How to Hang a Flat-Screen TV | Ask This Old House

Electrician Scott Caron hangs a flat-panel TV on the wall and conceals all the wiring.

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Shopping List for Hanging a Flat-Screen TV:
TV wall-mounting bracket
Old-work electrical box, for housing the recessed electrical outlet
Recessed electrical outlet, used to provide power to the TV
Two low-voltage rings with cover plates, for housing the audio-visual cables
Nonmetallic electrical cable, provides power to the recessed electrical outlet
Audio-visual cables, connects the TV to the cable box and DVD player
Electrical tape, used to secure the cables to the fish tape
Cable staples, for fastening the cables to the floor joists in the basement
Infrared (IR) repeater and admitter, allows the TV remote control to operate the cable box and DVD player
Lag screws, for securing the TV wall-mounting bracket to the wall studs

Tools List for Hanging a Flat-Screen TV:
Utility knife or drywall saw, for cutting holes in walls
Wire strippers, used to cut and strip wires
Needle-nose pliers, used to break the tab off the electrical box
Fish tape, for fishing wires through walls
Screwdriver
Hammer
Drill/driver

Steps for Hanging a Flat-Screen TV:
1. Hold an old-work electrical box against the wall directly above an existing electrical outlet.
2. Trace the outline of the box onto the wall, then use a utility knife (or a drywall saw) to cut a hole through the drywall.
3. Repeat the previous steps to cut a hole for a low-voltage ring that will house the audio-visual cables.
4. Turn off the electrical power to the wall outlet.
5. Remove the cover plate from the outlet and unscrew and pull the outlet from the outlet box. Don't disconnect any wires.
6. Use needle-nose pliers to twist off the tab from the upper corner of the outlet box.
7. Push a length of nonmetallic electrical cable into the outlet box and up the wall to the hole cut earlier in Step 2.
8. Connect one end of the cable to the recessed electrical outlet, and connect the opposite end to the existing electrical outlet.
9. Install a low-voltage ring to the hole cut in Step 3.
10. Use a fish tape to pull audio-visual cables up from the basement and through the low-voltage ring.
11. Pull the ends of the audio-visual cables through a cover plate, then screw the plate to the low-voltage ring.
12. Extend the audio-visual cables from the TV location to the location of the cable box and DVD player.
13. Cut a hole in the wall near the cable-box location and install a second low-voltage ring.
14. Pull the audio-visual cables up from the basement and through the low-voltage ring.
15. Attach an infrared (IR) repeater to the TV.
16. Mount an infrared (IR) admitter to the IR window on the cable box and on the DVD player.
17. Make the audio-visual cable connections to the cable box and DVD player.
18. Screw the TV wall-mounting bracket to the wall studs and to the back of the TV using lag screws.
19. Hang the TV onto the the wall-mounting bracket.
20. Connect the wires to surround-sound speakers, then mount the speakers to the wall.
21. Turn the power back on.

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How to Hang a Flat-Screen TV | Ask This Old House
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