Jeremy ShanksFree winter guide
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TV & wallsJun 18, 202615 min video

How to mount a TV on a drywall wall

This covers a full-motion TV mount lag-screwed into two wood studs behind drywall. Sizes vary by mount: where I give mine, check your manual for yours.

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Step by step

What you’ll need

  • Full-motion TV mount rated for your TV’s weight and VESA pattern
  • Stud finder and a thin finish nail
  • Drill and the pilot bit your mount’s manual lists (7/32-inch for the 5/16-inch lag screws in mine)
  • Socket wrench to fit the lag screws (½-inch on mine)
  • Phillips screwdriver, level and tape measure

Before you start

  • It has to be drywall over wood studs. Metal studs, plaster and lath, or brick need different fasteners, and a full-motion mount never goes into drywall alone.
  • The wall plate has to land on two studs where you want the TV. If they don’t line up with the spot, move the spot.
  • The TV’s power cord can’t go inside the wall (NEC 400.12). For a hidden cord, plan an in-wall power kit now, with its outlet clear of the plate.

  1. Check the TV against the mount

    Jeremy crouches at the back of a large TV and points at the spec label next to its ports, under an on-screen note: Model number. Look it up before buying the mount.

    Look up the TV’s weight without the stand, its screen size and its VESA pattern (hole spacing in millimeters, width × height, center to center). All three must be inside the mount’s limits.

    Watch this step (0:10)

  2. Find the right TV bolts

    Close-up of a finger pointing at a silver bolt threaded part-way into a mounting hole on the back of a TV.

    Lay the TV face-down on a blanket, take the stand off and thread a bolt in by hand to find the size, usually M6 or M8. Through the bracket and any spacer it should still get at least five full turns without bottoming out, which can damage the TV.

    Watch this step (1:53)

  3. Fit the TV brackets

    Jeremy grips one of two black vertical brackets bolted to the back of a TV, checking it for play.

    Bolt them on with the hooks at the top, centered top to bottom, with spacers if the back is curved, has a bump or has plugs in the way. Tighten with a screwdriver, snug and no more. Keep any small screws that come fitted in the brackets: on my mount they hold the safety locks.

    Watch this step (3:14)

  4. Pick the spot

    Seen from behind, Jeremy presses his hand flat on a bare gray wall at the spot he picked for the middle of the TV, a pencil between his fingers and a tape measure in his other hand.

    Sit where you’ll watch and pick where the middle of the screen goes: for a couch, about seated eye level, roughly 42 inches off the floor. Check for glare too.

    Watch this step (4:17)

  5. Mark the plate height

    A tape measure runs down a gray wall while a hand pencils a mark beside it.

    Measure from the top of the TV to its bracket hooks, then on the mount from the hook rail to the top wall-plate holes. Mark where the top of the TV goes and use those two numbers to mark the holes’ height.

    Watch this step (7:05)

  6. Find the stud centers

    Jeremy holds a blue stud finder flat on the wall and pencils a mark at its center, under an on-screen note: Mark the stud center. Use both edges from the finder, then split the difference.

    Scan at hole height and mark each stud edge coming from both sides; the center is ¾ inch in from either edge. Check the next stud is 16 or 24 inches over, then tap a thin nail in where a hole will go: it should hit solid wood.

    Watch this step (1:05)

  7. Drill the pilot holes

    Mount manual diagram of a drill making a pilot hole in the center of a stud behind drywall, labeled with a 7/32-inch (5.5 mm) bit and a depth of at least 2 3/4 inches (70 mm).

    Level the paper template (or the plate) on your marks, mark the holes and drill them with your manual’s bit to its depth (mine: at least 2¾ inches). The bit should cut wood the whole way; if it suddenly goes easy or hits metal, stop and re-check the stud.

    Watch this step (8:31)

  8. Fasten the wall plate

    Jeremy, seen from behind, tightens a top lag bolt on the level wall plate with a socket wrench.

    Put a washer on each lag screw. Snug one top screw, level the plate, then tighten them all evenly with a socket wrench, not an impact driver, until the plate pulls firmly against the wall, and stop. A screw that spins without tightening has missed or stripped the stud.

    Watch this step (9:10)

  9. Test the bare mount

    Seen from behind, Jeremy grips a bar of the full-motion mount, pulled out from the wall plate, and pulls on it with one hand.

    Pull down firmly on the arm by hand; nothing should shift or creak. With the TV pulled out, its weight levers the top screws straight out of the wall, so they need solid wood.

    Watch this step (11:40)

  10. Hang and lock the TV

    View behind a hung TV: a bracket hooked over the mount's rail while a red-handled screwdriver drives in the screw that locks it in place.

    With a helper, hook both brackets over the rail and check both sides are seated before anyone lets go. Then engage the safety lock on both brackets, or the TV can lift off the rail.

    Watch this step (12:36)

  11. Level it and check the cords

    Jeremy reaches up to hold a small level on top of the mounted TV.

    Level the TV itself, using the mount’s leveling adjustment if needed. Then swing, tilt and pull it out to full reach, and check no cord is pinched or pulling on its port.

    Watch this step (13:50)

Mistakes to avoid

  • Putting the plastic anchors from the box into drywall: they’re for concrete or brick only.