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Room Layout

Convert your basement into a unique home theater.

From "Home Theater"
episode DHTW-102

(Continued from page 1)

Figure B

After a preliminary discussion, Peter and Mark come up with a layout for the room ( figure B):

Pocket doors will be installed at the back at the main entrance.
The electronics will be housed in a smaller room (marked "A/V Storage" on the graphic) just outside the pocket doors.
Another smaller door, which leads to the garage, is at the back of the room.
The big screen will take center stage at the front of the room.
Media storage, with lots of shelves, will be built at the back of the room.

Figure C

When building a home theater it's important to make sure the room is the right size because room dimensions affect room resonance, which can cause certain frequencies to sound too loud or too soft.

Minimizing Room Resonance--You can easily minimize room resonance by building room dimensions that are not divisible of each other. What you're want to avoid is even-room or same-room dimensions, according to Mark. For example, if you do have a room that has 10' x 10' dimensions (figure C), the best thing to do is move a wall in at least six inches to break up the dimensions. This helps the bass frequencies from resonating in the room and creating a booming sound.

Note: Luckily, for the DIY project, Peter's basement dimensions (10' height, 17', 6" length and 15', 8" width) work perfectly. No walls will have to be built out and the ceiling doesn't have to be raised or lowered.

In the next segment find out how important it is to choose the proper seating and its positioning for your home theater. It's not just about comfort! Corey and Mark show you how the placement of your chairs can affect the sound.

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