TV & Electronics
TV & Electronics in Vancouver
Mounting a TV is easy. Mounting it into the wall you actually have, with the cables out of sight and the picture at the right height, is the part people call us for after the first attempt.
Wall types and mounting hardware
The wall decides the job. Timber studs behind drywall take a straightforward lag-bolted plate. Concrete — most of the towers in Metrotown, Brentwood, Yaletown and Suter Brook — needs a hammer drill and masonry anchors, and holds superbly once in. Steel-stud partitions, common in newer condos, need toggles rated properly because the stud itself carries little.
The one to be careful with is a wall that looks solid and is not: a single sheet of drywall over strapping, or a fireplace surround that turns out to be a box. We locate framing before drilling rather than trusting a stud finder over a mantel, because the failure mode is a television on the floor.
Cable routing and concealment
There are three levels and they cost very differently. Surface trunking painted to match is quickest and cheapest. In-wall routing through a hollow timber-stud wall is tidy and usually straightforward. Running cable through concrete or across a fire separation is a different job altogether and sometimes simply not permitted.
Power is the constraint people do not expect: running a mains cable inside a wall to a new outlet behind the TV is electrical work, not cable tidying. Where you want that, it goes to a licensed subcontractor. In-wall rated HDMI and low-voltage cabling is a different matter and we handle it ourselves.
Audio and source setup
A soundbar or an AV receiver added to a mount is straightforward and worth doing at the same visit rather than as a second callout — the wall is already open, the cables are already out. Work in this category runs $240–$1,200 depending on wall type and how thoroughly the cables disappear.
We hand over working rather than merely installed: sources switching correctly, the remote controlling the volume you actually want it to control, and the sound coming out of the right device. That last one is the single most common thing left half-finished by whoever mounted it before.
TV & Electronics pricing
$240–$1,200
A standard drywall mount with cables surface-run is a minimum-callout job. Concrete, in-wall cable routing and full home-theatre commissioning move up the range. All figures exclude GST. See the full rate card.
Common questions
Can you mount on concrete?
Yes — most towers here are concrete and it makes an excellent fixing once properly anchored with a hammer drill. The tradeoff is precision: a misplaced hole in concrete cannot be patched invisibly the way one in drywall can, so we agree the exact position with you before drilling anything.
Can the wires be hidden?
Usually. Surface trunking painted to match is the quick option; routing inside a hollow stud wall is tidier and generally straightforward. Concrete walls and fire separations are where it gets difficult or is not permitted. Note that adding a new power outlet behind the TV is electrical work and goes to a licensed subcontractor.
Do you set up the sound as well?
Yes, and it is much better done in the same visit while the cables are still accessible. We hand over with sources switching properly and the remote controlling the right device — the half-finished version, where the TV is on the wall but the sound still comes out of the wrong box, is what we most often get called to fix.