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Dealing With 8 Foot Ceilings
18 December 2006, 21:30
Aspen Hill AdventuresDealing With 8 Foot Ceilings
My soon to be new abode is handicapped with low ceilings. How do many of you display high horned mounts under such tragic circumstances?
I am looking for ideas.
~Ann
18 December 2006, 22:13
Frans DiepstratenHorizontally?
Really I have the same problem, even worse in the basement where my future office/reloading room/etc will be. All I can think of is putting the really big ones on low pedestals. Hanging them low on the wall looks silly, the pedestals just give it that look that you planned it that way. Of course, there is only so much floor space to go around.
Frans
18 December 2006, 23:38
kudu4uAnn I have a traditional ranch style home with 8" ceilings and I have mounts hung everywhere. I have no problems with hanging mounts low. They look just fine when hung with the mount's eyes level with yours. My eland is on a pedestal with a turn to his left looking back. Looks terrific placed in a corner. This said I have no wives, kids, cats, dogs to complicate things thus utilize every room. Would high ceilings and a separate trophy room be better--an unqualified yes but that is not the case with me nor with you evidently.
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19 December 2006, 01:07
Matt_BluntzerHi Ann:
Congratualations on your new place.
I have the same problem with low ceilings - I always say the solution is to buy a place with a great room - reality says I need to win the lottery first.
Future plan - my gemsbuck and zebra will be on pedistals. The rest of the mounts so far are not big enough to require high walls.
I have decided to put off the giraffe for sometime in the future after the lotery has been hit.
Matt
19 December 2006, 03:06
bo-n-aroI have a kudu in a pedestal mount that I did and his tips have plenty of room at the ceiling... about an inch!!!!
Peds are good and your standard shoulder mounts can be converted.
I would not and do not have a problem hanging them at eye level however. We taxidermist get eye to eye on every piece we do anyway!!
You can always vault you ceiling!!
19 December 2006, 06:00
Aspen Hill AdventuresBo,
Wish I could vault the ceilings, it is a two story New England house. Ain't gonna happen! My poor kudu is 62 inches.
Can anyone share some photos of their set up?
~Ann
19 December 2006, 06:57
CollinsProblem solved!!!
I have 10' ceilings and no trophy's... My pain is your gain. AND I'm only in New York. I'll give you a key to the place (normally unlocked anyway Shhhhh) You pick where and I'll drive the nail!
(no beaver jokes this time either...)
19 December 2006, 07:44
AndreCMost taxidermists charge a fortune for pedestals....in some cases as much as the mount. I have a similar problem and have been doing some research on affordable pedestals. I have found one source for reasonable pedestals...hope this helps
Van Dyke's19 December 2006, 08:00
Grizzly AdamsI put up with this for years. Unfortuneately, this north american standard has its limitations and there aint really much you can do. Put a good sized elk or moose in there and you'll be looking down at his nose, even on a pedestal. So, when I designed my present abode, I decided the living room had to have adequate height to at least display elk sized game. The front room in our house slopes from 18 feet down to 12.
Only thing worse, could be a mobile home, some of which are only 7'6".
Grizz
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19 December 2006, 08:12
Kyler HamannI guess I have the combination of the problems above... 8' ceilings and don't have the spare ca$h to mount the heads either. They're tanned and in the freezer waiting for that lucky lotto number.
Here are a few more pedestals. I bought a table from them to modify to display my tusks and it worked out pretty well.
Bombay Company Do a search for "pedestal".
They may not balance for the weight of a shoulder mount, but the price on a couple of them is hard to beat.
Kyler
19 December 2006, 15:46
brian simmonsi had the same problem i have 8'6"ceilings in my back room. i just mounted it lower so i could look the kudu in the eyes.
brian
brian r simmons
19 December 2006, 22:01
30ott6Ann- 8' ceilings make it pretty difficult when needing to mount Kudu, Gemsbok, Eland and such. I think the only way to do it is (as others have suggested) to put the "long horn" mounts on pedestals. Of course you then lose floor space and the cost of taxidermy goes up.
If financially feasible and if you have enough floor space, I would do pedestal mounts on the longer horned species. Animals like Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Springbok, Warthog and such should look fine on 8' walls.
Your faced with a real dilemma but your mounts need to be displayed "properly". Maybe just do one or two at time. Don't hurry the project! I'm sure whatever you decide, it will turn out just fine.
John
23 December 2006, 03:50
Bill/OregonAnn! Ann! Let's see your 62-inch kudu please!
There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.
– John Green, author
24 December 2006, 03:29
Aspen Hill AdventuresBill,
This is him...
~Ann
24 December 2006, 05:10
meteA fantastic kudu !! They're like coil springs , perhaps you could compress them do to a more reasonable height .
Time to build an extension on the house ,a room with the full 2 story height !!
24 December 2006, 06:39
kududeAnn,
If you have a two story house, you have a stairwell. Put your kudu mount in the stairwell. It can really work well. Kudude
24 December 2006, 07:38
thornellWOW! Ann, that is a great kudu. Congrats on that one.
28 December 2006, 04:19
prairiewolfI have 8 ft ceilings in my trophy room and have a Kudu ang Gemsbok on a single pedastel mount that looks like a termite mound the kudu is 49" and the gems 39" with about an 11/2" to spare.
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
28 December 2006, 04:24
prairiewolfGreat Kudu
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
28 December 2006, 05:22
mrfuddPrairiewolf,
Please post pics of your termite mound pedestal. It sounds really neat.
28 December 2006, 10:39
Bill/OregonAnn: That's about the prettiest kudu I have seen. Marvellous trophy.
There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.
– John Green, author
28 December 2006, 13:02
markhorann thats a gorgeous looking kudu i have ever seen,i think the best is u keep him low at ur eye level mine is 8 foot but i have kept my little kudu of 50 inches that way it look cool.tell u what i can rebuild my trohy room for a kudu like urs
ur 3 greatest hunts r ur first ur last and ur next
28 December 2006, 22:09
Aspen Hill AdventuresThanks for all the comments guys!
Well, I get the new house tomorrow and the car is already loaded with game heads. Those are the very first things to move in.
My priorities are correct, right?
~Ann
29 December 2006, 02:35
ALP#4I live in a ranch home. My basement is finished so I put my kudu 52" and my 40" gemsbuck in the stairwell going to the basement. They hang on the wall that is the back of a bathroom on the main floor.
I also have a shoulder mount of a bison in my basement. The bull weighed 2200# his eyes are in direct line with mine while standing in front of him and his hump is 1" from the ceiling.
29 December 2006, 05:58
Aspen Hill AdventuresALP#4,
I'd love to see a photo or two that includes your mounts as well as a perspective of the room and a person standing near by!
~Ann
29 December 2006, 07:45
L. David KeithFirst let me say congrats on a great Kudu! Well done Ann. As for 8' ceilings, I have the same problem. But it can be solved on long horned game by using the sneak position, especially the left or right "sweeping" sneak. This is another alturnative to the pedestal mount. If you go with a pedestal mount, use castors. This will allow you to move your mount anytime you need to dust or just want to place it somewhere else. Also, check with local cabinet makers. Sometimes they get slow and will give you a great deal on pedestal cabinets. If you have a large head that may tip over, insert heavy weight into the cabinet to prevent this, like a bucket of sand. Easy to remove. Good hunting, David/grayghost
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31 December 2006, 06:12
AtticusAnn, Great looking Kudu.
My only advice is to avoid wainscoting if you have low ceilings. I have 7.5 foot ceilings in my "Fortress of Solitude" (which is in the basement of my house) and I put in the wood before my Africa addiction started. Here is a picture, please note that the Kudu (55") and the Gemsbok (42") overhang the wainscoting.
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01 January 2007, 06:06
mediumAtticus,
Mine look similar with 8' ceilings and I also have european style mounts.
trophy roomI think that it is much easier fitting our mounts in low/normal ceilings as our animals have no necks/shoulders.
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01 January 2007, 08:23
Gentleman JackI like that Atticus! I also think dark colors would help out in making the room look larger. Like in Atticus' pic, the wood midway helps too!
"There are creatures here that cannot even be found in books, and I have killed them all......"
01 January 2007, 09:43
308SakoAnn, Your Kudu is simply fantastic. WOW what a trophy. You are blessed.
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01 January 2007, 18:23
Aspen Hill AdventuresNice pics, guys.
My new home has wainscoting through out. It is stained but I am considering painting it.
The nice thing is I can hang trophies anywhere in the house (I am one of those women that like them) and can then see them and enjoy them every day where ever I am.
I just received both of my pronghorn mounts, since they don't have "high tops" they will look nice on the short walls. I think they will look classy in the dinning room.
~Ann
12 January 2007, 21:39
prairiewolfquote:
Originally posted by mrfudd:
Prairiewolf,
Please post pics of your termite mound pedestal. It sounds really neat.
I hope this works photobucket.com/albums/o28/prairiewolf1/th_IMGP2052.jpg
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
12 January 2007, 21:44
prairiewolfI'll try to get a better picture up.
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
13 January 2007, 18:33
prairiewolfCan someone tell me if this works.
This should take you to the photos
[IMG]http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
14 January 2007, 07:49
CanuckI got 'er fixed up for ya Prairiewolf. Click on the "edit" icon on the bottom right hand corner of your post if you want to see what I did.
Nice stuff, btw!! The termite mound pedestal is really unique.
The impala ewe and ram is one of a kind too.
Cheers,
Canuck
15 January 2007, 02:36
prairiewolfThanks Canuk the picture isn't all that great I'll try to get a better one up.
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
16 January 2007, 21:53
Aspen Hill AdventuresWow, very nice! Thanks! Your nyala is gorgeous.
~Ann
18 January 2007, 04:41
beamsPedestal mounts. Especially on the bigger stuff
