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Brad Funk
08-30-2012, 9:47 AM
My house was built in 1922 and has plaster walls.
I have hung a few things here and there and all is well so far.
Got a 42" flat screen for the kids room and it really should mount on the wall for security and safety sake. I have had hell finding studs behind the plaster / lath walls.
The way i remember lath and plaster is studs with horizontal runners then plaster over that.
Would toggle bolts do the trick? Like 6 of em?
I would feel better if i could find the studs though. Were 16" centers a common practice back then?
Any suggestions for finding the studs besides drilling every 3 inches?
Thanks!

Fred Perreault
08-30-2012, 10:33 AM
Can you get upstairs (attic?) and downstairs to see any exposed framing or other areas to get a glimpse of the cross section of the walls? Maybe a closet.... or maybe de-struct a closet wall to see what they did. Plaster lath was typically rough sawn 3/8" thick, by 1.25-1.5 wide. Around here they would add horse hair to the mix to help bind it together before applying it to the lath. It's likely that your framing is also rough sawn, and may be somewhat irregular in dimensions. Maybe full 2x4 (sorta, kinda), or possibly 3-5/8th's x 1-5/8th's. Around here, truly finished, uniform framing stock started to appear regularly around the 30's or so. Making in investigative incision in the wall somewhere less noticeable might help you later in the ownership of the home.

Brad Funk
08-30-2012, 10:44 AM
Good idea Fred, i may be able to see in the attic to at least get an idea of what's going on back there.

David Weaver
08-30-2012, 12:13 PM
If you can't, I would use a coat hanger and bend it in an L shape with the part that goes through the wall a foot long or so. Let it hang down behind the wall and then turn it until it hits a stud, affix some tape to it (the part that's sticking out of the wall) so that the tape is vertical at that point. Take the whole assembly out of the wall, and arrange it so the tape is vertical like it was when you marked it and mark where the outside edge of the stud is from the end of the wire.

Lee Schierer
08-30-2012, 5:27 PM
If you think about it all the lath is attached to the studs with nails. Since the lath is thin, the builders most likely only put nails at the studs. Get a Little Wizard Metal detector and locate your studs. 240239 Forget the electronic stud finders as they don't work well on plaster walls. The metal detector should get you to your studs quickly.

Lee

phil harold
08-30-2012, 6:29 PM
magnet will help you
try this one
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-47-400-Magnetic-Stud-Finder/dp/B0000BYD3K

tapping the wall works too but that take some experience and guesswork

Toggle bolts will work if you cannot get to a stud be careful when drilling, plaster can just fall off the wall with no warning (damhik)
1922 you may have wood lathe or 1' wide sheet rock strips

Jim Matthews
08-31-2012, 7:56 AM
I would hang a series of metal French Cleats (http://www.hooksandlattice.com/cleat-hangers.html) in a line, each with a decking screw long enough to penetrate the lath and hit the stud.

Before drilling, it may be worthwhile to determine if there's a live electric line at the height of the screws.
If it was me, I would call up Parts Express (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=182-322) in Dayton, OH and ask tech support the same question.

Shawn Pixley
08-31-2012, 10:34 AM
I sympathize with your difficulties. That age house was built when people were trasitioning from balloon framing to platforms framing. What this often means is that the studs will align with the joists above and below. My previous house was a 1923 craftsman in the pacific NW. Its studs were 18" oc. Its studs and joists aligned. Traditional stud finders didn't work. I found that I needed to use a magnetic reader to find the nails for the lathing. The other technique I found worked was careful measument of the open joists in the basement and transfer this to the walls upstairs.

I would not reccomend using toggle bolts or other hollow wall anchors.

Good luck


My house was built in 1922 and has plaster walls.
I have hung a few things here and there and all is well so far.
Got a 42" flat screen for the kids room and it really should mount on the wall for security and safety sake. I have had hell finding studs behind the plaster / lath walls.
The way i remember lath and plaster is studs with horizontal runners then plaster over that.
Would toggle bolts do the trick? Like 6 of em?
I would feel better if i could find the studs though. Were 16" centers a common practice back then?
Any suggestions for finding the studs besides drilling every 3 inches?
Thanks!

Kevin Bourque
08-31-2012, 12:28 PM
If you can't, I would use a coat hanger and bend it in an L shape with the part that goes through the wall a foot long or so. Let it hang down behind the wall and then turn it until it hits a stud, affix some tape to it (the part that's sticking out of the wall) so that the tape is vertical at that point. Take the whole assembly out of the wall, and arrange it so the tape is vertical like it was when you marked it and mark where the outside edge of the stud is from the end of the wire.


I completely agree with this method. Who cares if the wall has a hole in it if theres going to be a gigantic TV covering it up.

John Pratt
09-04-2012, 9:19 AM
Check out Toggler snap toggles. One snap toggle holds 356lbs in 5/8" drywall and will work in walls up to 3 5/8" thick. I use them all the time to hang things in strange places where no stud is available and have used them several times to hange TVs in conference rooms etc.

TODD RAYMER
09-04-2012, 4:03 PM
I have an early 1900 house and I have had good luck looking at the wide base board and seeing where the nails are in them. It seems to work for me.

David Weaver
09-04-2012, 4:56 PM
I completely agree with this method. Who cares if the wall has a hole in it if theres going to be a gigantic TV covering it up.

Not only that, but the hole will be very small. Even if you take away the TV, it should be a twaddle to plug the hole and hit it with a dab of touch up paint.

ray hampton
09-04-2012, 11:07 PM
Check out Toggler snap toggles. One snap toggle holds 356lbs in 5/8" drywall and will work in walls up to 3 5/8" thick. I use them all the time to hang things in strange places where no stud is available and have used them several times to hange TVs in conference rooms etc.

Call me confuse but what are a wall up to 3 5/8 so important ?

John Pratt
09-05-2012, 9:16 AM
That just gives the maximum depth of wall that they will work with. I work in some Government buildings that have multiple sheets of drywall for fire ratings (I don't know the fire codes or why it is necessary to have three layers at times), I simply mentioned it because some old plaster walls can be a lot thicker than the standard drywall.

ray hampton
09-05-2012, 5:26 PM
the reason for multi layers of sheet rock are FIRE PROTECTION, fire will burn up or down between the lath and the outside, all houses that are build with wood will go quick after the fire start