Home Theater in the Garage?


From time to time we’re presented with unusual requests for home theater installations and more often than not the two that present the biggest hurdles are in bonus rooms above garages and or in the garage itself. Bonus rooms are fine for rear projection televisions, plasmas and LCD’s but in many of today’s homes the roof pitch is too steep to allow for a proper front projection screen. The garage on the other hand is workable, but presents its own set of problems.

Garages can indeed be transformed into home theaters but there are three (maybe more) areas that will need to be addressed before the space is suitable for use as a home theater. Keep in mind we’re talking about smaller two car garages not a full blown four to five car garage in newer homes.

First we’ll need to address the heating and air concerns. If like most garages the central air is inadequate, to keep us comfortable for hours at a time we’ll need to bring that up to scratch. This may include adding more air returns and or stand-alone heating and air conditioners.

Secondly we’ll want to install carpet if the floor is bare concrete (ok that one was obvious but it never hurts). Lastly the actual renovations to the room itself can include securing the doors, sealing off any direct light from hitting the screen and insulating any bare interiors walls (for the acoustic benefit).

As you can see, transforming an unused garage or even a portion of the garage into a home theater is no small task, but it’s one worth considering especially as a means of reclaiming unused space.