John Lewis Epic Instal Fail PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP?

[garythebong]

So I purchased my 77" G1 and GX soundbar and informed the pre delivery team its being installed on a hollow plasterboard wall. The install team arrived and said that it cannot be installed on that wall as its too heavy. The way they handled the TV was so disrespectful sliding the stand all over the back of the tv and looking blatantly out of their depth. They didnt grasp its a flush design TV meant to be flush to the wall. He said if I install it would you think you would be moving it around as it might fall down, I was like yeah I may need to access the rest to plug in new devices. That made me think they didnt have a clue risking installing it and not being able to touch it. I told them to take it away and refused delivery. They were amateurs.

So now Im stuck with the dilemma of not being able to put this beauty on the wall. Can anyone offer any help or advice please.

 

[fluxedman]

That is a tricky one but it sounds like they might not have been confident enough to do such a Wall mount install job or qualified for that matter.

Not an expert by any means but as long as they wall mount on the Wall Studs behind the plasterboard and use secure plasterboard fixtures (like togglers or others) it should be ok to wall mount even an 50kg TV onto a plasterboard wall imo.

The wall studs are as secure as they will get frankly, did they have neo magnets or wall stud scanners? Any other tools to do the job?

I did not understand if you cancelled the entire job and got it refunded (TV+installation) from JL?

It might be worth speaking to JL and trying it again but this time to ask for better TV installers or if possible if you can speak to them first before they do the installation just to make sure they can install on plasterboards and even question them how they do the installation ie wall studs or use special plasterboard fixtures etc

Otherwise do the above but with your own 3rd party wall mount installer perhaps.

 

[Waynej]

So I purchased my 77" G1 and GX soundbar and informed the pre delivery team its being installed on a hollow plasterboard wall. The install team arrived and said that it cannot be installed on that wall as its too heavy. The way they handled the TV was so disrespectful sliding the stand all over the back of the tv and looking blatantly out of their depth. They didnt grasp its a flush design TV meant to be flush to the wall. He said if I install it would you think you would be moving it around as it might fall down, I was like yeah I may need to access the rest to plug in new devices. That made me think they didnt have a clue risking installing it and not being able to touch it. I told them to take it away and refused delivery. They were amateurs.

So now Im stuck with the dilemma of not being able to put this beauty on the wall. Can anyone offer any help or advice please.

That's rather concerning to read as I am also having a TV installed by John Lewis soon too. I had the same pre-install call just the other day too asking about the type of wall and whether they'd need to connect devices too.

In my case I have plasterboard on brick, it does sound a little hollow in my case but I know there's brick behind the board and I expect they will drill through into bricks and secure the mount.

I've got to be honest though, if I just had plasterboard then I wouldn't be comfortable having my TV mounted. From your description it sounds like they weren't handling your new purchase with care, which I can understand how frustrating that must have been.

 

[garythebong]

That is a tricky one but it sounds like they might not have been confident enough to do such a Wall mount install job or qualified for that matter.

Not an expert by any means but as long as they wall mount on the Wall Studs behind the plasterboard and use secure plasterboard fixtures (like togglers or others) it should be ok to wall mount even an 50kg TV onto a plasterboard wall imo.

The wall studs are as secure as they will get frankly, did they have neo magnets or wall stud scanners? Any other tools to do the job?

I did not understand if you cancelled the entire job and got it refunded (TV+installation) from JL?

It might be worth speaking to JL and trying it again but this time to ask for better TV installers or if possible if you can speak to them first before they do the installation just to make sure they can install on plasterboards and even question them how they do the installation ie wall studs or use special plasterboard fixtures etc

Otherwise do the above but with your own 3rd party wall mount installer perhaps.

Hi thanks for the reply no he just cam in and tapped on the wall. The place in the wall has no studs behind it, its hollow. Total jokers. I went back to John Lewis last night and got £125 and £100 refunded as a good will gesture. Just hope I can find someone confident enough to install on plasterboard

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Wowza...

The mounting bracket on the G1 occupies a very small area, for something that weighs around 40KG. I wouldn't like to get that wrong: -

Personally, I'd be tempted to cut out an area of plasterboard between the studs and install some plywood behind... Which will be quite an operation in-itself.

 

[Jackass]

Quite an easy job if it’s plasterboard and wood posts behind spaced evenly.
Just need to pick up two of them using hole punch like this:

Amazon product

Then cut out a section of plasterboard across the two posts (300mm high), insert 12mm deep plywood same size as cutout and screw it to posts.
Fix LG tv bracket to the plywood.
Probably best to think about the power and HDMI cable routing whilst cutting the plasterboard phase…

 

[fluxedman]

Hi thanks for the reply no he just cam in and tapped on the wall. The place in the wall has no studs behind it, its hollow. Total jokers. I went back to John Lewis last night and got £125 and £100 refunded as a good will gesture. Just hope I can find someone confident enough to install on plasterboard

Well at least you got the refund, you probably could find better qualified and experienced wall mounters yourself, I take it you took the protect plus insurance just in case with JL?

As for the plasterboard being hollow is it possible you can test this out, I would have thought the wall studs would have been behind them to support the plasterboard at least. Its not easy to locate them but I used a neo magnet from amazon:


Neo magnet




Some Installers do what seemoredigital mentioned above, cutting out a section and fixing a strong plywood board on the inside also, some also use a wooden batten like an 1 by 2 board or bigger so it sits on the outside of the plasterboard but it goes into wooden studs behind the wall, the wooden batten adds more depth between the wall the TV so it wont be a flush fit so the plywood would be better but again it needs studs to work. Obviously a qualified and experienced TV installer would know better since they can see it in person.

I think where possible and for supreme confidence it needs the wall studs really, or plywood or batten at the very least.


You can use togglers or other plasterboard fixtures which 1 fixture alone can go up to I believe 120kg like these, provided the plasterboard is 12.5mm and thick and good condition:

snap toggler



I have done both methods myself last 5 years, but the TV was only 15Kg and it held up fine either method, I just installed multiple snap togglers (6+) just to be overkill, but my 2nd attempt I redid it so it went into the wall studs (used neo magnet) and then again 6 togglers, that allowed me to sleep better at night. I think with an 40kg TV I might be a tad nervous without the wall studs myself.

Hopefully you get a good installer, but if he can locate the wall studs or do a plywood fixture on inside with studs, I think that is your best shot here. Worst comes to worst.... a floor mount stand.

 

[joseywales]

So I purchased my 77" G1 and GX soundbar and informed the pre delivery team its being installed on a hollow plasterboard wall. The install team arrived and said that it cannot be installed on that wall as its too heavy. The way they handled the TV was so disrespectful sliding the stand all over the back of the tv and looking blatantly out of their depth. They didnt grasp its a flush design TV meant to be flush to the wall. He said if I install it would you think you would be moving it around as it might fall down, I was like yeah I may need to access the rest to plug in new devices. That made me think they didnt have a clue risking installing it and not being able to touch it. I told them to take it away and refused delivery. They were amateurs.

So now Im stuck with the dilemma of not being able to put this beauty on the wall. Can anyone offer any help or advice please.

Is it an outside wall or an internal wall ?

 

[joseywales]

If its an outside wall , the plaster board will be dot and dabbed onto the solid wall behind , basically stuck to the wall with adhesive. When you tap on it , it will sound hollow unless you tap where a dab of adhesive is. In that case you use long screws and rawl plugs to fix to the wall behind the plaster board.
If it's an internal wall I always use hollow wall anchors , these are strong enough to hold a large radiator full of water , much heavier than any tv .

 

[joseywales]

If its an outside wall , the plaster board will be dot and dabbed onto the solid wall behind , basically stuck to the wall with adhesive. When you tap on it , it will sound hollow unless you tap where a dab of adhesive is. In that case you use long screws and rawl plugs to fix to the wall behind the plaster board.
If it's an internal wall I always use hollow wall anchors , these are strong enough to hold a large radiator full of water , much heavier than any tv . You can use the togglers as recommended above , the only problem with those is you lose half the fitting behind the plaster board if you have to unscrew it for any reason.

 

[Arcam_boy]

I guess the one bonus is they said it wasn't possible to mount the TV (40KG) on a hollow wall before attempting to do so!!

I'm not sure what the process is with the install from JL but to install such a heavy TV on a hollow wall will require some of the wall to be cut away and some sort of wooden support installed between the joists to take the weight. This would then need making good again - as I say I haven't looked at what the JL install costs or covers but I'd imagine that'd take a few hours work to do properly?

I'd also be concerned about the cables etc as it seems pointless having such a nice TV wall mounted for cables to be seen.

If it was me I'd get a proper AV company / good DIYer to do it properly!

 

[garythebong]

Is it an outside wall or an internal wall ?

it was an internal wall. ive cut away an hold and adding a plywood sheet to the studs to affix to. thanks for your help.

 

[garythebong]

does anyone know the measurements form the top of the tv to the bottom of the G1 77" bracket

 

[joseywales]

it was an internal wall. ive cut away an hold and adding a plywood sheet to the studs to affix to. thanks for your help.

That will be a proper job

 

[Gidoc]

That's rather concerning to read as I am also having a TV installed by John Lewis soon too. I had the same pre-install call just the other day too asking about the type of wall and whether they'd need to connect devices too.

In my case I have plasterboard on brick, it does sound a little hollow in my case but I know there's brick behind the board and I expect they will drill through into bricks and secure the mount.

I've got to be honest though, if I just had plasterboard then I wouldn't be comfortable having my TV mounted. From your description it sounds like they weren't handling your new purchase with care, which I can understand how frustrating that must have been.

What was your experience of the install? I too have a similar wall.

 

[garythebong]

What was your experience of the install? I too have a similar wall.

I got money back and compensation and did it myself its pretty easy tbh. Chopped out plasterboard and put a piece of hardwood plywood in there. Also cut out the box for the 350x350 access panel

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Exxxxxxxxcellent

 

[Gidoc]

Could they have not drilled thru and fixed the bracket to the wall underneath ?

 

[Waynej]

What was your experience of the install? I too have a similar wall.

It went well, I was certainly apprehensive after the posts here. My experience with John Lewis’ wallmounting service was much more positive.

I had a few nit-picks. The right side isn’t quite as flush but only by a few mm, the installer thought my wall may be slightly out on that side. However, seeing my cables at the bottom they seem like they may be cross-wired and not locked into position correctly further up the TV. Not a big issue tbh.

They had some grief with the cables not staying locked in, the catches kept popping open. I was hoping they’d have hooked my cables up before mounting the TV, so this resulted in some awkward fumbling behind the mounted TV. This one concern aside, I thought it all went smoothly. The biggest pain in the arse is my rather small room, I spent a lot of time the night before and in the morning moving crap out

I think my Kenable cables are just a little too chunky so I will look at buying some different ones. The cables for the Series X and PS5 are seemingly a perfect fit, but they’re a little on the short side by the time you route the cables around the back of the G1’s grooves and try and run it down the wall in a straight line. I am going to need 3m cables for that tidy look.

My only real complaint is a negligible one, they didn’t have any cable trunking to hide the wires like JL said on the phone call. I understand that stuff is pretty cheap anyway, but still given the John Lewis cost for the install I was expecting to have that included. It was so low on my radar at the time that I forgot about it, and had to pop out and ask before they drove off. They had a look for me in the van but didn’t have anything there for me.

 

[fluxedman]

Still looks pretty flush against the wall and you can see overall just how much better it is sitting like that there hanging off the wall just clean and right. Sony and other OLED designers should take note but they haven't bothered ever.

I use D-line trunking, screw fix did them pretty cheap while back and they can be painted also, although I recommend not using the adhesive it comes with instead leave the adhesive tape on it and use small screws instead. That glue is a nightmare and it permanent on the wall.

 

[fluxedman]

I got money back and compensation and did it myself its pretty easy tbh. Chopped out plasterboard and put a piece of hardwood plywood in there. Also cut out the box for the 350x350 access panel

Glad you done it yourself, better then probably half the installers anyhow!

I wanted to do the same thing but not sure how it looks inside my wall, id want to add a hardwood plywood but behind the actual wooden studs on in-between those studs, not on top of it from the front.

That way I could add a flexi arm wall mount and push a CX (thick bezel) frame tv or any thick bezel framed tv flsuh back against my wall, but I got a bad feeling the wall studs behind my plasterboard don't have a gap behind it. I suppose there is other DIY options to work with between the studs or from the sides but id still have to cut big gaps in the plasterboard

Wish LG did a G series 42" flat bezel design for that flush look!

 

[Gidoc]

It went well, I was certainly apprehensive after the posts here. My experience with John Lewis’ wallmounting service was much more positive.

I had a few nit-picks. The right side isn’t quite as flush but only by a few mm, the installer thought my wall may be slightly out on that side. However, seeing my cables at the bottom they seem like they may be cross-wired and not locked into position correctly further up the TV. Not a big issue tbh.

They had some grief with the cables not staying locked in, the catches kept popping open. I was hoping they’d have hooked my cables up before mounting the TV, so this resulted in some awkward fumbling behind the mounted TV. This one concern aside, I thought it all went smoothly. The biggest pain in the arse is my rather small room, I spent a lot of time the night before and in the morning moving crap out

I think my Kenable cables are just a little too chunky so I will look at buying some different ones. The cables for the Series X and PS5 are seemingly a perfect fit, but they’re a little on the short side by the time you route the cables around the back of the G1’s grooves and try and run it down the wall in a straight line. I am going to need 3m cables for that tidy look.

My only real complaint is a negligible one, they didn’t have any cable trunking to hide the wires like JL said on the phone call. I understand that stuff is pretty cheap anyway, but still given the John Lewis cost for the install I was expecting to have that included. It was so low on my radar at the time that I forgot about it, and had to pop out and ask before they drove off. They had a look for me in the van but didn’t have anything there for me.


View attachment 1639732View attachment 1639733

Great review - what’s your wall like - did they cut it open or just drill thru? Did they carry any support to be put inside ? Is this 65”?

 

[Waynej]

Great review - what’s your wall like - did they cut it open or just drill thru? Did they carry any support to be put inside ? Is this 65”?

I described it to the installer as plasterboard on brick. He thought it was dot and dab with a gap between, I’m not too sure on the jargon tbh but I am happy with the end result. They just drilled through, he mentioned afterwards that it was tough and he thought he was drilling through concrete.

I didn’t think to ask when he mentioned a gap, but I should have queried his opinion on whether that gap would be sufficient enough to run the cables through the wall. Knowing there’s brick and plasterboard the possibility of running cables behind the plasterboard never even entered my mind.

 

[Gidoc]

That’s reassuring, my wall is also plasterboard on brick as there are hollow gaps or dot and dab, so it seems the instal should go ok. I will use only two cables but your tip about having the cables fixed before mounting the tv is very useful.
If later on more hdmi cable needs putting in is it easy to move the G1from the wall? Thanks

 

[garythebong]

Im really happy with my installation I did. I took far more attention to detail dealing with mm to appease my OCD. Prep work was key getting the box in the all and adding the plywood. Thanks for all the advice from everyone. Happy 77" owner