DIY Outdoor Movie Screen
Friday, July 12, 2013 Source
Our rental has three large trees off the lawn, and we decided it would be great to make an outdoor movie theater out there for our family to enjoy summer night movies.
It was pretty easy and we’ve been loving it!
SUPPLIES:
–screen fabric $39 from amazon
(you could also use a white sheet or tarp, we hope to use the screen indoors someday and maybe permanently mount it in a future home)
the advantage of screen fabric is the correct gray color for projector contrast and black out backing
-1x4s for frame $20-30
staple gun, staples, screws, drill
1. Hang curtain hanging wire between trees or posts
We used 3″ long exterior screws.
2. Build Frame
Carls Place where I bought our screen through amazon has instructions to build your frame depending on the viewing ratio you want.
There’s also more steps to create a professional, black border which I haven’t done yet in this post.
I did mine differently because our small town lumber store only carries 1×4 in 8 foot lengths.
3. Staple Screen to Frame
Center the fabric and staple a few at the top/bottom centers, then the sides.
Pull and staple your way to corners, making sure to stretch out any wrinkles for a smooth, tight surface.
4. Hang with hooks and eye screws
Using 3 hook screws $1.20 each along the top of the frame, the screen hangs on the wire.
To prevent it from swinging forward and back, I used small bungee cords to connect the bottom of the screen to the tree trunks.
I put small eye screws in the frame and the tree.
FINISHED!
The back of the screen is just the open frame.
I still need to make a cover for the screen as we’re storing it in the garage and don’t want the surface to get dirty or ruined.
Our projector is just a basic one we got on ebay that’s more affordable and works.
We moved back to my husband’s hometown and we have most of our tween and teen nieces and nephews around, so our first movie night we piled them all out on the lawn and watched Gentlemen Broncos.
A movie we’ve sewn crap about before {moon buggy} and {surveillance does} and a movie we love but wouldn’t recommend as it seems most people hate it.
We’re having a fun summer and hope you are as well!
