5 Things to Consider Before Building a Home Theater

Do you miss the days of watching movies in theaters? The recent pandemic put a damper on people’s plans to enjoy the movies.

However, you can still get the same sensation by building a home theater.

Yes, learning how to build a home theater isn’t easy. It’s a little expensive too. However, the result is well worth the resources: nothing beats watching an epic movie on a big screen with surround sound.

Before you dive into it, there are a few key reminders to follow first. Continue reading to learn about five important factors to consider before you start building:

1. Location Matters

Before you build a movie theater in your home, you need to determine where you’ll put it. Most people would renovate their basement and turn it into a theater. Others opt to build a separate building outside their home.

If building a basement home theater is your only option, make sure to take a moment and plan how you’ll arrange the seats, speakers, and exit. Make sure there is enough space to get out (or in) in case of an emergency. Lighting in a basement is also going to be a priority — some basements have tiny windows leveled to the outdoor ground so you’ll want to block those out too.

Do you want to build a new room or renovate a different room in the house? You need to make sure the noise and vibrations from the theater don’t interrupt the other areas. The room needs to remain accessible at all times too.

2. Home Theater Seating

There will be four key components to your home theater: the screen, lighting, audio, and seating. Remember: you’ll be in the theater for two hours or so watching movies. Comfort should be a priority.

For a casual viewing experience, you could get bean bags. However, for a luxury experience, you should consider recliners or curved theater seating. If you can, get theater seats with charging ports and cup holders, ensuring you both convenience and comfort.

There are a few other details to remember. First, you need to know for sure how many seats you can fit in your home theater. The next important detail is to space them enough so that people can comfortably reach them.

Don’t crowd the seats too much. You need enough space so people can go in and out even when in a rush.

If you plan to make your home theater into a multi-purpose entertainment room, you’ll need to determine where the seats stop. This ensures you’ll have enough space for gaming or other equipment for the other half of the room.

3. Equipment Needed

A home theater isn’t much without the right equipment. Your first major concern is the screen.

For starters, will you settle with a traditional HD projector or do you want high-end 4K resolution? Will you use a projector or will you use a high-end, large-screen TV? A 65-inch TV could get the job done for a small basement theater but if you can fit in more seats, a projector with a larger viewing capability is the better option.

A projector is also the optimal option when building a home theater system on a budget.

Don’t skimp out on the audio either. You’ll need a surround sound system, with speakers all around the room, to replicate the experience of being in a theater. Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 speakers are good options but you can get away with IoT speakers connected to your screen via Bluetooth.

If there are windows, make sure to invest in blackout curtains. These will prevent any light from getting inside but you can still move them to the side when you’re not watching.

4. Soundproofing

It’s no surprise that a home theater can get loud. You’ll have to protect the rest of the house — and the neighborhood, if your theater is not in the basement. This is where proper soundproofing comes into play.

Start by building new walls in front of the ones already there. Pad these walls with soundproof fabric, drywall, and fiberglass. You’ll need to have at least three layers to ensure sound stays solely within the home theater.

For further soundproofing, cover the walls with soundproof foam or thick carpet-like fabric. These prevent sound from bouncing, cutting down echoes.

Don’t forget to apply soundproofing to your door. You won’t be able to add multiple layers to it but sealing the sides is a good start.

5. Multi-Purpose Theater

Do you have a large enough space for more than a home theater? You can turn the other half into a drinking room, adding a pool table or poker table. You can also make it a gaming room by adding a center table for tabletop games, arcade machines along the walls, and smaller TVs and gaming consoles on one end.

Also, your home theater could serve as a safe room. Keep in mind that it’s a reinforced structure now so it could be the safest place in case of a violent break-in or when there’s a tornado or storm.

Because of the soundproofing, you could turn the home theater room into a music room or recording area too. Now you won’t have to worry about outside noises, echoes, and audio interference. You also won’t wake up your neighbors because of the soundproof walls.

Start Building a Home Theater Today

What are you waiting for? Take these five things into consideration and you’ll be ready to start building a home theater. Pick the right location, get the right equipment, add the right seats, and don’t forget soundproofing.

But why stop with a home theater?

As mentioned, it could be your safe room, man cave, video game room, or tabletop room. Learn how to decorate it, light the room up, and which appliances to add — like a minibar or fridge. Fortunately, we’ve got the guides you need to learn how to achieve all this and more so don’t hesitate to read our other posts today.