How much to hang a projector and screen?

September 15, 2012 1:48 PM

How much should I be spending to have a DLP projector hung from a ceiling and have a motorized screen installed?

My company is in the Washington DC metro area and we are expanding our offices. In our new conference room we wanted to have a DLP projector hung from a (drop) ceiling and, if budget permitted, have it project on to a motorized screen.

We sent out for a few quotes that ONLY included a projector mount, installation from the ceiling, a motorized screen and then hanging that screen from the wall or ceiling. All the wires for HDMI, ethernet and power are already ran.

The quotes, so far, range from $3500 -> $5200. That seems insane.

Is it?

posted by cowmix to Technology (5 answers total)

For a drop ceiling, you can't hang anything of serious weight (like a projector or screen) from its slats. So ceiling-mounting means more hardware and more labor hours. Depending on screen, I could see parts (hardware, mount and screen) running about $2000-2500, and another $1000-2000 for labor, easily. I went DIY on our setup, getting a used screen and mount from ebay, and the total came to about $1200. Wall-mounting would probably reduce your costs a fair amount.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:03 PM on September 15, 2012

Are you getting itemized quotes that break out their costs? That may give you a better understanding of what is contributing to the price, as well giving you places to reduce cost/complexity if you want to get it done cheaper.
posted by misterbrandt at 2:07 PM on September 15, 2012

Response by poster: Here's a redacted screen shot of the cheapest quote:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4008482/capture/cheapest-quote.png
posted by cowmix at 2:21 PM on September 15, 2012

Best answer: From that cheapest quote, the screen is set to be installed on the drywall (not from the drop ceiling). If they are really just putting the metal box on the wall, yes, $975 seems high on labor. If they are doing it from or within the drop ceiling - with a slot in the ceiling to lower the screen - then that's more reasonable. That involves cutting or replacing drop ceiling elements and quickly adds to the complexity of the setup with the end result being a cleaner look. Putting the box on the wall is within general contractor abilities, and running some power and/or control line. Even at that, I don't see it being less than $500ish range.

Same goes for installing the projector. If they are putting it on a wall, no big deal. If they're hanging it in the middle of a drop ceiling, it is a pain in the ass to construct support for it.

If you're able to do wall install on one or both, you might be able to get a cheaper quote. Otherwise, I think you're stuck. It also shows that this is the going rate for this project for professionals in your area. More expensive components generally translate to more expensive labor. I will also note at the bottom it shows a manual screen install for a total of less than $2300, if cost is a limiting factor.
posted by shinynewnick at 2:46 PM on September 15, 2012

The labor seems a bit high. Assuming your building is all modern construction. This should be a 4-6 hour job for a 2 man crew. In SW PA typical hourly rates I get when I get bids for small projects that are just time and material they are around $95.00 for lead installer/technician and $65.00 for assistant installer/technician. So even if it was a 8 hour job I'd be looking at $1,280.00. I know your location will make a difference but the labor still seems a bit high to me.
posted by jmsta at 6:46 AM on September 16, 2012