I didn't want to highjack V1rtu0s1ty's mounting thread but after running some searches I found most have access to the upper level of their theater room. I can find the center of the floor joists in the ceiling put I don't have access above them.

For those like me who are working in a finished basement with drywall already in place, are you just using a stud finder to find the center of the studs and firing 3/8" lag screws into the joists to hold the mounts? The floor joists are 12 x 1.5" (actual size is 11 x 1 5/16"). PJ will be a 9500 most likely (not purchased yet).

Thanks for the help.

Lance

I would be leery of putting the lags in without pulling the drywall. You want to be sure you hit them dead center.

But you could do it, just be sure to test the mount with at least 150% of the 9500 weight, get a few of your friends to hang off of it; if they fall it's no big deal :D

Erik

Drywall is cheap and easy to fix..... a cracked head or a broken projector is not. If you're pretty sure of where the joists are, trim out a bit of the drywall across the width of the joist where you need your lags to go so you can get them centered. If you're off on just one and you split a chunk out to the side, you're stuck having to relocate to a good solid area and starting over. If you're carefull in the trimming, you probably won't even see where you did it once the mount is up, but if you're fussy, you can start the lags, patch the hole, then tighten up the lags.

I have mounted my unistrut on top of the ceiling drywall. It works great.

Finding the center of the stud is easy. Use a stud finder to get you close, then clamp a rugged sewing needle in a vise grip. Push the needle through the drywall several times to locate the edges of the joist, then split the difference for the center. Use your eyeball to plumb the pilot-hole (yes, you need a properly-sized pilot hole) drill bit and then go for it.

I have mounted my unistrut on top of the ceiling drywall. It works great.

Finding the center of the stud is easy. Use a stud finder to get you close, then clamp a rugged sewing needle in a vise grip.

You mean this is not what ice picks are for? :D Never used a sewing needle. I'd manage to break it every time. Suppose a tiny drill bit would do it too.

Nice!

Using a pilot drill bit makes a ton of sense to me. I have a stud finder so getting basic location is easy. Where do I find the unistrut? Is that a HD or Lowes item? Cost?

It looks like the sliding mechanism gives you adjustability of running the PJ closer-to and farther-away from the screen for final distance adjustments. Is that a correct assumption? If so, as Herve mentioned, I would need to run the unistrut on the outside of the drywall ceiling to give the unit the ability to slide without having to cut slots in the drywall.

I think I got it but please correct me if I am wrong :)

Thanks again for all the input.

Lance

I like the ice pick myself (why patch dry-wall if you don't have to). It's good to verify the stud finder which can sometiems give false readings. I also like 5/16ths lags, they are more than strong enough and leave more wood behind. Pilot drill with a 3/16ths bit and make sure you soap or wax the lag bolt prior to screwing it in, the friction to the wood and can actually anneal the steel and weaken it (no joke)

What he said! I forgot to soap the first lag bolt in my mount, and about broke my arm trying to twist it in. I'm sure I didn't do the bolt any good. I soaped the other ones, same size bolt into same size pilot hole, and they went in easily.

You guys really need an impact wrench :D
Friction... What Friction, and don't worry about weakening the lags we just put an extra 10 in :cool:

Nice!

Using a pilot drill bit makes a ton of sense to me. I have a stud finder so getting basic location is easy. Where do I find the unistrut? Is that a HD or Lowes item? Cost?


Make sure you have found the center of the joist/stud and you will be fine.
I found the strut at HD but it was called superstrut. It was buried along the back wall of the store by the fencing materials. I think it was around $12 for a 10' section.

3 1/2 years and counting

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/507/23742FP_mounting0005.jpg

Lance,
The other things to think about is cables and power. Depending how the joists are laid out this can be a problem. Sometimes if you cant do it any other way you have to pull some drywall down or do something surface mount. You want the power separated from cables. Something to think about. Doug

I love unistrut: (just disregard that black thing hanging behind the NEC)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/Tony1M/fromback.jpg

I don't mean to be snide with this question but Herve did you manage to stay married after bolting all that "stuff" to your ceiling? :D

Herve, your NEC mount looks just about identical to the setup I used for my XG (minus the black thing of course :D), and re-used for several projectors since then. It's nice and simple, but not the greatest arrangement. Wrestling the channel nuts into / out of the strut when you're trying to haul the PJ up to / off of the ceiling can be a real pain. It's also basically impossible to change the PJ angle unless you completely remove two bolts (front or back) and insert new ones of a different length, or at least totally unhook two bolts and twirl the channel nuts for very small changes. Obviously totally unhooking 2 bolts means the projector is not supported, which makes things more complicated. Have you come up with a better solution than I did, or do you just live with it? (If you don't change out your projector every few months I guess it's not that big of a deal. :))

I expect to put my 8500 back up within a month or two, and it needs to move closer due to the HD145's I put in it. And naturally my strut doesn't go that far forward. I think I'll put up new strut while I'm at it. I used the low-profile strut since it holds the pj a little higher, but it has a big disadvantage: the channel nuts barely fit in there, which makes it REALLY hard to get them in and out. And you can't slide them past the lag bolts that hold the strut on the ceiling! urghgh

Gary

I have mounted my unistrut on top of the ceiling drywall. It works great.

Finding the center of the stud is easy. Use a stud finder to get you close, then clamp a rugged sewing needle in a vise grip. Push the needle through the drywall several times to locate the edges of the joist, then split the difference for the center. Use your eyeball to plumb the pilot-hole (yes, you need a properly-sized pilot hole) drill bit and then go for it.

make sure that when you use your stud finder, it's not triggering on the conduit pipes. :D

With solid studs you don't really even need lag bolts; you can get a good long wood screw and a few of those will be fine. It's counterintuitive, but in that load angle they're insanely tough.

My dad told me a story about a guy they went to buy an engine from. He had this pulley hooked to a 2x4 joist in the ceiling, and he just yanked on the other end and lifted the thing up... 200lb engine - held up by ONE NAIL that was holding the hoist there. He'd been doing it for 15 years.

Nails and screws in wood are *STRONG*. :) That doesn't mean you should put one nail through your mount and call it a day, but if you know just a little bit and make a reasonable effort, and have good strong wood in the house to work with, you'll be fine. Now, if you're in a 100 year old house with timbers whose quality you have no idea about... then it's a bit trickier.

I don't mean to be snide with this question but Herve did you manage to stay married after bolting all that "stuff" to your ceiling? :D
Believe it or not, after my initial propositions with respect to the original NEC+permwall setup (and the latest with respect to the RS1+High Power pull-down), my wife has been not only a cheerleader, but a rather pushy promoter of all the equipment. For example, if she had had her way, we would have bought the RS1 back in March, rather than after its recent big price drop.

But believe me, if I proposed putting that strut up there for any other purpose, no way Jose would she allow it.

A bit OT here. In general, there's a funny thing I've observed about the "toys" that each sex prefers and with which it is associated. The toys that women love - jewelry, up-to-the-second decor and fashion, etc. - are usually not much loved by the men they're married to. However, many of the toys that men love - electronics, HT components, automobiles, etc. - women also end up loving in the end. (Something's wrong with that sentece, but I can't quite put my finger on it.) Frankly, I think that situation is a bit unfair, but it is extremely convenient in this particular case.

Herve, your NEC mount looks just about identical to the setup I used for my XG (minus the black thing of course :D), and re-used for several projectors since then. It's nice and simple, but not the greatest arrangement. Wrestling the channel nuts into / out of the strut when you're trying to haul the PJ up to / off of the ceiling can be a real pain. It's also basically impossible to change the PJ angle unless you completely remove two bolts (front or back) and insert new ones of a different length, or at least totally unhook two bolts and twirl the channel nuts for very small changes. Obviously totally unhooking 2 bolts means the projector is not supported, which makes things more complicated. Have you come up with a better solution than I did, or do you just live with it? (If you don't change out your projector every few months I guess it's not that big of a deal. :))
.............................................
Gary
Gary, I set up our pj and screen well over 4 years ago and I haven't had to adjust a single thing on the mount since that time. Because I will change nothing on the pj, I don't think I should ever have to.

The next time the pj comes down, it'll be time to retire the old friend, so the mount will come down, too. It's going to come down a whole lot easier than it went up! :D Seriously though, that will be a bit of a sad day for me and my wife.