Building your own projector screen is by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy your new home theater projector. With just a couple hours of work and less than $100, you can be enjoying a screen that would otherwise cost several hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Carl's Place sells projector screen material for the do-it-yourself projector screen builder.  We have developed this how-to so that everyone can see just how easy it is and how great the results are.

The basic idea behind this method is that we're building something very similar to a giant artist's canvas: a wooden frame with the material stretched and stapled to the front with black trim placed around the edges to cover the remaining wood and staples.

Before building a projector screen, you should decide what size it will be.  Before deciding what size it will be, you should have an aspect ratio chosen. The aspect ratio of the screen is the shape - the ratio of the width to the height (Click here for information on aspect ratio). Most people today build 16:9 screens (also called "widescreen" - the same as HDTV), though 4:3 screens are still common (the shape of older televsisions).  Some people choose to build wider screens like 2.39:1 (often referred to as "scope").  16:10 is also not uncommon. We suggest building a screen that matches the native aspect ratio of your projector.

For this how-to, we will be building a screen at 16:9, because it will be used primarily for HDTV and it matches our projector.

Once an aspect ratio is chosen, the total size should be calculated.  Most people will build the biggest screen that fits on their wall, though this isn't necessarily always the case.  Since our material is about 9' wide, we will use that as a starting point to get the most out of the material.

Setting the width of the screen at 105" (subtracting 5" total from the 110" width of the fabric so we have some extra to work with), we can figure the height by using our aspect ratio.  105" x 9/16 = 59.0625 or 59 1/16". If we had chosen 4:3 as our aspect ratio we would calculate 105" x 3/4 = 78.75 or 78 3/4".  

So, we have our viewable dimensions chosen: 59 1/16" x 105".

With the viewable dimensions chosen, we need to know what the dimensions should be on the wood frame.  To calculate the overall dimensions for the wood frame we need to take our viewable dimensions and add the width of the black felt tape and the overhang on the backband trim all the way around.

For example, the felt tape should be very close to 2 inches. It may vary by 1/16" or so, so be sure to measure your piece to verify.  The backband trim should have an overhang of about 3/8".  There are many styles of backband trim, though, so again measure your pieces to verify.  Taking our viewable width of 105 and adding 2" twice and 3/8" twice, we get a total frame width of 109 3/4".  Taking our viewable height of 59 1/16 plus 2" twice and 3/8" twice we end up with 63 13/16.

So, we have our frame dimensions: 63 13/16" x 109 3/4".  

1 - 5x9 projector screen material from Carl's Place
1 - 2" Adhesive-backed black felt roll from Carl's Place
30 ft - Backband trim, painted black or stained to your preference
35 ft - 1x4 lumber (recommended select pine - read below for more details)
1 - Heavy-Duty Stapler and staples
Screws for assembling wood frame - your preference
2-4 Large picture-frame hangers
4 - Floor joist braces for bracing the wood frame
Drill/Driver
Miter Saw

With all of our dimensions chosen, we're ready to build our wood frame.  We chose to build the frame using select pine 1x4's. Pine is great because staples dig into it fairly easily.  We like to use select grade or higher to ensure that the pieces will be nice and straight and will stay that way over time.  Cut two pieces to that are exactly as long as the frame width was calculated and three pieces that are 7" (twice the width of the 1x4's: 3 1/2") shorter than the exact frame height.  Lay them out on the floor or work table in the general layout.


There are many choices for how to fasten the lumber together.  We like to use pocket screws because they involve no serious woodworking equipment - just a $20 jig and a regular old drill.


Once the wood is fastened together, we'll brace the corners using metal braces designed for floor trusses.  These are a great way to easily add a nice, strong brace to keep the frame square.


With those installed, the frame is complete!


We are now ready to stretch the projector screen material over the frame and staple it down.  This is perhaps one of the most feared steps in the process, but it really isn't that hard.  Start by unfolding the fabric and placing it over the area where it will be stapled down.  

Pick one side to start on and staple the fabric down in the middle using 3-4 staples spaced closely together.  Move across the frame and get the fabric stretched and stapled once in each direction.

With those four points stapled down well, simply move around the edge stapling as you go and alternating sides occasionally to make sure no waves develop. Keep a nice tension on the fabric as you staple it and you will stretch out all the wrinkles by the time you're done.


With that, the fabric is stretched and the screen is usable. We'll now add the black felt to increase the perceived contrast on the screen and the backband trim to hide the raw edges of the wood.

For those not familiar, backband trim looks like this when you buy it.  We bought the pieces already primed so they could be easily painted black:


We used a cheap matte-black spray paint to paint all the pieces black prior to working with them.


Place the backband trim around the frame using your preferred method. We hand-nailed it down using trim nails.  


A nice miter on the corners can be easily done with a miter saw.


With that, the backband trim is complete and all that's left is to add the black felt border.  The black felt border serves two purposes. First, it covers the edge of the fabric and staples.  Second, with its deep black, light-absorbing color, it gives the viewer's brain a reference for black colors and, in sort of an optical illusion, makes the projected image look like it has a better contrast than it does.

Placing the tape can be done however you wish. We chose to cut mitered corners the same way we did the trim, but it would look great if the edges were just butted up against each other.  

Cut the tape to length using scissors or a utility knife. Peel off the cover on the adhesive backing and stick the tape in place.  Be sure that the tape is not under tension when placed down or the adhesive will not stick as well.


With that, the construction is complete! Get it hung on the wall and you're done.

As with most of the other steps in this guide, mounting the projector screen can be done in any number of ways.  Our favorite is to get whatever type of large picture frame hanger works best for your wall.  Two large hangers should be fine.

With the construction complete and the screen hanging on the wall, you're ready to kick back and enjoy your favorite movies, shows, or video games.  Enjoy!