Some things sound very easy to do, but in the end they may be challenging.
News 6 anchor Julie Broughton wanted her TV mounted on the wall but was stuck.
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She bought a TV wall mount but didn’t know where to begin, so we stepped up.
Julie purchased:
We brought with us:
- Ratchet/socket set
- Level
We recommend:
- Cord cover (if you don’t already have a chase or channel inside your wall)
Step 1
Open the TV mount box and don’t freak out! Yes there are lots of parts and papers and metal and it can be overwhelming. The key here is one step at a time. Separate everything. Find the screws to attach the bracket to the wall. Find the screws to attach the hangers to the back of your TV. This installation is for wood studs inside your wall. You can also install a TV mount on a concrete block wall but you’ll need concrete anchors and a concrete drill bit.
Step 2
Attach the hangers to the back of your TV. This is important because you’ll need to know where the hangers end up sitting. Will the hangers sit higher up on the back of the TV, lower down, or right in the middle? You’ll need to put your TV mount bracket on the wall in the right place (higher, lower or in the middle). The back of your TV will have 4 holes – line up the holes with the hole pattern on the brackets and then screw the screws through the brackets and into the holes. You may have to move around the hangers to see where they fit best on your TV – that’s ok.
Step 3
Figure out where you want your TV to go on your wall. I like to put masking tape in a rectangle on the wall to be able to stand back and see if I like the height of the TV or even sit on the couch and make sure I’m comfortable looking at the TV.
Step 4
Find your studs. Use a stud finder to locate the wood studs inside your wall. Typically studs are spaced 16″ apart from each other. The stud finder will beep when it senses a stud as you slide the stud finder across the wall. When it beeps, make a marking on your wall with a pencil and when it stops beeping make another mark.
Step 5
Tape the TV mount template that came in the box onto your wall. This will help eliminate error. Line up the holes on the template with the studs you just marked. But remember to place the mount template at the height where you want your TV to sit! And this is also where the height of the hangers on the back of your TV comes in (step 2). For example, if the hook on the hangers sits at 30″ below the top of the TV, make sure to measure down 30″ from the top of the masking tape box you placed on your wall so you’ll know exactly where the top of the bracket will go (and where the hangers will hang onto the top edge of that bracket). Tape your template in the perfect spot. Our video with Julie gives a really good visual of this.
Step 6
Drill through the template and into the middle of the studs. Use a drill bit that is just a bit smaller than the screws that came with the mount. Then pull the template off the wall and plate the actual mounting bracket over the holes you just drilled and screw one screw into the wall at time. They’ll likely be heavy-duty bolts so you’ll need a ratchet driver and a socket set to drive the bolts through the mount and into the wall. Before you tighten all 4 bolts use the level that came in the box to check that the mount on the wall is straight (you’ll see the little bubble in the middle of the level move back and forth to the middle indicating flat and level). Make them as tight as you can and then hang on the mount to test that it’s secure! (Yes it’ll hold you!) You may want to purchase a basic ratchet/socket set to keep around the house any time something else needs tightening. I have several ratchet/socket sets at home, both standard and metric sizes.
Step 7
Hang your TV! Have someone help you lift the TV into place and make sure the hangers latch onto the top edge of the TV bracket you just mounted on the wall. Julie was lucky enough to have a pre-installed chase (basically a channel) inside the wall so she could drop her cords down through the wall and they’ll come out at the bottom. She also is lucky enough to have an outlet high up behind the TV. If you don’t, you could use cord covers (we put a link up top) to stick onto the wall and run the cords inside the covers from top to bottom. Note, you’re not supposed to cut a hole in your drywall and put a power cord inside your wall without a chase because if it shorts out and burns it could cause a fire if there’s no fire-proof chase protecting it.
You did it! Enjoy your TV on your wall!