Media Niche

[dglyde79]

Hi,

Did anyone get the fireplace (in a 34') and also get the media niche off to the side as well??

My question is, how big is it? I have a Harmon Kardon reciever, PS3 and cable box that I will have to put in that so I will have to run the conduit to that location. I'm not worried about the PS3 or the cable box fitting as they are pretty small. I'm worried about the reciever as it is pretty big. Has any one successfully fit a large sized reciever in that location yet?

I also heard that the media niche is smaller than what is in the model at Upper Country Club. Is this true?

I'm just wondering because if it is too small to use for my stuff, then I'll have to get them to run the conduit to the wall beside the fireplace (opposite side the media niche is) and buy a home theatre shelving unit of some sort.

[Style]

Not all fireplaces have the media niche. We have a fireplace and plasma wall but trust me as you will soon find out the conduit in a 34 foot home is pretty useless as they drop it down into your basement and thats it. They dont bring it back up. When we asked them why they said that we can bring it through our hardwood floor by cutting ourselves. Funny the larger homes got the conduit brought back up,

[dglyde79]

Not all fireplaces have the media niche. We have a fireplace and plasma wall but trust me as you will soon find out the conduit in a 34 foot home is pretty useless as they drop it down into your basement and thats it. They dont bring it back up. When we asked them why they said that we can bring it through our hardwood floor by cutting ourselves. Funny the larger homes got the conduit brought back up,

Hmm... I was told by our design consultant that since our fireplace does come with the media niche and plasma wall (Thompson) that the conduit runs from the plasma wall to either the media niche or a place of our liking. I'm just wondering if the media niche will even work for what I want it to.

[K.C.]

Hmm... I was told by our design consultant that since our fireplace does come with the media niche and plasma wall (Thompson) that the conduit runs from the plasma wall to either the media niche or a place of our liking. I'm just wondering if the media niche will even work for what I want it to.

Your consultant told you your fireplace comes with a plasma wall?? I think the consultant is confused. This might be how some of the other people got screwed. We're in a 50 foot lot and the plasma wall has to be ordered separately. Our house came with a fireplace as included.

Unless it specifically states in your contract that a proper plasma wall is included in your fireplace package I would ask some more questions.

[1st Lexington]

I think the homes that come the come with the fireplace included (ie. 50 footers) do not come with the plasma ready wall - must be paid for as an upgrade. However, if you have to pay for your fireplace as an upgrade, then seems to come with the plasma ready wall.

The only reason I know this is because my parents bought a 43 foot (Ferguson) and added the fireplace and it came with the plasma ready wall. We bought a 50 foot home and We had to pay for our plasma wall.

Christine

[dglyde79]

I think the homes that come the come with the fireplace included (ie. 50 footers) do not come with the plasma ready wall - must be paid for as an upgrade. However, if you have to pay for your fireplace as an upgrade, then seems to come with the plasma ready wall.

The only reason I know this is because my parents bought a 43 foot (Ferguson) and added the fireplace and it came with the plasma ready wall. We bought a 50 foot home and We had to pay for our plasma wall.

Christine

Thats correct. In the upgrade sheet, it says it includes a plasma wall with reinforced beams for plasma tv, cable outlet and power outlet as well as conduit that runs from from plasma wall to either media niche or a place of your choice (obviously some conditions apply on where the conduit can go)

But back to the question at hand, will the media niche actually fit a large sized reciever?

[Greg]

I have a Thompson but didn't go with the fireplace so I'm not speaking from direct experience dealing with the niche, just from experience in dealing with the Thompson model. I have a Pio receiver which I think is roughly the same size as an HK and I just don't think there is any way that it will fit in the niche, the niche is just not deep enough. It is a thick wall between the living and dining rooms, but its just not that thick.

My 2 cents.

[babymaeby]

Not all fireplaces have the media niche. We have a fireplace and plasma wall but trust me as you will soon find out the conduit in a 34 foot home is pretty useless as they drop it down into your basement and thats it. They dont bring it back up. When we asked them why they said that we can bring it through our hardwood floor by cutting ourselves. Funny the larger homes got the conduit brought back up,

Funny, we have a townhouse and the conduit comes back up. We got to choose exactly where we wanted it during our framewalk.

Strange how their story changes.

[Style]

Funny, we have a townhouse and the conduit comes back up. We got to choose exactly where we wanted it during our framewalk.

Strange how their story changes.

Seriously! Find it hard to believe but like I said its hanging in my basement!:)

[K.C.]

Seriously! Find it hard to believe but like I said its hanging in my basement!:)

Sounds like they screwed up and it's too hard to fix. I'd ask for a refund. The people who did the conduits screwed up all of them at first by not putting the one above the fireplace high enough. When they did fix it they didn't use new material, they just moved the existing one up about 2 feet which made it hard to find in the basement because it was shoved up into the wall. That's how ours is but we do have a second conduit returning into the great room about 18" off the floor.

There's no such thing as half a plasma wall. You need to get a refund even if you do end up drilling a hole in your floor. That's a makeshift solution and you didn't pay their high upgrade fee for a hack job and to end up fixing the problem yourself.

[dglyde79]

I have a Thompson but didn't go with the fireplace so I'm not speaking from direct experience dealing with the niche, just from experience in dealing with the Thompson model. I have a Pio receiver which I think is roughly the same size as an HK and I just don't think there is any way that it will fit in the niche, the niche is just not deep enough. It is a thick wall between the living and dining rooms, but its just not that thick.

My 2 cents.

Thanks for the info Greg! That was I thought as well too. It would seem that it is the depth that I would be woried about. I may have to get them to run the conduit on the other side of the fireplace and simply use an audio rack there. I'll just use the media niche for decorative stuff or storing movies.

[Ben311]

So now that you've moved in, can you confirm whether the media niche included with the fireplace/plasma wall package is as large as the Thompson model home in Upper Country Club? Can you fit your receiver and PS3 in it? Thanks!

Ben

[dglyde79]

So now that you've moved in, can you confirm whether the media niche included with the fireplace/plasma wall package is as large as the Thompson model home in Upper Country Club? Can you fit your receiver and PS3 in it? Thanks!

Ben

Hi Ben,

I have closed but not moved in yet, in fact I move in this weekend. Just by looking at it, I think my reciever will fit. It will be close but I think it will fit. I think it is as deep and high as the model in upper country club, but I think it is not as wide though. I'll let you know this weekend once I move in and set it up.

[dglyde79]

Well the media niche is big enough for a full sized reciever as my HK fit in without issues. Just wanted to let everyone who was interested know.