I had a buddy ask me to build him a TV box for outside. This will be under a pergola on a brick wall out of the wind so full rain but not driving rain. The complication is that he has a door that opens across where the box will be mounted. This means that I couldn’t build the traditional swinging door. Also the rain precludes using a folding door because I think too much water will get in through the hinge. My idea was to slide the front opening from the bottom.
Problem now is finding a wood product that is 3/8" to 1/2" thick and 41" x 28" that will not quickly disintegrate outside with a spar urethane coating. I’d love to find solid wood this size but I have no experience making panels like this. Next up is some kind of plywood with a water rated glue (e.g. marine plywood). I’d really like to make the box out of red oak so I was hoping for something that would stain the same. Finish is not terribly important since it will be outside. Does anyone have any ideas for something that might work in this situation that I can purchase locally?
My first thought would making it out cedar. In terms of the design, lifting up and entire sheet to close it up would end up a hassle every time and could be problematic for one person to do (depending on how large a TV it is). I don’t understand why you can’t have a swing door to the opposite side even though a door opens against it. If the door is open, they can’t watch tv anyways.
Alternatively based on budget, you could get fancy and make it one of those motorized lifting TV boxes that people put at the foot if their bed
If it was me, first thing off I would use a solid wood and stay away from any kind of plywood.
After that, I would choose whatever stain I was going to use whether it was a dark stain, light stain or neutral and then I would look at using a couple of coats of epoxy resin waterproof the wood.
I actually have a TV box on my TV outside. I believe it is made out of cedar with a stain over it, and we used a folding door on each side so it meets in the middle and have never had a problem with rain seeping in. I guess if you’re really worried about it you could put some kind of clear plastic or something over the TV so it’s protected more.
Maybe in 1993 Nothing holding an LCD/LED TV needs to be deeper than 6". A 25" deep cabinet would definitely block the door.
He can buy 10 consumer grade TVs for the price of one outdoor rated TV. If he were sixflags and had 100s of them peppered around the theme park, the maintenance costs would dictate using something reliable. However for a home owner purchasing a TV every year or two would not be a burden and would save a significant amount of money even over the long haul.
Hearing your experience gives me hope. I would need to fold to one side. Did you use a stainless piano hinge?
As near as I can tell, one of my friends has had a consumer grade TV tucked up under the eaves for a few years with zero additional protection other than a pergola helping break up the wind and sideways falling rain.
I nave no idea how well that translates to anyone else’s reality.
Maybe use a Dibond panel (aluminum skinned, plastic cored panel) instead of wood? It won’t be subject to warping, rot, etc, will stay dimensionally stable, and is lightweight.
If you really want to use oak … use white, not red. Red oak is fairly porous and will absorb water much more easily. White oak is used for wine/whiskey barrels, boats, etc.
I’m building some kayaks here so my only tool is this hammer… Have you considered fiberglassing it? Using a nice (preferably marine-grade) plywood and putting a single layer of 4 ounce glass over it would completely protect the wood. The glass at that weight is transparent and the epoxy will bring out the wood grain. Could be really pretty.
Just the epoxy would do a lot to waterproof. I haven’t checked in a long time how epoxy handles UV. Spar Vanish was used to protect it as it has UV inhibitors. Paint though still lasts longer as a protective UV blocker.
Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. I think I will go with a tradition hinge to one side. I think a stainless piano hinge will keep out enough water. This will let me just use lumber to make the front door. I might experiment with making a panel just to see if I can glue up something 20" with any accuracy (two folding panels). I’m not too confident in my precision skills. But hey, this guy will get a $600 TV box for just the cost of material so I’m not too concerned.
I’m really tempted to do this… thinking… it would require me to succeed in creating a 40" panel from 1x12 lumber. On the plus side all worries about water are put to rest.
Current concept minus the actual width of the door panels which I have not decided yet. I’ll also have a piece of trim inside the box on top and right for the door to rest against.
I’m building a boat out of marine grade plywood coated in epoxy then varnished for UV protection. You don’t need fiberglass.
Get supplies from a boat building supply place. Epoxy and varnish isn’t cheap though.
If the door piece isn’t too heavy, just make a small slot at the top for the top to slide into and then push the bottom over a lip to hold it in place. Pull out on the bottom and lower a bit to free it from the top slot. 1/4” ply or maybe thinner with stiffeners on the backside might do just fine.
Get ready to epoxy twice and sand (a lot) if you want it to look good.
Since space and weatherproofing are issues, and though I wouldn’t know where to begin, but how cool would a rolling door be? …like a roll-top desk kinda thing? Also wouldn’t have to deal with lifting and lining up a large thin wood panel to close it up. …just a thought…
Nothing holding an LCD/LED TV needs to be deeper than 6". A 25" deep cabinet would definitely block the door.
