The TV Installer Said He is Not An Employee

Your schedule an appointment to have your TV installed on the wall, and you are trying to get a feel for this technicians experience, background, and etc. Then you ask the installer if he/she is an employee of the company you ordered service from. The technician polite says, "I am not an employee of XYZ company but I am an independent contractor?"

Do not be alarmed, because this is status quo. There are not enough TV Installation in a given city to justify hiring full-time or part-time technicians. Most of us have contractual relationships with various companies, and when a project arises we get a call, or an e-mail, or an SMS depending on the company.

Some companies have no standards when hiring contractors, and others have very rigorous standards. Make sure you ask the company you choose the following questions.

• Do you perform annual background checks on the installers you work with?
  
• Do you train the installers you work with?
  
• Can you furnish references for the installers you work with?
  
• Do you installers have installation portfolios? (Some do, majority don't)
  
• Does your insurance cover your technician's work, or does your technician supply their own insurance?
  

The answers to these questions impact your safety, and determine how smoothly problems are handled. A lot of installation companies are merely dispatch agencies that serve as a middleman between you and the installer.

In a lot of cases this is a good thing. Especially if companies provide umbrella insurance coverage for all of their installers, provide really good training resources, tools, vehicles, etc. However. it can become a disaster when a company is taking your money and matching you with a technician they know nothing about.

The bottom line is to ask questions! If you have any additional questions or recommendations please post a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say.

TV Installation Guides for the Self Installer

I stumbled upon some good reference manuals regarding TV Installation at Cruthfield's website, and was quite impressed was the details and illustrations. It is a good reference for basic installations, and inside wiring techniques.

Fireplace installations and custom installations are not covered.

Follow these links to download the PDF manuals.

• Speaker Installation Guide for New Construction


• Speaker Imstallation Guide. for Existing Construction


• Flat Panel TV Installation

Seven Inspirational TV Installations

Wondering whether or not to go through with a TV installation? Let these TV installations inspire you, and give you some ideas to plan your wall.

Careful thought must be applied if you decide to install a television on the wall. It is more than just hanging the TV on the wall, and hiding the cables. TV Installations are statements of elegance when done properly. When televisions are installed on the wall improperly nobody will enjoy the experience. Please take notice that each of these installations have some common elements that you should implement in your installation.

1. Achieving the art gallery effect with your TV installation by playing with height and white space.



This TV installation was contributed to Flickr by Pioneer Great Britain's. You can view this picture and the rest of their photo stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pioneergb/.

2. Classic TV Installation Above Fireplace



It's no wonder Whizbang Technologies use this as their staple TV Installation picture. It is a flawless installation where balance was achieved despite the high fireplace. The lack of audio/video presence also ads to the overall clean appearance of the wall.

3. Enhancing your TV Installation by adding framing around your television and compenent shelving.



I found this TV Installation picture at Jason Sewell's Flickr Photostream, and absolutely fell in love with the added border around the television, and the sleek shelving for the components below the television. Inside the stairwell seems distracting, but this is a very well thought out installation.

4. Add flare to your TV Installation with a splash of paint.



All it took was a couple colors of paint and the perfect viewing height to make this minimalist approach magazine ready. I also like that there are no cable boxes, stereo equipment, a/v and electrical cables, etc, trying to still the spotlight.

5. Go minimal with your TV installation.



Another excellent TV installation from Pioneer Great Britain Flickr Photostream/ This is a really good installation. Again, there are no components or cables in the picture, and the wall color and TV height really ads a splash.

6. Who said you cannot do a full wire conceal on a stone fireplace.



I found this camera phone picture on in the Douglasville OLX Classifieds and it shows just enough detail to make this list. The television height is flawless, and the wooden cabinet flanking the fireplace to conceal all of the components is a very nice touch.

7. How not to install a television.



This photo has definitely made it's round on the Internet, I believe I spotted it on digg.com. This should inspire you to not duplicate. You can find this picture at BugLugs Flickr Photstream

This is definitely a good viewing height, and a clean look from the front, but I don't think anyone would want to go through what this installer went through to achieve that look. However, this is very funny to look at.