I was taken aback by the weight of the foamboard. Much heavier than I was expecting, even if (as I said) not a heavy as MDF of the same thickness. It was previous experience with a similar screen which was indeed MDF which led me to look for a lighter alternative, and though the difference isn't huge it's enough to be worthwhile.
Thanks for the thought, but I don't think that the depth available (which would be even less with a frame on the panel) is enough for this type of fixing. My current favourite idea, suggested by Jim K, uses a similar sub-frame secured with removable pins fitted through the side of the main frame into matching holes.
Or just rare earth magnets and suitable steel strip or even a steel screw. The choice of magnets in eBay is large. I use some which are basically washers about 25 mm diameter with a countersunk hole in the centre allowing them to be fixed by a small wood or machine screw (depending on the application).
I agree. Simpler and better.
Thanks for the thought but, partly as a result of this discussion, I've come to feel dubious about using magnets, clips, Velcro or any other fastening which would necessitate pulling a raised 8x4ft sheet away from a resisting force.
Yes foamboard isn't the strongest of stuff. Velcro could be separated with a blunt knife or similar though.
There's also the matter of manoeuvering a large, unwieldy and appreciable weighty chunk of material in mid-air while at full stretch.
This morning I'm seriously wondering about the possibility of hingeing the panel on one of the short edges so it would remain attached to the wall (or to a wooden frame fixed to the wall) and simply pivot open into the room. Eight feet is a lot to ask hinges to support though, but perhaps there could be a supporting leg (ending in a wheel?) at the free end, or (more visually pleasing) a temporary support only put in place when the panel has to be opened.
is there another 8 feet of free wall to one side of the panel??
If so, would it be acceptable to put some U channel top and bottom fixed to the wall 16 feet long, cover it over with some nice molding or something to hide it,
Then when you want access to behind the panel, just slide it accross.
Sadly, no, or that would certainly have been a possibility.
I said in another post that this morning I was considering hingeing the panel on one of the vertical edges so the whole thing can swing out into the room. That still seems like a feasible approach, though the free end of the eight-foot panel might well need some sort of supporting leg or stand.
Or another 4 feet above or below the panel?
Mount it on spring sash window slides.
But if it's only infrequently required to be moved, could a second person be brought in to help move it?
Owain
Funnily enough the same notion occurred to me just a few minutes before I read your post. There's scant room above, but very nearly a four foot clearance below where the screen has to be mounted. A vertical slide is the best idea yet: the panel will never be swinging free or largely unsupported and shouldn't be able to flex.
I'm not familiar with sash window mechanisms, so I'll have to investigate. Are the slides something that can be bought ready made? What is the spring element? I was thinking in terms of top-pulleys, ropes and counterweights.
Many thanks for echoing my own thoughts.
Drop it into a slot on the lower edge and use an edge overlapping at the top, clipped or screwed into position. Screwing into foam-board isn't likely to work well. Dave
Or perhaps an inverted U-section strip along the top edge of the panel, engaging over a square-section strip on the wall-frame.
Another good, simple idea. Thanks.
top hinge it and use some "top opening cupboard friction stays" to hold it ajar?
Jim K
I did consider that, but I'd be concerned, I think, about that amount of weight hanging overhead. I suspect that cupboard stays wouldn't be up to it: the sort of (gas-filled?) piston stays used on car boots might be OK though.
Thanks.
Yeah, edge hinged would have a large, rather wibbly (even when braced), sticking out into the room and you have the problem of how to attach the hinges to the foamboard.
With the vertical slide, you could probably use one of the press to release latches suplimented by screws along the underside of the lower edge to do the real support. The latch is so you can take the screws out an then release the panel when you are ready, also to hold it in place to fit the screws. Screws could be machine screws into screw-in brass inserts fitted to the timber wall frame.
I know you say the panel is heavy but it seems you can handle it it's just awkward. I din't think you need a counter balanced system be that springs or weights/pullys.
One thing that also occurs is white foamboard a good enough reflector for a projection screen? Proper screens are retro reflective, not quite as defined as road signs etc but still better reflectors than a plain surface.
Bert have you actually got the sheet yet? what does it weigh?
or can you google it's density?
Jim K
on the board subframe?
Jim K
Yes, I have. It's not the easiest thing to weigh but I just tried it: it's just under 20lbs.
I just weighed it, in response to a question from Jim K: it's a fraction under 20lbs. But you're right, of course, the size and flexibility makes it especially awkward to shift around, especially given that it has to be lifted above waist level.
Really? I've just been sketching out ideas and I took it for granted that counterweighting would be necessary or at least, desirable.
For a domestic LCD projector in a decently blacked-out space, a matt, non-reflective surface is the usual recommendation. If anything, until I ran a few tests, I was concerned that the foamboard would not be matt enough. As it happens, it's fine: the blacks aren't quite as intense as with a light grey screen (which is the other recommendation) but the extra vibrancy given by a white surface is splendid.
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