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I have a TV stand pretty similar to this one enter image description here

It weighs about 20 kg (44 lbs).

I also have a TV that weighs about 10 kg (22 lbs).

Now because the TV stand is too low, I'd like to mount it on the drywall. I'm mounting the TV stand, which came with parts to do just that, not mounting the TV, just to save some money on a TV mount.

The problem is, since the three mounting points of the TV stand have fixed distances from each other, I can only screw the middle one to the stud. The two side ones will have to be screwed to the drywall. Would this be enough to support the combined weight of the TV stand, the TV, and other things I might put in the stand, say, 80 lbs? Note that I'm not going to move the TV stand once mounted since it's obviously not a swivel TV mount.

Edit: thank you everyone for the great suggestions. I decided to go for a TV wall mount instead, as properly mounting the TV stand likely will be more expensive and less secure.

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    With a properly sized screw and embedment length, a single support point may be adequate to sustain the weight but the stand might swing. I think on top of the screw, you need to install two drywall expansion bolts (or anchors) to prevent rotation.
    – r13
    Commented Jun 4, 2021 at 23:26
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    I think this is an ill advised way to save money. A child or a dog could pull the TV off. It will look terrible.
    – Jim Stewart
    Commented Jun 5, 2021 at 0:00
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    I am beyond skeptical of your claims that the TV stand came with hardware to wall mount it.
    – whatsisname
    Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 5:17
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    @whatsisname why? IKEA's very similar BESTÅ tv unit comes with the hardware to wall mount it. I'm not sure whether they include the actual screws, but the mounting brackets and instructions are there (and I'd never noticed, but because they're in the inner corners, the brackets are spaced at irregular intervals... huh.)
    – A C
    Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 2:28
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    @AC I mounted one of these. The hardware is a solid metallic bar that fits all the way across the back of the TV stand, and have mount points every inch all the way across. They recommend minimum 3 mount points per section (so at least 6 for something this wide). OP is thinking of using only 1 when the instructions recommend 6. It is a disaster waiting to happen.
    – Nelson
    Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 8:31

5 Answers 5

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Technically might work. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Mount a piece of plywood on the wall, screwed into 2 studs. Mount stand to plywood. Done.

If you paint the plywood to match the wall (doesn't need to be perfect) it will blend into the background.

However, this is all assuming the stand is truly designed to be wall-mounted. The pictured stand looks like it would be rather strange high up on a wall. Double-check the instructions to make sure the "mounting points" are actually for mounting the stand up on a wall, as opposed to simply securing it against tipover. For securing against tipover, 1 screw in a stud or 2 decent hollow mounts (e.g., toggle bolts) is sufficient. Tipover is a real hazard with taller furniture (e.g., tall bookshelves anywhere, medium-height furniture in a child's bedroom), and what appear to be "wall mounting holes" may not be what you think.

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    Or replace drywall with same thikness plywood.
    – user263983
    Commented Jun 5, 2021 at 0:19
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    Or run the plywood over the width of the cabinet to the floor, to bear weight and for an aesthetic finish.
    – P2000
    Commented Jun 5, 2021 at 21:41
  • Or run plywood, then cover over with fresh plasterboard/drywall etc. Huge amount of work...
    – MikeB
    Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 11:05
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I am going to guess that cabinet is 60" wide. Assuming your studs are 16" oc then you should have 3 studs in the wall behind the tv stand. Forget the pre-drilled holes your tv stand gave you. I'll assume the top is flush to the back of the cabinet.

First I'd put a ledger - a 2x4 - under the full width of the cabinet at the bottom to position the cabinet above the floor. I'd screw that ledger into the 3 studs (2 screws per stud).

Next I'd remove the shelves, put a 2x4 under the top of the cabinet, inside the cabinet. Screw the 2x4 through the back into the 3 studs.

You can then either screw through the bottom shelf into the ledger or get metal angles and screw those into both the shelf and the ledger. The top shelf is probably going to require metal angles typically sold as anti tip hardware.

Each screw is going to give you more than 50lbs of pull out but if someone sits on the front edge of that cabinet they have a fair amount of leverage against the pullout. I wouldn't advise standing on it.

For screw length you want 1.5" ledger, 1/2" drywall, 1" stud penetration, 1/2" cabinet back ( adjust based on your materials ) but probably around 3.5". Use wood screws.

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    Yes, and +1 for the detailed screw length. We can't emphasise that enough: only 1in stud penetration, not more. Sheer strength and pull-out are roughly the same around that length anyway, you don't get much more by going deeper and you risk hitting wires or pipes etc... as many have complained about in other posts.
    – P2000
    Commented Jun 5, 2021 at 21:39
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that stand does not look like it was designed for wall mounting. I think the mounting points the back are only to prevent it from tipping over.

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I would NOT try to mount the cabinet on the wall. Get a wall mount for your TV. Follow the instructions for installing the wall mount. Done and done.

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  • This - every time. The wall mount will connect to the square VESA mount holes on the back of the TV if it has them, and will also screw into a stud on the wall. This also prevents accidental rotation while looking professional.
    – Criggie
    Commented Jun 5, 2021 at 21:54
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You can buy a TV bracket suitable to mount a small TV on a single stud, for $20.

The only objective you've stated is to save that money. If you want to do a botch job there's nothing really wrong with hanging a TV from a hook. That's a lot safer than hanging a flimsy chipboard shelving unit on the wall by one screw and putting a TV loosely on top of it!

Some of the other answers here, suggesting that you buttress your wall and furniture with bits of wood ..... will cost more than a TV bracket.

Plant a 2-inch by #10 screw hook into the stud. Get a pair of metric eye hooks for the TV. Not screw hooks, but hooks with metric bolts of the right size for your TV's VESA mount. These hooks will come with nuts that you can use to lock the bolts against the TV.

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

Then use picture wire to hang it up.

It's not terribly safe or attractive but it's WAY safer and more attractive than Plan A, and it will cost about $2.

If you don't even want to spend $2, go get some concrete blocks from a rubble pile somewhere and place the existing TV stand on them.

enter image description here

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    That concrete block setup is highly inadvisable anywhere that gets earthquakes
    – spacetyper
    Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 1:56
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    Pretty sure brick walls themselves are inadvisable anywhere that gets earthquakes.
    – chepner
    Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 18:20
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    @chepner A well-built brick wall can handle a moderate earthquake without a problem. A loose collection of concrete blocks with no mortar or other connection will fall down in a very small earthquake.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 18:24
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    Ok peeps the blocks were meant to be a bit of a throw-away afterthought. If you live in an earthquake zone and you want to save $20 on a TV mount by putting your cheap Swedish TV stand on blocks that you stole from a demolition site, you can either hang the blocks from the ceiling using old garage door springs or craft your own seismic dampers for the blocks using closers from broken screen doors and hinges from broken laptop computers. Anyway I thought the hook was a good idea given, again, the only stated objective was to raise the TV without spending $20. Can we talk about the hook?
    – jay613
    Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 19:42
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    @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact Not to mention, these look like cinder blocks, the retarted third cousin of the concrete block.
    – Stian
    Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 9:04

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