Open a new bracket box and you'll find a bag of screws, washers and plastic plugs, often with no clear note on which ones to use. Good TV wall mounting comes down to two sets of hardware working together. One holds the TV to the bracket. The other holds the bracket to your wall.
Quick answer: For safe TV wall mounting you need screws that suit your TV and fixings that suit your wall. The TV side uses short metric machine screws, usually M4, M6 or M8. The wall side uses plugs, bolts or cavity anchors, picked by wall type. Match the bracket to your TV's VESA pattern and weight, and choose rust-resistant hardware near the sea.
People often think a TV hangs on "the screws". In fact there are two separate joints, and each fails in its own way. Knowing which is which helps you buy the right parts.
Your TV has four threaded holes on its back panel. These take machine screws with a fine metric thread, not wood screws. Smaller TVs often use M4, mid-sized sets M6 and large panels M8, but always confirm in your manual.
Length is the tricky part. If a screw is too long, it can bottom out and press into the electronics behind the panel. If it's too short, only a thread or two grips and the screen can tear loose. Spacers in the bracket kit help when the back of the TV is curved or has bumps.
These carry the full weight of the TV plus the bracket, and on a swing arm they also fight leverage. They have nothing to do with the TV brand. They depend only on what your wall is made of. We think the same way when we bolt a dish to a wall during satellite dish installation.
VESA is the standard spacing of those four holes, measured in millimetres across and then down. You'll see it written as something like 200 x 200 or 400 x 300. The bracket box lists every pattern it fits.
If any one of these doesn't match, the bracket is wrong for that TV, even if it looks strong. We see this often with second-hand brackets moved from an old set.
Homes along this stretch of coast are built in very different ways. A face-brick house in Kleinmond, a timber holiday cottage in Pringle Bay and a stone-clad home in Rooi-Els each need different hardware.
| Wall type | Fixing we usually use | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Solid clay or cement brick | Heavy-duty plugs with coach screws | Drill the right size hole, not bigger, so the plug grips |
| Concrete or solid block | Sleeve anchors or bolts | Hard drilling, keep well clear of edges |
| Hollow block or soft, crumbly brick | Chemical anchors | Needs curing time before the TV goes up |
| Drywall on studs | Screws straight into the timber or metal studs | Find the studs first; anchors alone suit only light sets |
| Timber walls in wooden cottages | Long wood screws into solid framing | Cladding boards alone are too thin to carry a TV |
That last row matters here. Many older holiday homes around Betty's Bay are partly timber, and the boards you see are not the frame. We find the uprights behind them before we fix anything to the wall. Our holiday home DStv checklist covers the rest of the house.
Safety first: Never drill straight above or below a plug point or light switch, because wiring usually runs that way. Use a cable and pipe detector before drilling. Mains power and drills don't mix, so if you're not sure what's behind the wall, stop and call someone in.
Inside a closed lounge, most bracket hardware lasts for years. On the Overberg coast, things are different. Damp, salty air creeps in through gaps in a holiday home that's locked up for weeks, and cheap plated screws start to rust.
Rust doesn't just look bad. It swells the metal, weakens the threads and can stain your wall. On a covered stoep or braai area, the problem is worse, because the sea breeze reaches the TV every day.
Our article on salt air and corrosion covers the same problem on dishes and LNBs, and the advice carries over to brackets.
Need a hand in Betty's Bay?
Tell us what you need or what your screen shows. We give you a clear price before we drive out.
Bracket makers pack a general set of fixings that suits an average brick wall. That average wall is not always the one in your house. The plastic plugs are often small and the screws short, which is fine for light sets and risky for big ones.
We keep a range of proper fixings in the van for exactly this reason. On a long drive between jobs, from Hangklip to Palmiet, it's no good finding out on site that the right anchor is back at the shop.
Good to know: A bag of mixed TV screws usually comes with the bracket. Keep the unused ones in a labelled bag taped inside a cupboard. If you ever move the TV or replace the bracket, you'll have the right threads on hand.
Hardware and bracket style go together. The more a bracket moves, the more strain it puts on the wall fixings, so the choice of arm changes the screws you need.
These sit close to the wall and spread the load over a wide plate. They're the easiest on fixings and the best fit for a holiday rental, where guests can't pull the TV around.
Arms let you swing the screen towards a sea view or a kitchen counter. They also act like a lever on the top screws. On these, we use the strongest fixings the wall allows and set the arm so it doesn't sag.
For a guesthouse with several rooms, matching brackets keep every room looking the same. Our notes on multi-room viewing for guesthouses explain how the DStv side fits in.
Run through this list once the bracket is on the wall and before the screen goes up. It takes five minutes and catches most problems.
If you'd like the whole job done for you, including tidy cables down to the decoder, our TV wall mounting service covers TV wall mounting and installation in one visit.
Our team covers Betty's Bay, Pringle Bay, Rooi-Els, Kleinmond and Silver Sands, with the right screws and fixings already in the van. If the house stands empty for long stretches, our guide to getting an empty holiday home ready is worth a read too.
We also look after DStv installation in Betty's Bay, so your dish, decoder and TV can all be checked on the same trip. Book a technician online and send a photo of your wall and TV model for a quote first.
Talk to our Betty's Bay team
We work across Betty's Bay, Pringle Bay, Rooi-Els, Kleinmond, Silver Sands and nearby. Call or WhatsApp us and we will tell you the practical next step.
There are two answers. The TV side usually takes M4, M6 or M8 machine screws, as listed in your manual. The wall side depends on the wall: plugs and coach screws for brick, bolts for concrete, and stud screws or heavy cavity anchors for drywall.
Most do, including a mix of TV screws, spacers, plugs and wall screws. The TV screws are usually fine. The wall fixings suit an average brick wall, so for soft brick, drywall, timber or a big screen we use stronger fixings than the ones in the box.
No. A bracket only fits TVs whose VESA hole pattern and weight sit inside its listed range. Many brackets cover a wide range, which is why they look universal. Always check your TV's VESA size and weight against the box before buying.
Ordinary plated screws can rust in salty, damp air, especially when the house is closed for weeks. Stainless steel screws and a powder-coated bracket last much longer. Check the fixings each time you open up the house for the season.
Only if the new TV's VESA pattern and weight fit the old bracket's rating, and the bracket shows no rust or bent arms. New TVs are often bigger and the screw size may differ. If in doubt, a new bracket costs far less than a cracked screen.