[ZZen]

I want to wall mount a 37" panel on an articulating double arm designed for a single wood stud. Is there a quick and easy way to find out if my condo has wood or metal studs? It is a low rise concrete condo built 5 years ago. I have a feeling it may have metal studs which would throw a wrnech into my plan.


Also, I saw the Flat Panel furniture thread but is there a master panel wall mounting thread? I have more questions about the wall mount process I hope to ask soon. Thanks.

 

[TappinZZ]

If you purchase or borrow a cheap "stud Finder" (about $20 @ a HD) it will help you locate the "stud" once you accomplish that you just need to drive a nail into the wall-you should fairly quickly feel the difference b/t wood and steel stud.- I'm a builder and that's the way I'd find one. You can probably find a hangar for the steel stud that will work out what you need to do-they're plenty strong when supported by the sheetrock. The 37" tele will be be under 60 lbs so it still shouldn't be an issue.

 

[ZZen]

thanks tappin - the thing I heard is that metal studs ( I heard they are aluminum?) aren't strong enough for just one. The specs for the mount I looked at say a single wood stud. It says to get an external plate for metal studs which then spans two studs with the actual mount being attached to the center of the plate. That makes for a less clean install. I just borrowed a stud finder so I'll give that a try.

 

[ZZen]

I did the nail test after marking a stud with the detector. It seems that they are metal studs indeed. Now I didn't check the exact area around the fireplace but I assume if it's metal in one wall it will be the same everywhere in the condo. Now I have to figure out my options. I saw metal external plates that span two studs then the mount connects to the plate. I want as clean an install as possible though so I saw an idea on the forum where they cut out drywall and replaced it with plywood cut to shape. The plywood attached to two metal studs, then the moun arm to the plywood. The plywood was putty-ed and painted to match the wall. However, I'm concerned the plywood even if painted may not look as clean and unnoticable as I'd like.

 

[pebbles11]

Would anyone happen to know what is the size of the four screws that are needed to fit in the back of the Panasonic TH-50PX6U so that you can use a third party wall mount? The Panasonic web site only says that they are 8M thread type. I purchased 8Ms but they don't fit. They only start to thread and then just stop.