backboard for wilson art laminate

**shadyJ** · **11-04-09, 01:03 AM**

Hello,
I'm a long time lurker, first time poster! I am in the planning stages of putting together my first projection screen home theater. I have read a lot, and I have decided that Wilson art Designer white laminate is the best thing for my situation. My situation is I have a fairly dark basement room which measures 7.5' high x 13' wide x 19' deep, and I want to project a 110" to 120" 9:16 screen on the 7.5' x 13' wall. After a lot of research, I have decided that the Optoma HD20 would be the best for my circumstances.

So what I want to do is get a large piece of Wilson Art DW and use its it's maximum height to get a 9:16 ratio (I have read that even though the largest official width of that laminate is 5' high, it is actually 1" taller? is that true?). Anyway, now I am trying to figure out what to do about the backboard. I like the idea of pegboard that I read in the official laminate thread, but I am wondering if there is a more detailed guide to that somewhere? That little animation isn't very specific!

First of all, how do you piece together two pieces of pegboard to make a flat surface suitable for gluing the laminate? Will those peg holes help keep out air bubbles? Will I have to treat the board with anything first? Any tips or advice you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated!

I also want to thank you guys for a terrific screen forum, and all the work you guys have done in exploring better screens, and sharing that work with the public. This place is a real treasure!

James

**shadyJ** · **11-04-09, 01:14 AM**

Oops, I just realized that in that little animation, they aren't piecing pegboard together, they are just cutting a piece off! I don't know why I assumed they were piecing it together!

Anyway, if there isn't a good way to join pegboard together for a screen, what else would make a good backboard for an approximately 60" x 107" screen? Pressed board? Some kind of plastic panel? would sheetrock work? I suppose I will go to Home Depot tomorrow and wonder around looking for something that I can use as a backboard.

**mechman** · **11-04-09, 12:35 PM**

You can join the pegboard with a 1X4 in the back using either construction adhesive or screws.

Why do you need a backboard? Just build a wood frame and mount it to that. That's what I did.

**shadyJ** · **11-04-09, 02:43 PM**

I am thinking about doing that, but I don't know if that would make the seam between the backboards flat enough for the laminate. I was hoping there was a successful method someone has tried that they could tell me about. I would prefer a backboard because, even though the laminate is fairly stiff, I want the screen to be more rigid and sturdier than a light frame. I also want something I can glue the laminate on so I can get the biggest screen size, the frame ideas I have read about means screwing in or nailing in the laminate which will limit the height of the screen.

**mechman** · **11-04-09, 10:41 PM**

Well you can look for my posts in the laminate thread or search for 'mech' in that thread to find out about adhering it to a frame. And you can look here at tritonman's setup for a backer board.

Let us know if you need more help.

**shadyJ** · **11-05-09, 03:14 AM**

I have just ordered the Laminate. I think that post will help a lot, thanks for the link. The only tricky part that I see is gluing the laminate to the backboard smoothly and flatly. I am going to buy a bunch of wood rods to slide between the backboard and laminate so I can do it gently with as few air bubbles as possible. Another thing is making sure the laminate screen is parallel with the backboard. If this works it will be great!

**mechman** · **11-05-09, 10:04 AM**

Quote:

shadyJ wrote:

Another thing is making sure the laminate screen is parallel with the backboard. If this works it will be great!

The key thing will be lining it all up correctly. For you it will be doubly important since you are using the full width of the laminate. Most folks, like myself, are trimming it down. So you have room for error.

BTW, I am fully behind the backer board folks now as my laminate screen has a big crack in it. I was working on the ceiling and one of the ceiling planks fell and hit the screen.

**shadyJ** · **11-05-09, 01:45 PM**

It looks like the screen would have been damaged, backboard or no backboard.
I think it will be harder for me to lay the screen down straight since it will be so big. I will just have to do it very carefully.

**lsiberian** · **11-05-09, 02:16 PM**

Does this stuff actually make a nice screen?

If so that would be an easy screen to make.

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