CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

whats6x7 · Club Member Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 2518

I just got a 4x8 sheet of Wilsonart Designer White and it came rolled up in a box. Can I just mount that directly to the wall? Will it come out curled up? Do I need to glue it to anything? Can I just drill some small holes in it and screw it to the studs?

Sorry for the stupid questions but I was expecting a big 4x8 sheet not a roll in a box Smile

I was just going to paint a black 1" border on the top, paint the sides in to make 16:9, drill holesm and mount it directly to my black wall. Now I'm concerned that when I take it out of the box it will want to stay rolled up. I don't want to take it out of the box until I'm ready to mount it. What do I need to buy for this weekend.

whats6x7 · Club Member Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 2518

OK, after a little looking I found a post that says it unrolls flat. If thats right then I should have no problems. Can anyone confirm that? All I want to do is unroll it and stick it on the wall.

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject:

You have it sitting right there in a box and you're asking twice whether it'll lay flat when you take it out of the box?!

And you ask again after reading my post that says (and shows a picture) that mine laid flat after taking it out of the box?!

Obviously you're looking for confirmation from someone other than me, but Good God son, just open the damn box and experience the real life wonders of laminate for yourself. Mr. Green

whats6x7 · Club Member Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 2518

OK, here's the deal. My brother-in-law informed me that I'd never get it to lay flat. That he'd worked with that stuff and I'd have to glue it to a sheet of plywood. I didn't want to open it up until I was ready to install cause I don't want to risk damaging it. I just found your post that says it lays flat. Sorry to be a pain in the ass.

Can I type ass here?

Will it be A** or Ass?

Anyway, I think I'll just open the damn box. Smile

**ecrabb** · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:31 pm Post subject:

I'm actually pretty surprised it'll stay flat, too. I've worked with it and never would have guessed it to lay very flat without glueing it. Not that I don't trust Clarence or anything! Wink

When I'm ready to do my screen, I plan on getting it and taking it out of the box and seeing what happens. Wink

SC

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:41 pm Post subject:

I have a 2nd sheet rolled up in my storage closet for a friend that's still finishing his basement.

I just unrolled it and it laid flat except for the last foot or so curls slightly and leaves the edge maybe 3" above the floor... a bottle of beer on each corner would make it lay completely flat.

So a small screw every 6"-12" will work fine to hold it onto your wall.

Instead of painting your edges, consider the black velvet trim that I linked to in the original thread... it's dirt cheap and will cover the screws that you use to attach the laminate directly to your wall.

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:47 pm Post subject:

Here's the original picture that I posted (link) of my laminate immediately after removing it from the box:

The 2nd sheet that I just unrolled this morning has the same slight curl like that.

Those are 12' sheets, but I'd expect your 8' sheet to curl even less.

**ecrabb** · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject:

Hey, Clarence...

While we're on the Wilsonart subject, do you notice any hotspotting at all? I got some samples from Wilsonart, and moving it around on my crappy matte white painted test screen, it sure looks to me like there's enough sheen that I'll get some hotspotting. I think my head will probably be right under the lenses... I haven't drawn it up, but I bet my eyes will almost be a direct reflection from the lenses - at least on part of the screen. It'll probably be a problem for me, won't it?

SC

whats6x7 · Club Member Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 2518

Clarence,

Great tip about the beer bottles. How do you get them to stick on the wall? Smile

Tim

wallace123456 · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject:

garyfritz · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:02 pm Post subject:

OK Tim, you just redeemed yourself with that crack. Very Happy

I don't have my DW yet, but I've been thinking how I want to mount it. I'm thinking of screwing it onto the front of a 1x4 frame, leaving about 2" of the 1x4 exposed. Then I'll get some of the MDF moulding from HD, miter cut it, wrap velveteen around the "inside" edge of it, mount it to the 1x4 frame (covering the exposed area and lining it up with the edge of the 1x4), and wrap the velveteen around to the back of the 1x4. That way I've got a nice frame without any shadows, no visible screws in the velveteen, etc. Sound reasonable?

I thought about just wrapping the 1x4's and screwing the MDF onto the BACK of the frame. That's simpler but might not look quite as nice as the moulding, and there would be a 1" "shadow box" in front of the screen. Which might not be a problem.

I also thought about doing the same thing with just the moulding, but the moulding bends way too easily. I'm not sure it would hold the DW flat unless I tacked it to the wall.

Maybe I'm overkilling it. Clarence, you used that Veltex tape. Are you happy with how the edge looks? I'm thinking I would probably mess up the glue job and end up with lifted edges, glue globs, whatever. Wrapped moulding would look nicer, but it's more $$ and a lot more PITA. Maybe I should just buy your left-over Veltex. Smile

whats6x7 · Club Member Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 2518

You said something about using a masking to make it variable between 16:9 and 2.35:1, how did you do that?

Tim

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:13 pm Post subject:

One new tip... do NOT try to roll the laminate backwards to try to mitigate the curl.

It will crack. Mad

But if you lay it upside down overnight, I suspect most of the curl will go away. But again, the curl isn't enough to fight against a screw every 6"-12" around the edges.

Here's the stuff I used for masking around the edges...

http://mysticalley.com/berwick_velvetribbon.html

"VELTEX BLACK VELVET RIBBON
Completely waterproof veltex, velvet type, ribbon from Berwick.
2 3/4in x 25 yards per spool."

It was only $7.95 for 25 yds... I only needed about 12 yards, but I had to order 2 rolls (enough for 4 large screens) to meet their minimum order.

Gary, I'd send you my spare roll, but I didn't do any moveable masking yet, so I'll probably keep it for experimenting. The light absorbing properties are incredible.

I wish it was wider. For adjustable masking, I'll probably use Black Fidelio velvet (link). I'm thinking about using a 10' PVC or steel EMT pipe with a hemmed and folded velvet drape and raise/lower it on pegs behind my speaker columns...

Here's a rough PPT sketch:

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject:

And here's a simpler concept with strong rare-earth magnets:

Repeat for the top edge.

The left and right edges (plus the magnets and metal strip) will be covered by my speaker columns.

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:03 pm Post subject:

Like this:

The iron plates are yellow in the illustration, but they will be covered by black velvet.

Search ebay for "rare earth magnets" or "neodymium magnets".

GEBrown · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 729 Location: Denver

GEBrown · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 729 Location: Denver

GEBrown · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 729 Location: Denver

Clarence · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:09 pm Post subject:

This is fun...

Here's design concept #4. Get rid of the magnets and do a very simple counter-balanced pulley...

When you pull the top mask down, the bottom mask is automatically pulled up by an equal amount.

**ecrabb** · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:36 pm Post subject:

Clarence - got the day off? Wink

That's very close to the idea I've been thinking of for quite some time. I think it would work and it wouldn't take up much room. Would also be really easy to motorize.

So, I'm still curious - so I don't have to go wade back through that giant thread, does the sheen on the laminate give you any glare or reflection at all?

SC