Wall mounting a 47" TV to metal studs

[whiskas]

I'll try to make sense explaining this

http://imgur.com/ngwhD.jpg

So I'm trying to mount my 47" 56lbs LCD TV above my fireplace and the wall is recessed about 3 inches. This is not an issue because my TV fits perfectly into that recessed spot.

The problem is attaching the TV to the actual wall and being strong enough not having it fall onto the floor.

I have 3 metal studs behind this wall that are 1 inch in width and seperated by the distance in the image. The metal studs look something like this:

http://imgur.com/UKQxe.jpg

Anyone that has worked with metal studs know that they're made of shitty flimsy metal, I think they use the same metal that is used in making measuring tape.

Now for my plan:

Buy this big mofo of a mount:

http://imgur.com/597S1.jpg

As far as size and weight goes, it will easily handle my TV.

Notice how the mount itself is 45" wide, this will make it take up the entire width of the recessed area above my fireplace, spanning across all 3 metal studs.

I will then place 2 toggle bolts into each metal stud and then 2 toggle bolts into the drywall between each stud, making for a total of 10 toggle bolts. 6 going into the metal studs, and 4 going into the drywall.

I will use these types of bolts, called "steel toggle bolts" since they're apparently stronger than the spring loaded toggle bolts.

http://imgur.com/IERAz.jpg

Does my plan make sense? Do you think I'm using enough toggle bolts? Are the toggle bolts through the drywall necessary at all?

Or is this just a stupid idea overall and there is a better way of doing this that doesn't involves tearing the wall down?

[djayz]

3M that thing onto the wall :thumbsup:

On a more serious note you have never have enough bolts,screws, or hooks holding your tv onto the wall.

Metal studs seem a little iffy as you say since they are pretty flimsy so your idea seems good.

Is there no wooden studs in that wall?
Wood is probably the best for this purpose. I have mounted 2 tvs one a 52 and another a 58, both plasmas, on a wall with wooden studs. All it took was 8 screws(large) for each setup and the thing was solid on the wall.

[ercchry]

wood backing, put a big piece of 3/4" ply back there and put a shit ton (yes thats a technical measurement) of fasteners into that bitch then put mount on top

[whiskas]

I live in an apartment so I'm guessing they used metal studs all around for fire proofing.

I can understand how the wood backing would work, but that would involve sanding, priming, painting to make it match and I don't want to have to go through the trouble of doing that.

[ercchry]

you would not see the backing :dunno:

make it just smaller then the LCD

EDIT: that is HOW we do it when we install big LCDs (i work for a a/v company)

[JRSC00LUDE]

Wood backing would typically be fastened to the metal stubs behind the GWB but since your wall is closed i don't know what would support it for sure. If you use those anchos, i'd be careful. I'd likely still fasten plywood to the wall behind the tv (using many anchors) and then fasten your mounting bracket to that.

.02

[whiskas]

How thick should this wood backing be?

So I attach the wood backing to the wall, should I use toggle bolts to attach the TV mount to the back or just lag bolts?

[ercchry]

3/4" ply is good, lag bolts work (the mount should even come with some)

[HuMz]

Im a commercial Electrician and have seen quite a few TV installs on steel stud and there is always a wood backing.

I've used toggle bolts alot and wouldn't advise them for a tv unless you use a shitload of them.

Cut the drywall out completely in the recessed wall, then fasten the wood down (5/8ths should do) inbetween studs on the inner side. Then you can even put a full sheet on the outside studs covering the hole length of the recessed wall for even more support if you'd like.

And if your worried about seeing the wood you can always drywall and paint over.

[D'z Nutz]

whiskas: A bit of an old bump, but what did you end up doing and how did it turn out? I'll be mounting my tv shortly and my condo's got metal studs.

[whiskas]

I did shitloads of measuring to make sure that I attach the mount to all 3 metal studs and also made sure that the mount was level. There was A LOT of drilling involved, particularly through metal, luckily I had titanium drill bits. I made a pilot hole with a small finish nail, then used a 1/8" drill bit to go through the metal, then followed it up with a 1/4" and then finally a 1/2" drill bit. Those toggler bolts I posted above are absolutely awesome. I was able to hang my whole weight off the mount so I'm confident this mount will hold my TV easily. I got the toggler bolts from home depot.

http://i.imgur.com/ngwhD.jpg

http://imgur.com/WBAFR.jpg

As you can see I have 2 toggle bolts going through each metal stud, and I added another 2 toggle bolts inbetween each stud into the drywall (making a total of 6 bolts in studs, and 4 into drywall).

I got a tilting mount from monoprice, it makes the surface of the TV stick out about 8" from the wall, if you don't count the recession in my wall it's about 4.5" very heavy duty mount, nothing is flimsy on this thing.

http://imgur.com/gEOWx.jpg

And the final product, I'm running 30 feet of HDMI cable to my HTPC. I didn't bother snaking the cable through the wall, instead I snaked it along the ceiling, and it looks great.

http://imgur.com/5GOSe.jpg

I installed this last year in December, and I have had zero problems with it since then. Total cost of install was $50 for the mount, $16 for the toggle bolts, and another $20 for the HDMI cables.

[Unknown303]

Holy shit. Nice setup. Those Monoprice mounts are deadly. That's what I used for my wall mount and it was less than a hundred dollars and I'm pretty sure I saw the same model at Futureshop for 2-300???:nut:

[D'z Nutz]

Awesome! Thanks for the pics. Yeah, I'll probably end up going with the back board route as others have suggested in this thread. I measured the distance between my studs and there's 16" in between each stud and the mount I got doesn't go across end to end like yours.

I also got a monoprice mount as well. I considered this one for a bit:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082806&p_id=3724&seq=1&format=2

But I ended up going with this because of the swinging arm:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082806&p_id=4926&seq=1&format=2

[digi355]

Watch the swigging arm type mounts.

1.Make sure you get an aluminum mount, other types will sag when extended.

2.Reinforce the hell out of the wall, with the arms fully extended the weight of the TV triples, you need to make sure it’s well supported or you’ll cantilever it right out of your wall.