# Guilford of Maine sources



## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

Need to cover four 2x4' shallow boxes with black ( 408 ) color GOM FR701 style, to match a set of existing panels. That means I need four linear yards of material. Shopping around it looks like it will cost me about $100 -- $20 a yard and another twenty for shipping. Are my search skills that poor? Or is that just what it costs?


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

I bought mine through GIK acoustics - unfortunately, it was quite a while ago so I do not recall the price. Not sure if you checked there or not, but I know they carry black.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

FR701 is $16.99 per yard plus shipping.


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## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

ALMFamily said:


> I bought mine through GIK acoustics - unfortunately, it was quite a while ago so I do not recall the price. Not sure if you checked there or not, but I know they carry black.


Good call. Minimum order is twice what I need. But it's only $35 more so maybe I should do it that way.

Would love to find a place where four yards costs me $40.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

nathan_h said:


> Good call. Minimum order is twice what I need. But it's only $35 more so maybe I should do it that way.
> 
> Would love to find a place where four yards costs me $40.


I hear you - but, I searched a couple places and GIK was the best price I found. It helped too that they were a forum sponsor...


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Where are you located? I may have a use for some extra black GOM, and I might be willing to buy the excess...


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## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

Good point! 

(I'm in CA.)

I'll post if I go that route.

I'm fixated on the FR701 black 408 color since the panels I already got and love -- (from GIK!) -- are covered in the same fabric, and I want my diffusion panels to match:


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Sounds good mate - I am following along with the build too so I should see where you end up going...


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## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

ALMFamily said:


> Sounds good mate - I am following along with the build too so I should see where you end up going...


Looks like, after building the frames, I'll be covering four 2x4 panels and six 2x2 panels. At most I'll have two yards of excess material, which I should probably keep around for a rainy day.

Kills me to spend $20 a yard, but that's the best price, it seems. And hopefully the new panels match the old ones well, so I feel good about it!

Old panels (made by GIK about five years ago) absorbers:

 

  

and the new panels (diffusers) without the GOM yet:

 



 



They are all within a 1/4" of one another. 

Next step, of course, is to attach the GOM -- probably using staples, unless there is another way I should do it.

And figure out a wiring scheme for hanging them. The more I think about that, the more challenging that seems. Unlike the GIK panels, that have a little open space at the back:


 

My panels actually have the inserted styrofoam diffusion panels essentially flush with the backs. You can see the backs here, with the corner braces. The panels are actually glued to those triangles.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

nathan_h said:


> Next step, of course, is to attach the GOM -- probably using staples, unless there is another way I should do it.


Best way to go IMO - pretty sure I used 1/4" staples and they worked perfectly.


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## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

ALMFamily said:


> Best way to go IMO - pretty sure I used 1/4" staples and they worked perfectly.


Cool. Will do. 

And I have the model of the GIK panels to "mimic" in terms of where to fold and attach.

Now I just gotta figure out the hanging wire plan....


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## nathan_h (Feb 19, 2009)

Got the GOM. Here you can see it on the 2x2' panels. That canning gear box in the background is what the GOM came packed in. Folded a lot, but I think the creases will work themselves out over time.

 


And then the "money shot": Can you tell which is the original GIK panel (absorber) and which is the newly constructed diffusion panel? Probably not too easily. Hint: GIK is on the left.

Seeing how closely they match, I feel like paying 2x the price of other acoustic fabric was worth it.

 

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Ended up with literally one yard extra. Gonna hold on to it, because at least one of the panels is still looking very wrinkly from it's trip in the small box. May end up swapping it out if time doesn't solve the wrinkles and ironing as a backup isn't successful.

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Still gotta figure out how to hang them nicely. Probably do it like picture frames.


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