How to Mount & Connect a Television Above a Fireplace
- 1). Hold the flat screen wall mount against the wall, above the fireplace. Make a dot on the wall through the topmost holes in the left and right brackets of the mount, using a pencil.
- 2). Rotate the flat screen TV so the back is facing you. Place the mount against the TV so the mounting holes in the mount line up with the mounting holes in the TV's back; in those cases where there are grooves on the back panel of the TV, slide the mounting plate into the grooves first.
- 3). Screw metal screws through the holes in the mounting plate that lined up with the mounting holes in the TV, using a Phillips screwdriver. Tighten the screws until the resistance is too great to continue. Insert one end of an HDMI cable into an HDMI output socket on the back panel of the TV.
- 4). Place an electronic stud finder against one of the dots on the wall. Press the stud finder against the wall as you drag it to the right. Stop dragging the stud finder when it beeps. Make another dot at this mark, using the pencil. Repeat this entire procedure at the other dot on the wall that you made earlier.
- 5). Have an assistant help you to hold the TV on the wall, over the fireplace. Line up the topmost holes in the brackets with the new dots you made in Step 4. Screw wood screws through the holes in the bracket and into the wall, using a Phillips screwdriver. Screw wood screws through the other holes in each bracket, using the screwdriver.
- 6). Run the HDMI cable and the power cord out from behind the TV's right side. Run the two to the edge of the fireplace and then down the wall. Affix the cable and power cord in position temporarily with strips of duct tape.
- 7). Place an A/V rack against the wall, next to the HDMI cable and power cord. Plug the power cord into an AC outlet for power. Place a Blu-ray or DVD player on the A/V rack, and plug its power cord into the AC outlet. Plug the free end of the HDMI cable into the HDMI output on the back of the Blu-ray or DVD player.
- 8). Remove the duct tape, and either staple the HDMI cable and power cord in position with a staple gun, or cover them with a cable cover plate that you will then screw into the wall with wood screws, using the Phillips screwdriver. You can now place additional A/V components on the rack as desired.
