Opinions requested: TV wall mount with steel studs

14 years ago

I've mounted a number of flat screen tvs, but always bolted into wooden studs. My daughter just moved into a brand new condo and she would like to have her 32" Sony (which weighs about 30 lbs) mounted on the wall. The wall construction is 1/2" sheetrock over steel studs set 16" on center. Because of the way the cables come into the back of the tv, it needs to be a minimum of 3" away from the wall. I'm planning to get a mount that takes four fasteners and bolt into each of two steel studs with a pair of 1/4" molly bolts, either the ones with spring-loaded wings or the collapsible kind. I'd like opinions on whether this will be adequate to mount a tv of this weight this distance from the wall.

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Comments (3)

yosemitebill
14 years ago
I certainly understand your concern here - at least this is your daughter and not a paying customer! :)

In the installations that I have professionally done, I actually limit display weight to about 30lbs into unknown metal gauge studs and would never install an articulating wall-mount.

I also have always used toggle bolts for metal studs (or to support a "wooden stud on one side/sheet rock on the other" type of wall-mount) without any problems. The most you could get is some incremental sag over time - but at least no dropped panels.

Anything larger in weight, or if an articulating wall-mount is desired, it is going to require opening up the wall and doing some structural reinforcement with dimensional lumber. Yes, there are some hardware suppliers that claim to have the hardware to install into metal studs but the problem is that metal stud construction varies in gauge and placement.

I would not exceed a 3" projection - but are you sure you really need 3 inches? While this was a problem several years back, most manufactures have now relocated connection panels to minimize this problem. There are also many 90 degree (R/L/U/D) connector adapters available to help correct these issues when they arise.

Overall though, with the criteria you presented, you are not doing anything I have not done very successfully in the past.
kudzu9
Original Author
14 years ago
yosemitebill-
Thanks much. I appreciate your thoughtful and detailed reply, and your professional opinion. Right now she has a half dozen RCA plugs that go into jacks that are flush with the back of the set, so it would need the 3" offset distance if nothing changed. Therefore, I am going to get her some right angle adapters as you suggest.
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yosemitebill
14 years ago
kudzu9,

Your question prompted me to check my own supply of adapters.

I was running low on some HDMI adapters and while looking at the Monoprice website this afternoon, I thought I'd look up the RCA ones.

It took a little searching to find them, due to the way they categorize products sometimes, but thought I'd post a link to show you what the RCA ones looks like.

Here is a link that might be useful: RCA 90 Degree Adapters