Football season is here and though I am a fair-weather Colts fan, I do enjoy the social fun of watching a football or hockey game. Doing this outside is something I could get behind as the weather cools off. My friend has a very nice outdoor space with an outdoor television made to survive the elements. He had let me know, that you can go that route, get an outdoor enclosure for a television, or use a cheap television and make sure to bring it in when you are not using it (or if you forget and need to replace, it will be much cheaper than the other options). I went with the cheap television option and had 24 hours to get a television up and running outside before week one kick-off.
I had been considering how to pull this off as our pergola was not at all designed to mount a television. After some consideration, I decided to put up a wooden face on one of the pergola legs. The structure would need to be thick enough to attach a television mount. I took my measurements of the pergola leg and headed to the hardware store to explore my options.
I found a piece of eight foot poplar marked 5/4, which means one inch thick. This should be plenty thick to get some 3/4" screw to hold up the television mount. I also found a cheap mount at the hardware store that was big enough to support the 43" television, but small enough to be relatively unobtrusive on the board. Once the board was measured and cut, I gave it two coats of flat black enamel paint to protect it from the elements. I also mounted some L-brackets on the bottom which I had figured I could drill into the concrete with some bolts to help keep it steady. Once I fit the mounting board to the leg and used some reusable heavy-duty zip ties, I decided I would not need to mount to the concrete, but the brackets would keep the board end from touching the ground and soak up any standing water.
Given the mounting board was only held on via zip ties, I was pretty happy that I could reposition the television on other legs if I changed my mind on location. I am also able to pull in the entire setup during winter months to extend the life of the board. Once I had everything working, then came the issue of where to store the television when not in use. I ended up getting a second television mount and put it up in the garage where the television sits securely when not being watched.
Total cost of the project was $275
- 43" Television with GoogleTV (on sale) = $206
- 5/4 x 6 x 8’ Poplar = $39
- One Can of Black Flat Spray Paint = $7
- Television Mounting Bracket = $15
- Reusable Heavy Duty Zip Ties = $5
- Misc Screws = $3