How To Wall Mount a TV Perfectly Every Time

Wall mounting a tv is an easy project that just about anyone can handle. As long as you have a drill, a few basic hand tools, and the ability to follow directions, you can do this.

A pro can mount a tv to the wall in about thirty minutes. But if this is your first time, expect it to take you about an hour. Maybe more, maybe less depending on your skill level and where you are mounting your TV.

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You’ll need the following tools…

• Power drill
• Tape Measure
• Phillips Head Screw driver
• 3/16″ or 7/32″ metal or wood drill bits (it’s best to have a full set)
• 24″ level
• Pencil
• Stud finder
• Socket Set (comes with a socket wrench and socket adapter)

Optional tools to speed up the job…

• Socket adapter for power drill
• Impact driver (not recommended unless you do a lot of DIY projects)

Step #1 – Choose a TV Wall Mount

Go here for an in depth guide on selecting the right TV wall mount for your situation.

Step #2 – Unbox the TV Wall Mount and TV

This is an obvious step, but regardless, it needs to be done. So do it.

Sometimes the TV wall mount will require some assembly. Just follow the directions that came with it and assemble it if necessary. Should take about five minutes.

Step #3 – Attach the wall mount brackets to the TV

Your TV wall mount comes with several components: A part that mounts to the wall, one or two parts that mount to the back of the TV, and a bunch of screws and washers of different sizes (most of which you won’t use).

Find the part(s) that mount to the back of the TV, then find the screws that fit your TV. On the back of pretty much every TV manufactured in the last fifteen years there are four screw holes. These are designed to attach a mount. Find the screws that came with your TV wall mount that fit in those screw holes and attach the brackets to the back of the TV.

Again, your TV wall mount will come with directions. Don’t be above reading the directions or try to save time by skipping them. That will usually just cause you to make mistakes and have to read them anyway. I’ve mounted hundred of TV’s and whenever I use a new mount I always read the directions.

Step #4 – Temporarily attach the wall part of the bracket to the TV.

Now, take the part of the TV wall mount that mounts to the wall, and attach that part to the brackets you just mounted to the TV.

NOTE: This is only temporary so you can get a critical measurement.

Step #5 – Measure from the bottom of the TV to the top screw hole on the bracket.

Now that the entire wall mount bracket is attached to the TV and the TV is setting on the ground, measure from the ground to the center of the top screw hole on the part of the bracket that attaches to the wall. Read that last sentence slowly.

Write down the measurement for future reference and then detach the wall portion of the mount from the TV.

If this is confusing to you, watch the video above. It will clear things right up.

Step #6 – Determine where to mount the bracket to the wall.

This is where people mess things up, so take your time here. First, find where you want the TV to sit side to side. Usually you will center it on the wall or over a piece of furniture or something. To do that, find the center of where you want the TV to sit and mark a line with your pencil.

Now, figure out how high you want the TV to be mounted. If you’re mounting over a cabinet or shelf, you’ll usually just mount it about 4-6″ above that feature. Consider where you will be sitting when watching the TV. Many people will mount the TV way too high which makes it uncomfortable to watch.

Once you figure out about how high you want the TV to sit, mark a line on the wall where you want the bottom of the TV to line up.

Now you should have two lines. One that marks the center and one that marks the bottom. And you have a measurement written down from step #5.

What you ultimately want, however, is to know where to attach the screws. So, take the measurement from step 5 and measure up from where you want the bottom of the TV to sit and then mark another horizontal line on the wall. This horizontal line will tell you how high to screw in the screws. We’ll call it the screw line.

Then, using a level, translate the centerline you marked earlier so that it crosses the screw line and makes a cross.

Now you should have a cross on the wall that indicates the center of the tv and the screw line. Good work.

Step #7 – Find the Studs

Studs are the wood beams that run vertically in the wall and serve as the structure of your home. They are usually 2×4’s or 2×6’s. And, they are what you will want to screw into.

Take your stud finder and use it to locate the studs. You’ll want to find two or three studs that are closest to your center mark.

Pro tip: Instead of just marking the center of each stud, mark both edges of each stud. Again, watch the video above if you are confused.

Step #8 – Pre-drill for the Lag Screws

Grab your level and line it up with the screw line. Then, get your level perfectly level and use it to mark lines that cross each stud location. Again, these lines are there so you know exactly where to drill.

Once you have that lines drawn and you know where you want to screw in, hold up the wall mount bracket to make sure everything lines up and you can in fact screw right there.

If everything is ok, carefully pre-drill a hole on each stud at the marked locations in the center of each stud using a 3/16″ wood or metal drill bit.

You should now have two holes in the wall that are drilled into the center of two different studs.

Step #9 – Attach the Wall Mount Bracket to the Wall

Use the lag screws to attach the wall part of the bracket to the wall. Before tightening the screws all the way, make sure the bracket is perfectly level. Also, make sure to use the washers that are meant to be used with the lag screws.

Once the top two screws are tightened down and the bracket is level, attach the bottom lack screws to lock in the bottom of the bracket. You’ll probably want to pre-drill again before doing this because sometimes the lag screws can break in a stud.

Step #10 – Hang up the TV!

Now that you have one part of the bracket attached to the TV and the other part attached to the wall, all you have to do is pick up the TV and hang it on the wall. For larger TV’s you’ll want to grab a friend to help you.

That’s it! Now, it’s time to work on hiding the wires. There are multiple ways to do this which I’ll discuss in the future tutorial.

Mounting to Other Surfaces

What if you are mounting to brick or metal studs?

If you are mounting to metal studs, check out my other tutorial here.

If you are mounting to brick or stone, then you will use the same exact process, but you will need to have the appropriate sized mason drill bit and some stone anchors. Most TV wall mounts come with stone anchors (they look like large drywall anchors).