Marked Mounted

How to Wall Mount a Flat Screen TV

The past give years have seen a massive increase in demand for LCD plasma screen TVs which seem to become ever thinner, lighter and more powerful. There are several good reasons for pirchasing a new HDTV such as the obvious superior high definition viewing, affordable pricing and energy savings. These newer thinner designs make LCD and plasma HDTVs ideal for wall mounting. Not only does wall mounting your TV free up valuable floor space in your lounge, but it can add an element of aesthetic appeal to your home cinema setup. Here are a few pointers on how to successfully mount your screen.

Before you begin any of the hardware mounting you need to decide on the best position to mount your TV. Careful planning is required as wall mounting an HDTV is very much a permanant solution and will be integrated into the design of your home. You should consider the placement of your furniture, the overall theme of your lounge, potential viewing angles and the best audio positioning. Once you think that you have picked a suitable position you should get a piece of cardboard or wrapping paper and cut it to the size of the TV screen. You should then approximate the placement by taping the sheet of card or paper to the wall where the screen will be placed and then mark it with a pencil.

Remove the stand from the back of the screen if it is still attached and then lay the TV on it's face. Next you need to locate the four mounting on the back of the television and remove the bolts. Once this has been done you should remove the mounting arms or mounting plate from the wall mount packaging. To attach the mounting arms, you need to line them up vertically and parallel to each other by using the mounting holes on the back of the television. Ensure that they are in perfect alignment and then bolt the arms using the supplied bolts and washers that should have come with the wall mount. If you are using a mounting plate then it is quite simple to line up the holes with the mounting holes on the television.

Locate the wall studs that are closest to the required screen position by using a stud finder and mark them out with a sharp pencil. Now you need to remove the wall mount from the packaging. Line up the wall mount up to the studs withing the centre of the marked position that you determined earlier. It doesn't matter if it is not perfectly centred as the wall mounts can be adjusted horizontally at a later time.

Using a spirit level, line up the wall mount and then mark the positioning of where the bolts will go. Next drill holes into the stud which are approximately 1" deep. The size of the drill bit you need to use will be determined by the size of the bolts supplied with the wall mount. Bolt the wall mount to the wall using the supplied bolts and washers, however don't tighten the bolts down completely. Adjust the position of the wall mount horizontally until you are happy with the alignment. Once you are satisfied with the positioning of the screen you are free to tighten the bolts the rest of the way.

Attatching the screen to the wall mount takes two people. Simply lift the TV and hook it onto the wall mount. At this point you will still be able to adjust the positioning horizontally to position the screen perfectly. Once the desired position has been acquired you need to fully tighten the mounting arms or plate to the wall mount.

About the Author

Dave Matthews is writing on behalf of Value TV Brackets, a supplier of quality flat screen
LCD TV brackets
.

Eric Willett, Mark McMorris Burn River Jump 2010