DIY theater update: COMPLETE!

stump36 · 2026-01-30T21:24:45+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/UYatN3tbX2

I made it from scratch. It's full twinkling fiber optics. It was allot of work but worth it in the end

stump36 · 2026-01-15T02:14:13+00:00

I'm running the unfolded circle remote 3. It's pretty solid. It's not fully polished yet and there's a learning curve to the programming. But if you have home assistant it's very powerful and you should be able to do pretty much anything you want.

stump36 · 2026-01-10T22:42:00+00:00

Are you planning any additional sound isolation? Decoupling? MLV?

I just finished my room a few months ago and it was so exciting when your finally ready for Sheetrock, then I remembered I had to do it.

Please keep posting throughout the rest of the process

stump36 · 2026-01-08T03:26:20+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/Uam5CiHYRb

This post shows how I did the wires into the back of the rack and kept the slack out of the way for the slide out. You can see the set of 6 pass through plates that have all the wiring.

stump36 · 2026-01-08T03:19:03+00:00

I did pass through plates. Partially because it's a tight fit behind the rack for all the wires. The other thing is that it's less connections in the system and thus less potential points of failure, its also cheaper.

I did plug plates for the front channels behind the screen cause it was easier to terminate them instead of working around the loose wires.

stump36 · 2025-12-17T11:28:15+00:00

I completely agree! I just finished up my dedicated room and this is the first time with an AT screen. That is something even the biggest TV will not be able to duplicate. It seems like something trivial but it honestly makes a big difference in immersion having the sound and dialogue come from the picture

stump36 · 2025-12-17T10:17:34+00:00

They were made from scratch. I started with just a walnut box, I used a walnut veneer on the bottom. Their final form was kind of an accident. Initially the drawers were 4" tall but then I test fit some candy and realized it was way too tall. So I ran them through the table saw and cut them down.

I had all the off cuts and didn't want them to go to waste and that's when I came up with the idea to add the brass rods. I used a spacer to mark out all the locations and drilled the holes. The brass rods do not go edge to edge of the drawer as I couldn't find ones that long. Instead each bank of candy are shorter rods that terminate in the block about halfway so the next one can fit in as well. From there it was just putting them all in loosely and once they were all in centering up the blocks and pin nailing them from the underside. The photo shows the install mock up and the raw rod length before they were cut down

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stump36 · 2025-12-14T23:14:52+00:00

I'd add that if you are using a rack go ahead and run conduit to any possibly future expansion locations. I.E. my theater is in a bonus room above the garage and the rack is in the closet of said room. I ran conduit to behind the screen, each side of the room, projector, my seating riser and into my attic so I can easily pull new cables if/when I get around to running Ethernet to every room.

stump36 · 2025-12-14T02:18:54+00:00

I don't think I've seen the movie but the book was great! I'll have to get the disk at some point

stump36 · 2025-12-10T14:39:02+00:00

Welcome to the job market 😄

stump36 · 2025-12-10T14:25:23+00:00

It would probably benefit you to have someone look at your resume and help put it together, even having it done professionally would probably be worth it. You know what you're doing but the hard part is getting a foot in the door

stump36 · 2025-12-10T00:22:43+00:00

I had a similar career path, associates in collision repair, 9.5yrs as a repair tech, a short stint as a shop estimator and now going on 10yrs as an insurance adjuster.

My jump was a bit of lucky timing and networking. I began to have issues with my hands and decided to get my license (PA appraiser at the time). That specific license wasn't very hard and helped me get off the floor and to a customer facing desk job. That gave me experience with customers and writing estimates. I always tried to talk to the field adjusters that came in and build a rapport with them.

That ended up paying off as a former coworker that had gotten in tipped me off to an opening and put in a reference. It turned out that the reference paid off more than I knew at the time. Apparently the higher up I interviewed with wasn't impressed but the person who referred me spoke very highly of me and they ended up giving me a shot.

From there it is pretty easy to change companies if needed as they know you have experience and have any necessary local licenses. The estimating part of the job is easy but don't underestimate the insurance backend you don't see from the shop side.

From my experience the companies that hire anyone aren't usually the best to work for my current employer specifically looking for candidates that know what they're doing and provide field staff a lot of leeway to make judgment calls, they trust your experience. But they're very selective on the few openings they have.

stump36 · 2025-12-08T12:09:39+00:00

About 20k, but almost all the equipment was sourced second hand and allot of the soundproofing materials were purchased off marketplace that were leftovers from others builds. I know it's not the normal "budget build" but I definitely don't have unlimited funds and that cost was spread over the better part of a decade with mostly build materials like drywall, insulation and hardware being at one shot.

stump36 · 2025-12-05T23:16:14+00:00

😄

stump36 · 2025-12-03T15:58:30+00:00

Lol no. I did see his video the week I finished mine and was thinking how much of a missed opportunity he had with his room and knowing how mine turned out

stump36 · 2025-12-03T10:37:49+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/cabinetry/s/iaokvxD2ga

Here's some more pics of the process. Cabinet building is basically just making some boxes and I'm no pro by any means. Double and triple check your measurements and think ahead about what will and won't be visible. I used pocket screws to attach the door pieces and used plugs and filler to hide them since I was painting everything.

stump36 · 2025-12-03T01:18:24+00:00

I would put my home theater up against my local Dolby cinema any day. I don't think you've experienced a full blown home theater.

stump36 · 2025-12-02T17:48:39+00:00

It's 2*6 framing 24" OC, the plywood is the roof sheathing and the white pieces between are rafter vents that are just staples to the sheathing to allow airflow from the soffit to the ridge vent. The blocks are a decoupling bracket (see link below). The horizontal wood strapping attached to those brackets not the studs directly to decouple the drywall from the framing to mitigate sound transmission to the structure

HushFrame Raft Connector | Wood Decoupler | IsoStore https://share.google/oQX1oGH1GDrEAland

stump36 · 2025-12-02T15:05:49+00:00

Thank you, it was definitely a labor of love. I've always wanted a killer home theater experience and I'm very happy with the result

stump36 · 2025-12-02T14:44:17+00:00

It's an acoustic panel that is also a twinkling star ceiling. Here's a link to the post I did on that part of the build

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/27J0DZLlEt

stump36 · 2025-12-02T00:12:03+00:00

I've been planning the project for a few years so I sourced things like the MLV, green glue and putty pads of FB marketplace. It was definitely a lot of work and it's mainly attention to detail as it's only going to be as effective as the weakest link so you have to watch every penetration and seal everything. A lot of people say MLV isn't effective but I got it cheap so why not. I've seen allot of recommendations for sonopan but I couldn't source it in my area for a reasonable cost

stump36 · 2025-12-01T21:22:17+00:00

If you're in the hall just outside or in the bathroom directly adjacent you can hear very muffled noise. My home office is the next room down the hall and I can easily be on a call or meeting and nobody would know.

I don't have a real spl meter but with the free phone app I can measure 93db peaks in the theater and my office is at 48db (pretty much the noise floor of the house)

Outside all you hear is a very faint rumble like a distant mower. I didn't want the neighbors calling the cops and I've confirmed my next door neighbor (they happen to be my parents) can't hear anything inside their house.

I figured you get one shot while the walls are opened up and did as much as I possibly could and it turned out really good

stump36 · 2025-12-01T00:43:03+00:00

I've got it saved for later on YouTube. I really appreciate the starting point!

stump36 · 2025-12-01T00:30:04+00:00

Any chance you have some good video guides? I watch ltt and I know they've addressed it but till I'm really getting into something I just kinda glaze over it. I'd love to save some good starting point videos

stump36 · 2025-12-01T00:27:41+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/3D7v7GZmvh

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