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Summer time is the perfect time to enjoy a movie outdoors. We have a smaller old traditional movie screen, but we’re wanting to get a bigger screen. So, we set out to find a way to make one and came up with this DIY outdoor movie screen.
We ended up choosing one with a frame made from PVC and a screen made from a king sized flat sheet. We wanted a nice sturdy base so we bought 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe. However, if you want to save some money, you could use the 1 inch pipe. My husband picked up four 10 foot (1 1/2 inch) PVC pipes to create the base. These pipes cost us $7.92 each from Lowe’s. Then, he cut them into the sizes he needed.
This is what you will need to make this screen:
- two 8 foot pieces of pipe
- four 4 foot pieces of pipe
- four 2 feet pieces of pipe
- four 1 1/2 inch PVC T s (cost $2.52 each from Lowe’s)
- two 1 1/2 inch PVC elbowse (cost $1.95 each from Lowe’s)
- four 1 1/2 inch PVC caps (cost $1.20 each from Lowe’s)
- one king sized flat white sheet (I got mine for $19.99 from Walmart)
Now that you have all the parts and the pipes cut to above sizes, this is how you put it together.
You attach the two elbows onto the end of one of the 8 foot pipes. Then, attatch 2 of the T’s to the ends of the other 8 foot pipe.
Connect the elbow ends of the 8 foot pipe to the T end of the other 8 foot pipe using 2 of the 4 foot pipes. This will create the rectangle that the sheet “screen” will go over.
The next step is to attach the remaining 4 foot pipes to the remaining open ends of the T connectors. These will be the legs for the screen. If the screen is taller than you like, you can cut each leg down to the hight you want. We have been deliberating whether to cut ours down to 3 feet so that it’s easier to put the screen on.
Last, is to make the feet for your DIY outdoor movie screen. Attatch the remaining four 2 foot pipes to the ends of the remaining T’s. Then, add the caps to the ends of each of the 2 foot pipes. Attatch the legs to the feet.
There are 2 optional items you can add to the screen if you want. You can get 4 metal trampoline wind stakes to secure the base into the lawn. This way if the wind kicks up, your screen won’t tip over. The other thing you can get is a roll of Velco to keep the screen nice and secure to your base. I ordered my stakes from Amazon for $15.98 and the Velcro from Walmart for $2.97.
To make the screen:
You want to fold the sheet in half. Fold it so the top trim of the sheet that would be next to your face if you were putting it on your bed meets the bottom trim that would be by your feet. Make sure the wrong sides are facing out because you will end up turning this inside out when done.
Use the top 8 foot pipe, with an elbow on each end, to measure the width that you need your screen to be. When I measured my pipes and sheet, I ended up sewing a straight stitch seam 2 inches in from each side. Then, you can cut off the excess material if you want to. I left mine. At this point, turn the sheet inside out so the right side of the sheet shows.
If you don’t have a projector:
We got a VicTsing mini projector on Amazon for $65. However, I could not find it available right now on Amazon. If you don’t have a projector and don’t want to break the bank, I would reccomend this QKK Mini projector for $90 on Amazon. Or try this DR. J mini projector from Amazon for $80.
If you are in need of some speakers to pair with your project, I reccommend these bluetooth computer speakers. My son picked them up for his projector for $30 from Amazon. They have built in dual subwoofers speaker bar which contributes to enhance the stereo sound effect. I already had this Sony speaker so that is what we use.
We have used our screen and projector for more than movies. My husband and boys like to use it for sports games too.
