DIY Dad Quoted £1k+ For Home Cinema Does It Himself On A Budget
- Hari Josh, 25, was fed up of his angled chimney breast
- He sourced B&Q wood to build his very own home cinema
- He was initially quoted over £1k but managed it himself for £600
As another lockdown begins, many of us are planning which boxsets and movies we’ll get stuck into this time around.
And one man has proven that a home cinema doesn’t need to cost thousands of pounds.
Hari Josh, 25, a dad of one and retail manager from Shropshire, has been in the process of renovating his home during the lockdown.
His most recent project was to turn a dated chimney breast into an amazing home cinema.
The project would have cost Hari over £1,000 if he had got a professional to do it, but he built his own frame and wall panelling at a fraction of the cost.
Hari, who shares his home renovation progress on Instagram at house_number_twelve, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “Since moving in, we hated the angled chimney breast. It made the room really hard to furnish and we wanted the room to feel modern.
"Due to the cost it wasn't possible to have it removed, so we came up with the solution for a built-in cinema instead.
"A friend who is a carpenter agreed to help us build the wall which was a godsend as we didn't have a clue where to start.
“We built the frame of the wall and measured out where we wanted to display boxes. We wanted it very symmetrical so after mapping it all out we built the frame.
"After this, we built MDF boxes to slot into the desired spaces. We then applied the fire retardant plasterboard to the wall.
"We had electrical sockets in this area so electrics weren't an issue. After this the wall was plastered and the electrician then added in the downlighters.
'While the plaster was drying, we measured out the wall and spacing then popped to B&Q and bought four sheets of 9mm MDF and had them cut down for free there.
"The panelling was super easy to do and was stuck to the wall with No More Nails and tack nails. We then caulked around the wood to fill in the gaps and then gave the wood a whitewash. Once dried, we then painted it with the Dulux Sapphire Salute paint.
"Next was the accessories. We went for silver and blue accessories which were purchased from Dunelm, B&M, TK Maxx and The Range.
"The coffee table and side table were both from IKEA costing £50 for both - these only came in black so we spray painted them silver.
"After allowing the plaster to dry and settle we then painted the new wall with Dulux Goose Down.
“The total costs were £600 for the wall including the materials and electrician, £60 for the panelling, and £250 for the furniture and accessories.
"I know people might wonder how we access the electrics. This is done through from pulling out the TV which is on a pull out bracket.
"The fire is bioethanol so requires neither gas nor electric and runs on bioethanol fuel. The TV is housed inside an MDF box slightly recessed in the wall so the heat doesn't affect the TV!”
Hari, who shares his home transformations on Instagram at house_number_twelve is delighted with the finished look of his slick home cinema, and says planning is essential to get the look right.
“For anyone wanting to achieve this, I'd say make sure you get a plan drawn out and think of practicality when choosing the height of your TV, as originally the TV was higher and would've been too high to watch from the sofa,” he adds.
“We originally had some quotes off a few builders. The wall itself was being quoted at £900, but we did it for £600. The wall panelling we originally found online at a cost of £200, but we got it ourselves for £60.
“We saved over £450 doing it ourselves, plus if I factored in a decorator it would have been even more.
"We always find DIY so rewarding and this has definitely been a job that's paid off in the end. Saving money has to be a bonus for anyone.
"The finished results turned out much better than I could've imagined. It's made the room feel bigger and brighter!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “A double whammy of a cold winter and another lockdown means many of us will be spending more time than usual rewatching our favourite shows, whether Game of Thrones, Friends or The Sopranos.
“Hari’s amazing home cinema demonstrates how you can do this in style with some clever reconfiguring of an existing wall, some B&Q wood and some very stylish accessories - all without spending a fortune!"
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