picture hooks for lath and plaster walls

#Picture hooks for lath and plaster walls crack#

Be sure you insert the bolt through the bracket before placing it in the wall. First drill a ¼” hole and insert toggle bolt with the wings depressed so once it’s through the opening, it expands and is secure. He used a toggle bolt in the top hole of each of the brackets. But, we use them for almost everything we hang. They are especially useful for anything heavy. He likes these for plaster because once the toggle gets behind the lath, its far more secure than a single screw. Some people put a piece of blue painters tape over where they are drill to prevent cracks which is a good precautionary measure.ģ. For these brackets Xan used 1/8th x 2 toggle bolts. Even for hanging pictures we drill a tiny hole for the nail and it works great. Furthermore, you cannot nail into it, the nail will hit the lath pushing it back and releasing the bond it has with the plaster (a recipe for more cracks!).

#Picture hooks for lath and plaster walls crack#

Secondly, plaster is more brittle than drywall, and it will crack very easily. So you cannot measure 16” or 24” from the first stud you find. Often in older houses with plaster walls the studs are not on regular dimensions as they are in more modern homes. We have found that a strong magnet on a string (dental floss, actually) is helpful for detecting the nail heads used to nail the lath to the studs, which tells you where the studs are. A stud finder won’t be accurate because it detects all the strips of lath and not just the stud. Plaster is applied in layers to horizontal strips of wood called lath, which is nailed across the studs. For starters, stud finders are not usually effective on them. While drywall can be difficult to fasten to unless you are drilling into a stud, plaster walls are even more difficult for a couple reasons. drywall: We have plaster walls, which can be tricky. Use the appropriate anchors to mount the brackets. Xan uses a torpedo level to make sure the brackets are plumb (straight up and down). Once you do, hold them up to the wall and mark the holes with a pencil. Just be sure that there’s enough fabric that your curtains hang naturally when closed, rather than looking like they’ve been pulled tight.Ģ. After you’ve decided where the curtains should go, you can determine where the brackets should be placed. This tricks your eye into thinking the window is bigger than it is.

You want the outer edge of the curtain to be about 10-12 inches from the outside edge of the window frame. The higher you hang them the more visual space you create. As long as they’re at least a few inches below the ceiling you’re good to go. You want to hang them as high above your window frame as you can.