Mounting 50" plasma to plasterboard/breeze block.

[SilverPenguin7]

Basically I am wondering if this is safe?! I want to attach this to the wall in my living room which also happens to be the outter wall to the house. I believe its plasterboard attached to breeze block. I'm assuming its not the outter brick wall directly behind the plasterboard, or could it be brick, the breeze, then brick?

I've read a few posts here and there about people mounting plasma's to plasterboard but as this is a 50" I'm just worried about it being sturdy with all that weight. I have no idea what sort of fixings I'd need to go through to the solid surface behind or anything (there is about 1/2" gap between plasterboard and the surface behind). If anyone knows of any 'how to' type write ups or anything that would be great as I really have no idea how best to tackle this!

[ravenrider]

As it is an outer wall it will have 2 skins ie an outer brick skin and an inner skin of either brick, breezeblock, or concrete blocks, the plasterboard is probebly dabbed on the wall with adhesive, ignore the plasterboard, all you need to do is make sure you get good fixing in the innner wall, if you can drill into it using a masonary drill without hammer action then it is more than likely breezeblock i would personally use some medium weight anchor bolts in breezeblock, if it is brick or concrete then you could get away with using standard brown or blue rawlplugs with the right length screws or bolts.

Make sure you go into the wall far enough remember the plasterboard is 12.5 mm plus 3mm for the plaster (plus your 1/2 inch gap of 12 mm between the plasterboard and the wall) so before you get to the wall you have about 28mm, plus the plug or bolt, go to B&Q they will have plenty of fixings, you do not have to go mad plasmas even 50'' are not that heavy.

Just make sure each fixing is secure, do not drill the holes too big (diameter) brown plugs 7mm, blue 8mm, anchor bolts dependant on size but i usually use the next size down from what they list, its easier to make the whole a bit bigger if required than plugging it if you drill it too big.

[mark88]

Long screws and decent plugs, that's all you need IMO.

I'd use these: http://www.screwfix.com/prods/14980/...rsunk-Prodrive

And these:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/81103/...-Plug-10x80SX# or similar

Some of the 'brown plugs' you can buy vary in quality a lot so I'd buy some decent fischer plugs, the added benefit being you can get them in much longer sizes.

Drill the hole, about 15mm longer than the screw. Hammer the plug right in(ie, insert the plug with your fingers, put the screw into the plug and hammer it right through, you'll know when the plug is right to the back of the hole) then screw the rest. Don't screw too tight as you'll pull the plasterboard to the wall.

Dot and Dab is a real pain in the ass IMO. Hate it.

Another option, which I haven't tried is to scquirt some gripfil or similar into the cavity behind the plaster board before instering the plug/screw so it's solid right through the length of the screw.

[mambojambo]

Originally Posted by mark88

Long screws and decent plugs, that's all you need IMO.

I'd use these: http://www.screwfix.com/prods/14980/...rsunk-Prodrive

And these:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/81103/...-Plug-10x80SX# or similar

Some of the 'brown plugs' you can buy vary in quality a lot so I'd buy some decent fischer plugs, the added benefit being you can get them in much longer sizes.

Drill the hole, about 15mm longer than the screw. Hammer the plug right in(ie, insert the plug with your fingers, put the screw into the plug and hammer it right through, you'll know when the plug is right to the back of the hole) then screw the rest. Don't screw too tight as you'll pull the plasterboard to the wall.

Dot and Dab is a real pain in the ass IMO. Hate it.

Another option, which I haven't tried is to scquirt some gripfil or similar into the cavity behind the plaster board before instering the plug/screw so it's solid right through the length of the screw.

this is all you need to Know imho great answer mark

[Jon Boy]

Originally Posted by mambojambo

this is all you need to Know imho great answer mark

oh dear lord!

Sorry i HAVE to step in here before this poor guy has a smashed plasma laying on his floor!!!

I have to ask Mark and yourself mambo , have you ever felt the wieght of a 50" plasma screen? These thing are VERY heavy pieces of equipment and as we all know are not cheap!

I've been a stud partitioner and suspended ceiling tradesman for nearly 9 years now and in my personal opinon i wouldn't use those plugs and screws to support a 14" screen let alone a 50"!

Just before anyone has a go at me, people post in this section for advice on how to do something they dont know how to do. I feel it is VERY importnat to reply only if you have a sensible answer that you are 100% sure about!!

I can pretty much gurantee that if poor silverpenguin7 hung his screen in the way suggested it wouldn't last 5 minutes, i really hope he isn't at home right now puttting it up!

Now, down to business, I have personaly hung a £3000 Pioneer 50" plasma for a felow member on this forum so as you can imagine it's on my head if the thing falls down when i've finished the job!

The member in question had the exact same walls as described as silverpenguin, it was indeed a 'dot & dabbed' wall using plasterboard onto breezeblock.

When i did the job i used 8 x huge great anchor bolts, i remember doing a similar reply to a question like this a while back and did some basic drawings in m.s paint to show an example of the bolt, how it works and then how i used it....

(excuse the pics im no computer technical drawing expert)

This shows the anchor bolt....


This shows how i fitted the bracket...


You can buy the anchor fixings from B&Q or if you want to look online goto the screwfix website and find them in the fixings section , they dont cost much if i remember correctly , probably £3 - £5 each.

An alternative to this job depending on wether you wanted to make the alteration to your wall or not would be to mark out the perimeter of your bracket on the wall (obviously at the height you want it with it all levelled in) then cut out that square completely (just the plasterboard) then replace that piece of board with a piece of plywood / mdf.
Then you can use screws to fix it up but i would still recommend at least 4 x anchor bolts (one in each corner) for piece of mind, you can go right through the bracket, wood and into the breeze blocks!!

Thats it really , nothing to it hehe!

I just like to say, i think people need to think before they reply to posts in this section, the members asking the questions are looking for genuine safe answers, if you dont know or are unure then you really shoudn't reply, imagine how you would feel if the member made a post a week later saying how he followed certain advice found in his original post and woke up the next morning to find his screen in pieces on the floor!

Good luck silverpenguin7, feel free to pm me if you need any further advice

Jon

[wandgrudd]

i will 2nd what jon says, fitted my 42inch in the same monner. not even sure the screws would have a big enough head for the holes in the wall mount.
4 inch screws would have gone right thoguh the fixing holes on mine.

[haf63]

I would advise that you double check whether you do indeed have breezeblocks or if they are actually thermolite blocks. I purchased anchor bolts etc and only realised when i poked the block with a screwdriver and it went right in with no effort. You will need diffrent fittings for thermolite as far as i can work out.
My thread on this is below as I am just fitting my 50" plasma
My 'minimalistic' wall mount and home cinema setup

I'm not saying I have used the 100% correct fittings as I have seen people recommend other options inc resin/bolts and Fischer G10 anchor plugs.

[ravenrider]

Interesting thread, with a variety of opinions, as my suggestion of using plugs in brick or concrete seems to have created a differant opinion i would just like to say i have been a tradesman for a long time, fitting kitchens, bathrooms, as welll as fitting boilers, large radiators and many other heavy items almost daily, i would like to think i have enough experience to reply to such a question.

I have a panasonic 50'' tv which weighs 38kg, frankly compared to many kitchen wall units (once filled by the customers with tins and china), radiators, and boilers etc 38kg is not that heavy. I use brown and blue rawlplugs to hold up such items daily, i have never had anything come loose let alone fall off, and thats with using usually less fixings than the average tv wall mount uses, most wall mounts seem to have at least 6-8 holes for fixings, for an item that weighs including wall mount say 45kg.

The most important thing for any fixing is to make sure it is sound and firm, i agree that anchor bolts if fitted correctly will certanly hold more weight but as there will be 6-8 of them "personally" i would find that overkill but it all comes down to your own peace of mind.

[Jon Boy]

Originally Posted by ravenrider

Interesting thread, with a variety of opinions, as my suggestion of using plugs in brick or concrete seems to have created a differant opinion i would just like to say i have been a tradesman for a long time, fitting kitchens, bathrooms, as welll as fitting boilers, large radiators and many other heavy items almost daily, i would like to think i have enough experience to reply to such a question.

I have a panasonic 50'' tv which weighs 38kg, frankly compared to many kitchen wall units (once filled by the customers with tins and china), radiators, and boilers etc 38kg is not that heavy. I use brown and blue rawlplugs to hold up such items daily, i have never had anything come loose let alone fall off, and thats with using usually less fixings than the average tv wall mount uses, most wall mounts seem to have at least 6-8 holes for fixings, for an item that weighs including wall mount say 45kg.

The most important thing for any fixing is to make sure it is sound and firm, i agree that anchor bolts if fitted correctly will certanly hold more weight but as there will be 6-8 of them "personally" i would find that overkill but it all comes down to your own peace of mind.

Yeah but the difference between a radiator or a kitchen unit compared with a 50" plasma is that the plasma probably costs about £1000 more!

Rawl plugs to hang a plasma is a very bad idea in my opinion, still , like you say , we all have different opinions

Jon

[MarkP80]

I used anchor bolts to mount my plasma an a dot and dab wall, and would like to add a little about the gap behind the plasterboard. It is very easy to collapse the plasterboard through this gap when you are tightening up, and obviously you need to tighten the anchors to get them to do their job.

I made a larger hole just through the plasterboard, which allowed me to fit a spacer against the blocks. Then, when you tighten the anchors, the load is taken onto the wall through the spacer, not against the plasterboard. You can make up the spacers using washers, but make sure you get them a fair bit bigger than the anchor hole so that there is plenty of land to take the load.

MarkP

[ravenrider]

One point that has not been raised is what type of wall mount is the plasma being fitted to, ie fixed/flat or tilting/swival mount , if it is a swival mount then the extra leverage caused by this action will increase the load on the fixings dependant on how far out it comes out therefor i would always use anchor bolts on any tilting/swival mount.

[27neth]

Id say the best way to be sure it wont come crashing down is as somebody else said cut out the plasterboard and fit a piece of ply, timber etc to the wall. Then refit the plasterboard and put fixings through the plasterboard, timber and blockwork.
I have had to repair walls and refit kitchen cabinets and radiators etc that have been fitted to dot and dab walls with screws and plugs or cavity fixings and have came crashing down.
John. (Joiner for 22 years )

[mark88]

Originally Posted by Jon Boy

oh dear lord!

Sorry i HAVE to step in here before this poor guy has a smashed plasma laying on his floor!!!

I have to ask Mark and yourself mambo , have you ever felt the wieght of a 50" plasma screen? These thing are VERY heavy pieces of equipment and as we all know are not cheap!
Jon

Total rubbish. It's amazing the type of OTT fixings people on here use to hang their TVs....

Go into any new build house and see what they use to hang radiators. We have a huge 6ft wide double radiator that's hung with 4 x 1 1/2" screws. You think a 50" plasma weighs more than a radiator like that?

I've hung many a TV with screws and plugs and not had a tiny bit of movement. I could stand on the things all day long and they still wouldn't move. You realise just how much force would be required to pull out 4 x 4 inch no12 screws and 3 inch quality plugs that are fixed firmly in masonry???? and you're saying it wouldn't last 5 minutes. If you can pull my TVs off the walls I'll give you them. The plastic on the TV will brake before the screws.

You use big thick OTT anchor bolts if you want but p-lease don't tell people they need to use them or they'll come crashing down

It's common sense, make sure your fixing goes a fair distance (inch and a 1/2) into the masonry and your plug and screw is in tight and there's no problems. If you know how to use screws and plugs then really that's all there is to it.

It seems most people who use these OTT anchor bolts use them mainly out of paranoia because a humble screw just doesn't look strong enough does it?. Think about this, while your using huge bolts to bolt the bracket to the wall. The screws used to mount the bracket to the TV are tiny and they are under the same amount of force.

I can pretty much gurantee that if poor silverpenguin7 hung his screen in the way suggested it wouldn't last 5 minutes, i really hope he isn't at home right now puttting it up!

That proves to me you actually don't know what you are taking about.

Not try to cause any arguments but your reply is totally ignorant and just plain wrong. "I've been a stud wall partitioner for 9 years" doesn't give your arguments any cred. A quick scan of any of the members galleries here shows that lots of us know how to put up stud walls.

Surprised you don't put up a steel beam and hang it off that

Originally Posted by Jon Boy

if you dont know or are unure then you really shoudn't reply, imagine how you would feel if the member made a post a week later saying how he followed certain advice found in his original post and woke up the next morning to find his screen in pieces on the floor!

May I suggest in future when you post you make clear that it is your opinion and try and back it up with facts. Just because you've had success with anchor bolts doesn't mean anything less isn't good enough. I find it rather off that you would try to say I'm "unsure" of what I'm talking about.

I have nothing against anchor bolts. They will work great no doubt. I just know for a fact that a screw and plug will do the job just as good.

[mark88]

Originally Posted by Jon Boy

Yeah but the difference between a radiator or a kitchen unit compared with a 50" plasma is that the plasma probably costs about £1000 more!

Jon

The cost of the item makes no difference. Only fuels peoples paranoia and makes them splash out on un-needed fixings ;-)

Whatever you are hanging on the wall, you have to use suitable fixings to make sure it doesn't fall off and is secure. Hanging a radiator is no different than hanging a TV or anything else IMO.

If you were asked to fit a radiator for someone, and it weighed more than your 50" plasma. Would you use anchor bolts for that as well? Surely if the TV "wouldn't last 5 minutes" with screws/plugs then the radiator won't either?