Frames for absorption panels

[pdadda]

Well, I am officially off to buy some rockwool at SPI. I can get 6 sheets of 2'X4' (2" deep) for $25. Its the 8lb stuff. I guess I'll get the wood at Home Depot or something. When you make the wooden frame, do you nail the pieces together or do you use wood glue? Also, does the type of wood matter? For my purposes, the lighter the weight, the better.

 

[mshilarious]

Also, does the type of wood matter? For my purposes, the lighter the weight, the better.

Then use pine boards. Or balsa

 

[HapiCmpur]

When you make the wooden frame, do you nail the pieces together or do you use wood glue? Also, does the type of wood matter? For my purposes, the lighter the weight, the better.

I concur with mshilarious that you should use pine. It's strong, lightweight, and cheap. (Kinda like me.) Also, I wouldn't use glue or nails; I'd use screws. And don't forget to drill pilot holes first or you'll be very likely to split your boards.

 

[famous beagle]

I used pine boards, small diameter nails (so to not split the boards) and then one L bracket on each inside corner. That made them strong and sturdy.

 

[reshp1]

When you make the wooden frame, do you nail the pieces together or do you use wood glue?

I'd use some of those "L" brackets, seems easier than trying to get a good nail or glue joint across the miter.

 

[washingtonbc]

Do you frame the four edges only, or do you put a back on it too?

 

[famous beagle]

Do you frame the four edges only, or do you put a back on it too?

If you're using them to hang on the walls, then I wouldn't put a back on them. I would just cover the whole thing (front and back) with fabric. That's what I did, and it works great.

If you're building some to use as gobos, then it's not a bad idea to cover the back with plywood. Then you have an absortive side and a reflective side.

 

[mshilarious]

Don't put a back on them. If you space them from the wall, you get absorption from the back too.

 

[Dan Merrill]

I've built a ton of these- some just this week actually, so here's some info while still fresh in my mind.

Pine does work just fine. I also like melamine style particle board which cuts well. With fiberboard you have to cut cut the frames just under 2" to get a tight fit when you wrap it.Measure the actuall thickness of the rockwool to see if it's actually 2' or under. Also if space allows, make the frames 2'x 4' inside diameter to keep from from having to cut the rockwool. If the panels are bigger than 2'x4' use a brace in the middle to keep the frame from collapsing when you stretch the fabric around them. IMHO, forget using L brackets and glue just use 1 +5/8' coarse thread drywall screws two for each corner. predrill all holes- make a template to drill with and it goes quickly. You don't really need fabric on the backs if they are against the wall- (saves a few more $$)

Hanging is always a challenge and my hanging method, assuming they are going to stay in place awhile, is to simply predrill holes around the frame ( before wrapping with fabric) and screw them to the wall or ceiling right through the fabric using longer drywall screws. If going into drywall I use plastic drywall inserts in the wall. I find the older plaster and lath give enough grab to hold it without them. Also, you'll want to countersink these frame holes- which hides the mounting screws and also makes the holes easier to find once wrapped in fabric. Be careful when hanging them this way that you don't pull the fabric with the screws. The finishing touch is to put plastic push in caps ( Home depot) on the the heads of the drywall screws. they may need a dab of glue to hold. Prepaint the caps to match the material color you've chosen. I found a new textured paint at HD which really blends well with guilford material and is pretty slick. will try to post photos of these later.

 

[famous beagle]

I've built a ton of these- some just this week actually, so here's some info while still fresh in my mind.

Pine does work just fine. I also like melamine style particle board which cuts well. With fiberboard you have to cut cut the frames just under 2" to get a tight fit when you wrap it.Measure the actuall thickness of the rockwool to see if it's actually 2' or under. Also if space allows, make the frames 2'x 4' inside diameter to keep from from having to cut the rockwool. If the panels are bigger than 2'x4' use a brace in the middle to keep the frame from collapsing when you stretch the fabric around them. IMHO, forget using L brackets and glue just use 1 +5/8' coarse thread drywall screws two for each corner. predrill all holes- make a template to drill with and it goes quickly. You don't really need fabric on the backs if they are against the wall- (saves a few more $$)

Hanging is always a challenge and my hanging method, assuming they are going to stay in place awhile, is to simply predrill holes around the frame ( before wrapping with fabric) and screw them to the wall or ceiling right through the fabric using longer drywall screws. If going into drywall I use plastic drywall inserts in the wall. I find the older plaster and lath give enough grab to hold it without them. Also, you'll want to countersink these frame holes- which hides the mounting screws and also makes the holes easier to find once wrapped in fabric. Be careful when hanging them this way that you don't pull the fabric with the screws. The finishing touch is to put plastic push in caps ( Home depot) on the the heads of the drywall screws. they may need a dab of glue to hold. Prepaint the caps to match the material color you've chosen. I found a new textured paint at HD which really blends well with guilford material and is pretty slick. will try to post photos of these later.

While this will work perfectly as a hanging method, it's best for the panels to be out about 4" from the wall for best performance. Here's what I did to achieve this, and it worked perfectly.

1) Attach CLOSED hooks into the short boards of the fabric covered frame about 1/3 the way down along the back. So one hook should go in one of the shorter boards, and the other hook should go in the other.

2) Use either picture wire or something with similar strength (I actually used telephone cable) to tie a hanging cable from these two hooks.

3) Attach two toilet paper rolls (after the paper has been used) along each long frame using super glue. So if you have the panel lying flat with the back side up, you'll see four vertical toilet paper roll spikes sticking up from the long edges of the frame. (two on the top side and two on the bottom side) Since my panels were black, I cleaned up the rolls really well and painted them black. They look great.)

4) Attach two hooks into each wall and hang the panels. You'll need to make sure that you don't use too much wire (in step 2). If you use too much, you'll be able to see the hooks above the panels. Use enough (and place the closed hooks far enough down the panels) so that the hooks are not visible at all when you hang them.

Obviously, you're going to want to put the hooks into studs on the wall. If this is not possible with where you want to hang your panels, then you'll have to get a little creative with that. Lucky for me, I was able to use studs.

 

[Dan Merrill]

An old thread here, but i happened across this pic today and knew I had meant to post it. Again, this is a drywall screw cap that pushes into the phillips threads on the head of the screw. Texture painted to match the gulford. I've decided not to countersink the frame holes anymore as it gives a dimpled look where these caps are.