Build your own TV wall unit: creative upcycling project with old boards and beams

Passionate DIY enthusiasts see the world with different eyes: what most people see as a dusty demolition site is actually just a treasure trove for us. It often takes just a friendly request to get great materials for your upcycling projects at building sites. The centrepiece of our project is a particularly interesting find: an old support beam. If you have similar luck, you’ll first need to remove all the dust from the building site. Afterwards – and this also applies to a new beam from the DIY store – you can roughly sand it so that splinters and rough surfaces no longer pose a major danger. Check out our sanding guide for useful tips on handling the devices and selecting sanding paper grits.

The trucks from a discarded longboard not only make the TV wall unit a real eye-catcher, they are also practical if you want to rearrange your furniture or you would like to use your TV in another room. Position the front wheel of the truck flush with the front of the beam, as we still need some space in the back. Start by screwing the trucks to the beam, tightening the screws in a crosswise pattern so that they do not slip, and then secure them with the remaining screws.

Now it’s time for the back wall. Start by removing the nails from the pallet boards, secure them with G-clamps to your work surface and roughly sand them down one by one. Pallet boards are either 145 mm or 100 mm in width. In our case, we only ended up with four narrow boards from old pallets, so the ‘catch’ was somewhat lean this time. Your wall will ultimately measure around 1,750 mm in length if you work with our measurements.

Lay out your back wall as you would like to see it in the finished product. When you are happy with the arrangement of the boards, turn them over and place them face down for the next step. By the way, we have plenty more creative DIY ideas for pallets if you like this look.

The boards that make up the back wall will later be attached to the beam, and a slat at the upper end will stabilise the back wall. Place this slat on the boards and measure the length. So that in the end you can have it concealed a little, make it a bit shorter – about from the middle of the first board to the middle of the last board.

Then use G-clamps to clamp the slat in place and cut it to size with the jigsaw. Check out how to correctly use a jigsaw and a jigsaw blade for low tearout when sawing if you are still a little unsure.

You can cut the waste piece in half and then use both pieces as supports in the last step. Use the G-clamps to secure the slat. Then screw it to the board and pre-drill the holes for the screws so that the slat does not split when you put in the screws later. Don’t skimp on the holes – with wide boards you can even use two screws.

You will later pass the power cord through between the back wall and the beam. To do so, place a squared timber with a width of 70 mm as a spacer on the lower front of the rear wall. The size is important: it needs to accommodate a power strip inside.

Saw the squared timber to the length of the back wall. Then clamp it to the back wall flush with the bottom, drill one or two holes per board as in step 4 before screwing the structure in place.

 Now we’ll need something bigger: fit the wood auger drill bit and drill three holes through the back wall and the squared timber so we can later secure them to the beam.

Place the hole for cable access in the middle of the back wall. Fit a 64 mm hole saw so that a standard-size mains plug also fits through. Measure the thickness of the hole from the bottom edge of the back panel upwards (in our case, 40 mm) to make it flush with the squared timber. Hold the hole saw vertical to the structure and start sawing immediately at high speed to avoid jamming. We recommend using a screwdriver to remove the drill core.

It’s time to add the finishing touches. Screw the back wall to the beam. Use the spacer blocks from a EUR pallet if you don’t have someone to help you hold things in place. Now you need the two waste pieces from step 4. In case you haven’t done it yet, clamp it in place using a G-clamp and saw it through the middle. Now you can screw them to the back wall as two additional supports to stabilise the back wall. Stick a felt glider under each support to protect your floor. And now you’re done! Now all you have to do is roll your TV wall unit into place and flick the switch on it for the first time.

Have we piqued your interest in making other sustainable furniture? Then take a look at our overview of upcycling projects and get inspired! The wall panel of your new TV wall unit is also perfect for DIY decorations of all kinds. Break up the wooden look with a DIY grow station for cuttings for a fresh green highlight or provide lighting and storage space for your remotes and controllers with a floating shelf lamp. And of course we cannot forget the perfect complement to movie night – the snacks! For example, place them on your fashionable side table made from a wood slab or on the space-saving and handy DIY coffee table with a magazine holder. By the way, our wardrobe made from a used door matches the look of the old boards, and this dining room lamp made out of an old wooden beam does the same, but on the ceiling. You can also integrate beams as a building material for furniture in the bedroom, for example, with the hanging DIY bed made from beams to place in your garden. Whatever your next project, we’ll give you a hand with creative DIY ideas and inspiration. We hope you have lots of fun working on this DIY project.