How to determine if wall mount is feasible or not? (condo)

[Coltaine79]

OK, since I was having trouble getting a wall mount guy to come by, inspect my wall and give me a professional opinion (lazy bums!) I opened up some of the electrical outlets. I took pictures. Please click for full size.

First off, here is a pic of the unit separation wall in question:



Close up of the electrical outlet:



And now 3 pictures with the cover removed. First is with flash off, second and third are different angles, flash on. BTW I measured the thickness of drywall inside the outlet and it appears to be 0.5 inch. And looking at the criteria you posted earlier, we see that the top and bottom screw holes are both INSIDE the box.








For sake of comparison, I also examined the electrical outlet beneath my breakfast bar. It looks really different, check it out.
Top and bottom screw holes are both OUTSIDE the box.




I requested a copy of the structural diagrams for my unit anyways (heh) so I'm sure that will settle all debate once my property manager gets back to me.

 

[Wooba]

That certainly seems to be imbedded in concrete to me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the bottom of the box is that not packing tape I see?
That box will have zero movement if you apply pressure to it.. unlike the one beneath your breakfast bar which will have a certain degree of flexiblity.

You will also be able to diagonally poke a thin screw driver between the metal and the drywall of the breakfast bar plug.. the other one will not allow you do do that because it's surrounded by concrete.

 

[aiekon]

People might be scared of this option (and it's also moot if the wall is made of concrete), but butterfly bolts and drywall will hold, very comfortably, at least 4 times their rated weight. So a butterfly that's rated at 25 pounds on drywall will actually hold about 100. Considering that the newest LED tv's clock in at only 40 pounds for a 46" tv, the days of the massive steel wallmount are numbered (unless articulation is necessary). If going into concrete, then a couple concrete anchors will hold a ton of weight and the wall will have some space between it and the cement where you can place the cables - you just might have to do some drywall repair.

To further add to simuls comment, I was able to hang a Samsung 40" LED TV directly onto the drywall (without mounting to any studs, etc.) using their specialty wall-mounting hardware: http://www.samsung.com/ca/consumer/...e=acc_detail&subsubtype=wall-mount&returnurl=

It essentially allows you to hang your tv on the wall like you would a picture frame. It also comes with the proper hardware if you need to install directly onto concrete.

 

[jaycola]

Go to your electrical panel and shut off the power to these outlets. Remove the face plate and remove the top and bottom screws on the receptacle.
It will pull forward three or four inches so you can get a clear look at the box. If you see any screws on the box, it is likely screwed to a stud of some sort (likely steel). If there are no visible screws it is likely encased in concrete.

If it is a steel stud and hollow wall, there are some anchors specifically designed for steel studs. If it is concrete, there are Tapcon anchors you can use for this application.

The other option either way would be to cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and screw it to the wall. You can paint it to match the wall.
Then install the bracket on the plywood. The steel studs will either be 12 or 18 inches apart. You would want the plywood to extend across at least 2 studs if possible. This may be the best option either way because you have the option of adding extra anchors.

 

[Wooba]

Go to your electrical panel and shut off the power to these outlets. Remove the face plate and remove the top and bottom screws on the receptacle.
It will pull forward three or four inches so you can get a clear look at the box. If you see any screws on the box, it is likely screwed to a stud of some sort (likely steel). If there are no visible screws it is likely encased in concrete.

I didn't recommend doing this because I don't know how comfortable he would be fiddling around with electrical plugs (even if switched off).. but you will not see any screws inside the box that show it's attached to a stud, they are not installed that way. The screws are entirely outside the box covered by drywall. I would be able to tell instantly looking it it myself, but not quite so easy to explain via text