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Thread: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

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    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    I've decided to keep my projector, as I've discovered baby blackout blinds shields the screen enough to give me a decent picture even with some the windows open.

    In order to keep the projector out of the way, I've decided to have a go at mounting it on the ceiling. The inside of my man shed appears to be thin (probably 2-3mm) plastic.

    The projector itself is about 1.9kg. I would guess the mount is around similar (I'm looking at low profile mounts). Is there some specific type of fixing I should be looking at? I'm a bit worried that 4 standard m3/m4/m5 screws won't hold 4kg.

    I'd strengthen it up with glue from a heat glue gun, but I guess that'd melt with the heat of the projector?

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    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    I'd be very concerned about fixing something as heavy as that projector plus a mount to a thin sheet ceiling. Are there no supporting struts or beams that you can secure it too? Or maybe secure a piece of thicker (12mm+) board across the supports so that you can then attach the projector & mount to that?

    In fact, even if there are no beams or supports, I'd still be inclined to put a piece of wood above the ceiling and screw in to that - if the ceiling is a plastic then screwing directly into it could deform the plastic and let the screws work loose - screwing through the ceiling into a board would spread the weight across the area of the board, reducing the pressure on the ceiling...

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    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
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    Re: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    Pretty much as Scary says - assuming that ceiling is an internal ceiling and not the outside roof - cos you don't really want to be drilling holes in that!
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    DILLIGAF GoNz0's Avatar
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    Re: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    You need to ask the builders what they made it out of and take it from there tbh. You may find you have joists above that you can use to screw a sheet of 1/2" ply onto as a mounting surface.
    If you have a stud finder with joist setting you could use that or does it have plastic capped nails in lines to show where the joists are?

    By rights they should have used 18mm board.

    I have decided my projectos is no use to me, the kids are young so no point keeping it until needed as I would rather buy a LED or laser one in a few years should I decide I want another.

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    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    Quote Originally Posted by GoNz0 View Post
    ... By rights they should have used 18mm board. ...
    For internal ceilings 9.5mm plasterboard + skim is fairly standard

    But iirc boredom's man-shed is a fancy pre-fabbed panel-lined affair; one of those srubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish garden rooms you can get. Shouldn't be too hard to find out how it's put together, but might not be suitable for ceiling mounting anything, sadly...

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    Supermarket Generic Brand AETAaAS's Avatar
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    Re: Fixing a projector to a thin ceiling

    Do you have any pictures of the structure? What kinda material is the plastic and how is it secured? Some plastics like polycarbonate (which I think is a favorite in this category) can be incredibly strong and nearly unbreakable. And like scaryjim's said, if there are any reinforcing struts, I'd aim for those.

    If the plastic is of a resilient type, and if it is appropriately braced and won't flex under weight, I wonder if it would not be possible to fix the projector bracket with toggle bolts? Or if you have access to the upper part, using bolts with large washers to spread the weight?

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