#Drilling into lath and plaster series#

All involves much running up and down the stairs, much tape, and maybe a bit of swearing.īut the advantage is that all you have to make good are a series of holes, and not a complete chase. Naturally it comes off and you have to have to pull it out and reinsert the draw-wire. Then it's like 'sewing' to join up all your bits of draw-wire through noggins and in voids, go above to join the cable on, and pull it down. It is best to plan sockets so they're beside vertical studs, then use a metal backbox, drill holes in the side of it and screw it to the stud. Use your piece of string to join that draw-wire to the upper draw-wire.Ĭontinue in like fashion, or something like that, until you reach your socket position. Make a hole in the plaster, preferably between laths not cutting through them, above and below that noggin, and drill vertically* through the noggin, either from above or below, depending on what seems to work best. Get a bit of string with a weight on the end and drop it into the hole, to see how far the void extends before you have a noggin (another horizontal timber). (a piece of single core cable is good for this). Shove a bit of draw-wire through the hole. A 16mm/20mm/25mm hole, depending on how many cables you've to drop into the void. You insert drill bit through the hole and drill through the wall plate (the horizontal timber at the top of the wall, the top of which will hopefully be visible if you've got the floorboards up above). Let's say you're doing a vertical run downwards from the ceiling to a socket: you make a hole with a flat drill bit at the top of the wall, trying to get between two laths rather than cut one. It's tricky and painstaking but does less damage to the wall than any other I've ever seen used. I appreciate this might not always be practical but mentioned it as an example of other possibilities. This method avoided any damage to the walls. So I mounted the socket into a surface box screwed to the skirting board. I've added sockets to a room with lath and plaster walls but was fortunate that it also had a suspended floor. This would only require small access holes at each end of a run. As pointed out above, if the walls really are lath and plaster then it might be possible to run cables behind.

#Drilling into lath and plaster crack#

Less destructive would be to use something like an angle grinder to cut through the plaster and laths, but even then you'll likely end up with unfixed ends of lath that could move and further crack the plaster. Any hammer-and-chiselling will almost certainly cause lumps of plaster to be 'bounced off' the laths as they flex. Chasing a channel into lath and plaster is likely to be quite destructive. Choose picture rail hooks to fit your décor, find the right height for your art and use decorative chains or wire to hang your pieces with.Yes, lath and plaster depends on a void behind the laths for the plaster 'nibs' to form and therefore hold the plaster against the laths. If you live in an older house, you might already have a picture rail to hang your art from.

Make sure to buy the recommended strength to hold the weight of your piece and for safety reasons, refrain from hanging anything with glass.

Use double sided tape or hooks such as 3M Command products.

If hammering into the plaster is not an option: The only difference is, that over time the steel pins on the back of the tool might become dull when used repeatedly on a hard surface.

Hang & Levelworks extremely well on drywall and on other wall surfaces, including plaster.

įinding the right spot on the wall for your pictures: Although the segment is only 1:41, fast forward to 45 sec to skip the intro. Watch how home improvement expert Ron Hazelton drills into a plaster wall without cracking it.Remove the tape and put your nail, screw or toggle bolt in the hole and hang your picture.At slow speed, drill a pilot hole using a drill bit just big enough for the size of the hardware you’ll be using.With a pen, mark the hanging spot over the tape.

Once you know where to hang your piece (see Hang & Level below) cover the mark with painters’ tape or masking tape to prevent the plaster from cracking or crumbling around the nail hole.Don’t be afraid! It is possible to hang artwork on plaster walls without causing damage, here are a few options to consider: After all, the plaster might crack, crumble or even chip off, damaging your wall. Hammering nails into a plaster wall can be a nerve wracking experience.