Zeddica t1_j9dbohd wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:12 AM

Don’t hit close to the stud, hit the actual stud.

And most of the time the electrical wiring is loose enough it just nudges out of the way.

Intelligent_Ebb4887 t1_j9dcgax wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:18 AM

If you're mounting above an outlet, then the wires could run along the edge of a stud. In that case, if you hit the electrical, you did a bad job of mounting the TV mount.

Or, they will drill holes through the middle of studs to feed the electrical horizontally. Typically from outlet to outlet (no worries there since you aren't mounting the TV that low). Or from switch to outlet (on the same wall, it would typically go down to outlet level and then horizontal).

So, if you can determine the center of a stud and drill a hole in the center, it's not likely that you're going to hit electrical. Now, there's a chance that a crazy person did something other than stated above (I've experienced it) and hopefully they put a metal plate on the stud so that you can't accidentally drill into it.

TemporaryPackage4475 t1_j9dbog1 wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:12 AM

Yes, but there aren't that many wires in your wall, and chances of hitting one are close to zero if you're trying to hit studs to hang a TV mount. Diagram

Figure you have 3/8" drywall on 2x4 studs... The electrician would have put any wires halfway back on the stud or further - so your lag screw would have to penetrate the wall 1 5/8" just to reach where a wire might be, and pierce layers of plastic and paper protective sheathing perfectly to cause a problem. And IF there was a problem, the breaker would trip before causing any real harm.

[deleted] t1_j9dc3xc wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:15 AM

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FancyJams t1_j9dk6q1 wrote on February 21, 2023 at 3:19 AM

Nail plates are only required if the hole drilled through the stud is closer than 1 1/4" from the face of the stud. So if it's a hole for one wire and it's centered on the stud, there won't be a plate.

Assuming there's no plate, a screw that is shorter than 1 3/4" won't hit the wire, but in this case OP is talking about a wall mount which likely has longer hardware. You'd be very unlucky to catch a wire, but it's not impossible.

Vyzantinist OP t1_j9dcnet wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:20 AM

My apartment is like 1950s old. There's lead in the wall paint lol.

TemporaryPackage4475 t1_j9dcyef wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:22 AM

Even better! Building materials were bigger then lol
PS - My place is 1920 old :) anyways a fun adventure doing work around here

[deleted] t1_j9dd47i wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:23 AM

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fangelo2 t1_j9dwz1w wrote on February 21, 2023 at 5:14 AM

Find the left side of the stud, then come from the other side and find the right side of the stud. Then mark the middle. You won’t hit wires stapled to the stud. Wires that are running through the stud in drilled holes should be deep enough that you won’t hit them, or they should have a metal plate over them for protection. The key word here is should

mymoparisbestmopar t1_j9dj1gj wrote on February 21, 2023 at 3:10 AM

There might be wires to the side of the stud, but theres no wires between the stud and the wall, the stud is right up against the wall. As long as you're drilling into the actual stud theres no possibility of hitting wires.

FancyJams t1_j9dkbbh wrote on February 21, 2023 at 3:20 AM

Wrong. When wires go perpendicular to studs they go through them, at a depth that wall mount hardware could hit.

Attaching TV wall mount - how to avoid electrical wiring in the walls?

Vyzantinist OP t1_j9d90y9 wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:52 AM