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so i want to mount my tv on the wall, with a flexible arm tv mount. its a drywall with studs behind it.

i think the wall is drywall anyway - it was built in 2005.

the wall screws supplied come with wall plugs - which, as far as i know, are only supposed to be used with brick walls.

this is the hardware supplied with the holder:

enter image description here

the long screw on top is a wall-screw. the instructions are meant for wall bricks, so they say to put in the plugs first and then the screw - for stud-installation it says to do the exact same thing, just use a different drill-bit.

am i really supposed to put the plugs in the wooden stud? or can i just drive the screws directly in the stud without the plugs? the plug is 10mm wide, while the screw is probably like 8mm incl. threading or so.

plus, the stud is around 8cm (slightly more than 3in) wide according to my stud meter - the holes for the holder are around 1.5cm (approx. 0.6in) from either edge of the stud. could this be an issue?

a friend said it might be a good idea to put one side of the holder more towards the center of the stud and use rawlplugs/umbrella plugs or something for the other side screws.

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    A stud over 3" wide would be unusually large, they're typically only 1.5". You may want to drill some tiny pilot holes to check where the edges of your stud actually are, since the stud finder is giving odd results.
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    Oct 10, 2019 at 10:25
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    No, don't use the plastic pieces for a stud mount. I am having trouble following your explanation, pictures will help.
    – Mattman944
    Oct 10, 2019 at 10:51
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    Every wall mount I’ve done used lag screws to mount into wood studs. That appears to be what you have and that is what you should use
    – UnhandledExcepSean
    Oct 10, 2019 at 10:54
  • @Mattman944 i'm at work right now so i cant add more images right now...instructions are for brick walls first, they say to drill a 10mm hole with a masonry drill for the plug, put in the plug and then the screw. then it says, for wooden stud walls, do the exact same thing, just use a general-purpose drill for the hole.
    – msa
    Oct 10, 2019 at 11:03
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    @NuclearWang could it be a double stud? i'm hesitant using my buddies advise drilling one half in the center of the stud, because if its a double stud, i dont want to drill in between then. its on an external wall (inside living room, other side is the garden)
    – msa
    Oct 10, 2019 at 11:07

2 Answers 2

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I agree with unhandledexcepsean--I would use lag bolts for larger TVs. Some flat screens will be fine with the wood screws through the drywall into the stud not using the plastic expanding anchor. I have seen some smaller mounts where 4 of the plastic anchors into drywall are supposed to work but I do not like those at all.

Since you have at least 1 stud, measure 3/4” from 1 edge and mark. This will be the center of a two-by. If doubled two-bys then 16” over and there should be another stud. If not check the other side of the 3” stud measure in 3/4” mark (1-1/2” between marks) and see if there is a stud there. 16” on center is a most common spacing and if a wide bracket it should be set up for 16, 32, 48” widths.

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Depends on the weight of the TV and the type of mount.

A lag bolt with similar inside diameter would have higher wood holding retention, but might not fit through the hardware on the TV, as the screw threads are typically much wider.

I would not drive these directly into a wooden stud. The screw thread is too fine, and the outer half inch would only be supported by sheetrock, potentially causing bending and pulling on the screw. It would also be hard to guess which size drill bit would maximize holding capacity.

The advantage of using the plastic mounts are that:

  1. Depth is set correctly, so the bolt will be flush with the sheetrock
  2. The entire bolt is supported at least partially by the the plastic collar
  3. The plastic collar will probably have less rotational friction than the wood (esp if you guess wrong on drill size), making it less likely to snap during installation.

Overall though, assuming you are mounting this straight to a wall, 4 bolts of that size seem like overkill for medium size TVs.

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