Framing
The lift and the cassette both need a box in the joist space, square and dead level, with blocking that will not move when the ceiling dries out. This is where most retrofit jobs are won or lost.
M-02 · Projector & screen lifts
A ceiling that gives nothing away
Projector lifts and in-ceiling screen cassettes, framed, closed, triggered and finished as one scope — because the thing that ruins a concealed ceiling is never the mechanism, it is the joint between four trades.
Scope
Four parts, one set of hands
A ceiling lift is only as good as the plane it closes into. All four of these are mine, which is the whole point.
Closure
A flush panel or trap door that matches the ceiling plane. Painted to the same sheen, with the reveal held consistent all the way round rather than tapering off at one corner.
Trigger
The lift should move because the projector woke up, not because someone found the right handset. Twelve-volt trigger, RS-232, IP, or a contact closure from the control system.
Finish
Skim, sand and paint the ceiling around the closure so there is no shadow line, no ghosting of the box, and no telltale rectangle in raking light from the window.
Numbers
What the ceiling has to give me
- Projector drop
- 12–48 in
- Lift box depth
- from 9 in
- Screen cassette depth
- from 7 in
- Screen width
- to 180 in
- Trigger
- 12 V · RS-232 · IP · contact
- Closure reveal
- held at 1/8 in
Photograph required Ceiling closed, raking daylight across the plane, closure panel barely findable
Photograph required Same ceiling, projector fully lowered, lens at working height
Questions
Before you frame anything
It depends on joist direction and what is already in the bay. Running parallel to the joists is usually straightforward; running across them means headers, and headers mean a structural conversation before a price. I measure before quoting rather than after.
From about seven inches for a compact tab-tensioned cassette, and up toward eleven or twelve for larger masking screens. In a finished basement with ductwork in the way, that number decides the whole design, so it gets checked first.
From normal viewing distance in normal light, yes — that is the standard I work to and the reason the drywall finishing is in my scope rather than someone else’s. Under raking light at a shallow angle you may find the reveal if you know where to look. Anyone who promises otherwise has not finished a ceiling.
The lift, the closure, the framing, the trigger and the finish. Projector selection, calibration and the rest of the AV chain stay with the integrator or the owner. If there is no integrator on the job I will say so early rather than pretend the scope is complete.
Next step
Send the reflected ceiling plan
Joist direction, ceiling height and the projector model get you a straight answer about whether the ceiling can take it, before anyone commits to a design.
spec@invisiblefunction.com · (717) 555-0142 · Ephrata, PA