Take down a TV bracket and repair the holes

Remove an old TV bracket safely, work out what is behind the wall, then fill and smooth the holes for a clean finish.

TB-01Get ready and protect the areaClear the floor space below the bracket and lay a dust sheet to catch filler dust and screws. Get your tools together: a stud detector, a small screwdriver set, pliers, filler, a filling knife and fine sandpaper. Wear safety glasses if you'll be working overhead or scraping out old filler.

1 each · Dust sheet

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1 each · Safety glasses

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1 each · Combined cable, pipe and stud detector

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TB-02Take the TV off the bracketUnplug the TV and disconnect all leads before you touch the arm. Release the TV from the bracket using the maker's catch or lifting handle, with a second person supporting the weight for anything over about 32 inches. Lay the screen face-up on a padded blanket, never flat on the glass.

1 each · Padded moving blanket

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TB-03Work out what the bracket is fixed intoRun a stud detector or a magnet slowly over the wall around the bracket plate. A magnet catching in a regular vertical or horizontal line means the screws are in a timber or metal stud; a dull, hollow tap between those points confirms a stud wall rather than solid masonry. Solid brick or block sounds sharp and the same everywhere. If it's a hollow, slightly springy sound across the whole wall and the house is pre-1930s, you likely have lath and plaster.

TB-04Check for cables and pipes before you remove any fixingsCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, not just in the usual safe zones, so sweep the area with your detector first. Even then, treat the wall as live until you've proven otherwise, because detectors miss cables that are deep, in metal conduit, or behind metal-backed plasterboard, and metal stud frames confuse cheap detectors further. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns before you start, so you can shut off the water fast if you hit a pipe. If a fixing is stuck and you think you'll need to drill it out, isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit first, and turn off the water at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry water.

TB-05Remove the bracket's fixingsUndo every fixing screw fully before easing the plate away from the wall, supporting it as the last screw comes free. On solid brick or block, unscrew then pull the plastic wall plug out with pliers; if it spins, loosen it first with a slim screwdriver alongside it. On plasterboard over timber studs, a screw driven into the centre of the stud unscrews cleanly and the hole looks pale and solid inside; a screw into a toggle between studs should be unscrewed then the toggle wings pushed flat with a screwdriver so they can be fished out or dropped harmlessly into the cavity. On plasterboard over metal studs, turn self-drilling fixings out anticlockwise with a screwdriver rather than levering them, as levering shears the thin steel; if you find a plain wood screw was driven straight into the metal track, expect the hole to already be stripped oversized and ragged. On dot-and-dab, fixings often reach the masonry behind a 25-50 mm gap, so keep unscrewing steadily; it can take several extra turns before it clears the plasterboard face. On lath and plaster, work slowly and support the plaster around the hole with your free hand as the screw comes out, since the old plaster is brittle and the laths behind are thin timber strips with gaps between them.

TB-06Clean out each holeUse a bradawl or the tip of your filling knife to pick out crumbs of old wall plug, plaster or plasterboard dust. Undercut each hole slightly, a touch wider inside than at the surface, so new filler has something to grip. If a lath has broken behind a hole, push a small offcut of plasterboard behind the gap first so the filler has a backing to sit on rather than falling straight through.

1 each · Bradawl

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1 each · Filling knife

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TB-07Fill the holesDampen brick, block and lath and plaster holes with a wet brush so the filler doesn't dry too fast and crack. Push multi-purpose filler in slightly overfilled, then leave to dry, for straightforward timber-stud and masonry holes. For metal-stud holes or any hole over about 15 mm across, bridge the gap first with a small offcut of plasterboard or a self-adhesive mesh patch, then apply filler in two thin coats rather than one thick one, letting each dry fully. For dot-and-dab holes that go right through to the cavity, fill in two stages too: a first coat to close the plasterboard face, then a finishing coat once that's dry, so the filler doesn't sink as it cures.

1 each · Multi-purpose filler, small tub

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1 each · Self-adhesive mesh repair patch

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TB-08Sand smooth and touch upCheck the tin for drying time, usually 2 to 4 hours, longer for deeper dot-and-dab or mesh-patched holes. Sand lightly with fine 120-180 grit paper until the patch is flush with the surrounding wall, then wipe away dust with a damp cloth. Apply matching paint, or a mist coat first if the wall is due a full repaint, and let it dry before judging the match in daylight.

1 sheet · Fine sandpaper, 120-180 grit

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1 each · Matching paint, small tester pot

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TB-09Tidy up and dispose of the old fixingsVacuum or sweep up dust and filler scraps from the floor and skirting. Bag up old screws, wall plugs and the bracket itself; the bracket's metal can usually go in household metal recycling. If you're keeping the TV to remount elsewhere, store the screws and any spare fixings together with it so you're not searching for them later.

1 pack · Bin bags

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