Turning Your Basement into a Home Theater

As you may already know, in order to create a home theater room there is no better place than your basement, why is this so? Because the first requirement to create a nice one is to choose the place and in this place you won’t disturb members of your own household or your neighbors. Best of all, you will be able to create a space directly suited to your tastes.

Step # 1 – Framing and insulating

Although building an addition to your house looks almost exactly as the step you are performing here you should take into account a particular element in the form of insulation. How is this done? By being aware of standards; R30 is the required rating for the ceiling, floor, and exterior wall insulation. Interior walls should also be insulated; an R11 rating helps to avoid screams and movie explosions to disturb the rest of your family of guests. You should also be aware that this step will not completely block the noise, additional sound barriers will be needed.

Step # 2 - Pre-wiring surround sound

The standard for most home theaters is a 7.1 surround sound system. What is included in this specification? Seven channel speakers along with a subwoofer. You will have speakers positioned the following way. - Two rear surrounds - Two side surrounds - Center, right and left speakers You will need a hub which will house you’re A/V equipment and receiver, it is a great commonly used idea to hide it inside a cabinet or even a closet for aesthetic purposes. Cables’ length should be at least 16-4, and stronger 12 or 14 gauge cables for the center, right and left speakers.

Step # 3 – Pre-wiring a video projector

If you wish for a large-screen theater experience then you will make use of a pre-wire projector system which involves two cables only. - A CAT5 control wire so you can access the projector with an RF remote - HDMI cable to transmit high definition to a projector One end of both these cables should extend from the ceiling at the rear of your projector, the other end should be connected to your hub. Don’t forget to pre-wire your satellite or cable feed along with your high-speed internet connection.

Step # 4 – Pre-wiring lighting

Sconces along the side walls along with recessed lighting provide a unique atmosphere. The good news is that only basic electric wiring is needed to make it possible. A good tip is to connect these lights to an RF dimmer so you can control them with the same RF remote your projector requires. As you can see, it has been easy so far, after this work is performed everything goes downhill since you will only need to install sound barriers and drywall; it is important to mention that you will be able to choose your preferred designs and colors. After the aforementioned step is performed you will be setting up the sound and video systems and finally, and in order to be comfortable you will choose and install theater style sitting for your comfort and the comfort of those who will enjoy your brand new basement home theater.