Mounting a TV in a garage or workshop

A TV in the garage is for the game while you work, the workout video, or the how-to you're following with greasy hands. The space is harder on a TV than the living room, but with a few adjustments it does fine.

Know your wall

Garages rarely have ordinary finished walls:

• Concrete block: common in Alabama garages and basements. Solid mounting with the right anchors — see concrete and block walls.
• Bare or drywalled wood studs: easy; you can often see exactly where the framing is.
• Fire-rated drywall on the house wall: thicker (⅝″) than normal, so use longer lag bolts. Seal any cable holes in this wall with fire-rated caulk; don't cut big openings in it.
• Metal buildings and pole barns: the sheet-metal skin holds nothing. Mount to the wood or steel framing (girts and posts), or add a plywood backer across them.

Height and angle

You'll be standing, sitting on a stool, lying on a creeper or on a treadmill. Mount higher than indoors — centre around 60 to 70 inches — and use a tilt or full-motion mount so the screen can point where you are. An arm also lets you swing the TV out of the way of a ladder or a car door.

Dust

Sawdust and grinding dust get pulled into a TV's vents and stay there. Keep the TV away from the saw and the bench grinder, blow the vents out with low-pressure air now and then, and cover it during messy jobs.

Heat, cold and humidity

Most TVs are specified to operate up to roughly 95–104°F. A closed garage in an Alabama July goes past that. If the space isn't air-conditioned:

• mount on an interior (house-side) wall, away from the garage door and direct sun,
• don't run the TV for hours on the hottest afternoons,
• expect a shorter life than an indoor set, and choose an inexpensive TV accordingly.

Big temperature swings can also cause condensation; let a very cold TV warm up before switching it on.

Power and signal

Garage outlets are GFCI-protected and often low on the wall. A cord cover or surface conduit up to the TV is the usual answer. Wi-Fi is often weak in garages — a wired connection or a mesh node makes streaming far more reliable.

Security

A TV visible from the street with the door open is a temptation. Position it on a side wall, not facing the driveway.

Block walls add $40 to labor; stud walls are standard price from $94.