Build Your Own Movie Screen for Summer Backyard Parties

Making your own screen for backyard movie viewings saves you money over buying an expensive screen, and makes warm weather entertaining easy. Here’s how to put your own together with just a couple hours of work and a few supplies.

This movie screen and frame is meant to be easy to disassemble for storage or transportation, so if you don’t want that feature, you can glue together all the joints to make your frame more stable. In addition to a hacksaw, miter box, and rubber cement, here’s what you need for the frame:

You will need the following lengths (all in 1 1/2 inch, schedule 40, type 1 PVC):

4 legs- 24 1/4 in.

2 frame verticals- 63 1/4 in.

2 frame horizontals- 110 3/4 in.

2 ‘risers’- 9 1/4 in. (I used the leftovers from cutting the 10 ft. PVC down to make the horizontals)

You can make the dimensions whatever you like, though! This size fits my screen, which I made to be 16:9 widescreen.

You will also need the following PVC fittings (again, all 1 1/2 in.)

4 knockout plugs

2 90 degree elbows

4 drain T’s

For your screen, use a white cloth, a table cloth or tarp will do. It should be roughly 113 inches x 60 1/2 inches, and you should hem a couple inches around the edges to reinforce where the grommets will go. You’ll need thirty-two ⅜ inch grommets and thirty-six 10 inch canopy ties (you can also use cord). Put your grommets into the screen at 10 inch intervals.

Start assembling your frame by gluing two of the legs into a drain fitting and a knockout plug on each end. Next, glue the 90 degree elbows to the ends of one of the horizontal pieces (this is the top of the frame). Glue a drain T to the bottom of each of the vertical pieces, then glue the risers to the other side of the drain T’s. Once everything has dried, you’re ready to start assembling the frame. Lay all the pieces out on the ground and assemble from the top piece down (put the vertical pieces into the 90 degree elbows, etc.). Hang the screen on your frame, start with the two top corners and use two ties to reinforce them. On the other grommets, you can use just one tie.