If you have plaster walls...

[mrs.jacinthe]

...how thick are they?

We're trying to put our closet system up and poor R just had to run to HD for longer screws and toggle bolts.  our plaster is over 2 inches thick in spots.  I've never lived in a house with plaster ... is that normal, or is this house some variety of freakish?

[pitterwoo]

that seems unusually thick. ours are more like an inch thick.

[jloww]

I would say the plaster is 1/4" before you hit wood.  Yours is super thick!

[new2this2]

We have to use 3 inch toggle bolts for our plaster walls. I tried the 2 inch ones before and the wall was too thick! Maybe it's regional or has to do with the age of the home?

[prazenjc]

maybe you are also hitting the between the slats?

[bunnymendelbaum]

Our plaster is 1" to 1-1/2" I think. I can imagine the 2" toggles being slightly too short when including the lath.
It's never easy with an old house!

[magdala]

Our plaster is almost 2" thick is some places. Our house is from the 1930s.

[treedimensional]

Mar 24, 2013 9:03:29 GMT -5 prazenjc said:

maybe you are also hitting the between the slats?

My thoughts as well. There are for sure some thick spots (like 2") but mostly it's about half that. And inch is about average, I think.

[Marmee]

Varies depending if its an interior or exterior wall. My house is 113 yrs old. We have a really hard time hanging anything heavy.

[finally]

Our old home had plaster walls that were uneven and I am the biggest advocate of Hercules Hooks. We hung a large, heavy mirror using 2 of them with no issues.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Mar 24, 2013 11:27:00 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

Mar 24, 2013 9:03:29 GMT -5 prazenjc said:

maybe you are also hitting the between the slats?

My thoughts as well. There are for sure some thick spots (like 2") but mostly it's about half that. And inch is about average, I think.

Sorry I posted and ran.  We actuallyy drilled pilot holes, originally, with a shorter drill bit and R was all, where are the studs?  Turns out we just have super thick plaster, he wasn't even through the lath at that point.  We think what happened is that when they moved the house, the original plaster cracked, so they just put more over it.  Sigh.  We ended up with 4 inch screws and 5-inch toggle bolts.

[Deleted]

My parents house has plaster that is 2inches thick in some spots if not more. Partially due to original construction. Partially due to remodeling throughout the years.

My mom struggles to even get a hook on the wall sometimes. Pole barn spikes are no joke in their house as a result..lol.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Wow!! 5" toggles! That's crazy.

[amblor]

We only have plaster in two rooms (old house that has apparently been added on to a lot!) but I would assume that they are like 1/2in thick in plaster and then they have wood slants behind that. We haven't had trouble hanging curtains or anything.