DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Afternoon all,

We have not long moved into a new build house and unsure on what's behind my plaster board. We have a heavy large oak mirror to but up on the wall. It has two key hile fittings on the back. I have located all the studs in the wall and they don't match up with where we want the mirror or the size. I have read up and a lot of people say to use plaster board anchor's. I understands they will be strong enough not to slip out but is the plaster board going to hold up? Is it likey to break the plaster board. Am I better to drill all the way to the stone on the outside of the wall and put a very long screw in or will that break under the weight. Any help would be great

Aaron

First weigh the mirror. Weigh yourself then weigh yourself holding the mirror and then subtract your weight.
The plasterboard fixings are very strong and will say what weight they can hold on the packet. I use them to hang heavy stuff all the time. A mirror is great as the load is pulling straight down where the fixing is.
If you're really worried you can use a spreader board as long as the mirror covers at least 2 studs. Cut a piece of ply or softwood down so it cant be seen behind the mirror but is wide enough to allow the mirror fixings to be attached.
Screw a sheet of say 9mm-15mm ply (dependent on the weight of the mirror) at the designated height securing it into the studs. Hey presto you now have a wooden surface to screw into to hang your mirror. I've done this a lot to hang coat racks on lathe and plast as people pulling and tugging on coats can rip the raw plugs out of the wall.

Cheers