Most of the handy devices for hanging things on our walls were designed for drywall, not plaster. Everything from how to find a stud in plaster walls to what type of fasteners your should use is different.
Everyone wants to decorate their walls, so learning how to hang things on plaster walls is important for every homeowner to learn. It’s important not just to make the decorating process simpler, but to also avoid costly damage.
What’s the Real Difference Between Plaster and Drywall?
There are a few things that make the two different, especially related to attaching things to your walls.
- Drywall is usually 1/2” thick, compared to historic plaster, which can range from 3/4” to just over 1” thick.
- Plaster is much harder than drywall
- Plaster is more brittle than drywall
- Plaster has lath (wood, metal mesh, or rock lath) behind it that supports it, whereas drywall has nothing behind it
All these differences mean that the two require different fasteners and fastening methods for decorating.
What About Picture Rail?
If you’re one of the fortunate ones, you may have picture rail in some of the rooms of your home. Don’t confuse this little piece of molding at the top of your wall for some kind of miniature crown molding. It has a wonderful purpose and that is to protect your walls and make your life easier.
Picture rail was installed to give you a place to hang things like mirrors, art, pictures and anything else you want to decorate your walls with without putting holes in your plaster. Here’s how it works:
The picture rail is nailed to the studs, giving it better holding strength and was installed toward the top of the wall. The height is often variable depending on local traditions and builder preference, but seeing picture rail anywhere from about 1/2” to 1’ below the ceiling is not uncommon.
Pictures were hung on longer wires or cord to whatever height preferred by the homeowner and hung on small hooks that latched onto the picture rail. This made the pictures easily movable left or right anywhere in the room, and to raise or lower them, you simply change the length of the picture wire.
Picture rail works great for most decorations, but don’t try hanging extremely heavy items from it. After all, it is just a piece of wood molding. If you think something is too heavy, then it’s best to mount it in a more secure way to the wall.
Hanging Without Picture Rail
If you don’t have picture rail or don’t want to install some, that’s just fine. I can still give you some great ideas for hanging on plaster walls.
First thing: Put away the hammer. Hammering nails into plaster is a quick way to knock plaster loose from the lath that is supporting it. You may not notice the damage, but as plaster comes loose from the lath, it will eventually begin to sag and soon fall off the wall if the sagging continues unchecked.
Light Items
Screws (and screws with masonry anchors for heavy items) are your best choice for hanging things on plaster walls without picture rail. For lighter items, simply screwing into the plaster with a 1 1/4” drywall screw is usually enough to get the job done.
I prefer if the screw hits the wood lath behind the plaster for a little extra holding power to make sure things stay hung. You can usually tell when you hit the lath because the screw will grab better. If you miss, back the screw out and move the screw up (or down) about 1/2” and you’re sure to find the lath.
Heavy Items
Heavier items need more support, and so I recommend screwing into a stud with a 2” screw. Stud finders rarely work on plaster, but you can find the studs using the magnet trick.
Unfortunately, it seems that every time I need to hang something heavy, there is never a stud where I need one. When that happens, I am stuck using anchors. There are a number of anchors available, all rated by how much weight they can hold. Find one appropriate to your project and go to town.
Anchors aren’t my favorite because they require you to drill larger holes into plaster, but it is a reality of life in an old home. A word of caution, avoid the drywall anchors that are made to be installed without drilling. These self tapping anchors don’t work on hard plaster walls. To put any anchor into plaster, you’ll need to drill first.
Once you’ve got everything hung just where you want it and your husband or wife decides it needs to be rearranged, you can always fill small holes with spackle or even add some sand to the spackle to help it blend into sanded texture plaster.
If you did some big damage, you can use my post How To: Patch Plaster to get your walls back on track.
Good luck and happy decorating!
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
Hi Scott,
Came across your blog and really happy about it!
I’ve recently moved into a 12 years old house (new built) with plaster walls all around pretty much. Thinking about buying a coat rack with a shelf which has a total weight of approximately 7 kg. I haven’t bought it yet and I haven’t seen the manual/instructions, so I called the online store and asked about the method of mounting that rack to the wall. They said they had to contact their warehouse in Germany, and after a while the lady on the phone got back to me and said that the person she spoke to in Germany did not really speak good English and all that she managed to find out was that the rack has 3 holes/places to fix it to the the wall. Those holes are in the shape of a triangle – 2 in the upper sides and 1 in the bottom middle.
Here is the link for the actual rack: https://www.wayfair.co.uk/House-Additions-Maclar-Wall-Mounted-Coat-Rack-HAK1424.html
Can you please recommend on how best to mount it to the wall? And is it even possible/safe? I am not too sure whether or not I’ll be able to find the studs.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Scott,
I have a plaster wall over brick (exterior wall) and I need to hang curtain rods. The people before me just used plastic fasteners which easily pulled out. Any suggestions?
Deeper masonry anchors. The plastic anchors but use better and larger ones potentially.
Thanks, I appreciate the reply! Off to the hardware store for me!
Hi there,
I live in a craftsman build in 1926.
I’m trying to hang a television on the wall in my living room. I drilled one of the holes and when I went to drill the next, the drill will not drill at all. Am I hitting something I shouldn’t? Or perhaps the walls are made with metal lathe? Could that be what I’m running into? I had the same thing happen in my kitchen and just gave up hanging things all together.
If you are using a masonry bit which is good for plaster and hit the wood lath or framing it won’t do anything. Or you may have hit one of the nails for the lath as well. Or it might be something unknown in that area.
I am having the same issue. My drill barely nicks the plaster wall at all. What am I doing wrong? I only want to hang superficial things like pictures or jewelry hangers. I can’t drill for the screws. HELP, please. 🙂
Thank you for your article. We just moved into a house with all textured plaster walls, with what I call the rainbow swiped texture (not sure of the correct term for that). But my question is what is the best way to put up shiplap on a plaster wall?
I’m trying to do the same. House was built in 1917 and has all plaster walls. Did you successfully put up shiplap?
Hi, Scott, I am trying to mount a TV. I live in a Colonial House from 1795. The walls in the room where we are mounting the TV are original. The studs are not 16″ apart but instead are all over the place. The TV is about 10 lbs. We have lathe walls. How should we mount this TV.
Sincerely
Carley
If the TV is only 10 lbs a plaster anchor should work without a stud.
We recently bought a 1920s home, which has plaster walls in it. We are wanting to hang two barn doors to separate the dining room from the living room. I am putting up a 1×4 header board behind the 13′ rail so I can secure it all and distribute the weight properly, but am needing to figure out where the studs are along it so I can anchor it securely. Also, each door is 8’x3′ (I am guessing they each weight about 50-60 lbs). Do you have any tips for me on this. Thanks so much.
I recently purchased my first home and will soon be mounting surround speakers (18lbs ea.) directly on the wall (the speakers in particular don’t allow for a mounting bracket, so they will be hanging right off the screws). The house was built in the 50s or 60s and the walls are plaster. In the even that I cannot find a stud (which I probably can’t) would suggest using regular plastic drywall anchors (not self-tapping, of course) or would molly/toggle bolts be better?
Thanks!
Mollys are always strongest but leave huge holes. For 18 lbs you should be able to find a decent drywall anchor that will work.
I have hung several things of various weights in my home using the methods you describe. First drill then use an anchor with screws. Each time the object being hung never feels securely anchored. It always feels loose and in danger of falling. I am so tired of not being able to decorate the way I wish because of my walls. Any ideas what’s going on here?
I have a rectangular area that use to house the doorbell chimes that I would like to repurpose by adding some small shelves and adding a decorative door to cover it. All of our walls are plaster so I’m not sure how to attach a hinge to the plaster wall. It is possible that since this area in recessed into the wall that there is a wood frame around the area but I’m not sure. What would you recommend using to attach the decorative door? The door would probably be about 14 inches wide and 4 ft long. Thankis.
Hi Scott, thank you for this great blog. I’m in a pickle. I am renting a beautiful 1,300-sq ft top floor apartment of a house built in 1755. At one point in the late 1700s, it was a tavern and word has it that George Washington stopped in for a drink on his way through Connecticut. I moved in a few months ago, but the move process has been slow for various reasons. I want to make it as “home like” as possible for my kids, but most of the walls are plaster, and my lease INSISTS on nails. My living room was the ballroom of the tavern, and really needs some things on the wall. I’d be breaking the lease if I used any screws/anchors OR adhesives. There is no picture rail (cool idea). When I tried nailing in some cool black wrought-iron candle holders (kind of heavy), I heard all of the lathe behind the wall fall down behind the wall. I also was bumping into something that would not let the nail go in — tried several places. I’ve been too “gun-shy” to hang anything else except the lightest items or things on a few newer drywall walls. Thank you in advance for any advice! (I think my landlords have had bad experience with previous tenants “putting big holes in the wall” w/ anchors.) Look forward to your insight!!!
In your unique situation I would explain your predicament to the landlord and see if they have any suggestions. Clearly they don’t want the Plaster damaged but if nails are causing more damage then that won’t do either.
Thank you, Scott. I suppose that is the best way to approach it. When I did so initially, however, they said that as long as I used “picture hangers” (with the gold-colored, large-headed nail — or nails — going into the wall at an angle over hook underneath), I would be fine. Those hangers don’t work for everything, though, such as my black candle holders. Luckily I have not done any real (visible) damage — just heard the lathe “fall down” to the story below. Creepy sound. Anyway, I truly appreciate your time and advice!
I know this is a late response but point of clarification. What you heard fall was not the lathe but the plaster “keys” actually holding the plaster TO the lathe. They were breaking off from the impact of the hammer. I hope you stopped quickly because without the keys the plaster will most certainly fail. Sadly because this is a rental there isn’t much you can do to hang heavier things on those walls. As others have said screws do minimal damage to the structure of the plaster but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to convince the landlord of that. As I’m sure you have discovered plaster is both a blessing and a curse.
In my 1940 home, every room has a groove about 6″ down from the ceiling in the plaster walls that goes around the perimeter of the room. It is for hanging paintings but it is not a rail but an actual groove into the wall. I need hooks for it but don’t know what to call them or where to find them.
What is the safest and most secure way to attached seven antique double glass door tall bookcases to plaster walls. There is a strong fabric strap atop each bookcase for the same ole purpose of securing them to the plaster wall before adding the books into the bookcases. They are much taller than me and outweigh me by a lot. Please advise. Thanks in advance., Jam.
I’d find a stud and then use a 2 inch screw to secure the strap to the wall if you’re concerned about tipping.
Thanks for the blog, Scott! Question: would you say that the methods you’re describing here would be just as good if the plaster is directly on a brick party wall (rather than lath)?
On a brick wall the only way your can hang things is the drill with a masonry bit and install a plastic or metal anchor. Nothing else will work other than a Tapcon maybe.
Any ideas on how to hang multiple pictures on horse hair plaster over brick. Was thinking of track system.
Thanks for the blog. I’m currently trying to hang a picture on a space where I get through the plaster, the lath, and then after about a 1/4 inch, I hit a piece of metal. It’s about half a foot away from the outlet horizontally- is there a connection there? Trying to figure out how big this thing is without punching a bunch of holes in the plaster…
Likely that is the armored cable for the outlet. Be careful and stay clear of that cable!
Thank you. This is very helpful! We are in an apartment in a pre-war building and these tips have worked in most places throughout our home. However, I have tried to hang a paper towel holder several times now in one location in the kitchen have butchered the wall. Luckily it is in a low visibility spot. It seems to be plaster, but with no wood lathe that I can feel/see regardless of moving up/down/left right. It appears to be plaster for about 3/4″ then hollow and then something with resistance, so nothing to catch on to. I am wondering what you might suggest. I am wondering about using a decorative piece of wood to attach in four corners and then mount the holder to the wood, but I am not sure if this will be strong enough given the amount of use. Open to ideas…
Michele, I probably use a drywall or plaster anchor where you drill a small hole in the wall put the plastic anchor in and then screw into the anchor.
Could you advise on hanging a roman shade from plaster ceiling portion of a recessed window. I want to mount the shade with an inside mount and only seem to find lath – no solid wood. Will wing style toggle bolts be ok and if so, what size? I am concerned about weakening the lath due to size of hole required. My boards 24X 2.5″ and 44 by 2.5″
I would use some plastic drywall anchors. Unless the blinds are particularly heavy this should be all the support you need.
I usually use OOK professional hangers. The blue steel nails are very thin and surprisingly strong and only seem to bend when hitting other metal. I can usually twist them out and not damage the plaster and have only a slightly larger than pin hole remaining. I am sure it wouldnt work well for a bad plaster job. perhaps I am just lucky 🙂
Can you recommend a specific anchor for items around 50lbs? I feel like the options are overwhelming when I look at the wall of anchors at Home Depot. Also, any tips for mounting a TV to textured plaster walls?
Btw – I love your blog. I live in a 1924 craftsman & I’ve learned a lot about working on my house.
I have lived with plaster walls most of my life and what has worked for me is to use fine finishing nails for lightweight stuff and pre-drill a small hole with a masonry bit and use plastic anchors and screws for heavier items. Plaster walls are rather thick, so I try to avoid anchors if I can. An exploratory small hole can help you figure out how thick the plaster is (with the lath it is around 2″ but can be thicker, and I have found some plaster walls covered with drywall and multiple layers of wallcovering in my house). If the plaster crumbles on you, move the hole at least an inch or two away and patch. I like plaster of paris in layers to patch bigger holes, sometimes with a piece of cardboard or mesh poked in to help it hold.
In a pinch, I have actually chiseled out a chunk of painted surface at least the size of a quarter (preferably in a spot behind a cover plate or a picture or low behind a piece of furniture) and used that to match the old paint color. Then I scrub the old wall and patch, prime and spot paint. My house has 50-year old Benjamin Moore paint, and I have been able to match most of the colors, saving a lot of work when we first moved in.
While cleaning walls isn’t fun, I used a TSP substitute and a natural bristle brush and loads of old towels, working from bottom to top), it is a good idea to do so before painting anyway. I liked the existing colors and they looked so good after washing that we only painted a few rooms and some ceilings rather than the whole house. The only room I couldn’t match exactly was the sunroom which had a very pale and very chalky light green paint. All brands of flat paint I tried had too much of a sheen to match, and the color was so pale as to be very difficult to get just right. A light hand to feather in the color can be helpful on the second coat, and sometimes a bit of light sanding does the trick.
What kind of molding would one use if I wanted to add a picture rail?
Chad, it is actually a specific molding called picture rail. It has a lip on the top backside so that when nailed to the wall there is still a gap for the hooks to hang on.