Wall mounting question

[grocco]

I'm in the process of building a cabinet for my vintage machine and have a slight problem in regards to mounting it. It will be installed in my family room, on a wall that was originally an exterior wall of the house (before the family room was added on). If I am unable to locate the studs, will wall anchors in the wall support the cabinet? I'm thinking it might be OK because it was an exterior wall, and not an interior (sheetrock, etc). Comments? Suggestions?

[Moparformances]

i dont think the sheet rock allone would hold it..

inside or outside walls are still sheet rock on studs...

your going to need to hit the studs...

[owennewton]

I am assuming you are saying that like my addition you have exterior siding on that wall as it is the new room that was one time outside. It is stronger than drywall and yes it can hold more weight than the drywall on the other side but I would still go into studs as I just don't thing it is worth the risk to pachi and you if it did fall

[BigBearSteve]

What was the mateial on the exterior wall, before the addition? (Stucco, siding, brick?)

If it's something not too dense, you can use a stud finder or (my favorite trick) a strong magnet (Rare earth type)

Use the magnet to locate the nails or screws in the stud.

[grocco]

Thanks for the advice guys. More or less what I figured anyway...

@BigBearSteve, it's stucco to the best of my knowledge. The house was built in the early 1950's, so it's that stucco over chicken-wire style, I think.

[BigBearSteve]

You're best bet is to use toggle bolts.

The bigger the better (if you can't find the studs)

[CarlW]

You're best bet is to use toggle bolts.

The bigger the better (if you can't find the studs)

Big Bear Steve is absolutely correct... in the old days, I would figure out where it would not show and start driving an eight penny nail every 3/4" until a stud was found... used this product for a tv wall mount and it is the biggest toggle I've seen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1oPQe1PlKg

Vanco Wall Mount

Might work for you...

[Frank A]

Another way is to mount a ledger board across the area horizontally catching or spanning across several studs. You then have a strong surface to mount to.

[wrkey]

Just my two cents... A basic empty vintage machine can weight in at 35lbs plus. Add to that about 1,000 balls and the weight will jump to close just over 40lbs. If the weight was a continous vertical pull then I would say large toggle bolts would suffice. However, the problem comes when you open the door to the machine. Now you have 35 to 40lbs swinging outward adding a huge amount leveraged force that is no longer pulling vertical, but at an angle. This would function much like a claw-hammer does to remove nails.

I highly suggest that you find the studs. I have a 'cheap-o' stud finder that does pretty well. Some studs could be found by measurement. Here in the US the studs are built on standard 19" center increments. Some newer homes have 24" centers on the interior non-load bearing walls. Know these measurements, you can start from one of the corners and hopefully locate the first stud. Remember that these "centers" are implemented from one corner and constistanly applied to the far corner and you'll probably not know which corner the run started at. However, find one stud.. you've found the rest. Even if it passes a door or window, the center measurements should still remain consistant across the complete wall.

Once I know ABOUT where the stud is, I use the smallest nail I can find and 'poke through' the covering moving in small increments until I find the stud. I've seen the cable guy use the inner wire of the cable TV wire to poke through. The idea is to make tiny holes that can be easily patched by sticking something in it such as a thick water/baking soda paste which will dry and cover quite nicely... if the wall is white. Keep in mind too that your machine is pretty large so that even if you have several inches of 'searches' you'll still cover with the machine.

These machines are just over 20" wide so you should be able to 'hit' two studs. If you only have one available (24" centers") try to put the main 'stud affixed' brace just off center on the side where the main door hinge is as this will be more secure when the door is swung open. Better yet, as Frank suggested, put a spanning board across two studs.

Hope this helps!

Rusty