Mounting a TV on Different Wall Types

Drywall over wood studs

The standard case in most Lexington homes, and the baseline for our pricing.

The mount bolts through the drywall into the studs behind it, and the studs carry the weight. Drywall alone carries nothing structural, which is why finding the studs correctly is the whole job. Studs are usually 16 inches apart.

The limit: where the studs are. If they fall awkwardly for where you want the TV centred, a mount with a wider plate usually solves it.

Metal studs

Common in apartments and newer construction. They are thin, hollow steel, and this is the wall type most often got wrong.

You cannot drive a lag bolt into a metal stud and trust it the way you can with wood. Done properly it uses toggle hardware rated for the load, which spreads the force behind the stud. Done with the wrong anchors it is genuinely unsafe.

The limit: hardware choice, not strength. A correctly anchored metal stud wall holds a large TV fine. More on apartment installs.

Brick

Very strong and straightforward. Masonry anchors go into the brick itself rather than the mortar joints where possible, since solid brick holds better than mortar.

The limit: it is permanent. Anchor holes in brick do not patch invisibly the way drywall does, so it is worth being sure about the position first.

Price: may add a small charge over drywall.

Stone

Works, and holds extremely well once in, but takes the longest. The anchor points have to be chosen around the shape of the stones and their joints rather than measured out on a grid, so the mount position may shift an inch or two from the theoretical ideal.

The limit: anchor placement is dictated by the stone, not by you.

Price: may add a small charge over drywall.

Plaster and lath

Found in older Lexington homes. Plaster over wooden lath strips, with studs behind that.

Plaster is brittle and can crack or crumble if drilled carelessly, so it needs slower drilling and the right bit. The fixing still goes into the studs behind, exactly as with drywall; the plaster is a surface to get through rather than something to anchor to.

The limit: the surface is fragile. Worth accepting slightly imperfect placement to hit a good stud rather than forcing it.

Price: may add a small charge over drywall.

Drywall over concrete or block

Common in basements and some newer builds. There may be furring strips between the drywall and the concrete, or the drywall may be fixed directly.

The anchor goes into the concrete or block behind, which is extremely strong. The main job is working out what is actually behind the surface before choosing hardware.

The wall types summary

Wires on each surface

On drywall, raceway fixes easily and paints to match. On brick, stone, and concrete it fixes with masonry anchors and is usually the sensible answer, because cutting a cable channel into masonry is invasive and permanent. We do not run cable inside walls on any surface. How we handle wires.