Cool Outdoor Bar / Motorized TV Lift

M

mcascio

Active Member
I worked with my neighbor, who is a top notch wood worker, on constructing an outdoor TV lift for my deck. He was able to match perfectly the style of a table my brother had built last year for our deck.

deck_tv_lift.gif


He did a fantastic job of making a solution that is not only functional but also water proof. We installed two circulating fans in the back of the unit that turn on if it gets too hot in the enclosure.

A 37" TV rises out of the top. When not in use, its great for setting drinks on without worrying about spillage. We recently entertained some friends. They sat at the bar for about two hours and commented on how nice it was. Then we unveiled the remote motorized TV lift and then their jaws really dropped. :)

Needless to say, we're looking forward to Packer Games this year out on the deck!

We've had some pretty rainy days this year and not a drop of water has entered the cabinet.

If anyone is interested in getting their own TV Lift (indoors or out), I'd definitely recommend my neigbor for the job. I'd be happy to pass along your info to him if you'd like to get a quote. He said he can build a shippable solution or hand deliver if within a reasonable distance to Wisconsin. I'm pretty confident he can beat other custom cabinet builder prices based on what I've seen.

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My initial rough concepts were created by me in 3D:
outdoor_tv_lift.01.jpg
 
We've had some pretty humid days and that hasn't seemed to have been a problem. I wasn't able to track down a humidity sensor in the time I had. I imagine they exist.

The price of outdoor rated TV's are quite expensive (5-7x what this one cost) so I figured I'd risk it with a low cost LCD that could be replaced if necessary in the future.

I do plan to bring the LCD TV if not the whole cabinet into my basement during the winters.
 
Mario forgets that we support 1-Wire humidity / Temperature sensors with Mainlobby :)

Cheap sensors.
 
David,
Some times the answers are too close to home to see. :)

reeltorell,
The picture quality is acceptable during the day...although we don't watch too much TV during the day, or even night for that matter. :) The TV faces South but because of its location it does get some shade from the house and arbor.

politics123,
We used a Whisper Ride TV Lift. I thought it was a fairly good lift but thought the bracket to lift the lid was a little flimsy. We had to reinforce it with metal tape and a wood block to keep from bending. The lid is quite heavy though. It was made in layers. Cedar panels on top of plywood with a laminate underneath.
 
Nice solution!

I have always wanted a TV on my back deck but had not thought of doing it that way.

Did you do anything for a theft deterrent like a security contact or lock? Probably not an issue, since it's not obvious there's a TV inside but now that it's on a public forum.... :)

Edit:Spelling
 
Hi opie,

We have many exterior night/day security cameras that record continuously and drive way and motion detectors.
I could easily bolt the unit to the deck - and the bolts wouldn't be reachable without disassembling the entire cabinet. I could also put a lock on the top but haven't. The TV can't be elavated without the remote. Getting the TV out without it in the upright position would be next to impossible.

Also, because the unit was designed to be water proof, its essentially a box within a cedar cabinet. So it turned out to be pretty heavy. Would take quite a few guys to move it.

Because of the way our house is positioned no one from the street even sees the cabinet when the tv is up.
 
Sounds like you have thought about it; all good points.

Thanks for sharing...off to the drawing board!
 
Looks Great Mario ;-)

Wonder do they do a 240v version of the lifter ..?? Was the lifter expensive ..?? couldnt see any prices on their site...

Frank
 
mcascio said:
opie,

Curious to see what you come up with if you end up building one. Be sure to post pics.
Click to expand...

Well, I showed this thread to my wife to get a little momentum for the project and was informed it would be way below her list of projects. :(

Somehow our project lists don't quite sync up.

I'm not whipped, I just choose my battles. :D
 
opie, maybe a new wife? hahahahahha, JUST KIDDIN!

common issues nationwide, WAF and WD (wife desires, LOL). We always seem to want something different and of course ours is usually more pertinent, at least according to us. lol.
 
Thanks Frank.

I can't recall the exact price on the lift - bought it quite some time ago. You may give them a buzz since their pricing may have changed.
Not sure on the 240 version either.

Opie,
You could always not tell her and just surprise her with one on her birthday. :D
 
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