TIL I spent 3 hours trying to hang a single shelf because my stud finder kept beeping through old plaster

Turned out the metal lath was setting it off the whole time, I should have just knocked on the wall instead, anyone else deal with old plaster walls being impossible to work with?

3 comments

3 Comments

casey8187d ago

Oh man, @charles720 is totally right about the magnet trick. I wasted an entire afternoon once with a stud finder going nuts on what turned out to be old wire mesh behind the plaster, just bouncing that thing all over the wall like a fool. Finally gave up and used a fridge magnet to find the lath nails, worked in like 2 minutes. Plaster is annoying but you just gotta learn the weird tricks, knocking on the wall to hear the hollow spots is actually my go to now.

charles7207d ago

Well, "impossible" seems a bit strong for just hanging a shelf. I've worked with plenty of old plaster houses and it's more of a learning curve than a disaster. That stud finder story is pretty common, honestly. Next time just use a strong magnet to find the nails holding the lath, it works better than any electronic gadget. Plaster walls are a pain, sure, but calling them impossible makes it sound like you're building a rocket ship, not putting up a shelf.

cole_murphy7d ago

@charles720 you're not wrong about magnets working but I've had those suckers pull up old wiring too many times in my 1920s place. People forget that plaster walls often hide surprises like knob and tube or random metal lath that can make even magnets unreliable. Sometimes the best option is just drilling a test hole with a tiny bit to see what you're actually dealing with before committing to anything.