Right now in most places in the country, theaters are closed. It’s been one of the things I miss most. Believe me when I say I would give anything to go see a movie in a theater again. It doesn’t even have to be a good movie… I’d watch CATS in theaters if I could. Ok, maybe I’m not that desperate. Maybe.  

While other people have taken up hobbies like baking bread and embroidery, all my time has been spent on building a home theater. But my home theater likely doesn’t look like my neighbors. People spend anywhere hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands building their entertainment oasis. No matter your budget a few components are key. A high definition billboard sized TV, a killer sound system, and a recliner that you can sink into and never escape from. But what often gets forgotten when thinking about that perfect home theater is all the soundproofing and acoustics. If you get all this right, you can feel like you’re sitting in a state-of-the-art theater, and you don’t even have to put on pants.

For your home theater, the size of the room depends on how many seats you want to add to it. If you just want a single row with 3 seats, you can get by with a room that's about 14' x 14'. That'll give you room for a big screen that you're not too close to and some captain's chairs. To do stadium seating, plan on about 6' in addition room length to add that second row and then 6' more for the third row.

The location of your room is absolutely key. Pick a room or part of the house that will require the least modification and won’t easily disturb others. Ideally something on the ground floor away from living areas, bedrooms, and offices with no windows and just one door. The ideal space is a rectangular shape with walls that have space to add acoustic paneling.

If you get the right location in your house, you have more leeway to crank up the volume to immerse yourself in the movie without driving the rest of the house crazy. Soundproofing can really save your bacon here and make up for any sound leaks. And then because you aren't like your neighbor's teenage son who drives around with his stereo pumping at max volume, you know that there's nuance to a great theater experience. You gotta get the sound right for the full spectrum of experiences: from the quiet speeches to the musical score to that giant explosion. Good acoustics and sound quality will substantially improve the listening experience. Lucky for you, we’re here to help you nail all of it.

As we mentioned earlier, soundproofing is important so you can blast your entertainment as loud as you want without anyone else complaining. The sound from home theaters can be difficult to contain because it ranges so widely. Low bass will rumble down to the floor below, and high frequencies can penetrate to bedrooms down the hall. There’s a lot that you can do, from plugging up leaks to replacing the entire flooring, but how soundproof you make your personal theater all depends on your budget for the project and your goals. We’ll walk you through some soundproofing fundamentals, but you can always call us for a custom plan for your home theater.

At minimum you should focus on door soundproofing and sealing any windows into your space. These are the weakest points in most rooms. Preferably you wouldn’t have any windows to worry about and just one door. For door soundproofing, we sell a full soundproof door as well as a door seal kit, also check out our guide to using a soundproof door cover. Once you’ve soundproofed the entryways, you should focus on the walls, floors, and ceiling.

The standard for how well a wall or barrier blocks sound is something called an STC rating. Contractors aren’t particularly concerned with soundproofing when building houses (the code doesn’t require many soundproofing best practices) so a typical wall in a residential home has an STC rating of about 30-34. For your home theater we recommend a minimum STC rating of over 50, which is absolutely doable as a DIY project. For reference, most professional theaters have an STC rating of 65, you can achieve this too if you’re willing to do some remodeling. If your home theater is in the basement, then check out our basement soundproofing article for more advice.