The similar thread on mounting an LCD TV on just drywall got me thinking.
I am considering installing a projector in my media room on the ceiling. Of course the blocking I put in during framing last year doesn’t match where this projector needs to be mounted. The ceiling is done with 5/8″ rock @ 24″ OC.
The projector and mount will probably weigh 10-12 pounds. Assuming mounting with 4 toggle bolts in a 1′ square area, each toggle will have roughly 3 lb hanging from it. Will the sheetrock support this or do I need to move up to something like wingits?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Regards,
Dennis
Replies
Put backing in. It is so easy to do, it is not worth the risk.
Kirk,
Thanks for the reply. Did you mean cut out the drywall and add some blocking or put something on the back of the drywall on the attic side. If the latter, this will be tough as the ceiling is over a garage and there is only about 2 feet of crawl space above the trusses and this is filled with about 15" of insulation.
Regards,
Dennis
Cut a hole in the ceiling for an octagon box. Install one of the thru-the-hole fan boxes with the expanding bars that jam into adjacent joists.. Hang the projector from the box.
ohh, thats a good idea. those things are good for 60+lbs. i would go that route if cutting the DW isn't an option.
If the 5/8" rock is properly screwed to the ceiling, I'd just hang the projector from the rock. 12 pounds is not very much. The small Wing-its are stronger than toggle bolts, but toggles will do the job. If backing were easy, then I'd do that, but you've already explained that access is hellish.
Bill
The real hazard here isn't the toggles pulling out but rather the rock sagging or the nails pulling through over time. Humidity makes a difference. If humidity is well-controlled then there will be less tendency towards sagging and pull-through.Sagging will be lessened if the unit is hung straddling a joist. CAREFULLY adding a few extra screws to the rock (careful not to break the paper) can reduce the liklihood of pull-through.Make sure the unit is mounted so it can be easily dismounted for service.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
How much weight can drywall support?
It depends:
Is it stacked on the floor or nailed to the ceiling joist? : - )
Blocking is the best idea, but usiing a bracket or support can be adequate. I would take the engineers comon approach. If you need 60 lbs of support, provide 150 % or 90 lbs of support.
If you have kids 300 %. 60 lbs x 3 = 240 lbs, meaning they can swing on it when your not home (which may happen with some kids or their friends). : - )
Drywall can support actually!
Long story short, we were moving a large/heavy beam into an attic. So I had everyone there to put a hand on it... Even the part time office guy (read secretary). He's not to smart or talented....in anything.
Not two minutes before one of guys told him... These are joists, stand on them, Not between them...
Well this dingle berry is the first one up, guess where he's standing?
Idiot didn't fall through, didn't crack, nor sag the drywall... I was amazed
and a tad disappointed... Wouldn't have necessarily wanted him to get hurt, but to fall through on either side of two joists and catch himself between the legs would have given me mild amusement.
You are fortuante to not have drywall repairs and painting to do, and that incident report seems to me to be maybe one out of a million.
I have never encountered drywall hung on ceiling that would support the weight of a lets say..... Jayhawk........ from above, much less a Longhorn.
I wouldn't have believed it myself if I wasn't there.
He has to be around 140lbs or so.
I'd have been pissed about the dw and painting... though it could have been mildly funny... Providing he didn't get hurt to bad.
When I was in college I worked with a guy (doing audio wiring mostly) who would climb up in suspended ceilings and support himself on the rails. Once or twice he put a toe or knee through, but only fell through once. Unfortunately I wasn't there to see it, but I was told it was spectacular.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I've heard of pulling in audio over high suspended ceilings in theaters by using a radio controlled toy truck to "drive" on top of it and pull in a piece of monofilament.
-- J.S.
This was before radio was invented. (Well, not quite, but before R/C cars that cost less than a thousand bucks.)
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
"How much weight can drywall support?"
I always liked the 1 lb/square ft/$ worth value rule for putting anything on unreinforced/backed gypsum board.
Another consideration:
What if it's strong enough not to totally fail and drop the projector, but it sags a little instead. If the mount is a foot long, and one end sags 1/8" more than the other, that would move the picture an inch and a half on a screen 12 ft. away.
-- J.S.
You projector should have an adjustable focus.
Move the projector location back/forward or left/right until you hit a ceiling joist. Mount the hanging bracket to the joist and you're set to go without worrying about the holding power of drywall.
If your mounting bracket is square or rectangular at least 2 corners will be firmly attached to the joist and then the other two corners can be toggled to the rock.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I went the easiest and more expensive route and bought a different projector that would work where I had put the blocking.
Regards,
Dennis