Hello everyone,

I've been in the market for a decent 5.1 surround system to compliment the 32" LG TV (32LB9D) I recently purchased. I would very much prefer mounting the speakers to the wall rather than using stands on the floor. I have not yet decided on which 5.1 system either.

My situation is somewhat unique in that I am unable to drill into the walls to create holes to place speaker mounts on the wall. Does anyone know a way around this? I MUCH, MUCH prefer mounting them on the wall rather than the stands. Is there some sort of compound (which would come off w/o too much damage to the wall) or extra strong tape I could use to adhere the mounts to the wall? The compound/tape/whatever would need to be able to support to the speakers, mounts, and the occassional bump now and again if possible.

Is this possible, or am I forced to use stands? I searched this topic but could not find anything relevant, thanks! Sorry if this is the wrong forum.

There are a number of absurdly strong adhesives out there, and there are also a number of hooks you can "stick" to walls using a special sticky strip. Those things can hold like, 8 lbs easy.
However, I wouldn't trust speakers on them, just too damned dangerous/expensive to me. If you really want to do this, you need those tiny bookshelf speakers, nothing else would seem safe enough.

Why can't you drill holes?

Liquid nails will hold forever, but you'll cause far more damage taking liquid nails off the wall than you would fixing a few holes... Are sheetrock anchors out? Even the larger (30 - 50 lb) ones leave small easy-to-patch holes.

The holding solution would have to be temporary and last about 8 or 9 months.

The system is being installed in a dormatory, so the easier to remove at the end of a year the better. This is also why drilling isn't allowed - as I'm pretty sure University regulations is against me leaving holes in my walls. So, drilling really is out of the question unfortunately.

I will likely be purchasing an Onkyo or Yamaha 5.1 system, and they both seem to have the smaller types of speakers. Only the two rear speakers would be wall mounted, the front and center channel will likely rest on the tv stand/entertainment center. The rear speakers weigh ~1.5 lbs according to a search I just did on speaker model SKM-350S, which are the rear speakers included in the Onkyo HT-SR600 system that I am thinking about.

What sort of 'hook' would you suggest I try to use? Could I use a proper wall mount so I could twist and bend it for proper positioning? Any sort of help would be great, thanks!

For <$2, you can buy some spackle and fill the two holes and have plenty left over for the additional three years.

The system is being installed in a dormatory, so the easier to remove at the end of a year the better. This is also why drilling isn't allowed - as I'm pretty sure University regulations is against me leaving holes in my walls. So, drilling really is out of the question unfortunately.
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What sort of 'hook' would you suggest I try to use? Could I use a proper wall mount so I could twist and bend it for proper positioning? Any sort of help would be great, thanks!
See, any 'hook' that would mount to the wall without through-wall anchoring would presumably have a strong adhesive backing, which will actually damage drywall more upon removal than the small holes left by actual sheetrock anchors. Ripping adhesive off the wall will probably damage the outer paper on the drywall, which is far less easy to fix than some small holes. I'm seconding the recommendation to use wall anchors and just fix the holes when you move out. All this entails is pressing drywall mud into the hole and smoothing it with a putty knife (I'm sure you can find all kinds of sites online with pictures and videos of this), letting it dry, sanding it smooth, and painting over it. Check with your university housing people first, of course, since matching the paint color after fixing the holes will probably require their assistance.

I'll ask, but I don't think they will allow the walls to be drilled into. I'll give it a shot, but it seems doubtful.

The walls aren't actually drywall, but more like cinder/cement blocks stacked on top of each other, grouted together, and painted over. Still a problem, I assume?

The walls aren't actually drywall, but more like cinder/cement blocks stacked on top of each other, grouted together, and painted over. Still a problem, I assume?
Ohhh.. I think we all assumed you had drywall. Yeah, you definitely don't want to be drilling holes in cinder block wall. In your case adhesives might be okay, since the worst damage they will do is pull off some paint.

Could I pick up any traditional speaker mount and apply my own adhesive to the back of it? Or are there special adhesive speaker mounts you would recommend? I've tried looking around google, but to little avail. Thanks for all your help so far.

You could use liquid nails construction adhesive to glue the mounts to the wall but it will be a pain to get off and you will more than likely destroy the paint on the wall. Remember if you go this route you will be gluing to the paint and not the block, meaning the paint could come off the block and there goes your speaker :( .


I have to mount some speakers on a brick wall and I will be going in the mortar joints. The holes can be patched at a later date.

In your situation you might be able to do the same, depending on what kind of paint they have used on the block. If they used a glossy finish you could fill the holes with some silicon caulking provided that you can find the same color as the paint or paint over the caulking by doing some light "touch up".

If they don't want you drilling holes and you do it anyways I think that a big problem will be getting the holes in the walls/mortar joints without anyone noticing the noise from hammer drill.

If they are light speakers you probably get by with 1 hole/speaker.

Good Luck!

What's the ceiling made out of? You might be able to mount it there.

Have you heard of 3M Command Adhesive? They make wall hooks, picture hangers, etc. that can be removed without damaging walls. I used to have small speakers with a HTIB system and used this adhesive to stick the speaker to the wall. You don't need the hook part, just the adhesive strips, and applying 2 to each speaker worked great for me. Each strip holds about 5 pounds if I remember correctly.

There are also some hooks that use tension to hold themselves in place between bricks (where the grout is). I don't know if that would work for you, but it might be an option.

I would consider some form of custom stand, rather than hanging the speakers on a walll you can't poke holes into. You don't say why you don't want stands. A stand you make yourself can probably overcome any objections you have. Some small speakers have either a keyhole hook on the back or a 1/4" threaded hole on the bottom or back for mounting. A simple stand could be a flat thin board running up the wall that the speaker mounts to, with a foot to stand out below just a bit more than the speaker is thick. Use a small diameter pipe instead, and you can also run your speaker wires down that pipe.

If you absolutely can't make it to the floor, then making a "tall" flat board with your speaker mounted near the top, would allow more vertical "glue" or tape area to reduce the cantilevering speaker from pulling it free. You mount the board to the wall, then the speaker to the board.

If you are going into cement block walls, you can use tapcons and when you are going to leave, just remove the screws and use a cement patch like you would with spackle in drywall and be done with it.