How to Mount a Large TV

Ready to join me in our latest messy project?  Well, grab a drink and have a seat.  Because today we are mounting a large TV.

We (by which I mean I) decided to do a little spruce up on hub’s man cave/TV den.  I’ll make another post when we finish that up.

But today I’m sharing details on mounting a 59” TV.  And the mess it made.  All the ancillary projects that spun off the decision are upcoming.

Find Your Studs

Well, everyone knows I have a perfectly fine stud, but then we still need a place to hang our TV.  Haha, please laugh along at that bad dad joke.

But, seriously, this is a pretty important step.  I really wanted to hang the TV on another wall, but the studs are on either side of the chimney for the fireplace in the other room.  Rats!

Plan B.  Luckily the studs on the wall where we ultimately mounted the TV are pretty much centered and it worked okay. 

Between the mount and the actual TV there is a lot of weight on the wall.

Pick Your Height

Of course, I did an online search to find the optimum  height to mount a TV. 

According the Internet, the center of the TV should be between 57” and 60” from the floor.  Our ceilings are very high, so we picked the top height of 60” and then hung a piece of art above the TV.

Assemble the Mount

Hub purchased the mount from Costco that would fit our TV.  He assembled everything himself.  I assisted with the centering and placing on the wall with the large template that came with the mount.

He super-duper used his level to make sure everything is nice and straight.

There is a big articulating arm, so that came next.

Mount the Large TV

Hub’s TV is just large enough and just heavy enough that mounting it at 60” is a two-man job.  And seeing as I am Man #2, 60” would be right at my head.

I used a step stool to give me height and leverage and voila!  Up it went.

Label Cords

Using my handy dandy old-fashioned labeler, I made nametags for the cords and then tagged them with the label on a piece of painter’s tape.

The person who invents a way to wrestle all the spaghetti that those cords and wires create will be a gazillionaire.

Clean Up Your Mess

The floor was a mess. There were tools everywhere (thank you, Dad for gifting us your power drill when you went to live in Heaven).  The TV has really nice finger prints on it.  Like a dream for the FBI.

I swear putting everything away took the longest.  Okay, since I didn’t assemble anything myself, I most likely don’t know what I’m talking about.

Wrap Up

I’m lucky to have an engineer for a hub.  He’s the doer and I’m more like the fluffer and puffer.  As in if you were stranded on a deserted island, who would you want with you? 

In my defense I’m really good at making up stories and could be the entertainment.

But McGyver I am not.