Wuddy Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Wearing my daytime hat, electrical installation, I have worked above my share of suspended ceilings and so have a little knowledge. As regards loading, the ceilings are designed to carry loads beyond their own weight to allow for the installation of lights etc., I seem to recall rule of thumb, they can carry up-to 5Kgs per 600 x 600 area. As regards the scaff. pole idea, if you are aware of the multitude of phone, data, mains cables slung above suspended ceilings I would think it almost imposible to isert it without it comming to rest ontop of some cables, traping them between the pole and the grid and perhaps acting with a guillotine action. A great number of suspended ceilings act as fire or smoke stops and the tiles are clipped in, to remove a clipped tile and not reclip it ( a lot of people don't know how to do it or are just plain lazy) destroys the integrity of the stop, draughts created by a fire can suck out the tile and allow fumes and fire to spread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunk_1984 Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 I would suspect that any installed in schools are likely to have suspension fittings bolted to the real ceiling rather than just relying on the 'where it touches' gravity option... Yes, all the ones I have seen in schools have a projection mount pole going through a custom hole made in the tile and then been bolted to the ceiling or bolted to 'I' beam steel girders with appropriate attachment. or where no false ceiling applies, same method but without suspended ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Are you sure that these have been installed in the manner that the OP is suggesting? I somehow doubt that.He is suggesting (as I see it) that he simply replaces a ceiling tile with on made of MDF and bolts the projector to that. I would suspect that any installed in schools are likely to have suspension fittings bolted to the real ceiling rather than just relying on the 'where it touches' gravity option... There are of course some that are bolted to the actual ceiling above the suspended one, but the ones I was referring to are supported soley by the grid. There are five classrooms above me like that - the only thing above the suspended ceiling (a long way up) is the curved roof itself. There is some structural steelwork, but nowhere near the right place of course. Off the top of my head, I don't know how the wires that support the grid are attached to the roof, but there was certainly never an option to fix the projectors to the roof. I seem to recall that there's simply a wooden structure above the tile that spreads the load on to the top of the grid. I think that elsewhere, we do also have some that are of the 600mm MDF type solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Whitehead Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Dear Ynot, I’m sorry if you have got the wrong impression of me. I am dyslexic and find putting down in writing what is in my head rather difficult. I didn’t realise to begin with that correct spelling in this forum was a serious issue, but as I enjoy posting and reading the posts on this forum I’m going to try and do better. I shall write all my posts in word and spell check them from now on. It seems my profile was a bit unclear and I have re-written this. But to clarify, I’m 18 years old; I’m an electrical apprentice for Thames Water in my 3rd year now. I’m also doing an HNC at college in electrical and electronic engineering. In my spare time I run my lighting company. I have had a passion for lighting since a young age and my dad who is a full time DJ has made this passion shine. I do quite a lot of work with my dad and independently. The gig talked about in this topic is a Disco with a full light show (over 150ch DMX) and videos. On the screens will be graphics welcoming people to the function and then later in the evening the guests will appear on the screens with live cameras. I hope this makes sense and has cleared up some grey areas. I really hope I can be taken seriously on this forum as I feel I can learn a lot and maybe even have something to offer. Thank you Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuddy Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Sam, if only you had told us this at the begining, it would have saved a lot of misunderstanding. I hope that this episode has not detered you from posting and I hope that you continue to enjoy future experiences in the BR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Sam- it's great to see such a change. The most recent post makes it clear that you can get your thoughts across despite having dyslexia. And it makes me much keener to help you out. As you mentioned about the screens, I'd expect to be able to hire a pair of 8'x6' Fastfolds for under £100 inc VAT. I'm not too sure where your based to be able to recommend any local hire companies. If your near Cheltenham then I'd help you out. It does sound like the best route is to put the screens on either side and try to get them as far forward as possible to fill the surface. You could try to get clever with a mirror and shorten your projection distance. I tried getting to your website, but it throws up an error about the page being set up for the most recent version of Internet Explorer. Both Firefox and Safari on my Mac can't open the site... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Duffy Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 At the risk of being shot down in flames, there are quite a few projectors installed in my work place that are supported from the suspended ceiling grid.We've installed several projectors this way. They usually weigh approx 2kg. (<5 lbs?) We do bolt the bracket through a piece on timber (500mm bit of wall stud) on the top side of the tile though. I'd say there's almost no chance of the projector causing the tile to collapse / crack/ whatever and cause a problem. Light fittings are commonly mounted this way every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 On the OT subject of hanging from a suspended ceiling, how about, for example, these speakers. The heaviest of these is over 5kg and is specifically designed to be mounted from a suspended ceiling grid. Note though the mention of safety wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 The heaviest of these is over 5kg JUST over - 5.1kg and is specifically designed to be mounted from a suspended ceiling grid.Precisely! specially designed are the key words, along with, as you say, Note though the mention of safety wire.This is nowhere near comparable to hanging a projector that could be significantly heavier, and (according to the poster above) suspended using something bodged together for a one-off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seano Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'd say there's almost no chance of the projector causing the tile to collapse / crack/ whatever and cause a problem.=Cool. What does the manufacturer of the tiles say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 We've installed several projectors this way. They usually weigh approx 2kg. (<5 lbs?)Hmm... Projectors weighing 2kg? I'd seriously doubt anything of that small size would cut the mustard on the sort of gig under discussion here, competing with other lighting... Also seems rather light anyway - less than a bag of sugar... Light fittings are commonly mounted this way every day.Ah, but how many light fittings are that heavy, and how many would be fitted through a single bolt-hole?And how many light fittings are potentially worth several hundred quid ?Also how many light fittings would need to have power and video feeds cabled to them UNDER the tile (ie NONE!) and thus have potential hazards with said cables getting yanked by drunken punters, pulling not only fitting but also half of the rest of the tiles down...? :) I really do think that this is one of those situations where the best advice is to NOT DO IT!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Duffy Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 We've installed several projectors this way. They usually weigh approx 2kg. (<5 lbs?)Hmm... Projectors weighing 2kg? I'd seriously doubt anything of that small size would cut the mustard on the sort of gig under discussion here, competing with other lighting... Also seems rather light anyway - less than a bag of sugar...The ones we use are usually only 2500 Lumens. I'm not suggesting you use them to compete with lighting, just that lightweight, small projectors exist and can be mounted this way with no more risk of falling than light fittings. Also how many light fittings would need to have power and video feeds cabled to them UNDER the tile (ie NONE!) and thus have potential hazards with said cables getting yanked by drunken punters, pulling not only fitting but also half of the rest of the tiles down...? :)We use desk grommets to feed the cables through the tile. Very neat and no big gap left for mice etc! Bear in mind I was talking about office and school use, not pubs full of pissed punters. (I should have made that clearer) Keeping a projector out of reach is a must in that case no matter how you mount it! :-) There's probably no reason you couldn't add a safety wire to the top side of the tile/bracket joint going up to the roof structure for more piece on mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuddy Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hmm... Projectors weighing 2kg? I'd seriously doubt anything of that small size would cut the mustard on the sort of gig under discussion here, competing with other lighting... Also seems rather light anyway - less than a bag of sugar... Did you confuse Kgs and lbs in the above paragraph, all the bags of sugar in my larder weigh 1Kg (2.2lbs) or 500mg (1.1lbs) EDIT:- also as said previously I have had experience with suspended ceilings, the actual tiles have very little structural integrity so even when mounting recessed light fittings I always re-enforce the tile with a piece of 10mm ply cut to the same dimensions as the tile and cut the mounting hole through the composite of tile and plywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 We use desk grommets to feed the cables through the tile. Very neat and no big gap left for mice etc! Bear in mind I was talking about office and school use, not pubs full of pissed punters. (I should have made that clearer) Keeping a projector out of reach is a must in that case no matter how you mount it! :-) There's probably no reason you couldn't add a safety wire to the top side of the tile/bracket joint going up to the roof structure for more piece on mind.OK, whilst in a permanent install, yes you CAN do such things, BUT the whole point of this thread is the OP wants to put the projector in situ for a TEMPORARY gig, and NO venue that I can think of is gonna let you chop holes in any tiles to allow for this! And whilst you might say he could simply pop another tile by the projector and a third by the wall and cable that way, I would say that's a little dodgy as well - see earlier post regarding reduction of fire-stops...Did you confuse Kgs and lbs in the above paragraph, all the bags of sugar in my larder weigh 1Kg (2.2lbs) or 500mg (1.1lbs)Ummm... Errr... Ahhh...Oh, fiddlesticks! :) My bad - yes I have indeed confused the relationship! :) :P :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Did you confuse Kgs and lbs in the above paragraph, all the bags of sugar in my larder weigh 1Kg (2.2lbs) or 500mg (1.1lbs)Ummm... Errr... Ahhh...Oh, fiddlesticks! :) My bad - yes I have indeed confused the relationship! :) :P :D A 500mg bag can't be a very cost effective way of buying sugar - the bag would weight more than the contents... We'll stop picking on you now ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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