I wanted to mount our LCD on the wall and have discovered that its a plasterboard wall with an inch of plaster, and not brick as I originally thought. I know that I needed to find the studs behind the wall to hang the TV from so I bought an electronic stud finder which has been pretty useless. Kept giving me inconsistent readings. So I bought a superstrong rare earth magnet and tried that to find the nails instead. Its not finding anything at all so now I'm confused. I just want to get this darn TV up but I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Are there special screws which can go into plasterboard and be strong enough to hold a TV (32 inches)? Has anyone mounted their TV without going into the studs? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I GUARANTEE this works. Just do what us old-timers did (I still do). Take an Electric Razor and run it along the wall (with the cutting side pointed to the ceiling). When you hear a louder hum, than what you had, you have found the stud. Test the location with a nail or screw. Another method, and far more accurate, is to drill a small hole in the wall. Take a hanger and push both ways until you find the stud. Mark those locations and test with a nail or screw. Once you have located them successfully, simply patch whatever small hole(s) you have and attach to the stud. Or, you can simply screw a 2x6 on each stud and mount the tv anywhere between. Just paint the board to match your walls, and attach it over your pilot holes (if you wish) and you will be happy.
as in several answers above, u do not want to trust to sheetrock only, even w/ mollybolts. At best, a mollybolt will spread the weight over 2 inches and that is not enough to protect the investment u have, on just plasterboard. Maybe try mounting a piece of plywood to the wall, attaching to several studs (two at least). make it small enough that it will not be seen and big enough to catch ur bracket attachments. Paint it to match the wall and u can even use a router around the edges or simple quarter round moulding, to give it a finished appearance. Just painting it should be enough, if sized just an inch or so bigger than u need, yet long enough to catch two studs. If that means recentering the tv, it is worth it for the money u have laid out for it. good luck and always listen to red, lol
Yeah--stud-finders are useless in plaster walls....They make toggle-bolts that are pretty strong but the idea of having an expensive TV mounted like this would always make me feel nervous..It would sure suck to come home and find the TV on the floor...We are going to have to go fishing a bit...Get a screw or nail and tap it in at the point where the mount will fall..Get a feel of whats hollow--you can usually tell if you are hitting lath or a stud...Move an inch at a time in--until you hit something solid then try 16 or 24 inches to another side and keep looking---if what you find is awkward for the wall mount-----get a piece of pine strip---- for the top and bottom----run it across to your two known studs then you have a secure wooden bridge to anchor your mount to....paint the pine to match your walls or black like the mount to hide it.
