Possibly the stupidest question yet

[Keefaz]

Hey, all.

I've tidied out the utility room I'm going to transform into my little den. I've started to make a frame out of 2x4 that will run the length of one wall which will form the basis of my wall-mounted storage. I intend to cover half the frame with chipboard which I'm going to screw various doohickys into directly and leave the rest as is for possibly a cabinet/clamp storage.

OK. My question, then, is: what's the best what to attach this frame to the wall? It's an interior wall, btw, probably plastered 50+ years ago if not more. I've had awful, terrible experiences in the past drilling holes into old plaster and ending up with a hole twice the size of the rawlplug. Is there an idiot-proof solution?

Thanks,

Keith.

 

[Paul Chapman]

It all depends what the wall is made of (ie what's under the plaster). Do you know? If it's something solid like brick or breeze blocks, there shouldn't be a problem. However, some very old houses have interior walls made from stuff like lath and plaster which will cause problems if you plan to fix things to them. If you don't know, maybe the neighbours do if their houses are similar.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[engineer one]

if you don't know what the wall is made of, or what state it is in, since it is internal, i would work on the basis that it may not be load bearing, in which case you need to think about what you are loading on it.

my flat has a sort of brick thingie called a pot, which has the outside of a brick, but is hollow inside, so you need to look at some of the wall board type fixings. i would first drill a test hole and see what you are getting in to.

you might then need to think about the fixings more suited for plaster board.

it might then be worth thinking of making a frame structure and linking it along the wall. but frankly i would think of building a set of mdf or mfc lower cabinets, and then springing the top parts off this. would be more stable and more adaptable.

why chipboard???

paul :wink:

 

[Waka]

Keith

No such thing as a stupid question.

 

[RogerS]

if it's lath and plaster then you will have some vertical bearers (studs) supporting the laths and the spacing may fit in with where you'd like to fix your screws. But be warned...every single one of those devices for locating studs have been total pants. I have four of the little bu***rs and none of them will detect the studs beneath the lath and plaster.

 

[Scrit]

I have four of the little bu***rs and none of them will detect the studs beneath the lath and plaster.

That's what awls are for.........

Scrit

 

[stix]

Keith

If it is lath & plaster and you can't find the studs in your wall (or they are not in suitable positions for fixing your frame) I have found these to be the best solution.

Steve

 

[Shivers]

Use a smaller drill bit first--once you have the depth you want--go to required size

 

[wizer]

No help here, but just to reiterate. I was watching a programme last night called Holmes on Holmes. Canadian programme about a guy who goes in and fixes botched construction jobs. He was taking down kitchen cabinets and complaining about how they'd been put up. When he started saying about only 2 screws hitting joists and 2 into nothing, I couldn't help hanging my head in shame and thinking i'd probably done something like that before. :roll:

So not a silly question at all :wink:

 

[dedee]

Your question is no more stupid than mine

What is a doohicky?

Andy

 

[StevieB]

I have lath and plaster walls and was worried about hanging radiators. In the end I used the existing battens from the old radiators, but while popping into Axminster a couple of weeks ago they had a fixings demo outside. I cannot remember the name of the company but Axminster have recently started selling their products. I asked them about toggle clamps and they suggested using a two part resin system and propiatary plug. Essentially its a hollow tube in a mesh bag. The whole lot goes into a drilled hole, inject the resin which is held by the bag, it expands and forms a wacking great plug the otherside of the lath and plaster wall. You then stick a threaded bolt into the plug before the resin sets hard and voila, an immovable bar you can put a frame onto, hang radiators from etc etc. Not sure you would ever get it out again without some serious damage to the wall, and iirc they were fairly expensive but they did a range of sizes. They also did a demo it on a hollow brick and I was able to lift the construction block by the bar in the plug within 3 mins of it being injected, so fairly quick stuff too.

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[Jake]

What is a doohicky?

Generically very similar to a thingy.

 

[engineer one]

but surely a doohickey is an american thingie :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[Keefaz]

Hey, all. Thanks for your replies.

Well, I had some probings (oo-er) last night and my inexperience has got a me a little worried. I tapped all along the wall and it sounds more-or-less like: solid, fairly solid, hollow repeat every couple of feet or so. I made some soundings (i.e. I drilled some small holes with non-hammer drill): the first went in OK although the plaster seemed quite fragile, the second seemed to hit brick, and the last was like drilling into thin air.

So that scared me a bit too.

The neighbour reckons the similar room at the back of his house hasn't been re-plastered since about 1870--it's his junk room--but I'm not sure if the same is true of my place.

Hmmm... I'm thinking something free-standing might be less worrying than turning the wall into swiss cheese...

engineer one: Why chipboard? Just cos' I've got some sheets lying around doing nothing!

Cheers,

Keith.

 

[Paul Chapman]

about 1870

If it's that old I reckon the wall might well be made from lath and plaster, which in my experience can be quite fragile. Given the weight of things like cramps which you said you wanted to store, it might be safer to go for some sort of free-standing storage.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[the_g_ster]

One other idea is that if you are still not too confident about what the wall construction is then if as you say this is for a full length of one wall you could make something independent of the wall at each end so the cabinets and storage don't intefere by being suspended between the ends. This may have the advantage of saves the risk for drilling through anything that you shouldn't and also causing any damage to an already fragile wall.

May save you a little time too, as can take a while to get the fixings in and accurate, clamps etc can weigh a lot too, so a big burden on an old wall.

Good luck.