Hi All,
I read some other posts about creating your own panels. Here's a blog post I did on the subject. But here's a photo.
I have a one-day art show. I preferred to not use the gridwall display because I don't like the see-thru aspect of them. I also wanted a grey background and, had they come in grey, I would have opted for that with some grey fabric behind.
I spent under $100 for all the supplies. I made 3 panels for a 9-foot wall using:
• Nine 2x2s (which are 1.5 x 1.5). Six were used for the verticals and the other three were cut in equal thirds (32 inches each).
• 6 foot wide indoor/outdoor carpet. Home Depot cut the 3 separate pieces for me.
• L-shaped brackets and hexagonal screws with a pointy end that eliminates the need for pre-drilled holes
• Staple gun
My panels are one sided so the backs are open. They'll have a perpendicular foot attached on site. I haven't decided if they'll be connected. If so, some options are drilling a hole through the vertical posts and putting a dowel rod through the holes. I like this elegant, clean solution. Some might ask if just the carpet will provide enough support or be wobbly. I'm waiting on my drapery hooks for hanging art to test it out. If it's a bit wobbly, I'll add some simple balsa wood supports inside or else put some 1" foam panels inside the frame and tack them in.
Replies
A couple of suggestions, one of which is probably too late. I noticed there is no vertical member above the panels. If you had about a 4 to 6 inch section of the 2x2 above the panel, you would be able to attach the top of the panel to the tent frame. Most people doing DIY panels seem to overlook that possibility.
The other suggestion is don't use dowel rods to attach the panels to each other. The simplest is to use double sided Velcro strips where one end is securedly nailed or screwed to the legs and is long enough to wrap around both legs twice. If you want something simple and sturdy, you could use 1/4 - 5/16 carriage bolts with wing nuts. That would let you really tighten them up together. My choice would be the Velcro strips though, but the dowel rods would slide apart too easily in my estimation.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the input.
Actually, I won't likely be attaching these to a tent. This is a one-day art show inside and we can't use canopies so I had to create free-standing walls. I figure if I ever did want to suspend them from a canopy, I'd have to drill hooks into the top and rig something that way.
I like your suggestion of the velcro strips. The easiest thing might be to simply have 3 separate free-standing walls and not worry if they're attached. That would be okay with me!
Since the panels are going to be free standing, you might try those dowel rods added to to the top of the verticals. That would let you secure the tops with a Velcro double sided strip and make a corner connection that won't be unstable. Another suggestion is to make a support for the front of the booth by either using a 12' painter pole zip tied across the top or a long pole cut to size. A couple of diagonal braces across the corners would't be a bad idea either.
I think I know what you mean. Those are great suggestions. And it's funny that with all the carpet, velcro just didn't occur to me : )
I love the pole across the top.