TV Wall mounting advice (what's going on with my walls?)

Dano · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:00

Right, just before I do something stupid I'm going to seek some advice from you knowledgeable lot

I want to wall mount a TV (fairly old LCD, 40inch and quite weighty) specifically for sim purposes, the image below is of the wall I wish to mount the wall bracket to, using some magnets I have located were the studs are and they appear to be 600mm centres, I'll likely use the nail through the plasterboard method to ensure I am bang on the centre when fixing the bracket but I am somewhat concerned as both studs outlined in the image respond to the magnets throughout their length, the magnets definitely react strongest at the points where they are in the image which is where I assume the plasterboard nails are and will simply slide down the wall if placed above or below those points, is it possible the entire length of the studs has a metal skin on it? I really don't want to break anything lmao, how should I proceed?

Participant · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:11

Could be metal studs. Personally I would forget the stud and use drywall anchors. They're plenty strong enough for a TV if you use the correct ones.

200sols · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:15

Metal studs probably, they don't use wood much these days.

Blueball · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:38

These will do the job nicely (hold over 100kg) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QFES9Q2/

You can get smaller ones that hold less weight.

Dano · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:42

Blueball said:
These will do the job nicely (hold over 100kg) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QFES9Q2/

You can get smaller ones that hold less weight.

Heh, no chance will I use those, every youtube test I've seen of plasterboard fixings they have been bottom of the pile failing well before their advertised weight capacity. I'll get some decent ones I reckon

Thanks all

Blueball · 27 Jan 2023 at 19:42

Dano said:
Heh, no chance will I use those, every youtube test I've seen of plasterboard fixings they have been bottom of the pile failing well before their advertised weight capacity. I'll get some decent ones I reckon

Thanks all

I've used them extensively and never had a problem.

Dano · 27 Jan 2023 at 20:03

Blueball said:
I've used them extensively and never had a problem.

Don't go looking at youtube videos of plasterboard fixings then would be my suggestion

jpaul · 27 Jan 2023 at 22:01

Dano said:
Heh, no chance will I use those

tend to agree, what does the tv mount look like ? if it is cantilevered off of the wall,could be a 100Kg extraction force/moment exerted on fixing.

EH75 · 27 Jan 2023 at 22:35

Dano said:
Heh, no chance will I use those, every youtube test I've seen of plasterboard fixings they have been bottom of the pile failing well before their advertised weight capacity. I'll get some decent ones I reckon

Thanks all

I have to back up the other poster on these, I used them on a very heavy TV. Old 42 inch Sony, one of the first generation HD tvs from circa 2006 which I got second hand off my parents.There were no suitable studs so I had to use plasterboard fixings and these seemed the best ones after looking at a few different reviews at the time. I was very nervous putting it up but it hung there absolutely fine for a couple of years before I got a new (much lighter) TV. The bracket is still being used for that one but it's much lighter so I'm less nervous. This is flat against the wall though I proba my wouldn't have done it with one of those brackets that swing out.

jaybee · 27 Jan 2023 at 23:21

I would open the wall up to see what you are dealing with for future ref with any of your other walls. Only need a small square to observe the stud. Overlap it so you can see the construction behind and how deep the cavity is, if at all. My current house has no cavity gap at all as some of the partition walls are triple layered plasterboard laminated together.

If those are studs and they are metal and you decide you don't want to screw into them, if you have a normal cavity (gap) between double plasterboard partition walls (sorry my terminology may not be proper) then consider the various plasterboard fixings available.

I've used spring toggle type and they are very strong holding up a 2007 Toshiba 46 inch LCD weighing a good 20kg or more.

I've also mounted using the very blue wing type ones linked above which have been holding our 65 inch OLED up for over a year with no issues. Don't knock them based on psychological mistrust. They really do work. They are not a bodge. They work well.

Dano · 28 Jan 2023 at 09:29

jpaul said:
tend to agree, what does the tv mount look like ? if it is cantilevered off of the wall,could be a 100Kg extraction force/moment exerted on fixing.

It's just a simple tilt only mounting, nice long near flat bracket on the wall which the TV part hooks onto.

jaybee said:
Don't knock them based on psychological mistrust. They really do work. They are not a bodge. They work well.

Nothing to do with psychological mistrust, they simply are no where near as good as other fixings, there are plenty of youtube videos of them being tested against other fixings and they are consistently bottom of the pile and never hold anywhere close to the advertised load, why on earth would I spend money on something that is more expensive than better alternatives.

Curlyriff · 29 Jan 2023 at 17:13

It is probably SFS (steel framing system) that is used for studwork. Honestly ignore the studs and use proper fixtures into cavity that's behind the plasterboard.

These are what you need. We spec these for wall units for kitchens, AV racks and wall mounted cabinets. We actually just spec the duoplugs normally for TV mounting however since you are worried about such then using these would be an extra safety.

Fischer Duotec Toggle Cavity Fixings - Pack of 20 | Wickes.co.uk

Fischer Duotec Toggle Cavity Fixings - Pack of 20

www.wickes.co.uk

NoobCannon · 29 Jan 2023 at 17:47

I personally use this type of fixing for anything heavy on plasterboard eg curtain rails, shelves etc along with the setting gun ive never had one fail.

Rawlplug Hollow Wall Anchors M6 x 52mm 20 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Interset fixing providing permanent anchoring in cavity walls. For use with setting tool. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

I use fischer duo plugs for anything else tho!

Dano · 30 Jan 2023 at 09:48

Curlyriff said:
It is probably SFS (steel framing system) that is used for studwork. Honestly ignore the studs and use proper fixtures into cavity that's behind the plasterboard.

These are what you need. We spec these for wall units for kitchens, AV racks and wall mounted cabinets. We actually just spec the duoplugs normally for TV mounting however since you are worried about such then using these would be an extra safety.

Fischer Duotec Toggle Cavity Fixings - Pack of 20 | Wickes.co.uk

Fischer Duotec Toggle Cavity Fixings - Pack of 20

www.wickes.co.uk

I was leaning towards the Timco version, likely I'll just get whichever the local store has

NoobCannon said:
I personally use this type of fixing for anything heavy on plasterboard eg curtain rails, shelves etc along with the setting gun ive never had one fail.

Rawlplug Hollow Wall Anchors M6 x 52mm 20 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Interset fixing providing permanent anchoring in cavity walls. For use with setting tool. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

I use fischer duo plugs for anything else tho!

These were also at the top of my list, I'll pick something up when I pop down to the local merchant later in the week

jaybee · 30 Jan 2023 at 12:36

Dano said:
It's just a simple tilt only mounting, nice long near flat bracket on the wall which the TV part hooks onto.

Nothing to do with psychological mistrust, they simply are no where near as good as other fixings, there are plenty of youtube videos of them being tested against other fixings and they are consistently bottom of the pile and never hold anywhere close to the advertised load, why on earth would I spend money on something that is more expensive than better alternatives.

They are not bottom of the pile, in that there are certainly worse ones. Several in fact. I certainly would not use them either if you have a cavity big enough to push a spring toggle through of course. As you say, why would you, when the spring toggles are much stronger, and easy to obtain, relatively cheap.

The reason I used the blue winged ones were a slightly special case all discussed in this thread here, where lots of methods are talked about.

They've held up fine. Let's be clear here, they still will hold up literally any flat screen TV - even old and heavy - on a normal mount close to the wall, as per this test where they failed at about 100kg. If you want the long arm adjustable mounts on plasterboard, then yeah, absolutely you want the strongest possible ones, so go for the biggest spring toggles or the fischer ones linked above.

Dano · 31 Jan 2023 at 09:55

jaybee said:
They are not bottom of the pile, in that there are certainly worse ones. Several in fact. I certainly would not use them either if you have a cavity big enough to push a spring toggle through of course. As you say, why would you, when the spring toggles are much stronger, and easy to obtain, relatively cheap.

The reason I used the blue winged ones were a slightly special case all discussed in this thread here, where lots of methods are talked about. They've held up fine. Let's be clear here, they still will hold up literally any flat screen TV - even old and heavy - on a normal mount close to the wall, as per this test where they failed at about 100kg. If you want the long arm adjustable mounts on plasterboard, then yeah, absolutely you want the strongest possible ones, so go for the biggest spring toggles or the fischer ones linked above.

Sure, I might have been exaggerating on them being bottom of the pile somewhat but generally there are always better alternatives from what I can see, I'm sure there are cases where they suit best but this isn't one I hope