Audio and video installation for NYC apartments.
TV mounting, home theater and whole-apartment audio for postwar high-rises in Midtown, renovated rentals in Bushwick and doorman buildings on the Upper East Side. We work with concrete slabs, steel studs and building management rules, and leave your walls, floors and lease in good shape.
Drawn to scale for a 65 in TV on an 8 ft 6 in wall. A TV is never held by plastic drywall anchors. We confirm the wall type, the mount and the TV weight on the site visit.
NYC apartment AV has its own rules.
Concrete ceilings, neighbors on every side, management approvals and freight elevators call for a different approach than a house. This is what we plan for before anyone picks up a drill.
Concrete and steel-stud walls
High-rise apartments often have poured concrete or steel stud framing instead of wood studs. We find solid mounting points, use the right anchor for each wall, and route cables without weakening the structure.
Building management approval
Many rental buildings need written approval before any wall penetration. We document the installation and can send work orders to management for review before we start.
Lease-friendly and move-out ready
Your deposit matters. Where it makes sense we use low-impact mounting, and when an installation comes out we fill, paint-match and restore the wall. If the lease allows no holes, a floor stand needs none.
Noise and neighbor etiquette
Drilling inside the building's work hours, hallways kept clear, and wiring run inside your unit rather than through shared spaces keep you on good terms with the super and the neighbors downstairs.
Elevator and service entrance
Getting a large display into a Manhattan high-rise means booking the service elevator, working to the freight door hours and sending a certificate of insurance ahead. We handle the coordination for you.
Wireless and in-unit signal routing
Apartments often cannot use ceiling spaces shared with other units. We design wireless audio where it fits, or run low-voltage cable through dedicated paths inside your unit, so the install stays invisible.
No ceiling cavity? Here is what fits.
Most concrete apartment buildings have no space above the ceiling: it is the slab. Pick an option to see where the speakers go and how the wire gets there.
The simplest answer to a concrete ceiling is not to use it. A wall-mounted soundbar aligned under the TV, with the subwoofer on decoupling feet, gives clear dialogue and real bass with no holes overhead.
On-wall speakers give you true surround without touching the ceiling. On a stud wall the wire goes inside the wall; on concrete it runs in a slim raceway that is painted to match and reads as trim.
Many apartments have a drywall soffit along one wall for ductwork, or a lowered ceiling in part of the room. That cavity can take an in-ceiling speaker with a backbox. The bare slab between soffits cannot.
A speaker needs a cavity behind it, and a concrete ceiling has none. We do not cut speaker holes into a structural slab. The three options above get you the sound without it.
What we install in NYC apartments.
From a single bedroom TV to a full surround living room, each installation is sized to your space and your building.
TV mounting
Fixed · tilt · full-motionFixed, tilt and full-motion mounts on concrete, drywall over steel studs, or plaster, each anchored into the right structure. Cords go in the wall with a listed in-wall power kit where there is a cavity, or in a painted raceway where there is not.
Home theater systems
5.1 · 7.1Projectors, acoustically transparent screens, AV receivers, and 5.1 or 7.1 surround with speaker placement planned for your room and for the neighbors.
Whole-apartment audio
Sonos · Denon HEOS · wiredMulti-room audio on platforms such as Sonos or Denon HEOS, or a hard-wired system. Ceiling speakers only where the ceiling has a cavity, such as a soffit or dropped ceiling, and in-wall speakers in stud walls. A concrete slab is never cut, and nothing is done to the floor above or the ceiling below.
Soundbar and speakers
Decoupled bassWall-mounted soundbars aligned to the TV, satellite speakers, and subwoofers on decoupling feet to reduce the bass that travels through the slab to the neighbors below.
Cable concealment
In-wall or racewayIn-wall low-voltage runs with in-wall rated cable, slim raceways painted to match, and in-wall power kits. Where the lease or the building does not allow fishing the wall, a raceway keeps it clean and easy to approve.
Smart AV control
One remoteUniversal remotes, Lutron integration and app-based control that bring the TV, streaming, audio and lighting into one place, instead of a pile of remotes.
How an apartment install runs.
Four straightforward steps from first contact to a working system, without the surprises of hiring off a handyman app.
Site visit and quote
We check the wall construction, confirm the elevator and insurance requirements with your building, and give you a written quote before any work begins.
Building coordination
We handle the certificate of insurance, the service elevator booking and any written approval your management office needs, so you do not have to chase anyone.
Clean installation
We protect your floors, drill only where approved, and run every cable in the wall or through approved paths. Every component is tested before we pack up.
Walkthrough and handoff
We walk you through every device, confirm your remotes and apps work, label any equipment, and leave the apartment clean.
AV in NYC apartments, answered.
Will mounting a TV void my lease or damage my walls?
A standard TV mount leaves a few anchor holes, and many leases allow that; check yours before the install. When you move out, we can fill and paint-match the holes so they are not visible at the walkthrough. If your lease allows no wall penetrations at all, a floor stand or a furniture-mounted display needs no drilling.
My apartment has concrete walls. Can you still mount a TV or run cables in-wall?
Yes. A TV on concrete hangs on masonry anchors, such as wedge or sleeve anchors, drilled into solid concrete clear of rebar and conduit, and that is a very secure mount. Hiding cables is different: solid concrete has no cavity to fish through, so we use slim raceways painted to match the wall. A true in-wall run through concrete needs core drilling, which we do only when building management approves it. The TV's own power cord never goes inside a wall; where there is a cavity, a listed in-wall power kit does that job.
My building requires a certificate of insurance. Can you provide one?
Yes. Seneca Security carries general liability and workers' compensation insurance. We issue certificates naming your building's management company or co-op board as additional insured. Send us the building's requirements before your install date and the certificate will be ready ahead of time.
Can I get surround sound in a NYC apartment without bothering my neighbors?
Yes, with the right design. The subwoofer sits on decoupling feet to cut the vibration that travels through the slab, the speakers face into your room, and the subwoofer is sized for the room instead of overpowering it. In a building with slab ceilings, in-ceiling speakers go only where a soffit or dropped ceiling gives them a cavity and a backbox; otherwise we use on-wall speakers. Played at a reasonable level, a well-designed system keeps the sound in your apartment.
How long does a typical apartment TV mount or AV installation take?
It depends on the scope. A single TV mount with hidden cables is a short visit; a multi-room audio system or a home theater takes longer. We give you a time estimate with the quote, before booking, so you can plan your day and reserve any elevator window the building requires.
Do you work in all five boroughs, or only Manhattan?
All five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, plus parts of Hudson County, NJ and Westchester County. If you are not sure your address is in our area, call us or send a quote request and we will confirm.
Audio and video for every NYC residence.
Schedule your apartment AV installation.
A written quote, a no-pressure consultation, and the building paperwork handled. You just pick a date.