Plasma

We are still going through all the fun that you encounter when you move -- forwarding mail, changing addresses, and setting up utilities. Yesterday, the satellite TV guy came, and hooked up our service. This is the first time we have had cable in about 4-5 years, so it's a bit of a change for us. The good part is that we will finally take full advantage of our HD plasma tv. We've had the tv for 3 years now, but--without cable--we were only pulling 5-7 of the local HD channels over-the-air. Now, thanks to DirecTv, we have 20+ channels in full HD goodness.

Since we have cable now, I thought it would be a good idea to try to mount our plasma to the wall. I had done this before in the urban highrise, but with the plaster walls at the country estate it was going to be a little more complex. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to mount a plasma tv, Joe-style.

Kendra and I already decided the TV was going in the corner of the living room by the pocket doors. There's a cable jack on that wall, so we are covered there. I even flexed my home improvement muscles and ran a new telephone wire up from the basement for the DirecTv service. There's no outlet there, but I am planning to add one into an existing cut-out. So far, so good.

Next, I used my new stud finder to find two studs. I'm attaching the wall mount directly to the studs with lag bolts, so I drilled four pilot holes, then attached the mount. Thankfully, it came out level.
Next, I took a utility knife and cut through the plaster to make two holes: one for the cords to go into the wall behind the tv, and one for the cords to come out of the wall and into our various components.

Then, I took a pocket saw and cut through the lath:

With my cable holes finished, I took two electrical boxes and cut out the backs using tin snips. I could have just ran the cables through the open holes, but I want to finish the holes out a bit, which ultimately proved to be my undoing. Here's one of the electrical boxes I used.

Mounting the box was tricky. One of my holes was cut perfectly -- I just slid the box in and it fit very snugly. It's not secured, but I don't think that's necessary right now. For the other one, though, the plaster crumbled a bit as I was cutting, so it didn't fit quite so snug. I had to rig it up using a toggle bolt I found in my toolbox. That keeps it in place, but it's got some play in it.

Next, I ran the cords through holes and electrical boxes:


And this, loyal readers, is where things went to hell. I went to install the switch plates I purchased at Menard's. I purchased oversized plates, thinking they would allow more room for the cords. But, come to find out, oversized plates do not fit standard electrical boxes. Shit. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of cords dangling from the walls, and my plasma tv sitting pathetically on its stand. There's no way I'm mounting this thing, only to have to take it down again to put regular-sized switch plates on.

Back to Menard's, I guess. I suppose I'll keep my TV on an entertainment stand for now, like some kind of barbarian.