[Yaboosh]

I plan on building a DIY screen with frame and the whole works when I move into my new place in a little less than a year, but until then, my X1 arrives friday and I am looking for a less flashy but still workable solution.


My plan is to take two sort of half dowels (do these exist) or even two thin strips of wood, the length of my screen (74"), nail them together to form a top off the screen and a bottom, the top to mount the screen on curtain hooks I have already installed.


Will the wood on the bottom be enough to provide the proper tension for decent movie viewing? I know this wont look perfect, but I am just trying to go with something that will suffice for the time being. Will I even be able to find lumber that will meet these needs at a place like Home Depot? I just need like 74" long, and maybe 2" x 1/2"? Will this support the weight of the screen? The hooks are about 28 inches apart, so they will support the screen 14 inches out from center, a fairly central distribution of weight.


I apologize for the cryptic description of my plans, hopefully I didnt lose all of you to the point of total confusion. All I want to know is, should this work?

 

[timle]

This doesn't sound much easier than building a quick frame out of 1x3 and stapling blackout cloth to it. Took me about an hour to build my frame and other 30-45 minutes to stretch and staple the cloth.

 

[xmenxmenxmen]

I 2nd building a frame and using blackout cloth, much easier then what you suggested.

 

[andtime]

I know what you mean. I ended up using just one 2x2 to support a 4x8 sheet of bright white vinyl I got at Home Depot. I figured the weight of the vinyl would keep it flat. Ah.....no. It's got a definite curve in it. However, mine's only a temporary solution until the remodel is done ($14, not bad).


I think you'll just have to try it an see if you need another dowel/board to weight it down. Again, if this is only temporary (like mine is for my X1), just give it a shot. Having an 8' screen is just so cool---even if the screen setup isn't ideal.

 

[Chip Z]

I second Timle's idea. For less than $30 you can build a BO cloth screen in less than 3 hours. I just built my first screen tonight.