Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Name this drive-in screen material

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-24-2009, 09:02 PM:

Howdy all! Long time!

It got a wee bit windy the other day and now my drive-in screen is in need of repairs.

Anybody know what material my screen is made out of? It's very dense, hard and fairly brittle, textured like the rough side of hardboard on one side and very smooth on the other. It's not concrete board, rather some sort of slate. Perhaps tile board? All the building places around here only have new fancy foam core tile board.

Thanks!

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 04-24-2009, 09:59 PM:

It looks like what I call "masonite", whether or not that's really the name. Made of some sort of wood fiber, and needs to be painted to be anything close to waterproof. The stuff was used as an exterior finish, seemed to last pretty good when well painted. I see the both sides of your panels look to have been painted... one wouldn't bother doing that unless necessary.
One side of the masonite I remember is quite flat and even glossy, the other has a rough texture with a pattern, I figured it was from some massive roller that pressed a glop of fibres against a smooth roller. The texture would provide enough friction to ram the stuff through as it got pressed into the dense final sheet material.
The "back" of the sheet would make a pretty good screen, the texture would minimize hotspot reflections. I wouldn't have thought of using it on a drive-in tower as I am doubtful about the waterproofness. If this is masonite, I guess it is pretty waterproof.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-24-2009, 10:15 PM:

Yeah, it's like masonite, but not at all flexible. With little effort it'll snap in half in your hands. The smooth side hasn't actually been painted... a little stained though.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 04-24-2009, 10:30 PM:

Daryl,

We had two drive-in theaters here in Saginaw that had the screens as well as the fences made from a material called "Transite". It was a Gypsum like material and had all of the characteristics you mention. I believe it was made by Johns Manville.

At one time it was thought to have some Asbestos in it but I cannot verify that. Both theaters are long gone. On their properties, one is a Menard's store and the other is a church.

KEN

[ 04-27-2009, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: Kenneth Wuepper ]

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-24-2009, 11:29 PM:

I was going to say asbestos but I think Ken's call is better.

My house is sided with something very similar to that but the shingles have a faux wood grain molded into them. The back side is semi-smooth.

I've always just said it was asbestos but a Google search for "transite shingles" came up with pictures that look exactly like what my house is shingled with.

Needless to say, you probably aren't going to be able to replace that stuff...

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-25-2009, 06:08 AM:

I think Kenneth and Randy are correct. This was very common in the 60's and it worked quite well.

What to do? Just paint the background temporarily. You probably cannot duplicate this so you should consider a new screen surface.

I have used standing seam roofing successfully BUT it is very reflective. A matte surface is much preferred so. . . prep is easier before installation, not the way we did it. A new screen tower as well??? Mr. Selby is still cranking, luckily. Louis

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 04-25-2009, 12:34 PM:

quote: Kenneth Wuepper
We had two drive-in theaters here in Saginaw that had the screens as well as the fences made from a material called "Transite". It was a Gypsum like material and had all of the characteristics you mention. I believe it was made by Johns Manville.

Hmmmmm... That's what they call the hearth decks in my pizza ovens. The new ones I bought this season are thicker and more sturdy than the originals, and are said not to have asbestos in them.

One thing I remember about screens with asbestos shingles... you could almost always see them in the picture, being that they were overlapped like roofing shingles. The projectionists who had them thought their best feature was that they "self-bleached" in the sun. You never had to do much but leave them alone, and replace any that got broken.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-25-2009, 11:31 PM:

I'd actually wondered if it was made of asbestos. Today I found someone old enough at the only useful lumber yard in town and from 5' away they were positive that it was an asbestos backer board.

Since I've only got about 80 sqft to repair in the bottom right hand corner I think I'm going to try some HardieBacker cement board. It has a similar texture to what I have and is about the same weight (a little lighter actually). If it works OK this season I'll probably do the rest of the screen next spring. If it doesn't I'll just run flat films all season and it won't matter.

I definitely don't want to put up steel... I've got 5 steel screens already and I hate them all. The picture looks way better on this screen.

As for a new screen tower... I can't think of any reason why I'd want to tear down a concrete block tower and replace it. [Confused]

Thanks to all for your comments so far.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-25-2009, 11:54 PM:

I've been doing some Googling for "Transite".

Seems as though they still make the stuff only without the asbestos. Look around enough and you might find some.

One thing about the siding on my house that has been concerning me is not the asbestos. As long as it remains in place on the outside of the building it will be okay. My problem is replacing the shingles if they ever become damaged. I have a few cracked shingles that need to be replaced. I just puzzled them back together, nailed them up and sealed the cracks with all-weather caulking before painting them again. But, if I there was any kind of accident where I had to replace the whole side of the house, I'd be out of luck.

Today I breath just a little bit easier. I found out that GAF makes an asbestos free version of the same shingle.

http://www.gaf-weatherside.com/?gclid=CJiU5cfJjJoCFQJHxwodWijq-Q

Look around... You might be able to find asbestos-free Transite panels to replace your screen too.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-26-2009, 11:52 AM:

I only saw something like 1/2" and larger sheets of Transite on the manufacturers website. I'm looking for something in the neighborhood of 1/4" and in 4'x8' sheets.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-26-2009, 12:39 PM:

Is it not possible to puzzle the pieces back together, nail them back up and seal them with all-weather caulking then repaint?

At least that would get you back in business until you can come up with a permanent solution.

Judging by the size of the pieces, it looks like it isn't possible. Is it?

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-26-2009, 08:14 PM:

One of the pieces broke into fairly small pieces. I'm considering re-using them... I'll just have to put up a bunch of strapping or some plywood behind it. I've got a week to get it fixed. I'm hoping it'll stop raining and get a little less windy.

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 04-28-2009, 07:23 AM:

it looks very much like asbestos sheeting to me. many of the drive ins over here all had asbestos sheeted screens.

since the discovery that this is nasty stuff, it has been taken from the market and replaced with a similar product made from cement and fibers called villa board.

Posted by Charles Caron (Member # 3247) on 04-28-2009, 10:55 PM:

Where to buy the equivalent of the old transite. transite

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-02-2009, 08:39 AM:

Indeed, asbestos sheeting was a common screen tower material.