Mounting a Flat Panel TV on a Wall

I bought a plasma tv recently. Previously, I had owned a rather large projection tv – a 47″ Panasonic HTDV. While the picture was great, the tv was simply too large for my living room, as my wife told me 4 years ago while we were looking at it in Best Buy. Plasmas were out of my reach then and had they not declined so much in price over the past 4 years they would still be too pricey.

I set out to find a set that was within my price range and still a decent performer picture-wise. I ended up with a Samsung 42″ plasma that I caught on clearance at a real steal. The one thing that my wife demanded was that the tv be mounted on the wall. Sure that I could do this, I set out to find a simple FAQ on the web that gave me a step by step plan. Much to my surprise, I couldn’t find anything with the detail that I expected. The results I found gave the obvious instructions (e.g., secure the mount to wall studs – really? you’re kidding?), but no details. That’s why I created this page. I hope someone finds it useful.

First, let’s take a look at the before and after of what I’m talking about.

This is what my wall looked like in my tiny living room prior the goodness of plasma. To the left a tree hides the side of the tv from the view of those walking in the front door.

This is the same wall after my project was completed. Look ma, no wires.

It’s all the in-between steps that make up the rest of this page!

Step 1: Find a mount that fits your tv.
You either already have your tv or know the model that you’re going to buy. It’s very likely that the place you purchased (or will purchase) your tv from carries wall mounts. These are high profit items for the big box stores. Best Buy, for instance, carried a mount for my tv but it was another $200. I passed on that and found one that fit my tv on ebay for $90.

The easiest way to find a mount that fits your tv on ebay is to put your tv’s model number in the search box with the words “mount” or “wall mount.” If it’s this year’s model tv, you’re sure to get a ton of results. Next, check the feedback of the seller and read comments for any negative or neutral feedback. If you see a lot of comments that say parts were missing or it didn’t fit the buyer’s tv, steer clear of that seller. When I found a seller I was pretty confident in, I sent them an email asking whether the particular item they were selling would fit my tv (I gave them the model number, of course). After they confirmed it would fit, I placed my order and had my mount within a week at a savings of over 50% what I would pay at Best Buy.

Aside from ebay and Best Buy, consider Amazon.com for a mount like this one. The good thing about Amazon.com is that you know who you’re dealing with and they generally have a very liberal return policy. Their prices are pretty much in line with what you’ll find on ebay too. Some of their items will even ship for free. While you’re at it, they’re prices on plasmas and lcds aren’t that bad either.

Step 2: Your tools
Drill and 3/16″ bit
Socket set
Tape measure
2′ level
Hammer
A few nails
Utility knife
Stud-finder (optional)

Step 3: Getting started
Plan for 2-3 hours to complete this job if you’ve never done it before. Likely, you’ll be done in a little over an hour though – you just should budget enough time so that if you run into problems you’ll be ok and you don’t want to rush mounting your multi-thousand dollar investment.

Open the mount and lay out all the contents in a place that’s out of the way. Your mount probably included some instructions about how to proceed from here. If they’re clear enough, feel free to follow them. Mine weren’t that great.

Step 4: Find the mounting bolts on your tv
If you can’t determine where you’re suppose to secure the mount into the back or you tv check your manual. It’s always a good idea to double check even if you think you know.

Now that you’ve found them, remove all 4 of them.

Notice that they’re little nubs that only serve to cover up the mounting holes.

Step 5: Find the proper size bolt to secure your mount
Use the manufacturers screws that you just removed to size up the screws that came with your mount.

Once you’ve determined the diameter, grab one of the mounting brackets from your mount parts and hold it up to the tv to determine the length.

For me, one bolt was too long and one was too short so I had to make use of some rubber gaskets that were included in the mounting hardware.

Step 6: Secure the mounting bars to your tv
Use the bolts that you now know fit (and rubber gaskets if necessary) to attach the mounting bars to the rear of your tv. Go slow! Don’t strip any threads! If you feel too much tension when threading it, back off, make sure you have the right size and try again.

Step 7: Mounting the mount
Now comes the fun part! I thought this was the most difficult part of the mounting process.

First, I found the center of my wall and marked it with a pencil. Then I determined how high I wanted the tv to be and marked another point 5″ above that on the center-line and used a +/- 5″ reference for all my vertical measurements. This way, I won’t see a pencil mark at the bottom of the tv after it’s on the wall.

After I figured out where I wanted the tv, I went looking for studs (perhaps this should be done first?). You can pick up a stud-finder at Home Depot or Lowe’s in the $20 range. I knock. The lower pitch thuds on the wall mean it’s hollow there and, therefore, no stud. The higher pitch thuds indicate you’re closing in on a stud. Once you think you’ve narrowed it down and have found the stud, drive a nail partially into the wall (where the tv will conceal it) to confirm whether you’ve found one. Once found, remove the nail and drive it in 1/2″ on either side to locate the center of the stud. You’ll need to know where the center is because the lag bolts your about to insert need to be in the middle of the 2×4 to hold the tv on the wall. Now, pre-drill the center hole with your 3/16″ drill bit to prep it for the lag bolts.

I mounted on an inner wall and the studs were 24″ apart, which proved problematic for centering the tv on the wall. I ended up 4″ off center because of this. Fortunately, the way my living room is arranged, it works very well for me. Consider this, however, when you are determining where you want to mount your tv.

Now, center the mount as best as possible on the location that you want to mount it. If your mount is like mine, there are several mounting holes spaced at small intervals horizontally across it. Once you’ve got it where you want it, either have someone hold it there or, if you’re doing it on your own like me, drive a couple of nails into some of the mounting holes to hold the mount in place while you attach it with lag bolts. Remember, no one will see the nail holes behind the tv.

Confirm that your mount is level! You sure don’t want your $2k-$5k tv unlevel!

Now, drive those lag bolts in with a socket wrench. Get that sucker tight! If you’re on the center of the stud like you should be you can really crank down on it. Give it a good tug when you think you’re tight enough. Remember, it’s going to have to hold anywhere from 60 to 100+ pounds for a few years!

Step 8: Hiding the wires
To get the wires from your tv on the wall to your cable box, dvd player, xbox, etc., which are 2-3′ below it, we’re gonna cut some holes in the wall! Some folks say to use plastic molding to run the wire down and then paint it the color of your wall. Well, maybe, but I think it looks tacky. Granted if you’re in an apartment, you may not have a choice. But this is a breeze compared to the last step.

You can pick up some desk grommets at Office Max for about $5 to make this look cleaner. If you’re planning ahead, Amazon’s got’em too. I got some that were 3″ diameter due to all the cables I needed to run.

Hold one up to the wall where it will be hidden behind the tv. Trace the inside of the grommet’s hole with a pencil. Now, get your trusty utility knife and cut a hole where you traced. Take it easy and you’ll have a nice perfect circle. Try the grommet in the hole. If it doesn’t fit, trim the hole a little more – not too much though – you want that grommet to fit tight.

After you’ve done the top one, do another at the bottom and you’re ready to run some wires.

Step 9: Hooking up the wires
This pretty much self explanatory. Figure out the wires that you need or that you think you’ll use soon. Drop the from the top to the bottom hole and pull them out at the bottom (don’t let the top end fall down your hole though). This is where a 3″ grommet helps as opposed to something smaller.

Step 10: Find and buddy and hang that plasma on the wall
Don’t attempt to solo this one. Bribe somebody if you have to. It helps to have 3 people. Two people will pick it up and hang it on the wall, while a third person kneels under the tv and gently feeds the wires into the grommet hole. Oh yeah, before you mount it on the wall, TEST EVERYTHING and make sure all your sources are hooked up the way you want it. When your friends go home you may end up in a pickle because you hooked up the red audio cable to your red component video plug on your Xbox (just a hypothetical example, of course).

FINISHED!!!!

Everytime I sit down to watch a show or movie now I tell my wife how happy I am with our tv and glad that she wanted it mounted on the wall. Our living room feels so much bigger and inviting now! Enjoy yours!

Feel free to post your questions, comments, or insulting remarks.

While your at it, check out the Home Theater Blog’s tutorial on the same topic. Some good info over there too. HTB is an ongoing blog, unlike this one, dedicate to a wide range of home theater concerns that will likely be relevant in or soon after your installation process. Again, good luck!