Some condos and townhouses are framed with light steel studs instead of wood. A wood screw has nothing to bite into, and a plastic drywall anchor has no place behind a TV. Steel is still workable. The rules come from the companies that make the mount and the anchor, and this guide sticks to what they publish. For the rest of a clean install, see my guide to mounting a TV above a fireplace.
How do you tell if your wall has steel studs?
Run a stud finder along the wall. Many finders pick up steel as well as wood. A magnet finds the drywall screws, which line up over a stud in both kinds of wall, so it tells you where a stud is but not what it is made of.
The sure test is a small pilot hole in a spot the TV will cover. A bit going into wood brings out sawdust. A bit that meets a thin sheet of metal just behind the drywall, and throws silver shavings, has found steel. Mark both edges of each stud, because the anchors need to land in the middle of the steel.
Can a TV be mounted on steel studs safely?
Yes, with the right hardware and inside the maker's limits. A steel stud is a thin folded channel of metal, so a lag screw that holds in wood strips out of it. A toggle bolt works differently. Its metal channel goes through a drilled hole, sits flat behind the wall, and clamps the drywall and the stud face together as the bolt tightens.
Sanus puts its wall rules in writing for its SSMK1 steel stud kit. The manual says the studs must be at least 25 gauge and 2x4 size, the drywall at least 1/2 inch thick, and the kit centred on the studs. It says the wall must be able to carry five times the weight of the TV and mount together. It also lists a maximum TV weight for each Sanus mount the kit works with. If your wall or your mount falls outside those lines, that kit is the wrong answer.
Which anchors hold a TV on a steel stud wall?
Heavy-duty toggle bolts. Toggler's SNAPTOGGLE is the bolt Kanto packs with its steel stud mount, and Toggler publishes test results for it in 1/2 and 5/8 inch drywall over a 25 gauge steel stud.
Read that data sheet with care. Its numbers are ultimate loads, the point where the wall broke in a lab. Toggler notes that industry standards recommend using a quarter of the ultimate figure. It adds that holding strength drops as the load moves farther from the wall, and that the values are a guide that cannot be guaranteed. So the big number on a data sheet is a failure load, never a TV weight limit. The mount maker's steel stud limit, the anchor data and the state of your wall all have to agree.
Every job I take gets a written scope before I start, so the price is agreed in advance and the list stays the list.
Want me to take this one on? My page on TV mounting covers what the visit includes, what I hand off, and how I price it.
Can a full-motion mount go on steel studs?
The makers disagree, so follow the one that made your mount. Sanus says on its steel stud kit page that it does not recommend full-motion mounts in steel studs, because they can twist and become unsafe. Kanto sells a full-motion mount built for metal studs, the LX600SW, rated for TVs up to 100 lb, with four SNAPTOGGLE bolts in the box.
An arm pulled out from the wall pries on the top anchors, and Toggler's own sheet says holding strength falls as the load moves out from the wall. A fixed or tilting mount keeps the weight close. On steel, that is the safer pick, unless the full-motion mount is one its maker built for steel studs.
If the wall is open, or you are redoing it anyway, wood blocking can be fastened between the steel studs before the drywall goes back. Then the mount goes into wood. It means cutting and patching the wall, so it suits a renovation more than a single TV.
Do you need strata permission to mount a TV?
Check before you drill. Under BC's Strata Property Act, a strata's bylaws are the Standard Bylaws unless it has filed different ones. Standard Bylaw 5 says an owner needs the strata's written approval before an alteration that involves the structure of a building, common property inside the lot, or parts of the lot the strata must insure, among other things. The strata must not unreasonably refuse, but it can ask you to agree in writing to cover costs tied to the change.
Shared walls need extra care. Section 68 of the Act puts the lot boundary midway through the structural part of a wall you share with a neighbour or with common property, unless the strata plan shows otherwise. Whether a few anchor holes count as an alteration is your strata's call. Email the council or the property manager with the wall, the mount and the hardware, and keep the reply.
What sets the price of a steel stud TV install?
My only published price is the $200 minimum per job. The rest depends on these:
- The TV's size and weight, and whether the mount is fixed, tilting or full motion.
- Whether your mount has a steel stud kit, or needs different hardware.
- How many studs the TV spot lands on, and whether backing is needed.
- Hiding the cables, and what is inside the wall on the route.
- How many TVs, shelves or mirrors go up in the same visit.
Steel stud walls are part of my TV mounting work. For your town, see TV mounting in Surrey, TV mounting in Langley or TV mounting in Abbotsford. If you move the TV later, the toggle holes are a small patch job, and my guide on drywall repair cost explains what sets that price.
