AT Wall

I'm just about finished my false wall to hide all of my gear behind the screen.

Materials used:

• 4x2 for the wall frame (horizontal base, vertical studs and top plate);



• 90mm x 19mm lengths for the kick plate and faisure;



• 40mm x 19mm lengths for the individual fabric covered panels;



• Black drill cotton;



• foam door seal strip (the cheap$3 per roll stuff);



• AT material (I bought panels 150cm x 100cm); and



• Velcro.

I bolted the top plate to the roof, securing it into the trusses. The bottom plate is of double thickness and compressed into the carpet by the studs (though not too much as I don't want to lift my roof :P). It actually sits very securely and with the weight mounted on the outside I have found a few timber spaces all that is required to prevent it swinging inward. I used screws to assemble the frame as nails are too much of a hassle if any modifications are required.

The kick-plate and faisure were cut to length, shaped to fit the cornice and skirting board, painted and then nailed on with with nail-gun. Due to an uneven ceiling contour I ran a strip of the foam door sealer along the top edge and compressed it as I nailed the faisure. It matches the ceiling colour well and makes for a cleaner finish. A thin wooden bead may have worked well also.

The size of the material (width of the cotton and the panel sizes for the AT material) determined my critical path for the front panels. I arranged a design based on these limitations and the placement of the L-C-R speakers.

A drop-saw, nail gun and staple gun were my main tools. I measured up and produced the frames in stages to check the fit. This allowed me to compensate for the thickness of material. I would not recommend making all of your frames in one hit as I have had to compensate for slight variations along the way.

This pic here shows the false wall which is about 50cm from the room boundary wall. The centre panel which will be covered with AT material is sitting in amongst the completed panels (The AT material is slightly transparent so I had to paint the frame and any surrounding timber matt black).

Tensioning fabric can lead to bowing of the frames. A cross brace will solve this, but for the AT panels where this was not suitable I have produced some spring clips from flat timber joiners (bent 90 degrees and shaped with a spring entry) to clip the panel into and force the bow out of it. A small pic of one of the clips is below. The flat piece screws to the face of the stud and the bent part pushes the bowed panel up against the adjacent panel.

The net result is a wall of tight fitting panels. I have also used velcro to fasten all of the panels to the wall. I opted to use velcro over cupboard clips or magnets to avoid any rattles.

I now realise the screen will cover the panels I had chosen for access so I'll have to remove the screen to get in behind and adjust speakers or play around. Thankfully it hangs on 2 mounts like a picture and can be easily removed.