Mounting On Lath And Plaster Wall

The advantages of plaster wall vs.

Mounting on lath and plaster wall.

Mark the location of the mount s screw holes with a pencil. A simple technique is to pinpoint the stud with a finder then double check that it s actually a stud by pre drilling. Modern homes eventually switched to using drywall panels instead. Hanging things on lath and plaster walls is a tricky business.

You may not notice the damage but as plaster comes loose from the lath it will eventually begin to sag and soon fall off the wall if the sagging continues unchecked. Some older plaster walls have a thin strip of wood that runs around the perimeter of a room usually between 1 inch 2 5 cm to 1 foot 30 cm below the edge of the ceiling. If your room has this you can simply drive a screw through the wood and use this to hang things. However plaster wall is making a comeback in some circles.

Expect most mounts to have 4 or 5 of them. Plaster is a hard durable material but it s also resistant to penetration. Plaster walls are made by nailing strips of narrow wood lath spaced 1 4 inch apart horizontally across the vertical studs. But with a lath and plaster wall extra care needs to be taken to ensure the stud is found and it s not just the lath board that the television mount is being secured to.

Make sure these marks are clear so you know where to anchor the mount to the wall. How to use wall anchors in plaster walls. Simply hanging something heavy on a plaster wall can result in damage to the wall and the object if you don t tap into the supporting structure behind the plaster. In a nutshell a plaster wall is made up of lath attached to wall studs and covered in plaster.

Make sure the screw holes line up with the nearest studs. Keep the mount pressed against the wall. Though there are several methods of locating studs or supports behind the wall the most reliable is using a magnetic stud finder. This was mainly due to the fact that they are easier to install and less brittle.

Light items screws and screws with masonry anchors for heavy items are your best choice for hanging things on plaster walls without picture rail.