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Movie fanatics and audiophiles will tell you that mounted speakers give people the optimal listening experience. Mounted speakers can be used as a part of a sound system to listen to music, or to install a DIY home cinema and benefit from surround sound when watching movies.
Whatever you may want to do with your speakers, you might be here to find out how to mount speakers without having to drill holes into your walls. Maybe you’re in a rental home, or you just aren’t sure how permanent you want these speakers to be. Let’s talk about the steps to mounting speakers on the wall without drilling holes.
How to Find the Best Placement on the Wall for Your Speakers?
It is recommended by sound professionals that you follow a few rules when deciding how to arrange your speakers around a room in your home. The first important rule is to never place a speaker in the corner of a room, or the sound won’t bounce around from wall to wall.
Keep all speakers at least 30 cm or 1 ft. from the surface of the walls. Arrange the speakers in a symmetrical configuration and place each speaker no higher than your ears reach. If you live with other people, take the tallest member of your family and measure when their ears go.
That’s how high your speakers should be placed. Left and right speakers, when in stereo mode, should be tilted inwards, looking straight at the middle of your couch or sitting area. Surround sound speakers should be at a 110 or 120-degree angle from wherever the center of the TV is, and oriented towards your couch or sitting area.
Tip: Before you look into how to mount your speakers on the wall without drilling holes, you should absolutely know how much your speakers weigh. If you haven’t purchased them yet, try your best to find the information on the manufacturers’ website.
You can find the approximate or exact weight of any product on the user manual. That way, you’ll be able to plan accordingly. You’ll see shortly that mounting speakers without drilling holes depends highly on the weight of the speakers.
How to Mount Speakers on the Wall without Drilling Holes
Method 1: How to Mount Speakers on the Wall with Command Hooks
This method will only suit lighter speakers. Command hooks cannot support more than 7,5 pounds of weight. Command hooks are available in any store and can be easily removed anytime if needed. They are an easy way to mount speakers without damaging the wall. Here is how to install them:
Step 1
Dip a microfiber cloth into some rubbing alcohol and clean the surface of the wall portion you will be applying the command hooks onto. Don’t use household cleaners as they will leave residue and prevent the command hooks from adhering correctly.
Step 2
Unpeel the command hooks and firmly press down on the surface of the wall.
Step 3
Wait an hour to 24 hours, depending on what size hook you have. During this time, you’ll have to go without touching the hooks to let them adhere fully.
Step 4
Hang the speakers.
Method 2: How to Mount Lightweight Speakers on the Wall With Alien Tape
This method can suit medium-weight speakers. Alien tape can support 17.5 pounds weight. Alien Tape is more adhesive than command hooks but still provides a removable solution for mounting speakers without drilling holes. It is especially useful for soundbars. Here is how:
Step 1
Dip a microfiber cloth into some rubbing alcohol and clean the surface of the wall portion you will be applying the alien tape. Don’t use household cleaners as they will leave residue and prevent the command hooks from adhering correctly.
Step 2
Cut some alien tape to the size of your speakers.
Step 3
Stick to the wall.
Step 4
Stick the speakers onto the alien tape and press down thoroughly for maximum adhesion.
Method 3: How to Mount Speakers on the Wall With Picture Hooks
You will need:
- Pictures hooks
- Nails
- A marker or pencil
- A hammer
This method can suit heavy speakers. Picture hooks can support 40 pounds weight. Here is how to install a picture hook to mount your speakers on the wall without drilling holes:
Step 1
Place the picture hook on the wall, where you want your speakers to be.
Tip: For extra safety and security, find a place where there are joists in your wall. You may need to use an electronic stud finder in order to find the joists’ exact locations. These devices are readily available in hardware stores, and some are even available for rent.
Contact your local store to find out what options they have in place to rent tools and equipment. This can really help you find the most secure spot in your wall to put the picture hooks in.
Step 2
Mark the holes at the exact place they are.
Step 3
Put two nails into the wall. Then, once they are halfway inside the wall, slip the picture hooks onto them and finish hammering.
Step 4
Attach your speakers to the picture hooks.
Tip: Use a picture hook that can support at least twice the weight of your speakers. For example, if your speaker weighs 2lbs, use a 5lbs or 10lbs hook.
You shouldn’t mount speakers on the wall without drilling holes if:
The speakers you wish to mount are very heavy.
Over 15 pounds, you won’t be able to use adhesives, especially because the vibrations over time will render the adhesive more fragile than when it was installed. A better solution might be a cabinet made for shelving speakers.
The walls in your home are textured, made of plaster, or ridged.
The adhesive won’t create a seal if there is too much texture on your walls.
Your speakers are expensive.
Eliminate any risk by properly anchoring your expensive speakers into the walls.
For all those reasons above, you may want to know how to mount speakers onto the wall with a speaker wall mount.
How to Mount Speakers on the Wall using Speaker Wall Mount
A speaker wall mount is the solution for speakers of many weights and sizes. It may also be ideal for your favourite speakers.
Step 1
You will first have to find the wall studs using wall stud finder. You can also do this method by listening to the sound the wall makes when you knock on it. Compare the hollow knocking sounds with the solid knocking sounds. If you’re having trouble with finding the stud, you can use the wall stud finder.
The wall studs usually go up and down in a straight line, so you can start marking with a pencil where the mounts will be. That is where you’ll be drilling into to get the best attachment.
Step 2
Using a drill, create the pilot holes matching your speaker wall mount.
Step 3
Attach the speaker wall mount using the accompanying screws. You may need to use different screw types if you have a wall material different from drywall. For example, if you’re attaching your speakers to stucco, a hard material, you will want to know the special way of drilling into stucco.
Step 4
Once the wall screws and the speaker wall mount is secure, you can install your speaker onto the mount. For some types of speaker wall mounts, you can use the adjustable knob to tighten onto your speaker. Then, you can adjust the angle of wall mount.
Ways to hide speaker wiring from plain sight on the wall
- Use existing room décor, like posters, tapestry or artwork.
- Use removable cable clips, or cable clips with integrated nails to secure cables to the baseboards in your room. Of course, the cables will not be invisible, but at least they will look neat and will be out of the way.
- Use light strips to contrast so much that your speaker cables will be rendered invisible.
- Use throw rugs or carpets to hide cables running along the ground and wall.
FAQs
Are wall-mounted speakers good?
Wall-mounted speakers can allow you to benefit from surround sound, in the comfort of your home. Having a sound system in stereo is one of the best ways of listening to music. Most music is in fact designed to be listened to in stereo sound.
The surprising part it also serves as a visual that elevates the decor of your home theatre.
How do you hang speakers without damaging walls?
By using command hooks or alien tape. You can also use picture hooks if it’s easy enough to patch up a hole in the drywall.
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