Walking into somebody’s home only to notice that their 48” LCD TV is stylishly mounted in their living room is enough to make anybody envious. It’s also a nice way to place the TV without it taking up much room. Though, the difficulty of wall mounting a TV is often questioned. Does the process really require a professional? In most cases, no. Wall mounting an LCD TV is relatively simple, and you’ll have your LCD TV up for viewing pleasure in no time. However, if you don’t feel you’re up to the job, it’s recommended to leave it to the technician. You don’t want to come home to find your TV broken on the floor because you were only halfway confident about what you were doing.
Contents
Preparation
The first step in wall mounting your LCD TV is making sure your TV is able to be mounted and choosing where you will mount it at. Earlier LCD TV models are unfortunately not mount-ready, so it’s a good idea to make sure your TV has this capability. Simply observe the back of the TV for at least four screws that will enable the TV to attach to a wall mount. After examining the LCD TV, survey your house for a good spot to mount your television. You cannot just pick a spot and go, as this might entail obstructions and complications in our outside the wall along the way. Choose a spot that will allow for the wiring and mounting of the LCD TV. If you’re trying to use in-wall wiring, try to choose an interior wall to mount to, and not an exterior one.
Preparing the Wiring and Mounting
You’ll need to decide what wiring route you’re going to go with. In-wall wiring is a little bit more laborious, but it’s more aesthetically pleasing. For more information on in-wall wiring, check this in-depth guide out from Engadget. On the other hand, if you’re going to be concealing the wires without having to run them through the wall, look into a paintable cable management raceway (more info from Crutchfield).
Attaching the Wall Mount
If you’ve chosen to mount your TV on a wall with studs, you’ll need to locate the studs in the wall that will allow you to mount your TV. It’s really important that you find and use these studs because mounting your TV solely on the wall without any interior support is dangerous and could result in your TV falling from the great height. To locate the studs, you can use a stud finder. When you’ve found the exact location of the center of the stud, use a pencil to lightly mark it on the wall. Next, take a look at the mount and vertically measure the distance between the screw holes in the mount. After you’ve decided how high you’d like to mount your LCD TV, use your pencil again to lightly mark where your screws will be placed. Also, make sure that your mount is going to be completely level with a level. Going back and correcting the placement will be difficult so it’s important to get it right the first time. Lastly, attach your mount with fairly large screws to ensure durability.
Hanging the Wall Mount
Now that you’re mount has been fixed to the wall, hang your TV on the mount. If your particular setup calls for it (which it probably will), attach the plastic mounts on the TV’s back and through the holes on the mount. Make sure that the TV is stable and sturdy, and that it’s not loosely wobbling or rocking.
Connecting the Wiring
The last step is to finally connect all of the appropriate wiring according to the setup you chose. After you’ve done that, your new wall mounted TV is ready for viewing! Enjoy!
