Placing an LCD television onto your home's wall is a space-saving way to watch TV. To place the television onto the wall you need a wall mount bracket. Store-bought ones can be expensive and cumbersome. Building and installing one yourself is a cheaper, efficient alternative.
1 Measure the dimensions of your television (length and width) and map out on your wall approximately where you want to place it. Note the dimensions, as well, before you buy your brackets. The listed brackets are just a reference point, and come in different lengths. If 20 inches of bracket for the horizontal size of your television will do, buy the 20-inch length.
2 Cut the metal horizontal bracket to be about 2 to 3 inches shorter than the width of the television. Cut with a hacksaw or whichever saw you feel comfortable with. Make sure that the bracket, once cut, does not extend beyond the sides of the television.
3 Measure the distance between the wall mounting screw holes on the back of your television. There should be four--one in, roughly, each corner. Take this measurement and add 6 inches onto it.
4 Cut the vertical bracket so that it measures the distance plus 6 inches that you measured in the last step. One end of the vertical bracket will have a notch in it--make sure to measure down from that edge when cutting. Once the piece is cut, measure down from the new edge the same distance, and cut another piece of bracket that is the same length as the first vertical one.
5 Notch the top of the second vertical bracket to match the preexisting notch on the first bracket. Use the hacksaw to do this.
6 Place weather stripping onto the sides of the vertical brackets that will be touching the television (the notches at the top of the metal should be on the opposite side as the weather stripping). The stripping will help protect the television from scratches, and will allow for slight modifications later if necessary. Apply a length of weather stripping to the back, fat side of the horizontal bracket as well, to protect the wall.
7 Hold the vertical brackets onto the back of the television, with their new weather stripping toward the TV. Make a note with a marker to where you are going to have to drill into the brackets to make mounting holes. These marks will correspond to the wall-mounting screw holes already on the television. Make sure that the notches that you had in the metal already, or cut afterward, are at the top of the brackets and not at the bottom.
8 Drill the holes into the metal, using a drill bit that is only slightly larger than the body of the screw you are using. Make sure that the hole is not as wide as the diameter of the screw's head. Drill through the metal and the weather stripping, and then screw the four large screws into the back of the television. The screws necessary for this step will vary, so make sure you have them on hand and properly test them beforehand.
9 Use a stud finder to find the studs in your wall. Once found, use a level to place the horizontal bracket onto the wall where you would like it positioned.
10 Drill holes into the wall/studs and screw the horizontal bracket into place with the two grabber screws. Make sure it is level. If it isn't level, there is a chance that the vertical brackets will slide off and break your television. Making sure the horizontal bracket is level eliminates this threat. Check the horizontal bracket's security by applying some pressure to it to make sure that it will stay.
11 Lift the television up and slide the tops of the vertical brackets into the horizontal mount. The top of the vertical bracket will slide under the lip of the horizontal bracket, and the notch will slide onto the bottom lip, locking the unit into place. Finish by allowing the television to hang, supported by the horizontal brackets. Use a partner, as it may be hard to lift and adjust the television alone.