You can install your wall-mounted plasma TV into metal studs using toggle bolts. Toggle bolts will provide the strength necessary to hold your TV and maintain the integrity of the metal stud.
Mounting brackets for wall-mounted plasma TVs come in two pieces. One piece is separate and is mounted directly to the wall. Attached to the back of the television is the other part of the mounting bracket. How your two brackets join together depends on the manufacturer's specifications.
Instructions
1. Purchase toggle bolts to fit the screw holes in the television's mounting bracket. This part of the mounting bracket is the piece that is separate from the television and is installed directly onto the wall.
2. Use a stud finder to determine the location of the metal stud. Mark the center of the metal stud.
3. Place the mounting bracket against the wall. The holes in the mounting bracket should align with the center of the metal stud. Using a pencil, mark the location of the holes onto the wall.
The number of holes in your mounting bracket will depend on the manufacturer's specifications. Make a mark for each hole.
4. Drill through the wall and into the metal stud, making a drill hole for each mark. Each hole should be just large enough to fit a folded toggle bolt through it.
5. Separate the toggle from the bolt. Slide the bolt through the hole in the mounting bracket. Slide the toggle back onto the bolt on the backside of the mount--that is, the side that will face the wall. Place the toggle just on the end of the bolt. Repeat for each hole in the bracket.
6. Fold the wings of the toggles on each bolt, and insert into the drilled holes. The toggles and the ends of the bolts are inside the wall. Place the mounting bracket flush to the wall.
7. Using a screwdriver, tighten the bolts until the mounting bracket is secured to the wall.
8. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for joining the attached mounting bracket to the installed wall bracket.
Tags: mounting bracket, metal stud, bolt through, center metal, center metal stud, into metal, manufacturer specifications