TV Mounting Chicago, from Lakeview to Naperville

Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs, by county

Who installs in Chicagoland

In Chicago, installers from Express Mounting's vetted local network do the work, and Express Mounting handles the booking, scheduling and dispatch. We have no Chicago office. This page covers city neighborhoods from Edgewater to Beverly and suburbs from Evanston and Highland Park out to Naperville, Aurora, Elgin and Joliet.

Book by noon and the job can be done the same day, city or suburb. The installer typically turns up within 2-4 hours of your confirmation.

Chicago walls: bungalow brick, greystones and towers

The pre-war neighborhoods are brick buildings with plaster inside, so on a city job the first question is whether the anchors land in wood framing or in the brick itself. The post-war suburbs are drywall over wood studs, and the lakefront and downtown towers are concrete with metal-stud partitions.

Plaster and lath No surcharge

Two-flats, greystones and courtyard buildings in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Edgewater and Hyde Park, and the older houses of Evanston, Oak Park and Wilmette.

How it is mounted: Studs located first, since plaster fools most stud finders, then lag bolts into them.

Finding studs behind plaster

Solid brick +$99 masonry surcharge

Bungalows and two-flats in Portage Park and Berwyn, where the plaster and lath hang on furring strips over solid brick and the anchors have to reach the brick.

How it is mounted: Masonry anchors in the brick face or the mortar joint, whichever lines up with the mount's holes.

Drilling brick safely

Drywall over wood studs No surcharge

Post-war suburbs: Skokie, Schaumburg, Palatine, Northbrook, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Oak Lawn and Bolingbrook.

How it is mounted: Lag bolts into the studs. Drywall anchors alone only for a TV up to about 32 inches and 30 pounds.

When drywall alone is enough

Metal studs No surcharge

Towers in River North and the West Loop, the lakefront high-rises, and the downtown mid-rises of Evanston and Arlington Heights.

How it is mounted: Toggle bolts through the steel, since lag bolts strip in thin metal.

Mounting on metal studs

The city side dates largely from the 1870s-1930s: greystones, two-flats and the bungalow belt. The north and west suburbs mix 1920s cores with 1950s-1970s ranches and split-levels, and the outer suburbs grew from the 1970s into the 2000s.