Go ahead! "Build your Own Home Theater; But read this first!"

A few ways you can "save money and headache with your theater build"

For most of us; the task to build your own home theater may seem too difficult at first glance.

But it may be the only affordable option;

- The best argument for DIY home theater is probably the cost savings.

And for some home theater enthusiasts the results can be excellent.

Unfortunately, many of us simply don’t have the expertise to pull off a successful home theater build project.

So you may consider doing the parts of the job that you think you can handle and sub contract out the jobs that terrify you or will save the most time.

Successfully Build Your Own Home Theater? It all depends on;

Your determination will always be the most influential factor in anything you try.

Home theater is no different. If you take the time to learn about building, acoustics, and all other issues that will affect the end result, you will be successful.

Time is a constraint for most of us. And if you have very little of it –it’s unlikely that you will have a successful build. Be realistic with yourself here.

If you have no time to read and learn; leave a home theater build to the pros.

The endless number of mistakes that can be made will cripple your project if you do not have the right knowledge. Not to mention the huge investment of time and money that a home theater build may take.

Basic knowledge necessary to complete a home theater room for your home;

• The ability to draw up a workable home theater plan

• Basic house framing

• Electrical wiring

• Plumbing (a possible need)

• Acoustic theory

• Drywall

• Drywall finishing (mudding)

• Sanding

• Painting

• Hanging trim

• Installing carpet

• How to connect electronics equipment or surround sound hook up

• Calibrating the video and sound equipment

Many of these tasks could be hired out.

For example you may choose to do the framing yourself and then have an electrician wire up the room.

Just make sure you speak to an electrician first so that you can get wiring to the location you wish to use. If you frame it before speaking to an electrician you may need to redo some of your work.

What to do First - Build Your Own Home Theater - Why Acoustics Matter :

The first things you should consider would be acoustic theory and your home theater room design. The available space you have available should be optimized based on the dimensions of your room.

For Example:

Your room may be 15’ft wide by 22’ft long and with 8’ft ceilings. But you may not want to use those dimensions when you build your own home theater. You should calculate the room dimensions and see what room modes are going to be a problem.

Make sure you don’t have standing waves that are supported by the length, width, and height at the same points. It may be beneficial to shorten the room one way or the other to control room modes. You will not know unless you calculate your specific space’s dimensions.

It works like this. If my room is X by Y by Z, I will have room modes for both its width, length, and height. So when you plug in your dimensions make sure you don’t have repeating numbers. The more often your numbers repeat the higher in level your room modes will boost the output of your speakers.

Also notice that if your ceiling height is divisible by your room length or width you will have yet another boost in response at this particular mode.

So some modes will 3 times higher in level compared to having only one measurement of the same dimension (or divisible of). An example of a bad room would be this: 12’ wide, 24’ deep, with 12’ ceilings.

This room would give you very strong modes. An easy way to fix this room would be to drop the ceiling by 6 to 12 inches and shorten the room on one of the walls by creating a false wall the entire length.

Your end dimensions may be 12’ wide, 23’ deep, and 11’ tall ceilings. This room would have pretty good acoustics as compared to pretty terrible as it was before.

Input your room dimensions at the link below; remember make sure you don’t have duplicate modes or modes that are extremely close to one another.

If you do adjust the dimensions of your room and try again; play around with the numbers until the modes are spread nicely between one another.

This will offer the best overall response and make your room correction efforts later on that much easier.

Use this to calculate your own.

• Power saw

• Square

• Level

• Chalk line

• Hammer

• Nails (or a nail gun is easier than a hammer and nails)

• Drywall screwgun

• Drywall finishing tools

• Chop saw for joining trim corners/pieces

• Finish nailer and air compressor (optional)

• Paintbrushes

• Paint

Read some basic framing tips to get an understanding of how walls go together here.

Acoustic theory and several ways you can fix your room can be found at our Home Theater Plan and Acoustics page.

Learn more about surround sound hook up, home theatre surround sound systems and other topics at the links below -from build your own home theater page.

Summary:

Of course we all come to the table with different talents, skills, and knowledge but if you take the time to learn -you can do it!

At the same time it may not be realistic, beneficial, or convenient to take a project like this on. Only you can make that decision.

This site focuses primarily on the audio and video of a home theater or home audio system.

There are so many resources available on the web to learn about other parts of the project such as framing, drywall etc. that anyone who wants to learn any part of how to build your own home theater, they could certainly do it.

Just be realistic with yourself and don't start on a giant project that you have neither the time, energy or motivation to complete.

Start small and work your way up.

Maybe build yourself a set of computer monitors first and increase the difficulty from there.

Eventually you will be very comfortable with the thought of starting a huge DIY home theater project.

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