How to build a two step raiser for home theatre seating?

[amvaseem]

Hello there,

Hope you all are doing well.

I am new to the community and this going to be my first D.I.Y project. I am here for some suggestions from you all.

We recently moved into a new house and I have a room that is 3.5 m x 3 m, which is open on one side with a wall 2.56 m away, where I will hang a 110" screen. However, there is a 60 x 60 cm pillar at one corner of this room, that reduces the size to 3.5 m x 2.4 m. 

So, I have a 350 cm x 240 cm area where I want to build a two step raiser for Theatre Room Seating with HT pallets. I think/know the standard pallets are of 1200 x 1000 x 140 mm. I am thinking of using 6 pallets (3 x 2 (stacked)) at the back row, and 3 pallets (3 x 1) at the front row. On top of these pallets, I would like to put a 19 mm plywood and then a carpet on top. This should roughly give me two steps that are 3500 x 1200 x 160 mm each.

Do you think it is a good idea to use Pallets to build a raiser ?

What Plywood should I use for the floor ? 

Please see the photos for better understanding of my situation. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Thanks

Vaseem

[EricL]

Hello @amvaseem 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's splendid to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about building a riser for your home theatre.

Although it is technically possible to build a riser with pallets, it would be better to build it out of framing timber such as 90 x 45mm Framing MGP10 H2 Blue Pine 2.4m. Pallets are excellent at holding uniformly spread weight, however if that weight were concentrated in one of the unsupported spots it would bend or break.

You can still use 19mm plywood but your platform would be more secure built with the framing timber. There is also the option of using Edge 70 - 170mm Bigfoot Xl Pedestal Feet, it will give you complete control on how tall the platform will be.

Please make sure to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and mask when working on your platform.

Here are some discussions on how to build a home theatre platform:

• How to build home theatre riser platform? by @Sergej
   
• How to build a home theatre platform? by @Rahvi 
   
• How to build a timber platform (riser) for a home theatre room? by @KZD 

I also suggest having a look at this excellent guide - How to build a dedicated home theatre by @Prof.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Prof]

Hi Vaseem...and welcome to the forum..

Building a two level riser requires a  very solid construction as Eric alluded to..

The flooring of risers is generally 18mm. thick MDF..

If you're planning to have the riser almost the width of the room, then you are going to have to have build a suitable framework to take the weight of the seating and the weight of the people who are sitting there...

You will also need to completely acoustically insulate the two levels with the appropriate insulation material..

There are also certain dimensional requirements that you must use so everyone has a clear view of the screen..

Here is a website that can give you all the information you need..

https://www.theaterseatstore.com/blog/home-theater-riser-guide

Good luck with it all and if you need any further help just let us know..

Prof...