Mounting a TV on stone veneer

Stacked stone looks great behind a TV and is one of the trickier surfaces to mount on. The stone is rough, the pieces stick out by different amounts, and the veneer itself is often only an inch or two thick.

What stone veneer actually is

Most "stone walls" in newer homes are manufactured or thin natural stone veneer stuck to a framed wall or a masonry chimney with mortar. It's a decorative layer. On a framed chase there are wood studs behind it; on a masonry fireplace there's block or brick.

That matters because the veneer alone shouldn't carry the load. The anchors need to reach through it into the structure behind.

The uneven-surface problem

A bracket needs to sit flat. On stacked stone only the high points touch, so tightening the bolts can rock the bracket, crack a stone or leave the TV out of level.

Ways to solve it:

• Spacers or standoffs behind the bracket at each bolt, so the bracket floats level in front of the stone and the load goes through the bolts.
• A mounting board. A painted plywood or hardwood panel, anchored through the stone into the framing, gives a flat surface for the bracket and a place to hide a cord cover.
• Choosing the spot. Sometimes moving the bracket up or down an inch lands the bolts on flatter stones.

Drilling

Use a masonry bit and go slowly through the stone and mortar; hammer mode only if the stone is thick and solid. Manufactured stone is fairly soft and drills easily, but it also chips, so start with a small pilot.

Finding what's behind

Stud finders can't read through an inch of stone and mortar. We work from clues — the framing at the sides of the chase, outlet locations, the mantel fasteners — and confirm with a pilot hole in a mortar joint.

Heat and height

A stone surround is usually a fireplace. Check how warm the wall gets above the mantel and how high the screen ends up; our fireplace guide covers both.

Cables

Stone can't be fished like drywall. If there's a framed chase, wires can sometimes run inside it from behind the TV down to the side. Otherwise a cord cover painted to match the grout colour is the neatest answer.

Tell us when booking if your wall is stone. We price it like other masonry: $40 on top of labor, plus $60 if it's over a fireplace.