5AprBuild your own swinging wall sets
Okay folks here’s the deal.
For those of you interested in building your own set of swinging walls here are some detailed drawings and additional images that should give you a good idea of how it’s done.
Some words of caution. I hung the walls by myself and almost vapor locked – even though it’s all lightweight wood each wall is pretty heavy. Get . . . CLICK BELOW TO READ THE REST someone to help you. Secondly, the plans I’ve drawn are exactly how I built these walls. If you want to experiment with a different design go right ahead – but I will not answer questions about changes to these plans or why your way didn’t work.
Also, the design of the “step box” and the fact that it is lag bolted to the wall and studs is absolutely critical. All of the weight of all four double sided walls hangs on the step box which hangs on the wall. If you don’t do this right you’ll end up with a mess and possibly someone getting hurt. If you are not comfortable with basic carpentry skills get someone who is to help you.
I have not included plans or instructions for the design of the wall covering(s) I made – i.e. the stucco or the polystyrene blocks. If you want to ask questions about those things great – but you must do so here on the blog – I don’t have time to answer individual emails when many people may have the same question. Asking in the blog will be beneficial to everyone.
And finally, I make no claim or guarantee as to the safety or quality of these plans or your finished product. These walls have been in my studio for over five years now with never a problem. However, I am an anal freak when it comes to securing things. Don’t skimp on the screws!
So, here is a detailed plan of the “step box” BoxStep
And here is a detailed plan of the “wall frame” WallFrame
And you can GO HERE to see a video of the walls in action.
And following are some close up detail photos.
21 Responses and Counting...
annie
April 5th 2010wow thats awsum! i will have to keep this in mind for when i get a bigger studio in the future =)
Nancy Remling
Love the stone wall!! Genius!
Wendy
David,
This is totally awesome!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone!!
Wendy
Stephen
Thanks for the closer look! I was wondering about how you did it and the step makes sense. I’m sure I would of figured it out but this will make the work go a lot faster.
Are the polystyrene sheets the ones you buy at L***’s or wherever that are used to insulate? Are these the blue ones or is there a difference?
Angie W
Awesome pictorial instructions! Thank you!! I am going to have to build these!
Anna Carter
You’re wright your a genius. I would have never figured it out on my own. Can’t wait to get my husband started.
Anna Carter
How did you make the window on the Stone Wall? Did you use a real window? What did you use to black out the window from behind? Did you sand the foam to get the smoth texture? And last but NOT least, how was the stone painted?
dhmeir
Anna,
For the glass I used a piece of plexi-glass that I “distressed” with a hammer. I would skip the plexi in the future because I always struggle with the reflection from my lights. The rest of the window is styrofoam. The mullions are the tongue and groove edge I cut off of a thinner style of polystyrene – just glued to the plexi. I didn’t sand the foam I just use a real sharp utility knife – one that has a six inch retractable blade. I just painted the plywood behind the plexi with black paint. As for painting – just latex with a dry brush technique. Mixed beige and white and brown and just played ’til it was like I wanted it.
dhmeir
Stephen – these are the pink sheets and I’m not sure there’s a difference; but yes they are the insulation sheets – 4′ x 8′.
Michelle
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this!! I am trying to figure out how much space this will take to see if I have the room. Can’t wait to get started.
Mama Shan
David,
You are so creative. Love what you did with the Stone House!
Koby
What a great idea. I loved right first. And here you give it away. I love your generousity. Good job on the explanaiton.
dhmeir
Michelle,
The total space taken up by all four walls is less than 3 feet in depth and less than 8 feet in width. Let me know if you have other questions.
dhmeir
Thanks Mama Shan. Kinda crazy thing with the stone house – I have an outdoor location I often use that has a “real” house with very similar stone. Consequently I don’t use this set much.
Debbie Perrin
Dave,
I have the diagrams of your studio and the use of the space is awesome, but you don’t give physical dimensions. I would like to duplicate this setup, and possibly have the space, but really need footage on your diagrams.
Can you supply me with that?
Debbie
dhmeir
Debbie,
Do you mean the dimensions of my camera room? The longest dimension from the equipment counter area to the yellow stucco wall is 26 feet and it’s 17 feet wide. The swinging walls are along one wall in a corner and the total area taken up by the entire set is 2 feet deep by 7-1/2 feet wide. All of the dimensions for the swinging wall sets are on the drawings.
Eric
Love it! Thank you for the great instructions.
dhmeir
Glad you like Eric – let me know if you have questions.
Debbie Perrin
David,
I’m sorry I didn’t clarify myself, but yes, the dimensions of your camera room! Thanks for the info! Now I just need to talk my husband into helping me acquire more space! I may have to have the wall separate and apart from the room I’m shooting in now, but I will definitely need more space to set it up. The problem comes in with having to move my lights to use the swinging walls. I’m still thinking on the change for my setup, but it’s possible! And thank you so much for the posing guide! It’s been such a help to me already!
Debbie
Joni
Started to build this last weekend, then discovered the wall we were placing it on is stucco covering plaster covering brick! Going to take a mamma-jamma drill bit to get through all this! Hopefully next weekend they will go up!
Belinda
how did you get the locker background? that is awsome I also like the brick wall