Are TV Wall Mounts Safe?

TV wall mounts refer to the system built into your wall that allows you to hang your TV from. When you visualise this, valid questions are then raised as to whether there is a chance of a TV falling down, damaging your property or even hurting people in the area. Worse still, what if the weight of the TV is beyond the strength of your wall, causing it to collapse. With these scenarios in mind, we can now address if TV wall mounts are safe for your home or office.

For starters, as with any form of handiwork, the reliability of TV wall mount installations comes down to the quality of the TV bracket and installation works. As such, in this article, we aim to cover the proper process for TV wall mount installation as well as to highlight where potential dangers might arise.

Selecting the Right Mount to lift your Television

For starters, you would need to find a bracket that fits the television set that you intend to mount on your wall. A variety of TV brackets are readily available to be purchased on the market, however, they must be suitable for your TV.

Considerations to be paid during this step include:

• The strength of the TV bracket in relation to the weight of your television
• VESA standard to be used
• Type of Bracket

Strength of the TV Bracket

Before you purchase a TV bracket, it is important that you take a look at the manufacturer’s specifications. In particular, you would want to check the safe carrying weight of the TV bracket. Having a lightweight bracket attempt to hold up a heavyweight television would naturally lead to a break soon nor or later.

VESA Standard

All TVs, monitors and their counterpart brackets are regulated by the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA). Commonly known as VESA standards, the standards provide a universal size chart for these devices, making the selection of TV brackets a reliable process. How then can you use the VESA standard to choose an appropriately sized TV bracket?

Start by looking at the back of your TV and locating the 4 holes which are at each corner. These are the holes that will be used to attached your TV to the bracket. Next, measure the distance between the two horizontal holes and two vertical holes. With the recording in hand, compare it to the VESA standard. You should be able to find a near exact standard that your TV’s size corresponds to.

For example, if the distance between the holes is 400mm, then the corresponding VESA standard would be 400 X 400. Additionally, the three most popular VESA sizes are 200 X 200, 400 X 400 & 600 X 600. It is important to get the correctly sized bracket as you otherwise would not be able to secure all 4 holes of your television to the bracket. Should you have bought the wrong size, we recommend that you request for an exchange to the appropriate size TV bracket.

Types of Brackets Available

You will find a range of different TV brackets on the market, each providing you a different function and utility. These include:

• Fixed TV brackets which offer simplicity and compactness in exchange for some utility and flexibility. With little space between the wall and your TV, you would be able to squeeze your cables in without needing a wide viewing circumference.
• Tilting TV brackets offer the possibility of tilting your TV at a declining angle. Commonly found at high spots in public areas, they allow easy viewing by a large audience within an area. If there is restricted space below, and you need to have your TV at height, then a tilting bracket would be an effective choice.
• Articulating TV brackets offer the most flexibility, they can be turned or tilted in multiple directions. If flexibility is your priority, then articulating brackets would offer excellent value. In addition, when not in use, your TV can be retracted and stored. However, they are also the most complex to install and do require more planning when normal.

Selecting a good Position for your Television

With the correct bracket on hand, it is now time to turn your attention choosing the right position in your home for it. Three primary considerations need to be paid here, including user experience, wiring and the strength of your wall.

User Experience

At the end of the day, your TV is meant for user entertainment. As such, it needs to serve them by being placed at a comfortable height and angle for our eyes. When choosing a placement for your TV, consider where your family members will be watching the TV from and their elevation.

Furthermore, take into account any entry of natural light during the day or the position of your home’s lights. While not complicated, the end goal of this test is to determine if your family will be comfortable watching the TV at the intended position.

Wiring

Wire management is a critical component of the installation of any major electronic appliance. Having a messy wire setup is dangerous as it might trip people or get damaged when made contact with. Furthermore, it prevents any tangling that might allow for electrical accidents.

When installing your TV, it is important that wires are bunch together in an organised fashion and hidden from sight where possible.

Strength of your Wall

The strength of your wall is critical as it will determine if it can hold the weight of your chosen bracket and TV. As a rule of thumb, if your wall is one continuous substance (e.g. cement), then it should be able to take your TV’s weight.

Conversely, if your intended wall is a partition or a dry wall instead of cement, then you would need to find its fundamental wooden structure. Behind its gypsum-based board exterior would lie pillars that are known as wall studs.

If you were to mount your TV bracket and TV on the gypsum-based board, it is unlikely able to take the weight in the long run. As such, it would be at risk of tearing and falling apart. Instead, by finding the wall studs, you would be hooking your TV onto a solid component of your wall that can take its weight.

To find the wall studs, we recommend the usage of a stud finder device. These devices predict the location of your studs based on the density of the area being scanned. As such, based on changes in density, you would be able to determine the start and end of the width of a wall stud.

Once located, you can begin to drill and install the TV bracket before mounting your TV.

Still Unsure of how to Mount your TV Safely?

If you are still unsure about getting the right TV bracket VESA size or how to ensure that your wall is suitable for mounting your TV, then why not consider engaging our professional TV mount installation services?

Engage our Yi Leng Service team to Assist you

With over 30 years of experience, Yi Leng Service is a specialist in electrical works, cable solutions, TV brackets, and mounting. Our experience has proven to be an invaluable asset in our expertise and services provide to clients in all aspects of installation, maintenance, and repair works.

With our TV installation service, we help to make the right decisions in each of the challenges listed above. From selecting the right brackets to the perfect positioning of your TV, from wire management to securing your TV to the wall. Get the perfect mounting setup for your television with us today.