House we’re living in right now has a truss roof. The room over the garage is my office. Sloped ceiling to match the roof. Two dormers. The section of wall between the dormers is the right location for the big ol’ flat screen tv I got after my ancient one died. Got the appropriate wall mount. Needs two studs for the mount. Bracket’s 18″.
All’s going well till I pull out the stud finder. Damn verticals are 24″ oc. That’s why I hate trusses at the moment. I’ve never done _anything_ @ 24″.
One truss, and stud for the wall, is centered on the tv wall. I figure I need to add a brace on either side of that stud reaching the neighboring stud, kinda like what goes behind a pedestal sink. Which means I gotta get into the wall. I can go straight through the front, through the interior side wall of the dormer, or possibly through the garage ceiling beneath.
Which would you pick? Any other ideas?
Thanks.
Replies
I'd pick the easiest one that would get the job done. I agree with your idea of simply placing plywood behind the drywall but from the pic you've shown I couldnt tell you which way is the best way to go.
Or,
Since you may have to cut the drywall anyway, why not create a recess to accept the tv?
Edited 10/17/2007 11:22 pm ET by MSA1
> simply placing plywood behind the drywallI usually use 2x10 or so for that blocking.> why not create a recess to accept the tv?That's a darn good idea. Aside from turning a one hour diversion into a PROJECT, it's a cool upgrade for that wall. I shall contemplate it further. Thanks.
Are you sure you need two studs for the mount? Could you center the mount on the single stud? Surely one stud would be strong enough for the weight of a flat-screen TV, and you could add drywall anchors out to each side for extra stability.
I've mounted TV's in a restaurant on the swing-arm type mounts, and one stud is all that's needed. Two good lag screws into the meat of the stud is plenty to support the weight.
>Two good lag screws into the meat of the stud is plenty to support the weight.Really? I'm less confident. Wall mount is heavy, about 25#. Extends 9" from the wall and is holding a 60#, 46" TV. The mount specifies 2 studs >= 12" apart.I dunno...anyone else think one would cut it?
Really? I'm less confident. Wall mount is heavy, about 25#. Extends 9" from the wall and is holding a 60#, 46" TV. The mount specifies 2 studs >= 12" apart.Hmmm.. okay that's more massive than I was thinking. Well, it seems that no matter what you do, you have to cut out some drywall and then patch it back again. If you go through the front, you'll have insulation to remove and put back again, plus you'll have to cut out a 4-foot wide section. It's probably easiest to cut a hole through the sidewall of the dormer for access, do your thing from behind, and then patch up the access hole.
Those things can get pretty heavy! I did one where the mount was over fifty pounds. It would pull out upp to about two feet and then let the TV swivle. The TV weighed close to two hundred pounds. I was nervous as a cat in a dog kennel doing that one.
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I installed one of those pullout/swivel mounts for my TV. It works well, ($$$$) but that type of mount sticks way out into the room, even when fully retracted. My wife points out how much she hates the way it looks approximately every hour on the hour. If I had it to do again, I'd put it into a recess, as others have suggested to the OP. It depends on the site whether a deep enough recess can be created, although if the mount is fixed, as opposed to articulated, the recess doesn't need to be as deep. One of these days, I'll rip the whole thing off and do it right, i.e. a 16-18 inch deep wall unit.
I'd only need 8" for it to be perfectly flush. It's tempting.
One problem with using a recess with a fixed mount is that it needs to be wide enough for you to get at the TV to attach it to the mount. You could get by with a smaller (height and width) recess if you use a mount that pulls out, but then the recess is probably deeper. That assumes you can't get at the TV from the other side of the wall. Most fancy media rooms have access from the back.
The mount's articulated. This isn't any fancy room, just a fancy tv. Almost any mount will do as long as it's stable. Just weighing options before I create needless work for myself.
You will really be hating the trusses if your TV is over 21" wide if you do that . Be calling BossHog over to help re-engineer trusses.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Yeah, I had the time to get behind another part of the wall, and from what I saw, it's likely that the verticals on the walls are part of the truss, and not a separate pony wall (which they probably woulda framed @ 16). I have zero intention of messing with the truss.
I was mostly referring to the weight of the thing, but that one was installed in a hidden door with a safe behind it, bookshelves above it, and DVD drawers below it, so it was well recessed. The space it recessed into was also painted black - like somebody else mentioned. I think we also considered a dark grey that would have complimented the silver grey plastic tone of the TV plastic frame
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I agree with DougR. One stud ought to be enough for a 85# load. Certainly before I went to all the trouble of tearing into the wall I would do a test. Why not lag bolt the mount to a 2x4 test piece and load it with 60# or more of weights and see how it does? If you use 1/2"x 3 1/2" lag bolt with a pre-bored pilot hole I think it would take a lot more than 85# to make it fail.
BruceT
>The mount specifies 2 studs >= 12" apart.<
I'm wondering how many are actually installed this way. Kind of hard to meet the criteria exactly where you'd want a TV unless figured from the framing stages or earlier.
I'd probably take a piece of 3/4" ply wide enough to bridge the center stud and the next adjoining one on both sides, fill and seal the edges, screw it to all three studs through the sheetrock, and paint it the same color as the wall.
This may not appeal to your sense of aesthetics, but have you considered surface-mounting a piece of finished plywood directly to the wall. You could paint it black for added drama or even have a shelf along the bottom so you always know where to find the remote.
For things like that I make a decortive structural panel oversized re the TV or whatever.
Mount 3/4" birch ply on the SR surface and surrond it with bolection moulding
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