I’ve slowed down on the posts this week because we are in double ear infection territory. Poor Grant didn’t seem to mind the ear infections at all, but the antibiotics are hitting him hard. He’s a trooper, though, still running all over the house faster than I can chase him.
Tonight we mounted the tv above the fireplace. We bought a Space Saver full motion mount at Home Depot. The instructions are pretty similar to Ikea instructions, which is to say, they’re some sort of medieval torture. Anyway, all mounts are a little different, so I’m just going to give some of our basic tips for hanging large items.
Sorry for the frizzy hair and tiny shorts, it is humid as can be in Maryland.
I start out by measuring the width and height of the area I’m using (from wall to wall, or in our case, from cabinet to cabinet). Then I find my mid-point from those numbers. Using a level, I draw a horizontal line and a vertical one, to get my exact center.
When we hang items that need to be centered, I find that it’s easiest to drill a board into the studs. Studs are 16″ apart, so they’re unlikely to be exactly where you need them. The mount came with extenders, but this is an easier and sturdier solution. Jason cut two pieces of wood 24″ long, and we drilled the wood into two studs.
The mount came with anchors, but I don’t trust anchors for something this heavy. The wood is a really easy solution, I just hung the mount per the instructions from this point on. Pretty simple, really. There’s a lot of debate (I’m talking in the home decor/renovation arena, probably not in the general community) about putting a tv above the fireplace. Designers usually argue that the tv shouldn’t be the focal point, it’s an eyesore, and you have to crane your neck to see it. Both of these things are true, but our house is really small, so it’s hard to find anywhere better to put it. I think people expect the wiring to be available in new houses, so it seemed like a good idea to me.
We are building a box above the mantle to hold the wiring. This is our first time attempting a project like this, and it isn’t without its hiccups. I blew our budget on tile today, so Jason is drinking Miller High Life tonight. We removed the built-ins to find that the flooring didn’t extend all the way to the wall, so we had to get creative.
For anyone in the Annapolis area, I buy my tile at
Atlas Tile in Arnold. Their selection is mind blowing. Home Depot has 5% of what Atlas Tile carries, and they have some great budget tile, too. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned how much Grant hates shopping, but if you have a toddler and have tried to take them to a store, you know what I’m talking about. It’s rare to find a salesperson who isn’t giving me a dirty look as I wrestle him away from their breakable items, but the owner at this place didn’t bat an eye and kept giving Grant samples to play with so I could look around. He was as patient and kind as he could possibly be, and not remotely pushy. I went there three times before making a decision, and he never tried to talk me into anything. I highly recommend them.
The tiles come in Tuesday, so I should have some updates on that next week. Happy 4th!
Tags : Carpentry, DIY, wall mounting TV over fireplace
