For most folks, building a theater starts with an empty room. But for devoted movie fan Lee Weber, it all started with a projector. Lee purchased his first projector online, and while he didn’t have a place to install it, within a year he had been through five different models, trying to find the perfect match for him. With the arrival of his son Ethan, however, came other glad tidings: Lee’s wife—a successful chef—gave him permission to convert the basement into a theater. A drummer by profession, Lee had time during the day to work on the room while he watched Ethan. In fact, he portioned off part of the basement as a practice space and included a spot for an office as well, so the theater is anything but dedicated. “I don’t think I actually would have wanted a dedicated room,” says Lee. “I get so much use out of it this way, whether I’m practicing, working, or watching the baby. I like watching a movie on my couch, not in theater seating where you can’t stretch out.”

Lee did, however, incorporate some elements typical of a dedicated room into his multi-purpose space, such as the “humongous” 110-inch Stewart Filmscreen StudioTek screen and the JVC DLA-RS1 projector—purchases that had something of a snowball effect as he got more entrenched in the research process. “I finally ended up with the best projector possible, and then I needed the best speakers available. Now I am forever chasing the upgrade.”

Being a musician, audio is that much more important because Lee knows bad from good. He discovered French speaker manufacturer Triangle and purchased their Zerius model speakers for the front and center channels and used Cambridge Soundworks speakers for the rears. “When I heard the Triangle speakers, I could close my eyes and see the music,” Lee says. “In the background of one Radiohead song, I heard a bell I had never heard before in the top right of the soundstage, and I was hooked.”

Filling the huge, 30- x 14- x 9-foot room with sound was one of the few challenges Lee faced. “I realized quickly that the receiver I had didn’t have enough power, so I switched to an Onkyo and added a big Elemental Designs subwoofer to give the room more get-up-and-go,” says Lee. Soundproofing the room so the Webers could enjoy the system without waking their son was important, so Lee used SoundStop acoustic material behind the drywall so he could “really crank it at night.” Incidentally, the soundproofing doesn’t hurt when he is playing his drums, either.

Another challenge for Lee was the learning curve of figuring out what gear was good for the money. “True hobbyists know what they want, I didn’t know anything about Lumens and ANSI contrast. I need to buy glasses thanks to all the time I spent researching equipment on my computer.”

But much like Lee, we’ve put the cart before the horse, or the equipment before the room. Luckily, changes to the basement were merely cosmetic and didn’t require extensive remodeling. The basement space had been redone in the 1970s with black and white tile and support beams in the middle of the room. Lee had to remove most of the wood siding and deal with that tile, among other aesthetic enhancements, to make the room presentable. “Ethan and I were down in the theater every day, working on it—just the two of us,” says the devoted father. In fact, the only thing they didn’t do was lay the carpet.

While the Webers are certainly happy with the way the theater turned out, Lee plans future upgrades, including an anamorphic lens and a CinemaScope (2.35:1) screen, as well as a popcorn machine. “The overall experience is what I was shooting for. And I got it. The audio is impeccable. We go down there and forget about everything,” says Lee. “This is definitely theater one, but there will be a theater two.” For now, Lee’s wife likes to watch Project Runway in the theater, and the couple watches three or four movies a week down there while the baby sleeps. And during the day while Lee is working, little Ethan can enjoy his favorite program, “Jack’s Big Music Show.” How’s that for family values?

Quick Hits:
Length of Project: 1 month
Starting Budget: None
Ending Budget: $9,000
Dimensions: 30 long x13 wide x 9 feet high