On Dec 29, 8:37*pm, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:54:11 -0800 (PST), Unused Classified

wrote:
Hello,
I have a new plasma TV and a bought wall mounting hardware. I used the
stud finder on the wall and found that the studs are 24 inches apart.
I drilled several small holes into the sheet rock in the area but it
seems like after I clear the sheet rock there is a half inch of dead
space before the studs. *I haven't checked the whole wall but it seems
this is the case in the relevant area. *Is this common? I bought
longer screws but I'm still hesitant to hang it on top of empty space.
One idea is to use 1/2 inch metal washers, if there is such a thing,
to fortify the screws.
Any other ideas?
Thanks

Use 3/4 in plywood (birch), cut to size needed. Span the 24" on center
and mount it. Then mount the TV mount.

A plasma TV mount will need lag bolts, at least four. See instructions
for the mount.

In lieu of plywood, two 1x4 wood for the mounting span.

If there is 1/2' behind the drywall in an area of at least one stud,
then that would mean you'd have a 48" span where the sheetrock could
move back 1/2". And if that's the case, just pushing on it you'd
notice the drywall would bend, ie give. In any case, the bracket is
going to be secured to the studs, so the only real danger is that as
you tighten the bracket up, if there were such a gap and you continued
to tighten it, the drywall could crack/break. If you tighten it
securely, the bracket itself will be secure and the TV can't
fall. If you proceed with caution while tightening, you can get
an idea of whether the drywall is being pulled in or not.