How to Build a Projector Ceiling Mount

Mount your projector to the ceiling for a better home theater experience.

Video projectors are becoming viable alternatives to the traditional overhead projectors or television monitors. The technology has advanced that it is possible to have a better high definition picture with a projector than you would with some HDTVs. Projectors, however, are a little bit more complicated to set up than a television. If you want to maximize the home theater experience from your projector, hanging it from the ceiling is your best option.

Things You'll Need

• One piece of ¾ inch plywood, 20 inches by 24 inches
• Four eye screws, rated for 95 pound weight
• Four lap link connectors rated for 225 pound weight
• Four ½-inch eye bolts, 8 inches long and weighted for 300 pound weight.
• Four ½-inch nuts
• Drill with 1/8-inch bit
• Needle nose pliers
• Stud finder
• Tape Measure
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Drill a hole in each corner of the plywood. This will be the platform the projector will sit on.

2. Twist the four ½ inch eye bolts into the four holes you created. Screw the nuts onto the ends of the bolts to secure them to the wood board.

3. Find the ceiling beams using the stud finder. A stud finder is a tool which locates wall studs and ceiling beams by measuring the density of the wall. The stud finder will give off a signal when the density of the surface changes which notifies the user to the location of the beam.

4. Mark the location of two adjacent beams with a pencil. The beams should be about 18 inches apart. Make sure the initial marks are parallel.

5. Measure 22 inches along the beams from the first marks and make additional marks. You should now have four marks which make a square. These are the locations from which the board will hang.

6. Drill shallow holes at the marks on the beams. These holes will help the eye screws go into the wood easier. Screw the eye screws into the holes so they are secure.

7. Open the lap link connectors with the pliers. Hook the connectors to the eye screws in the ceiling. Hook the eye bolts and the board to the connectors. Close the connectors with the pliers.

8. If you need to adjust the projector so it is pointing down, get longer eye bolts. This will give you more vertical room so that you can tilt the projector down.

References

• Crunch Gear: A Quick and Dirty Projector Ceiling Mount