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I mounted a tv (60") on my living room wall too high. The heavy-duty mounting bracket uses large screws that required that I drill a 7/32" hole into the studs and used a socket wrench to tighten them in. (Total of 4 screws, two in each stud placed vertically maybe about 8" apart from one another)

I'd like to remount the bracket about 4" or 5" lower than what it is right now on the SAME STUDS. Is this a problem? I am worried that if I do this again (re-drilling/bolting into the studs) it isn't going to be as durable since I've already done this higher on the same studs.

I don't know that this matters, but this is a two story house and this is on the first floor. Thanks,

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    I'm guessing that by "first floor" you mean the ground-level floor? (That's what it means in the US, but in a lot of the rest of the world "first floor" means "first floor above ground level"...)
    – psmears
    Jul 25, 2018 at 20:49
  • Are you absolutely positively sure that the placement is right this time around?
    – Criggie
    Jul 26, 2018 at 11:44
  • Specify approx. TVs weight please.
    – Kromster
    Jul 26, 2018 at 13:16

3 Answers 3

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Absolutely no problem.

The screws (actually called "lag bolts") bite into the wood immediately around them, and the wood fibers around that hold the bolt in place.

Yes the holes you made already weaken the fibers immediately around them but the amount is insignificant. And, for a flat screen TV like you're describing, the weight you'll be putting on each bolt is hardly enough for the bolt to notice.

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    I might worry if the TV was being lowered by only an inch because the holes would be so close together. But in this case (4-5 inches), I agree that it won't be a problem.
    – mrog
    Jul 25, 2018 at 16:42
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    I would worry at 1/2" in which case if I'd drill out the holes to 5/16 and epoxy in 5/16" dowels.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Jul 25, 2018 at 18:07
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    The screw holes you made are about 1/4", so 3" away you're talking 12x the width distance from the weakened area.
    – The Evil Greebo
    Jul 25, 2018 at 18:50
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    Most manufacturers and retailers call them "lag screws". Bolts are typically something that engages a threaded receiver or nut.
    – isherwood
    Jul 25, 2018 at 21:25
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    @user128216 True, a "machine screw" is actually a bolt. I don't like that convention but for the small ones (#8-32 etc.) everyone calls them "machine screw".
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Jul 26, 2018 at 1:34
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According to this source, which unfortunately does not cite its own sources, the following considerations are needed when drilling into studs:

  • Holes in bearing wall studs (exterior and interior walls that bear the weight of the roof and/or other stories above) may not exceed 40 percent of the width of the stud.
  • Notches in bearing wall studs may not exceed 25 percent of the stud’s width.
  • Holes in non-bearing walls can’t exceed 60 percent of their width.
  • Notches in non-bearing walls can’t exceed 40 percent of their width.
  • The edge of a hole must be at least 5/8 in. from the edge of a stud.

The most relevant consideration here are bullet point #2 and #4, related to notches. A notch is when you cut the entire cross section of the stud out, to a given depth - that is, if you were to cut the stud's entire width out, 25% deep into the stud, you'd still be fine. Drilling a 1/4th inch hole doesn't even come close to removing that much material, although it may end up being deeper into the stud.

I'd say that you're in good shape to drill additional holes close to the existing holes, to the point where you really don't need to be concerned about it at all.

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You'll be OK. In fact, it's a very common structural technique to bore holes in beams etc. You save weight and lose remarkably little strength.

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