Can a plasterboard wall support a plasma TV?

Question

I live in modern apartment and the walls are plasterboard with cavity behind them. I was wanting to mount a plasma TV weighing 22 kg using a plasma tv bracket. Not sure if the wall can take it. What sort of fixings? Don't wanna make any expensive mistake! Advice appreciated

Answer 1

I would locate the stus and mount 2 boards running horizontally. Use a couple of 2 x 6's, that way you will have strength and a space between the back of the TV and the wall.

I would lag bolt the 2 x 6's into the studs with at least a 3'' lag, 4 would be better. Put a large flat washer (biger is better) so the board will stay nice and tight. You can use a 1/4 or 5/16 lag.

You won't be able to see the 2 x 6's once the TV is up.

Answer 2

NO

you need to locate the studs in the wall and hand the brackets from that

Answer 3

I use the below fittings to hang kitchen wall units up. I suppose they could weigh more than 22kg once filled up.

You'll be suprised at what weight plasterboard can take.

Answer 4

no i don't think so, your tv is too heavy, you could try to find the studding that the plasterboard is fixed to, that should be strong enough, however, your studding may be steel instead of wood, in which case, no

the joys of modern building methods!

Answer 5

what i would do is fix a square section of timber ..say 18mm thick...attach this to the studs ..these are normally 400mm centres ...16 inches in old money ..they are normally easy to find ..just make hole in wall where the section of timber is to be fixed ..insert tape in hole ..left and right ..then add 25mm or 1 inch to measurement and you have centre of studs ..if you are careful you could mark out and remove plasterboard where the finished timber will be ...its a doddle!. make sure you fix at least two screws either end ..at least 60mm long ..then it will carry the weght of the telly easily ..how do i know ?..im a builder and i have just done exactly that

Answer 6

the best stud finder is a strong magnet from a hardrive or similar. it will find the nails used to attach the plasterboard to the studs, assuming you don't have the horrible new-build metal frame studs.

this works far better than "stud detectors" which I find are great at finding pipes and cables but rubbish at finding wood.

once you've found 1, they're usually at 600mm centres.

I actually prefer TVs on a nice bench/cupboard. Wall mounted they're usually too high up for pleasant viewing, TVs should be at eye level when you're sat down.

Answer 7

I have the same issue, so will be interest in what every one else has to say, I have been told to use the wooden jousts inorder to secure it.

Answer 8

Yes you can, you just need good quality toggle fixings

e.g http://www.screwfix.com/prods/34386/Fixi...

with 6 well spaced fixings 50 kg is easily achivable.

I often use these to install kitchen wall cabinets and haven't had one call back in 10 years

Answer 9

If what you call plasterboard is what we call drywall, the answer is not unless you attach the mounting bracket(s) to a wall stud (joist).

You can buy a battery operated stud finder, locate the location of the wall joists and mount to those, but don't try mounting to just the drywall.

I don't know about plaster and lath, but I would suspect the same thing exists with that, too

Answer 10

Absolutely not.

You could place anchors into the studs at the proper distance if the TV has hangers attached.  If hangers are attached but the distance does not line up with studs, then you should use a strip of wood long enough to accomodate the hangers.

Attache the wood strip to studs with screws, long enough to assure enough strength to hold the TV.  Then hang the TV.

If no hangers are attached to the TV, you'll have to build a shelf with brackets anchored into the studs.

You can find the studs with a "stud finder", a small magnetic tool to find the nail heads in the plasterboard.  These are very inexpensive at any hardware.

Answer 11

what you must do is to attach a baton or two on the wall first and make sure they are screwed to the uprights behind the plasterboard, then you can fix the bracket to those

Answer 12

No but may be the wall framing beind can

Answer 13

Yes, The wall can support it.When positioning the bracket, use "redhead" plasterboard fixings instead of "rawlplugs".

If the wall is an internal "stud partition", also try to locate the battens to which the plasterboard is fixed and position at least two or three of the fixings directly into them.

If the wall is a "dry lined"(plasterboard on dabs), the cavity behind will be restricted for using redheads, so firstly, mark out hole positions by offering up the mounting bracket, making sure it's level.Then drill the plasterboard with a 6mm masonry drill and drill into masonry wall directly behind. s***w in the redheads and using the screws provided,possibly with some suitable washers, fix bracket to redheads. Job Done!

Answer 14

Take an electrical cover off from either a switch or a wall outlet and you should be able easily to determine whether you have steel studding or conventional wood framing. If you have the wood framing then yes the mount you purchase will definitely hold the tv without additional stuff on the wall. In this case to not add more wood to the outside of the wall to attach the mount. You want to attach the mount directly to the studding keeping a minimum of distance between the two. There are many different ways to find the studs as mentioned above but I have just used a knuckle of my hand and tapped the wall.The steel studding is a different story. If you have steel it is still possible to attach the mount to the wall but it will take the correct fasteners and more of them. I would not do this in a rental.

Answer 15

With some plasterboard plugs (http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessi... it may be possible but 22kg is a big weight, i wouldnt be so confident about doing it, if possible i'd find an alternative wall.

Answer 16

Many good answers here.  The wall will not support this tv - you are correct in saying that trying this would be an expensive (and dangerous) mistake.

The mount that you buy for your tv will come with hardware and instructions on proper installation.  You must follow these instructions; definitely affix the mount to at least one (preferably 2) studs.

Answer 17

Yes it can, providing you attach the brackets to the right bits of the wall.  If you're very careful, a plasterboard wall can support a lot.

A platserboard wall is made of a framework of wooden batons or "studs", with the plasterboard nailed to it and a skim of surface plaster on top.

Try tapping the wall and moving across in 1cm jumps, as you go across you will get bits that sound less hollow.  That's where the batons are.

If you work out where the are, and attach your brackets by drilling through the board into the batons, then you should have no problems.  Watch out when you drill, if the drill goes through too easily, that's the hollow section.

Answer 18

dont try it