Yes, a garage can become a great home theater. This family turned their 3-car garage into an 850-square-foot theater with 3 levels and a 119-inch screen. The 1 Sound Choice crew leveled the floor, insulated, and added heat.
What do you do when there’s no space inside your house for a home theater? Look outside. Pining for a place where the whole family could hang out, the owners of this prize-winning pad turned their three-car garage into an 850-square-foot home theater. Getting the area into shape would test the design skills of the crew at Pompton Plains, N.J.-based 1 Sound Choice, as they first had to level the concrete floor, add insulation to the walls, replace the three garage doors with Anderson sliders, and install a heater. New electrical wiring, outlets and lighting were also added, and soundproof walls were built around an existing central vacuum receptacle to hide the beast and prevent noise from interfering with the movie presentation. “There was a lot more to do than I expected to get the area ready,” recalls company president Ryan Herd. Despite being an unconventional choice as a home theater, the space had some very good elements going for it. Due to its large size, 1 Sound Choice was able to stagger the floor to create three distinct levels. On the upper platform the family placed a table for playing board games and cards. The next level encompasses a seating area, followed by the lower platform where a 119-inch Screen Innovations display stands front and center. As an added bonus, the ceiling and many of the existing walls consisted of fire-rated double Sheetrock. “This type of construction provided us with huge acoustic benefits by preventing sound from the theater from seeping into the house,” Herd explains. With a large portion of the garage already soundproofed, 1 Sound Choice custom-designed acoustical paneling for the interior walls. Covered in a dark blue fabric chosen by the homeowners and trimmed in gold, the treatments add visual impact to the space while enhancing the audio reproduction of the room’s beefy Denon 7.4 surround-sound system. (Click Here to view the rest of this article on ElectronicHouse.com)Want the family room ready for game day? See our family room game day page.
What One Sound Choice clients say
1 Sound Choice installed a flat screen TV for us along with surround sound. We could not be happier with the professionalism we received. They were within budget and time — no surprises. We would highly recommend 1 Sound Choice.
– The Baron Family (1 Sound Choice client testimonials)
We were surprised with what (Ryan) took away from the conversation – even reading between the lines to put everything we wanted and needed right into his designs for us. At first, we really didn’t know who to go with; we hadn’t had any renovations to our home before. We set up a consultation and liked (Ryan) because he was personable, a good listener and knowledgeable. He asked about our wish list and gave us some ideas…which were great.
– Mr. & Mrs. Caywood (1 Sound Choice client testimonials)
We hired Ryan and Ken to build a theatre room for us back in 2008. They did an excellent job and have been terrific all of these past 5 years in providing us with service, updates and recommendations along the way as we’ve needed them. I would highly reccomend them to anyone looking for professional A/V services.
– gballotti (Houzz review)
Garage theater questions
Can a garage become a home theater?
Yes. This family turned a 3-car garage into an 850-square-foot theater.
What work did it take?
Leveling the floor, insulating, new sliding doors, a heater, and new wiring and lights.
How is the room laid out?
3 levels: a game table on top, seats in the middle, and a 119-inch screen at the front.
How was noise kept down?
Soundproof walls were built around the central vacuum unit.
One Sound Choice, 8 Tilley Ave, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444. Call or text (973) 945-5275. We work in homes across Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. Written by Ryan Herd, founder of One Sound Choice.