I have a single very expensive stud finder that works on plaster, but it will mess up if expanded metal is present. Expanded metal was used to strengthen interior corners, hold metal bead on exterior corners, and even as the entire lathe in place of wood strips. By a couple 1/16 inch drill bits and start hunting. While nominally on 16 inch centers, older house often wander a little. Measuring can give you a place to start drilling, but you need to verify the stud location at the exact height you want to anchor. The lightweight spackling putty makes short work of filling the small holes. the drills will quickly be dulled, and not be useful for anything else without sharpening. Save them for future use. They can be pretty dull and still work in plaster. The plaster will

Thank you, brickeyee. I'll ask the architect who did the renovation, and hope he remembers! I assumed I would have to drill into whatever is back there...brick, or lath and plaster...and if it's lath, will I need to find a stud? If that's the case, I will likely have to mount a board on the wall and put the mounting screws into that. Would that be a good solution? And what if it is brick? (I am already wondering how much I want these shelves on this wall...!)

Hello I'll try and answer your question as stated, without getting into rearranging your furniture or your life for that matter. We have done this a few times and here are your options. The TV mount can be installed on brick using the proper masonry anchors, the mantle can be lowered by someone experienced in doing so, should you decide to go that route...but that's not the difficult part - getting the wires to where they need to be is. If the brick is only a facade, meaning that it is 1/4" with a drywall wall backing and there is a stove-pipe flue, then it may be possible to get wires behind the wall (power & signal cables) run them down inside the wall, out the left or right side bottom (or basement) and pick up power/signal at a convenient point. Not such a simple task to say the least, very messy, but we've done it. If it's a true brick fireplace with a brick flue (if it's an older house, then it probably is) then wiring it this way would not be recommended - or possible for that matter. The option here would be, surface mount the power and signal wire, conceal within wire molding and route down the side (I would not recommend trying to notch out the brick to conceal your wires yourself (as AC line voltage must be run inside of a conduit). This is not the best look, but some clients insist on doing it this way despite out guidance. There are many trade-offs with mounting a TV over the fireplace, height being one, as mentioned in some previous comments - however, in some instances, it's the only option. If you decide to keep your TV where it is (as shown in the photo) I would recommend concealing all your wires in the wall, installing the TV on a full-motion mount with the SONOS Play-Bar mounted below - so it swings with the TV. Mounting it this way, will enable you to direct the TV towards the kitchen area for convenient viewing if that is one of your goals. You should consult a Pro-A/V installer in your area for this type of job and not attempt to DYI. Good Luck Frank

Most real estate contracts require you to leave anything that is permanently attached to the walls, such as those TV brackets, so the sellers did the right thing. Next time you buy, you could request as part of the contract, that the sellers remove any TV brackets and patch/paint the drywall. Why can't you remove the brackets and patch the walls?