Is it possible for wall hangers to bring my wall down?

[Techmonkey]

I'm a bit of a gear whore... there's no denying it. I've been playing bass for about a year and a half and I already have 3 basses, a homemade double bass, and I'm halfway through building a 5 string. I have 2 Jacksons and I don't even play guitar. Multiply this amount of gear by two for my brother, and we have an aweful lot of guitars! (At the moment it's 8...)

They're getting everywhere. I want to get something out of a cupboard and a guitar falls out - there's just no room to put them! I've come to the conclusion that wall hangers are the only way to go. I have one guitar stand and everyone always manages to trip over that! multiply that by 8, and the room would have to be shut off!

But my problem is this... The walls in my house are very weak and crumbly. the house was built in the victorian period, so the plaster has literally worn away. We had the house re-rendered a couple of years ago, and when they pulled the old render off a load of bricks just fell out! I'm worried that if I stick wall hangers up, they'll either pull part of the wall out, or just pull it plain down! I know very little about house construction so am I just fretting about nothing? If not, then does anyone have any other suggestions for keeping my instruments out of the way? (please, no-one say "sell them" )

Thanks in advance,
Tech

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Do not hang wall hangers in plaster- plaster can fall apart with very little weight if it's old. See if you can locate some studs, Plaster walls are built differently, but you can still sometimes find studs or support beams in them without plaster completley covering them. Use a stud finder to see if you have some available..

[steve66]

How about putting the wall hangers on a 2X4 and anchoring the 2x4 into the wall studs

[guy n. cognito]

Drill through the plaster directly into the wall studs. Finding a stud can be difficult in an older plaster wall, however. Consider buying a stud finder.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Drill through the plaster directly into the wall studs. Finding a stud can be difficult in an older plaster wall, however. Consider buying a stud finder.

Hey, I said that first

Everyone should own a good studfinder anyways- they're cheap, and they'll save a lot of your stuff from crashing to the floor.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Hey, I said that first

Everyone should own a good studfinder anyways- they're cheap, and they'll save a lot of your stuff from crashing to the floor.

Yes, you did. You get top billing in the stud finder movie!

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Mom'll be so proud!

[Techmonkey]

Wow, thanks guys! I never thought of this - I've read up about some methods of locating studs so I'll give it a shot tomorrow (it's quarter to 2 am here in the UK now), and then I think I'll go with that 2x4 idea If I can find enough, I'll run it right the way along the wall relatively high up (it's the wall I keep my amps up against) and that, as they say, should be that.

You guys kick ass

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Just make sure you keep your basses a fair distance above your amps. The fans in amps (if yours have them) can push a bit of dust out of them, and you don't want your basses right behind that.

[bass349]

have you looked at one of those multiple guitar stand racks? i have one that holds five basses/guitars and sits in the corner taking up very little room..

http://www.basscentral.com/warwick/accessories.shtml

.. dunno - just an idea. the curved/corner one looks interesting.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Everyone should own a good studfinder anyways......

Or a tape measure. With some basic math skills, you can find a stud in any wall.

-Mike

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Or a tape measure. With some basic math skills, you can find a stud in any wall.

-Mike

True- IF you can find the first stud AND if the studs are evenly spaces AND you know the stud spacing. In very old homes like are being discussed above, none of these issues are a given. I have worked in many turn of the century homes that had stud spacing that was much wider and more uneven compared to today's standards.

[fr0me0]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

True- IF you can find the first stud AND if the studs are evenly spaces AND you know the stud spacing. In very old homes like are being discussed above, none of these issues are a given. I have worked in many turn of the century homes that had stud spacing that was much wider and more uneven compared to today's standards.

yeah my buddy frames houses and theres no law to stud placement. You get what you pay for, centers can be different in every house, espcially from different periods.

get a studfinder or you can also tap on a wall and figure out where they are but if yoyu've never done that before might just wanna go with the finder.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

True- IF you can find the first stud AND if the studs are evenly spaces AND you know the stud spacing. In very old homes like are being discussed above, none of these issues are a given. I have worked in many turn of the century homes that had stud spacing that was much wider and more uneven compared to today's standards.

That's half the fun! I've spent my share of time remodeling homes from way back also. I pretty much agree with you, except it has been my experience that it is not all that difficult to find consistency in stud layout in a home. Now if you come across a house that has been remodeled many times, or built by a weekend warrior, then all bets are off.

-Mike

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by fr0me0

yeah my buddy frames houses and theres no law to stud placement.

Not where I live.

-Mike

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Now if you come across a house that has been remodeled many times, or built by a weekend warrior, then all bets are off.

-Mike

That's my house (built around 1895-1904- the main floor was remodeled and most of the walls are drywall, but a couple are still plaster, the upstairs is almost all plaster, and the finished basement is drywall and rock. Different stud placements all over the place It's pretty tough finding the studs even with one of my studfinders on the upstairs.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

That's half the fun! I've spent my share of time remodeling homes from way back also. I pretty much agree with you, except it has been my experience that it is not all that difficult to find consistency in stud layout in a home. Now if you come across a house that has been remodeled many times, or built by a weekend warrior, then all bets are off.

-Mike

No doubt about that. I spent a couple of summers working with a historic home remodeler. I worked on about 6 different homes built around the turn of the century. When people say "they don't make them like they used to" I say "good thing!" Rubble stone foundations, inadequate structural members, framing hack-jobs by plumbers and electricians, andd totally random stud spacing was common in each of these houses.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

It's pretty tough finding the studs even with one of my studfinders on the upstairs.

I flipped a house I bought last summer similar to what you are describing, except this house was built in 1990. It was a rental, and had been remodeled by weekend warriors at least eight different times.

-Mike

[Techmonkey]

Well, this is a bit of a shock... I can't actually find any studs... ?

Apparantly the walls are brick walls, but it's the brick that's crumbling causing the problems. Way back when they built houses with horsehair and mud or something stupid and it's all falling apart.

I don't really know what to do. I could try sticking rawl plugs in and hope for the best?

I wish I could fit one of those multi guitar stands in but I really wouldn't have anywhere to put it.

I'm at a loss

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by Techmonkey

Well, this is a bit of a shock... I can't actually find any studs... ?

Apparantly the walls are brick walls, but it's the brick that's crumbling causing the problems. Way back when they built houses with horsehair and mud or something stupid and it's all falling apart.

I don't really know what to do. I could try sticking rawl plugs in and hope for the best?

I wish I could fit one of those multi guitar stands in but I really wouldn't have anywhere to put it.

I'm at a loss

Older homes have structural brick walls, or two layers of brick, interlocked together that support the entire home structure. I'm guessing you're trying to hang these in an exterior wall, right? Consider using an interior wall, you should have timber in those walls.

Edited to add: What method are you using to locate the studs?