How to Hang Stereo Speakers
Barbara K shows you how to spruce up your home entertainment system by hanging your stereo speakers.
You'll need speakers and brackets from a home electronics store. You'll also want a hammer, power drill with a drill bit and a screwdriver bit, a tape measure, a level, wall anchors, a hex-key set and a pencil.
After you decide where you want each speaker, place the speaker bracket flat against the wall, using a level to make sure it’s straight. Then, pencil in the holes on each bracket to mark where the screws will go. If you’re using wall anchors like these here, drill a hole on each mark and insert the wall anchors next. Then hammer them in gently until flush with the wall. Now, line the first bracket up with the holes in the wall. Place your top screw in first and tighten, but be careful not to over-tighten. Do the same with all the screws and all the brackets.
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Put light but firm pressure on each bracket to make sure it’s ready to support the weight of the speaker. Attach a speaker to each bracket and tighten the clamp using a hex key.
STUDS AND FASTENERS
To mount something on a wall, you have to choose which fasteners to use.
First try to locate studs in your wall. (Studs allow you to install something securely so you don’t mount something onto a hollow section of your wall.) You can run a stud finder tool along the wall that will alert you where the studs are located. You can also use a tape measure; if you have studs, you should hit one every 16 inches out from the corner.
If you find studs and they match up with where you want to place your fasteners, you can drill your fasteners directly into the studs.
If you can’t locate studs, or if the positioning you want does not match up with where the studs are in the wall, you will need some universal, self-drilling hollow wall fasteners. This type of fastener saves you from having to insert individual anchors into each hole. Drill these fasteners directly into the wall. Then install your hardware into them, just as if you were going directly into a stud.
WHAT’S A PILOT HOLE?
A "pilot hole" creates a nice, straight track for you to drill a larger hole. You create a pilot hole by drilling with your smaller drill bit on the spot you want, and then switching to a larger drill bit.
