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Yesterday, I hung two 4ft 1in x 8in red oak bookshelves on my plaster and lath walls and I want to make sure they’re anchored enough since I wasn’t able to hit studs. I tried using a magnet to find the studs after my stud finders couldn’t do the job. I found the spots where the magnet clearly stuck to the wall and marked them but when I drilled in there was no resistance after making it through the plaster and lath. I have no idea what the magnet was attracted to at those 16 inch intervals but I had no resistance with any of my drill holes. Each of the two shelves is held up with 3 heavy duty shelf brackets tested to hold over 100lbs for every two brackets. Each bracket has 4 screw holes to use for fixing to the wall so each shelf has 12 screws and wall anchors. Each individual wall anchor and screw combo is tested to hold up to 55lbs. The total amount of weight per shelf is about 40-45 pounds and each of the 6 total shelf brackets is 13 inches away from the nearest one both horizontally and vertically. The shelves seem perfectly sturdy but I want to know if this is going to hold long term?Both shelves

The wall anchors and screws used

PRich123
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    It should be okay, but if that is an expensive TV below them, I would think about moving the TV. A cheap TV not so much. I might move one of the centre books on the bottom shelf to the left edge. – crip659 Mar 10 '23 at 18:37
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    I held up a 7' tall x 8' long stanchion & shelving unit on a plaster & lath wall for nearly 30 years with nothing more than drywall screws. One or two of the vertical stanchions _might_ have been screwed to studs, but after the stud finder failed to find anything, I just went to town. These shelves were _heavily_ laden with paper & books. They only came down when we removed them to replace them with closed cabinets. YMMV. – FreeMan Mar 10 '23 at 19:34
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    Drywall cannot be trusted to bear a significant weight, whatever anchor you use. Sleeping soundly, I was awakened by a shelf above my bed collapsing -- with a 19-volume encyclopedia! (Yep, that was some time back, when encyclopedias were on paper, not online.) Use a better stud finder. – DrMoishe Pippik Mar 10 '23 at 20:35
  • Hope you’ve moved the tv by now… and just to reinforce, studs are the only sane thing to mount to. – Aloysius Defenestrate Mar 10 '23 at 20:41
  • @FreeMan Did better than me. Had a kitchen cabinet up on the wall(drywall) for about 25 years. One day bang. It had glass and ceramic baking dishes in it. – crip659 Mar 10 '23 at 22:01
  • Asking questions like these after you've done the work is a bit pointless. If we told you it was unwise would you really take it down, patch the holes, repaint, and redo it? Doubt it – whatsisname Mar 10 '23 at 23:17
  • @whatsisname I’m literally redoing it right now with some pull toggle bolts. Did it the first time with info from the folks at Ace hardware and once it was up I couldn’t stop thinking it seemed solid but I want another opinion. I’m new to this, which is why I didn’t know how to do it right the first time but just because you wouldn’t redo it doesn’t mean I won’t. – PRich123 Mar 11 '23 at 00:25
  • @DrMoishe Pippik - OP said he had plaster and lathe walls, not drywall. – SteveSh Mar 11 '23 at 11:45
  • If it's wood lath and you hit the lath and not gaps with most of the 12 screws and don't use any anchors you'll be in great shape. But with the anchors you used, no. Not for a book shelf. Maybe, maybe if nobody ever touches it. Studs would be a lot better. In lath walls I find them by probing with a tiny drill. – jay613 Mar 11 '23 at 13:09
  • @crip659 there's a big difference between plaster & lath and drywall. I would _never_ have hung my shelving as I did if I'd had drywall. Mostly because I'd have been able to find the studs, and I'd have used them. I also hung a pair of overhead kitchen cabinets about the same time, using the same "screws wherever" method. Full of dishes. Still hanging. Again, YMMV. – FreeMan Mar 11 '23 at 13:38
  • Any chance you have metal studs? – Huesmann Mar 11 '23 at 13:56

2 Answers2

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Those anchors are not the best for hollow spaces, they need meat to hold on. But if you are lucky it might work for a while.

Finding studs the old way. Start at the corner (there is always a stud there) measure 16 inch to find next stud (or 24 inches in some cases)

Check for anchors with wings that work very well with hollow walls.

Something like this

anchor

Some might recommend different type hollow wall anchors.

Like this

anchor

Those are good but have a limitation.

You must know the thickness of the wall for them to work.

Ruskes
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  • Thank you for the advice! So if I took out the anchors I have and used these you think the shelves would hold long term even if I haven’t hit any studs? – PRich123 Mar 10 '23 at 19:09
  • @PRich123 those are made specifically for hollow walls and can carry 100 pounds each. The mechanics behind it, they spread over 2 inch, so you would have to rip out huge hole to get them out by force – Ruskes Mar 10 '23 at 19:12
  • If I can find the studs I’m thinking I can just take everything down and move the shelf brackets over to the studs and the holes from the previous spot will be covered by the shelf and books. If I did that I wouldn’t want anchors at all would I? I’d just want the screws going into the studs themselves? – PRich123 Mar 10 '23 at 19:15
  • There are good hollow-wall anchors that don't require the massive hole that these do, and that don't result in a sloppy fit. I like [these](https://www.brownsborohardware.com/shop/hardware/fasteners/anchors-and-installation/hollow-wall-anchor/hillman-14-in-short-hollow-wall-anchor-2-ct?SKU=731234). They have the added benefit of being reusable when the screw is removed. – isherwood Mar 10 '23 at 19:18
  • @PRich123 clearly finding the studs is the best method, try my suggestion on how – Ruskes Mar 10 '23 at 19:20
  • I’ll do that! Thanks again! – PRich123 Mar 10 '23 at 19:26
  • @PRich123 sorry to see you did not like my answer and downvoted it – Ruskes Mar 10 '23 at 21:57
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    I didn’t downvote it. I actually tried to upvote it but I don’t have enough karma or points or user cred or whatever to be able to upvote or downvote comments according to the website. Must have been someone else reading the thread. I do appreciate your help and I’m taking your advice as we speak – PRich123 Mar 11 '23 at 00:16
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    @PRich123 ok, I just gave you some points, there are some very nasty people here – Ruskes Mar 11 '23 at 00:45
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    Thanks! I gave you the upvote I tried to give you earlier. Also, I was able to locate a stud using your method of measuring from the corner and the only way I can hit studs with these shelves and still have the brackets evenly spaced is removing the middle one and pushing the outer ones in. It would look weird because a lot of space on either end would be hanging past the supports. And that’s assuming all the studs are evenly spaced, which I doubt in this weirdly built house. I’m using 1-2 pull toggle anchors per bracket and keeping the og anchors in the other spots. – PRich123 Mar 11 '23 at 04:37
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    @PRich123 thank you for the upvote. There is also another method to find studs but it does require some knowhow.. Use a small hammer or rubber hammer and start knocking (gently) on the wall and listen for sound change. – Ruskes Mar 11 '23 at 05:37
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    12 toggle bolts in a lath and plaster wall is a hell I would wish only on my enemies. I mean, if you get them all seated properly they'll be strong, but you'll want to jump off the roof before you achieve that. – jay613 Mar 11 '23 at 13:13
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To find the studs mark the level of the shelf on the wall, then drill a hole at that height, then put a bent wire in there and feel around for the stud. once you find the stud screw the bracket into that.

When you install the shelf it covers the holes you drilled.

when to no longer want the shelf use the same plaster you're filling the screw holes with to fill the exploration holes.

Jasen
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