Can I hang a 50" plasma on a plaster wall?

Question

I have a corner fireplace which has a sheet of plaster above it to close in the corner, I want to hang a big-*** tv from it, but can the wall take it?

There are no wood supports behind it that I can drill into, I'd have to use butterfly clips. The tv weighs about 70lbs.

Will it be ok, or should I find another solution

Answer 1

don't risk it the lot would probably collapse under the weight

Answer 2

You`d probably have to `engineer` some kind of solid base behind it. Will probably involve removing the board.

Answer 3

The plaster will have lathe behind it but that isn't strong enough by itself. You will have to find the studs behind it, which can be difficult. THere are studs behind a plaster wall because plaster is not structural and the lathe has to have something to be nailed to.

A premium stud finder will find them or you can drill to find them. They should be spaced every 16" but could be every 24". Measure out from a corner and drill at 16" and then at 1/8 increments.

If you can s***w into the studs to mount your bracket there will be no problem. Otherwise I'd forget about it.

Answer 4

First check you have insurance in case you pull the wall down.

Is it a hollow wall -- is that what you are saying --if so do not hang heavy object on it find another solution.

Answer 5

If a Joiner can hang Kitchen Cupboard on plaster board, then you should have no problem hanging a plasma TV, there must be wooden strapping behind it, otherwise it has not been put up right. What else will the plaster board be fixed onto????

Contact a joiner and ask them what they think.

Answer 6

you could ,for about 10 seconds you need a brick wall and good bracketts and it needs to be done right .

Answer 7

There has to be wooden studs in the wall cavity, or at least metal studs...  If you can sink at least 2 x 3/8" lags per stud (minimum 2 studs) if it is indeed wooden, you will be golden.

If the last homeowner was the one to put up the plaster you may just want to consider ripping it apart and redoing it in drywall and wooden studs so it can be loadbearing.  

Another thing I would definetely do is add several (4 should be sufficient) 3/8" toggle bolts in the middle of the stud cavities.

(If you're going to do this, when you go to Home Depot you WILL stand there and think "should I get 3" or 4" toggles?"  Buy the 4" toggles, you won't put it through the other side of the wall, don't worry)  

The trick is to let the bracket hold so close to the wall without deforming and let friction do the work!  That way no one point can ever have the complete load of the bracket and tv.  Make sure with both methods that you use washers!  They're extremely important in this operation.  

If you can get this far you should consider running cabling inside the wall and to the dvd player, tuner, computer, or whatever you will be plugging into the unit.  It will turn out to look as a very professional installation when you are finished.

Good luck on your install!!