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Hefner Electric received a call for a complicated
installation of a 103” plasma to be installed on
Venetian plaster above a fireplace. It had several
major obstacles that needed to be overcome to make
the installation a success. The well appointed
architecture and furnishings in this Southern
California mansion were of the highest quality, and
extra care and safety would be required to complete
the installation.
Electrical Circuit
The installation would require installing a 220 volt
power source behind the plasma, with no access
available. The customer did not want anyone cutting
and patching into his expensive Venetian plaster.
The electrical panels in the home were in no way
convenient to get to. The Hefner Electric crew spent
2 full days deciphering a path on how the circuit
could be achieved. A wall speaker was removed
adjacent to the plasma location, and electrical
cabling was fished into the crawl space below the
plasma. This cable was then extended through three
separate crawl spaces to the wine cellar crawl
space. At this point the cabling was fished up the
wine cellar refrigerant line chimney into the attic.
A junction box was installed, and a conduit entry
was made into a 2nd floor laundry room electrical
panel. The electrical work took a total of 3 ½ days
to complete without any walls being opened, damaged,
or patched.
 Plasma
Mount Installation
The physical mounting of the plasma mount and the
installation of the plasma had several obstacles to
be overcome. The walls were of a very expensive
Venetian plaster that was prone to cracking. The
existing installation of a 52” plasma had produced
sizable cracks adjacent to the mounting holes
installed by the previous contractor.
 Jim
Hefner researched his options for this type of
installation and chose a two part chemical anchor
method. ½” diameter holes were drilled into the
solid filled block wall construction behind the
plaster. 4 additional 3/8” holes were drilled for
conventional wedge anchors. These 4 wedge anchors
were used to temporarily hold the mount on the wall
before the chemical anchors were able to support the
load.
 After
vacuuming of the dust and debris, 3/8 threaded rod
were chemically epoxyed
into
the ½” holes.
They
were allowed to set up for 24 hours and fully cure.
After curing, the 10 epoxy
threaded
bolts were torqued to specification and were no
ready for the display installation.
 Temporary
Floor Platform
Special consideration was made for the expensive
hardwood floors as well as the very expensive
fireplace hearth and woodworking. Jim built a 2 x 4
sub-frame, and placed ¾” plywood over the framing.
Large drop cloths and ¼” masonite sheeting were
placed over the plywood. This produced a work
platform that was above the hearth surface and
provided a level and smooth platform for the lift to
roll over. The plasma weighs 485 pounds and is quite
difficult to move when loaded on a lifting
mechanism.
 Custom
Lift Mechanism
Lifting a 50” x 90” flat panel display weighing
nearly 500 pounds will require some special handling
procedures.
 Jim
elected to utilize his rigging skills as well as his
expertise from owning a webbing strap business. A
lifting frame constructed out of uni-strut was
placed on top of a heavy duty genie lift. The Genie
Lift front outrigger legs had to be removed as they
would hit the back of the fireplace before the
plasma would be against the wall. Jim installed
lengths of uni-strut into the lift and placed
furniture mover skids under the ends of the uni-strut.
This would allow the lift to move smoothly along the
masonite flooring. A piece of 3/8" plywood was cut
and placed on the lift for the plasma to sit on.
Shipping blankets were placed over the uni-strut
frame to protect the surface of the plasma.
 
Lifting of the Plasma
The plasma was placed on the lift and secured with
lashing straps as well as ratchet straps. A total of
6 people were used to lift the plasma and position
it on its’ mounts. The lift was slowly elevated,
stopping every few feet to check the load. The lift
continued until fully installed on its’ mounts.
Plasma installed, and the primary installation
team……
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