Mounting a TV in an older home

Houses built before about 1960 were framed and finished differently. None of it stops you from mounting a TV, but assumptions that hold in a new build can go wrong fast.

The studs are different

• True-dimension lumber. An old 2×4 really is two inches by four, and the wood is dense. Bolts hold extremely well — and pilot holes matter, because hard old pine splits or snaps screws.
• Irregular spacing. Sixteen inches is a modern habit. Older walls may be at 12, 18, 20 or 24 inches, sometimes all on the same wall.
• Balloon framing. Studs can run uninterrupted from foundation to roof, leaving open cavities the full height of the house. That makes fishing wires easy and also means anything dropped in the wall is gone.

The surface is different

• Plaster on wood lath is thick, hard and brittle. Drill with a masonry bit through the plaster first, then a wood bit; never hammer.
• Plaster on metal lath or rock lath from the 1930s–50s wrecks stud finders.
• Layers. Paneling over plaster, or drywall added on top, makes the wall thicker than your bolts expect. Measure at an outlet.

More detail in our plaster guide.

The walls aren't flat or plumb

A bracket screwed tight to a bowed wall bends, and a bent bracket leaves the TV crooked however carefully you level it. Shims or washers behind the plate fix this. We also level to the room, not just to the bubble — in a house where the mantel slopes half an inch, a perfectly level TV can look wrong, and we'll ask what you prefer.

Wiring

Very old homes may still have knob-and-tube wiring: single cloth-covered wires on ceramic insulators inside the walls. It must not be disturbed, covered with insulation or tapped for a new outlet. If we see it, we stop and recommend an electrician look at it before anything goes in that wall. Old two-prong outlets without a ground also limit where a TV can safely be plugged in.

Fireplaces

Old masonry chimneys are solid and take anchors well, but the mortar may be soft. We anchor into brick rather than joints and keep away from the flue.

Paint

Homes painted before 1978 may have lead paint under newer layers. Drilling a few holes makes little dust, but it should be caught with a vacuum at the bit and wiped up, not swept.

Go surface-mounted for cables

Cutting plaster for in-wall plates is possible but it chips and cracks. A neat cord cover is kinder to an old wall.

Older homes are priced as standard walls unless masonry is involved: labor from $94.