110" DIY Spandex AT Screen - Page 3

Glad to see it's working. I got my order of spandex in and honestly, the the matte grey spandex looks virtually identical in colour to my current painted screen (CIL Snow Field - N 8.5). Sooo, I'm going to use it as the main part of my screen with the white as a backer. My PJ is plenty bright, so it should work well. I also luckily managed to find screen tight stuff from Home Depot (damn stuff was hiding on me). I'm so stoked and will be working on it in the next few days. Will post pics.

The screenshots are pretty good actually. It is white over grey, is not it?

so does it look like you can live with this? it is hard to tell from the picture but it seems like marked improvement over the plain silver moleskin.

How do you install the two layers of spandex with one screen spline? Do they both go in the same channel or do you use the outer channel for the bottom layer and the inner channel for the top layer? Do you install inner layer and then outer layer separately, or together like they were one piece of fabric?

Smokarz, I'm assuming that's if you wrap the spandex around your frame and to the back of the screen? If you're not wrapping around it would be front (screen) on the inner channel, then backing on the outer channel? I totally did it wrong and did the screen layer on the outer, then the backing on the inner part without wrap around (thus, having both layers shoved into the inner channel). It worked, so I guess it doesn't really matter. It was a more difficult to get both in the channel, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Cool project! I'm looking into building my own screen as well now. DIY ftw

I initially thought that, too, but I watched Cowboys and Aliens last night and was blown away by the PQ. I definitely didn't stretch my silver (main screen) layer as much as some have, so maybe it's more "solid"? I was worried that it wasn't stretched enough and would affect the audio quality, but that hasn't been the case at all.

Doing a 120" screen myself. Finally found decent 10' boards at a different Lowes (local one had junk). Home Depot doesn't carry anything longer than 8' in poplar at all (per their system and the 3 stores I checked), if your local store carries it count yourself lucky. Lowes carries both 10' and 6' lengths which were pretty close to what I needed.

So close and yet so far. Just finished putting the screen together - frame is done, screen tight is on, flipped it over to put on the face molding (for stand off between screen and frame) and found two issues. First it appears that the different lengths of molding have different thicknesses. Picked up 2 10' and 2 8' and the 10' lengths are thicker by about a 1/4 of an inch - so watch this when buying molding. Second issue is that all of my finishing nails are all either too short or too long, and now the stores are closed. Can't even put the garage back in order because I need to use the radial arm saw again tomorrow to cut the new trim pieces.

I haven't bought any trim as I didn't think it was necessary but I may go ahead and do it now as my frame isn't perfectly flat but pretty darn close. Are you just using 1/4" half or quarter round? Do you need to use 10' lengths or can you get away with shorter sections butted together w/o the seam showing through the screen?

Edit: Looks like if I go with quarter-round with the flat edge towards the outside of the frame I can get the best edge. Now to get the answer about trying to find solid pieces or if you can piece multiple pieces together per edge. I guess if I used oak quarter-round I could sand the edges flush but that seems like it may not be necessary?
Edited by jeremyhelling - 12/1/12 at 11:03pm

They had pine quarter round molding that was thicker in one dimension than the other - 3/4 inch x 1/2 inch. It is the 1/2 inch side that varied by the length I got.

I used pine door stop. It has a slight curved edge and a much bigger flat surface for affixing trim/border to.

I'm curious about this too: My screen width is 10' wide and my previously-purchased-quarter-round-that-otherwise-has-no-use is in 8' lengths, so unless someone recommends otherwise, I will likely be butting two strips up against each other for the top/bottom of the frame as well. If you end up receiving advice outside of this thread on the matter, please report back here to let us know as well. Thanks and good luck!

If you have to butt two pieces of wood together and it causes visible issues with the screen, fill the gap with wood filler putty and then sand smooth.

The correct term for what I got is 'shoe molding' (image). Con is that the flater surface area where the screen could make contact may be visible if everything isn't perfect. Pro being that there is more area to work with for attaching. It think the issue is that they carry it in both 1/2 and 3/4 thickness, and then don't put it all in the right place.

Just finished stretching the fabric. A suggestion: first, wear cloth or latex gloves. I managed to scrape a knuckle on the frame and half way through noticed I was leaving spots of blood all over the fabric. It was just on the underside of the under layer and isn't visible from the front, but still.

As to how much material to buy - I am doing a 120" screen. When I pulled the grey fabric out of the box, there wasn't as much material as there was with the white sheet. Turns out that instead of giving me a single 3 yard sheet they gave me a 2 yard sheet and a 1 yard sheet. The 2 yard sheet was enough to cover the screen and I wasn't even going for 'as tight as possible', just 'tight'.

Another suggestion on the spandex:

When you get your shipment, take it out and confirm that it is correct and in good condition. I left mine in the box so nothing would happen to in on accident. Turns out the silver fabric was 2 pieces instead of 1 and has some really bad marks on it. It looks like I got the end/beginning of a roll and something put a thick vertical line of discoloration on it that transferred to the folds. Now that it is stretched tight it still appears 'wrinkled' where the marks are on the fabric. I reported it to them, but given their 10 day return window I am thinking I am out of luck. In a dim room, it looks fine but as soon as I shine a light on it the marks stand out. Really glad I went the screen tight method since that will make replacing the fabric a cinch.

Edit - to give them props, they looked at the images and are shipping replacement fabric. They didn't have to do this (and reminded me that it was outside of their normal practice), but they are making it right.
Edited by BartMan01 - 12/3/12 at 3:22pm

Hey, guys,

I am glad to see everyone doing this project as I am working on a 110” AT spandex screen as well. I have a center speaker that will be behind the screen in my non-dedicated home theater. I ordered the grey and white moleskin from the place everyone else is getting theirs so hopefully that will be here soon.

I just purchased an Epson 8350 and due to a white ceiling and very white IKEA entertainment center that takes up almost the whole wall behind where the screen will be hanging, in addition to the supposed slightly weak black levels but high lumens of the 8350, grey over white is the plan (that's what other threads have suggested), although I will be testing out white over grey. When we watch movies, the room is completely light-controlled because it is usually 2 or 3 am. My wife and I both work nights and we have no kids so we stay up until 4 or 5 am on our days off. We will be sitting about 12’ from the screen.

I ended up buying the “Top Choice” lumber from Lowes for the frame itself. The Top Choice stuff was lighter, straighter, and half the cost of the garbage poplar they had. The frame being light in weight is key for me since my wife had a “removable” requirement to the screen since the room is our family/TV room.

I also bought ½” x ½” quarter round which I glued to the edge of the face of the screen for standoff. I picked up the good velvet from Joannes (ouch – even with the 50% off coupon) and purchased some 2 ½” rectangular (looking at the cross-section) MDF trim around which I will wrap the velvet.

Two questions:

1. What are people who have the quarter round standoff doing for the velvet boarder? The very front face/edge of the quarter round is nothing but a “point” and not a flat surface you can attach anything to. My initial plan was to cut the MDF so it would go completely around the outer edge of the screen frame, but my concern is not cutting it exact enough and ending up with a gap between the velvet frame and screen (the thickness of one layer of velvet and two of spandex being the complicating factors). I was thinking on attaching the velvet frame to the screen so that the front face of the MDF is flush with the point of the quarter round (hope that makes sense).

2. Do Home Depot stores stock the Screen Tight product even though their online inventory says they apparently do not stock it, like anywhere? I live north of Seattle and have not had time to hit the local HD in person, but looked online. The main screen tight 8’ channel was not available anywhere in the NW (zero stock) so, just out of curiosity, since everyone seems to be able to find it easily at HD, I looked in the Dallas area where my sister lives (nothing), the Phoenix area where my brother-in-law lives (nothing), and a couple other random ZIP codes (goose eggs). Someone in this thread says the channel was hiding in the store. Where is it? Lowes, who wants three times as much for the same stuff, also does not carry it in store but can have it delivered to a local store within a week. Am I missing something here?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! I will try to upload some pics when I can. I put the frame I made in front of the 67” DLP I have and was amazed at the largeness!

Virtually every HD carries a goodly supply....but you bet, asking for help locating it is always a quicker route to take.

My local HD has 42 Base Channels in stock ! I*'m betting that the "Spline" is the part you have to be able to source.

If the Screen is hanging flush against the wall after installation, then piecing Mitered Trim around the perimeter and Finish nailing it to the wall should be easy enough.

........or, one could apply 4" x 6" x 1/2" Plywood Tabs to the back side of the Frame around all the edges, spaced at 12" intervals, to act as Nailers (...or "velcro'ers...) for the Trim to sit on / fasten to.

When you wrap the Velvet, and compress it against the edge of the Spandex, you should get a very smooth, crack-free appearance. But yeah....whether or not you Butt your corners or Miter them you have to be pretty close to perfect to get a seamless looking corner / edges. But keep in mind that the measurements should be just under the needed lengths because altough you might not think so, even two layers of velvet compressed together will make the Frame be too big if the measurement are perfect for pieceing everything together "Without" any wrapped coverings. .

You sure about that? Lowe's had only the 3" Screen Tight in stock and the 1.5" was available online only. In addition, no Home Depot in Northern Colorado had ANY size Screen Tight in stock. They did however have it as an online order and it was free shipping and only $3.75 per 8' section whereas Lowe's wanted about $10 per section which was absurd. One thing of note is that my screen project got put on hold over the weekend since Home Depot decided to take four days to get my order out (of only Screen Tight) so keep this in mind when planning your project. But as a heads up my local Home Depots had spline and spline tools (all cheaper than Lowe's) but no Screen Tight at all.

Unfortunately, it will not be hanging on a wall - it will actually be sitting on the bottom cabinets from IKEA as they sit out a little more than the top cabinets which are floating as they are attached to the wall. When it sits on the bottom cabinets, it will be almost straight up and down due to how much farther out the lower cabinets are from the top.

Excuse my ignorance, but are the plywood tabs you are thinking of a pre-made item or are you thinking I would make some from a sheet of plywood? Also, just so I understand you correctly, you are thinking that the plywood tabs would are attached to the back of the frame and the back of the MDF, making those two items flush at the back, instead of how I was describing it with the front of the mdf and front of the quarter round flush? Finally, it appears that whether I attached the screen to the wall or use the tabs, the problem of having to get a close measurement is not solved - right? I guess I am still looking to others if that is actually what they did. I suppose the other option is no boarder, but with the IKEA cabinets behind, I definitely want one.

The above "In Store Inventory" listings for the Memphis, TN area should make some of ya all tear your hair out.

Check HD Store Inventory

Screen Tight 1-1/2 in. Porch Screening System Base Strip


37 in stock 0.52 miles away
Collierville #729 345 Market Blvd
Collierville, TN 38017
(901) 853-1025
MY STORE

42 in stock 11.29 miles away
Olive Branch #8469 7740 Craft Goodman Rd
Olive Branch, MS 38654
(662) 890-9470

44 in stock 12.37 miles away
Memphis In-Town #703 800 Truse Road
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 818-0266

34 in stock 8.11 miles away
Hickory Hill #725 3469 Riverdale Rd
Memphis, TN 38115
(901) 546-0226

22 in stock 11.81 miles away
Cordova #704 8010 Giacosa Place
Memphis, TN 38133
(901) 385-9111

37 in stock 16.07 miles away
Bartlett/Stage Rd #737 4950 Stage Road
Memphis, TN 38128
(901) 379-1535

Check HD Store Inventory

Screen Tight 3-1/2 in. x 96 in. Porch Screening System Base Strip

24 in stock 12.37 miles away
Memphis In-Town #703 800 Truse Road
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 818-0266

43 in stock 16.07 miles away Quantity:
Bartlett/Stage Rd #737 4950 Stage Road
Memphis, TN 38128
(901) 379-1535

26 in stock 11.81 miles away Quantity:
Cordova #704 8010 Giacosa Place
Memphis, TN 38133
(901) 385-9111

22 in stock 8.11 miles away Quantity:
Hickory Hill #725 3469 Riverdale Rd
Memphis, TN 38115
(901) 546-0226

Thankyouverrymuch.......... Anyone for a Peanut and Banana sandwich?

Yes, they were "Hand made' as described.

Gosh Dude....it's really not that hard to get close enough "for Rock & Roll" as we say in my business. Simply take an exact measurement of the Width / Height of the screen Frame, and subtract 1/4" from the length of measurement of each piece.

Do you have a Miter Saw available? Even a inexpensive Yellow Chop Box and Hand Saw will work great....actually better for those who are not used to Power Tools.

The secret is to make your measurement marks "Exactly where you want them", then cut "beside" those lines. Remember, you can always trim more away if the piece is too long, but not even MississippiMan has found a way to "grow" MDF back that has been cut away.

Also, if you do cut away just a bit too much, simply Folding some Black Velvet into a little shim and placing it between the Mitered edges will fill up a pretty decent sized gap.