To mount a TV on metal studs, find the studs with a magnet or stud finder, then fix the wall plate with heavy-duty toggle bolts made for steel framing, not wood lag bolts. Check that your mount lists metal studs as a surface; The Beast MI-394's product page does. Spread the load across two studs and stay well under the rating.
Browse our TV mounts and check the installation surfaces on each product page before you buy. Metal framing needs a different approach than wood studs, so this guide covers what changes and why.
What You Need
- A TV wall mount whose product page or manual lists metal studs as a surface
- Heavy-duty toggle bolts rated for steel studs
- A strong magnet or a stud finder with a metal mode
- Electric drill and a drill bit suitable for metal
- Level, pencil and safety goggles
- A second person to help lift the TV
How to Find Metal Studs
Run a strong magnet slowly across the wall. It sticks to the screws that hold the drywall to each stud, and the screws line up vertically along the stud. A stud finder with a metal mode does the same job. Studs usually sit 16" or 24" apart, measured center to center. Mark the center of each stud you will use, top and bottom, so the plate lands on them.
Toggle Bolts for Metal Studs
Lag bolts are made for wood: their threads bite into solid timber. A metal stud is a thin, hollow steel channel, so a lag bolt has almost nothing to grip. It strips the hole and can pull out under the weight of a TV. Use heavy-duty toggle bolts made for steel framing instead. They pass through the drywall and the stud's face, then open or lock behind it, so the load sits on the steel rather than on a few threads.
- Which fastener: heavy-duty toggle bolts rated for steel studs. Check the load rating printed on the package.
- Hole size: drill exactly the size the toggle bolt maker gives on the package. A hole that is too big lets the toggle spin or pull through.
- How many: use every hole the mount's manual asks for, across two studs where the plate allows it.
How to Mount a TV on Metal Studs, Step by Step
- Mark the plate: hold the wall plate level over the marked stud centers and mark the holes.
- Drill: put on safety goggles and drill at each mark with a bit for metal, at the size the toggle maker gives.
- Fit the toggles and plate: insert the toggle bolts through the plate and into the holes as the toggle maker shows, then tighten until the plate is firm. Do not overtighten: that can crush the drywall or bend the steel.
- Check the plate: pull firmly on the plate. It should not move at all.
- Attach the brackets to the TV: lay the TV face down on a soft surface and fix the brackets to its VESA holes with the screws and spacers that fit.
- Hang the TV: with a helper, lift the TV, hook the brackets onto the plate and fit any locking screws.
- Test and tidy: move the TV gently through its range, check that it is level, then hide the cables with a raceway or an in-wall kit.
Always follow your mount's manual. If it does not list metal studs as a surface, choose a mount that does.