Access Point Mounting Solutions for Warehouses and High Open Ceilings

Installation Using a Section of
Metal Conduit and an Electrical Junction Box

Recently I was asked about ways a customer could mount their access points lower than the 25 foot ceiling present in their building. The physical structure is occupied by AC ducts, electrical conduit and fluorescent lighting at the full height of the ceiling, making installation of access points at that height undesirable for many obvious reasons.

One option is to mount the access points to columns by using an Oberon 90 degree wall mounting bracket. This bracket retails for $80, which can quickly add to the overall cost of your project depending on how many access points need this installation option.

I asked the twitter-verse for input and received several good links to sites where DIY solutions are featured.

Does anyone have a good "off the shelf" solution for mounting access points lower than the 30 ft ceiling? I don't know of one OTTOMH
— Jennifer Huber (@JenniferLucille) May 31, 2013

One recommendation uses what appears to be a metal book stop repurposed as an angle bracket, another uses common parts found at a hardware store to create a quick, inexpensive mounting solution (by Timothy Dennehy).

Other commercially available solutions involve suspension cables to literally hang the access point from the ceiling, or suspend it off of a threaded metal rod. A similar mounting structure can also be created from off the shelf parts by using threaded metal rods and toggle bolts to tighten the access point to an overhead I-beam in a warehouse environment. 

For every commercially available solution, there is a way to do it cheaper if you've got the time brainstorm a solution from the parts and pieces available from your local home improvement center. Not all mounting solutions are equally aesthetically pleasing and ultimately the aesthetics of the final installation could be the deciding factor in the mounting solution chosen.