Backyard Theater

Thats Right! We show movies right in our backyard!

Here's how we did it!

We got the idea from BYOAC as another BYOAC member shared it. We couldnt resist!
We started viewing the various other home-brew outdoor theaters found on www.backyardtheater.com , I decided I was going to have one of my own.

I originally was going to shell out the cash for a pre-made screen. NA! Baby NA! After looking on ebay for screen material, there is plenty to choose from and they all tout their pluses and minuses and tell me how their's is 'the best'. Then after reading a little more, I have found that black-out cloth, the same stuff found on the back of curtains, seem to be the choice of the DIY'er. I purchased 3 yards for $12.00 at Hancock Fabrics. Instead of making a PVC frame for the screen, I stole this guys frame idea.



I made an adjustment to the screen for the height to be 54" and the length to be 96" to give me a 110" screen; diagonally. At first, in the corners I used 'L' brackets. MISTAKE! Alot of DIY screen website and youtube videos show them being made with 'L' brackets. USE THE CORNER BRACES as shown in the dimentional diagram above. Very sturdy frame and very light weight.

Here is the screen attached to my shed as opposed to an independent stand. I thought about the wind factor and up against my shed, it isnt going anywhere!



My shed is a huge 10' X 12' shed with lots of loft space!

Back to the screen, the black-out cloth stretched very well and I dont have any wrinkles.

I attached the screen to the shed with 3 of these

and 3 of these also.



I had to take the straight pieces and make a hook out of it by bending it so the hook part would hang in the strap. EASY UP, EASY DOWN! 1 man job and QUICK!

Total Screen price tag = $30.00 after tax.
$12.00 for black-out cloth
$16.00 1" X 4" pine x 4 ~ $4.00ea
I had some scrap wood for the braces and staples to stretch the screen. I also had the brackets for hanging the screen.

I also was going to shell out the cash for a new projector. NA! again!

I shopped the big box stores and the little guys. $650.00 + for a decent projector. Pawn shops were wanting 95% of retail for one also. Craigslist 'Is What It Is', mostly junk. eBay was my final option. After reading several auctions and lots of research at www.projectorcentral.com, I found a Dell 3300MP http://www.projectorcentral.com/Dell-3300MP.htm on eBay for $200.00 after shipping.



After waiting the 3 days it took to get here from Washington state to Ohio (extremely fast I think!), I plugged it in, pointed it at our bedroom wall.





Colors look great on the wall!

Then after the screen build and now it's dark,



Ted Stryker starting to flashback to the war!



And a pic of Ted & Elaine.

VERY VERY Pleased with the end result.   Cheers!

We have had several movie nights in the backyard and they are all wonderful to see the people have fun doing something different! We definately '1UP-ed' a certain neighbor and he took notice!

UPDATE!

We added the sound to the side of the movie screen and WOW! Sounds great!