Dedicated Cinema Room - Light Control and Wall/ Ceiling Treatment

As a matter of interest has anyone managed to source a fabric that is Fire Rated? I’m going to steer clear of anything that isn’t FR rated, as a room full of electronics and untreated polyester could be a potential fire hazard.
 
I’m planning to do some 'burn tests' on strips of polyester velvet soon as I also need to make some decisions on materials in the coming weeks.

Have a look at my post #74 and advice from the bloke at EU Fabrics who didn’t seem to think that fire retardant treated cotton velvet was any better at retarding fire than a naturally retardant material such a polyester, which he said tends to melt rather than flame. It seems that 'natural' materials may be more inherently flammable (before retardant treatment) - there are then various standards of fire retardancy - eg curtains vs upholstery etc.

Cheers. Bill
 
As a matter of interest has anyone managed to source a fabric that is Fire Rated? I’m going to steer clear of anything that isn’t FR rated, as a room full of electronics and untreated polyester could be a potential fire hazard.
It is not possible to make everything 100% safe so they key is to minimise the risk to as low as reasonably practicable. Utilising fire/flame retardant materials is more of a last line defense in an event of fire, it is just a step down below passive fire protection, which utilises fire resistant materials to prevent the spread of fire or protect certain components/items. Most people are too fixated on having fire retardant materials while ignoring high risk items. Sources if ignition, fire detection/alarm systems and active fire protection (sprinklers, fire extinguishers, active ventilation systems).

For the fire to occur 3 main item are required: heat, fuel and oxygen. Fabric falls under fuel in this case which may contribute towards initiating and spreading of fire. Heat is usually the biggest contributor of causing the fires in domestic households which may relate to appliance faults, faulty wiring, circuit overloading, human errors etc. These are high risk items that you need to worry about more than fire retardant fabric. You would better spend your money and effort on PAT testing your electrical appliances, installing smoke detectors in key areas, having an electrician do the safety checks every now and then, and having a fire extinguisher/fire blanket etc than worry about your fabric. Most living rooms are cluttered with furniture, paper, clothing, fabrics etc that are highly flammable and cinema rooms are usually clutter free with only essential furniture in place, just a thought...
Have a look at my post #74 and advice from the bloke at EU Fabrics who didn’t seem to think that fire retardant treated cotton velvet was any better at retarding fire than a naturally retardant material such a polyester, which he said tends to melt rather than flame. It seems that 'natural' materials may be more inherently flammable (before retardant treatment) - there are then various standards of fire retardancy - eg curtains vs upholstery etc.
Most velvets are made from polyester which is by its nature flame retardant, as you rightly pointed it would melt rather than catch fire. Treatment of fabric with fire retardant chemicals is not end all be all type of thing as the chemical will most likely breakdown with time, depending on the environment, use etc. So it is useful to keep an eye on guarantee provided by the company doing the treatment.
 
To be honest I never even thought of whether my material was fire retardant or not but if such things concern you then maybe ask your local cinema as to where they got they velvet wall coverings as I am sure whatever they are using has to meet to regulations.
 
Of course it's a matter of opinion regarding using non-fire rated materials. However, I will be looking for FR rated fabrics for my room. There is a reason why upholstery manufacturers are required to use FR rated materials. Whilst, I do have active fire alarms, it's not feasible to PAT test everything on a regular basis.
So, again, if anyone finds a good FR rated material do let me know. I am currently searching for suitable suppliers some of which supply the upholstery trade.
 
Has anyone got some advice (ideally with pictures and instructions) on the best way to cover a dedicated cinema room? battening out the room is not an option so I have looked at creating stretched fabric frames hung (like a stretched canvass frame) wall to skirting board.

I still don’t have a plan on how to do the ceiling panels (as I have 3 inch coving to contend with) the question is how to affix the stretched fabric panels that would need to be suspended?

Any ideas, examples and advice would be welcomed.
 
Has anyone got some advice (ideally with pictures and instructions) on the best way to cover a dedicated cinema room? battening out the room is not an option so I have looked at creating stretched fabric frames hung (like a stretched canvass frame) wall to skirting board.

I still don’t have a plan on how to do the ceiling panels (as I have 3 inch coving to contend with) the question is how to affix the stretched fabric panels that would need to be suspended?

Any ideas, examples and advice would be welcomed.

The suspended might be the problem, what I was going to suggest was get Velcro strips and attach it to the top and bottom of the wall, you could staple it, then with the counterpart of the Velcro attach it to your velvet fabric so you can easily remove if and when you want to convert the room back to normal as all you need do is fill the staple holes and paint.

I suppose the same method might work on the ceiling but reckon you will need to increase the amount of attachment points.
 
The suspended might be the problem, what I was going to suggest was get Velcro strips and attach it to the top and bottom of the wall, you could staple it, then with the counterpart of the Velcro attach it to your velvet fabric so you can easily remove if and when you want to convert the room back to normal as all you need do is fill the staple holes and paint.

I suppose the same method might work on the ceiling but reckon you will need to increase the amount of attachment points.
Thanks for the advice. one idea was to use a split batten method to hang the wall panels (see attached)

I have yet to think about a suspended ceiling solution?

Does anyone have ideas & specifications on how to make the stretched fabric panels? What wood, staples, Velcro etc?
 

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Thanks for the advice. one idea was to use a split batten method to hang the wall panels (see attached)

I have yet to think about a suspended ceiling solution?

Does anyone have ideas & specifications on how to make the stretched fabric panels? What wood, staples, Velcro etc?

Use to install car audio many years ago and made sub boxes and fabricate door panels, staples would be my recommendation for stretching fabric to your panels.

Are you wanting your panels to also sound deaden or just kill reflections?
 
Fabric Wall Construction Advice Needed

Whilst I am looking for the right fabric to use for the streched fabric wall panels. I need to plan how I'm going to make up the frames for the walls and ceiling. This is because I'm planning on a new projection screen so, need to make a good fit.

I would appreciate any advice and instructions for creating the frames and importantly how to attach to the ceiling (given I have 3 inch coving, hence there will be a void) I have preciously found some photo on this forum (see attched) but cannot find the link.

Frames: 2 x 1 wooden frames (screwed & glued)

Split batten & velco to wall - will fit below coving and rest on skirting

Fabric: to be decided

Ceiling panels: not sure how to affix to ceiling? I have 11 foot wide room and 3 inch coving to contend with - see picture

Skirting: fabric to be stuck on with double sided tape?

Room size: 14ft x 11ft

I would appreciate any tips and advice on construction of these fabric wall and ceiling panels - what materials, velco, fixings etc?

Please note: these are panels will not include acoustic material
 

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Depending on the size of each panel on the ceiling you could get a load of the thin magnets you now get on speaker covers. Glue the ones to the ceiling at each corner and glue the others to the corners on the panels then cover the panels, if you can make the panels light enough this should work and all you would need do afterward is use a scrapper to remove them from your ceiling and repaint.

Magnet Expert® 10mm dia x 1mm thick N42 Neodymium Magnet - 0.58kg Pull ( Pack of 20 ) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007JTL7G6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9zlxEbYQY4XX5
 
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I used a set of hooks to attach my velvet covered panels to the ceiling. I attached wall panel by screwing through the frame into the wall. I had no alternative options as panels fitted tight against the ceiling and wall and had to be flush with the wall.
 

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Has anyone got some advice (ideally with pictures and instructions) on the best way to cover a dedicated cinema room? battening out the room is not an option so I have looked at creating stretched fabric frames hung (like a stretched canvass frame) wall to skirting board.
I still don’t have a plan on how to do the ceiling panels (as I have 3 inch coving to contend with) the question is how to affix the stretched fabric panels that would need to be suspended?
If it is a dedicated cinema room, remove coving and skirting boards, install frames flush with walls. Job done
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Just to confirm the coving and skirting boards wont be removed (for lots of reasons) therefore I am looking for any advice on how to secure to the ceiling with this 3 inch void? Also, does the wall panel construction makes sense?
It would be great if on this forum if there was a dedicated link on How to construct and attach your stretched fabric panels?
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Just to confirm the coving and skirting boards wont be removed (for lots of reasons) therefore I am looking for any advice on how to secure to the ceiling with this 3 inch void? Also, does the wall panel construction makes sense?
I did a trial on attaching velvet directly to the wall and it looked horrible. Panels IMO are the best way to go.
Get them eye screws attach to the ceiling, attach hooks to your frames and hand it, which should give you around 4 inches of space.
 
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If it’s your intention to suspend the panels 3” from the ceiling then maybe your best option is to do a setup similar to that of a shop suspend ceiling. That said the fact it’s only needing to drop 3 inches you could batten it out with 1”x 3” timber and screw the panels directly to that.
 
I used 9 & 6 mm ply boards stretch covered with velvet using a staple gun to tension and secure on the face of the rear. I wall mounted with Velcro and ceiling mounted with plaster fixings and countersunk screws before wrapping with velvet. I didn’t need any frames I just mounted to wall and ceiling. I wrapped low height boards and velcroed to skirting, I have used sticky backed velour before as well. I covered screwheads with small circular coin size sticky backed velcro as well. Totally invisible
 
It is possible to use fabric track systems to hold fabrics to a ceiling without having to make panels up.
 
Thanks. Do you have any details?

I assume he means something like Clothgrip ClothGrip Edge 32mm Extrusion 3m which is what I used on my walls. If you can take the 32mm drop in ceiling height it would work fine I'm sure. I'd very strongly recommend screwing it into your ceiling though. It works fantastically well but it's very expensive once you scale to room quantities (cost me almost £500 to do my room and I wasn't doing ALL my room). That said it looks fantastic.

In the US I saw some really good fabric track systems that they used for screen doors that someone had used over on AVS for holding it on but I just couldn't find anyone in the UK doing it and no one in the US would ship to the UK.

I used 9 & 6 mm ply boards stretch covered with velvet using a staple gun to tension and secure on the face of the rear. I wall mounted with Velcro and ceiling mounted with plaster fixings and countersunk screws before wrapping with velvet. I didn’t need any frames I just mounted to wall and ceiling. I wrapped low height boards and velcroed to skirting, I have used sticky backed velour before as well. I covered screwheads with small circular coin size sticky backed velcro as well. Totally invisible

For the ceiling ones, how do you attach the board BEFORE you wrap? Surely once you're screwed the boards into the ceiling you can no longer get behind them to staple the velvet? I was going to do exactly this for mine (and still will do at some point) but I was thinking of gluing it instead or maybe double sided tape.

G
 
I countersink drill and attach the board with the holes ready then mark the ceiling and fit appropriate ceiling plugs then dry fit to check the unwrapped board. Then wrap with velvet (keeping the pile direction consistent) and then finally screw to the fixings in the ceiling, make sure the screws have pierced the fabric to avoid twisting and stretching as you screw. Finally I fit coins sized velvet covers on the shiny screws
 
I countersink drill and attach the board with the holes ready then mark the ceiling and fit appropriate ceiling plugs then dry fit to check the unwrapped board. Then wrap with velvet (keeping the pile direction consistent) and then finally screw to the fixings in the ceiling, make sure the screws have pierced the fabric to avoid twisting and stretching as you screw. Finally I fit coins sized velvet covers on the shiny screws

Ah yes all makes a lot more sense. The way your original post read made it sound like you were wrapping the boards after they were attached to the ceiling and I couldn't understand how you were managing to do that.

Thanks for the explanation.

G
 
I'm thinking of putting some velvet on the ceiling just in front of my screen (Draper Thor React III), but the space between the screen and a ceiling beam that sits out from the screen is just under 2ft. Will it be worth putting velvet there for such a shallow space in front of the screen? Will I find any noticeable benefit? I currently have v. light grey walls and dark carpet, with blackout blinds. Some ambient light gets in during the day (not much though) and it's pretty pitch blac at night. Thanks
 
Short answer is yes, the nearer the screen the greater the impact. Ideally everything 2m from the screen, above is usually the greatest impact, followed by below depending on how close side wall are the the screen
 
Short answer is yes, the nearer the screen the greater the impact. Ideally everything 2m from the screen, above is usually the greatest impact, followed by below depending on how close side wall are the the screen
Thanks. I plan also to wrap the velvet along the side walls too which are about 65 cm from the edge of the screen
 

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