Mounting a 42" LCD TV to brick

[geno]

For mother's day, my GF and I got my mom a mount for her 42" LCD TV. She was psyched even though it's a simple one with not elaborate articulation. The catch is, the only wall which is suitable for the TV is the wall with the fireplace which happens to be entirely brick.

Now, I know brick is tough and all, but without knowing how it was all put together (the job was done by a previous homeowner, by himself), would you trust a 70-80lb television fastened to the brick itself? I can't find the studs behind the brick because no studfinder can find a stud beneath the bricks.

Maybe I can measure out where the studs are from the outer wall since they should be spaced 16" apart, but that's a crap shoot and I'd like to avoid drilling through the brick only to find out I've missed the mark. But that seems to be my only option other than fastening the mount to the brick itself (which I'm not sure is safe at all).

Any Ideas?

 

[iamwiz82]

Are you sure it's completely brick and not just a facade? If it's real brick or block, go get some block anchors.

http://www.confast.com/concrete-fasteners.aspx

 

[Baked]

Buy her a $200 class top TV stand w/ integrated mount instead. Looking up at things for extended periods will cause neck strain and other health problems.

 

[jemcam]

I live in a 100 year old brick house and have succesfully mounted lots of heavy and/or fragile stuff into the brick using Tapcons. They work great!

They hold a lot of weight

 

[bonkers325]

if you're worried its not built properly, then push against the wall with as much force as you can. 80lbs is really nothing, the brick wall would have to have been put together with elmer's glue for 80lbs to really affect it.

use something like this to bolt your tv mount to your brick wall. measure out the bolt hole diameter for your mount, then find a matching masonry anchor that will fit it.
http://www.homedepot.com/webap...=10000003+90401+502961

a guide to masonry anchors from ACE hardware http://www.acehardware.com/sm-...chors--bg-1283458.html

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: jemcam
I live in a 100 year old brick house and have succesfully mounted lots of heavy and/or fragile stuff into the brick using Tapcons. They work great!

They hold a lot of weight

Tapcon = :thumbsup:

 

[davestar]

the real problem you should be thinking of is how to hide the various power, video, and audio cables that will be attached to the TV. it's easy to drop them behind some drywall, but a fireplace won't work the same way...

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: davestar
the real problem you should be thinking of is how to hide the various power, video, and audio cables that will be attached to the TV. it's easy to drop them behind some drywall, but a fireplace won't work the same way...

Luckily, there's a mantle mounted into the wall which is above eye level when sitting down. We'll be able to run the cables along that and tuck it away neatly.

As far as sinking the Tapcons, what type of drill am I looking at to get through the brick. Will I need a hammer drill? I have a feeling my 19V cordless won't do the trick here.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy her a $200 class top TV stand w/ integrated mount instead. Looking up at things for extended periods will cause neck strain and other health problems.

QFT, mounting TVs above fireplaces is tacky and terrible for ergonomics.

I personally would hate to tilt my head back to watch TV. Doing so far hours at a time would be very uncomfortable.

Also did I mention it was tacky?

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: davestar
the real problem you should be thinking of is how to hide the various power, video, and audio cables that will be attached to the TV. it's easy to drop them behind some drywall, but a fireplace won't work the same way...

Luckily, there's a mantle mounted into the wall which is above eye level when sitting down. We'll be able to run the cables along that and tuck it away neatly.

As far as sinking the Tapcons, what type of drill am I looking at to get through the brick. Will I need a hammer drill? I have a feeling my 19V cordless won't do the trick here.

Yes, go with a hammer drill. The bits will be sold right next to the anchors, so you won't have to go looking for anything special.

Here's the product information sheet:

http://www.itwbuildex.com/catpdf1/tapcon.pdf

 

[Squisher]

There is very good possibility that the brick is only fascia brick and the mortar is probably only 3/8" thick and not suitable for using a tapcon. A nice hollow wall anchor will work fine if this is the case.

If you still want to find a stud, are there any heat vents or electrical outlets on the wall? They can be used to verify if your measurements out from the adjoining wall are right. Pop off a cover and peak and poke around the outside of a vent or electrical box to get some idea if your estimates about the location of the studs are correct.

 

[geno]

I hear you about the fascia, but I'm pretty certain it's full brick. If you go to the basement, you can see parts of the brick wall reach below the sill of the house. It's all full brick and mortar. Funny story, the guy who used to own this place was a firefighter. About 25 years ago, there was a huge fire downtown which is still talked about today. This guy had access to the site after the blaze and pillaged all of the bricks from it. So, a part of our city's history is sitting in our living room

He bricked in one entire wall and about 4' of the adjacent walls (think of a giant U), and it's easy to see on the "sides" of the U that these aren't fascia bricks (the bricks on the side stick out from the normal, sheetrocked walls). Unless he used full bricks on the sides of the U and cut up the bricks for the full wall, which I doubt.

Also, unfortunately, there's nothing on that wall other than outlets, which are flush with the brick - so I'm not sure what that says about the possibility of them lining up with a stud.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

We used to mount tvs above fireplaces all the time at my last job. Basically you use a hammer drill and take out ~ 1/2 a brick. That's enough to run the wires you need. 2 hdmi cables. They have flat ones you can use. component. 1 or 2 triples. 3 speaker wires. extension/power cable. There's a small channel behind the fireplace that you actually run the cables through. You can tape them up with that fireproofing tape to keep them from heating up too much. You come out usually where the fireplace starts the / \. If there's siding you run the wires underneath the siding, and then go back into the house in a empty decora light switch plate. that's where you hook everything up to your components. you seal the hole up on the outside with foam. you need to mount the tv in such a way so you don't cause the illusion of a crooked tv based on the mortar lines. Also usually mantles are crooked so in that case you would need to shim the tv on one side of the mount so that the tv in effect looks straight although it's actually slightly off. you use 4 morter/concrete anchors. i think we used woodpecker or hilti or something. I can't remember exactly. Usually you will have to use some plastic spacers. It's been a while so i might not be 100% accurate. There are some pictures here http://hometheatrebysal.com/photos.php

 

[MotionMan]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!!!
(Sometimes, search DOES work)

I was wondering, OP, how your project went? Pix?

I am about to mount a 42" LCD on a drywall-covered brick fireplace. So I was also wondering if I need to do anything special to deal with the drywall/brick combination?

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[geno]

I can definitely take pics. After I opened the mount kit up, I saw it actually included concrete anchors. I used the ones with the kit and the TV has been up for the last 2-3 months with no problem. I've kept an eye on the anchors to make sure they're not pulling out and they definitely aren't. The only thing I'd be worried about in your case is the drywall on top of the brick. You won't be able to snug the bolts into the anchors too well without crushing the crap out of the drywall. I don't know if anyone would recommend it, but I wonder if there's some sort of spacer which would keep this from happening, but keep the bolt nice and snug in the anchor.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: geno
I can definitely take pics. After I opened the mount kit up, I saw it actually included concrete anchors. I used the ones with the kit and the TV has been up for the last 2-3 months with no problem. I've kept an eye on the anchors to make sure they're not pulling out and they definitely aren't. The only thing I'd be worried about in your case is the drywall on top of the brick. You won't be able to snug the bolts into the anchors too well without crushing the crap out of the drywall. I don't know if anyone would recommend it, but I wonder if there's some sort of spacer which would keep this from happening, but keep the bolt nice and snug in the anchor.

Thanks.

I would love to see pix if you can. I am planning to try this on the weekend.

MotionMan

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy her a $200 class top TV stand w/ integrated mount instead. Looking up at things for extended periods will cause neck strain and other health problems.

QFT, mounting TVs above fireplaces is tacky and terrible for ergonomics.

I personally would hate to tilt my head back to watch TV. Doing so far hours at a time would be very uncomfortable.

Also did I mention it was tacky?

where was the TV before? Chances are that is really going to be the best place.

Your mantle can be anything from real brick to a foam 'brick board'...

Something else to consider is cable management. Too many hang their screen and then realize WTF are they going to do to get the cables to it.

I know quite a few that regreted mounting their sets over their mantle (I also know a lot of them regret giving up a family room wall for a fireplace in Florida ).

 

[Jeeebus]

My project went pretty well... that's a 120lb plasma on brick

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy her a $200 class top TV stand w/ integrated mount instead. Looking up at things for extended periods will cause neck strain and other health problems.

QFT, mounting TVs above fireplaces is tacky and terrible for ergonomics.

I personally would hate to tilt my head back to watch TV. Doing so far hours at a time would be very uncomfortable.

Also did I mention it was tacky?

where was the TV before? Chances are that is really going to be the best place.

Your mantle can be anything from real brick to a foam 'brick board'...

Something else to consider is cable management. Too many hang their screen and then realize WTF are they going to do to get the cables to it.

I know quite a few that regreted mounting their sets over their mantle (I also know a lot of them regret giving up a family room wall for a fireplace in Florida ).

In my situation, they place where the people we bought the house from had their TV was terrible. Because the TV room was added on about three owners ago, it has some funky sight-lines for TV. So, over the mantle is really the only place for the TV (it has been ON the mantle for the last 1.5 years as it is).

I am not sure what I am going to do about the wires, yet, but I need to get this TV mounted (for various reasons). I probably will redo the drywall on the fireplace in the next few years and will run the wires then.

MotionMan

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
My project went pretty well... that's a 120lb plasma on brick

GO PATS!

 

[Jeeebus]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
My project went pretty well... that's a 120lb plasma on brick

GO PATS!

not exactly an exciting Monday night game lol.

In other news, here's to hoping you guys forgot about our last meeting, and the Fins go Wildcat crazy on you again in a few weeks!

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy her a $200 class top TV stand w/ integrated mount instead. Looking up at things for extended periods will cause neck strain and other health problems.

QFT, mounting TVs above fireplaces is tacky and terrible for ergonomics.

I personally would hate to tilt my head back to watch TV. Doing so far hours at a time would be very uncomfortable.

Also did I mention it was tacky?

where was the TV before? Chances are that is really going to be the best place.

Your mantle can be anything from real brick to a foam 'brick board'...

Something else to consider is cable management. Too many hang their screen and then realize WTF are they going to do to get the cables to it.

I know quite a few that regreted mounting their sets over their mantle (I also know a lot of them regret giving up a family room wall for a fireplace in Florida ).

In my situation, they place where the people we bought the house from had their TV was terrible. Because the TV room was added on about three owners ago, it has some funky sight-lines for TV. So, over the mantle is really the only place for the TV (it has been ON the mantle for the last 1.5 years as it is).

I am not sure what I am going to do about the wires, yet, but I need to get this TV mounted (for various reasons). I probably will redo the drywall on the fireplace in the next few years and will run the wires then.

MotionMan

This is what the TV room looked like in January (Before the new furniture and pictures on the wall). I still need to get a cabinet for the cable box, DVD, VHS and (not shown) stereo equipment.

The prior owners had the TV on the wall behind the leather chair in this picture.

MotionMan

 

[Drako]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
My project went pretty well... that's a 120lb plasma on brick

Nice job - the cable routing blends in very well!

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: geno
I can definitely take pics. After I opened the mount kit up, I saw it actually included concrete anchors. I used the ones with the kit and the TV has been up for the last 2-3 months with no problem. I've kept an eye on the anchors to make sure they're not pulling out and they definitely aren't. The only thing I'd be worried about in your case is the drywall on top of the brick. You won't be able to snug the bolts into the anchors too well without crushing the crap out of the drywall. I don't know if anyone would recommend it, but I wonder if there's some sort of spacer which would keep this from happening, but keep the bolt nice and snug in the anchor.

Thanks.

I would love to see pix if you can. I am planning to try this on the weekend.

MotionMan

Pic

Ignore the wires, we're still working on a solution for all of the A/V equipment before finalizing what is going to happen with the cables / wires. Is there anything else you'd like to see?

The mount also allows for more minute adjustments concerning the height of the TV itself relative to the mount. I'm thinking of lowering it a couple of inches to snug it up against the mantle a little better. Trust me, this is MUCH better than the old solution of having a TV stand on the floor in front of the fireplace.