[Violator]

Hello,

I’m leaning towards mounting my TV on the living room wall and I’m looking for tips, advice, do’s and dont’s.
Currently the TV sits on a normal TV stand/entertainment stand.
I have a 75” TV with sound-bar and a blank canvas/wall. Ceiling height isn’t an issue since I have a 22’ ceiling.

What did you do to hide the wires?
Where do you put the cable box and other systems?
Is there a preferred mount to use or one to avoid?
DIY or hire a company? (I have tools and I’m capable)

Care to share tips/advice/pics?
Thanks

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by Violator

Hello,

I’m leaning towards mounting my TV on the living room wall and I’m looking for tips, advice, do’s and dont’s.
Currently the TV sits on a normal TV stand/entertainment stand.
I have a 75” TV with sound-bar and a blank canvas/wall. Ceiling height isn’t an issue since I have a 22’ ceiling.

What did you do to hide the wires?
Where do you put the cable box and other systems?
Is there a preferred mount to use or one to avoid?
DIY or hire a company? (I have tools and I’m capable)

Care to share tips/advice/pics?
Thanks

Def DIY. Since your TV is big, I would go with just a standard tilt mount. Swiel is nice, but damn swieling a 75incher almost seems out of line. drill hole into wall behind tv fish wires out to an entertainment stand wherever u want it to be, and drill hole there.

[wdb]

I did my own but I was building the wall too so it was easy to run conduit. I used an articulating mount because I wanted to be able to swing the screen left/right and most mounts only have (a little bit of) up/down angle adjustment. I put an indented box in the wall behind the TV so I had a place to terminate the conduit and pull cabling; the box also included a power outlet.

My equipment is all on a rack in the back corner of the room. I paid a fair bit for a good enough, long enough, HDMI cable to run from the equipment to the TV. Don't skimp on that bit. And make sure your conduit can handle the cabling including that big HDMI connector. I also ran Cat6 because, well, why not. Plus I'm a bit nerdy about wired vs. wireless.

EDIT: Since you're handy, open the wall and run conduit. You never know what you might want to pull in the future.

EDIT #2: I used a Chief wall mount. Very, very, very sturdy.
https://www.legrandav.com/products/r...stability:Tilt

Here's a link to the recessed wall boxes; I used one with power conditioning.
https://www.legrandav.com/products/c...ssories/pac521

[Emilime75]

I do this for a living.

First of all, there is nothing magical about the mount itself. Sure, some are made better than others, they're stamped out of higher gauge steel and more precise and with better hardware, but after installing literally thousands of them, I've yet to come across a mount that simply wouldn't work...as long as its sized/rated correctly for your size/weight of the TV.

If you choose to go with an articulating mount, than spend the cash for a higher quality mount as extending all that weight out, and away, from the wall does put a lot of stress on the mount and hardware.

I'd say 90% of the mounts we spec are Chief(higher end) and Peerless(lower end). There are cheaper that work, as well.

If you've got wood studs(assuming this is a typical, residential, structure), use 2-3" long lag bolts in either 1/4" or 5/16" diameter. The screw holes in your mount will determine what size bolts to go with, but 1/4" is fine, 5/16(if they fit) are a little extra insurance. Use a stud finder to find the center of at least 2 studs, and if the mount is large enough, 3 studs. 2 lags per stud, one at the top of the mount and one at the bottom. Pre-drill a small(3/32) hole in the studs before trying to drive the lag in, this will make it easier to drive in the lag and keep the stud from splitting. Use a ratchet/socket to snug up the bolts. No need for herculean strength, just nice and tight. Over tightening just creates a chance of the bolt stripping in the wood and/or the head cracking off. Use a level to get the mounting plate as level as possible. Mounts with level adjustments allow a little fudge factor, as you can fine tune it after the TV is installed to get it perfect.

Use a low voltage cut in type ring for an access in/out of the wall for cables. Your typical home improvement stores carry these in 1 and 2 gang sizes. They're easy to install. Cut a hole in your wall, behind the TV where the mount won't interfere and where there is no stud behind it(use your stud finder again), pop it in the hole, and use the the screws/legs it comes with to attach it in the hole. You can finish it off with a brush or bullet nose type of wall plate to clean it up. Do the same down low, same height as your typical electrical outlets are in the room. Tips, cut the holes for the pop in rings, run your wires through them, then install the pop in ring and finish plate. It's easier that way. Use a glow rod or fish tape to get from the upper hole to the lower hole if your wall has insulation in it. If it does not, they should just drop down freely, and if you've lined up your upper/lower holes within the same stud cavity, will be easy.

Which brings us to electrical...While this is certainly in the realm of capability of a DIY'er, it's up to you if you want to to do this yourself, or have an electrician do it. A couple of tips, placing your TV above an already existing outlet makes it easier as you can tap in to that outlet and run wire straight up to behind the TV. Use an "old work" cut in box for the new outlet behind the TV. It installs the same as the low voltage cut in ring, very easy. Turn off the breaker for whatever power source you're going to use for your supply. Do not run the TV's power cord, or an extension cord in the wall and plug it in somewhere else in the room. Many do this without fail, but if it does, and your house goes up in flames, not only would that suck for the obvious reasons, you also stand a high chance of losing on the insurance claim if they find power wire in the wall not rated for that use.

This really is an easy project for most capable DIY'ers, but of course there are a variety of set backs one can run into. Wall construction being one of them, sometimes there are horizontal "fire stops" in between the vertical studs that could prevent you from fishing your cables down, use your stud finder again, this time run it vertically, in between 2 studs to try and see id something is back there. There's ways to get through this in most cases, but sometimes requires opening up the drywall to get access and drill holes. The electrical part is usually the biggest set back for most home owners, as it should be, it can kill. Having the appropriate tools is another. Decent drill and bits, stud finder, accurate level, drywall saw and some basic hand tools.

Also, while somewhat unsightly, there is always the option of a wall molding to hide both your AV cables and power wire on the surface of the wall, as opposed to inside it.

One last thing, when shopping for your cables to install in the wall, remember that running them in the wall and making a few turns will eat up length and you'll want to make sure you have enough to comfortably reach your devices and not be stretched and tugged. There are also dedicated solutions for this exact purpose available, with cut in boxes designed to hold both your power and AV cables in one piece, along with an UL approved power solution for the home owner. Google about those, I'm not a fan of them as they're usually large, clunky and much more expensive.

[Violator]

Great stuff! Thanks to everyone for your input, much appreciated.
We want it done right so we’ll research the junction boxes, electrical and proper mounts.
Cheers!

[stevenvillatoro]

In addition to the already spot-on advice above,

1. Don't make the mistake of mounting your TV too high. It's no fun looking up from your seat.
2. If you have a cable box, you can install it remotely and use an IR cable to control the box.
3. When you run cables, install a sleeve to run them through so that you can pull more cables later.
4. Costco often runs great sales on decent articulating and tilting TV wall mounts.
5. A shelf or cabinet under the TV (wider than the screen) is useful, and will make it look balanced.
6. Depending on your needs, CAT5 may be perfectly adequate, and could save you money.

[2000cs]

For the cable, check to see if your cable company supports streaming via something like ROKU or similar. The Roku streaming stick, plugged into an HDMI port, is a nice way to avoid the set-top box and cables. But the ROKU remote isn’t as nice for watching tv - fine for movies, tho.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

1. Don't make the mistake of mounting your TV too high. It's no fun looking up from your seat.

Oh yeah. When you walk into the area in our house where the TV is, you might think you entered Lilliput. Everything is down low. And then you sit down and, presto, you're in the sound field and the TV is smack in front of your face.

My son on the other hand put his TV over the fireplace. Ow.

[zx10guy]

Only input I'll add is, DON'T run CAT5. CAT5 is a really old cable standard only officially rated for 100Mbps speeds. There is no excuse not to run at least CAT6 for any new install. CAT6 is good for 10Gbps up to about 55 meters. CAT5 and even CAT5e is not even approved for 10Gbps operation. But personally I would just pull CAT6a even for the small price uplift from CAT6.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by wdb

Oh yeah. When you walk into the area in our house where the TV is, you might think you entered Lilliput. Everything is down low. And then you sit down and, presto, you're in the sound field and the TV is smack in front of your face.

My son on the other hand put his TV over the fireplace. Ow.

Depends on how far your seating position is compared to the TV as it might be OK to have it above the fireplace. Also having a mount which tilts the TV downward will help with a TV placed higher than normal.

[eluded]

Make sure you have the right screws to mount the bracket to the television.

I drill tiny holes to make sure I know exactly where the studs are so it's dead center.

I have full tilt and swivel. A def even with 75 plus unless you have some type of home audio room and everything is dead center.

Good luck!

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

i mounted above a fireplace. Dont matter how big the room is. shit if the room is that big you might need a 300 inch tv.

Tore it off and put it on a stand. best college decision ever. my neck thanked me

[zx10guy]

Mounted a 55" LG LCD screen at my vacation property above the fireplace due to the insistence of the wife. I didn't want it there but caved in. Now that it's been there for 6 years, I haven't had any issues with the screen placement. The TV is tilted down.

At my primary home, none of the large flat screens have been placed above a fireplace. Because they were installed before the wife entered the picture.

[Alfisti]

Problem is not the TV but the fireplace, why do people still have those crappy things? No one uses them and they are SLAP BANG where the TV should go.

[EyeGuy]

It is said that eye level should be in the 1/3 portion of the bottom of screen. You can get a decent mount from amazon for about $30 that should do the job. If you aren’t partial to an articulating mount, low profile mounts look very sleek.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Problem is not the TV but the fireplace, why do people still have those crappy things? No one uses them and they are SLAP BANG where the TV should go.

I do extensively. The gas fireplaces I have in both residences actually put out usable heat along with having blower motors to push the heat out into the room. I also have all fireplaces with a thermostatically controlled remote.

[1MOREMOD]

Duct tape can hold anything

[King Rudi]

I install home surveillance systems as a side gig. A lot of residential and commercial installs ask us to mount their monitors/tv's. We always try to mount to studs, however to center the monitor/TV hitting a stud isn't always an option. In these situations we use these.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/TOGGLER-10-...cluded/3183815

Always fish the wires, it's just a cleaner look. We use these.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Legrand-Rec...Boxes/50110952
with a 2 gang plastic wall box, I couldn't find a link to what we use. I also recommend having an electrician place a receptacle behind the TV for your power supply. I've seen people run extensions cords behind drywall, DO NOT DO THIS. This is against building code and in the event that a fire begins here, your homeowners insurance will not cover the damages.

As for using a stud finder, I keep this one in my tool bag.

https://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-030...ic+stud+finder

I have some high dollar stud finders and they are hit or miss. This guy is cheap and is extremely effective.

When determining location of the TV, I recommend sitting in the location that you would normally sit while watching TV. If possible, try to position the center of the TV to your eye level. We have gone as far as to measure the height of the floor to viewers eye level and then position the center of the TV to the same height. This reduces eye strain.

After installation, these are always a nice touch.

https://www.amazon.com/BASON-Lightin...+for+behind+tv

[Alfisti]

no way in the world i'd mount a TV with those anchors, regardless of rating.

You need the big fuck off anchors with the pull cord that butterfly once through the wall.

[wdb]

I'm sorry but there's simply no way I'm hanging a 75" TV from any kind of drywall-only mounting point.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

no way in the world i'd mount a TV with those anchors, regardless of rating.

You need the big fuck off anchors with the pull cord that butterfly once through the wall.

Originally Posted by wdb

I'm sorry but there's simply no way I'm hanging a 75" TV from any kind of drywall-only mounting point.

Jaye would do it!!

[Alfisti]

These buggers hold a SERIOUS amount of weight, like 200 pounds each.