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Upgrading a wall mounted tv

post #1 of 18
1/8/11 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
I have a flat panel and it's a junk brand but I really am not like AF where a home theatre is that important in my life.

To free up space, I wanted to mount this over a small fireplace (it's not working) in the living room.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/lbs/2148875302.html
This guy charged 89 to put it on the wall and 15 if you want to hide the wires. I have no idea how the wire hiding thing works, I thought you had to cut a big piece of the wall out to put the wires through and then plaster it up and paint over it but I can't imagine he's doing that for 15, is he?

So...
1) I'm on monoprice but which bracket do I buy? I have a 32 inch TV but in the future I may want to upgrade and would like to keep the same bracket if possible.

2) If I upgrade televisions, can I simply just take the old TV off and put the new one onto the bracket or will it means leaving giant holes in the wall from removing the bracket and then re-drilling new ones to put it back up?
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post #2 of 18
1/8/11 at 5:51pm
What kind of wall mount? Flat with tilt mechanism? Low profile? Tilt and Swivel?

Tilt Swivel model for $45 before shipping:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Will handle 32-60" panels and up to 175lbs. You can use this for pretty much any TV. Need to make sure you have 16" spaced studs, or a brick wall and masonry lag bolts etc.

FYI - Tilt Swivel models don't sit terribly close to the wall when pushed back. Low Profile are good if you want it as close to the wall as possible, but they can only provide a slight tilt downward. It all depends on what you want to do with it and the viewing height.
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post #3 of 18
1/8/11 at 6:04pm
If you pick an articulating mount with a arm it will be a lot easier to upgrade the tv at a later date since the tv doesn't necessarily have to be flush against the wall when you unscrew it.
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post #4 of 18
1/8/11 at 6:24pm
if youre buying a bracket buy one that will encompass both the tv you have now and the one you expect to purchase later. Let's say your bracket is listed as 32-40" and you upgrade to a 42. You may want to buy a larger bracket and just put your 32 on that. You also may want to just throw the 42" tv on the 32-40 bracket. Just becuase it is above the listed size, doesn't mean it will not work for it. I did a similar switch; I had a 40 inch Sony LCD and I upgraded to a 46 inch Samsung LED. I switched the brackets, but I didn't need to. I put my current tv on the original bracket and it worked, it just didn't have the same slim-to-the-wall profile I wanted so I bought an ultra slim bracket.

regarding the wiring, I did it myself (it isn't hard to do at all) and I did it the way you said. I essentially cut a couple holes in my wall and fished the wires through. I'm sure this is highly amateur, but it works for me. Personally, I wouldn't pay for someone to do this for you as it is a simple task.
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post #5 of 18
1/8/11 at 8:24pm
hanging over a fireplace usually makes for uncomfortable viewing. It's too high... Maybe get a bracket that will allow you to pull the TV out and down when you want to watch a movie?
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post #6 of 18
1/8/11 at 9:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneeightyseven View Post
...regarding the wiring, I did it myself (it isn't hard to do at all) and I did it the way you said. I essentially cut a couple holes in my wall and fished the wires through. I'm sure this is highly amateur, but it works for me. Personally, I wouldn't pay for someone to do this for you as it is a simple task.


Like he said, cut a couple small holes to hide wires. They sell things to finish the holes off so you dont have cut drywall exposed and it gives a much nicer finish, even though one is behind your tv and the other behind your cable/satellite box, DVD player, and whatever else you have for your tv.

As far as mounting goes, a stud finder and a level should be all the tools you need plus whatever tool you need to fasten the mounting bracket to the wall. A screwdriver or socket if its a lag bolt/screw. There will be instructions with the kit on how to hang it, very simple and there is already holes on your tv for the hook part to hang it. I highly recommend doing this yourself and saving the 100 that the other guy is gonna charge you.

Just remember, if you are putting the screw into the wall and there is little to no resistance, you missed the stud. And if you have metal studs (highly unlikely) you will probably be shit out of luck as they are not designed for weight to be hung from them.
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post #7 of 18
1/9/11 at 1:30am
Thread Starter 
What's the difference between low profile and ultra slim low profile?

And how much farther out does it come if I get a swivel one instead?

Also, I live in Manhattan and space is at a premium here so unfortunately I have no drills and whatnot - that's why I'd probably rather just pay someone since it's not that much anyway.

Ben85, when you say cut a hole, you don't mean simply two holes right? I thought you cut a strip out of the drywall and then plaster and paint over the whole wall - is it not that involved?
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post #8 of 18
1/9/11 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haganah View Post
What's the difference between low profile and ultra slim low profile? And how much farther out does it come if I get a swivel one instead? Also, I live in Manhattan and space is at a premium here so unfortunately I have no drills and whatnot - that's why I'd probably rather just pay someone since it's not that much anyway. Ben85, when you say cut a hole, you don't mean simply two holes right? I thought you cut a strip out of the drywall and then plaster and paint over the whole wall - is it not that involved?
It all depends on where your cable box and whatnot is placed. If it is below the tv then you can get away with just two small holes. You just run the wires down and pull then out the bottom. I drew a very crude drawing in paint to show you. The black lines are the tv mount. The red boxes are where you would cut holes in the wall, the green is wires and the gray is just a cut-a-way of the drywall to show the studs. If you plan on setting the stuff on the mantle (I think I read that you want the tv above the fireplace) you can get away with this method. If you want to set it off to the side you will have no choice but to cut a small strip of drywall to run the wires through the studs. Still very simple, but if you don't have tools you would probably want to hire someone. Even with cutting the wall, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours to finish this, minus the finish coat of plaster which you could do yourself to save some money. Good luck, man.
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post #9 of 18
1/9/11 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben85 View Post
It all depends on where your cable box and whatnot is placed. If it is below the tv then you can get away with just two small holes. You just run the wires down and pull then out the bottom. I drew a very crude drawing in paint to show you.


The black lines are the tv mount. The red boxes are where you would cut holes in the wall, the green is wires and the gray is just a cut-a-way of the drywall to show the studs.

If you plan on setting the stuff on the mantle (I think I read that you want the tv above the fireplace) you can get away with this method. If you want to set it off to the side you will have no choice but to cut a small strip of drywall to run the wires through the studs. Still very simple, but if you don't have tools you would probably want to hire someone. Even with cutting the wall, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours to finish this, minus the finish coat of plaster which you could do yourself to save some money.

Good luck, man.

Thank you! I'm thinking I will place the boxes in a small cabinet on the floor right next to the fireplace and I have to see if the landlord has the same color paint laying around before I put any big holes in.

Now, does anyone know whether I should get low profile, ultra slim low profile, or if there really isn't much different in their spacing from the wall and I should just go for the tilt? I'd love to be able to tilt it around and all that but now I'm wondering if it's a huge difference in how it stands out from the wall.
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post #10 of 18
1/10/11 at 12:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by haganah View Post
Thank you! I'm thinking I will place the boxes in a small cabinet on the floor right next to the fireplace and I have to see if the landlord has the same color paint laying around before I put any big holes in.

Now, does anyone know whether I should get low profile, ultra slim low profile, or if there really isn't much different in their spacing from the wall and I should just go for the tilt? I'd love to be able to tilt it around and all that but now I'm wondering if it's a huge difference in how it stands out from the wall.

I had one that tilted on my 40" but never used the tilt. To me, the tv being flat is the best way to watch it.
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post #11 of 18
1/10/11 at 3:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by haganah View Post
Thank you! I'm thinking I will place the boxes in a small cabinet on the floor right next to the fireplace and I have to see if the landlord has the same color paint laying around before I put any big holes in.

Now, does anyone know whether I should get low profile, ultra slim low profile, or if there really isn't much different in their spacing from the wall and I should just go for the tilt? I'd love to be able to tilt it around and all that but now I'm wondering if it's a huge difference in how it stands out from the wall.

Check this out. There are a couple options there for you to look at.

A tilt/swivel will no doubt be a couple more inches off the wall just to make room for the tilt/swivel arms. Something you could definitely live with though. Figure out what you want to do and go from there I guess.
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post #12 of 18
1/10/11 at 8:28pm
How far out do some of these things swivel?

I have a 32" that I was thinking about wall mounting--Since I have started riding my bike on rollers, I'd like to be able to watch things on a bigger screen than my tiny netbook.
I can't set my rollers in front of the TV due to the furniture but I can get it off to the side past the edge of the rug.

I don't need to get the TV a full 90 degrees from the wall (I can look at it from somewhat of an angle) but will I be able to swivel a 32" out far enough to watch it from out in right field?

I could always ride in front of my desktop's monitor (but I'd rather not ride in my bedroom).
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post #13 of 18
1/11/11 at 10:04am
Great threak. No really.
how about asking the installer?
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post #14 of 18
1/11/11 at 12:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben85 View Post
if you have metal studs (highly unlikely) you will probably be shit out of luck as they are not designed for weight to be hung from them.

Umm - anyone have experience with wall-mounting a tv on a wall that most likely does have metal studs?

I live in a 20+ year old condo and from what I've seen during my bathroom reno, it's quite likely that there are metal studs in the living room wall.

I've heard talk about using the right brackets/fasteners, etc but wondering if anyone had personal experience.
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post #15 of 18
1/11/11 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRINI View Post
Umm - anyone have experience with wall-mounting a tv on a wall that most likely does have metal studs?

I live in a 20+ year old condo and from what I've seen during my bathroom reno, it's quite likely that there are metal studs in the living room wall.

I've heard talk about using the right brackets/fasteners, etc but wondering if anyone had personal experience.


I did some searching and people have hung tvs from metal studs using toggle bolts.


Here is a picture of how thin the studs are.


With the studs being so thin, some suggest opening your wall up and replacing the studs with 2 wood 2x4's. Not a terribly large job, but you will have to do some plaster and paint work. You could probably get away hanging an LED or LCD off metal studs, but a heavy plasma, it might be cheap insurance to do something to beef up the metal.
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