DIY Home Theater… Should I? Can I?
DIY Home Theater is a huge craze…but unfortunately a huge financial mistake. Hopefully you found this article researching DIY Home Theater System Setup so we can tell you why in most cases you should not or cannot. This advice also applies for “Pre-Wired” homes. Here are examples of a separate DIY Disasters from a neighbor near you.
FACTOR #1
Professional Home Theater installations are a skilled trade similar to an electrician or a plumber. It falls under the “Low-Voltage” installation umbrella. The only difference is that it does not require a State License like some trades. So people are fooled into thinking they can do it themselves since there are an abundance of “Chuck-in-a-Trucks” running around providing low quality installs. Truth is…proper TV Wall Mount Installations, Projector Installations, Projector Screen Installations, and Surround Sound Speaker Installations require mathematic calculations and knowledge not in books to be done correctly. This also applies to “Pre-Wired” homes due to the fact that many of the cabling installers have never installed the speakers and/or electronics so they may make errors in placement the a pro needs to point out and correct if possible.
FACTOR #2
It can only be done once! Making mistakes, needing for things to be moved because they were installed in the wrong place for maximum effect will require sheetrock repair to cover up the errors made in the original DIY install. Besides the possible repair factor, there is always the possibility of purchasing the wrong items due to their size or function.
FACTOR #3
You may drive up the overall cost of the project. (1) the labor involved to correct the DIY Home Theater mistakes (2) cost of new electronics to replace broken components due to a voided warranty for user-caused damage during the DIY Home Theater adventure (3) cost of sheetrock repair caused by the inexperience of the original Home Theater Setup (4) cost of specialized tools you will never need again unless you decide to do other low-voltage work.
For the best results, let a skilled professional take care of the Home Theater equipment selection, acquisition, installation, and integration:
Not in the Houston area? Need to find a skilled professional in Home Theatre Setup or trades, then…