These are the chapters readers open most. Each one covers a complete sub-job — finding the studs, picking a bracket, drilling, levelling, tidying — with the tools list at the top and a sign-off checklist at the bottom. Free, ad-free, affiliate-free.
Six bubbles — one per chapter. Each card shows skill level, reading time, and what the chapter covers. Want to read one for your wall? Pick the closest match and start there.
Stud-finding (the magnet trick and the tap test), drilling pilot holes, levelling twice with a spirit level, tidying cables down behind a console. Covers drywall and masonry, with a small section on the half-and-half walls older houses tend to have.
Pull-down brackets explained, surface temperatures you can measure with a £15 IR thermometer, heat shielding, and the honest truth about hot gas fires. Includes a "when to walk away" callout halfway through.
For kitchens, bedrooms, and corner sofas where the line of sight doesn't match the studs. Bracket selection, weight ratings, span tables, range testing, and the moment your stud-finder lies to you.
Pulling a screen off one wall and getting it back up cleanly somewhere else. Patching old holes ready for paint, transporting the screen safely, and the order to undo and redo things in. Two-page checklist included.
In-wall HDMI kits explained, the code-compliant way to move an outlet, and the moment you should stop and call an electrician instead (clearly marked). Two diagrams, three photos, one warning box you should actually read.
Soundbar bracketed neatly under (or over) the telly, audio cable routed through the same channel. HDMI ARC vs eARC explained in plain English. Works for Sonos, Bose, Samsung, or that no-name one from a sale.
Every chapter is tagged with a skill level. Most readers start in the middle tier — that's where the bulk of living-room jobs sit. If you've never drilled into a wall, start at Beginner; if you're confident with code, the Pro tier is for you.
Standard wall, drywall or masonry, telly under 65". The chapters that walk you through stud-finding for the first time, with extra photos and a glossary footnote on every page.
Bigger screens, fireplaces, swing arms, the soundbar add-on. The middle ground most living-room jobs land in. Assumes you can find a stud unaided and have done at least one wall before.
In-wall HDMI on masonry, custom heat shielding, the proper way to span a steel bar across joists when the stud spacing's wrong. The chapters most setup guides skip because they're hard to write.
All chapters are free. Skill tiers are just a label so you don't open Chapter 03 (hidden cables) before Chapter 01 (standard wall) and get lost. If you're unsure where to start, drop us a line — we'll point you at the right one.
Every chapter is laid out the same way, so once you've read one, the rest are easier to scan. Same skeleton, different walls.
First page of every chapter. Bracket spec, fixings, drill bit sizes, tools you'll need. No buy-buttons — just the spec, so you can pick up whatever brand the local shop carries.
The step-by-step, with photos every couple of paragraphs. Numbered steps in the order you'd actually do them — not "consider doing X then Y or Z depending on context".
A short list of "if you see this, stop and re-check" boxes. Wet plaster, sparks from the stud, a bracket that won't sit flush. The off-ramps, written explicitly.
A tear-off, printable checklist on the last page. Mark studs, drill pilots, level twice, tighten in sequence, hand-test. Tick as you go — that's how you know the job's done.
The ones that come up most often in the comments, answered in the same plain tone the chapters use. If yours isn't here, just ask — same inbox, real reply.
Aim for the centre of the screen at eye height when seated. For a standard sofa (~ 18" seat height) and a person of average build, that lands roughly 42" from the floor to screen-centre. Bigger screens shift slightly — Chapter 01 has the full table by screen size and sofa height.
The exception is a TV over a fireplace, which most people end up with mounted too high. Chapter 02 talks about why, and what to do about it (short answer: pull-down bracket).
If the wall is drywall, yes — for a screen above ~ 40" it's not optional. Cheap stud finders are fine; we use a £20 one. Chapter 01 explains the magnet-on-a-string fallback if you're between stud-finders, and the knock test for confirming what the finder told you.
Depends on the chapter, but every chapter has a spec section: VESA pattern, horizontal span, weight rating, and fixings type. Buy from wherever you like. We don't link to specific brackets because the right one depends on your screen and your wall — and the brackets we'd have recommended five years ago aren't all still in production.
Tom's specialism. There's a dedicated chapter (in the Pro tier) covering pre-1940s lath behind plaster, picture rails hiding studs, and the steel-spanning bar trick for joists that don't line up. The takeaway: the install is the same job, but you take twice as long and you absolutely don't skip the bar.
On drywall: signal cables (HDMI) yes, power outlet relocation no. Chapter 03 explains the code-compliant in-wall HDMI kit (around £20) and exactly where the "now stop and call a sparky" line is. On masonry the answer is different — chapter has a dedicated section.
Short rule: if it's power, it's an electrician. If it's signal, you can probably do it yourself with the kit.
Yep, free. No catch, no email wall, no premium tier. We don't take sponsorships from bracket manufacturers and we don't run affiliate links — so we don't make a penny when you buy a bracket. The guide stays free because that's the only way to keep the advice honest.
Drop a line — same inbox the chapters get written from. If we can answer in a paragraph, we'll write back. If your question keeps coming up, it ends up as the next chapter. That's literally how the guide grew.
Eight minutes, one cup of coffee, and you'll know exactly what bracket to buy, where the studs are, and what order to do everything in. If you get stuck partway through, the comments are open — we'll answer.