Question about old plaster walls and modern anchors

I tried to hang a heavy shelf in my 1920s house and thought it would be a quick job, but the plaster just crumbled behind the drywall. What I thought would take 30 minutes turned into a whole weekend of patching and finding the right studs. Has anyone else had to deal with this and found a good anchor that works for old, brittle walls?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia6341mo ago

My 1918 craftsman has the same plaster over lath walls. Those toggle bolts everyone recommends just made bigger holes when I tried them. Honestly, finding a stud with a good stud finder is the only real fix I trust for anything heavy.

hayes.linda1mo ago

Ugh, been there, it's the worst.

morganm691mo ago

Oh man, my friend had to wait on hold for two hours just to fix a simple billing error! She said the hold music started to feel like a weird punishment. Total nightmare fuel for sure.