We made a trip to our nearest IKEA recently… that means, more projects! We left IKEA with three new HOPPEN chests and FRAMSTA wall panel system. My Wife and I spent a few hours assembling the HOPPEN chests. Here’s what they look like.
But…we weren’t done. No sir, there was still a Framsta wall unit to assemble and TV to hang. And another surprise my faithful readers… my first on camera appearance.
Video of the floppy Framsta “panels”
We never put this system together but, undeterred we pursued. The end result was motivation enough. But, what could you learn from us?
1.) The base unit is the TOP and the BOTTOM of one vertical run of panels. This wasn’t terribly clear in the pictograph instructions but, we muddied through it.
2.) Keep the “A” side of the frame facing up… we had to un-assemble and re-assemble several panels because we overlooked this in the instructions.
3.) The entire vertical run of panels is hung on the wall by two fastening points. See those two brackets in the picture below? Those are the only anchor point for a vertical run of Framsta. It was a little freaky….
So what do you do?
Measure carefully, find the wall stud locations and mark them… we also marked the top of each panel location so we could get a visual for the height of the four panels. We used painter’s tape to mark everything.
What do you anchor to the wall with? Well, I really, really like SPAX screws . And why? No pre-drilling and very good shear strength (350 lbs for our application would be plenty.
350lbs. of load… the wall system was going nowhere once anchored to the 16″ on center wall studs. And my loving Wife was there with me every step of the way. Here she is attaching the mounting clips to the Framsta frame.
This is a picture of the Framsta panels hung and the cables run. It was a little awkward getting the system fastened to the wall but, we got it done with a little muscle.
Tip: The cables must be run BEFORE you mount the TV and BEFORE you install the side caps.
Actually there is a small notch cut out of the end of each rail. And when you stack several panels togther a chase forms running down the side of each panel end that has room for cables. But, getting the cables around the vertical posts connecting the panels together was a bit trickier. The directions actually show cables being run in a small space between the end of the vertical post and rail of the next panel. No way would a TV power cable fit under there!
I cut a hole for our cables for TV. All I had was a power cable and coax TV cable. The panel material cut pretty easily with a hand saw. I just cut a small upside down V shaped notch at the bottom of the panel. One tip I’ll pass along. Remember that the panel slips into a channel to hold it so you might need your hole a 1/8″ – 1/4″ taller.
Another Tip: When installing the side panel caps you are very close to wall. So, I used a scrap piece of cardboard to slip just behind the panel to give me an area to use my rubber mallet to coax the side caps on without leaving a mark on the wall.
The next step was to mount the TV. This was the moment of truth… would the wall system hold our modest 20″ LCD TV?
Why, yes it did!
And here’s a picture of the finished project? What do you think?
6 Responses
Thanks for sharing I was wondering how in the world I was going to get this done !!!
Sure, no problem Bia.
Hi Rob, I’m actually putting a BESTA TV unit together, but unfortunately, IKEA discontinued the FRAMSTA panel fillings. Can you tell me what the actually thickness (depth) of the panels are? I’ve been searching the net and also phoned IKEA to no avail.
I’m aware that the height and width of the panels are 12 5/8″ x 47 1/4″ respectively. What I’d like to do is pick up some mdf board and have it cut to size at a hardware store.
Thank You!
The thickness of the panels? Sorry, I don’t recall. My guess is less than 1/4″ for sure.
Hey, do the bars on the back of the TV have screws or bolts that already come with the assembly? Or did you buy them separately?
Framsta is discontinued but,did include bolts to connect the TV.
Refer to the Japanese listing for the product instructions here