MY DIY Panels

**JCD** · **05-14-08, 01:54 PM**

I've had several panels of rigid fiberglass hanging around in my garage waiting to be turned into a form that was generally more aesthetically appealing. This last week I finally purr-ty'd them up and thought I'd share the process in pics..

Step one -- Buy the rigid fiberglass
Owens Corning's OC703 is the most famous of the fiberglass panels, but there are several other manufacturers. My is actually produced by John Manville Corp. I think it cost me ~$8-$9/panel.

Step two -- Buy the "covering"
I've been told that a loose natural fiber works best. I ended up going with burlap and found some here that I was able to get in Red and Black for less than $2/yard. It looks like the prices have gone up a little, but it's still a great deal.

Step three -- Build a frame
As with just about all things, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are some that will use some spray on glue and just glue the fabric directly to the fiberglass. This may be a cheaper alternative than the route I went -- except, I have a contractor friend who ripped some scrap wood for me to use in the frame. If I didn't have that free source, I'd probably have to spend ~$10/panel in wood for the frame. This is based on getting the cheapest wood strips at Home Depot in my area -- I think it's something like $0.59/ft x 16ft (4+2+4+2). You might want to use something a little more substantial if you think the panels might get bumped into a lot. For me, all I wanted was to staple the fabric to them. Here are some pics of the frame construction.

Cut the pieces into two 2' and two 4' lengths

Glue the ends

Staple the ends to secure during the glueing process

Final frame

Step four -- Cover with the fabric
Pretty simple, cut the fabric so that there is enough to cover the panel. Since these are going to be used in my garage and will always be hanging on the walls, I didn't care how the back of the panel looked, as can be seen in one of the pictures below. If these were going to be in the main house, I'd consider using some sort of thumb tack instead of staples. They'd be a little less intrusive than staples. I'd also make sure the entire back of the panel was covered. One other concern has to do with the fiberglass itself. There are some that have some health concerns related to the fiberglass, specifically, that breathing in the fiberglass can cause some problems. If this is a concern, then you should wrap the panel in something like polyester batting -- the stuff they use for quilts. And now for the pics..

Lay the panel on the frame

Cover with fabric to find the amount to use

Flip the whole thing to the back side

Fold over the fabric on the sides

Stretch the fabric and staple to the frame so that there aren't any wrinkles

Just stapling the fabric to the frame

Completed shot of back

Completed shot of front

In the end, my total cost per panel is probably about $13 and took about 2 hours to build six 2'x4' panels and two 2'x2' panels. Compared to what I'd have to pay commercially, it's a pretty good deal. They're not as polished as the commercial products and I don't get the support these companies provide, but they should function pretty similarly.

Anyway, there you go.

JCD

**salvasol** · **05-14-08, 07:20 PM**

Good job ...

**Blaser** · **05-14-08, 07:39 PM**

That's Great JCD! You're giving us DIYers some ideas

**Prof.** · **05-14-08, 07:59 PM**

Nice job JCD...Simple and effective..

I used the black burlap on my panels...Works a treat..

**JCD** · **05-14-08, 08:06 PM**

Simple is definitely the word of the day. I was so worried that it wouldn't work out well or I'd mess it up somehow I probably wasted a year before getting those guys built. Whole purpose of the thread was to show how easy it really is.

One more shot -- a couple leaning against the wall in my house

If I get a chance, I'll put the red and black next to each other. I've always liked the black/red combo.

One more comment -- another reason why I liked using staples, I can fix it should I later find a wrinkle or what to clean it up for whatever reason.

JCD

**Prof.** · **05-14-08, 10:20 PM**

Are they going to be placed at first and second reflection points, or somewhere else?

**JCD** · **05-15-08, 04:12 AM**

Quote:

Prof. wrote:

Are they going to be placed at first and second reflection points, or somewhere else?

I'll probably try to hit the reflection points off the side walls, then the ceiling. Depending on the results, I may try to hit the back wall too. I doubt I'll be using these for bass traps. I would probably have to buy another 6 or 12 pack to do that.

JCD

**Prof.** · **05-15-08, 08:11 PM**

Quote:

JCD wrote:

I may try to hit the back wall too. I doubt I'll be using these for bass traps. I would probably have to buy another 6 or 12 pack to do that.

JCD

If you're putting some on the back wall, then you will need the type of insulation that has the FSK facing..
I think Bryan also recommends that they should be 4" thick as well..

**dgshtav** · **11-16-08, 04:10 AM**

Hi JCD,

Couple of questions:
1. Which JM Product did you buy?
2. Where in bay area did you buy it?
3. Am in SFO East Bay (Brentwood, Antioch, Walnut Creek Area)...do you know any JM dealers here?

Thanks,
DGS

**salvasol** · **11-16-08, 01:58 PM**

Quote:

dgshtav wrote:

Hi JCD,

Couple of questions:
1. Which JM Product did you buy?
2. Where in bay area did you buy it?
3. Am in SFO East Bay (Brentwood, Antioch, Walnut Creek Area)...do you know any JM dealers here?

If you're planning to do some acoustic panels ...you can use burlap, you can order it online from GIK acoustic (look for their link on the top of the page); or there's some other places online too.

If you want to use black fabric; I got some speaker cloth from Joann's Fabrics ... maybe their price is a little high ($10/yd) ... but if you want a different color ...burlap is the way to go.

**dgshtav** · **11-16-08, 02:07 PM**

Quote:

salvasol wrote:

If you're planning to do some acoustic panels ...you can use burlap, you can order it online from GIK acoustic (look for their link on the top of the page); or there's some other places online too.

If you want to use black fabric; I got some speaker cloth from Joann's Fabrics ... maybe their price is a little high ($10/yd) ... but if you want a different color ...burlap is the way to go.

I had Burlap (or even some drapery fabric) from a local fabric store not exceeding $3 per yeard.

Will check out GIK Acoustics as well.

I still need to know vendors the OP used to get the JM boards.

**salvasol** · **11-16-08, 02:19 PM**

Quote:

dgshtav wrote:

I still need to know vendors the OP used to get the JM boards.

... I thought you were asking about the fabric

I found this link from the first post ... maybe it can help you http://www.specjm.com/locator/default.asp ...

EDIT: GIK sells the 703 fiberglass boards ...

**JCD** · **11-17-08, 01:50 PM**

Quote:

dgshtav wrote:

Hi JCD,

Couple of questions:
1. Which JM Product did you buy?
2. Where in bay area did you buy it?
3. Am in SFO East Bay (Brentwood, Antioch, Walnut Creek Area)...do you know any JM dealers here?

Thanks,
DGS

1. I think it came from their Spin Glas line. They're all 2" thick, but I can't remember which densisty I ended up with.
2. Sorry, bought it online. I did some phone calls in the Bay Area, and it seems like I found some places in SF that I could buy it locally.. but, if I remember correctly, it was going to be more than I could buy it for online. Ebay usually has someone selling some sort of rigid fiberglass for a reasonable price. I've even seen them on craigslist occasionally. Another good buy would be from here.
3. Same as #2. I used that link and found these guys near Oakland -- www.macarthurco.com. They have it listed as rigid fiberglas on their website, but don't list a price. You'd have to call and find out (if you do, please report back with how much). The other option would be to contact all of the HVAC insulation guys in the phone book asking for rigid fiberglas or OC703. Someone will eventually know what you're asking for and be willing to sell a box of the stuff.

Good luck.

JCD

**dgshtav** · **11-19-08, 07:16 PM**

Am still waiting to hear back from a couple of people I spoke with.

Meantime, I have gone ahead and got the 9.5" thick R-30 pink stuff already. I think I will be able to compress it to 4" thick (thus increasing it's density) reasonable well to fit the frames.

Per Coeffs published by Bob Golds, the 9.5" thick batts are as good as OC 705. Am hoping that compressed they should hopefully do as well if not better (more so with the increased density).

I will know once I try a few panels.

Meantime, if anyone could give me some more leads here locally (SFO Bay Area), I would really appreciate it.

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