Downtown Loft TV Mounting in Santa Ana

Brick, concrete and the scan before the drill

Brick and concrete need masonry anchors, and the installer checks for wiring, pipes and conduit before drilling. A scanner or a probe shows what runs behind the surface; a hammer drill with a carbide bit makes each hole, and the anchor goes into solid material and not into a joint.

What the numbers show

1. 1Poured concrete Solid material that takes wedge anchors once the hole is clean.
2. 3Steel reinforcing bar A bar inside the wall that a drill must not hit.
3. 4Hidden conduit Pipes or wiring can sit inside the wall; the scan marks them so the wedge anchors go into solid concrete clear of them.
4. 5Dust shroud A shroud and vacuum at the bit keep dust off the floor and the lungs.

Tall walls and the tilt that follows

Lofts have ceilings of ten feet and more, which pulls the eye line far below the center of a feature wall. A tilting mount lets the screen sit higher on the wall while it leans toward the sofa, and the installer sets the height with a tape outline from the actual seat.

What the numbers show

1. 1Lag bolt into the stud The plate is bolted through the drywall into a wood stud, so the weight sits in the framing.
2. 2Tilt hinge A hinge between the plate and the TV brackets lets the top of the screen lean out from the wall.
3. 3Upright position The dashed outline shows where the TV would hang with no tilt.
4. 4Tilt arc A few degrees of lean are enough to aim the center of the picture at the viewer.
5. 5Sight line The line from the seated eye to the center of the screen should meet the picture squarely.

Cables over brick and finished walls

Brick and concrete cannot be cut for wires. The usual choices are a slim paintable raceway fixed to the surface, a route down a drywall return beside the feature wall, or a short run behind a console. Power stays a short run to an existing outlet; no plain cord goes inside a wall.

• Raceway: painted or left in a neutral finish.
• Drywall return: an in-wall rated kit where the wall can be opened.
• No new outlet: a new outlet is an electrician's job.

What the numbers show

1. 1Raceway channel A slim channel fixed to the surface; the wall is not cut.
2. 2Cables inside Power and signal cables lie in the channel under the cover.
3. 3Paint to match The cover is painted to match the wall.
4. 4Straight run A straight vertical run to the outlet looks like a trim line.

Building management, notice and hours

In loft and concrete buildings, the building's management decides what can be drilled, and many ask for notice, set hours and a contractor's paperwork. The installer's visit is planned around the freight elevator, the loading time and quiet hours, and a call to the manager before the visit settles which forms apply.

Some concrete buildings have post-tensioned slabs, where drilling into a ceiling or floor can hit a steel tendon; ceiling mounts there need the building's approval and a scan first.

Downtown Loft TV Mounting — common questions