Good Afteroon, (or whatever time of the day it is for you!)

i trust you're all keeping well??

just a quick one really, when you go out to a (prospective) clients site, and you discuss what they want, do you have any standard document to which you makes notes onto? i guess it would include room size, the clients reuirements, budget, building contruction details etc?

if so, would anyone be kind enough to let me see one??

i have my first prospective job coming up (25k dedicated home cinema & multi room for a friends holiday home) and i've got an appointment with him soon, but i cannot for the life of me think what i need to include on a 'job spec form' - i need enough info so i can put together a proposal (that bit im sorted with)

should there be any specific 'must-take-note-of-this' points i should be aware of?

apologies if this is a newbie question, but hey, we all had to start somewhere ;o)

many thanks in advance,
Jonathan.

Tweeter used to use a form that I have a copy of somewhere in my files. It was nice; a several page form with graph paper for drawing the room, check boxes for floor type, ceiling type, wall finish, all sorts of stuff. Very well thought out.

Hey Theaterworks,
Can you possibly email me a copy of that form?
Thanks in advance
Chris

hey Theatreworks,

im sure you've helped me out in the past with documents and stuff!!

if only it were possible to send 'beer tokens' accross the pond ;o) i'd surely buy you a few beers!

if you'd be kind enough to email it to me at my home add: [email protected] that would be great.

many thanks,

Jonathan.

jonnyt,

In regards to your question....make yourself think like your the contractor. What do you need to know about the building to get it done. HVAC, Elec, Plumbing, Architects set of plans, etc.

In my own opinion a person such as yourself stating that your "first" job is going to be a 25K theater doesn't have any business doing this 25K job. I would surely hope that you have had other jobs before this one. Also if you became a member of CEDIA you could use their IDEA BANK to acquire the documents that you desire and probably a few more you wouldn't have thought of.

This is probably not the case for you jonnyt, but where in the country do guys come up, out of the man hole covers and land a 25K theater. I guess its my frustration with this industry as more and more ankle biters seem to be multiplying.

Dolfan

I've just checked, and can't find that Tweeter form anywhere. Anyone out there that might know where to find this?

hey,

yeah, i've done plenty of 'small' jobs - but nothing on the scale of this one, he's a good friend of mine (the client) however, with the small jobs (hanging screens, moving all the kit to a central location etc) i've usually just made a mental note of the wall construction, and taken all the bits i could possibly think of when arriving on the job (loads of different wall fixings etc)

but this is my first 'real' job and like i said, the client is a good friend and has very kindly given me the oportunity.

i'm working towards cedia membership at the moment, but as my business slowly increases in work, then its something i'm going to sort out (i still hold down a full time job - albeit shift work so i work 4 days, get 4 off etc)

dolfan: where are you from? (as in location in the world)

if anyone could assist with this, it would be, and is, most appreciated.

regards,
Jonathan.

For the multi room, draw out each room that you will be installing anything into. Mark off where keypads or V/C's and speakers are going.
Make note of what make and models you want to use. Also note anything that may pose problems for wiring or install of gear.
Now you can design and layout this system back in your office.

The theatre, same thing, draw out the room and placement of all gear.
Plan out everything from electrical, audio, video and control wires.
If cabinets being built, get names, you will want to deal with cabinet guy to make sure all fits, and is vented (in other words, you need to design where and in what order your gear will go into the cabinet). Cover all the bases in your drawings, even if you are not responsible for it (electrical?) you still need to dictate what your needs are.
Have fun.

If the Tweeter form is copyrighted, and it likely is, the distribution thing is off, I guess. Just thought of that.

hi sirroundsound / theatreworks,

most appreciated indeed.

well, if there are any forms out there that would be useful, a copy of it would be really appreciated.

in the interim, i'll draw something up that should allow me to put a proposal together. its a good job this job isnt urgent, i fly out to look at the job in june - hopefully before the cedia uk show!

regards,
Jonathan

Email me Jonny, I might have something that would help you out.

If nothing else works out I used to use these yellow forms with blank lines you could fill in with any information you want.

They come in packs and are pretty reasonable. You do however have to know what your doing very well to use them effectively.

The nice thing is they have multiple uses.

There used to be something like this at Cruchfeild that Eric Johnson put togather for them. You might look there.

terrmul, you have mail!

augsys, i'm a little confused! who/where's crutchfield and the same goes for Eric Johnson!

regards,
Jonathan

[Link: crutchfield.com]

I think Eric Johnson if from Universal Remote IIRC, but not sure how that ties to Crutchfield either.