I almost always like to save a bit of money here and there and thought maybe we could all gain from some helpful pointers to saving money on a build. Since I'm not in the industry I don't always get a discount so here are some of the things I've come across.

Please add some of your own.

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After a week or so of sun (not after it rains) go to cabinate making shops and ask if they have any scrap wood they are just throwing away. A lot of places like this use 1.5" MDF for doors and things and just toss chunks of it in the trash. You could make a full box from the sizes they throw away or make all the speaker rings you could want.
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For fiberglassing a box, you could use those old scratchy crappy camping blankets no one likes. The grey brown ones with the red stripe. They sell for about $3-5 and are pretty big. I'm pretty sure you can get them at army surplus places and sally anns.
Or hit walmart for hanna montana fleece at $7 a square foot. Remember, the uglier and cheaper it is, the harder it ends up being.
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Speaker wire. Use Lamp Wire in dry climate areas. Speaker wire is treated but if you live in the dry areas the wire won't rust on you. Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home Depot, Etc... they all have wire like this.
-I got this from a thread off this forum
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I look forward to seeing more stuff to save me money !!!!

 

I'm sorry but I can't support the lamp cord - and yes I have used it before. Really, proper OFC speaker wire doesn't have to be expensive. Most people use stuff WAY thicker than they need to which is where most of the wasted money goes.

The thing to getting wire at a reasonable price is to never buy prepackaged stuff from a major namebrand. Go ask the installer if they have stuff on a roll you can buy. Usually they do and it will be reasonably priced. That or go to Princess Auto - they sell name brand old stock install accessories for cheaper than wholesale.

 

Good tip. I'll try that the next time I'm at ralphs. Would you recommend against lamp wire for in home entertainment installs?

 

why is using lamp wire bad?

 

...cause it's ugly!! works fine, but it's ugly! Unlike welding cable...that's a thing of beauty..lol..

 

I'll start by saying OFC is a joke and finish with saying lamp coard is probably OK except for the guage....



P.S. plasticized PVC jakets are garbage either way.....

 

I'll compromise on the side of the poor... strip that lamp cord back a few inches on either end, if its looking rotten, then you may have to go back in the house and tear apart that antiquey lamp for another cord... if it looks too ugly put it in the copper bank...

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if you are too poor for dynamat and especially if your car is already old, use cans of rubberized spray undercoating, just layer it until that rattle goes into hibernation, also works well in combination with low expansion spray foam... and if you are really poor, the combination of undercoat and spray foam double as an insulator/great disguise to start panhandling at the nearest stripmall