AV for the whole house, from one rack in the basement.
From a TV in a pre-war parlor to a basement home theater, a house needs clean, in-wall installs that respect plaster, masonry and original millwork. We plan every room and every floor as one system.
HDBaseT carries video, audio and control, and often power, over one Cat6 or Cat6A run of up to 100 m (328 ft). Some extenders reach less at the highest 4K formats, so we match the extender to the run.
A house gives AV room to do it properly.
A detached Queens colonial, a Staten Island split-level or a freestanding Brooklyn house each bring their own structure. These are the things we plan for.
Wiring across several floors
A house spans several floors, usually with finished walls throughout. We route HDMI, speaker wire, Cat6 and coax through the cavities between floors, planned before any hole is cut, so plaster and drywall stay intact.
Plaster and masonry walls
Pre-war and mid-century houses often have horsehair plaster over wood lath, or brick behind the drywall. Mounts and in-wall speakers need the right approach for each: lag bolts into studs behind plaster, sleeve or wedge anchors in solid brick, never in the mortar joint alone.
Basement and attic access
Unlike an apartment, a house usually has a basement and an attic. They are the best pathways for clean home runs, a central place for the equipment and room to add more later.
No board approval
You own the building, so there is no managing agent, co-op board or alteration agreement between you and the install. Whether any permit applies depends on the scope, and we tell you during the site visit.
Whole-home audio
With access to the whole building, a house suits distributed audio: music in every room, the backyard and the basement from one central rack, each zone on its own amplifier channel and volume. We design and install it from scratch.
A dedicated home theater
A finished basement, a spare bedroom or a converted garage can become a real screening room. We handle the projector and screen, surround and height speaker wiring, acoustic panels and control.
Open walls or finished walls. Both end with nothing showing.
Renovating? Cable goes in while the studs are open. Living in the house already? We fish it through. Switch between the two and watch the same wall.
When the studs are open, brackets go in first, cable runs wherever the design needs it, and we photograph every bay before the drywall goes up. Nothing has to be fished later.
In a finished wall we find the studs, cut small openings in the right bays and come up from the basement with a flex bit. Old blocking can need a small access cut, which we patch and paint.
What we install in single-family homes.
Every item below is scoped to your house and how you use it, room by room.
TV mounting and concealment
Plaster · drywall · brick · stoneFixed, tilting and full-motion mounts on plaster, drywall, brick or stone, into studs or solid masonry. Low-voltage cables run inside the wall in in-wall rated cable. A TV power cord may not run inside the wall, so power comes from a listed in-wall power kit or a new outlet coordinated with the electrician. No surface raceway, no dangling cords.
Home theater build-outs
5.1 · 7.1 · AtmosProjector and screen, surround wiring for 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos layouts such as 7.1.4 with in-ceiling height speakers, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, an AV receiver rack and universal remote programming.
Distributed audio
Zones · sourcesMulti-zone wired speaker systems that work with platforms such as Sonos Amp, Savant or Russound. In-ceiling and in-wall speakers throughout the house, with volume and source selection in every zone.
Outdoor AV
Patio · deck · yardOutdoor-rated speakers and displays, or covered-area models under a patio roof, for backyards, decks and driveways. Runs go back to the indoor rack in outdoor-rated cable and conduit, and power is on a GFCI-protected weatherproof outlet coordinated with the electrician.
Equipment rack and media closet
Basement · closet · AV roomA rack in the basement, a utility closet or a dedicated AV room, with cable management, ventilation, patch panels and labeled home runs for every zone and source.
Smart home AV integration
Control4 · Savant · LutronAV tied to lighting, shades and climate on platforms such as Control4, Savant and Lutron, so one app or keypad runs every screen, speaker and source in the house.
From first call to final walkthrough.
No surprises on install day. This is what to expect.
Site survey
We walk every room, check the basement and attic, identify the wall construction, find the electrical panel and map the cable paths. The quote is based on what we see, not on assumptions.
System design
You get a written scope with every mount location, speaker position, equipment item and cable route. We confirm the gear, check lead times and schedule the install around you.
Installation
We protect floors and finished surfaces and run all the rough-in wiring before any equipment goes up. Every opening we make is patched and finished to match.
Commissioning and handoff
Every display is calibrated, every speaker level-matched and every control system programmed. We walk you through the system and leave documentation, with every run labeled in the rack.
AV in NYC single-family homes, answered.
Can you run wires in-wall without tearing up my plaster?
In most cases, yes. We fish cable through the existing cavities with flexible drill bits, glow rods and stud finders set up for plaster over lath. Sometimes a small access cut is needed at a transition point, such as old blocking inside the wall, and we patch and finish it ourselves. We do not open large sections of wall unless there is truly no other path.
How do I know what size projector or screen to get for my basement theater?
We measure the room during the site survey. Throw distance, ceiling height, ambient light and where the seats go all decide the recommendation. We do not push a brand, and we specify the projector and screen that fit your actual room, with options at different budgets and an honest explanation of the tradeoffs.
Do I need a permit to install AV in my own house?
It depends on the scope and the house. We check during the site visit and tell you what applies before work is scheduled. New outlets, power for a projector or structural changes such as blocking for a recessed TV are coordinated with the electrician or your contractor.
Can you add speakers to just one or two rooms without wiring the whole house?
Yes. We can wire and install in-ceiling or in-wall speakers in a single room, such as the living room, the primary bedroom or the kitchen. We bring the runs to a sensible termination point so you can expand later without opening walls again, but there is no need to do the whole house at once.
How long does a full home theater installation take?
It depends on the room, how much wire routing is involved and the gear. A dedicated theater with a projector, a screen, 5.1 or 7.1 surround, a rack and a control system is a bigger job than a TV mount. We give you a specific schedule in the written scope after the site survey, and we do not split a job across visits unless the scope needs it.
Can you work with the AV equipment I already own?
Yes. If you have a receiver, speakers or displays you want to keep, we check them against the new components, tell you about any weak link, and build them into the install. We do not sell gear on commission, so we have no reason to push purchases you do not need.
Audio and video for every kind of home.
Ready to plan AV for your house?
We come to the house, check the walls, the basement and the attic, and give you a written proposal before any work begins. Our own team does the work, with no subcontractors.