So are they going to bring the wiring up to code? What kind of system are you putting in?

You might want to suggest that they call in an a sparky before you start your upgrades. Might be safer for you that way.

Intersting knob and tube reading
http://inspecthistoric.org/faqpage.htm

Cucco wrote: Hey Guys -

This seems like the best place to put this...

So, I've been contracted to redo the sound in a 180 year old historic church near where I live. It's a very cool facility rich in history. The existing audio system, on the other hand, is not cool and rich in danger.

To start things off, electrical wiring in the building is all ungrounded.

Everything in the building acts as a giant antenna for anything related to sound reproduction.

In the sanctuary, there are 12 speakers all driven in parallel from the single output of a bridged Mackie power amp. (That's right, 12 in parallel...)

In the downstairs section (family room type area), there are ceiling mount 70v Quam 10C speakers. Well...they're also wired in parallel - not a problem for 70V. Except for the fact that the original installers used the 8 ohm tap out of the distro amplifier.

I'm am truly amazed that this place hasn't burned down!!!! Jesus must love his little children!

Just thought I'd share! ;-)

Crap. What a cluster, eh?

Churches...they listen to the wrong people to save a buck, and often think that they can ignore the laws, the laws of physics, and the laws of finance.

Here is a law. Pay me now, or pay me later, but you WILL pay me.

Bear in mind, this isn't just a small upgrade. It's a $10 Million upgrade - new pipe organ and all. Electricians, architects, plumbers, and all sorts are being called in.

The electricity will definitely be upgraded throughout. Some of the building was added a few decades ago and hence is relatively up to code in regards to electrical and others, however, these areas aren't those that I'll be working in.

The system I'll be putting in is largely based on hardware that they already have. We're going to be adding some Sennheiser wireless systems, some Earthworks choral systems and podium mics, I'm running all internal wiring for speakers and multichannel balanced I/O.

The pipe organ guys are from upstate new york and have some good organs to their credit. We'll be meeting with them on Tuesday. I'll also be meeting with the architects on the same day.

We've already modified under the floors of the sanctuary using rockwool and resiliant channel to avoid direct sound transmission to the family spaces below.

The trick is, some of the wood (most of it) is original and they want to keep it that way. It's in surprisingly excellent condition, but understandably, they'd prefer to not drill it full of holes. We're going to have some seriously long cable runs to get around all of this.

It should be fun!