Sliding Track Ceiling Mount for 42" Plasma TV - Page 2

I am going to see what it looks like simply painted black first. If it is not intrusive looking, I will keep it as it is...if it does not look nice, then I will do as you said.

OK, I am seeking any info on what this cover may be called and/or where I can find it:



It is a very lovely cover for the track and cable mechanisms, angling nicely across it to make it all vanish. It has black "hairs" covering the hole the rod slides through, to keep what is in that space hidden, yet allow the rod to move unemcumbered.

AH! Door Sweeps! I knew I saw something like that somewhere!

EDIT: Strip brush, thanks!


I am trying to get everything from either a local hardware store or online so others can easily replicate this if they wish. That is my hope, at least...not my requirement.

The top plate of the TV mount is 7 inch x 7 inch (between the mounting holes). If I find that to not be enough, I am going to use a piece of 3/4 in plywood and make the size I need...I have plenty of it left over from building the riser and the stage. Thanks for the insight, hopefully I will not need to worry about it, but good to have a plan if I do.

I am going to spray white lithium grease on the tracks - unless anyone knows a better lubricant (that stays around and is non-drippy).

Thanks! I will start with no lube at all then.

An update, with pics. I mounted the rails on the ceiling and mounted the rollers to the ceiling mount plate for the TV bracket. It rolls very smoothly and there is NO side to side tilt at all. It is very sturdy and each rail is held in place by 14 screws, run through the drywall and the 1/2 inch MDF I used as my first layer on the ceiling. I also ran the wiring for the power to the TV and the HDMI cable (you can see them hanging there).

I also decided I am going to mount some track lights on the screen side of the TV track, to give extra lighting for the room. The power for that has been run as well, but you cannot see it well. Everything is going to be painted black.

I put a quick first coat of paint on the track (I will do a final super light coat with the HPLV sprayer so it perfectly matches the ceiling later) and decided to do a "hang" test. That is where my 187 pounds of pure manliness is suspended from the track to see if it will hold the 140 pounds of TV and ceiling bracket.



It passed with flying colors. Paranoia has been satiated, it will hold without any problems. Interesting devil eye effect at that angle, though!

I should have it temporarily mounted tomorrow night to make sure everything works as expected.

No TV yet, but I have the mount fully installed and the wire track installed as well. It is only mounted temporarily. It sags a little at the end, so I am going to install a little U shelf for it to ride inside to prevent sagging. The wire track is designed to slide along such things, so it will work perfectly and protect the cables as it should.

Here is a video of it being slid, sans the TV. The TV adds another 98 or so pounds to the track but I am confident it will still slide smoothly.

I reversed the direction of the swing so that the front of the TV is facing away from the wall instead of towards it. This will hide the back of the TV (where the wires and such are).

I am going to use Spoon Flower to make a picture on a cloth to hang over the front of the TV when it is against the wall if needed. I will do a test after I am able to move the TV and install it temporarily.

Here are two more pictures, this is almost complete. I moved the cables to come out between the rails - should have put them there to start with. The power cable for the track lighting is staying on the outside of the rails, though.

I connected the tank tread track used to hold the HDMI cable to the ceiling between the rails. I zip tied the power cord to it, ensuring that when the HDMI track slides the power cord will not touch anything. I did this to keep a physical seperation between the power cord and the HDMI cable. If it has to be seperated in a wall, I figure they should also be seperated in a moving track.

The only things I have left to do are to cut off the extra length of the bolts stucking down and put up the metal covers (which will be painted black) to hide it all, as well as putting the outlet plug on the end of the power cable. I will wait and see if I need to use the brushes or not.

I am waiting on an HDMI extension cable, once I have that I will install it and zip tie the power cable the rest of the way along the track holding the HDMI cable.

Then comes the TV and success.



Here is a close up of the system used to hold the HDMI track and power to the ceiling. It is a long wood screw with a support bar on it. It holds everything tight against the ceiling. I will use four of these, spread evenly along half the length of the HDMI track. Since the HDMI track folds in half when the TV is in the middle of the room, it cannot go further than that (I only have three installed in the one picture). The other half will lay on the inside lip of the cover which is yet to be installed. The HDMI track is designed to take a good amount of abuse, so it would take centuries of movement before it will ever see damage from rubbing. The power cord, being zip tied to the HDMI track, will not rub against anything.