Plasterboard wall plugs for TV bracket

[Anthony Deakin]

Hi all, it seems that each time i buy a plasterboard wall plugs to screw into plasterboard either it wont hold the weight of the TV bracket or comes loose after a while.
Can anyone please recommend a decent one?

Thank you

 

[Phil L]

Have you tried the butterfly wings or just the pigtail ones?

 

[Strima]

Is this a stud wall or dot and dab?

 

[Zerax]

...and how big is the TV ?

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Hi all, it seems that each time i buy a plasterboard wall plugs to screw into plasterboard either it wont hold the weight of the TV bracket or comes loose after a while.
Can anyone please recommend a decent one?

Thank you

Fischer cavity fixings are about as good as it gets:

Fischer HM-S Metal Cavity Fixing

The fischer cavity metal anchor HM-S is a versatile cavity fixing with a metric screw for all panel building materials.The fixing is set with the fischer installation pliers HM-Z 1 in the pre-positioned installation. The fixing is pulled in the cavity against the board building material with the...

www.toolstation.com

Note that if the bracket is one of the arm-type ones that holds the TV away from the wall, no plasterboard fixing is going to be up to the job, the lever effect is too strong for them. But for the ones that hold the tv against the wall and allow it to be tilted, the above fixings work well

 

[SJD]

If a stud wall, I'd consider removing a small section of plasterboard to fit a noggin between studs (behind TV, so not visible), refit the plasterboard after and fill the join.
If a dot & dab wall, use deep wall plug fixings into the blocks/bricks, and if needed fill the gap between the blocks and the board with plaster, allow to set before mounting bracket/TV.

 

[LukeD]

Try a 60 inch pioneer Kuro on a wall !!!!

 

[nicebutdim]

I dug out some old Piranha wall plugs for this very purpose (they're soft and grip stud walls very well) and had no issues.

What I'll add is that it was a very light 32" LED tv and I used a fairly large, slimline mounting bracket to ensure the largest possible footprint on the wall. Realistically there is only so much that can be achieved on plasterboard, without additioinal reinforcement.

 

[Anthony Deakin]

Thanks guys ?

 

[Midwest]

I've used these for similar;

Heavy Duty Plasterboard Fixings | Cavity Wall Fixings | GeeFix

GeeFix ultimate heavy duty plasterboard fixings, cavity wall / hollow wall anchors for heavy objects. Works with materials between 3mm & 75mm

www.geefix.com

 

[Yozza19]

Most of the time it isn’t the fixings that fail but the plasterboard themselves anything over 5kg I would recommend installing a mounting board between joists

 

[LukeD]

Most of the time it isn’t the fixings that fail but the plasterboard themselves anything over 5kg I would recommend installing a mounting board between joists

THis.. Just cut out a small section. slide in some ply. screw a few screws to locate it .Then fit the bracket through the plasterboard and into the Ply using woodscrews .
easy

 

[UNG]

If it's a stud wall just span the studs with a couple 3mm steel or aluminium flat bars and fix the bracket to them

 

[telectrix]

cut a 18" x 9" rectangle out. glue in a concrete block with drywall adhesive. fix TV.

 

[MJPD29]

I could never fix a TV to a plasterboard wall. It would play on my mind constantly that it would fall. Any time I've done it, I've found a stud or opened up the wall behind where the bracket will cover and fitted a ground for it. I wouldn't leave the life of my beautiful new tv in the hands of a few plasterboard fixings

 

[Pretty Mouth]

I could never fix a TV to a plasterboard wall. It would play on my mind constantly that it would fall. Any time I've done it, I've found a stud or opened up the wall behind where the bracket will cover and fitted a ground for it. I wouldn't leave the life of my beautiful new tv in the hands of a few plasterboard fixings

The plasterboard fixings I linked to above are IIRC good for up to 20kg each fixing, and are fine for a bracket that fixes the TV flat to the wall. I have fitted loads this way with no problems. Watch this youtube vid:

 

[LukeD]

Remember ,many of you have kitchen wall cabinets hanging on by plasterboard plugs !

 

[telectrix]

Remember ,many of you have kitchen wall cabinets hanging on my plasterboard plugs !

mainly reinforced by a couple of 3" x 10's directly into 1 leg of a RFC.

 

[DPG]

It's surprising how much weight you can hang on plasterboard if you use a good fixing. As long as it is a shear force, ie. not a TV arm that folds out from the wall.

 

[littlespark]

When my neighbours house flooded, and he was getting a new kitchen out the insurance, I helped myself to some old units that matched my own.

surprised to find they were held up with screws into plasterboard… no fancy fixings, not even a rawlplug…. And half a tube of “sticks-like-s**t”

 

[MJPD29]

The plasterboard fixings I linked to above are IIRC good for up to 20kg each fixing, and are fine for a bracket that fixes the TV flat to the wall. I have fitted loads this way with no problems. Watch this youtube vid:

I never trust anyone that goes by 'handyman'

 

[Pretty Mouth]

I never trust anyone that goes by 'handyman'

I'm not sure what you might distrust about the guy in the video? It's worth watching without prejudice, you may learn something rather than relying on gut feeling.

@UNG , when disagreeing with a post, it's worth explaining why you disagree. It adds to the discussion. Also, without it, it looks like you disagree without knowing why you disagree, so I start to associate your way of thinking with that of some of my ex girlfriends, and so develop inappropriate nostalgic feelings for you.

 

[Intoelectrics]

Bottom line is, if you want to guarantee a good fixing some sort of support behind the plasterboard is required. So the simplest solution is to fix in some wood, either board or noggin. If you decide to go with just fixings then a butterfly type or similar is going to be your next best thing. Any fixing that grips behind the board either side of the hole rather than gripping the hole.

 

[DPG]

A lot of TV brackets have quite wide mounting plates, so you can often get at least one decent size wood screw into a stud. Then use suitable plasterboard fixings for the rest.

I've used the 'Grip It' fixings a few times and they seem pretty good. Note, I've no link with this company. I always fancied trying them since I saw them on Dragon's Den though. They were one of the better ideas on that program!

Obviously if it's a huge telly, or an extending arm then you will probably need to do what other people have said, ie. insert some plywood or a noggin.

 

[UNG]

The plasterboard fixings I linked to above are IIRC good for up to 20kg each fixing, and are fine for a bracket that fixes the TV flat to the wall. I have fitted loads this way with no problems. Watch this youtube vid:

Would have been a much better video if he had used a Hydrajaws to quantify the pull out strength and even then with the variables of plasterboard it would not necessarily been a conclusive test

The youtube video lacks in a lot ways and piling bricks on a shelf doesn't give any repeatable value given how the bricks were placed differently in some tests. It could be argued that the various fixings used may not have been placed to optimise their fixing strength in the test

Plasterboard is difficult thing to reliably fix to as you never know how it was stored prior to fixing, if it was damp was it dried out properly, how do you check for any manufacturing flaws in the board (yes I have found hollow spaces within boards in the past).

A TV bracket can present a number problems that need to be considered not least the leverage forces that can be present on the top fixings if the bracket has a small footprint and the TV extends significantly above the top fixings. Add to that the additional strain placed on the bracket while accessing any of the ports to add or remove or replace any additional tech while it may not be a regular occurrence it does happen

IMO direct fixing to plasterboard needs to very carefully assessed and considered especially in a customers property with TV brackets they can carry a number of sizes of TV, the customer could swap the TV you fixed for a much larger one some months down the line and the fixings may not be suited to the extra weight

 

[UNG]

I'm not sure what you might distrust about the guy in the video? It's worth watching without prejudice, you may learn something rather than relying on gut feeling.

As someone who has done a number of specialist fixings courses that video is not helpful at all to anyone moving the load closer to the front edge of that shelf even by 5 - 10mm could give very different results to those demonstrated. If you are going to "publish" your experiments on youtube I think you need to be a bit more objective than just piling a load of bricks on a shelf

 

[Lister1987]

A lot of TV brackets have quite wide mounting plates, so you can often get at least one decent size wood screw into a stud. Then use suitable plasterboard fixings for the rest.

I've used the 'Grip It' fixings a few times and they seem pretty good. Note, I've no link with this company. I always fancied trying them since I saw them on Dragon's Den though. They were one of the better ideas on that program!

Obviously if it's a huge telly, or an extending arm then you will probably need to do what other people have said, ie. insert some plywood or a noggin.

I hate the ------- things, used them to fit some shelves in thr kitchen and without fail 75% of them would chew up the center point (where you put a screwdriver in and twist to deploy the wings) and seemingly not even a 7mm screwdriver blade would span the hole to adequately deploy the wings.

 

[DPG]

I hate the ------- things, used them to fit some shelves in thr kitchen and without fail 75% of them would chew up the center point (where you put a screwdriver in and twist to deploy the wings) and seemingly not even a 7mm screwdriver blade would span the hole to adequately deploy the wings.

That's one thing I've noticed, they are quite particular on screwdriver sizes. Luckily I've got a very large assortment of screwdrivers so found ones to fit!

 

[timhoward]

I wondered if anyone would mention "GripIt" fixings. While I agree with the engineering principles mentioned above (considering reinforcing, or fittings that grip the plasterboard) I have been quite surprised what these gripit fixings will hold.
I also agree that finding something that exactly fits the central slot is worth the time, and if you meet any resistance extending the arms then it's better to investigate why and start again then go for the brute force approach. (They make a little tool for clearing the debris / dry all adhesive that after much scepticism I bought and it did make fitting them much easier.)

 

[telectrix]

by glueing the tV directly to the board, you get a much bigger load spread. need a couple of 6" nails to support TV till glue goes off.

 

[DPG]

Or threaded rods straight through to the other side of the wall, and then a big metal plate on the back.

 

[UNG]

I wondered if anyone would mention "GripIt" fixings. While I agree with the engineering principles mentioned above (considering reinforcing, or fittings that grip the plasterboard) I have been quite surprised what these gripit fixings will hold.
I also agree that finding something that exactly fits the central slot is worth the time, and if you meet any resistance extending the arms then it's better to investigate why and start again then go for the brute force approach. (They make a little tool for clearing the debris / dry all adhesive that after much scepticism I bought and it did make fitting them much easier.)

Never used the Gripit fixings always thought they were an "invention" that had already been invented with a target market that was already overflowing with fixing solutions for plasterboard, I was surprised how lauded they were on Dragon's Den and that they even got an investment.
It demonstrates how good they are when the company became insolvent in 2019 and they are now manufactured under licence

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Would have been a much better video if he had used a Hydrajaws to quantify the pull out strength and even then with the variables of plasterboard it would not necessarily been a conclusive test

The youtube video lacks in a lot ways and piling bricks on a shelf doesn't give any repeatable value given how the bricks were placed differently in some tests. It could be argued that the various fixings used may not have been placed to optimise their fixing strength in the test

Plasterboard is difficult thing to reliably fix to as you never know how it was stored prior to fixing, if it was damp was it dried out properly, how do you check for any manufacturing flaws in the board (yes I have found hollow spaces within boards in the past).

A TV bracket can present a number problems that need to be considered not least the leverage forces that can be present on the top fixings if the bracket has a small footprint and the TV extends significantly above the top fixings. Add to that the additional strain placed on the bracket while accessing any of the ports to add or remove or replace any additional tech while it may not be a regular occurrence it does happen

IMO direct fixing to plasterboard needs to very carefully assessed and considered especially in a customers property with TV brackets they can carry a number of sizes of TV, the customer could swap the TV you fixed for a much larger one some months down the line and the fixings may not be suited to the extra weight

We should keep things in perspective here: we're talking about hanging a TV on a wall, not building a suspension bridge.

Modern TVs are bulky, but not particularly heavy. 25 kilos for a 65 inch TV. The brackets are broad and have multiple fixing points. Put 8 fixings in them, as I linked to above, and they're solid, you could hang yourself from them. If you're fixing something huge, then the bracket will always span a stud, and you can get a couple of screws in there for good measure.

Obviously if you're trying to fit a large TV on a tiny bracket you're going to have problems with the lever effect. The secret is to not do that.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

As someone who has done a number of specialist fixings courses that video is not helpful at all to anyone moving the load closer to the front edge of that shelf even by 5 - 10mm could give very different results to those demonstrated. If you are going to "publish" your experiments on youtube I think you need to be a bit more objective than just piling a load of bricks on a shelf

That youtube video is great, and is extremely useful. It's not a laboratory test for sure, but it doesn't need to be. It shows the fixings being used for exactly the sort of thing they get used for - fixing shelves, and shows the sorts of weights that might cause destruction. What more do you want?

 

[PEG]

Remove the TV from the wall-start reading more books-get a bookcase ?

 

[MJPD29]

Or threaded rods straight through to the other side of the wall, and then a big metal plate on the back.

Another TV bracket possibly?? 2 tvs are better than 1

 

[jay sean]

fix a piece of MDF to the plaster board wall with cavity screws and gripfill and then fix the TV to the MDF.

 

[telectrix]

MDF???? I hate the stuff. Go and wash your mouth out with soap. ??

 

[Midwest]

fix a piece of MDF to the plaster board wall with cavity screws and gripfill and then fix the TV to the MDF.

Plywood would be better, but I’m gonna plug (see what I did there) GeeFix again.

 

[telectrix]

plywood my arse. use a bit of oak or mahogany, lightly stained and french polished.