DIY or professional TV mounting?
We mount TVs for a living, so take this with that in mind — but plenty of people can and should do it themselves. The honest dividing line isn't skill so much as the wall, the size of the TV and how you want the wires to look.
When DIY makes sense
- Drywall over wood studs, in a spot with studs roughly where you need them.
- A TV up to about 55–65 inches that two people can lift comfortably.
- A fixed or tilt bracket.
- Cables left visible, or run in a cord cover.
- You own or can borrow the tools and have a helper.
That describes a lot of bedrooms and apartments. Budget a couple of unhurried hours.
What you need
- Drill/driver, drill bits, socket or wrench for the lag bolts
- Stud finder, plus a magnet or thin nail to confirm
- A proper level (2 feet or longer)
- Tape measure, pencil, painter's tape
- A second person
The step most often skipped is confirming the stud before drilling the full-size hole. See how to find studs.
Where DIY goes wrong
- Missing the stud, or catching just its edge. The bolt feels tight, then loosens.
- Drywall anchors used where a stud should be — fine until it isn't. See can anchors hold a TV.
- Too high. The most common regret, and it means a second set of holes. See how high to mount.
- Not level, or level but off-centre.
- Hitting a wire or pipe. Rare and expensive. See what's behind your wall.
- A power cord pushed inside the wall — a code and fire problem.
- Dropping the TV during the lift. Screens crack from surprisingly small knocks.
When a professional is worth it
- Brick, stone, concrete, tile — different tools and anchors, and mistakes are permanent.
- Metal studs or plaster.
- Over a fireplace — heat, height and unknown framing.
- Large screens, 75 inches and up — heavy, awkward and costly to drop.
- Full-motion mounts on anything big.
- In-wall wire concealment.
- You don't have the tools, the helper or the afternoon.
What you're paying for
- The right fasteners for any wall, on the truck.
- Experience reading walls — the difference between a stud, a seam and a pipe.
- Speed: most standard installs take about an hour.
- Someone else carrying the risk of the lift.
- A guarantee on the work.
Cost comparison
DIY: the bracket, plus tools if you don't own them, and your time. Professional: with us, labor from $94 to $184 depending on screen size, with the bracket and any wall or wire options priced separately. The full breakdown is in what TV mounting costs in Auburn.
A middle path
Do the parts you're confident in. Some customers buy and assemble their own bracket and have us do the wall; choose "I have one" for the bracket and you pay labor only.
A simple test
If you can say with confidence where the studs are, what's inside that wall, and how high the centre of the screen should be — DIY. If any of those is a guess, that's the part worth paying for.