Wall Mount TV Without Holes in Wall, Perfect for Apartment

Hello all! Today I am going to show you how to "wall mount" your TV without putting any holes in your walls. This is a great solution for anybody that is renting or who does not want to make wall repairs later on. I have used this method for years across 2 apartments and 2 TVs

I have successfully used this method for TVs up to 65" and 45 pounds, but I would recommend that to be the hard limit as it starts to become just a bit unstable there.

Supplies:

• 3 2x4s
• Section of 1/2" plywood or OBS (size dependant on TV)
• 20 1.5" wood screws
• 4 machine screws that match your TV

Optional:

• Speaker mounting screws

The first step is to create the wooden support. I do not have photos for this as I took these photos while switching to a new TV and I already had the mount.

When deciding on a size for your sheet of plywood you need to think of the stability and the location of connectors on your TV. For stability it is good to have the width to be at least 60% the width of your TV.

Picking the height is a little diffrent though. I went with having the bottom of the plywood being ~1/2" above where the bottom of the TV would be so it is hidden, but gives you a good idea of where the TV will sit and most TVs have the VESA mount either at the bottom or center of the TV itself.

You can now create the vertical supports. The height of these should be the height of the plywood sheet, less 3.5" for the top bar, plus the height you want the TV to be off the ground. So if you decided on 25" for the height of your plywood and you want your tv 45" off the ground your supports should be 25 + 45 - 3.5 or 66.5".

You can now create the horizontal support. In any case I would recommend that you use a support that is at least 75% the width of your TV to support the plywood and to prevent wobble of the TV. BUT there are two cases where you may want it wider.

1) If you want to mount speakers next to your TV, this is a great place to put them. This is what I did on my old setup. I made the support the width of the TV plus 3/4s the width of my speakers either side and just put some speaker mounting screws on them to hang the speakers

2) you may want to use these as emergency supports. In my new setup the TV started to get a bit tippy, so I put cabinets on either side that were just shorter than these supports. That way if the TV tried to tip it would catch on the cabinets and not fall.

Go ahead and use several screws to secure the 2x4s to the plywood. You should stagger the screws towards the inside, then outside, then inside edges of the 2x4s.

Next, we need to know where to put holes. I found that the best way to do this was to take a paper bag, unfold it, tape it to the TV, then mark out the mounting holes, and any connections that may need to be uncovered.

I then removed the paper and cut out all the holes.

Next step is to transfer the stencil. First you need to account for the 1/2" difference in spacing between the bottom of the TV and the bottom of the plywood. I just marked, then folded over the bottom edge of the stencil.

Then you need to attach the stencil to the plywood. I found using a normal paper stapler was the best way to do this. Remember that the side you wrote on should be facing the plywood. Otherwise you will end up with a mirror image of what you want.

Now you need to transfer the markings over. I found that some spray paint worked great to transfer everything over quickly.

Finally verify if anything will be in the way. Since I was modifying a design I already had I found that the 2x4 was going to be in the way of the rear cutout, however it was only going to cover the coax input that I did not really care about. So I moved forward.

Next you want to go ahead and cut everything out. A mixture of drilling corners and using a jigsaw or a hacksaw blade works great.

Once it is cut out go ahead and make sure everything lines up and fits. One of my mounting holes did not line up quite right so I just drilled it out a bit more. Also, as this was a modified design, my upper mounting holes were in the upper 2x4. I would not recommend this as its a bit of a pain to drill and find long screws, however this would provide a bit better support.

Next go ahead and mount your TV. You will need longer screws than with a wooden mount. First check to see how far the factory screws go into the tv, then get replacement screws that are that long, plus the thickness of the plywood. You should also use washers so the screws don't tear through the plywood.

Use a tape measure to measure from the bottom of the TV to the top of the mount on either side. As long as everything is square it should be the same on both sides when it is level.

Go ahead and tighten everything down!

Now it's time to lean it against a wall and see how it looks. This works best on carpet where you have a bit more grip, but is fine on hard surfaces.

BE CAREFUL HERE! You just made a lever as most of the weight (TV) is in front of the center of the system. You will need to place a heavy entertainment center or cabinet in front to prevent the TV from falling. When I took the second photo with the empty cabinet the TV actually started to fall and I had to catch it. 45 pounds is definitely the limit for this reason. Once I added some weight to the cabinet everything held fine.

You may also want to add some shims to the top of your entertainment center to push the stand against the wall a bit better.

Also here you can see where I added the extra shelves to catch the TV if it starts to fall. It might knock some stuff of the top of them, but it should catch the TV. I will say now that I have the bottom stand filled it shouldn't fall, this is a backup, just in case something happens.

Now you should be done! Enjoy your wall mounted TV AND your security deposit! This project should only cost about $25, witch is less than the cost of a TV mount, so you are ahead that way as well!