How to Install Home Theater Screens in Drop Ceilings

Remove the panels from the drop ceiling in the location where you want to install the screen. Use a stud finder to locate the ceiling joists if the beams are not exposed. Mark the locations of the joists and drill two holes into the area where you want the screen installed. Space the two holes the same distance apart as the installation holes for the theater screen.

Set a 1-inch screw-thread eye-bolt into each hole and tighten it down completely until the eye-hole comes in contact with the ceiling. Fasten a 1-inch diameter carabiner to each eye-bolt. Measure the distance from the eye-bolt to the desired installation height and choose two lengths of 100-lb. test chain that will reach a little farther than the desired theater screen height. Clip the end of each chain into the carabiners.

Thread a nut over a 1-inch diameter bolt-thread eye-bolt then thread the eye-bolt through the installation holes in the theater screen so the eye-hole comes out of the top of the screen. Secure it in place with another nut and tighten it down completely until the eye-bolt is securely in place. Clip a 1-inch carabiner onto each eye-bolt in the screen.

Clip the carabiners in the screen to the dangling ends of each chain. Adjust the height of the screen by changing which link the carabiners on either end are attached. Use a tape measure to note the location where each chain passes through the plane of the drop ceiling.

Transfer those measurements to the drop ceiling panels that were removed and use a utility knife to cut out 1-inch holes in each location. Remove the screen from the carabiners and set it down. Pass the chains and carabiners through the holes in the drop ceiling and reinstall the panels. Clip the carabiners back into the screen and make any necessary fitment adjustments.