Mount a full-motion TV bracket on a metal stud wall

Fit a heavy-duty pattress behind the plasterboard so a full-motion TV arm is fixed into solid timber, not just thin metal track.

TV-01Gather your tools and materialsLay everything out before you start: detector, drill, bits, screws, the bracket, and a spare piece of 18mm plywood for the pattress. Check the bracket's weight rating against your TV's actual weight, printed on the box or the back of the TV.

1 each · Full-motion TV bracket, rated for TV weight

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1 each · Cable and stud detector

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1 each · 18mm exterior-grade plywood offcut, 400x300mm

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1 each · Spirit level, 600mm

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1 each · Cordless drill with mixed bit set

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1 each · Dust sheet

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TV-02Work out what your wall is made ofTap the wall along the bracket area. A dull, dense knock is solid brick or block. A hollow drum sound is plasterboard on a frame, or lath and plaster if the house is pre-1930s. Run a magnet or detector along a vertical line: regular metal contacts every 400-600mm mean plasterboard screwed to studs. A pilot hole that brings out pale timber dust means timber studs; fine grey metal swarf means a metal stud frame. If the wall sounds hollow but you can't feel any give when you push it, it's likely dot-and-dab plasterboard over solid masonry.

TV-03Decide how you'll get a solid fixingA full-motion arm pulls hard on its fixings every time it's extended, so this is not a job for plasterboard toggles alone. On a metal or timber stud wall, you need a plywood pattress screwed across at least two studs behind the board. On solid brick or block, fix straight into the masonry with the right plugs. On dot-and-dab, use fixings long enough to reach the masonry behind the air gap. On lath and plaster, find the timber laths or add a noggin - never rely on the plaster itself.

TV-04Mark and level the bracket positionHold the bracket at the height you want and mark its top edge. Use the spirit level to draw a level horizontal line, then mark each screw hole position on the wall through the bracket's fixing holes. Check the height suits your usual seating position before you commit to any drilling.

1 each · Pencil

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TV-05Stop and check before you drillCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, not just in the usual safe zones. Use your detector, but still treat the wall as if something is there until you've proved otherwise - detectors miss deep cables, cables in metal conduit, and anything behind metal-backed board, and a metal stud frame confuses cheap detectors further. Find your stopcock now, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns freely so you can shut off the water fast if you hit a pipe. If you have any doubt at all, isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before you drill.

TV-06Fit a plywood pattress behind a stud wallFor timber or metal stud walls, cut a rectangle of plasterboard between two studs, roughly 350x250mm, keeping the offcut whole. Reaching into the cavity, screw the 18mm plywood pattress flat against the inner face of both studs so it sits flush with the wall surface - use wood screws into timber studs, or self-drilling metal-stud screws plus a timber noggin fixed across the metal track if the track alone won't take a screw. Screw the plasterboard offcut back onto the pattress so the wall is flush again, then fill the seam with ready-mixed filler.

8 each · Wood screws, 40mm (timber studs)

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8 each · Self-drilling metal-stud screws, 25mm

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1 each · Timber noggin, 50x50mm, cut to length

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1 each · Ready-mixed plasterboard filler, small tub

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1 each · Padsaw or plasterboard saw

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TV-07Fix the bracket into solid brick or blockDrill with an SDS drill and an 8mm masonry bit to a depth of 60-65mm, matching the depth to your plug and screw. Push in a red heavy-duty plug for each hole, then drive in a coach screw or heavy-duty frame fixing rated for the bracket's pull-out load. Don't use standard yellow plugs for a full-motion arm - they're not rated for the leverage.

1 each · SDS masonry drill bit, 8mm

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6 each · Heavy-duty red wall plugs

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6 each · Coach screws, 60mm

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TV-08Fix the bracket through dot-and-dab into the masonry behindDot-and-dab plasterboard sits on adhesive dots with a gap of anywhere from 10mm to 40mm behind it, so short fixings will only ever grip the board, not the wall. Use dot-and-dab specific frame fixings, typically 100-120mm long, drilled through the board and gap and at least 40mm into the solid masonry behind. Drill slowly to feel the drill pass through the air gap before it bites into brick or block.

6 each · Dot-and-dab frame fixings, 100-120mm

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TV-09Fix the bracket into lath and plasterOld plaster keys are brittle and will crumble under the pull of a full-motion arm, so never fix into the plaster alone. Find the timber laths or the studs behind them with your detector, and fix a plywood pattress across at least two of them the same way as step TV-06. Drill and screw through the patched plaster into the pattress, not into bare lath.

TV-10Fix the bracket to the pattressOn a stud wall or lath and plaster with a pattress fitted, mark your screw positions through the bracket and drill pilot holes into the plywood pattress. Drive coach screws or heavy-duty wood screws through the patched wall and into the solid ply, checking each one tightens up firmly with no give.

6 each · Coach screws, 50mm

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TV-11Check the bracket is secure and levelHang your full weight on the bracket arm before fitting the TV and check nothing moves or creaks. Recheck level with the spirit level along the top edge, and tighten any bolts that have worked loose while drilling.

TV-12Mount the TV and route the cablesWith help, lift the TV onto the bracket plate and lock it in place following the bracket's own instructions. Route the HDMI and power cables down the wall using cable trunking, or through a cavity if you're confident there's nothing else in the way, using the same detector checks as step TV-05.

1 each · Cable trunking, 1m length

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TV-13Test the full range of movementExtend the arm fully and swing it side to side, checking the bracket stays flat to the wall and no fixing pulls or flexes. Retract it and check the TV sits level and square to the wall.

TV-14Tidy upVacuum up plaster dust and offcuts, wipe down the wall, and bin any plasterboard waste. Keep spare fixings and the bracket's fitting instructions somewhere safe in case you need to remount the TV later.

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