TV mounting looks simple — you're just putting a TV on a wall, right? In practice, it's a job that goes wrong more often than you'd expect. Crooked TVs, drywall anchors that pull out, wires running across the wall in a mess, and TVs mounted so high your neck aches after 20 minutes of watching. Most of these problems are easily avoidable. Here's how to do it right, and the five mistakes to avoid if you're doing it yourself.
The Right Way to Find Studs
A TV wall mount must be anchored into wall studs — not just drywall. Even a "heavy duty" drywall anchor has no business holding a 65-inch TV over your couch. Here's how to find studs reliably:
- Use a quality stud finder. A $15 magnetic stud finder gives unreliable results. Invest in a mid-range electronic stud finder (Franklin ProSensor or similar) that can detect stud edges. Calibrate it by starting on a section of wall you know is drywall only.
- Mark both edges of the stud. Most studs are 1.5" wide. Find both edges, mark them, and the center is your lag bolt location.
- Verify with a small nail. Before drilling, poke a small finish nail at your marked center to confirm you're hitting wood, not just a dense section of drywall.
- In older NH homes, watch for irregular stud spacing. Pre-1960s homes often have studs at 24" on center or irregular spacing from remodels. Don't assume 16" on center — measure to confirm.
Choosing the Right Mount
TV mounts come in three main types: fixed (TV sits flat against the wall), tilting (angle up or down), and full-motion/articulating (swing in all directions). For most living room installations, a tilting or fixed mount is the right choice. Full-motion mounts look attractive in showrooms but require heavy-duty installation and are often over-engineered for a fixed viewing position. Choose based on your actual viewing needs, not features you won't use.
Also check your TV's VESA mounting pattern (a grid of screw holes on the back) against the mount's compatibility before buying. Most TVs use standard VESA patterns, but confirm before you purchase.
Cable Management: The Detail That Makes or Breaks the Look
An otherwise perfect TV mount is ruined by a cable bundle hanging down the wall. There are two main approaches to clean cable management:
- In-wall cable routing: Feed the cables through the wall using an in-wall cable management kit with low-voltage mounting plates. This gives the cleanest look but requires cutting into the drywall. Note: power cables cannot run inside walls without proper in-wall rated power kits (or conduit in some installations) — code compliance matters here.
- Surface-mounted cable raceways: Paintable plastic conduit channels that attach to the wall surface and hide cables. Less clean than in-wall routing but much easier to install and still looks significantly better than bare cables.
Getting the Height Right
Most people mount TVs too high. The correct viewing height puts the center of the screen at approximately eye level when you're seated — typically 42–48 inches from the floor for most seating arrangements. If you're regularly craning your neck upward to watch TV, the mount is too high. Measure before drilling.
5 Common DIY TV Mounting Mistakes
1. Anchoring into Drywall Only
This is how TVs fall off walls. The lag bolts must penetrate a minimum of 1 inch into the stud behind the drywall (typically 5/8" drywall + 1" into the stud). Never rely on drywall anchors alone for a TV mount.
2. Mounting Too High
See above. This is the single most common mistake in TV installation. Measure your seated eye level and work from there.
3. Not Leveling the Mount Before Final Tightening
Mount brackets are typically installed with two lag bolts. Install them both loosely first, check the level, adjust, then tighten fully. Tightening one side fully before checking level is how you end up with a permanently crooked mount.
4. Ignoring What's Behind the Wall
In NH homes, walls can hide electrical wires, plumbing, and in older homes, gas lines that have been abandoned. Before drilling, use a stud finder that also detects electrical wiring, and be aware of any fixtures (switches, outlets) that might indicate nearby wiring.
5. Not Testing the Mount Before Hanging the TV
After installing the wall plate, grab it with both hands and yank hard in multiple directions before you hang a $2,000 TV on it. If it moves at all, the lag bolts aren't properly seated in the stud. Fix it now, not after the TV is in place.
When to Call a Pro
TV mounting is genuinely one of the more accessible DIY projects — if your walls are standard drywall over wood studs and you're mounting a typical-sized TV. When you should call VixFix instead: mounting into plaster walls (common in older NH homes), mounting into tile or stone, mounting on walls where you can't confirm stud locations, or any installation where you want clean in-wall cable management that requires drywall work.
Justin handles TV mounting throughout NH — fast, clean, and usually done in less than an hour. Call 603-202-5309 for a free estimate.