Can You Mount a TV Without Studs? (Pro’s, Con’s and Warnings!)

Wall mounting TVs used to be unheard of. Now, it is strange if you walk into someone’s home and their TV isn’t attached to the wall.

Thanks to the technological advancements in the size and weight of televisions, we are no longer limited to storing them on a TV stand, and you can now attach to your television to the wall to give you more floor space and flexibility. 

There are two types of walls that you will find in your house: brick walls and stud walls. As the majority of walls in your home are interior walls, the chances are that most of them will be stud walls.

The studs provide the strength to hold the television on the wall, but unfortunately, you are not always able to attach the television to the studs.

So can you mount a TV without studs? It really depends on the following factors...

Can I mount a TV without studs?

So if you are sitting there reading this, worrying that you won’t be able to attach your television to your wall because it has no studs, there’s generally no need to worry.

However, before you undertake any DIY work be sure you have consulted a professional and / or will not damage your home structure...

While it is preferable to attach a television to a wall that has studs, it still is possible to attach your TV to a wall that has no studs. 

Alternatively, if you don’t feel comfortable drilling into a wall that has no studs, there are a variety of wall mounts that don’t actually attach to your wall.

But it is perfectly safe to drill into your wall that has no studs and mount your television, and there are a few different options that you have to make sure that it is secure.

So let’s take a look at the different ways that you can mount your TV to a wall without studs. 

Mounting a TV to the ceiling: how to mount tv on wall without studs

The first option you have is to bypass the wall entirely and mount your television to the ceiling instead.

Ceiling mounts are a lot less common than wall mounts, but they still exist and are excellent if you know that your wall does not have studs. 

However, this is not an easy option. Finding the joists in your ceiling to drill the mount into can be difficult, and because all of the work is taking place above your head it can be incredibly fiddly to complete. 

Mounting to the ceiling will also be more or less difficult depending on the design of your home. You may also find that the joists in your ceiling are not located in a suitable location for you to connect your television.

This is the main reason why a lot of people choose against mounting to the ceiling and instead choose some of the other methods to hang a television on their studless wall. So let’s take a look at what these other methods are. 

How to hang a tv without a stud:
Use mounting plates to mount TV 

Another option that you have, which is more popular than mounting to the ceiling, is using mounting plates.

Mounting plates are fairly similar to the next mounting option that we will look at as they are attached to the walls to reinforce them and provide the strength to the drywall that is required to be able to hold the television. 

Mounting plates are placed behind the television and are attached to the wall using anchor screws.

The mounting plate provides a solid surface for you to attach the television wall mount to, and makes the television more stable as it provides several anchor points across the wall so that the weight is evenly distributed. 

One issue that some people have with mounting plates is that they do not fit the aesthetics of your living space as the mounting plate is normally visible behind the television.

Mounting plates are usually made of metal or plywood, and this does make them a bit of an eyesore, however, it is possible to cut down the mounting plate so that it will not be visible behind the television.

Alternatively, you could always paint the wall mount to help it blend into the wall. But this is not the only option that you have, so let’s take a look at another way that you can attach your television to a studless wall. 

Mount your TV with anchors  (tv mount without studs)

Finally, you can attach your television to a studless wall using anchors.

This is perhaps the easiest way to attach a television to a wall that doesn’t have studs, and a popular option as the anchors are not visible once your television is attached. 

There are two main types of anchors that you should consider, they are toggle anchors and molly bolts. 

Let’s first take a look at toggle anchors. You probably will have encountered toggle anchors before as they appear very similar to screws.

However, they also have a butterfly toggle at the end which attaches to the drywall once the anchor has been screwed in. 

These anchors work as they harness the strength of the entire drywall and force it to work as one, rather than allowing it to crumble.

So, when you attach your wall mount using the toggle anchors, the weight of the television pulls against the force of the whole wall so that it will not crumble like it would if you attached it with normal screws. 

Alternatively, you can use molly bolts. Molly bolts are more difficult to use than toggle anchors but they do a similar job in reinforcing the wall and are great for heavier televisions.

Molly bolts come in both pointed and non-pointed, and different types will be better for different walls.

Pointed bolts are easier to install as they can be screwed directly into the wall, whereas non-pointed bolts require you to cut out the hole first. 

Once they are screwed into the wall, the bolts expand and provide an anchor for you to attach your television mount to, allowing the weight of the television to distribute across the entire wall rather than putting it all on one single spot in the drywall. 

How To Mount A TV On The Wall Without Studs

So can you mount a TV without studs?In short, yes you can mount a television to a wall that has no studs, and we’ve outlined the different ways that you can do this in the guide above.