Get a stud finder and use it to locate the studs behind the drywall.
#TV MOUNT TV#
You’ll need to screw the TV mount into wall studs for maximum holding power-if you just mount it to the drywall, you’re sure to cause a lot of damage, since drywall isn’t actually that strong. RELATED: The Basic Tools Every DIYer Should Own
#TV MOUNT INSTALL#
Televisions and the mounts themselves are heavy, so you need to make sure that you mount your TV correctly so that it doesn’t come crumbling down right after you install it. Now that you have the TV wall mount, you can get to work mounting-but you just can’t pick a random spot and start screwing it in. Luckily, most tilting mounts are compatible with pretty much any VESA mount size, but it’s always a good idea to check before you buy one. So if the distance is 400 millimeters, you would need a VESA 400 mount (or sometimes called VESA 400×400). Simply measure the distance between two of those screw holes (not diagonally) in millimeters. If you look on the back of your television, there will be four screw holes that form a square. Luckily, thanks to the VESA standard, it’s really easy to figure out what mount size you need. However, televisions have different mounting holes, so it’s important to get the right size mount that will fit your specific TV. All modern televisions are VESA mount-compatible, which simply means that they comply with the Video Electronics Standards Association’s mounting standard used by pretty much every TV mount on the market.
Once you decide on the type of mount you want, you also need to make sure that it will fit your television’s mounting holes. But if you’re going to be mounting it at eye level right in front of the couch, you really don’t need any major articulation features anyway. The only downside is that you can’t swivel the TV side-to-side-you can only tilt it up or down, and even then you can only tilt it a few degrees. These allow you to mount your TV to the wall at multiple points-sometimes up to six-so they’re great for larger, heavier televisions. The second type of TV wall mount is also the most common, called a tilting mount. The first one is an articulating mount, which is meant for smaller televisions and usually has one arm with a couple of articulating joints that allow you to pull the TV out from the wall and turn it in nearly any direction.Īgain, these mounts are usually meant for smaller, lighter televisions since they can usually only mount to the wall at a single point, although you can sometimes find articulating mounts meant for larger televisions as well, which can mount to the wall at multiple points. There are generally two types of wall mounts that you’ll come across.
The only exception is in the bedroom, where you might want to lie down and watch TV at the same time-having the TV mounted up higher toward the ceiling is great for this, as you would have to tilt your head forward as severely.
Many people mount their TV up high above a fireplace or bookshelf, but that’s usually a bad idea since you crane your neck up to see your TV, which can be very uncomfortable when done for an extended period of time. This usually means the bottom of the TV will be somewhere around 2-3 feet off the ground, give or take a few inches.
The most important rule is to mount your TV at eye level from where you’ll be watching it, if at all possible. This is something that is ultimately up to you, but there are a couple of rules of thumb to be aware of. First off, you need to figure out exactly where you want your TV to go.