DIY Home Theater Design and Construction

Design the Room

• Note the number of people who will be occupying the room and ensure you have adequate seating. Take some time to consider lighting and the location of the technical components, whether they will be in a closet or in plain sight. Unless the room is in the basement, plan for window coverings that will block out light if you plan to use the theater during daytime.

Construction

• You may need to move a wall or lower the ceiling to get the right dimensions for the best sound. Frame in the walls and put in all of the wiring before you put up the drywall. If you are working with existing walls, remove drywall in parts of the room to facilitate wiring for the theater system and the lighting. You also may create a tiered floor so those in the back are sitting up higher than those in the front, like in a real movie theater. Build a platform just as you would a deck and cover it with carpeting.

Acoustics

• A big part of home theater design involves knowledge of acoustics; how sound waves bounce and reverberate will have an effect on the way the sound is enjoyed by the room's occupants when it is done. The height of the chairs, the dimensions of the room (including the height of the ceiling) and the placement of the speakers all play a part. While you can work out the mathematical formulas yourself, you may want to consult a professional.

  You have three things to think about when planning for acoustics. First is the way the sound from the speakers flows throughout the room and how the viewers experience it. Second is how that sound may travel beyond the room and whether it will disturb others in adjacent rooms. Third is whether there will be other noise that will be bothersome. That other noise could be caused by items in the room, such as the theater components, a small refrigerator or appliances at a home bar. They might also be noises from outside the room, either made by items or occupants of adjacent rooms or from outside the house, or from the way the walls and floors transmit movements and noises from other rooms. The way you build the walls and ceilings, as well as the items you put on them, can help to minimize outside noises.

Setting Up the System

• If you have done your planning well, the wiring will be hidden in the walls or the ceiling. There will still be some work to do getting all of the components plugged in and set up correctly. Ensure you have access to the manuals for all of the components and that you've planned for such things as cable TV access and Internet access. A hard-wired Internet connection will give you a better connection than WiFi.