Most TV wall mounting jobs in Melbourne take between one and three hours, and the biggest variable is not the TV, it is the wall behind it. Plaster over timber studs is straightforward. Brick, double brick, or a wall with no power point near the mount is where the time and the cost go up.
Here is what actually matters when you are deciding who to call and what to ask for.
First question: what is your wall made of?
Knock on it. If it sounds hollow and drums a bit, it is plasterboard over timber or steel studs. If it feels solid and dead, it is brick, block or concrete.
Plasterboard over timber studs. The bracket must bolt into the studs, not the plaster. Studs in most Melbourne homes sit at 450mm or 600mm centres, which means the mount position is partly decided for you. A good installer will find studs with a detector and then confirm with a small probe before committing.
Steel stud walls. Common in apartments and newer townhouses in the eastern suburbs. Steel studs are thinner and will not hold a lag screw the way timber does. They need the right toggle fixings, and heavy TVs sometimes need a timber backing installed behind the plaster or a mount spread across more studs.
Brick and render. Solid and reliable once you are into the brick itself, but you have to get past the render coat without blowing it out. Masonry anchors, correct hole depth, no shortcuts.
Feature walls, stone cladding, fireplaces. Slower work. Stone can crack, and a heat source below a TV is worth thinking about before you mount it high above a gas fire.
If you know your wall type when you ring, you will get a far more accurate quote.
Where the cables go
This is what separates a tidy install from an obvious one. Three broad options:
- Cables left visible. Cheapest and fastest. Fine for a garage, spare room or rental where you cannot alter the wall.
- Cable cover or conduit on the wall surface. A trunking channel painted to match. Better than dangling cables, still visible up close.
- Cables run inside the wall. The cleanest result. In a plasterboard wall this usually means two small cut-outs, one behind the TV and one behind the cabinet, with the HDMI and power run through the cavity.
One thing worth knowing: you cannot legally run a normal power lead down inside a wall cavity. It has to be done properly, which usually means a licensed electrician installing a new power point behind the TV, or a compliant in-wall power kit. This is the single most common reason a handyman job turns into a callback. If you want the power cable hidden, you want an electrician doing it.
Getting a power point behind the TV
Most people mounting a TV also want the powerpoint moved up behind it so nothing hangs down. That is electrical work and needs a licensed electrician. It is often worth doing at the same time as the mount, because the wall is already open and the installer is already there.
While the wall is open, it is also the cheapest time to add:
- A data point if you would rather run the TV on cable than wi-fi
- Extra HDMI conduit for a future soundbar, console or projector
- A second power outlet for a media box or amplifier
Doing it later means opening the wall again.
Choosing the bracket
Fixed flat mount. Sits the TV closest to the wall, usually 20mm to 40mm off it. Looks the best. Hardest to reach behind once mounted, so plug everything in first.
Tilting mount. Small amount of downward tilt. Useful if the TV sits high, such as above a fireplace or in a bedroom where you view it from the bed.
Full motion / swing arm. Pulls out and swivels. Good for corner installs, kitchens, or a room where you watch from two places. Sits further off the wall and needs a stronger fixing because the leverage on the bracket is much higher when it is extended.
Check the VESA pattern on the back of your TV, which is the spacing of the four mounting holes in millimetres. Common sizes are 200×200, 400×400 and 600×400. Also check the bracket’s weight rating against your TV’s actual weight, which is on the box or in the manual.
Mounting height
The usual advice is centre of screen at seated eye level, which for most lounges is around 1000mm to 1200mm from the floor to the centre of the screen. In practice, sit on your own couch and hold your hand where you want the middle of the picture. That is more useful than a rule.
Above a fireplace looks great in photos and is uncomfortable to watch for two hours. If it has to go there, use a tilting or pull down mount and check what heat the fire actually throws.
What changes the price
We will not quote a figure here without seeing the job, but these are the things that move it:
- Wall type: brick and steel stud take longer than timber stud
- Whether you want cables concealed inside the wall
- Whether a new power point is needed behind the TV
- TV size and weight, and whether it needs two people to lift
- Bracket type, and whether you are supplying it or the installer is
- Height and access, including whether furniture has to be moved
- Extras like a soundbar mount, aerial point or data point
A quote given over the phone based on a description is usually a range. A firm price normally comes once someone has seen the wall or you have sent a photo of it, including the area around and below where the TV is going.
Questions worth asking before you book
- Are you a licensed electrician, or a handyman? It matters if any power work is involved.
- Will the power lead be concealed, and how?
- Do you supply the bracket, or should I buy one?
- Do you patch and make good if the wall needs cutting?
- Will you tune the TV and connect my devices, or is it mount only?
FAQ
Can I hide the power cable in the wall myself?
No. A standard TV power lead is not rated to be run inside a wall cavity, and doing it is not compliant. The compliant options are a new outlet behind the TV installed by a licensed electrician, or a purpose made in-wall power extension kit installed correctly. Both should be done by someone licensed.
My apartment has a concrete wall. Can it still be mounted?
Usually yes, with the right masonry anchors. The complications are body corporate rules, and the fact that you often cannot run cables inside a concrete wall, so surface conduit or a cable channel is the practical answer. Check your owners corporation rules before you book.
Do I need an aerial point behind the TV?
Only if you watch free to air through the TV’s own tuner. If everything you watch comes through streaming, a data point or good wi-fi is more useful. Adding an aerial point while the wall is open is cheap; adding it later is not.