Television screens hanging on the wall are very beautiful especially if done professionally. But hanging an LED/ LCD or Plasma TV on the wall is the most dangerous thing to happen to a TV. There are many instances where the TV falls down, gets hit by a hammer or chisel, gets stepped on or hot molten metal lands on the screen. All these ugly scenarios will make your hard earned money go down the drain because TV panels are the most expensive part of a TV. In some cases, the screen is even more expensive than a Brand new TV plus delivery to your House.
These are the mistakes you should avoid when mounting your TV on the wall as a DIY or when hiring a TV installer. No matter what type of bracket, the tips are the same. I have seen a lot of people regret after 42 Inch TVs come crashing down a few hours after spending close to Ksh50000 buying them. Before I start I would recommend you get a good bracket and not have one built by a Juakali welder or chomelea guy. before any installation make sure that the TV is placed face down on its packaging an away from the wall it will be mounted on. Ask for help too, many of the mistakes highlighted below are as a result of doing things alone. Do not lift heavy TVs on your own.
- Always buy the correct wall mounting bracket kit that can fit your Television and hold the weight. What I mean by fitting your TV is the distance between the holes at the back of the TV as demonstrated in the photo below. Wall brackets usually come in many sizes an shapes, there are swivel, non swivel and tilting and fixed wall mount. A good bracket for your TV means that it can hold the weight, and is not too small or too big that the adapter brackets are protruding at the back of the TV.
- Use the materials provided to attach the wall plate to the wall. Use a drill to make the correct size of holes and use either rawl bolts or the self tapping screws and plastic drywall anchors. Do not use any ordinary nails or steel nails. These will tend to break and gravity will take care of your expensive TV transporting it to the floor. Also do all measurements so that the TV will not be too high or too low. Lastly always use the spirit level provided, even the slightest deviation will make the TV slant to one side.
- If at all necessary, never do any hammering grinding or welding near the TV. I know that due to some reasons, a hammer is required or maybe welding a burglar proof metallic cover as in the case for bars and clubs. I have witnessed molten metal landing on television screens and rendering them useless. Welding near the TV also melts the plastic or the screen. In another instance the fine metallic dust a grinder produces got into a TV and caused thousands of vertical lines on the screen.
- After mounting the TV on the wall, the cables are usually hidden for aesthetic purposes. And here is where the other problem arises, short cables. Never stretch any cables that will go into the TV. Always have long RCA, HDMI and power cables in handy when installing a TV on the wall. Stretching cables will damage them or in other cases, rip the ports off the motherboard. HDMI cables are notorious for this is used badly, a little stress on the port and it will rip it out of the TV. Also if after mounting the TV on the wall the space does not permit inserting the cables, do not try and bend the TV, just unhook it and insert the cables. If required use the cable management tools provided with the TV.
- And lastly, there was a reason I recommended keeping the TV away from the wall when installing the wall plate. Its because of the dust and particles. When finishing the installation vacuum the floor and if you do not have a vacuum, you can sweep the dust and make sure to cover the TV when sweeping.
After everything fasten the two screws at the bottom of the TV to prevent it from movement.