How to mount heavy items on plaster walls
Posted in Home on January 30th, 2011 by Jim – Comments OffPlasterboard can be a great substrate to use on your interior walls. Although old-fashioned plaster was very difficult to work with, requiring you to work plaster putty into a lattice to a smooth finish, there are no such complications with modern plasterboard. The material is purchased in large sheets, which are simply mounted against framed walls.
The only problem with plasterboard is that it can be quite delicate. Anyone who has ever worked with the material will appreciate that does not take much effort to break off corners, or even punch holes in plaster walls. And anybody who has ever tried to hang heavy artwork or other heavy items such as wall clocks on plaster will appreciate that normal fasteners do not stick – they simply pull straight out.
Hanging heavy items on plaster walls requires special anchors, specifically designed to distribute the weight across a large surface area. Using the correct hardware, you can even hang heavy objects up to 50 kg on your normal plaster walls.
Most plaster anchors look similar to oversized wood screws, and are designed to be turned directly into the board using a screwdriver, cordless drill or cordless screwdriver. They may be plastic or metal, and usually have an interior thread that then allows a normal screw to be inserted to carry a load such as a hook or a bracket. When installing these screw anchors, mark the spot that you wish to install it on, and use a thin screwdriver or nail to punch a small hole – just enough to act as a guide. Then SLOWLY turn in the anchor, to avoid cracking the surrounding board.
For heavier loads, spread the load over two or more anchors spaced at least 2 inches apart. Using this method it is possible to hand even heavy and large objects with no danger of hooks pulling out of your plaster walls.

