TV Mounting near you

Every mount carries a weight and screen-size rating from its manufacturer, and the hole pattern on its plate has to match the one on the back of the TV. Follow both makers' ratings rather than rounding up, use the screws supplied with the TV or the mount, and remember that the rating assumes a wall able to carry the load.

Most of the holding power comes from what's behind the surface, so a good installer confirms how the wall is built before choosing fasteners, and uses only anchors their maker rates for the load and the material.

The most common regret after a TV goes up is that it's too high. A screen placed for how the wall looks, rather than for where people sit, leaves everyone tipping their heads back. As a rule of thumb, the middle of the screen should be close to seated eye level from the main seat, and the TV maker's guidance on viewing distance for that screen size is worth reading.

Before drilling, tape a cardboard template or a painter's tape outline to the wall and sit in the usual spots at different times of day. You'll see glare from windows and lamps, how the screen lines up with the furniture, and whether a sound bar or console below needs room. A tilting or full-motion mount can correct a height or angle that's hard to avoid.

The cleanest result puts every cable behind the wall, but the power cord comes with rules. A TV's ordinary power cord isn't made to run inside a wall: use a power kit designed and certified for in-wall installation, as its maker directs, or have an electrician install an outlet behind the screen. Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority advises against extension cords as a long-term power source and sends homeowners to a Licensed Electrical Contractor for permanent wiring and outlets; in Quebec, electrical contractors are licensed through the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec. The installer handles the screen and the low-voltage cables, and the electrician the outlet.

Above the fireplace is often the only open wall in a living room, and the hardest spot to get right. Heat rising from a wood, gas or electric fireplace can reach the screen, soot can build up on it, and the height usually puts the screen well above seated eye level. The TV maker's manual is the authority: many specify the temperature and ventilation conditions the set needs, and some advise against mounting over a heat source at all.

If the TV goes there anyway, ask the installer to check how warm the wall gets with the fireplace running in winter, whether the mantel deflects the heat, and whether a mount that pulls the screen down to viewing height makes sense. A masonry chimney needs masonry anchors and may hide a flue, and for a gas fireplace, the fireplace maker's instructions on clearances above the unit apply too.

Not every TV goes on the wall, and one on a stand or dresser is a tip-over hazard. Health Canada warns that children sometimes climb bookshelves, dressers, appliances and TVs, which can make them tip over. It advises attaching a TV to its stand and to the wall where possible, putting an older TV on a low, stable stand that can support its weight and size, and anchoring furniture to a wall stud, or with heavy-duty drywall anchors made for the purpose, using anti-tip devices such as angle braces or safety straps.