Trying to mount TV above fireplace, and mantle isn't deep enough for a TV stand, so wanting to mount on the wall. The wall has shiplap the previous owners put up and that is on top of drywall. I figure the studs should only be about 1.5" (.5" drywall + 1" shiplap) deep but haven't been able to find them with a "deep stud finder" (linked below) or a magnetic one. I'm trying to avoid just drilling holes into the wall until I hit one, as I don't know if there is some kind of heat barrier behind the drywall since the chimney is there.

Anyone have advice?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zircon-StudSensor-HD55-Stud-Finder-65945/205143494

If it's real ship lap, pop some screws to find the studs and just use the ship lap to mount to.

Is there an outlet somewhere? If so you can cut the power, pull the outlet out and look inside. Junction boxes will often be mounted on a stud. If it's not you can take the whole junction box out and just look inside the drywall cutout. I recently used this method successfully when mounting a TV in a spot with a lot of surrounding plumbing lines

Blind to any obstacles a photo might reveal ....

If it is obvious that an equal weight to TV mounted solely to the siding/gyp.bd would have consequences (or via a trial run) then I am not The Studs Expert even after 40+ years in the same house to pursue this solution further. All my stud finders have proven to be liars 1/2 the time = a holey house.

Thus I would be forced to more EZily find ceiling joists for
a) metal bracket mount that would swivle to gain access to TV rear
b) metal cables to hang TV via bracket/etc. ala some photo galleries SOP

If all else fails, then I would trust a long surface mounted wall "mantle" would find enough studs, gain enough siding/gyp.bd support via multiple screws/anchors to serve as a TV shelf and do the heavy lifting, leaving only lightweight overturn as an EZ fix.

I can't post a photo directly (not a paying member) so hopefully this link works. It's ai generated based off a description I fed it, so it's not exact, but does a good job illustrating the situation.

https://imgur.com/a/wGHxu3I

Outlet idea is good, but portion of wall that is shiplapped above fireplace is not flush with the rest of the wall and doesn't have an outlet. Photo shows this^

Thanks for the help.

Edit to add: the ceiling above the fireplace is about 12' tall. So pretty high to suspend a tv from and would be a lot of shiplap to undo to look behind

Helping poster out:



FWIW, I agree with Aggietaco

Thank you

Aggietaco said:

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If it's real ship lap, pop some screws to find the studs and just use the ship lap to mount to.

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I've been relying on those super rare earth magnets the size of an M&M. They'll easily get through 1/2" material and find the heads of the screws.

It's fantastic and never fails.

Is it an articulating mount or fixed (up-down tilt only) mount? If it is a fixed mount it doesn't have to have any kind of super-duper heavy duty mounting technique. Your only danger would be hitting something in the wall like plumbling, conduit, what-have-you.

I typically use these, available at HD or Lowes-

TOGGLER SNAPTOGGLE Drywall Anchor 100-Pack 1/4-in Dia Toggle Bolt ; Holds 265 pounds Each in 1/2-in Drywall by TOGGLER(2.5 inch Bolts Included): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

the link shows a box of 100 but you can buy them in 10-packs.

Hanging a tv from the ceiling on picture wire is easily among the 10 most bizarre suggestions I've ever read on any TA forum. Wow

If you can't find the studs, the drywall plus shiplap will provide at least 300lbs per screw shear strength (assuming 1/2 drywall and 1/2 shiplap tight against each other). Consider using toggle anchors, ignore the studs, and put the tv where you want it. A TV mount has very little axial force once it's tight against the wall, almost all of the force is shear which is mitigated slightly by the clamping force of the mount against the wall

My concern with that is heat. The metal anchors would probably hold up fine, but I wonder how hot the back of the TV would get with the screw coming from inside the chimney to the back of it with fire place going.

Appreciate everyone's responses. I've considered other methods, but was really wanting to see if anyone knew of a device to find the studs that deep. Answer may be that one doesn't exist (without getting absurdly expensive).

You never answered if the shiplap was real or not, so assuming it is not, it sounds like your options are to try one of the franklin stud finders or a nice magnet.

I don't know the difference on real vs fake shiplap, but there aren't screws to pull out

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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My concern with that is heat. The metal anchors would probably hold up fine, but I wonder how hot the back of the TV would get with the screw coming from inside the chimney to the back of it with fire place going.

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Turn the fireplace on and see how warm the shiplap gets, shouldn't be all that warm.

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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Appreciate everyone's responses. I've considered other methods, but was really wanting to see if anyone knew of a device to find the studs that deep. Answer may be that one doesn't exist (without getting absurdly expensive).

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If your material is that 'deep' then just mount to it like everyone else has suggested.

Shiplap with fireplace on doesn't get that hot currently, you're right. My concern is how hot the back of the TV would get if it now has holes in the wall between it and the chimney.

There shouldn't be heat escaping any screwholes that either go into the shiplap or into the studs. I wouldn't worry about that.

I guess that's a separate question I could have asked. I know nothing about gas fireplaces and how the exhaust is channelized behind the wall. I guess the ducting for it would be deep enough behind the wall to not hit with screws/anchors?

The duct is not huge. I think it around 12". Lots of room around it in the chimney.

Just going off your picture, I would guess two studs. I would find the middle and go 9" to either side. Poke one hole with a small diameter bit and see. Your tv will be blocking any mess you make, so go ahead and find the studs. Get the mount that scissors and tilts. If you make extra holes in the shiplap, it should be really easy to repair. A little wood putty, sandpaper and touch up paint.

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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I guess that's a separate question I could have asked. I know nothing about gas fireplaces and how the exhaust is channelized behind the wall. I guess the ducting for it would be deep enough behind the wall to not hit with screws/anchors?

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Gas fireplace changes your concerns. Gas fireplaces dont create much heat up the flue (compared to burning something like Osage in a wood fireplace). The flue will be a 8" (might even be 6" for a gas fireplace) steel tube going up the middle of the box. There won't be any noticeable heat carried through a 3/8" or 1/2" toggle (or whatever style you choose) bolt.

Well looks like I asked the wrong initial question, but got to an answer, thanks all.

Will likely start drilling to find studs, hesitancy to do that originally was based off not knowing what the ducting looked like.

If accessable from above I would look for nails holding the studs in the top plate for a rough idea.
But one small hole and grabbing the fiber camera off my shelf (or cheap on amazon) and should be able to find them quickly

You're adding an outlet above the fireplace to plug the TV into, right?
I always cut the hole for the plug in the middle and then look around to find the stud once the hole is cut. If I hit the stud while cutting the outlet hole, that's just a bonus.

I think shiplap is fine to hold a tv.. it's wood after all.
Also, that seems really high for a tv.

OP - glad you figured out what you were looking for.

Next time, make sure you calibrate your studfinder before you use it on shiplap.

1 - Hold it with the finder facing you
2 - Pull it to your chest
3 - Press and hold the button until it beeps
4 - *Most important step* - Tell your wife "Look honey, it works just fine". She'll know what to do.

I'm not hidden....I'm right here.... Oh wait this isn't the gb

We redid our fireplace a few years ago to look like what your picture shows. 1st, when you add an outlet you can dig around behind the wall and find the studs. 2nd, my studs weren't centered well so I used this to hang my 65" TV.

https://hangsmart.com/products/hangsmart-tv?variant=40386690482228&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=20506379673&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20506381110&gclid=CjwKCAjwruXBBhArEiwACBRtHS79sL3yQVF2Cvpmve7oi7yJhDc66zMahv1wpPjAL3jjCYBOzEP-ThoChHEQAvD_BwE

Slinger, I recall seeing this before

Didn't have the need for that at the time but we're about to move and I want to hang a couple of tvs in the bedrooms

My questions is, the mounts we've used in the past allowed us to hang the tvs a bit higher up the wall, but we could swivel them slightly downwards ( top of the tv father away from the wall, the bottom closer to the wall) for a better view of the screen.

Can't do that either, correct?

If yours is anything like mine the entirety of the heat ends up in one 1 foot diameter metal tube. Shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. I have a thread on here somewhere of my fireplace opened up I'll try to find it.

Sea Speed said:

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If yours is anything like mine the entirety of the heat ends up in one 1 foot diameter metal tube. Shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. I have a thread on here somewhere of my fireplace opened up I'll try to find it.

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Welp, nevermind, all the photos are deleted.

Just the nature of the mount means that the TV has a very slight downward tilt. You are right that it isnt adjustable but it hasnt been a big deal to us. Honestly proper viewing height is the middle of the TV being at eye height when seated, which nobody does. If that is the goal the a Mantle Mount which raises and lowers the TV is the best option but you do need to find the studs to use it.

I will see if I can get a picture if the tilt on my TV.

evan_aggie said:

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Aggietaco said:

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If it's real ship lap, pop some screws to find the studs and just use the ship lap to mount to.

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I've been relying on those super rare earth magnets the size of an M&M. They'll easily get through 1/2" material and find the heads of the screws.

It's fantastic and never fails.

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I've used one of these super strong square magnets for many years to find nails in studs.....done a TON of projects in multiple houses using this and it's never let me down.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6964JY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_21&th=1

Equinox said:

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Is it an articulating mount or fixed (up-down tilt only) mount? If it is a fixed mount it doesn't have to have any kind of super-duper heavy duty mounting technique. Your only danger would be hitting something in the wall like plumbling, conduit, what-have-you.

I typically use these, available at HD or Lowes-

TOGGLER SNAPTOGGLE Drywall Anchor 100-Pack 1/4-in Dia Toggle Bolt ; Holds 265 pounds Each in 1/2-in Drywall by TOGGLER(2.5 inch Bolts Included): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

the link shows a box of 100 but you can buy them in 10-packs.

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This is the best toggler, IMO. A lot of AV installers rely on these.