A wall-mounted TV looks tidy and modern — if it's still hanging there three years later. Most failed TV mounts have the same root cause: someone drilled into a wall without knowing what was behind it. Here's the practical guide for the three wall types you'll find in Zurich apartments.

Step 1: Identify the wall

Before you pick up a drill, knock the wall. A dull sound means a solid wall (concrete or brick). A hollow sound means drywall — gypsum board on a stud frame. For a heavy TV (over 25 kg), the wall type makes the difference between "holds for years" and "falls down in two weeks".

Simple test: a 3-mm bit at an inconspicuous spot. If it goes through the first 12 mm with almost no resistance and then hits something solid, it's drywall. If you feel resistance throughout, it's solid concrete or brick.

Concrete: the right approach

Concrete is the easiest wall for a TV mount — provided you have a hammer drill (or better, a small rotary hammer). Use a masonry bit with a carbide tip, diameter matching the anchor (8 mm for standard expansion plugs, 10 mm for higher loads). Drill 5 mm deeper than the anchor length — otherwise it won't sit flush.

Important: before you drill, scan the wall with a multi-detector. Power cables don't always run horizontally — they often go diagonally between sockets and switches. Hitting a live cable trips the breaker at best, gives you a shock at worst.

Brick: careful with the hammer mode

Old townhouses in Zurich (Wiedikon, Aussersihl, Wipkingen) often have brick walls under the plaster. Brick is relatively soft — if you drill with full hammer power, the brick crumbles behind the plaster and the anchor sits in a much-too-large hole. Result: the TV falls when someone bumps it.

So drill in brick without hammer mode or only on the lowest setting. Use special hollow-wall anchors or two-component chemical anchors for heavy loads (TVs from 35 kg, wall cabinets).

Drywall: this is where it gets interesting

New-build flats in Zurich-West, Affoltern or Oerlikon often have drywall partition walls. A 12.5 mm gypsum board alone can't hold a TV — you need either a wood substructure (which you have to find with the detector) or special drywall anchors like Molly bolts or Togglers.

Ideal case: screw the TV mount directly into the wood studs. Studs are usually spaced 60 cm apart. If the bracket holes don't line up with studs, two options: screw a board across multiple studs and mount the bracket on that, or use heavy drywall anchors. We strongly advise against trying to mount a 30-kg bracket with standard expansion plugs in plain gypsum board.

Choose the right bracket

For most TVs a simple fixed wall mount is enough — cheaper, holds more weight, won't break. A swivel mount is only needed if the TV is viewed from multiple seating positions. Important: the bracket's VESA pattern must match the TV (printed on the back, e.g. 200x200 or 400x400 mm), and the maximum load must exceed the actual TV weight including the mount itself.

Don't forget cable management

A professionally mounted TV has no visible cables. Three solutions: a cable channel on the wall (visible, simple), cables behind the skirting board (medium effort), or a recess in the wall (the cleanest, but only practical in drywall and only with certified cables). For a rented apartment, option 1 is almost always the right choice.

If you want to be sure

We've been doing TV wall mounts for years — from 32-inch kitchen TVs to 85-inch living-room giants. Including wall scan with detector, the right bracket, load test, and cable management. From CHF 90 for standard drywall, from CHF 180 for concrete or heavy TVs. Send a photo of your wall and the TV model via WhatsApp — we'll quote you on the spot.