Mounting a TV on Metal Studs in Halifax
Most Halifax condos built after 2000, the new townhouse rows in Bedford West and Larry Uteck, and nearly every commercial unit have steel studs behind the drywall. A lag bolt that would hold a TV for twenty years in wood just spins in 25-gauge steel.
From $188 before HST, pay after the job.
How to tell you have them
A fridge magnet sticks in a vertical line every 16 inches, on the drywall screws. A stud finder reads a narrow edge instead of a solid 1.5-inch band. Knocking tells you nothing, it sounds like any drywall. If the building is a condo tower or a post-2000 build, assume steel until the magnet says otherwise.
Why lag bolts do not work here
Light-gauge steel studs are about half a millimetre thick. A lag bolt cuts its own thread in wood; in steel it strips the hole on the way in and walks back out under the lever load of a tilted TV. The stud flange is also only 1.25 inches wide, so a bolt that misses the centre by half an inch is holding air.
What we use instead
Toggler SNAPTOGGLE heavy-duty toggles, BA size for most brackets and BB for the big ones. The steel channel opens behind the stud flange and clamps the metal between the channel and the bracket, so the load is on the stud, not on the drywall. Each one is rated for roughly 265 pounds in a steel stud; we use four, in two studs.
Over 65 inches, or any full-motion arm with real reach, gets a 3/4-inch plywood backing plate: a board spanning two studs, toggled through both, with the bracket lagged into the plywood. That spreads the arm's twist across the wall instead of two flanges. Backing is priced by text with a photo, usually $40 to $80 on top.
How the install goes
- Find both flanges of two studs with magnet and finder, mark the centres.
- Drill 1/2-inch holes for the toggles through drywall and the stud face.
- Feed and snap the toggles, bolt the bracket, check level with the laser.
- Hang test. If it moves at all, we start over.
- TV on, cables routed, picture checked. About 60 to 75 minutes.
Where we say no
Full-motion arms above 65 inches without backing, and any bracket where the toggles would land in drywall only. If there is no stud where the TV has to go, we either shift the TV a few inches or add the backing plate. For a small bedroom TV under 32 inches on a fixed bracket, toggles into drywall alone are fine; for anything heavier, they are not, and we will say so.
Party walls, resilient channel and drywall-only brackets
Townhouses in Bedford West and Larry Uteck often share a party wall: two rows of studs with a gap, sometimes with resilient channel, a springy metal strip that holds the drywall half an inch off the studs for soundproofing. The channel feels like a stud to a finder and holds nothing. We find the real stud behind it and use longer toggles that reach through both.
A word on the no-stud TV brackets sold online, the ones with a dozen small screws into drywall. They rely on the drywall paper. They work until the day they do not, usually the first humid summer. We will not install them for anything over a 32-inch bedroom TV, and we say so before you buy one.
Price
| Setup | Price |
|---|---|
| Up to 43 inch, your mount | $99 + $59 = $158 |
| 44 to 65 inch, your mount | $129 + $59 = $188 |
| 66 to 85 inch, your mount, two of us | $179 + $59 = $238 |
| Tilt mount from us | +$79 |
| Full-motion mount from us | +$119 |
| Plywood backing for big or full-motion TVs | quoted by text, about $40 to $80 |
| Wires inside the wall | +$119 |
Example: 65 inch on metal studs with a tilt mount from us, $129 + $59 + $79 = $267. Prices before HST.
Or text a photo of the wall to 782-446-6322 for an exact price in minutes. No deposit, you pay after the job.
Questions we get about this
Is it safe for a 75-inch TV?
Yes, on a fixed or tilt bracket with four toggles in two studs. A 75-inch TV weighs 35 to 45 kilos; four heavy-duty toggles in steel hold several times that. For a full-motion arm at that size we add a plywood backing plate first.
Is a full-motion mount OK on metal studs?
Up to about 65 inches, yes, with toggles in two studs. Bigger, or a long-reach arm, needs the backing plate. If the arm is heavy and the wall is thin, we recommend tilt instead and tell you why.
What if there is no stud where the TV needs to go?
We move the TV a few inches, which almost always works, or we fit a backing board across the nearest two studs so the bracket can sit where you want it.
Can you hide the wires in a steel-stud wall?
Yes. The cavity is hollow like any drywall wall, so HDMI and other low-voltage cables go inside for $119, or inside with a recessed power kit for $219.
Ready?
Or text a photo of the wall to 782-446-6322 for an exact price in minutes. No deposit, you pay after the job.