LCD TV on wall

[Deleted member 15266]

Recently moved to a newer house with plasterboard walls. We would like to hang a 32" LCD TV on the wall but the companies that specialise in this area seem to charge a fortune. If I bought the bracket myself would a joiner be able to do it? Or do I get a TV/aerial company to do it. I wouldn't want to myself in case it fell of the wall.

 

[plugwash]

I'd think most joiners could do it.

The tricky bit is that something as heavy as a TV needs to be screwed to the wooden frame, plasterboard is not sufficiant. This can sometimes mean you will either need to use an oversized bracket (can look a bit ugly) or take the wall apart to add more timberwork.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Wall mounting anything heavier than a small picture means getting a solid fixing in to brick or the wooden studs if it's a partition wall.

If you want a really solid fixing in to most wall materials then have a look at using a quick-set resin anchor compound.

The cartridge fits in to an ordinary sealant gun. There are two different chemicals in the cartridge. They are mixed in the nozzle as you squeeze. You don't use screws with this stuff. Instead you use a bit of threaded rod in each hole. You leave roughly half an inch of rod sticking out. When the goo is dry you use a washer and nut to tighten whatever you are fixing to the wall.

Resin fixings provide a much better grip than rawl plugs. It doesn't matter if the hole you drill is slightly oversize because the resin fills the gaps. There's no risk of splitting or cracking the brick like you might by overtightening a rawl bolt. The resin also strengthens the wall where the hole is. It's really good way to fix in to crumbly building materials such as breezeblock.

With dot & dab plaster board over brick there's a gap between the board and the brick. I use a stack of thick washers to bridge that gap so that the bracket has a solid fixing without putting a lot of pressure on the plasterboard.

Resins like this go stiff in 5-10 minutes and are hard enough to hang the bracket and TV on in about 30 minutes.

 

[EddieM]

Its also an idea to fit and support the bracket loosely over any studs prior to them setting saves any unfortunate problems Also make sure the studs are 2-3mm smaller in diameter than the bracket holes if possible, as this allow for some vertical adjustment.

 

[maltaron]

The resin anchor system looks good but is expensive for a couple of fixings. Whilst rawlbolts have some disadvantages I have never had a catastrophic failure. For this purpose I would use 6mm rawlbolts with the bolt replaced with studding, a piece of 6mm spacer (cut from 6mmID steel tube) the correct length for plasterboard and space, and 2 washers works fine. Of course all the suggestions assume that the wall behind the plasterboard is solid.

 

[ChrisFrost]

The resin anchor system looks good but is expensive for a couple of fixings.

I never put in less than 6 fixing points on the basis that without X-ray vision there's now way to tell the condition of the wall.

Each to his own of course, but I'm also not so cheap as to save £2-£3 on fixings only to risk a £300+ TV falling off the wall.