Mounting panels and equipment

Hi guys I was searching trough the forums and got a lot's of great tips on how to mount the equipment, panels etc. I saw that most of you are using plywood. Now my question is what type of plywood is the best (strongest) and how thick it should be? I'm planning to mount 28" elk can with m1 gold, also 24 port network panel, power supply can for cctv, brackets for equipment such as dvr, nvr, routers, switches etc. Is 4'x4' 3/4 thick plywood enough for my needs? Also do I mount it directly to the concrete basement wall with couple of tapcon screws or do I need to mount couple 2x4 between the plywood and concrete because of the moisture issue? Thank's a lot

Mount on 2x4s, so you can run cables behind. Leave horizontal and/or vertical gaps in the 2x4s. You'll need many power outlets, might want to consider additional circuits now. Try to keep power lines and cords separate from low voltage - easier if you keep the cables in front of the plywood.

Don't use OSB. That stuff has its uses, but not for mounting hardware.

You don't need expensive (really nice) plywood unless you're planning a showcase install.

For one project, I used a 4x8 sheet of 5/8 sheathing plywood (less than $20 at Lowes) and slapped a couple of coats of Zinser 123 primer on it. Good enough for the garage.

Use pressure treated 2x4's in a basement.

Also consider adding some overhead lighting.

Ditto on OSB. It doesn't hold screws. 1/2 plywood is plenty strong to hold the lightweight stuff you might install on a HA wall, especially if you secure it to 16 on-center studs. And just like SDA said, no need for finish grade plywood. I wouldn't even paint it, but if you want to, go for it. If you cut a 1.5 inch strip of plywood off of one of the sides (consider that you may want to keep the 4 or 8 foot dimension to line up with studs before cutting), then cut the strip into 2 inch segments you can attach those to your wall studs spacing them out in a grid (16 by 16 inch is good). Then attach your big sheet on top of those. This will give you a 1/2 of space behind the plywood to run wires. This works also if you have drywall already there, just use a stud finder to place the blocks over the studs. No need to secure the blocks with anything strong, just tack them up. Then, when you put the big sheet on, use long drywall screws to go through the plywood, the plywood spacer, drywall (if present) and at least an inch into the stud (1.5 is better).

Thanks guys I will use 3/4 plywood and 2x4 behind the plywood. Now because I'm not planning to finish that part of the basement do I need to put the 2x4's from floor to ceiling or it would be OK if they are 4' long (same as the plywood). I attached a sketch to show what I mean. The location of the plywood and equipment will be right of the water heater, I don't have a picture to show how it looks so I used this one.

Thank you

If you do your 2x4's like that you won't be able to run wires left to right behind the board. That is why you should do spacer blocks. Maybe you don't care about running wires behind the board?

No need to run 2x4's to the floor. In fact, no need for 2x4's at all if you aren't going to put wire behind the board (up/down or any direction). I assume that is poured cement wall. Just glue a pressure treated piece of plywood to the wall. Liquid nails applied per instructions will provide 1000 times more holding power than you need. You will need some temporary bracing to hold it while it dries.

Unless you have a hammer drill and a lot of patience, or a cement nail gun with the gun powder propellent, you are going to find that poured cement is not something you want to try to put any significant number of fasteners into.

Thanks Lou, I don't care about running wires behind the board. I wanted to put the 2x4 because I wanted airflow so the plywood won't rot. I read somewhere that there will be a moisture buildup if the plywood is directly anchored to the concrete wall. I want to put plywood because I don't want to drill the concrete every time I need to attach something. I want to minimize the amount of holes drilled. I will look into liquid nails idea maybe that's even better.

Pressure treated plywood will hold up just as well as pressure treated 2x4. Unless your basement walls are truly wet, pressure treated anything should last decades, maybe more.

If your walls are truly wet, I would probably reconsider putting your system in the basement. But your basement looks pretty dry from the photo. I see the sump pump and poured walls usually do better than block.

Trust me, putting any number of screws/nails into solid poured foundation walls is a bitch. Although, I have once rented one of those gunpowerder nailers and it is pretty easy, but, liquid nails is easier and totally strong enough. In fact, make sure you really want it where you put it becuase once the glue sets up, you will have to totally destroy the plywood to get it off the wall.

1. Some sort of standoff from the concrete is still a good idea even if you don't want to run wires behind it - otherwise you have to make sure you always use really short screws that'll hold your equipment to the plywood without going all the way through (hitting the concrete). With a standoff of some sort you don't have to worry as much about screw length. When attaching to drywall this is less of a concern because the screws can always go through the drywall too and you won't care.

2. Interestingly enough, I had plywood installed in a commercial wiring room - and was told it couldn't be painted - that california code says if you paint it, there are a bunch more restrictions to deal with regarding type of paint, fireproofing, etc... That said, in my home, the plywood is painted to match the wall color

Work2Play said:

1. Some sort of standoff from the concrete is still a good idea even if you don't want to run wires behind it - otherwise you have to make sure you always use really short screws that'll hold your equipment to the plywood without going all the way through (hitting the concrete). With a standoff of some sort you don't have to worry as much about screw length. When attaching to drywall this is less of a concern because the screws can always go through the drywall too and you won't care.

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Since he was using 3/4 plywood I doubted this would be an issue, but possible. If you are going to put sleepers up, I would still glue them to the wall and then screw the plywood to it. You can use furring strips instead of 2x4 for a little less bulky look.

Thanks for the help guys. The furring strips are great idea.

Is your electrical panel that close? I thought I read something on here about having LV stuff too close to the HV panel?

mdesmarais said:

Is your electrical panel that close? I thought I read something on here about having LV stuff too close to the HV panel?

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No that is just sketch my LV stuff will be on the right from the HV panel.

I would use tapcons as you mentioned in your original post. Mounting stuff on concrete is no problem with a hammer drill. Without one is tough though...

Treated 2x4s or furring strips are a good idea - no need to worry about screw tips hitting the concrete. 1/2" ply should be plenty for most things. I used OSB on an unfinished stud wall and haven't had any issues. A bit heavier ply won't hurt and would require less wood strips behind.

Plan more area than you think you need. The space tends to fill up.

JimS said:

I would use tapcons as you mentioned in your original post. Mounting stuff on concrete is no problem with a hammer drill. Without one is tough though...

Treated 2x4s or furring strips are a good idea - no need to worry about screw tips hitting the concrete. 1/2" ply should be plenty for most things. I used OSB on an unfinished stud wall and haven't had any issues. A bit heavier ply won't hurt and would require less wood strips behind.

Plan more area than you think you need. The space tends to fill up.

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It's still a lot easier to use glue than a hammer drill. If you try to screw the board up you will have to put holes in your plywood or whatever that line up perfectly (or nearly so) with the holes you drilled in the wall. While this is certainly something that can be done, it is a bit of a PITA especially compared to liquid nails. The gun powder nail guns are the absolute easiest as you just hold the material to the wall and "pow pow pow" it is up. But, most folks don't have one of those sitting around however and renting one just adds more work (plus liquid nails is a lot cheaper).