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May 5, 2008
Damn these plaster and lath walls!
Does anyone have any anchoring tips for these? Finding a stud is impossible.
Comments
The studs are going to be at either 18" or 24" on center. Start at a corner , measure 18" into the room and drill a hole into the wall with an 1/8" diameter bit. If you hit a stud there, you'll feel the resistance of the wood. If you don't, withdraw the drill and insert a bent piece of wire into the hole (like a cheap wire clothes hanger). Experiment with the bend location until you find the edge of a stud in the interstices of the wall. Withdraw wire, place bent length against front of wall, and mark stud location. Use the 18" or 24" dimension to find subsequent studs. Yeah, you'll have a small hole that you need to spackle and paint but it sure as hell beats either a bunch of hit-or-miss holes or the nagging feeling that you haven't really found a stud as you hang up your flat screen TV or whatever. Oh, and before anyone chimes in with "Get a stud finder!", they don't work with wood framed lath and plaster walls. Just plug the appropriate search terms into Google and you'll find a whole bunch of stories of frustration on this subject.
Posted by: johnife at May 5, 2008 3:59 PM
I use the same method as johnife. If you bend your clothes hanger into a squared off "U" shape it will help to see (from the outside of the wall) where the part of the wire inside the wall is at.
Posted by: southslope at May 5, 2008 4:23 PM
Johnife- very useful advice I wish I had heard years ago. What about if you're trying to find a stud on a hallway wall that is broken up doorframs. Do you measure from the doorframe? thx.
Posted by: Brooklynnative at May 5, 2008 4:46 PM
Great advice - I already have a few holes big enough to look in and probably spot a stud :)
Also anyone had any success with florent anchors? Not sure if that is the proper name, but they have long thin nails that go in at a downward angle - apparently they do not need to hit studs?
Posted by: spaderdam at May 5, 2008 5:08 PM
spaderdam,
What are you hanging on the wall? If it's a normal-sized picture or the like, then fine, but if it's something heavier, like a cabinet, you're playing with fire if you are depending on old crumbly plaster to have anywhere near the structural integrity to hold it up.
Posted by: johnife at May 5, 2008 5:33 PM
Brooklynnative,
Yeah, where a wall is broken up by doors it gets a bit trickier. It may well be that if the edges of two frames are, say, 60" apart and the normal stud spacing is 18", the carpenter may have gone with 4 equal 15" stud bays rather than three 18s and a 6. Doesn't change the basic principle though, just introduces the possibility of having to do it twice.
Posted by: johnife at May 5, 2008 5:41 PM
my living room has these walls and until i read this post i had given up hope of ever hanging anything heavier than a light frame. hand me a coat hanger... i'm gonna go find my stud!
and johnife is right, the studfinders are useless. thanks for the tip!
Posted by: dlabrook at May 5, 2008 8:52 PM
Isn't this what picture moulding is for? Aren't you supposed to hang things down on wire from hooks into those?
Posted by: guest at May 5, 2008 11:10 PM
I've found that for moderately heavy objects, a screw that goes through the plaster into the wood lath is pretty strong--of course you might drill into a space between lath, so a second hole might be needed.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at May 6, 2008 8:38 AM
Johnife -
looking to hang mainly shelves (the kind with concealed brackets) so finding a stud would definately be best. You are right abour the plaster - I feel like some of crumbles off if you look at it too hard.
Thanks for the great advice!
Posted by: spaderdam at May 6, 2008 8:46 AM
Have you tried a stud finder?
although I've never lived in a plaster home, they work a treat and for $10-15 means you always know wher the stud is.
Cheers,
Dean
Posted by: deanc at May 12, 2008 5:40 PM
I have plaster and lath and am trying to put up a kitchen shelf--one trick I read about was using an old-school magnetic stud-finder ($3) that pops up when you hover over a nail driven into a stud. It is fussy and time-consuming but I am pretty sure I've had some measure of success--definitely found a couple lines of magnetic spots spaced roughly 16-17 inches apart! Might be worth a try...
-Kate F.
Posted by: guest at July 4, 2008 6:09 PM
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