DIY vs Hire TV Mounting: Save Money or Hire a Pro?

Is DIY TV mounting cheaper than hiring a pro?

On the defaults — an $85 mount, $40 of supplies and 2 hours at $35 an hour — mounting the TV yourself costs $195.00 against a $300.00 pro quote, so DIY wins by $105.00. The DIY cost is the mount plus the supplies plus your hours at your hourly value; the gap is the pro quote minus the DIY cost. If the gap is positive, DIY wins; if it is negative, hiring wins; if it is zero, it is an exact tie.

Three things about the model are worth stating plainly.

First, the DIY cost is $85 + $40 + 2 × $35 = $195.00. Second, the pro cost is the quote you were given, $300.00. And third, the gap is $300.00 − $195.00 = $105.00 in DIY’s favour — all listed in Accuracy & limitations.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: mount $85, supplies $40, hours 2, hourly value $35, pro quote $300.

Line 1 — the mount. The mount is $85.00.

Line 2 — the supplies. The supplies are $40.00.

Line 3 — your time. 2 hours at $35 an hour is $70.00.

Line 4 — the DIY cost. $85.00 + $40.00 + $70.00 = $195.00.

Line 5 — the pro cost. The pro quote is $300.00.

Line 6 — the gap. $300.00 − $195.00 = $105.00, DIY wins.

Line 7 — the check. At $88 an hour the DIY cost is $301.00 and hiring wins by $1.00; and at $190 the mount gives a DIY cost of $300.00 — an exact tie.

Every branch, checked

Hours 1: DIY $160.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $140.00 — With 1 hour the DIY cost falls to $160.00 and DIY wins by $140.00.

Hours 4: DIY $265.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $35.00 — With 4 hours the DIY cost rises to $265.00 and DIY wins by $35.00.

Mount $150: DIY $260.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $40.00 — With a $150 mount the DIY cost rises to $260.00 and DIY wins by $40.00.

Mount $50: DIY $160.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $140.00 — With a $50 mount the DIY cost falls to $160.00 and DIY wins by $140.00.

Supplies $75: DIY $230.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $70.00 — With $75 of supplies the DIY cost rises to $230.00 and DIY wins by $70.00.

Hourly $50: DIY $225.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $75.00 — With an hourly value of $50 the DIY cost rises to $225.00 and DIY wins by $75.00.

The reverses, worked backwards

Smallest hourly value where hiring WINS: At the displayed $88 the figures are DIY $301.00; pro $300.00 — Hiring wins by $1.00. At $88 the DIY cost is $301.00 and hiring wins by $1.00. At $87 the DIY cost is $299.00 and DIY wins by $1.00 — so $88 is the smallest hourly value where hiring wins. There is no tie: $87.50 is not a whole dollar, so the flip happens between $87 and $88 with no exact tie in between.

Largest hourly value where DIY still wins by at least $50.00: At the displayed $62 the figures are DIY $249.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $51.00. At $62 the DIY cost is $249.00 and DIY wins by $51.00. At $63 the DIY cost is $251.00 and DIY wins by $49.00 — so $62 is the largest hourly value where DIY still wins by at least $50.00.

Smallest mount price where hiring WINS: At the displayed $191 the figures are DIY $301.00; pro $300.00 — Hiring wins by $1.00. At $191 the DIY cost is $301.00 and hiring wins by $1.00. At $190 the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote — so $191 is the smallest mount price where hiring wins.

Smallest hours where hiring WINS: At the displayed 6 hours the figures are DIY $335.00; pro $300.00 — Hiring wins by $35.00. At 6 hours the DIY cost is $335.00 and hiring wins by $35.00. At 5 hours the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote — so 6 hours is the smallest hours where hiring wins.

Smallest supplies where hiring WINS: At the displayed $146 the figures are DIY $301.00; pro $300.00 — Hiring wins by $1.00. At $146 the DIY cost is $301.00 and hiring wins by $1.00. At $145 the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote — so $146 is the smallest supplies where hiring wins.

Smallest pro price where DIY WINS at all: At the displayed $196 the figures are DIY $195.00; pro $196.00 — DIY wins by $1.00. At $196 the DIY cost is $195.00 and DIY wins by $1.00. At $195 the pro quote is $195.00 — an exact tie with the DIY cost — so $196 is the smallest pro price where DIY wins at all.

A note on the ties: three of the reverses flip through an exact tie — a $190 mount, 5 hours and $145 of supplies each give a DIY cost of exactly $300.00, the pro quote — and the smallest value where hiring wins is one dollar or one hour past the tie. The hourly reverse has no tie, because the exact flip point is $87.50, which is not a whole dollar. The pro-price reverse flips through a tie too: a $195 pro quote is an exact tie with the $195.00 DIY cost, and DIY wins by $1.00 at a $196 quote.

What the defaults assume

The defaults are mount $85, supplies $40, hours 2, hourly value $35 and pro quote $300 — DIY $195.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $105.00. With Hours 1, DIY $160.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $140.00. With Hours 4, DIY $265.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $35.00. With Mount $150, DIY $260.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $40.00. With Mount $50, DIY $160.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $140.00. With Supplies $75, DIY $230.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $70.00. With Hourly $50, DIY $225.00; pro $300.00 — DIY wins by $75.00. With All zero, DIY $0.00; pro $0.00 — exact tie — a dead heat. With Mount $65, supplies $25, 1.5 hours, hourly value $30, pro $250, DIY $135.00; pro $250.00 — DIY wins by $115.00. With Fractional inputs, DIY $185.23 (unrounded 185.225); pro $289.60 — DIY wins by $104.38 (unrounded 104.375) — the DIY cost is 185.225 unrounded and the gap is 104.375 unrounded. With Mount $200, supplies $120, 5 hours, hourly value $60, pro $500, DIY $620.00; pro $500.00 — Hiring wins by $120.00 — hiring wins. With Pro $195, DIY $195.00; pro $195.00 — exact tie — a dead heat. With Mount $0, supplies $15, 1 hour, hourly value $25, pro $200, DIY $40.00; pro $200.00 — DIY wins by $160.00.

A note on the rounding: the DIY cost and the gap are displayed to two decimals. With the fractional inputs the DIY cost is 185.225 unrounded and displays as $185.23, and the gap is 104.375 unrounded and displays as $104.38. The page prints the unrounded figures so the rounding does not mislead you.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner pricing a weekend job: they learn an $85 mount, $40 of supplies and 2 hours at $35 an hour cost $195.00 DIY against a $300.00 pro quote — and they check the $88 reverse to see the hourly value where hiring wins.
• The renter weighing a landlord’s handyman: they learn DIY wins by $105.00 on the defaults — and they check the $191 reverse to see the mount price where hiring wins.
• The bargain hunter comparing brackets: they learn a $150 mount still leaves DIY winning by $40.00 — and they check the 6-hour reverse to see the hours where hiring wins.
• The first-time DIYer: they learn the gap is the pro quote minus the DIY cost — and they check the $196 reverse to see the pro price where DIY wins at all.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles: the DIY cost is the mount price plus the supplies plus the hours times the hourly value, the pro cost is the quote you were given, and the gap is the pro cost minus the DIY cost — all in dollars, displayed to two decimals. At $0 for everything the DIY cost is $0.00 and the pro cost is $0.00 — a dead heat, an exact tie. At $190 the mount the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote. At 5 hours the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote. At $145 of supplies the DIY cost is $300.00 — an exact tie with the pro quote. At a $195 pro quote the DIY cost is $195.00 — an exact tie. What the model cannot do is price the risk: a pro carries insurance, guarantees the fixings hold, and takes the risk of drilling into a pipe or a cable, and none of that is in the $300.00 quote’s arithmetic — it is in the quote itself. The model also cannot price the wall: plasterboard, brick and concrete take different fixings and different time, and a mount that needs a stud finder and a masonry drill costs more in time than one that does not. The model assumes the pro quote and the DIY cost cover the same job — check whether the quote includes the bracket before you compare, or the comparison is wrong before it starts. Use it to see which way the money points — then price the risk yourself before you drill.

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