DIY screen

[peteaimee]

would recomend anyone starting out to have a go at makin their own screen. mine cost under $80, admittedly i had the staples and screws to hold it together. used white curtain backing or "black out cloth", and build a frame out of 42 x 42 moranty. looks great. The material in question has a synthetic look to it, if you look really close you can see a reflective quality to it. I think this is helping the effect a lot.

[Zerock]

Certainly nothing wrong with your DIY screen. I bet it looks fantastic!

A commercial screen for ours would have been over $500.
I ended up painting 3 coats of white "Single coat" primer (Kilz) followed by 3 coats of flat white paint on drywall. We're happy with that too.

-Steve

[wbassett]

Always good to hear of a happy DIYer no matter what method they use.

I certainly don't want to detract from the quality of commercial screens, but many that are on the lower price end or when it comes to white screens, in many cases DIY performs just as good and saves a ton of money.

The other thing I like about DIY is that it also can be used as an inexpensive tool. By that I mean if a person is set on buying a commercial screen, they can test some basic white and grays via DIY and decide whether they are a white screen person or a gray screen person. If a gray screen, they can easily and inexpensively decide on how dark of a screen they like. It's just much easier and cheaper than buying an actual screen only to find out you don't like it.

We do a lot of testing with smaller test panels, but to really get an accurate idea of how something will perform as a screen you need to see it as a full screen and not some small 8"x12" sample (sometimes even smaller).

Again, congratulations guys and welcome to DIY!

[peteaimee]

dont forget the feeling of satisfaction and customised look of your own design and make. Always good to tell people you did it yourself i reacon.

[cynical2]

peteaimee wrote:

would recomend anyone starting out to have a go at makin their own screen. mine cost under $80, admittedly i had the staples and screws to hold it together. used white curtain backing or "black out cloth", and build a frame out of 42 x 42 moranty. looks great. The material in question has a synthetic look to it, if you look really close you can see a reflective quality to it. I think this is helping the effect a lot.

Great news, hifijunkie!

Sit back and enjoy that baby! Nothing feels better than saving a bunch of money and being happy with the results (ok a few things do...but it is most satisfying).