Tap the wall firmly at several points and listen to the sound. A solid, dull thud suggests brick, concrete, or stone, where standard masonry fixings will work well. A hollow sound at most points indicates a plasterboard stud wall, where fixing into the timber uprights is the correct approach. A wall that sounds hollow in some places and more solid in others is likely a dot and dab wall, where plasterboard is attached to blockwork with adhesive dabs. In modern UK homes built in the last 40 to 50 years, dot and dab is the most common internal wall construction, so if you are in any doubt this is the most likely scenario.
Wall Hang Your New TV Securely
In brief: A large number of wall-mounted TVs fall off the wall each year not because of poor brackets but because of the wrong fixings for the wall type. In older properties with solid brick or plastered walls, standard masonry plugs are fine. In modern homes, the wall behind the plasterboard surface is almost always dot and dab construction, with a gap between the plasterboard and the blockwork. Using a standard fixing in this situation leaves the TV’s weight partially supported by the plasterboard alone, which is not strong enough to hold it reliably over time. A specialist fixing that bridges the gap and transfers the load to the masonry is the only secure solution for a wall-mounted TV in a modern home.
Avoid a Christmas DIY Disaster
Over this Christmas holiday period, as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the New Year launch another wave of winter sales, a huge number of new flat screen TVs will be gleefully acquired and triumphantly attached to walls in homes across the land.
Sadly though, for a large number of people, joy and delight will turn to shock and despair as their new TVs suddenly fall off the wall and smash themselves on the floor! Yet this scenario can be completely avoided.
Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar!
You may well be familiar with this old saying – if not see the explanation at the end of this article – and in this context it means; don’t risk losing your expensive TV just because you skimped on the right wall fixings. If you have just spent a grand on your 4k TV, spending less than one percent more to fix it securely is a definite no-brainer!
At Metex we just can’t understand why people will happily spend £1,000 or more on a TV and then not use the appropriate wall fixings to ensure their expensive investment stays fixed safely and securely on the wall. Yet this is what many people do, they simply use unsuitable fixings and inevitably they suffer the consequences.
So, if you’re planning to buy a new TV over Black Friday or Christmas, here are a few important tips on wall mounting a flatscreen TV to help you have a Happy New Year.
Understand what type of wall is your TV being fixed to
Unless you are planning to install on the ceiling, then you will be fixing your new TV to either an external or internal wall. If it’s an external wall it’s likely to be a solid wall constructed out of bricks or blocks with a plaster skim finish. If your house is of an older construction, your internal walls may also be the same. If this is the case then a suitable number of good quality appropriately sized wall plugs and screws and the correct bracket should be fine as the solid wall will be taking the weight of the TV and as ever – always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and advice.
In more modern houses – and newer extensions on older houses – you are much more likely to encounter a dot and dab or dry lined wall. This is a solid masonry wall which has been faced with plasterboard, most commonly supported on blobs of adhesive (hence the phrase dot and dab). This wall type presents an entirely different challenge when wall hanging your TV. Here there is a gap between the plasterboard and the solid brick or block wall behind it. This is absolutely where you need to make that additional investment and use the correct fixings. With the dot and dab wall, a significant percentage of the load is being supported by the plasterboard alone and in many cases the plasterboard will not be capable of supporting this weight and therefore it will fail, typically collapsing into the void with the result that your TV comes off the wall.
When we say choose the correct fixing, we mean a fixing which bridges the void between the plasterboard and the solid wall beyond. This type of fixing transfers the load to the masonry wall and therefore means the fixing is not solely reliant on the strength of the plasterboard.
There are a few ways that you can achieve this, but by far the quickest and easiest way is by using our Corefix Connect fixings. These have been purposely designed to solve exactly this challenge. They use a unique, patented plastic expandable plug into which a metal sleeve is inserted and this fixing bridges the gap between the plasterboard and the solid wall. All you need do then is to screw your TV bracket or plate into the fixing using a standard screwdriver.
Corefix Connect will deliver a rock solid fixing and has been independently tested and certified to a vertical safe working load of 100kg using just four fixings (our own in-house tests have securely supported 250kg!)
So if you are going out to buy a new TV in the Black Friday sales, make sure you take an extra few minutes to get the right fixings so that it will still be hanging securely on your wall next Christmas. Don’t just fix it – Corefix it!
And finally … if you were wondering about the phrase “Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar!” It is one of those great old sayings designed to pass on valuable lessons and help us all avoid life’s mistakes like; “A stitch in time saves nine! or “Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched”. Except the origins of this one is up for debate – some say that it is about making sure a ship stays seaworthy by caulking its hull with tar – if you skimp on the tar you risk the ship leaking. But others suggest that the word ‘ship’ is actually a corruption of the word ‘sheep’ and the ha’peth (half penny) of tar refers to the ancient practice of putting tar onto a sheep’s skin if it was injured to protect it from infection – so don’t let your sheep die by not putting on a bit of tar.
Either way, it means don’t take a risk with you investment and in this case – fix it safely!
Find out more about Corefix Connect in our guides section!
Find a seller in our list of retailers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do wall-mounted TVs fall off the wall?
In the vast majority of cases, a TV falls off the wall not because the bracket has failed but because the wrong fixings were used for the wall type. In modern UK homes, most internal walls are dot and dab construction, where plasterboard is fixed to blockwork with adhesive dabs leaving a gap behind it. Standard fixings used in this situation leave the TV's weight partially supported by the plasterboard alone, which is not strong enough to hold it reliably over time. As the plasterboard gradually weakens around the fixing points, the installation becomes progressively less stable until the TV comes away from the wall entirely.
What fixings should I use to mount a TV on a dot and dab wall?
Use a specialist dot and dab fixing with a steel core, such as Corefix Connect. Standard rawl plugs grip only the plasterboard and are not strong enough for a TV. Standard frame fixings reach the masonry but crush the plasterboard inward as the screw is tightened, leaving the TV brackets resting against a distorted and weakened surface. Corefix Connect bridges the cavity between the plasterboard and the blockwork with a steel core that transfers the TV's full weight to the solid masonry, with no stress on the plasterboard at all. It has a Safe Working Load of 55kg per fixing in dot and dab walls and installs with a standard 10mm masonry drill, hammer, and screwdriver.
Is it worth spending more on the right fixings for an expensive TV?
Absolutely. A set of appropriate dot and dab fixings costs a small fraction of the cost of a modern flatscreen TV, yet using the wrong fixings is one of the most common reasons TVs fall off walls and are destroyed. The cost of replacing a fallen TV, repairing the damaged wall, and potentially replacing other items it lands on far outweighs the cost of getting the fixings right in the first place. If you have spent several hundred pounds or more on a TV, spending a few pounds more on fixings rated for the wall type is straightforward risk management.
Can I use the fixings that come included with a TV bracket?
The fixings included with most TV brackets are generic and may not be appropriate for your specific wall type. They are typically standard rawl plugs and screws suitable for solid masonry, which will not give a reliable hold on a dot and dab wall. Always check what is included before installation, identify your wall type first, and replace the included fixings with ones specifically rated for your wall material if needed. This is particularly important on dot and dab walls, where using the wrong fixing is the most common cause of TV mounting failures.
How many fixings should be used when wall mounting a TV?
This depends on the bracket design and the weight of the TV, but as a general rule a minimum of four fixings should be used for any TV mounting on a dot and dab wall. Most TV brackets have four or more fixing holes in the wall plate for exactly this reason, and all of them should be used rather than just the minimum needed to get the bracket to stay up. Using all available fixing points spreads the load across more of the masonry, reduces the stress at each individual point, and gives the installation a much greater margin of safety than the minimum number of fixings alone.