was a lot tougher medium to work with for filing without chipping.

Now it's time for some rear pics for all of us!!

Cheers,

Tom
 
#32 ·
Good work YW84U,

What is the height of your AV rack? I know it would depend on what equipment you have in it but I just wanted to see how high you made it. And maybe how high from floor as well. Then I see you just matched those measurements for the shelves as well.

Thanks,

Tibbs
 
#34 ·
Thanks Tibbs!

I just had a PM yesterday, and went and took the measurements for the whole thing. I'll paste my response here as it pertains to your question.

The measurements were based on typical 2x4 studs, and the inside trim pieces are 5/8" wide (measured truly at 5/8", probably sold as "3/4").

The finished width of the rack opening, including the inside trim is exactly 18" wide. This was accomplished by having the studs 19 1/4" apart, then adding two 5/8" inside trim pieces (2 times 5/8", total 1 1/4") - then subtract the 1 1/4" to equal 18", leaving me 1/2" reveal on each side in order to mount the screws for the plates. This is a hair off from the official rack standard, but I wasn't aiming for perfection as I could adjust the size of my DIY plates quite easily.

I would suggest in hindsight though is to frame out at 19 1/2" with 'true 1" trim' on the insides - this would allow you to place your molding to reveal more trim to sink the screws into and would keep your width at the standard 17 1/2" . In my case where I left the width at 18", I had very little room to secure the screws.....

So it would work out like this: to studs at 19 1/2", inside trim at 1" for an overall opening of 17 1/2 inches width.....then place your moldings overlapping the trim by 1/4" on each side - therefore leaving you a true 19" width from inside molding edge to inside molding edge. I hope that's not confusing, as I was starting to confuse myself :eek:

Here is a closeup, showing the trim pieces in flat black creating the 1/2" reveal I spoke of:



Here's a photo to show you the EIA standard rack spacing FYI:




The rack is overall 36 3/4" in height, with the bottom measurement being 41 1/2" off of the floor (not including the 13 1/2" riser you generally see in the photos). Standard rack height is measured in "U", such as 1U, 2U, 3U etc. Each U is exactly 1 3/4" in height, 19" wide.

My height is therefore 21U to make up 36 3/4 inches. Again, following the same formula for the inside trim where I used 5/8", 36 3/4 plus the 2 5/8's equals a total of 38" for stud height. As I was not sinking screws into the 'reveal of the top and bottom, the 1/2 reveal never became an issue. As well, since I was using shelving brackets, the shelves I made do not line up with any of the 'U' standards......I just put them wherever in order to allow enough ventilation between components.

Okay, I think I got it! Made my head hurt thinking about it tho :p I hope that made sense!

I hope that helps!

Cheers,

Tom
 
#39 ·
The measurements were based on typical 2x4 studs, and the inside trim pieces are 5/8" wide (measured truly at 5/8", probably sold as "3/4").

The finished width of the rack opening, including the inside trim is exactly 18" wide. This was accomplished by having the studs 19 1/4" apart, then adding two 5/8" inside trim pieces (2 times 5/8", total 1 1/4") - then subtract the 1 1/4" to equal 18", leaving me 1/2" reveal on each side in order to mount the screws for the plates. This is a hair off from the official rack standard, but I wasn't aiming for perfection as I could adjust the size of my DIY plates quite easily.

I would suggest in hindsight though is to frame out at 19 1/2" with 'true 1" trim' on the insides - this would allow you to place your molding to reveal more trim to sink the screws into and would keep your width at the standard 17 1/2" . In my case where I left the width at 18", I had very little room to secure the screws.....

So it would work out like this: to studs at 19 1/2", inside trim at 1" for an overall opening of 17 1/2 inches width.....then place your moldings overlapping the trim by 1/4" on each side - therefore leaving you a true 19" width from inside molding edge to inside molding edge. I hope that's not confusing, as I was starting to confuse myself :eek:
Hopefully you're still watching this thread.

Forgive what might be a stupid question, but I'm not too familiar with framing and finishing technique. This "trim" that you keep referring to. Is that in lieu of drywall? Is it some other piece of wood that you're installing on the inside edge of the 2x4s, lining the entire opening? (In other words you did not drywall the inside surface of the rack opening?)

I'm trying to fix the stud-to-stud width of my rack opening (at the framing stage now).

Thanks.
 
#35 ·
Hey Deepstuff,

In my case, the equipment closet sits completely within the soundproofed 'envelope' of the room, so no major issues are caused by sound traveling through the faceplates and into the closet. I do have some minor leakage via the soffit fan and vent into the main foyer - but it is relatively minimal, and I'm sure there's no real way to stop everything unless you throw a ton of cash at it :rolleyes:.

I have some left over OC703, and was toying with the idea of constructing a bass trap in the rear of the equipment closet to add some more bass control though....

Cheers,

Tom
 
#36 ·
Well, the long-awaited Oppo arrived yesterday, and it's now a test to see how much of a pain it would be to swap out components in my DIY rack.......



and is ready to be introduced to the rack. As I was keeping the Xa2, I figured it made sense to retire the Panny RP56 to another room and put the BDP-83 in its place.



Removal of the Panny was dead simple - unplug connections and pull out from the back of the shelf. I put the Oppo in for a test fit, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the identical width, and only about 1/8th of an inch narrower in height. WOW! Apparently I have a dust generator somewhere in the basement!!



Install went easy as well - I put shims under the feet to bring the top of the unit flush with the rackplate, leaving only a slight gap visible at the bottom.



Overall, it looks good, although I think I will cut a new plate for it to eliminate the minor gap and make a new notch for the IR repeater. For a temporary placement though, I am very happy as how simple it was to swap out - maybe 15 minutes or less.

I'll get onto making the new plate in the next while - after some of the outdoor projects get caught up first. Plus, looks like I need to make some time for calibrations and testing the new player out...

Cheers,
 
#38 ·
OK, im going to bring this one back from the dead.

I've read this entire thread at least three times, and I think I am prepared to do my in wall AV rack.

My biggest problem encounter is that I dont have all the equipment yet, so figuring out the size of the cabinet is proving to be a problem.

I get the 19.5" framed width, and I guess the height is up to each individual, but the depth is my question. Unlike you guys, I have no access to the back of the unit, so the use of a fan will most definately be necessary. I am figuring on about 18" in total depth taking into account cables and what not as well. Will that be enough?

As well I have an old dryer vent that is vacant about 5 feet from the location for the rack. Would it be bennificial to vent the exhaust fans for the rack through it?
 
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