I've read every thread I could find on this subject and am looking for a little more info. I am needing to mount a 46" lcd (52lbs) above a hollow brick fireplace. The general consensus appears to be that tapcons/redheads will do the job for a normal tilt mount. On another thread someone warned against mounting an articulating wall mount into morter due to the constant load shifts (and the fact that it's morter).

Would it be alright to hang an articulating mount with tapcons/redheads if mounting into the actual brick? Wasn't sure if this would be a bad idea given the unknown variables that come when working with brick. I have no experience working with brick and would hate to have the brick crack/tv fall due to my ignorance. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I never trust tapcons, I'd go plastic anchors before I went tapcon. Seeing as it is an articulating mount, I'd probably be using some sort of drop in or lead anchors into the brick, not mortar.

Read the descriptions, find which works best for you.

[Link: fastenal.com]

Note - With lead and drop in anchors, your drilling depth matters, can't just drill all the way, they need backing.

When you say "hollow brick fireplace" do you mean brick veneer over a sheetrock, durock, or other such substrate? Your basic prefab fireplace?

If so, you really need to know what's behind that brick.

There are a couple bricks missing where the mantel was mounted and there is a cavity of empty space back there....it's a little more than your typical brick fireplace (pretty wide), but it's pretty much just a facade.

You need to know if the brick wall has frame-to-mortar line anchors. These are used every foot or so to secure a brick wall to the studs. They look like corrugated steel plates about 2 inches wide and 6- inches long with a 90 degree bend.

One side fastens to the stud with screws and the other is laid over the brick level in the mortar line. If the brick wall is one layer thick and fully free standing, the torque of the TV being swung away from the wall MAY fracture the wall.

Do you have a camera view system you could use to look inside the wall to see what the support structure is for the brick?

I'd call 3/4" thick fake brick finishing pieces a facade, so it's good to know if you're dealing with normal brick thickness of about three inches, or some other number which you will tell us.

The camera system is a good idea so you can see what's behind. From what you've described, I wouldn't mount any articulating arm there at all. Also, pay attention to all the recommendations in that other thread.

As for lead versus red-heads, lead is malleable, so when you cinch down on it, it forms to the thread of the lag bolt and to the sides of the hole in the brick. BUT since it's malleable, when you move an articulated mount, you change the sideways force on those bolts, which changes the shape of the lead and loosens those anchors. For that reason I'd never use lead with anything that moves.

That would be best, but a small automotive mirror and a flashlight may get you where you need to be.





What WILL work:


1. A carpenter's rule (the folding kind) which you grasp in your hand, stick into the void through the holes left by the missing bricks, will allow you to measure to the studs behind the bricks.

2. Transfer that measurement to the face of the fireplace and drill through mortar joints with a masonry bit until you hit the studs.

3. Use a 6" lags to install the mount

Solves two problems.

Allows the mount to be certain to hold the display and allows the fireplace to be returned to "normal" by simply mudding the holes you've drilled.

Great suggestions!

If you don't have that, a tape measure can be bent when behind the wall to measure sideways. I always measure from wall holes to studs this way.

I appreciate the responses...the "facade" is made of actual brick. I like the idea of trying to locate the studs behind the brick and mounting with lag bolts.

When I was an electrician we used to mount some very heavy loads in masonry with AJ's, it's a lead lined anchor made by a Akerman-Johnson, hence AJ. We would use 1/4-20 or 3/8" bolts and when properly installed were very strong. They are design to spread the lead sleeve tighter as the bolt was tightened. Make sure you're in the solid part of the brick, many bricks have holes in them.

Totem,

The only problem with tat in this case is the fact that it's a brick facade that most likely doesn't even have a single brick tie.

Extend that cantilever mount and there's a great chance of the display coming down with some bricks attached....

That's true.

Yes I know this thread is 3 years old but I have a similar situation.
Quick rundown of the wall
This was done by prior owner of the house who was a mason.
Studs were removed, brick facade was put in flush to the sheetrock.
Brick facade is actually full size bricks. Behind facade is a 2 inch gap then the outside bricks of the house. Right behind those bricks is another set of bricks that encompasses the actual chimney. I have little faith the facade can hold a 55" vt50 with soundbar safely. My plan is to remove facade, mount plywood to exterior bricks then mount bracket to plywood.
My question is what makes either set of bricks safe to mount to if the proper brick ties are no longer in place? I was going to put it on an arm initially until I realized how the wall was constructed.

They work great as long as they're inserted the right way. If not, the cone pulls out and things fall.

I just found these things, could be helpful in certain situations like mine.


[Link: twistfix.co.uk]