CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Nashou66]

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Hi Guys, I picked up my new 13 foot 2.4 aspect Hurley Screen. It is of the Lace and Grommet type. I only unrolled a little bit to see the grommet's location in the edge of the screen.

So now for how to build the frame, I was going to use electrical conduit pipe but I think i will go with select 2x4 lumber
screwed to the wall and then put eye screws into the sides of the wood frame and use either springs tensioning from the grommets to the eye screws or turn buckles instead of lacing . I just feel the lacing will stretch more over time and need re-tensioning more than either of the other methods with springs having the less change since the spring will keep tension even.

Has anyone had any experience with a Lace and Grommet screen and what method did they use for tensioning the screen.

I also want to build the frame a bit larger to fit a slightly bigger screen if i decide to go wider in the future. Also i am not going to use the full 13 feet now and stay with what I have at 12 feet, so I will also build the visible frame to fit my current image, then when going larger i will only need to remove it and trim it down.

Athanasios

[LOTREE]

Interesting design but I like the concept and it would allow for quick tension adjustments even without the springs. Your screen height will be my screen width. I almost bought a Hurley but went with the DW instead. I'd definitely like to see this when done as my father just got a 9500LC and the fact your screen will be massive

[Nashou66]

My plan is to have the screen at the same plane as the top of the 2x4's when mounted flush to the wall, this way I should be able to use 1 x 10's or larger to cover the frame and the Grommets and lace, then using some black out material over that.

Athanasios

[LOTREE]

I like! Perhaps behind the 1x10 have warm white LED rope light or some type of dimmer lights when the movie is about to start. Depends how far out from the screen you have the 1x10 mounted.

[WTS]

Didn't I already give you my plans for the electrical conduit frame I built for my Hurley screen, hmmm I thought we dicussed it, if not let me know and I'll post them.

Don't worry about the screen stretching over time, I laced mine up and it hasn't required retouching in over 3 years. Just make sure you give it a little tension when you lace it, not too much though, just enough to make it taught.

I would think building a large 2x4 frame and keeping it true over time might be tough to do without lots of bracing to keep the 2x4s from warping.

Don't forget to put some black velvet behind the screen about 1.5 inches to squash any reflections, it does make a big difference with my Hurley 1.5 gain screen.

So what model did you get and how much did you pay for this screen?

[Nashou66]

[Spanky Ham]

Walter,
How much does your electrical conduit frame weigh? I have thought that PVC pipe might be an alternative.

[LOTREE]

That's why I'm building mine out of square/u-channel aluminum stock. The 1/2" electrical conduit weighs about 5-8lbs for a 10' length.

[Nashou66]

I don't think the PVC will hold up, too much flex. I think Aluminum U channel or Aluminum 1x3 tubing would be the strongest next to wood, you'd have t secure it at the 16" centers of the studs for any of them, the electrical conduit maybe every other.

Athanasios

[Spanky Ham]

I just thought about it some more and your right. I was thinking multiple crossbraces, but that was for someone going with DW or another solid substrate to lay on top. The material would be blocked by the cross braces. Of course, I just thought of another way. What if you set the cross braces back about an inch or two? The frame would look kind of like a shallow basket.

[Nashou66]

[Spanky Ham]

I was thinking t, but y might work. My thought is it would be pretty cheap. The whole frame shouldn't cost more than $40 with connectors. It would also be pretty light.

[WTS]

As for how much mine weights, I don't know but I can easily lift it up and hang it on the wall. The conduit is aluminum not steel so it is super light and then the wood frame is only 3/4"x8" boards.

As for putting it together I just bought the lengths of conduit that I needed then cut them to the exact lengths required. Then I used conduit 90 elbows to connect the corners together. I used metal conduit straps to fasten the conduit to the wooden frame, I also used 1/4" spacers bwteen the conduit and the wood in order to freely run the lacing under the conduit. As for the wooden frame I used metal framing plates to fasten the wood together at the corners. Once everything was fastened together (conduit to wood) it firmed up and became a very robust sturdy frame. I used 1" conduit.
Also I added wood edging on the inside edge of the wood frame to take the frame right to the screen material(so it's touching the screen), then I covered the wood in black velvet. Of course build the fram then cover it then lace in the screen last.
Done, one perfect screen at steal of a price. And don't forget to put the black velvet backing on to squash any reflections, don't count on the wall you hang it on to do that for you as you'll be disappointed, keep it about 1" away, actually you just need to stick the velvet to the wall before you hang the screen and that will be good.

I wouldn't use springs for tension on the screen otherwise you will have a constant stretching taking place which will eventually cause your screen to be stretched unevenly. Just use the lacing in one continuos run from one corner all around the screen and back to the starting corner. Trust me, just using the lacing they gave you will work just fine. When I talked to Hurley about this they said don't worry it will be fine and it won't have to be restretched once it's done and they were right.

I doubt if you could use PVC as it has too much flex in it and it isn't much lighter than aluminum conduit.

WOW, that is a great price, what model did you get, the 1.5 gain?

[Nashou66]

No I got the MW-16 Solid.

http://hurleyscreen.com/pdfs/HurleyScreenSurfaces.pdf

Since i am Blending they suggested the matt whit screen as they have this in commercial applications and have got best results with it.
At least that is what they told me .

But since my frame will be larger than any conduit easily found and I have the wood here i think if i secure the wood to each Stud behind the drywall, then use wood screw eyes between the 6 inch spacing of the grommet holes so the string makes a V from hole to eyes I should be ok. If not I can always add the conduit tot he existing wood.

I did not unravel the screen yet so i did not see the string, where was it when you got it Walt in the middle somewhere?

Athanasios

Athanasios

[WTS]

Sure using wood screws for the lacing would work just fine I imagine. I don't recall where the string was but they sent plenty of it to do the job.

I'm sure you'll love that screen when you're finished setting it up.

Mine is the superglo and I can't find anything wrong with it, I know it's 100% better than my brother's screen which he paid about 1k for, I don't recall what make it is, it's one of those brands that everyone raves about.

[Nashou66]

[WTS]

Damn, I have to stop doing that. Although it's better to spend someone else's money than mine. Yeah I'm still waiting for that email that says "you told me things would be better after I spent all my money".

Sounds like you have some experimenting to do, can't wait for your reviews.

[Nashou66]

[WTS]

Well keep us updated as you progress along.

[VideoGrabber]

WTS commented:
> Don't forget to put some black velvet behind the screen about 1.5 inches to squash any reflections, it does make a big difference with my Hurley 1.5 gain screen. <

Gee, Walt. If the Hurley material is that translucent, maybe he should put a first-surface mirror as the backing behind it? Seems like a shame to throw away all that light output.