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    Home » DIY Outdoor Movie Screen Tutorial

    August 2, 2016 By Camille 24 Comments

    DIY Outdoor Movie Screen Tutorial

    This post may contain affiliate links. Click here for more information.

     If you've ever thought making an outdoor movie theater experience in your backyard, check out our tutorial for how easily you can make your own outdoor movie screen!

    outdoor movie screen

    This post was sponsored by TruGreen as part of Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

    We LOVE SUMMER!! We love the lazy mornings, eating meals on the porch, discovering new parks, wearing sandals, running barefoot in the grass, barbecuing, camping, riding our bikes...all of it! There are way too many months in the New Hampshire calendar year that are just too darn cold to want to spend a minute of it outdoors, so when the temperatures approach something tolerable, we cannot wait to get out of the house and the summertime weather is almost too good to be true!

    Sadly, children ages 8-18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes on entertainment media every day. Isn't that heartbreaking to hear? Especially when there are a million ways to enjoy living life outside, and it doesn't all have to be for play. You could eat your meals outside, read your books outside, exercise outside, and just be with your family outside! Try to spend more time in the grass than in the house and really enjoy that green carpet of healthy lawn while you can! TruGreen is on a mission to promote outdoor memory-making with loved ones by really enjoying the outdoors to its fullest this summer! Be sure to continue reading and find out below how to share your photos and videos of your favorite outdoor activities for chances to win weekly prizes!

    One of our favorite summer activities is setting up a projector for outdoor movies. Just because the sun goes down doesn't mean we have to come in for the night! If you've ever thought making an outdoor movie theater experience in your backyard, check out our tutorial for how easily you can make your own outdoor movie screen!

    The supplies will cost you under $50, and even less if you have some of these things on hand. And, did you know you can buy PVC pipe on Amazon?! So you might not even have to leave home - but you might have to buy more connectors due to the measurements we used below. I wanted to make sure I created an outdoor movie screen that required NO POWER TOOLS and was something that could be put together by yourself. I seriously assembled this entirely by myself (my husband was out of town) with three little kids "helping" practically every step of the way.

    Your supplies will include:

    • four 10' PVC pipes (two of them cut into a 7' and a 3' piece and two of them cut into a 6' and a 4' piece)
    • two 2' PVC pipes
    • two elbow connectors
    • four T connectors
    • one full size white sheet

    I used 1.25" diameter pipes, and I probably would have used 1.5", had they not been too high for me to reach at the store! I wouldn't use anything smaller -- you want this screen to be pretty beefy.

    The four 10" pipes will each need one cut. I was able to track down a crew member at Home Depot who sliced them up in a jiffy, but if you can't find help at the hardware store, you could also saw them with a hand saw. You'll end up with this: two pieces 7' long, two pieces 6' long, two pieces 4' long, two pieces 3' long, and two pieces 2' long.

    pvc pipes

    Here are the connector pieces you need: two "elbows" and four "t's".

    pvc connectors

    The layout looks like this:

    diy movie screen

    Girlfriend was very excited to help!

    little helper

    Connect the 2', the 3', and the 4' pieces to make these bases. You could also trim the long ends to match the length of the shorter ones if you like symmetry!

    movie screen tutorial

    Next, eyeball how much you'll need to turn under the fabric to make a casing for the pipes. I've found that there is a wide variety of sheet sizes, even among strictly the "full" size, but only differing by a few inches. For my sheet, I turned under 3" on each side, and was able to use the pre-sewn casing finished edge for one of them.

    movie screen directions

    With the four sides sewn shut, you'll need to cut out a small square so that you can slide your pipes in.

    outdoor movie screen

    movie screen projector screen

    Slide the pipes through and connect them with the elbows and T's, then hoist it up on your pre-assembled legs. Done! No power tools required, minimal assembly, and only super basic sewing skills required for this outdoor movie screen. When you're done with it, simply take it off the bases, slide out the horizontal pipes and roll the sheet up like wrapping paper on a tube.

    diy movie projector screen

    Movie night was so much fun! We invited the neighbors over and brought out the popcorn, peanuts, and drinks. After a long day of playing outside, it was great to be able to keep the family fun going after dark. Our outdoor movie screen is going to get a lot more usage this summer!

    diy outdoor movie screen

    What fun memories we're making!

    outdoor projector screen

    Epson VS240 SVGA 3LCD Projector 3000 Lumens Color BrightnessEpson VS240 SVGA 3LCD Projector 3000 Lumens Color BrightnessEpson EX9200 Pro WUXGA 3LCD Projector Pro Wireless, Full HD, 3200Epson EX9200 Pro WUXGA 3LCD Projector Pro Wireless, Full HD, 3200Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater ProjectorEpson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater Projector

     

     Thanks to TruGreen for helping us share this fun project!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ashley says

      August 02, 2016 at 9:50 am

      Wow - what an awesome idea!

      Reply
    2. Amber Ludwig says

      August 04, 2016 at 9:20 am

      This is so neat!! It looks awesome and like its such a fun time!! Although to do this in Wisconsin we need like 5 gallons of bug spray lol!! Which type of projector do you use?? The picture is great!!

      Reply
    3. Linda Manns says

      August 06, 2016 at 10:34 am

      This is such a fun idea. I know my family would love this. It doesn't look to hard to do either. Thank you so much for sharing this great family time with us

      Reply
    4. Meredith says

      August 07, 2016 at 12:16 pm

      This looks like such a fun project! I've seen some DIY projector projects so maybe this could be paired with one of those. I think my son would enjoy working on it together and my nieces would love watching a movie outdoors!

      Reply
    5. sharon bugar says

      August 10, 2016 at 3:32 pm

      I think this is the coolest thing I have ever seen!

      Reply
    6. Linda Szymoniak says

      August 16, 2016 at 1:14 pm

      My daughter uses a similar set-up to display her art for sale at anime and comic conventions. I just love these pipes. You can use them for SO many things.

      Reply
    7. Miranda Welle says

      August 19, 2016 at 11:11 pm

      This would be such a hit with the family! What a simple way to make lasting memories. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    8. Emily Jane says

      August 22, 2016 at 8:11 am

      OMG this is an amazing idea! And so simple! I am sending this to my husband. This is a great idea for the family!!!

      Reply
    9. Mama Hippie says

      September 10, 2016 at 11:02 am

      How fun! ?This will definitely be my next project 🙂

      Reply
    10. Alicia C says

      September 12, 2016 at 4:54 pm

      If only my backyard were big enough! Great idea to make the most of summer nights.

      Reply
    11. G K says

      September 22, 2016 at 3:22 pm

      I love this idea! It's so easy too!

      Reply
    12. Sue E says

      April 03, 2017 at 9:53 am

      What a clever idea!! I would have never have thought of tthat for the outside!!
      I know kids would love it! Especially with snacks and if it was nighttime!!
      This is also a great way to meet neighbors.
      Thanks for sharing!!

      Reply
    13. Julie says

      April 08, 2017 at 1:30 am

      This is so cool! This looks like such a fun way to watch a movie.

      Reply
    14. ellen beck says

      April 09, 2017 at 6:05 pm

      Now this is fun! I could see movie nights and backyard camping. Combine a movie, some snacks and blankets and you have a bunch of happy campers!

      Reply
    15. Rosie says

      May 06, 2017 at 12:14 pm

      What a great idea! Everyone loves watching movies outside in the summer, and it isn't that often where they are doing it, then who knows if everyone wants to see their movie. You can be the hit of the neighborhood, and so inexpensive!

      Reply
    16. Katie says

      May 19, 2017 at 1:01 am

      Hey I've wanted to do this for awhile now! Thanks for the awesome idea! What Kind of projector do u use??

      Reply
      • Ruth V. says

        May 19, 2017 at 8:16 am

        Hi Katie, Epson is great (here's an affiliate link for Amazon to see one): http://amzn.to/2rluW3v

        Reply
    17. gloria patterson says

      September 13, 2018 at 11:22 am

      This is something that my niece needs! She just got aprojector and needs a screen. This really looks so easy to make

      Reply
    18. Sally Gearhart says

      September 18, 2018 at 8:34 pm

      This is really a cool project and looks like so much fun! You did an amazing job and thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait to make memories too.

      Reply
    19. Rachel Sweeney says

      September 23, 2018 at 4:10 pm

      Awesome! I love that you can just take it apart so you don't have to worry about finding somewhere to store it. Now if only I had a projector...

      Reply
    20. Lynne B says

      October 02, 2018 at 1:49 pm

      I am loving your DIY posts. Both my husband and I love to figure out how we can make things instead of buying them. And this one comes apart for easy storage!! Points for that!

      Reply
    21. Tamra Phelps says

      October 03, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      This would be a nice way to spend a family evening. It would be something kids would really get a kick out of.

      Reply
    22. Zoey says

      October 09, 2018 at 11:05 pm

      This would definitely be an awesome way to enhance family movie nights!

      Reply
    23. Sapana V says

      October 25, 2018 at 2:00 am

      I needed this tutorial really bad! Thanks for posting it. Its so easy!!!!!

      Reply

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