TV mounting and furniture assembly in Palo Alto

Mounting on Eichler paneling and older Palo Alto walls

The City's Eichler guidelines describe timber post-and-beam framing on a concrete slab, with interior walls often paneled in mahogany. Thin wood paneling splits if a fastener is forced, and in a post-and-beam house the solid wood behind it is not always on a regular stud spacing. So before a TV or shelf goes up, we locate the framing and pick fasteners for what is actually behind the surface.

Tell us the TV size and send a photo of the wall, plus the bracket model if you bought one. A house from before the 1930s most likely has plaster walls, which take plaster-rated anchors and a gentler drill. Wires hide in a cover you can paint to match the wall. If you want power at TV height, that circuit work goes through our licensed partner Bay Builder Inc.

Worth knowing about Palo Alto

• The City's Eichler guidelines describe post-and-beam framing on a concrete slab, radiant heat embedded in the slab, redwood siding, flat roofs and interior walls often paneled in mahogany.
• Eichler residents told the City about flat roofs prone to leaks, single-pane glass, a lack of insulation and foundations without crawl spaces.
• Joseph Eichler built some 2,700 homes in Palo Alto, mostly in the central and southern parts of the city that grew quickly after World War II.