[Harry Muscle]

Due to the layout of my living room I'm forced to hang a screen from the ceiling (there's a partial wall and a staircase behind the screen). My current plan is to build a wood frame and attach MDF board to it and a nice border, then paint it with Black Widow and hand it from the ceiling. Couple things I'm wondering about though.

Does anyone have any good ideas how to hand the screen and make it look nice? I'm looking for a finished build in look (or as close to it as possible). It will be about 20" from the ceiling. Also is there a better way of building a screen that can be painted and hung from a ceiling?

Thanks,
Harry

 

[salvasol]

I do not have any experience with DIY screens ... but, I'm wondering: Is that the only place where you can install it??? ... you mentioned a partial wall and staircase behind the screen; is there any other wall where you can permanently place the screen without hanging??? :dontknow:

 

[Harry Muscle]

Nope. It's 10 x 20 foot living room with a large opening to the kitchen on one long wall (open concept), two doors to two rooms on the other long wall, a window on the back short wall and a staircase on the front short wall. So the only real way to lay it out is to put seating in front of the windows and project to where the stair case is. It's not the ideal room for a home theater but I can make it work

Harry

 

[salvasol]

... It's not the ideal room for a home theater but I can make it work Harry

I'm sure you will :T ... Out of curiosity: Why you don't want a roll up screen??? :hide:

 

[Harry Muscle]

I don't like the look of roll up screens plus they tend to sag after a while unless you get the tensioned ones which are quite expensive.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Prof.]

Nope. It's 10 x 20 foot living room with a large opening to the kitchen on one long wall (open concept), two doors to two rooms on the other long wall, a window on the back short wall and a staircase on the front short wall. So the only real way to lay it out is to put seating in front of the windows and project to where the stair case is. It's not the ideal room for a home theater but I can make it work

Harry

Does the staircase go down to a lower level, or up ..? If it goes down, then I've seen screens fixed to the staircase wall..ie, you project over the railing to the wall behind..
Some pics of the room would help..

 

[salvasol]

...Some pics of the room would help..

I agree with the Prof. ....another option could be to make a screen on wheels (I remember I saw a thread about it); you can move store it when not in use ...:yes:

EDIT: Here is the link to thread ...http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/projector-screens-diy-screens/13238-screen-wheels.html

 

[Harry Muscle]

You're right, pictures might help ... we just bought the place so here's a picture from the listing. It's not the best quality, but it gives a good idea of what I'm trying to do. The screen will need to hang in front of the arched opening (there's a stair case in behind it, going down). Closing the opening off with drywall is unfortunately a no no. Also that arch has a small sil (sort of like a windows sil) so the screen will have to stick away from the wall, hence why I was thinking of hanging it from the ceiling. Although technically it could be hung from the wall if I can make sure it's a few inches away from it.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[maikeldepotter]

You're right, pictures might help ... we just bought the place so here's a picture from the listing. It's not the best quality, but it gives a good idea of what I'm trying to do. The screen will need to hang in front of the arched opening (there's a stair case in behind it, going down). Closing the opening off with drywall is unfortunately a no no. Also that arch has a small sil (sort of like a windows sil) so the screen will have to stick away from the wall, hence why I was thinking of hanging it from the ceiling. Although technically it could be hung from the wall if I can make sure it's a few inches away from it.

Thanks,
Harry

If you have a huge budget (I am not sure if you can DIY such a screen) go for an acoustically transparent screen (e.g. screen research :spend and put the center speaker behind in the arched opening, and the fronts left and right from the screen. The left speaker might partially block the entrance though.... What seating distance are you thinking of?

 

[Harry Muscle]

If you have a huge budget (I am not sure if you can DIY such a screen) go for an acoustically transparent screen (e.g. screen research :spend and put the center speaker behind in the arched opening, and the fronts left and right from the screen. The left speaker might partially block the entrance though.... What seating distance are you thinking of?

I wish I had the money, but unfortunately I don't. The seating distance is going to be pretty far back ... again I'm stuck working with the layout of the room. It's a 20x10 foot room, so the seating will be against the back wall (where the windows are ... not shown in the picture). So the back of the sofa will be probably around 19 feet from the screen.

I got a suggestion for using Gatorfoam as the screen material instead of the 1/4" MDF ... so I'm currently looking into that. However, I still need to figure out how to make it look nice either hung from the ceiling or from the wall while still allowing it to stick away from the wall a few inches.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Harpmaker]

Hi Harry,

You haven't said if this screen is going to be a permanent installation or one that you can take down easily.

It would also be nice to know what projector you are using (and if it is ceiling, shelf or table mounted) and how large a screen you intend on making.

Hanging a screen directly from the ceiling has always worried me; unless you can suspend it from the supporting members themselves, there is always the possibility of the connector pulling out of the ceiling - and that is something we certainly don't want.

IMO, the most invisible support system would be an extended "French cleat". Below is a YouTube video explaining what a French cleat system is. If you don't want to make them yourself (or don't have the tools), metal ones are available at many hardware and home improvement stores; although they may not be called French cleats, but something like "picture hangers", "mirror hangers" or somesuch.

YouTube - French Cleat

 

[Harry Muscle]

Hi Harry,

You haven't said if this screen is going to be a permanent installation or one that you can take down easily.

It would also be nice to know what projector you are using (and if it is ceiling, shelf or table mounted) and how large a screen you intend on making.

Hanging a screen directly from the ceiling has always worried me; unless you can suspend it from the supporting members themselves, there is always the possibility of the connector pulling out of the ceiling - and that is something we certainly don't want.

IMO, the most invisible support system would be an extended "French cleat". Below is a YouTube video explaining what a French cleat system is. If you don't want to make them yourself (or don't have the tools), metal ones are available at many hardware and home improvement stores; although they may not be called French cleats, but something like "picture hangers", "mirror hangers" or somesuch.

YouTube - French Cleat

PERFECT. Thank you very much :T

I'll just make it out of a 2x4 behind the screen and that itself will cause the screen to protrude enough to not hit the sil.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Prof.]

Hi Harry,

You haven't said if this screen is going to be a permanent installation or one that you can take down easily.

It would also be nice to know what projector you are using (and if it is ceiling, shelf or table mounted) and how large a screen you intend on making.

Hanging a screen directly from the ceiling has always worried me; unless you can suspend it from the supporting members themselves, there is always the possibility of the connector pulling out of the ceiling - and that is something we certainly don't want.

IMO, the most invisible support system would be an extended "French cleat". Below is a YouTube video explaining what a French cleat system is. If you don't want to make them yourself (or don't have the tools), metal ones are available at many hardware and home improvement stores; although they may not be called French cleats, but something like "picture hangers", "mirror hangers" or somesuch.

YouTube - French Cleat

You beat me to it Harp..:bigsmile: That's exactly what I was going to recommend after seeing the photo..

Personally, I would find that mounting position too high for comfortable viewing..but from the seating distance you're talking about, it might be OK..