Will my roof support my projector hanging?  

No way in hades I would trust my projector to hanging from the ceiling in just the sheetrock with screws. It might work for a while, even a long while, but eventually its gonna fall.

I used that exact same mount to mount speakers about a year ago and I'm not sure they're rated for more than 7 or 8 pounds so be careful.

If I were you, and I know this is a pain in the ass, I'd add some sort of cross beam like a 2x4 between actual ceiling beams so I could screw my projector into something more solid. It would require tearing up some drywall and patching, of course.

- Cryo

Use a piece of ply-wood and cut it either the length or width (depending on which direction the joists go) of your projector and then long enough to span the joists. Paint it. And mount your projector to that, You can eve let it hang down off the ceiling using longer screws to keep the ceiling texture intact, But for the love of Pete man grab some wood with those screws!!!

:-)

Good luck.

Andy

Yes, definitely find those joists otherwise it will eventually fall down. A few holes in a textured ceiling are eay to patch if you decide to remove it at a later time.

Bob

I hope your sheetrock sandwich works out, I really do. However all I know is that if I was hanging my expensive projector several feet in the air I would find a way to get into some joists. Heck add some crossmembers betweens the joists and screw a piece of plywood to that through the ceiling and hang your PJ on that.

Unless you mount it to some real wood that is connected to beams or joists, sooner or latter is gonna end up breaking loose and smashing on the floor, or even worse someone that's underneath it when it "lets go"! The only thing that sandwiching two pieces if 5/8 hardboard or plywood is gonna do, is add even more weight that the drywall ceiling was never meant to handle, and just makes it a heavier object to break loose, which in time will happen! The question is, how long will it take to do so...

With you now saying that you are planing on using a pair of 8"x13" pieces of hardboard. It sounds like you either have a suspending ceiling with removable ceiling tiles, or a way to get above the real drywall ceiling. To insert the top one, and if you have that kind of room, where you can get above the ceiling itself, then you must also have a way to tie into a joist or beam in some way.

I used an Expandable cross brace to mount a ceiling fan in the past and I did without going into the attic. I can't find a link to it directly but we purchased it at Home Depot or Lowes and it worked great. It is described in the following link with a simple picture shown in figure 3

doityourself.com/electric/ceilingfan-e2diy0163.htm

youll have to put in a box for wire and electrical correct?? if thats the case youll have to put in a cut out. or how are you going to get power and all that good stuff to the pj??

The expandable joist is made to be inserted into a standard electrical box hole.

Lots of ways to skin a cat though, and I am sure you will find a solution that meets your needs.

Sorry to jack your thread, but I was looking into getting an x1 also, and I have a fan in my room (it's pretty big) about 8 ft away from the wall where I would mount a projector screen. Would it be easy to just remove the fan and install the pj?

I had the exact same problem with my setup.. had to span 2 joists to mount my X1.. and I also have a fan i had to work around.

For the fan, i just pulled the light fixture off for now. That gave enough clearance for the PJ light path.

then I had to come up with a mount. I ended up building this in my garage from some scrap metal i had laying in the backyard:

http://members.cox.net/datz510/diy_mount_6.JPG

Notice how it spans the two joists. Looks a little funny, but it works very well and is very adjustable. here it is with the X1 on it:

http://members.cox.net/datz510/diy_mount_7.JPG

After I got the mount installed, I then cut holes for two wall boxes. One for power and the other for data and installed them on either side of the projector. need to get some new pics of this.

Heres the theater after painting but before I pulled the cables

Hope this helps out.

i've got a 1/2" or 3/4" drywall ceiling. i've got a 6lb. projector hanging from it with only 4 screws holding it up. i live in northern japan and the screws have held it up through ten major earthquakes, three of which were 6.5 or higher. lots of other smaller earthquakes as well. it's still very secure up there. i think i used some plastic drywall inserts, but i don't remember. works for me.

eric

Even the people that make the plastic drywall inserts, tell you not to use them in a load bearing or a weighted application.
So you have just been very lucky so far. And even more so considering the earthquakes.

maybe i just got some good ceilings. maybe there is a support beam close to the spot, i don't have an attic so i can't look up there. as long as it's secure, which it is, i'm sure it will continue to hold up just fine. the last earthquake we had, an 8.0, with a 7.0 aftershock an hour later, didn't even mess up my alignment. sure scared my 100lb dog though who normally is fearless. if you've never experienced an earthquake, you are missing out. they can be deadly, that's for sure, but to see the ground rippling, and to get dizzy just by standing up, it's really cool.


just wondering what the point of the plastic inserts is then, or for that matter, what the point of putting any screws at all in your walls or ceilings is?

eric

This is some info from the "This Old House" site.

"Expanding Plastic Sleeves
Available in several varieties, these work well for light and medium loads Anchors like the blue version don't expand enough to grab well in drywall; they work better in plaster and best in masonry. Anchors designed to spread their "wings" are less susceptible to withdrawal."

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/prin...203389,00.html

Now bear in mind this is also info for things that you want to hang on walls and not ceilings. As hanging a item on a ceiling offers even less weight holding as it don't have the support of the wall itself when doing it that way.

"For example, you might successfully hang a 25 lb wired mirror onto a screw in a plastic expansion anchor (in drywall) where the force in downward. The same anchor and screw might not be able to support a 25 pound cabinet if the cabinet tends to pull the anchor outward. It's all relative. Strength, that is."

"All anchors can be divided into two basic types... expansion anchors and hollow wall anchors.

1) Expansion anchors are used in thick, solid materials... concrete, brick, mortar, metals or even wood. They work by expanding when a screw or bolt is threaded into them. If you remember anything about expansion anchors, remember this...

Expansion anchors are only as strong as the
material they are installed in.

If an expansion anchor is installed in a soft material (such as drywall), it may appear to be strong but don't be fooled... the strength is minimal and it will eventually loosen and/or pull out if too much stress is put on it.

2) Hollow-wall anchors, on the other hand, will not work in solid materials. Instead, they are designed to be used in thin materials or on hollow walls. They each have a unique way of spreading within the hollow of the wall. Once spread, the anchor cannot be pulled back through the smaller installation hole. The strength of a spreading anchor is proportional to the size of the "spread"!"

This info and more, is all from
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/i...infanchor.shtm

And I just love this description for this one type of plastic anchor.

"Plastic Anchor
These conical plastic anchors are worthless for drywall. A #10 screw directly into the wall will work as well. (They work OK for light duty in masonry)"

This is from.
http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepa...lfasteners.htm
Which also has a section on the strength of fasteners and how to calculate and how to use them for weights.
http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepa...rstrengths.htm

Also many manufacturers of projectors, also recommend the use of a "safety cable", in addition to just mounting the projector with a normal mount.

And for you and some other people that may live in a earthquake zone. Here is some earthquake info for securing things, and also information of how things must be done when mounting all sorts of items in the schools in California that are also in such earthquake zones.

http://www.oes.ca.gov/Operational/OE...sf/PDF/SB1122/$file/SB1122.pdf

http://www.atcouncil.org/pdfs/bp5a.pdf