I am new to the forum. I am a diy guy. I just bought I new home, and I am going to install a 42" lcd tv on the wall in my den using a flat mount. I have wall mounted a few tv's before, but never to metal studs. If I use self-tapping screws, should this do the job, or would you recommend another method? The tv weighs approximately 75 pounds.

Hmmm, two things you could do:

1. Butterfly screws, go in the stud, and snap back.

2. Or you could install a piece of 3/4" plywood on the studs, then put the mount on.

I suggust the doing the butterfly screws.

If it's just a static mount. (doesn't pull away from the wall) then using togglers/butterflies should be fine.

Or you could use the search function here in the forum. This question has been asked and answered more times than you could shake a metal stud at... Lots of good info already here.

I agree with the 'butterflies' approach if not a 'pull out and turn' type mount. The best is when you can drill holes in the metal stud itself and put the 'butterflies' through them so they are opening up on the back of the metal and spreading out the load.

If you are not afraid of a little spackle and paint, then there are lots of options involving wood that are more permanent in nature.

I reccomend both toggles through the studs as well as the 3/4" plywood. This gives you the most flexibility in placing the mount and the most secure mount. When mounting something from a wall or ceiling don't take the notion that it's only 75 pounds. When rigging lights and speakers on the professional side the rule of thumb is that the mount should support ten times the weight of the mounted object. While this may seem excessive in your home, three to fives times aren't such a bad idea.

I would reccommend the toggle through the stud method for a static mount. If you are going to paint the room reinforce the studs with 2x4s. A lot of guys on this site reccommend Hilti Togglers but I find metal studs can sometimes compromise the plastic component of them. Use all metal connectors.

There are plastic togglers? Let's get this straight!

First, Hilti has no products that look like the Togglers I have been using for ten years, and toggler provides no hits from their search engine. When you're recommending parts to hold up a device that costs thousands of dollars, let's have a model number.

I found Togglers at toggler.com, and yes, they have plastic ones. They call them Hollow-Wall/Medium Duty Toggler Hollow-Wall Anchors.

They rate them at 234 pounds in 5/8" drywall, which is standard here in California. But that is only the SHEAR strength! They DON'T MENTION how much pull will pull them out of the wall, and with a plasma, the upper mounts are subjected to lots of pull and some shear, while the lower mounts are subjected to shear until the top ones let go...and then they are subjected to torque, a combo of shear and pull.

The only togglers you should consider at the Hollow-Wall/Heavy Duty Snaptoggle Toggle Bolts.

These are different and vastly improved over normal toggle bolts in these ways:
*the toggle behind the wall is a solid piece of steel, bent in a U shape; because it is one piece, it can't be broken like normal toggle bolts can be.
*It uses a 1/4-20 bolt, not a sheet-metal screw. Real threads for real support.
*there are more threads than in a normal toggle bolt, so pull-out strength is greater (although still not specified).
*the spiffy nylon piece that stays outside the wall holds the toggle in position, so you can remove and replace the bolt multiple times. It's not like a normal toggle bolt, where you lose the toggle if you remove the screw. This is what we need.

I don't work for these people; I just was incredibly impressed with this item when it appeared and I still love it.

It is especially good with metal studs because you can position its metal piece behind a stud and get additional support across the drywall that way. I would NEVER use even ten or twelve of these on drywall only to support a plasma. Again, we don't know what the pull-out strength is.

There is a drawback to using these with steel studs. Since the steel stud is smooth on the back, you might get one of these into a position where it can spin on the back side of the stud. You want to avoid that by placing it as close as you can to the part of the stud that goes from wall to wall, rather than smack in the middle of the portion parallel to the drywall. You might need to do some plaster work, after all, to be able to see just where that is.

We use these all the time. You can get them at your local Hardware store. They are stronger than the standard butterfly screw.

In the picture above, do you screw a bolt into the plastic? How do they work?

try here.

[Link: us.hilti.com]

See the Hilti page to get a good side view of the thing.

You drill a 1/2" hole in the wall, slide the metal part in sideways, straighten it out (hard to describe but easy to see when you have one) and then slide a nylon piece from the left of the illustration up against the wall. That nylon piece sits outside the hole and defines just where you insert the bolt. Then you break off the long nylon pieces and you are left with a metal piece inside the wall and the nylon piece outside, holding the metal so it can't fall.

Then you put any appropriate 1/4-20 bolt into the metal piece and tighten.

Congrats on finding the Hilti part. I saw the word "adhesive" in the category and passed it by. This doesn't tell why "toggler" gave no hits from the search engine.

Ernie, the Hilti part is in the part of my post you copied into yours. The plastic portion can be sliced by the edge of the hole drilled in the metal stud. I haven't lost a display yet but I've noticed that plastic togglers can break inside the wall occasionally.

i use hilti togglers ALL THE TIME...!!....works like a champ everytime...beware using articulating mounts though....

I'm having trouble following that. You say that the Hilti part is in this:


You mean "Hilti Togglers" is the complete model name? Hilti has things called togglers with metal parts to go inside the wall and things called togglers with plastic parts to go inside the wall. "Use all metal connectors" sounds like advice NOT to use togglers since you don't say they make both kinds. That's where a complete model name or number can pin things down and keep the plasma on the wall.

Its pretty easy to use,
1st Drill Hole
2nd Insert toggler into hole
3rd Pull plastic part of toggler to wall (kind of like a zip tie)
4th Put screw thru hole into toggler and screw down. don’t forget the washers.

The screw does bolt to the plastic. The plastic just holds the toggler in place on the wall.
FYI when you unscrew these if you are not careful the toggler usually falls into the wall and you will have to replace it.