M-01 · TV lifts
Floor, ceiling, foot-of-bed, behind-art and counter lifts. The mechanism is chosen against the screen weight and the real opening, the cabinet is built in the shop, and the wiring and the finish work come with it.
Configurations
Five arrangements cover almost every residential job. The choice is usually made by the room, not by preference.
The common one. A column lift inside a case, screen rising out through a lid that opens on the same cycle. Sits against a wall or in the middle of a room as a divider. Needs case depth, a stable base and a lid mechanism that never fights the column.
A drop-down or flip-down lift in the joist space, closing to a flush ceiling panel. The hard part is not the lift — it is the closure, the joist framing and getting the panel to sit flat in a ceiling that is not flat.
A lift built into a bench, blanket chest or bed footboard. Height matters more than anywhere else — the top of the screen has to clear the mattress without dominating the room when it is up.
The artwork slides, rolls or pivots aside on cue and the screen is behind it. The mechanism is straightforward; the coordination is not, because the art has to be handled, weighed, and often reframed to sit in the carrier.
A short-travel pop-up in a kitchen island, bar or built-in desk. Usually the tightest of the five, because the cabinet is already full of something else and the countertop cut has to be exact.
Selection
Not the brochure, and not what is in stock. These get measured or confirmed before anything is quoted.
Independence
Auton, Nexus 21, Future Automation and Firgelli all make mechanisms I have specified and installed. They are good at different things and they fail in different ways, and none of them is the right answer to every opening.
What that means in practice: the quote names the mechanism, the model number and why it was chosen, along with the option I did not pick and what it would have cost. If you would rather buy the mechanism yourself at your own trade pricing, that is fine — I will install it.
Questions
Either. If you have already bought the mechanism, I will install it as a subcontract and tell you honestly if I think it is wrong for the opening before anything gets cut. If I am supplying, I will show you two options with the reasoning and the price difference.
A straight install into existing millwork is usually one day, plus a short return visit to adjust after the house has moved a little. A shop-built cabinet with a mechanism in it is typically two to four weeks from approved drawing to installed, most of which is shop time rather than site time.
Between roughly half an inch and one and a half inches per second, depending on the mechanism. That feels slow the first time you see it. It is meant to — speed is what cheap mechanisms use to seem impressive, and it is also what makes them loud.
Every build gets a manual override and an access path that does not involve demolition. I keep the mechanism model, the serial number and the wiring notes on file, and column lifts from the manufacturers I use are still serviceable well beyond their warranty.
Often, yes. A cabinet lift usually can. A ceiling lift depends entirely on joist direction and what is already in the bay, which is a measurement question rather than an opinion — I will come and find out before quoting.
Next step
That plus a rough ceiling height is usually enough for a mechanism recommendation and a range. Drawings and finish schedules welcome but not required.
spec@invisiblefunction.com · (717) 555-0142 · Ephrata, PA