[gracklemann]

I live in a log home and all the exterior walls are solid logs. I want to mount an LCD in the 40-50" range to the wall. It seems like this should be fine.. but I can't find much info on it, and the one thing I did see had a short blurb saying it might not be a good idea.


"If you have a log cabin, walls with plaster over wooden or metal lathe, etc., this is not a good place to wall mount a HDTV."
newdimensionelectronics.net/wallmountflatpanel.aspx


Has anyone done this, or can anyone think of a reason why it would not be a good idea? Any other advice?

My other option is a stone masonry fireplace, but being natural stone it's not completely flush and I'd have to mount it slightly higher than I'd like.


Thanks for any advice.

 

[jpdeuce]

Are the interior walls covered? Or are they exposed logs?


Can you post a pic of the wall you are considering?


I can't see why some loooong lag screws wouldn't be fine for holding the mount. I would think the biggest issue is hitting somewhere close to the middle of each log for the top and bottom of the mount...whereas most people have an issue of hitting the studs side to side.

 

[Lee L]

Surely the logs would hold the lag screws. I could see an issue with the curve of the logs being too much so the bracket is not stable. In that case, take a 2x10 or a piece of 3/4 plywood and attach it to the middle of two logs above and below each other and attach the bracket to that.


THen your only issue is running the power and signal lines in a way that is not ugly (unless you don;t consider wires to be ugly, then you are good to go). If you use a board like I mentioned, you should have a little space between the logs to mount an outlet box or something in the middel, as long as your bracket has a hole there for that purpose. I guess you could get a piece of wiremold that matches the chinking of the logs or paint it and run that to another wall or corner or maybe even dig the chinking out and run a piece of conduit, then fill in again.


I cranked a quick and dirty paint drawing of what I was thinking.

 

[gracklemann]

Thanks a bunch for the replies and taking the time to make a drawing. I guess I didn't explain very well.. The logs are exposed, but they are flat on the inside, round on the outside. So basically they took a single log and cut it down the middle and put the cut/flat side facing inside and the rounded side out. They also cut a flat surface on the top and bottom so they could stack them flat. Each inside log face has 7 inches of flat surface, and the logs are stacked so there is just a small seam between them.

So I don't think it presents any real technical difficulties so long as I drill near the center so I have enough room to sink the bolts without poking out the other side.

I guess my question was kind of dumb, I just got worried when I read the blurb about it not being a good idea. It's sort of a one shot thing, since if I mess up or split the log or something, replacing it is not an option and repairs could be tricky. I guess I was more looking for some reassurance that it wasn't a totally dumb thing to do.

 

[gracklemann]

Thanks again Lee for taking the time to make that diagram. I feel bad that I may have wasted your time with my shoddy explanation.. anyway, I appreciate the effort. Cheers.

 

[Lee L]

No problem, it only took me a few minutes to make the drawing. If you have a flat surface, then your only issue is making sure to stay away from the edge like you said and running your wires. Just make sure you pre-drill a hole as I imagine splitting is the biggest issue with the logs like with any large section piece of timber. And of course, like you said, the holes are there forever.

 

[jpdeuce]

Yeah, it sounds like the advice that it isn't a good idea refers to the difficulty in fixing it if there's a problem and the fact that you are drilling into a permanent part of the house. If you wanted to move the TV though, I'm sure there's some kind of wood colored epoxy type stuff that you could fill the holes with.


I don't think there's an issue with them being able to hold the weight...just pre-drill, as was suggested, and get it right the first time. On the plus side, no need for a stud finder.