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I hired someone from Amazon Home Services to install a TV wall mount. As the person was drilling holes into studs, he found metal when drilling one of the holes. He wasn't really sure what he was drilling into. But, he drilled through it anyway, and was able to install the screw and then the TV wall mount.

My house is a newly built townhouse (2019 construction). Should I be worried about something (water leaks, electrical wires short circuiting)?

Thanks, -Ghulam

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    Do you know what sort of metal? Silvery (iron, aluminium, zinc)? Yellow/orange/red (copper)? Do you know how thick it was? Do you know if your house is wired with metal conduit or not? Do you have what I call an RCD (residual current device), but you probably cause a GFCI, protecting all circuits?
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 20:48
  • Thanks for your comment. I am not sure how thick, but it couldnt be too thick because the technician was able to drill through it and install holding screws for this TV wall mount: amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUBL0S/… The shavings that were coming out during the drilling were silvery. Not sure which metal was it. I am not sure if the house is wired with metal conduit. Can you please tell me what it is? Sorry, I am really new at home ownership. So, lot to learn
    – gmemon
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 20:53
  • Any chance your townhouse was built with metal studs?
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 20:55
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    Posted an answer. In my opinion, the installer shouldn't have kept drilling.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:06
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    you should file a complaint with Amazon .... if something got drilled into, and fails in the future because of the drilling, then you may have a recourse for compensation
    – jsotola
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:54

4 Answers 4

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Unless you know exactly what it is, do not drill through metal in the wall. There are so many bad things it can be. Ductwork in the wall wouldn't be terrible to drill into, but then trying to use a sheetrock anchor in that hole might not be a great idea.

If you are drilling into a stud, and you find metal, it could be a nail protector designed to cover pipes and wires that are run through studs.

enter image description here

These are easy to identify because they will sit directly behind the drywall. They are thick enough so you can't puncture them by accident, but if you have a drill and are determined, you can drill through it pretty quickly.

If there is a wire behind the plate, the damage might not be immediate or obvious but the damaged wire could cause issues later. (Of course you can get lucky and not hit the wire).

Plumbing pipe is another common source of metal, but in new construction that has been largely replaced by plastic pipe. Either way if a pipe is drilled, you get pretty immediate feedback that you messed up in the form of a big leak.

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    Based on your comments, it would seem like he found metal in the same stud as a clean wood hole (directly below or above the good hole). In this case, it's pretty likely it was a nail protector. Make sure all the electric circuits in the house work. You could have gotten lucky, but may have partially damaged a wire.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:05
  • Thank you so much!! Since the installation yesterday, I have not seen any issues with electricity in the house. But, I'll keep an eye on it. Could a partially damaged wire cause fire in the house? Is there a way that I can check the site of drilling to see if any wires were damaged?
    – gmemon
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:12
  • The problem is that the thickness of a wire determines how much electricity can safely flow through it. When a wire is nicked, it gets thinner in that spot. Normally a residential wire can handle 15 amps of power. If the wire size is cut in half or worse, and you plug in a vacuum or space heater, that spot on the wire can melt. The most likely result is the outlet dying with no obvious cause, but it sparking is possible. In other words, fire is not likely, but there is an increased risk.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:16
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    Unfortunately the only way to check and see what they hit is to cut a hole in the wall next to the area and look. You could use a small hole and a "borescope" camera or just cut a 3"x3" square and check it out.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:17
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    Borescope/endoscope cameras are pretty cheap when paired with a smartphone. You're looking at about $30 from Amazon. It'll leave you with an easy-to-repair 3/8" hole left behind. In my older house, this has been an essential tool for investigating a range of questions. I recommend investigating to see if any wires/else were damaged.
    – Sam
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 22:30
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Sometimes the incompetence of people who are paid to do a job and expected to do it right is absolutely dumbfounding. I want to sum up what some of the comments are pointing out for the sake of having a single, concise answer.

When you run anything through (not along) a stud, code requires the metal protective plates @jphi1618 posted. They are specifically there so that you will stop before drilling through them. They are there to warn someone to stop! I cannot stress how absurd it is that a supposedly qualified individual just blasted right through it.

Among the hazards those plates are meant to protect against:

  • Nicking a sewage line and having raw sewage slowly seep into your wall and cause a huge black mold situation that develops over years (I recall this happening somewhere - kudos to anyone who can edit my answer and put a link here).
  • Nicking a water line, which can yield a small insidious drip that turns into a problem over a long period of time and causes extensive damage.
  • Nicking electrical wiring which would be a large fire waiting to happen. Electrical fires that start inside walls tend to cause enormous damage.
  • Nicking a gas line

Again @jphi1618's comments on your pics from inside the wall are right - if the PEX is parallel to the stud then that's not what the plate is protecting. The pics appear to show 14/2 cable (15A electrical wiring) with the screw right up against it.

Screw against cable housing

You probably got very lucky and it just barely missed touching the conductors, but to be safe, do not touch that screw and make darn sure you don't let children anywhere near this install until this is corrected. 120V wiring will rarely kill a healthy adult but it can most certainly stop the heart of a child.

Someone needs to come back out, take the TV down and out of the way, expand the hold you made to full investigate the cover of the Romex to make sure it wasn't breached. Then make the situation safe and up to code. Then patch & paint. Personally, I'd insist that the contractor to do the repairs should have some qualifications as an electrician to evaluate how to make sure the fix is 100% up to code. While they have it open they could quickly splice out a piece of that PEX to be safe; that's a quick fix with the right tools to fit in the hole.

Please don't ignore this; make sure it gets reported and fixed. If for no other reason than you now know this contractor needs to no longer be doing this for a living, because he's going to eventually cause extraordinary damage to someone's house. Someone could easily die in a fire from mistakes like this.

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    Good catch! I edited in the pic in question. I also corrected "12/2" to "14/2" since in 2019, white sheathing indicates #14 wiring, while yellow indicates #12 wiring. Unfortunately, the question is 3 years old, so it's probably too late for the OP to get Amazon to pay for repairs. However, this is an excellent warning for future readers!
    – FreeMan
    Commented Aug 16, 2022 at 14:44
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Do not pass this off so easy .Take pics and record. Call and record to company. It may have been a nail or screw, gas line or electric.I cant believe he kept drilling and added screw to hole anyways. Yes a stud finder may have helped. And stuff like that happens. You may be fine now, but maybe not later. You may be able to cut a little hole to inspect. Tv may cover patch.

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Thank you all so very much for all your help!! I ended up drilling a few holes close to the original site in question, and passed a camera through it, and took some pictures. From what I can tell, there is blue pipe passing along the stud, and there was a metal plate on the stud that was protecting it. Luckily, as far as I can tell, the screw didn't go through the pipe. There is some scarring on the pipe. I am not sure whether that's something to be concerned about or not. The pictures that I took are attached.

Blue Pipe Screw Coming through the Stud.Insulation is blocking the view a bit Another view of screw coming through the stud Just the screw - no pipe in view Scarring on the pipe Possible metal plate at the front of the stud Another view of scarring on the pipe

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    Maybe a cold water PEX line
    – auujay
    Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 0:11
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    What’s the white thing in the 2nd and fourth pics? That looks like electrical wire and could be what the plate was protecting. If the blue pipe runs parallel to the stud, the plate wasn’t meant for that.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jun 18, 2019 at 22:24
  • That looked like insulation (a bit fabricky) to me. But I could be wrong.
    – gmemon
    Commented Jun 18, 2019 at 23:08

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