How to Build an Entertainment Center

Don't Sweat It Steve Watson: We are here at Richard and Melissa's house. They are newly wed and this is their first house together, they have some project they want to tackle but they are not sure where to get started and we are here to help them out. Richard: Our lower level is still original for the house; definitely have some space issues down there. We have a big television set on the ground with a closet behind it, hardly uses space at all if we had a place to put this TV and the components that go with it, we'd get so much more space and so much more usage out of it. Steve Watson: You want it to be installed real clean so you want to go in through the walls through all the studs with all your wires and everything, that's the first that you've got to do. And then if you want to build like a built-in entertainment center. I would use there is some of this space. And just put this thing back in there and make this a big built-in, that'll be a big job I mean it's going to be worth in the end. Jimmy Little: So we are going to build this thing essentially as four cabinets, so we can get in the house and down the stairs. I'll slide each piece into the hole; the door frame we know is 66×82.5. I just went upstairs and measured your TV; it's 50×34, so we want a little bit of room to breathe around that. We'll make a deep cabinet like 23 inches deep for all the components. And then we'll do two DVD towers, one on each side. We are going to put a false back on this; the bottom cabinet is actually going to be deeper than everything else. It's getting a little dark out here but we are going to try to get everything ready cut so that we can come in here tomorrow morning to start assembling. Richard: Let's do it! It's good! Jimmy Little: So we've got all this stuff cut down, get it all in stack so we don't forget where we are and then come in tomorrow morning and just -- Richard: Absolutely! Jimmy Little: Bang it altogether get, it primed and painted and slide it in the hole. Steve Watson: its day two here at Rich and Melissa's house. Over here Rich and Jimmy are turning this closet into a built-in entertainment center and this is going to be huge. Jimmy Little: Alright, start about an inch from the top. Richard: Good? Jimmy Little: Good! Alright, let's grab that end, we'll take it that away, we'll start the next one. Last thing we've got to do is get the doors built for these DVD units here and then we'll be able to -- done. Before we slide this whole thing in I've got the hole in the wall, it's got a plastic pan on the background I cut a little mouse hole through it for the cables you are drawing out and this guy pops out also. Richard: Don't have to take everything out. Jimmy Little: Exactly! Well, it's never going to come out. Come on down here with the nail-gun, shoot one right down there just nail these shims together and make sure they don't slide around on it. Steve Watson: That look great! Nice work! Yeah it looks great. I love the fact that you did the crown molding up top to match the valances and everything what do you think.? Richard: Looks unbelievable. Honestly two days ago I never would have thought that all this really would have been done and it's so amazing to see it all come together. Melissa: I think this room has doubled our living space. Richard: We watch TV, we get entertained down here, it's a lot more than just a space to walk through to get to the laundry room now.