advice please on fitting ceiling mount to plasterboard ??

jamieuk23

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Hi I will be putting my PJ up in the next few days, and I just checked the area tonight on were I will put the PJ and its very hollow, as its just plain plasterboard.

is it safe to attach my Projector which only ways 3.2 kg, to plasterboard ??

If so is there any type of special screws I can use to make it all a bit more secure ??

+ I am guessing here but would you recomend putting a peice of wood beween the mount and the ceiling ???

any tips is apreciated to the max !

:thumbsup:
 
I personally would fit an MDF or plywood "plinth" to the ceiling first, then fit the mount to that.

Hopefully, this would allow you to get a couple of screws into one of the joists.

The alternatives are to use toggles, or (my preference) the screw-in cast fixings.

Given the weight and the consequences of it falling down, I would go with the plinth....

DJ
 
Just finished painting such a job tonight!! I am hanging a 19kg Sony Ruby so did not want to take any chances.

I used 18mm mdf and found two ceiling joists and screwed the mdf to them. 6 x 12*100 screws! I then used 6 x 8*30 screws and plasterboard rawl plugs down each side so the mdf would not bow over time.

Filled all the screw holes with filler, left overnight, sanded, used caulking round the edge to seal mdf to ceiling and painted tonight.


Presto - and it's going nowhere, can practically swing from it myself!

Paint still wet in photo!
 

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Agree, you don't want to be hanging a PJ off 10mm of plasterboard even with the best dry-wall fixings going.

If you are up for it, you could cut the piece of plasterboard out and then fit the MDF plate flush with a fill and sand, this would look nicer and ensure you have fixed it to the middle of the joists.
 
I totally agree with mkjustuk.

Alternatively if its an option you can pull back some carpet in the room above, cut a hatch in the floor and put your strengthening between the joist's this way leaving the roof untouched but super strong. That's what I did. :)
 
Jamie, buy a £15 Stanley Intellisensor if you haven't got one and use that to find the ceiling joist. Then you can screw through the plasterboard and into the wood. That's what I'll be doing when my HD72i arrives today!!! :D

Jules
 
Most PJ mounts aren't wide enough to screw it directly to the joists on either side and one side only would be risky. I agree with Stevie D, if you can get at it from above you can make a real pro job of it.
 
mkjustuk said:
Most PJ mounts aren't wide enough to screw it directly to the joists on either side and one side only would be risky. I agree with Stevie D, if you can get at it from above you can make a real pro job of it.

yer but you need a bit of a pro to do a pro job.. my mrs does more DIY than me and thats no joke :D

I am going to go up to B&Q and get some MDF wood and get some special screws for going in to plasterboard, from reading you an get screws that open up like a butterfly so it spreads the weight on the platerboard, so I have read any way..

Will look in to one of those things mentioned above as well for knowing were the joists are to drill in to. >>> super joist sencer "only £39.99 !!"!!!!!!
 
Jamie, Homebase do the Stanley Intellisensor for £15. My HD72i hasn't arrived yet so I don't know how wide the screw mounts are, but it would be easy enough to cut a piece of MDF wide enough to take the screw mounts and then attach that MDF to the joist with several screws. My DIY skills are non-existant but even I think I can do that. ;)
Jules
 
...If you are not really into DIY, I would not waste money on a joist/pipe sensor that you will probably never use again.

You should be able to find the joists easily enough, either from tapping the ceiling and noting the different sound as you go on/off joists, or, you may find some nail heads visible, depending on age/decoration of your ceiling. The joists will be at 400 or 600mm centres, depending on your house construction.

I think you have all the options now... so its your call.... stay off the booze for a night and go for it!

DJ
 
Dj's right - go do it! I tried tapping though and could hear no change in sound - the sensor found the joist perfectly however. Who knows, it could come in handy when you put your next picture up - my dad put one up a few years ago and ended up hammering a nail through a gas pipe :eek: !
 
jamieuk23 said:
I am going to go up to B&Q and get some MDF wood and get some special screws for going in to plasterboard, from reading you an get screws that open up like a butterfly so it spreads the weight on the platerboard, so I have read any way..

As we have said above, you need to screw the MDF to the joists, not the plasterboard....... :D
 
As djblack say's you now have all option available.

If you still now continue and go down the route of using butterfly fixings etc. Then congratulation you have officially joined the legion of idiots :nono: :suicide: and the only thing left for you to do is to place a box containing some bubble wrap underneath the projector to catch it whan it falls . :thumbsup:

Happy viewing whatever path you choose :)
 
Ta da!

Just need to raggle cables into wall now.
 

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JohnnyScot said:
Ta da!

Just need to raggle cables into wall now.

Well done. :thumbsup:

Don't you find it hard to align the mount so the pj is exactly in the centre of the screen (horizontally that is)? I've got my pj on a shelf, so I can move it along slightly to center it perfectly.
 
If you don't mind the look then Johnnys is the safest way to go.

You can find the joists by gently piercing the plasterboard with a bradawl until you find a place with some Resistance. then measure 45mm along from that point and check that there is still a solid backing. Once you have established that joist you can then measure 450mm left or right of centre to find your next joist.

Three good fixings in the width of your 18mm MDF on each joist will be sufficient for your PJs weight.

Please be wary of where your ceiling light is and wall switch - this will give you some idea where the cabling might be and also if you have central heating where the radiator is above you and in the next adjacent room - again should give you an idea of where the water pipes might be.

If your not confident then that 15 quid BQ tool will help cause a plumbers call out fee is 50 quid then the repair on top!!

Good luck:)
 
Timbo21 said:
Don't you find it hard to align the mount so the pj is exactly in the centre of the screen (horizontally that is)? I've got my pj on a shelf, so I can move it along slightly to center it perfectly.

Tape measure works wonders :D
 
Thanks for the comments guys! Ahem - 'if you don't mind the look' - cheeky bug**r :mad: ;) :D

Did take a bit of head scratching before I was happy with the position. I'll try and explain.....

PJ's centre point was easy to measure, centre of screen from one side wall and same distance out from back side wall. Also used a set square and laser pointer to confirm.

PJ mount on MDF was a little harder. I wanted it to be centred on the MDF so as it would look eye sweet however the joists (plural, it is into 2, they run front to back) were not equidistant from the centre point of the PJ mount. So...

Marked centre of joist positions and measured from PJ centre point to each joist centre point. Whichever was the greater distance was doubled and that governed the width of the mdf, which was 600mm. I then decided on the depth of 300mm to give enough room for mount with a bit to spare front and back.

This solution therefore led to the screws into the joists being about 30mm in from the left hand side of the mdf and about 80mm in from the other. The PJ was then centred on the mdf however the screwholes looked off centre. Easily solved however by filling, sanding and painting over.

Presto. PJ in centre of room, mount in centre of mdf, me on sofa directly below with big chuffing smile on my face! :D


PS 19kg is the Ruby - was taking NOOOO chances!
 
Didn't mean to insult you J, just some folk had pointed towards making a flush panel.
At the end of the day it's the 'finishing' of the job that makes the look and yours looks perfect.:smashin:

At 19Kg I'd be taking no chances too!

You can also find the centre of your PJ lens using string.

1. Cut two pieces greater than the required throw distance, add about 1 meter.
2. Tie each piece to the ends of your PJ screen.
3. Measure along each piece of string and mark the throw distance.( you can use the zoom of the lens to adjust for error, or if you can remember the maths work out the actual length )
4. Bring both pieces together to form a triangle at the marked point.
5. When both pieces of string are taught make mark on ceiling corresponding with the throw distance.
6. you can then extend/shorten the tip of the triangle and make further marks so that you can scribe a line on the ceiling to aid bracket positioning.

Hope that makes sense!
 
Drew2 said:
Didn't mean to insult you J, just some folk had pointed towards making a flush panel.
At the end of the day it's the 'finishing' of the job that makes the look and yours looks perfect.:smashin:

lol Drew - my reply was tongue in cheek - no worries - no insult taken! :smashin:

Wait 'till you see my cable sunk into wall - it will look as neat as my rear speakers!
 

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