# Uninstalling and Reinstalling Huge TV's



## brvpaint (Jan 5, 2021)

I have a client who has several huge flat-screen tv's around her home. She's having a hard time finding someone to uninstall and reinstall them for her. She knew someone who she thought could take care of it but he's moved so now she's hesitating on accepting my bid because getting someone to come out just for the tv's is expensive. Should I offer to take care of it for her?

Do you guys offer to do this kind of thing? Those tv's are probably 1500 each. And then the liability if, god forbid, it falls off the wall in a few months... Should I just let her handle it?


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

brvpaint said:


> I have a client who has several huge flat-screen tv's around her home. She's having a hard time finding someone to uninstall and reinstall them for her. She knew someone who she thought could take care of it but he's moved so now she's hesitating on accepting my bid because getting someone to come out just for the tv's is expensive. Should I offer to take care of it for her?
> 
> Do you guys offer to do this kind of thing? Those tv's are probably 1500 each. And then the liability if, god forbid, it falls off the wall in a few months... Should I just let her handle it?


Yes, I would do it if I felt like helping, had the time, and it was worth my time.
For established customers I am willing to help whenever possible with things like that, or I would put them in contact with someone who can. Maybe even make the connection for them.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

I've done 3 wall mounts in my own house and two for friends. As long as you're drilling into studs and using lag bolts you should be fine. Where TV wall mount setups get tricky is with steel studs (no blocking/racking strength for a TV wall mount) if you have studs other than about 16" spacing (most mounts are for 16") or if you have masonry or plaster walls. Masonry you rely on anchors, of which the included ones may be of questionable strength. Plaster and lath can be tricky, as finding studs is hard and you're breaking plaster/etc. Personally I'd do it if it was normal drywall walls with 16" studs. If you're keeping the mounts up and cutting around them, then it takes less knowledge, though.

You ideally want a second person to help you both with removal and reinstallation of the actual TV, reinstallation especially, as you'd want to have someone else hold/balance the TV while you screw it into the other part of the mount. One thing to be careful of with modern TVs is they have very skinny bezels, I bought a TV to part out where the prior owner broke the screen as he gripped it too hard when mounting it on the wall. So try to use only enough grip and don't grip them too firmly now. Put them down gently, too, and try to store them on top and around blankets of some sort, too, in a place where they can't move. Sudden jolts when moving them _could_ cause ribbon cables to unseat inside, etc, so just be smooth/etc.

It's up to your discretion and comfort level. It's harder to do experiments in customer's houses on the spot, it's much better next time a friend needs one done to do it for some beer and pizza where the consequences aren't as high, then you have the knowledge to make a decision on whether to do it in a paying customer's house.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Concerning the liability, check with your insurance company to see if doing what you are considering would be in the scope of your coverage. If you have to take them down to paint, it might be. If you just doing this as a side gig, most likely not.
If you _are_ unhooking them, take a bunch of pictures of how everything is connected (which cables go where) so you can easily reconnect everything back up again.
I’ve wall mounted a few of the big screens with the pivoting brackets and mounting the brackets is the toughest part. Of course the TVs are light but they are way too awkward to manage alone so, as was already mentioned, have some help available.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

If they are on a swing arm, you can usually just tape it up. If it's not, just take a picture of where all the connectors go. Most of those tv's just lift off the holder easily, with 2 people of course. We do it all the time. No need to actually remove the wall bracket..


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

finishesbykevyn said:


> If they are on a swing arm, you can usually just tape it up. If it's not, just take a picture of where all the connectors go. Most of those tv's just lift off the holder easily, with 2 people of course. We do it all the time. No need to actually remove the wall bracket..


Yep I remove them all the time, no biggie. I'm not touching the brackets though. If they feel the overwhelming desire to have paint behind the brackets they have to remove and reinstall themselves. 99% of people don't care but there's always that one weirdo who likes things painted even if it's never visible and serves no purpose.


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## Masterwork (Sep 13, 2020)

Lol I had a lady ask me to remove some vanity lights in her bathroom to paint behind them. I told her I'm not an electrician and she whined that the last painter she called did it for her. I told her to call him again next time.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

I had a GC’s AV guy install a massive bracket mounted TV on a master bed wall with custom mahogany pocket doors right and left of the TV. I’ll leave it up to you to guess what happened when I tried pulling the doors shut later that day, although they wouldn’t budge when tugging on the latches.

Edit: Yup, the AV contractor drove the mounting lag screws right through the pocket doors, both being replaced.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Yep I remove them all the time, no biggie. I'm not touching the brackets though. If they feel the overwhelming desire to have paint behind the brackets they have to remove and reinstall themselves. 99% of people don't care but there's always that one weirdo who likes things painted even if it's never visible and serves no purpose.


HEY! I have painted behind the brackets! Oh... point made I guess.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

If TV's are staying, paint close to the bracket. If brackets are moved, keep in mind that Tv's are not that heavy, and mounting brackets are designed for overkill for weight. Most huge mirrors and paintings weigh more than TV's and they are often secured by just a couple nails. A single lagbolt in a stud is more than enough to handle most TVs, but the bracket usually has four of them in studs. that'll damn near hold a car. Check your insurance for sure, but dont overthink it.

Noones gonna see close to the bracket on a wall, so noone should ask it to be removed just for painting purposes. You can always use the liability excuse if the want it taken down though. 

Lights, on the other hand I believe should be taken down and reinstalled, unless they are crazy expensive/look like they can break. Now that I do wallpaper, if I see lights in the pictures that look breakable, or something, I tell them its on them to get them taken down and reinstalled, but normal lights, I do myself.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

RH said:


> HEY! I have painted behind the brackets! Oh... point made I guess.


It depends on the plan for the room later on. If you don't paint behind the bracket you have a 16" touch up in the middle of the wall that looks pretty blatant if the bracket ever comes down. If you paint behind it, you have the holes to fill, but touchup is more reasonable.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Here’s a good one..I had one of my clients hire another company to refinish some cabinets and the owner’s rep sent me the following pic....the painters never removed the TV and skipped the 3 panels altogether!










Edit: Actually found a before pic..


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Redux said:


> Here’s a good one..I had one of my clients hire another company to refinish some cabinets and the owner’s rep sent me the following pic....the painters never removed the TV and skipped the 3 panels altogether!
> 
> View attachment 111212


Ironically, it looks pretty good. lol


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

celicaxx said:


> It depends on the plan for the room later on. If you don't paint behind the bracket you have a 16" touch up in the middle of the wall that looks pretty blatant if the bracket ever comes down. If you paint behind it, you have the holes to fill, but touchup is more reasonable.


 Oh c'mon. What someone is going to do 3,4,5 years down the road is not your problem. They will most likely be repainting anyhow. That's just silly talk.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Redux said:


> Here’s a good one..I had one of my clients hire another company to refinish some cabinets and the owner’s rep sent me the following pic....the painters never removed the TV and skipped the 3 panels altogether!
> 
> View attachment 111212


That's funny!


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Most of the time we usually bag the whole TV in plastic, carefully tape off the brackets, and paint around them. 
(*happy to come back and touch-up if they move the bracket)


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Holland said:


> Most of the time we usually bag the whole TV in plastic, carefully tape off the brackets, and paint around them.
> (*happy to come back and touch-up if they move the bracket)


I've done this and it's usually fine. But you can really only do it with a full motion mount, which are more common nowadays. With the older flat to the wall mounts, you have less space and can't move the TV out to get around it. Most people are switching to full motion now, though, as the price of the mounts has come down tremendously (I have three $42 with coupon Harbor Freight mounts in my house.) 

Also with full motion mounts, it becomes more important to make sure you do a good job with actually finding the studs if you are mounting them. Reason is, the farther away from the wall, the more the moment arm puts forces on the wall vs mounting it flush against the wall. Also newer TVs generally are really light, but older TVs are way heavier. Some of the old plasmas are almost 200lbs. I mounted a 65" 2011 or so Samsung that weighed about 80lbs on my mom's wall recently. 

A small hobby of mine is finding old TVs with issues for free/cheap that still have a good panel and replacing boards or backlights to fix them. Currently I have 4 TVs over 50" in my house I've fixed up this way. Kinda unrelated to the discussion, or a weird flex on my end, but hey.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

celicaxx said:


> I've done this and it's usually fine. But you can really only do it with a full motion mount, which are more common nowadays. With the older flat to the wall mounts, you have less space and can't move the TV out to get around it. Most people are switching to full motion now, though, as the price of the mounts has come down tremendously (I have three $42 with coupon Harbor Freight mounts in my house.)
> 
> Also with full motion mounts, it becomes more important to make sure you do a good job with actually finding the studs if you are mounting them. Reason is, the farther away from the wall, the more the moment arm puts forces on the wall vs mounting it flush against the wall. Also newer TVs generally are really light, but older TVs are way heavier. Some of the old plasmas are almost 200lbs. I mounted a 65" 2011 or so Samsung that weighed about 80lbs on my mom's wall recently.
> 
> A small hobby of mine is finding old TVs with issues for free/cheap that still have a good panel and replacing boards or backlights to fix them. Currently I have 4 TVs over 50" in my house I've fixed up this way. Kinda unrelated to the discussion, or a weird flex on my end, but hey.


Yes, the close mount ones can present a challenge, haven't run into one of those for a while.
Speaking of locating the studs - have you tried the Franklin ProSensor?

Cool that you are into replacing boards and backlights - probably no shortage of TV's around.
I like installing sound systems - nothing too special, but every car i have owned for the past 15+ years has an upgraded sound system , as well as my shop and my house (shooting for crystal clear sound with balanced mids, highs, and lows). Fun hobby, and appreciate it when I spend time there.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Holland said:


> Yes, the close mount ones can present a challenge, haven't run into one of those for a while.
> Speaking of locating the studs - have you tried the Franklin ProSensor?
> 
> Cool that you are into replacing boards and backlights - probably no shortage of TV's around.
> I like installing sound systems - nothing too special, but every car i have owned for the past 15+ years has an upgraded sound system , as well as my shop and my house (shooting for crystal clear sound with balanced mids, highs, and lows). Fun hobby, and appreciate it when I spend time there.


I used to use a stud finder, but over the years now I get a powerful half inch or so neodymium magnet, and find the nails in rows, mark them off until I find what consistently looks like a stud, and that's all. 

My cars have all but one had an aftermarket head unit at some point in their life, and about half I've upgraded the speakers, too. At home I have nice audio stuff, too. Mostly 90s "BPC" gear but there's a lot of overlooked gems of that era. Everyone wants the silver and wood stuff and I can't blame them, but for value for money something like a Pioneer VSX-D1S is about $300 and 180WPC, whereas to get a 180WPC silver faced receiver it's way over $1000 now at the very low end, and more like $2000.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

celicaxx said:


> I used to use a stud finder, but over the years now I get a powerful half inch or so neodymium magnet, and find the nails in rows, mark them off until I find what consistently looks like a stud, and that's all.
> 
> My cars have all but one had an aftermarket head unit at some point in their life, and about half I've upgraded the speakers, too. At home I have nice audio stuff, too. Mostly 90s "BPC" gear but there's a lot of overlooked gems of that era. Everyone wants the silver and wood stuff and I can't blame them, but for value for money something like a Pioneer VSX-D1S is about $300 and 180WPC, whereas to get a 180WPC silver faced receiver it's way over $1000 now at the very low end, and more like $2000.


I’m kind of late to the audio party, and have a lot to learn- a lot I don’t know.
I would think 180 watts/channel would power anything you throw at it!

Bluetooth connectivity was important to me, because I listen to Spotify most of the time...so I have a modern receiver HK3770, powering Polk rc80i in-ceiling speakers in my shop. It’s not ‘great’ sound, but it’s not bad, and nothing sitting on the floor. If I was a little more tech savvy, there are many gems sitting on Craigslist and eBay right now. If a person knew how to fix speaker cones and foam, they could pick up some high-end wood cabinet speakers for a song.

My current vehicle has a new head unit (Pioneer AVIC) but because it’s one of those proprietary speakers/amp systems, I didn’t touch the speakers.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Holland said:


> I’m kind of late to the audio party, and have a lot to learn- a lot I don’t know.
> I would think 180 watts/channel would power anything you throw at it!
> 
> Bluetooth connectivity was important to me, because I listen to Spotify most of the time...so I have a modern receiver HK3770, powering Polk rc80i in-ceiling speakers in my shop. It’s not ‘great’ sound, but it’s not bad, and nothing sitting on the floor. If I was a little more tech savvy, there are many gems sitting on Craigslist and eBay right now.
> ...


They sell bluetooth to 3.5mm or RCA adapters of varying quality for $10-20. You could use any receiver in the world that way with bluetooth. At home I mostly use desktop PCs connected via a 3.5mm headphone to RCA cable for my music. I make sure all of my phones still have a headphone jack, too. I have a couple of pairs of bluetooth headphones, but I still use my wired ones more often. I find bluetooth headphones really only useful if you're exercising.

My current main receiver is a 100WPC Nakamichi from the late 90s. I have a 60WPC Yamaha downstairs, and I gave my mother a 1980s Pioneer 80WPC receiver, and my sister a 1990s Panasonic 70WPC receiver. My father has an early 90s JVC 90WPC receiver. I have a silver faced Hitachi receiver from the late 70s, and most 70s receivers were underrated, I think it and my 100WPC Nakamichi which is also considered underrated are about equivalent in power and lack of distortion at high volumes. I have Realistic 3 way speakers I redid the surrounds on at a total cost of $15+8 for the speakers, and upstairs with my Nakamichi I have a set of 1970s Pioneer towers I put new crossovers in from China I got on ebay, plus a Sony 100W (supposedly) subwoofer. I have more, but you might get the jist. None I really paid more than a few dollars for. 

Thankfully or unthankfully, I've been lucky on all my vehicles to not have too proprietary of a setup or a factory amp, just pretty basic straight forward DIN installs. I'm running pretty old head units, though. In one vehicle I have a Jensen HD Radio single DIN head unit from 2008-2009, and it's been in 4 cars now, another I have a Clarion HD Radio head unit of similar functionality, but unfortunately it's buggy and USB only barely works. Neither have bluetooth, both have aux in.

I'm still old and Boomer enough that I burn mp3 CDs for it, because why not? I never really got into podcasts or streaming platforms, I tend to still listen to whole albums or my own mixes. The closest thing I really get to there is di.fm/RadioTunes and other online radio, which has been around forever now. I first started listening to them in about 2002/2003 (I remember amazing myself with listening to a Japanese FM station in 2000 with AOL) and I can't change from the online radio format now, and never saw the big deal with Spotify/etc when online radio existed. 

This is all kind of Boomer of me despite not even being 30 yet, I insist on wires and using old stuff with cobbled wires, but hey. I also use desktop PCs with my TVs as a big monitor instead of buying a "Smart TV" though on one TV I have a Chinese Android box that gives me smart TV functionality for $30.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

celicaxx said:


> They sell bluetooth to 3.5mm or RCA adapters of varying quality for $10-20. You could use any receiver in the world that way with bluetooth. At home I mostly use desktop PCs connected via a 3.5mm headphone to RCA cable for my music. I make sure all of my phones still have a headphone jack, too. I have a couple of pairs of bluetooth headphones, but I still use my wired ones more often. I find bluetooth headphones really only useful if you're exercising.
> 
> My current main receiver is a 100WPC Nakamichi from the late 90s. I have a 60WPC Yamaha downstairs, and I gave my mother a 1980s Pioneer 80WPC receiver, and my sister a 1990s Panasonic 70WPC receiver. My father has an early 90s JVC 90WPC receiver. I have a silver faced Hitachi receiver from the late 70s, and most 70s receivers were underrated, I think it and my 100WPC Nakamichi which is also considered underrated are about equivalent in power and lack of distortion at high volumes. I have Realistic 3 way speakers I redid the surrounds on at a total cost of $15+8 for the speakers, and upstairs with my Nakamichi I have a set of 1970s Pioneer towers I put new crossovers in from China I got on ebay, plus a Sony 100W (supposedly) subwoofer. I have more, but you might get the jist. None I really paid more than a few dollars for.
> 
> ...


Respect.

(But seriously need to rethink your position on cd’s! Lol!)


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Unless you're a union outfit that allows employees to exercise their rights to file a "working out of class" grievance per their contractual MOU agreement (Memorandum of Understanding), then Hell yes! Get your sorry ass up on that ladder and remove that eighty seven pound/seventy five inch Sony Bravia TV monitor and be thankful you were blessed for providing the service. Jeez!


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

celicaxx said:


> They sell bluetooth to 3.5mm or RCA adapters of varying quality for $10-20. You could use any receiver in the world that way with bluetooth. At home I mostly use desktop PCs connected via a 3.5mm headphone to RCA cable for my music. I make sure all of my phones still have a headphone jack, too. I have a couple of pairs of bluetooth headphones, but I still use my wired ones more often. I find bluetooth headphones really only useful if you're exercising.
> 
> My current main receiver is a 100WPC Nakamichi from the late 90s. I have a 60WPC Yamaha downstairs, and I gave my mother a 1980s Pioneer 80WPC receiver, and my sister a 1990s Panasonic 70WPC receiver. My father has an early 90s JVC 90WPC receiver. I have a silver faced Hitachi receiver from the late 70s, and most 70s receivers were underrated, I think it and my 100WPC Nakamichi which is also considered underrated are about equivalent in power and lack of distortion at high volumes. I have Realistic 3 way speakers I redid the surrounds on at a total cost of $15+8 for the speakers, and upstairs with my Nakamichi I have a set of 1970s Pioneer towers I put new crossovers in from China I got on ebay, plus a Sony 100W (supposedly) subwoofer. I have more, but you might get the jist. None I really paid more than a few dollars for.
> 
> ...


Unless you've owned a Confunction's 8 track tape, and!, played it at a drive in theater with a car load of young adults drinking rum and coke, you're no where near being a "Boomer".


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## Heywood (May 28, 2020)

CApainter said:


> Unless you've owned a Confunction's 8 track tape, and!, played it at a drive in theater with a car load of young adults drinking rum and coke, you're no where near being a "Boomer".


Oh yes, drive ins and liquor. I have a lot of memories and a lot of things I don't remember.


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## John L. Dejesus (Dec 12, 2020)

Woodco said:


> If TV's are staying, paint close to the bracket. If brackets are moved, keep in mind that Tv's are not that heavy, and mounting brackets are designed for overkill for weight. Most huge mirrors and paintings weigh more than TV's and they are often secured by just a couple nails. A single lagbolt in a stud is more than enough to handle most TVs, but the bracket usually has four of them in studs. that'll damn near hold a car. Check your insurance for sure, but dont overthink it.
> 
> Noones gonna see close to the bracket on a wall, so noone should ask it to be removed just for painting purposes. You can always use the liability excuse if the want it taken down though.
> 
> Lights, on the other hand I believe should be taken down and reinstalled, unless they are crazy expensive/look like they can break. Now that I do wallpaper, if I see lights in the pictures that look breakable, or something, I tell them its on them to get them taken down and reinstalled, but normal lights, I do myself. Which speaker is good for TV? https://www.walkermcguire.com/best-tv-speakers-under-200/


So, if they want to be crazy or need it done RIGHT THEN, its on them to take it down and reinstall it. Well, a custom upholstery chair or pew could get the TV out, and is possible to add light plates to pews (or knock it out a bit if need be) to keep the light away from the TV. But really most TVs are so heavy that I usually dont want them being hanging. They arent as good for hanging as painting, though that's always a good choice. To be really safe, usually the simple rule of thumb is don't take them down/move them around, but always check your insurance and do things in the most secure)


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## Tapwater (Aug 24, 2015)

Recently, while repainting an office, we had the mounting bracket come straight out of the wall with the tv still attached. You’d think that a construction company would know not to use drywall anchors to hang a 48” tv. Suffice to say- there’s no telling how anything’s hung unless you’ve done it or the former happens


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