TV wall mounting: getting the height right

Mounting the TV too high is comfortably the most common mistake we are called out to fix. It is an easy one to make — popping the screen up above the fireplace or near the ceiling looks tidy and keeps it out of the way. But sit down to actually watch, and within a few minutes you feel it: a sore neck from constantly looking up. When it comes to TV height, comfort beats neatness every time.

The simple eye-level rule

The rule that works for almost every lounge is this: the centre of the screen should sit roughly at eye level when you are seated. For most living rooms that puts the middle of the TV somewhere around 100 to 115 cm off the floor, depending on your couch height and the size of the screen.

Bedrooms are the exception. Since you are usually reclining or lying down to watch, a bedroom TV can go a touch higher and angle down slightly. A tilting bracket helps here, letting you aim the screen down towards the bed.

Above the fireplace? Read this first

Mounting above a fireplace is hugely popular, and it can look fantastic — but it is often higher than ideal for comfortable viewing, and the heat from a working fireplace is not kind to electronics. If you have your heart set on it, a pull-down or tilting bracket makes a big difference, bringing the screen down and angling it towards you when you are watching.

Wall type matters more than people think

Getting the height right is only half the job. The other half is making sure the TV stays on the wall for years, and that comes down to fixing it correctly for your wall type. Each one needs a different approach:

• Brick and concrete are the strongest, but need the right masonry anchors to bite properly.
• Plaster and drywall need fixings into the studs behind, or proper cavity anchors rated for the weight — never just the board.
• Face-brick looks great but needs careful drilling and the correct plugs to hold securely.

Getting this wrong is exactly how TVs end up on the floor. We always match the bracket and fixings to both your screen size and your wall, so a heavy set on a tricky wall is just as secure as a small one on solid brick. That is the core of our TV wall mounting service.

Do not forget the cables

A neatly mounted TV with cables dangling down the wall undoes all the tidiness. We conceal the cabling — either in discreet trunking or run through the wall — so you get that clean, floating look with nothing on show. It is a small detail that makes the whole job look professional rather than DIY.

It is also the ideal moment to tidy up everything else behind the screen. If you are mounting the TV, it is worth having the decoder connection, soundbar and any streaming devices sorted at the same time, so the whole wall is neat from day one rather than a tangle of cables added piece by piece.

Choosing the right bracket

Brackets are not all the same, and the right one depends on where the TV is going. A flat, fixed bracket sits the screen close to the wall and is perfect when you watch from straight on. A tilting bracket lets you angle the screen down a little — ideal for a set mounted slightly higher, in a bedroom, or above a fireplace. A full-motion arm swings the TV out and pivots it, which is brilliant for an open-plan space where you watch from both the lounge and the kitchen, or a corner mount. The trade-off is that the more a bracket moves, the more it costs and the more critical the wall fixing becomes. We help you pick the type that suits how your room is actually used, then size it correctly for the weight of your screen.

Plan the wall as a whole

Our advice is always to think of the wall as one job rather than just hanging a screen. Where will you sit? What is the right height for that couch? Where do the cables need to run, and is there power and a signal point in the right place? Sorting all of it together gives you a result that looks deliberate and works comfortably for years.

A clean wall mount is often the finishing touch on a full setup — our DStv installation team in St Helena Bay can handle the mount, decoder and cabling together.

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If you are setting up a holiday home or guest room, mounting the TV cleanly is part of getting the place guest-ready — there is more on that in our guide to getting a holiday home TV-ready. We mount TVs across St Helena Bay and the West Coast, on any wall, at the right height, with the cables hidden. Get in touch and we will get it level, secure and tidy.