Love seeing you do all of these handyman jobs!



Electrician-ing like a boss!

 

The speakers I planned to use for my firepit were available refurbished direct from the company and I could basically get two pairs for the price of one pair new and still get a 2-year warranty. New has 5-year warranty but from what I have read they are really solid and the warranty is rarely needed So picked up a set for both the fire pit and my back deck.

Definite Technology AW6500




Speakers would go here. Mounting them 3ft in from each end of the wall.


Measured 3x and Drilled 1x


I had read you shouldn't mount things to fiber cement board but it seems the white trim is something different unless it is just 1in thick fiber cement board. Either way, the speakers seem really secure using these screws.






While doing this I also decided to run a network cable for my TV in my screened in porch so it didn't have to use wifi for it. I drilled a hole and pushed that cable up from inside the porch.

I bundled up to climb into the attic because I thought the insulation was shredded fiberglass. It wasn't though. Was a good way to work up a good sweat though being in there in all that.




This came in very handy while running the speaker wire


Pushed up into the attic through the corner of the soffit


All the cable 1x network, 2 speaker, 1 volume remote.


Routed separate but there wasn't a good second path to keep them on.




Two separate paths to the bottom box




Spaghetti ready to be terminated


Took a break from the heat upstairs to finish routing the cable outside and installing the speakers








Wires finished and connected to the amp




Ran the remote cable into the porch and then through the silicone sealant used to seal the porch beam to the siding. Left a perfect gap to squeeze the cable through.


The cable comes out the other side and can be easily hidden and run alongside the beam against the siding.


The volume knob I had to make as normally these Bose AS-3 amps are part of a larger system with a control brain. However, using a 10k potentiometer you can control them and using the source sensing turn on for them. You can pick them up on eBay nice and cheap and use them with a Google Chromecast Audio to build a whole house speaker system. Just need an amp per room.

Bought a small sealed electric project box


Waterproof 10k potentiometer
[img][[url]http://jrphotodesign.net/public_photos/house2/outside/deck_speakers/IMG_20190426_091329.jpg/img]



By dumb luck the only hole saw I have is the right size for the potentiometer


Knob installed. Fits tightly and comes with a rubber seal as well. Also nice that this one has screw connectors instead of solder connections.




Drilled a hole on the side of the box for the wire and then silicone sealed it




The box using plastic screws instead of metal to close it. Pretty neat concept cause the plastic screw holes for the lid are the same holes you use to screw the box to the surface. I chose to use 3M double sided body tape though instead so not to screw into the pressure treated post more than needed.




All buttoned up and ready to go.


The speakers are really sensitive to the fact the amp provides them with 100w per channel is way more power than I will probably ever be able to use without annoying my neighbors. I am actually thinking of ordering a 5k potentiometer to replace the 10k one cause I can't turn it up past halfway every. It really sits at 2.5 for a good listening volume on the porch and that is with the volume on the Chromecast audio also at halfway.

 

Nice work. Very clean.

 

Dang, very nice!

Now clean out those gutters

 

If you see the last picture of them mounted I did clean them from the first picture showing where they go. Cleaned all the pine needles off from the gutter guards. No idea what brand they had installed but they seem to work great. Nothing seems to get through them dirt wise.

I also tried to pressure wash them but I just can't get the first off them. Will need to try a heavy duty cleaned next term. Even a rag and warm dish soap water didn't get the dirt off. Don't really want to replace all my.gutters to get them white again. They are only 14 years old.

 

Nice work Jason

 

Dang, nice work!

 

We use a 50/50 stainless steel cleaner/water mixture to clean our white walls. It works pretty well, however, the gray stains may not come off.


Best bet is to use a chemical with a brush, then pressure wash, close range, with a very high pressure setting.

Does your pressure washer have an oscillating nozzle?

 

Jesus Lord, Jason...
you are so meticulous you make me think about the old me.
I guess in a way I'm that way on a smaller scale now.

 

Yeah, you are right, I figured I will need some type of chemical for my next attempt at it. I do not have an oscillating nozzle and unfortunately, I am just using a crappy 1800psi electric pressure washer so you can't turn the pressure up at all.

 

You still seem that way at least on all your car posts you make.

I can't just seem to do something to get it done. It is always an all in endeavor.

 

I go hard in my head way before I break open the tool chest.

 

Overthink it about 70x first

 

Yeah... Just do what you can!

 

So back on this project again since finally found a great deal on the TV model I wanted to use for it. Picture of the firepit area included again for visualization. I still can't decide between the TV wall and motorized tv lift. I honestly love the idea of the TV lift. It makes the TV the least obvious to the outdoor space when not in use. My biggest hangups on it are one TV lifts are not near as cheap as I originally thought they were. Not out of the question but I swear when I first looked a year or two ago they were cheaper. The second issue is more of a functional one based on the speakers I chose. The speakers extra base woofer is passive and it needs something to radiate off to really be effective. If I go motorized lift I don't anything to mount the speakers on other than maybe the trees. One thought is to build an even bigger like bar area cabinet and have 3 lifts 2 small ones to bring the speakers up and the TV one. This is obviously going the opposite way on a cost basis of what I am looking to do but might be the best looks wise. I would end up with an almost 7ft wide cabinet section to do this though and having the top panel broken up in sections could be hard to seal and prevent leaks.





The wall would basically probably a combination of these three designs into one solution. There would be no cabinet space though in my design. Just a wall with TV enclosure and a small roof overhang of some sort for the speakers to hang under.








Second option still.

 

I'd go option two. Looks more clean and it works as a table top when not in use.

 

What do you suggest I do about the speakers though then? I have to find a quality solution for good sound as well. The sound coming from my set on the deck is great when they are mounted as designed so I don't want them to sound worse than that in this instance. I mean I guess I could build a roof over the motorized lift cabinet still without a wall just for the two speakers.

 

I'm not well versed with surround sound systems, but being in an outdoor environment, how well is any woofer really going to work?

 

You would be surprised what they can do to create good midbass from outdoor speakers. Obviously, you can only really appreciate that part of the sound in the first 8-15ft from the speaker but that is really the only amount of space I am worried about anyways. But for it to work you have to have something for you the to bounce off of. I was skeptical about them at first but my Definitive Technology home theater system sounds great and my rears work in a similar design so I figured it could work.

Increasing sound by directing it off a dense surface is pretty basic. In college, I used a small 8in ported sub in my large bedroom. I increased the volume of sound by situating the sub under my hardwood L shaped desk in the corner of the desk. The reflection put much more bass in the room than I had just had the sub in the room against the wall. Part of that was because I was directing the output and the other was due to the dense wood vs drywall being behind the sub.

A somewhat similar principle to how these speakers work. You aim the 6.5in woofer and 1in tweeter at the listening area. The 5.5 x 10in passive radiator gets angled at the wall or roof soffit to allow that bass to reflect out. There is some diagrams in here showing how to best aim them. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/a...20161003165513

Like I said I was a bit skeptical at first but compared to my Bose 251 speakers I used to have these sound so much more fuller and complete sounding.

I still might try and make some temporary mounts to hang them on two trees in the firepit and try them out with no reflection and see how it sounds. I had tested them in the backyard before and feel the ones mounted in the deck sound much better but might give it another shot still since I would be able to have both going at once now and just walk between the locations rather than relocate them each time before.

Either way I know most of you think I am probably crazy for carrying about sound quality outside

 

Acoustics are thrown out the window unless you're planning on setting up some sort of concert hall-esque shell.


FFS

 

Make the box wider with a compartment on either side for a speaker.

 

I am not expecting perfect acoustics or anything but to say there are still not ways to get ok/good/great sound difference based on certain speaker types outside would be wrong.

 

Pro tip: just crank it up to 11 all the time







thank me later.

 

My cars already piss the neighbors off enough as is. I try and keep the cops away while home.

 

Love the idea of the TV lift, my question is, how long until Colts' dogs mark the new wood posts

 

I have cranked it 3/4 the way a few times when I go home to let the dogs out during the day figuring most people are at work at it gets pretty damn loud. Never had it all the way up yet though.

 

Probably before I would even finish building it

 

^

OR, is there a way to attach the speakers on either side of the TV to the VESA mount (with arms or something)? They could rise and lower with the set.

 

Try it!
State Park-ing it again?

 

So tested the speakers this weekend hanging around the firepit with nothing behind them just hanging from the steel cable I have strung between the trees.



They sounded a little thin and lacking mids bass to start with. Cranked the bass on the amplifier +3 and it made the sound much better. Going to run them this way for a while and go with the TV lift cabinet for an enclosure. If at a later date I am not happy with the sound I will build a two post pergola over the TV lift cabinet and mount the speakers to it. I might eventually need to do that anyway because the trees that are currently on either side of where the TV will be placed are not in the best shape. The one is already dead but still very solid in the ground and the other one the top has died but the lower 15ft seems alive and well for now.

I think I have narrowed to using this brands TV lift as it is one of the few that you can get a panel to mount on the top of the lift so the entire lid will lift up as part of the lift. I feel this design is better than using a hinged lid as I think it will be better at keeping water out of the cabinet since I will be able to have a lip on the lid all the way around as well put a rubber seal all the way around the top of the cabinet which will then be sandwiched up the lid when closed.

Lift
https://www.touchstonehomeproducts.c...nt=38193705985

Lid mount bracket
https://www.touchstonehomeproducts.c...nt=35396684097

They also have an option for an arm mount for the lift which I would prefer so that the TV could be angled towards the yard as well. If you buy it that way from them they actually have an integrated sensor with it so you can't put the lift up or down with the arm out at all. However, they want $300 more for that setup and I could buy a pivot arm mount from Amazon for $40-50 and just be smart enough not to lower it with the TV moved. Not sure whether having that safety feature is worth another $250.

Still leaning towards building the cabinet out of cedar but have not decided completely against using composite decking either though. I think I would like the cedar more and it might blend better in the woods too. If I eventually do build a pergola it would be in cedar as well and then it would all match.

 

Thoughts on enclosing the area entirely and converting it into a class 7 lanai?

 

 

I prefer to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere during spring and fall time. Not so much in the humid balls stick to your legs summer though.

 

@gatrhumpy

Jason, why not bolt them bitches to a tree...that cable shit looks hilarious.

 

Trees keep growing. You bolt something to them then it grows and bends stuff or it breaks. I have seen it before. Even my lights that are bolted to the tree I bought extra long eye bolts so that I could leave 2.5in each before each eyelet for the tree to grow. I would have to build some type of suspension mount or something off the tree to cause that not to happen with the speakers. Also then the best way would be vertical which wouldn't be ideal either. I have thought maybe of hanging them off the cable vertically though putting an eye bolt in one of the screw holes on the end of the speaker just so I can see how it looks.

I think long term the only way for it to look right will be to build the pergola to mount them off of.

 

Leave the top open for the open-air feel.

 

It honestly would be hard to call it even a pergola. It would be something designs like this. Not even a stage 1 Lanai.

 

You fuckers are funny.
That is a Class A back yard though Jason.

 

Any thoughts on simply driving four large beams (like the legs of a pergola) into the ground and mounting your speakers to them? You could run cable to connect the tops of all posts and then string lights on them...

 

No, probably too simple for him...