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

[Coltaine79]

I'd like to wall mount my LCD TV (46") to one of the walls of my living room. Problem is, both of the walls are unit separation
walls. I assume that they must be drywall on concrete, but various people I've talked to have given me various other possibilities.
Talking to the property manager did not help much, although she doesn't think the condo board will have a problem with me doing it (which is nice!).

How can I find out what's inside my walls (without breaking them down)? if it matters, my condo is Monarch-built, from the early 2000's, in North York. 24 storey building, from the outside it looks like it's concrete and glass.

 

[Wooba]

Try knocking on the wall.. if it's concrete behind it the sound will be quite different of a wall within your unit.
If there's concrete there, you're pretty much out of luck with mounting it and hiding the cables..

 

[UrbanVigor]

You'll be able to drill into concrete drywall, but as Wooba said it'll be a pain to hide the cables if at all possible. But there are alternatives to keep the cables unsightly.

 

[Eug]

re: cables

Wiremold conduits are available at places like Home Depot.

Personally, I'd just recommend getting a nice shallow flatscreen cabinet. No risk of damage to the wall.

 

[Coltaine79]

Try knocking on the wall.. if it's concrete behind it the sound will be quite different of a wall within your unit.
If there's concrete there, you're pretty much out of luck with mounting it and hiding the cables..

You'll be able to drill into concrete drywall, but as Wooba said it'll be a pain to hide the cables if at all possible. But there are alternatives to keep the cables unsightly.

When I knock, different parts of the wall seem to make different noises.

Well actually 2 different noises. Some parts of the wall have a very dull, dead sound. Other parts of the wall have a more hollow-sounding sound, but nowhere near the "hollowness" I get when I knock on an interior wall.

Does this mean they use concrete for part of the wall and something else for other parts of the wall? I thought all condos were supposed to use concrete between units. Whenever I pass by a new condo under development you can see all the concrete walls between units.

Personally, I'd just recommend getting a nice shallow flatscreen cabinet. No risk of damage to the wall.

True, but... I'm trying to maximize my available living space.

 

[Wooba]

When I knock, different parts of the wall seem to make different noises.

Well actually 2 different noises. Some parts of the wall have a very dull, dead sound. Other parts of the wall have a more hollow-sounding sound, but nowhere near the "hollowness" I get when I knock on an interior wall.

Does this mean they use concrete for part of the wall and something else for other parts of the wall? I thought all condos were supposed to use concrete between units. Whenever I pass by a new condo under development you can see all the concrete walls between units.

Concrete walls between units is desired, but not required by code. Most likely what you're hearing is columns where the sound is very dead and double drywall with insulation in the other parts. One way you may be able to tell, if you've got any outlet boxes in that wall (it's better to check on a cable/phone outlet if you have one for safety reasons), if the box behind the plate is really ridgid then it's likely concrete.. it's there's some play there it's stud mounted.

 

[simuls]

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.

 

[Wooba]

That's true simuls about the butterfly bolts, but I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I had the bracket secured to at least one of the studs..
Not sure what you mean about there being space.. most concrete walls have the drywall pasted/nailed to it.. there's zero space between the two.

 

[Coltaine79]

Concrete walls between units is desired, but not required by code. Most likely what you're hearing is columns where the sound is very dead and double drywall with insulation in the other parts.

So can I mount my TV to the column?

 

[Catapult]

That's true simuls about the butterfly bolts, but I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I had the bracket secured to at least one of the studs..
Not sure what you mean about there being space.. most concrete walls have the drywall pasted/nailed to it.. there's zero space between the two.

The studs are likely metal and will not support your TV. You would have to open up the drywall and install wood studs and cross beam. IKEA has a solution consisting of two metal columns about 5 cm in diameter with a white piece of particle board that spans between the columns. The columns run from floor to ceiling. You can also attach shelves to the columns for your components. Worked well in a modern space.

 

[Coltaine79]

One way you may be able to tell, if you've got any outlet boxes in that wall (it's better to check on a cable/phone outlet if you have one for safety reasons), if the box behind the plate is really ridgid then it's likely concrete.. it's there's some play there it's stud mounted.

out of curiousity, i tried this. Opened up the "plate" of my Cable outlet. Behind it was a steel box. it seemed pretty rigid to me, but then again i could be a weakling. I DID notice that the drywall is only like 1-2 cm thick though!

 

[Wooba]

So can I mount my TV to the column?

I can't see why not.

 

[Wooba]

The studs are likely metal and will not support your TV. You would have to open up the drywall and install wood studs and cross beam. IKEA has a solution consisting of two metal columns about 5 cm in diameter with a white piece of particle board that spans between the columns. The columns run from floor to ceiling. You can also attach shelves to the columns for your components. Worked well in a modern space.

I agree with you Catapult, the studs alone are not good enough.. but I wouldn't trust drywall alone either. I'd want at least one screw on the mounting bracket to be in a stud. When I installed my over the stove microwave it came with spring bolts, but it said in bold letters that it must also be screwed to a stud.

 

[Wooba]

out of curiousity, i tried this. Opened up the "plate" of my Cable outlet. Behind it was a steel box. it seemed pretty rigid to me, but then again i could be a weakling. I DID notice that the drywall is only like 1-2 cm thick though!

Which part are you talking about, where you think there's a column? If the drywall is thin (1/2" or 5/8") then it's pretty much certainly going to be concrete. There are other ways to tell. Does the metal box appear to have masking tape around the outside (use to prevent concrete coming in).. do you see any evidence of concrete running in? The top and bottom screw holes (for holding the plug, cable, outlet, etc).. are they on the inside of the box or outside? Outside means it's NOT installed in concrete.

 

[Wooba]

Catapult: One thing I forgot, if you're looking at the cable outlet box, it's quite possible there's a 4x4 box there with a mud ring on it.. so what I said about the outside screw holes doesn't apply.. if that's the case then the best way to tell is on a power box.. but be careful if you check, don't get shocked.