Turntable Wall Mount

[StereoNut]

I have good news and bad news!

The good news is I have an all metal (see photo below for style) bracketed, wall mount turntable shelf (Target, Sound org.?) to use to eliminate the footfall problems I now have with my LP12 being on a floor-standing cabinet.

The support arms on my wall mount are slightly different than what's pictured (shorter, but at a steeper angle) but this is close enough for all of you to get the idea of what I'm working with.

The bad news is (according to the electronic stud-finder I have) the studs in the area that I want to put this wall mount aren't 16" on center the way the bracket is designed.      

Now what!?!

[Putz]

You didn't say how wide the studs are but assuming they are not much more than 16", I would use a strong board (1" plywood maybe) to attach to the studs and then attach the wall mount to the board.

You should also attach one side of the wall mount to the stud thru the backing board for additional support. Get longer screws than what came with the mount so they go deeper in to the stud. Pre drill all the holes before you attach with screws.

Paint or stain the board to match the wall color and no one will notice it. I did this for my 50" Plasma TV mounting bracket and I could hang from it with no sag.

The Target shelf for my TT is probably holding close to 100 pounds between the VPI Aries and the Maple block underneath it.  Make sure its as level as possible when you install.

[richidoo]

Great post Putz, thanks!!

I've used that method before with good results, and I need to do it again for a TT shelf too, into 12"OC studs.

[StereoNut]

Thanks, Putz

The studs are about 18" apart in that spot.  The problem is the wall this is (hopefully?) going on has a sort of swirling, marbleized "faux" finish, so matching the paint will be impossible! 

The other point that this brings up is the WAF!  She's already not happy that my system is in the family room to begin with, let alone putting a TT wall mount up in a "less than beautiful" fashion! 

I also have to deal with a multiple wall switch plate in that same area, so this is going to be trickier than normal.  (See pix below.)

I've also included pix of the actual bracket I have now that I charged my camera battery! 

[richidoo]

You could get a local shop or a buddy to weld some 1" wide tabs onto the vertical bars, to move the screw holes out an inch on each side. I can make drawings for you to give them, but they should be 1/8" steel, with minimum 1/4" of steel surrounding around the 3/8" diameter bolt hole. Weld the tab so the tab hole is in line with the existing top row mounting holes. A flat tab will lift the stand 1/8" away from the wall, probably a good thing, but if you want it to touch the wall make angled tabs that weld to the outside of the vertical bars. The concept is similar to the small tabs that hold the tabletop on the stand, but long enough to reach the studs. I think they would extend 1.5" outside the bars. Then you can touch up the little tabs and bolts and the color mismatch would not be as obvious as a larger surface.

Or you could mount 3" wide vertical boards to the stand's vertical bars, then screw the wood extensions to the studs. You'd still need to paint the wood, but with only 2-3" showing it might be less conspicuous than a large board of different color. It needs to be wide enough to have some extra meat to hold up the TT and support the screws so it can't be "just wide enough." But the steel tabs can be very small. 

Whatever mount extension you choose, it's the top screws that do most of the work and they need to be screwed in DEEP! Use 3" or 3.5" long 1/4" lag bolts with washers. Make a full depth 3/16" pilot hole in the stud (don't go all the way through!) Relieve the sheetrock around the pilot hole so the bolt threads won't tear up the sheetrock too much.

Another (bad) idea is to veneer the large mounting board that Putz recommended so that it looks pretty. The existing wood cabinet looks good enough, so maybe a similarly pretty wood tone might fly. (not) 

[Putz]

I would go with the vertical solution and a black finish to match the stand. You could also pull out the audio stand a little bit in order to attach the mount just above the stand. That's assuming the stand is wider than 18" and would hide the bottom part of the wall mount. You might end up with an effect where it looks like the wall mount is floating on top of the stand (or not).

[StereoNut]

Thanks, guys!  I guess the one thing I should've mentioned is I plan on pulling my audio rack out of the wood cabinet it's in now and placing it under the wall mount TT bracket.

Since my initial post, I checked the wall again with the stud finder and I may have a way around this...???  There seems to be another stud set further over to the right from the open archway, that matches up to another stud 16" further over to the right; so far, so good...

But, the edge of the wall bracket itself is about 1 3/4" wider than where the screw hole openings are.  I have to figure out whether the left side of the bracket will clear that bank of wall switches or not.  It's impossible to "eyeball" with the turntable and audio cabinet directly in front of that spot right now.  I'm also not sure how much extra space I'll have to work with between the bottom of wall mount and the top of the audio rack only (without the wood cabinet) until I pull everything apart.

Once I actually move the cabinet and all my electronics out of the way I'll be able to hold the bracket up against the wall and see where everything falls.

To be continued...

[BobM]

Cheap construction, not 16" on center means your house was probably manufactured in China. Look at your foundation and see if you can identify something that looks like this. Maybe you can get some of your money back.

[StereoNut]

Cheap construction, not 16" on center means your house was probably manufactured in China. Look at your foundation and see if you can identify something that looks like this. Maybe you can get some of your money back.

Very funny, Bob! 

Considering my house is close to 100 years old and the wall in question used to be an exterior (outside) wall, who knows what the builder was thinking!?!?

I'm just happy that it's still standing after all these years! 

[richidoo]

who knows what the builder was thinking!?!?

I bet he was thinking about a wall shelf for this... 



... and all the other studs in the house are 16"OC.   

[Bill O'Connell]

When you have figured out the words to choose that brings the wife to acceptance, please let me know as I would love to try some diffusors but can't bring myself to discuss that I need to try some more acoustic treatments.

[tmazz]

When you have figured out the words to choose that brings the wife to acceptance, please let me know as I would love to try some diffusors but can't bring myself to discuss that I need to try some more acoustic treatments.

I think the only words that could possibly join room diffusers and wife acceptance would be "dedicated mancave" Other than that the response would be "You want to put those things where?" 

[StereoNut]

who knows what the builder was thinking!?!?

I bet he was thinking about a wall shelf for this... 

+1 

[StereoNut]

who knows what the builder was thinking!?!?

... and all the other studs in the house are 16"OC.   

Rich - My house is so old, rulers weren't invented yet!!!

[StereoNut]

... Other than that the response would be "You want to put those things where?" 

Gee, Tom!  My wife usually asks me that question in the singular form, rather than plural!