AV Rack & DVD Case

Before I begin, let me state this: these aren't the prettiest or best-looking built-ins that you've ever seen. I basically built them to be functional. Of course, I wanted them to look good, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money either. In the end, I'm pretty happy with them. If you're building your home theater and you have the opportunity to incorporate a built-in DVD case or AV rack into your design, I'd highly recommend it. And, as I'll show, it can be done at a very reasonable price.

Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of pictures; I thought I took more, but they must have been accidentally deleted. I'll try to explain the best that I can.

My Material List:

• 1/2" and 3/4" MDF
• 2" trim screws
• fine-grit sandpaper (220 grit)
• wood glue
  
• Sherwin Williams sanding sealer
  
• Minwax wood stain (Golden Oak color)
  

First thing to mention: we used wood trim throughout the basement, so we figured it'd be a good idea to stain the built-ins as well. Problem is, MDF doesn't take well to stain - it handles paint much easier. Staining basically turned it a dark brown; not exactly the same color as our trim. It still looks okay, but if I did it again I'd either use real wood or use paint.
Second: I used trim screws; I first bought cabinet screws, but the heads didn't go in all of the way, which would cause problems when fitting the racks into their openings. Cabinet screws may be stronger, but the trim screws worked fine and seem to hold well.

DVD Case

This simple bookshelf measured in at 47" wide, 26" tall, and 6" deep. There are three levels of storage (bottom piece plus two shelves) and I estimate that it holds about 150 DVD's. Obviously, you're width and height may be different, but I chose the 6" depth because that would accommodate a normal DVD library (including box sets).

Here's a shot of the opening I left in the framing - just a basic, window-like opening:


I used 1/2" MDF for the case. I figured it didn't need to hold anything that heavy, so it should be fine. It is, but I'd probably recommend staying with 3/4" MDF - it's easier to work with when you're screwing it all together.

1. I cut my boards - two 47" x 6" pieces (top & bottom), two 25" x 6" pieces (sides), two 46" x 6" pieces (shelves), and one 47" x 26" piece (back).
2. After an initial sanding, I applied a coat of sanding sealer - if you're using stain, this really helps. I don't think you need it if you're painting, but I'm not sure. Let that soak in for an hour, then sand again.
   
3. I ended up applying two coats of stain; the MDF soaked up the first coat like it was water. The second coat goes on a little better; I sanded some more in between coats.
4. After giving one final sanding, it was ready to assemble. Nothing complicated - I attached the sides to the top and bottom, putting a line of wood glue where they connected, then screwing them together. The back was put on next, then the shelves.

That's it. Simple and cheap. You could obviously get fancier with it, but I didn't need it to be. It was (gently) shoved into the opening, attached to the framing with a few finishing nails, then surrounded by casing. Final product:

AV Equipment Rack

The equipment shelves and cabinet measured 79" tall, 25" wide, and 19" deep. There are eight shelves for equipment and a 16" high cabinet (with doors) at the bottom. I inserted the shelves at different heights in the rack; my top shelf has an 8" clearance, while another has only 3". I basically measured out my receiver, dvd player, and other potential components to determine the heights that I need.

My initial plan was to add rails to the shelves so I could pull them out. But after determining that adding rails to each shelf would run me about $75, I decided to leave them out. The other idea was to have the back of the rack on a hinge; that way, I could easily access the components from the rear. A good idea if you can do it; I ended up not having enough space to be able to make it work. In the end, it ended up being pretty basic, but I'm pleased with it.

Let's start with the opening. I measured out my opening, then added more studs to support the back of the rack; basically, it's another frame that's connected to the existing wall studs to provide more support.


I used 3/4" MDF for the rack; it seems to be plenty strong enough to hold my heaviest component (which is my receiver at the moment).

1. I cut my boards - two 76" x 19" pieces (sides), one 23.5" x 19" piece (top), two 23.5" x 18.25" pieces (bottom shelf and bottom of rack), one 76" x 25" piece (back), seven 23.5" x 16" pieces (shelves), a 23.5" x 16" piece (front of cabinet), and two 9" x 14" pieces (cabinet doors).
2. In my top piece, I cut three holes for ventilation - I planned on putting my receiver on the top shelf, so I wanted a little more air to circulate in that top shelf. I've seen some people use fans to enhance cooling, but I kept it simple.
   
3. After measuring where I wanted my shelves to go, I drilled 1.5" holes in the middle of my back piece. As you can guess, these were for running cables out of the back of the rack.
   
4. After the sanding, sealing, and staining process, I was ready to assemble. I attached the top and two bottom pieces to the sides (wood glue first, then screws), then started on the shelves. Notice that my shelves are only 16" deep - I left 3" in the back for cable runs between the components.
5. The back was attached next. At this point, we installed it in the opening; it was easier to do that without the cabinet doors being on. Installation was a chore; the measurements were very tight, and it took a lot of pounding to get it in, but it rests snug in the two frames.
6. Finally, I put the cabinet face on, then installed the doors. Here's the finished product: