Set up a projector in the living room

zieak ♦ February 23, 2009 ♦ 4 Comments

I had been thinking of setting up my projector to watch movies in the living room for a while. Saturday i decided to take it on. I got the projector mounted by buying a wall mount for a small LCD TV.

The plate didn’t line up quite right so i had to use a piece of acrylic mounted to the bracket and then the acrylic attached to the projector. I used a stud detector to try and find the ceiling joists. I thought i found one and put a test screw in but it didn’t bury. I tried another hole an inch and a half away. Still didn’t feel right. After a few more tries i found a joist. I ran some wires along the ceiling and wall and Earl and i watched a movie. I really liked it. We measured the size of the screen and it was 108 inches – 9 feet!

Sunday morning i got up early and decided to make the installation a little more permanent. I bought a couple of wall mount AV plates and some stuff at the hardware store and got to work.

I drew outlines to cut out for the boxes so that the test holes i made would be removed or concealed. I tried my drywall saw but it only went in a half inch. So i had to use a utility knife to cut the drywall, drill holes in the corners and then use my sabre saw to complete the opening. It made quite a mess.

Then i went to the wall. I cut a hole in line and close to the outlet that i would be using for the rest of the AV equipment. There was plywood behind that sheet rock too. I then used some extra PEX to try and run up the wall so that i could figure out where i would need to drill in the attic. The tubing ran up about 5 feet and then stopped suddenly. A board run horizontally between the studs!

So i took measurements from the floor to where i thought the board was and from the outside wall to the hole so i knew about where the obstruction was. I went outside and cut a hole in the T1-11 siding with my circular saw above the spot i thought the board was. (I plan on enclosing the carport and will need to put drywall up on that wall anyway.)

I used a spade bit on my cordless drill to bore a hole in the board that was blocking the way. Then i drilled up toward the attic. Twice i struck nails though – there were three or so boards that i was trying to drill through. Eventually i grabbed my longest drill bit and a clothes hanger and drilled a pilot hole and ran the hanger through it so i could find the spot in the attic.

I went to the attic with the wires that i needed. I ran the electric and video signal wires through the openings above the projector and then used my drill and spade bit to open a larger hole to drop the wires through.

I grabbed the piece of PEX tubing and ran it through the wall, duct taped the end of some parachute cord to the end and then pulled it out into the carport. I tied the cord to a wire, pulled it through and repeated for the other wire.

Then it was just a matter of making the connections…

Here is a letterbox movie. If you look closely you can see the whole area the projector covers – 108 inches (nine feet)!

The completed projector installation.

This is a little exciting for some of the cats. But the novelty wears off after a little while.

Next will be running wires for surround sound speakers through the walls…