My wife and I recently moved into the top floor of an old Toronto home.
This is our fifth place in six years—a whirlwind six years!—and one of the only constants from home to home (other than each other) is our Sharp TV. We’ve downsized and gotten rid of stuff during every move, but this TV keeps on ticking. It’s an older model, so it has a little extra girth compared to newer Smart TVs. But it works and that means there isn’t another expenditure we need to think about.
We love our new place and plan to be here for a while, though. It overlooks the water, is a 3-minute walk to the streetcar and a 8-minute drive to the subway, and it is in striking distance to a ton of shops and major highways. We’re pretty stoked to be here.
The one downfall, however, is that it’s an old home that hasn’t been updated. That means the space is chopped up, lacking that free-flowing open space layout that modern homes have. 
Take a look at our living room. It’s long and narrow. In fact, there’s about 10 feet behind where this photo was taken. This awkward space meant we weren’t able to properly fit our TV stand and newly purchased sectional in here.
So we ditched our TV to the second bedroom while we figured out how we were going to decorate and layout each room. Night after night of watching our latest show-of-the-month on our laptop, we decided we had to mount the TV to save space and to ensure we didn’t get at each other’s throats each time we needed to readjust the laptop.
But, being someone who has silky smooth hands—something that’s pointed out to me more times than I ever thought could be possible—I had no clue on where to begin. Enter the all-powerful Geek Squad.
Agent Elliot Cohen, field engineer with Geek Squad, came to my rescue with answers to all of my questions. “The first thing to consider is the location of the TV in the room being used,” he says. “If the décor doesn’t allow for furniture stands (including Hybrid stands) then mounting the TV is the only other option.”
After he heard about my situation it was clear that mounting my TV was ideal. But, he said I also have to consider where I planned to mount the TV.
TV Mounting Guide: Where do you plan to mount your TV?
- “In older homes where plaster and lathe is used to make up a wall, mounting is not recommended as the wall will not support the weight of the TV.” Yikes! This is my scenario. Not good.
- “In case of high rise condo’s where thin metal studs are used to hold up drywall, full motion mounts are not recommended unless the wall has been well braced.”
- “Where fireplaces are involved: if large uneven stone is used, it presents a very challenging installation to keep the mount square and level.”
- “Where studs are unevenly spaced, toggle bolts or anchors may be needed, to distribute the weight and secure the mount and TV to the drywall. This is where we measure and probe the mounting area three to four times in order to drill the right hole once.”
But, these are all recommendations based on Agent Cohen not seeing a particular space. That’s why he highly recommends a free in-home survey by the Geek Squad so they can assess what they can and cannot do.
He said there was only a chance that mounting wouldn’t work in my space, but an in-home survey would help them determine it with greater certainty.
I took his advice and called the Geek Squad for the free in-home survey.
Part 2 of this TV Mounting Guide will continue next week. Check back to find out exactly what the Geek Squad does during their free in-home survey and if I’ll be able to find a solution to this first-world problem!
Cover image courtesy of Javamazon.
 TV Mounting Guide Part 2: getting a professional estimate |
 TV Mounting Guide Part 3: The Installation |
 TV Mounting Guide Part 4: The Conclusion |
