Wall Mounting Your Flat Screen TV

So, you have bought a brand new, flat screen TV. Congratulations. You have that lucky wall picked out to mount it on in the spare bedroom that is soon to become your oasis. There is only one question remaining - How to Wall Mount Your Flat Screen TV.

The very first thing you should consider is whether you are going to do it yourself or hire a professional. If you are unsure of any of the following, play it safe and hire someone to take care of the job. However, if you want to get your hands dirty and take a chance of making mistakes just to have a sense of accomplishment, then read on, Brave One.

After you have set aside an hour or so to get this job done and picked the wall, do a quick determination as to whether the wall is an interior or exterior wall. While not always the case, interior walls will usually give you less trouble than their exterior counterparts.

Of course, we know you have already made sure that your flat screen TV can be wall mounted, right? Just in case you haven't done this yet, don't fret. While most of the flat screens available now are mountable, some early models were not. Check the box. Do you see the words "VESA Compatible" or some variation of that? Then you are in luck. You are able to proceed.

And, since you've done your homework and picked out the correct mount for your display, we can go right to the fun part - tools. If you have the basics in your home, such as a tape measure, screw driver, drill and the like, you are good to go. It is also going to be helpful to have a stud finder to be sure you don't try to mount your TV in just drywall.

When you have a rough idea of where you want the TV, check for studs and make final adjustments to your placement. Don't forget to make sure you are near an outlet or you will have a useless screen on the wall.

Now, go ahead and attach the brackets to the back of the screen. Do this before you put the brackets on the wall so you know if any adjustments need to be made to the final placement.
Now, mark where the anchor bolts will need to be installed and pre-drill the holes, as they can be difficult to start. Also, go ahead and cut space for cabling when you place the anchors and then run the cables.

Be sure the mount is level and sink the anchors. After the mount and brackets are secure, ask a buddy for some help lifting the unit on to the wall. You really are not going to want to try to do this yourself as the units tend to get heavy and awkward when being lifted by one person.

Now the best part - kick back with a cold drink of choice and watch the game on your new wall mounted plasma or LCD TV.