Need help mounting TV to wall

Parent Cafe
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<p>And that’s why I call The Guy.</p>

<p>When DH and I moved into our first house, 26 years ago, he thought he’d do some simple repairs himself. The first chore was to replace the faucet in the kitchen sink. He went to HD, found a decent faucet, read the instructions, and was all set to go. The first instruction: “Remove old faucet.”</p>

<p>That took a week and two new tools, so we finally called The Guy.</p>

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<p>Original poster here with a word of advice: If you are thinking about dropping cables/cords down your walls, make sure you do not have cross bracing that will block your way–before you make holes in your wall. A studfinder is your best friend, and you have to use it first. I have cross bracing about 1/3 from the bottom of the wall. But none at the top where they would be useful for hanging heavy mirrors and pictures. </p>

<p>I also found my new favorite tool. It’s a little drill bit gadget that removes screws whose head has stripped out. Within seconds. Seriously, it is awesome.</p>

<p>On my way today to exchange the TV for one that works, then<strong><em>cross your fingers</em></strong>I will be good to go.</p>

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<p>I would simplify the whole bracket process and return the bracket, too. They make them for 24 inch stud walls. Just a quick on-line perusal found a lot of options in the “wide” width. Looks like they run $10 more than the 16-inch size.</p>

<p>I have completely given up on buying stuff like that is stores. Amazon is my best friend when I need to find the version of a product that fits my needs. I drive halfway to timbuktu and and it’s never in stock – or even there to look at.</p>

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<p>Getting the bigger bracket sounds like the easiest solution.</p>

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When you’re doing a small drywall repair job like we’ve been discussing here you can handle it ‘dustlessly’. Rather than sanding the repaired area or between applications of joint compound, just use a wet sponge (wrung out) to smooth it over and level it out. It works quite well and there’s no dust.</p>

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<p>I am happy to report it is done! New TV works great. It has not fallen off the wall yet. Still have to get something to hide the cords, but didn’t have time to do everything today.</p>

<p>Thanks for that drywall tip, GladGradDad. My next project is to finish the bathroom. I am going to have to skim over all of it so it would have been a lot of dust. A wet sponge is a great idea!</p>

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<p>Very impressive, musicmom. I will save this thread, as my original thought was that should I get a flat screen, it would need to sit on a table. Well, maybe not.</p>

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<p>A quick tip for hiding cords -

  • Mount the flat screen to the wall at an appropriate height which if in a living room usually means only a few feet off the floor for an ideal viewing position - not up high on a wall or over a fireplace since it’s an unnatural angle when seated on LR furniture. Ideally the center of the TV screen s/b about at the same height as your eyes when seated on the furniture you’re viewing it from.
  • Put a table or even TV stand under the TV - not supporting it, but below it not touching it. This can hold the surround sound system, which you should have to go with the big TV ;), DVD player, DVDs, etc. This will probably leave a gap of a 6 inches or so between the top of the table and the bottom of the TV.
  • Put a decoration or a center speaker on the table to fill the gap between the table and the TV. Have the cords run down behind this covered area - i.e. behind the decoration or speaker. </p>

<p>The above will pretty much hide the cords with no special effort. Of course, it only works this easily in certain settings but probably most LR settings.</p>

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<p>Congrats, musicmom!</p>