Wall Mount 20" LCD to Plasterboard Wall

Tesla

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Hi guys,

Business is going well and I have now expanded into Sat. installs- I had quite a lot of experience in this area but have now invested in the tools to undertake the work.

Anyway, I have taken up my first wall mount onto a plasterboard wall, I have been reluctant in the past but I feel a 20" LCD for one of my existing customers is a good starting ground.

The Wall is not very wide as it's between a door and external, brick wall. The wall is approx. 80cm wide and 25cm in depth.

Behind the wall is a small utility room.

As far as I can tell there are no horizontal noggins in the wall, just two vertical struts and then a sheet of plaster board between.

I have given the install some thought and think it's possible to either, chop a hole in the plasterboard, build a timber frame, make good and mount to that.

Less work & mess- mount the timber externally, on the surface of the wall but behind the TV so not visible.

Build something on the opposite side of the wall which I can clamp through to.

I am not sure which would be the best way about this install, and also the best way in which to carry out each solution.

The wall mount is on a short arm, 30cm so that the TV can be held off of the wall and angled in the corner of the room.

I really appreciate any advice and help.

Regards,

Chris
 
hi there,
i would do the first of your surgestions, i would also drop conduit in there for the cables so they where hidden out of the way it would a lot more professional doing it that way then if they decide to move it at a later date or increase the size they know there is a solid mounting to the wall and the cables will be there inside the wall so no little hands can tug on them i know it sounds the messy way but then if the customer like it you will reap the rewards through the word of mouth and it will start getting a very good name!! trust me i get more work from word of mouth than advertising , i help this is some help to you
all the best and merry christmas
tec:hiya: :smashin:
 
Tesla, i also agree with the above comments - i also suggest you take some step by step photo's, and stick them in the home cinema diy section, as it will be a massive help to some of the members of this site..
 
Hi guys,

Business is going well and I have now expanded into Sat. installs- I had quite a lot of experience in this area but have now invested in the tools to undertake the work.

Anyway, I have taken up my first wall mount onto a plasterboard wall, I have been reluctant in the past but I feel a 20" LCD for one of my existing customers is a good starting ground.

The Wall is not very wide as it's between a door and external, brick wall. The wall is approx. 80cm wide and 25cm in depth.

Behind the wall is a small utility room.

As far as I can tell there are no horizontal noggins in the wall, just two vertical struts and then a sheet of plaster board between.

I have given the install some thought and think it's possible to either, chop a hole in the plasterboard, build a timber frame, make good and mount to that.

Less work & mess- mount the timber externally, on the surface of the wall but behind the TV so not visible.

Build something on the opposite side of the wall which I can clamp through to.

I am not sure which would be the best way about this install, and also the best way in which to carry out each solution.

The wall mount is on a short arm, 30cm so that the TV can be held off of the wall and angled in the corner of the room.

I really appreciate any advice and help.

Regards,

Chris

For the weight of a 20" I would just hang it on plasterboard fixings. They dont weigh that much! The wall is quite small so the weight is spread quite nicely too. With the right fixings I'd hang a 42" plasma this way.

Devils advocate and all that!
 
With the right fixings I'd hang a 42" plasma this way.

Wow !!!

Just what are the right fixings for this job then ??

Give me a web link - Whatever they are could proove to be a massive time saver.
 
Wow !!!

Just what are the right fixings for this job then ??

Give me a web link - Whatever they are could proove to be a massive time saver.

Hollow wall fixings (expanding type), and they work fine if you can't find a stud, but it really is best to find one!!
 
I will speak with my carpenter friend later on today and I think we will go for the first option. I would not have much confidence mounting to a sheet of plasterboard, plasterboard was never designed to hold the weight of a TV.

It is unlikely they they will ever increase the size of the TV as the 20" 16:9 is perfect for the space and room size.

I will take lots of progress photographs as I am currently having a website produced.

Are any of you more experience installers able to give me a rough idea on how long this would take?

Also, what sort of amount would you guys charge?

I have only done a handful of wall mounts before but these have all been on brick walls, and taken around 2 days due to the re-plastering, etc. involved.

Thank you very much,

Chris
 
I've mounted a 42 inch to plasterboard (only temporarily mind, for a days hire) using hollow wall fixings - it wasn't going anywhere but I wouldn't have wanted to catch it with anything in case it brought a 42 inch diagonal section of plasterboard with it!! If you use the wider backplates available from btech, unicol and timms you can usually find a stud within the width of the screen, but with a 20 inch I wouldn't be worried just using the standard fixings mentioned - just let them know that the fixings will easily accept the weight of the tv, but not the weight of the tv with someone hanging on it!!
 
Well my quote has now been accepted for installing the wood work within the wall and then the TV ontop.

There are only two studs in the wall, one at each end, the wall is not very wide at all.

The bracket they have is not a "load spreader". It's designed to be attached to a vertical stud.

The only queries I have with the job are...

Wood Sheet thickness and material. Which wood should I choose to use for the actual bracket to screw into? Would MDF be the best bet?

Secondly, when fitting the chopped bit of plasterboard back into the wall what is the best way to fill the edges, I am going for the best finish possible. So a step by step guide on filling the edged of the plasterboard would be very helpful.

Thanks again guys.

EDIT- I was just going to drop all of the cabling within the wall, do I need to put it in some sort of conduit or can I leave it loose in the wall? If conduit then how would I go about threading this into the wall. (sorry for all of the questions but I have never had an unhappy customer, don't intend to start!)
 
Tesla, i'd imagine the best way would be some Board Adhesive, the same stuff plasterers use to Dot & Dab a wall, i've done it this way myself.

As for the cables, i'd leave them loose, but attached/clipped at the top to prevent them falling back in, unless you take your time when fitting the wood and put custom slots to suit each cable you'll be attaching to prevent them falling back in.
 
Tesla, i'd imagine the best way would be some Board Adhesive, the same stuff plasterers use to Dot & Dab a wall, i've done it this way myself.

As for the cables, i'd leave them loose, but attached/clipped at the top to prevent them falling back in, unless you take your time when fitting the wood and put custom slots to suit each cable you'll be attaching to prevent them falling back in.

I am not on about the best way to re-attach the piece of plasterboard, I was going to plasterboard screw it to the newly installed timber frame work.

I meant making the cut/join between the chopped out piece and original piece invisible.

(unless I have misread your post and this is what you mean?)

I was going to leave some pull wires in the wall for future use :)
 
Then you need Board filler, i've just partitioned my garage, and used the stuff, scrim the joints, apply the board filler, leave to dry, and sand (if it needs it). No need to re-skim...

When you fit the wood to your frame, slot it just big enough for each of your cables to slide in the slots, but not big enough for the connecters to slide back through - this way, when you fit the wood, you have your cables hanging there also..... pull through what you need to connect up....... hope this is a bit clearer.......
 
I will speak with my carpenter friend later on today and I think we will go for the first option. I would not have much confidence mounting to a sheet of plasterboard, plasterboard was never designed to hold the weight of a TV.

It is unlikely they they will ever increase the size of the TV as the 20" 16:9 is perfect for the space and room size.

I will take lots of progress photographs as I am currently having a website produced.

Are any of you more experience installers able to give me a rough idea on how long this would take?

Also, what sort of amount would you guys charge?

I have only done a handful of wall mounts before but these have all been on brick walls, and taken around 2 days due to the re-plastering, etc. involved.

Thank you very much,

Chris


Plasterboard can handle this weight no problem, plasterboard and expanding bolts mean it will not be an issue as you are dealing with "shear force" an example of this would be - kitchin units - these typically hang from plasterboard and most of these will be heavier when empty let alone full :)
 
Plasterboard can handle this weight no problem, plasterboard and expanding bolts mean it will not be an issue as you are dealing with "shear force" an example of this would be - kitchin units - these typically hang from plasterboard and most of these will be heavier when empty let alone full :)
As the mount was not load spreading and designed to be mounted on a stud I did go ahead with the install yesterday and build a stud in the wall between two noggins.

The bracket was very sturdy, no movement at all.

Will get some pics when I add the custom shelf tomorrow for the TVDrive to sit on.
 
Completed the install and my customer was pleased with the job, as was I.

The install is not as "custom" as some of my others but suited the very narrow room well.

The TV is on an adjustable arm mount and diagonally angled to be in the corner of the room.

I had a carpenter friend make up the pine shelf for me and the customer is going to stain it to match the other wood in the room. I do not like to stack equipment but installing a series of shelves would of been overkill and the customer just wanted a single shelf.

The cable exit is masked with a twin gang brushed face plate.

All of the power cables exit the wall on the other side so are not visible at all. I did consult the customer about putting the TVDrive and DVD on the other side of the wall (small cupboard) and relay the IR but they were not keen on this.

I am pleased with the neatness of the job and think it's a good start to my plaster board wall mounting. Now, the next job I have lined up is on a dot/dab with thermo block wall so will start a new thread.

Let me know your thoughts:
plastermount.jpg
 

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