How to Mount Theatre Chairs for Free-Standing Installation

Typically for home theaters this type of chair is bolted directly to a concrete floor or to a larger wooden platform, but this instructable allows for greater flexibility for use in a multipurpose room.  The first time that I mounted these chairs I installed them all together on a single MDF deck cut from a 4'x8' sheet, but this time I chose to use stock, pre-cut birch veneer plywood so that the chairs could now be separated and moved around the room individually.  Like my previous install, I mounted the chairs at a slight angle to the deck base.

Step 1 What you will need.

Materials:

     - 3/4" x 2' x 2' birch veneer plywood (1 per chair)
     - 1/4"x 1" bolts (4 per chair)
     - 1/4" x 1" washers (4 per chair)
     - 1/4" lock nuts (4 per chair)

     - smaller 1/4" washers (optionally used as spacers)

    (I started with bolts of various lengths because that's what I had at hand and used a
     hacksaw to cut the bolts flush once installed, but the 1" lengths worked without needing
     a trim.)

Tools:

     - electric drill
     - 1/4" wood drill bit
     - 1" wood drill bit and black electrical tape (see image note)
     -  7/16" socket and wrench
     - pencil
     - saw horses

Comments

[rweidman]

Just wanted to say thanks, I just mounted my theater chairs today. Nice instructions!

[mobilearchitect]

That's awesome! So far I haven't had any problems with the mount and it has been nice to be able to move them around for parties. Now everyone gets an aisle seat. Thanks for the note and happy viewing.

[SWV1787]

where did you find theater chairs?

[mobilearchitect]

It's been several years, but I think it was seatsandchairs.com. Some folks get lucky and find a local venue remodeling or closing. Mine are refurbs and have a seat number plate on them...makes for interesting conversation when thinking about the history of the chairs.