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WARNING: I'm not the greatest handyman.

I bought a TV mount the other day, expecting to hang my heavy 40" TV above the fireplace. However, the instructions specifically say to first screw the mount into the studs in the wall. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any (according to my brand-new seemingly-functional stud finder).

Installing studs into the wall is not an option, and the TV is relatively heavy. My question is: What other options do I have? Could plugs possibly do the trick?

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  • Plugs won't do it. Your TV is going to be too heavy for studs. Are you doing this on a brick fireplace? Then go to Lowes, and get some Redheads and mount it to the brick. Bring the bracket, and show the guy what you want to mount. You'll need to steal a drill and appropriate masonry bit. – Chris Cudmore Jul 27 '12 at 17:15
  • I think all the answers so far tell us that we need more info. Post a picture if you can, and tell us something about the construction and year of your house. We'll do our best to help you solve it. – Chris Cudmore Jul 27 '12 at 17:28
  • There are plenty of options for using only drywall and bypassing the need for the stud. Stating the need for a stud is often times a claims liability more so than an actual structural statement. I have mounted solid glass weighing 60+ lbs to the wall with 4 mounts specifically for high weight applications. Head down to your local home improvement store and take a look, you would be surprised at the options. Note the weight of the mount + TV before you head down. – Aaron McIver Jul 27 '12 at 19:09
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    Aaron is right that there are hollow mounts that can handle some fairly heavy loads, but only if they are static (meaning no tilt or turn TV mounts) and only if the pressure is shear (parallel to the wall, not outward). Look for wide expansion types, like toggles, or the newer strap type toggle, using bolts, not screws. Still, finding studs or masonry mounts per Matthew PK is better. – bib Jul 27 '12 at 21:29
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    I'm with @bib. I think a tv is too far out from the wall and will torque too much. – Chris Cudmore Jul 27 '12 at 23:06
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If you have a wall, you have structure.

If your wall is masonry then the TV mount can likely be mounted directly to the masonry (or mounts are available which can).

If your wall is drywall then you must have structure behind it... perhaps your studfinder is malfunctioning or you're using it improperly?

Studs can usually be found beside original electrical boxes (as the boxes are mounted to the side of the stud). Check your stud-finder against both sides of a nearby electrical socket for functionality. If you cannot locate a stud, try tapping a small nail into the wall board near an existing fixture. If it meets resistance behind the wall-board then you have a stud. Wall studs should be spaced in regular intervals (usually 16" on center in the US) so you can simply measure over to your mount area to locate them.

Once you believe you have found studs simple repeat the above test: tap in a small nail to verify structure behind the wall board. Studs should be 1.5 inches wide, so check that you can mark both sides of the side (to mount into the middle).

You may need to tap many small holes to accomplish this without an adequate stud finder.

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    Small pedantic correction: Electrical boxes are mounted next to studs, not the other way around. – Chris Cudmore Jul 27 '12 at 17:16
  • @ChrisCudmore technically electrical boxes are mounted directly to studs :P – Matthew Jul 27 '12 at 17:18
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    I've been Out Pedanted! – Chris Cudmore Jul 27 '12 at 17:20
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    In an older house you might have a lath-and-plaster wall beneath the drywall, and this can confuse stud finders to no end. – Vebjorn Ljosa Jul 27 '12 at 17:23
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    I've found that rare earth magnets are a good way of locating screws holding the drywall to the studs. This way you don't have to put tiny holes in your wall to get a confirmed location. – Doresoom Aug 15 '14 at 18:21
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If your house is old enough to have horsehair plaster it is possible that there are no studs between the chimney and the plaster. I know mine did not. I was hesitant to use masonary anchors because of the age and condition of the brick. I fiqure I had two options. I could widen the mantle and sit the TV on it. The other option was to build a plywood panel wide enough to reach the studs on either side of the chimney and thick enough to support the TV. I stained it to match the wood on the mantle trimmed it up nice, mounted a couple of wall sconces to fill in the extra width.

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I had a similar scenario a while back, where the only place I could practically mount the TV was in between two studs.

My TV mounting bracket had 12 holes (5 horizontal top and bottom and two on the vertical). I used all twelve of them with hollow-wall anchors:

enter image description here

I halved the capacity of the anchor so I assumed 5kg per anchor, giving a support of around 60kg's. This is much more weight than any TV made in the last 10 years or so. It's been on my wall for nearly 2 years now and hasn't budged.

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I have used large heavy plastic anchors that come with wire shelving kits. They need to be pre-drilled with a bit slightly smaller then the actual anchor, then these anchors screw into the plaster. In my case, horse hair plaster with laths. My house is the oldest in the borough, over 100 years old. I have a lot of heavy things hanging on these shelves which have been up for 10 years now and have had no problems.

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I just ran into this problem with my 55" Sony. What I did was cut 3/4" piece of plywood a few inches less then the backside of the my TV. I then used six toggle bolts, one in each corner and two straddling where the top screw of the mount would go. Make sure you bore a hole in the plywood and the sheet rock large enough for the toggle to fit through while folded.
I used a 3/16th's toggle bolt and a 7/16's speed bore bit to accomplish this. When you buy you toggle bolts, also grab the same number of fender washers, as standard washers will go right through the hole you just bored. Insert the toggle bolts till you here them click open on the side of the wall and tighten with a screwdriver, not a drill or driver as to not crack the sheetrock. For added attachment, I used all 7 pre-drilled holes in my mount. I also replaced the lag screws that came with the mount with screws that didn't have shoulders so the threading would be engaging in the plywood as well. Hung the TV, painted the plywood the same color as the wall and it works like a charm.

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