Prideful Man Seeks TV Mounting Help

August 30, 2006 1:36 PM

How can I mount my new 50 inch plasma without asking for help?

I have a new 90lb 50 inch plasma tv that I want to mount on my wall (the mount is up, I just have to get the tv on it) without having to resort to asking anyone to help me (besides you guys). I can hold the thing up to the appropriate height for about 15 seconds, but that never seems to be enough time for me to find and attach to all four necessary mount holes. Anyone know of any creative feats of engineering that might work?

posted by halespawn to home & garden (14 comments total)

I wish I had a suggestion to help you but you may be out of luck unless you can find something of the appropriate height to rest the screen on...perhaps a stool.

A word of caution though, plasams are notorious for cracking if you look at them wrong. If I were you I wouldn't try to mount it or move it around too much for that matter by myself, you may end up with a cracked screen.
posted by ASM at 1:47 PM on August 30, 2006

I would strongly suggest two people, its a nice investment to mess up. Plus you need someone to look and see if it hooked on the mount on both sides.

If you really don't want to do that, rig some scaffolding that is just a bit higher than you want it. Set it on that and gently lower it onto the mount. I am just going off how my mounts, yours might be different.
posted by stormygrey at 1:52 PM on August 30, 2006

Find a sturdy table or bookshelf and slide it up to the wall. Stack heavy books to fine-tune it. The baseboard may cause a small gap... close it up by removing the baseboard or putting a large, flat board on the table that butts up to the wall (weight it down at the far end so the table doesn't act as a fulcrum).
posted by rolypolyman at 1:52 PM on August 30, 2006

I've seen a website that described how the author did this very thing with a drywall jack. You can usually rent one for about 40 bucks for an afternoon, and it'll let you crank your TV up to whatever height you want it. Once that's done, moving it into position should be pretty easy.
posted by deadmessenger at 1:54 PM on August 30, 2006

clarification: stack the books on the table... NOT under the legs.
posted by rolypolyman at 1:55 PM on August 30, 2006

Not to be nosy, but is there a reason you don't want help? I mounted our 42 inch plasma on the wall, and it took three of us to make sure it was right. I would strongly recommend getting some help - plasmas ain't cheap and they ain't easy to repair when the screen's in a dozen pieces on the floor.
posted by pdb at 2:17 PM on August 30, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Are you sure that the mount you have doesn't allow the TV to hang off of it without any bolts in place? Every flat screen mount I've ever seen has worked in that way - you bolt one part to the wall, another to the tv and the tv just sort of hangs there until you can get a (small) pair of safety bolts in.
posted by davey_darling at 2:20 PM on August 30, 2006

I had to wait several days for a friend to come over and help me with mine. It's suicide to try it on your own.

Just think about losing thousands of dollars in equipment for being stubborn, then call up a friend or family member to help. If that is still a problem, local electronics dealers will often have install help available for a couple hundred bucks.
posted by mathowie at 3:06 PM on August 30, 2006

Agree with other posters. Please don't try it on your own. I got someone in to do it and it took two guys who do this for a living over an hour to do it.
posted by TheRaven at 3:12 PM on August 30, 2006

Rent a Drywall Jack?
posted by Orb2069 at 3:17 PM on August 30, 2006

How can I mount my new 50 inch plasma without asking for help?

If you count this question to us, it's already too late.

I wouldn't try doing it myself, when it wouldn't even take 10 minutes to get someone else to hold it up for you.

You could always try demanding help from someone you know...
posted by Cycloptichorn at 4:09 PM on August 30, 2006

If you can afford that TV, you can certainly afford to have someone mount it for you.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 5:18 PM on August 30, 2006

It took four of us to mount my 50 inch plasma and even then I had visions of it crashing to the floor and shattering. It isn't that heavy, but definitely awkward and you have to hold it just right to get everything to line up. If you don't want to ask your friends, perhaps there is someone at work (a lot of the janitorial and physical plant guys I know do little side jobs) or a place to hire day laborers nearby.
posted by TedW at 6:45 PM on August 30, 2006

try using drywall hoist
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:13 PM on August 30, 2006