DIY Home Theater Installation: the Pros and Cons

Are you thinking about a DIY home theater installation? If you are, there are lots of things to consider before you start combining expensive equipment and proper wiring to create your DIY home theater. So before grabbing your toolbox, read on to find out more about the pros and cons of a DIY home theater installation. 

PROS OF INSTALLING HOME THEATER SYSTEMS ON YOUR OWN

Cost savings is the #1 “pro” for a DIY home theater installation. If you are on an extremely tight budget and have the know-how, you can potentially save some money by doing-it-yourself.

If you aren’t particularly concerned about enhancing your home theater with custom lighting, sound quality, viewing distances, and unique seating options, you can feel good about attempting to DIY. What’s more, if you truly have the skill set to install those additional features properly and create a decked-out home theater environment all by yourself, then check out these great tips.

But let’s say your plan is to hang blackout drapes over your windows, hammer a shelf to hold up a projector, or use an empty wall as your viewing screen—you might want to reconsider taking on a DIY home theater installation. We know that the “pro” for a DIY home theater installation is saving some money. So now let’s talk about the “cons.”

BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH ELECTRICAL WIRING IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!

CONS OF DIY HOME THEATER INSTALLATION

The #1 “con” to a DIY home theater is the safety risk. If you don’t know how to deal with electronic equipment, it can be dangerous both to yourself and the safety of your home. In the world of Google, DIY and YouTube everyone thinks they can teach themselves to do just about anything. While this might be true for baking pies or making floral wreaths, when it comes to working with electricity, you might want to really assess your abilities to safely pull off a DIY home theater installation. 

The #2 “con” is the time it could take to finish the project. Have you ever seen “Renovation Realities?” This DIY program follows couples as they do big renovations in their homes.

Unexpected issues always come up, so the home owners inevitably exceed their time and money budgets. In your case, you might have spent dozens of hours on the lighting in your DIY home theater only to discover that it has created a glare off the screen. Or, even though you followed the instructions step-by-step to set up the surround sound, something just doesn’t sound quite right. These are subtle but important details 

in the overall viewing experience, ones which professionals would have made sure were done perfectly from the get-go.

Another “con” to a DIY home theater is that consumers’ access to purchasing high-end electronic equipment is often limited. Manufacturers of these upscale electronics like to deal directly with companies they know will install their product properly. Therefore, the general public usually doesn’t have direct access to their products. In an effort to obtain your desired product without going through a direct distributor, you could end up with a cheap knock-off. In turn, the cheaper equipment might not function the way you expected it to. It is also important to remember that if a piece of equipment is not installed properly, the warranty on it becomes null and void.

Hiring a professional company with access to trusted vendors will help you avoid that pitfall. Moseley Electronics has relationships with a variety of custom vendors, like Monitor Audio, Elite Home Theater Seating, SONY, Stewart Filmscreen, and many more. We carry many of the same brands that big box stores do, at the same pricing. Additionally, we can advise you on picking the right equipment for the space and budget you have available. Even if you are just looking to purchase a TV without an install, we can help with that too!

The last “con”—and it’s the biggest one yet—is the risk that you will get in over your head and end up having to hire a professional after the fact to fix everything for you. Let’s face it, that would be a very expensive and humbling lesson to learn, one that could have been avoided if you had hired a professional from the beginning. Paying for a job to be done twice, is an expensive lesson to learn.

TRYING YOUR HAND AT DIY WILL DEFINITELY GIVE YOU A NEW FOUND APPRECIATION FOR YOUR ELECTRONICS INSTALLER!

HIRING A PROFESSIONAL HOME THEATER INSTALLER

Unless you really know what you’re doing, installing items like speakers, projectors, or even reclining chairs can put not only your personal safety at risk, but also the safety of your home. If you don’t have solid experience in this type of work, our advice is to hire a professional to install your home theater system. A DIY home theater installation might seem like an easy project to undertake, but there are so many important details, big and small, that you could overlook. Inviting a professional to come to your home and give you an estimate is free, so why not at least do that before embarking on a DIY home theater project? 

Moseley Electronics is Richmond Virginia’s premiere custom home theater experts. Click below if you would like more information about home theater systems or would like a quote for installing a home theater system in either an existing space or new construction. Let us help you make the home theater of your dreams!