![]() If you can find the studs, that's always the best way to go. You can even use some liquid nails or other construction adhesive on the backs of the cabinets for more support, just as long as you don't want to take them down in the future. But in most cases it is feasible to do so. In your situation I would definitely not use the lath as a support. I've never seen a house with 3/16" lath in it. Most of the homes I’ve dealt with are about 200 years old. To contributor D: A 1927 house is still a ways from a 100 year old house. What also probably helped is that it’s a wall to wall run, so both sides can be fastened as well as the back. I suppose the 90% chance to hit wood theory. The general contractor took out the old cabinets on Friday and told me that they were installed with lots of nails. So, I stick to my position to find the stud. Space between the studs got wider and the lath was spaced wherever the worker thought was ok. Nothing was uniform as far as studs and lath. I had to move a few walls and widen doorways for a modern fridge and washer/dryer to fit in. I got the feeling that the builders used less and less lath as the house went up. To contributor B: With all due respect to you and your experience, you sound like you’ve been around and know your stuff but I lived in a plaster house and the lath was 3/16 thick at most. If you find chicken wire in the walls instead of lath then the walls were redone at some later time and then I wouldn't recommend screwing anywhere as you would be screwing into plaster only. I've worked within the 18th century style homes for 17 years and know how they are built. I recommend finding a stud but it isn't possible to always get one with a smaller cabinet. A lot of plasters were reinforced with horsehair and are even stronger. It is at least 3/8" thick and embedded in plaster. The lath that the plaster is laid on is usually oak or chestnut. And I've swung from them, and I'm no lightweight. To contributor D: I've done cabinets this way on good plaster. Don’t be surprised to find 2 x 4's that are actually 2 x 4 and no round-over on the edges. The studs might be 16 '' center to center but it’s no guarantee in older homes. Find the stud with a nail and hang the cabinet on studs. As for chicken wire, I’ve never seen it in houses. It might be great for holding up a picture but not a cabinet. I always make sure I have positively located enough studs to secure a particular cabinet before I raise it. After you pinpoint the center of a stud, try to determine what the framing spacing is by measuring a logical distance like 16". If you hit chicken wire the bit should just deflect. I am sure this will work on plaster and lath too. When it goes deeper and is still drilling wood, that is a stud. ![]() I can tell when I am between them because the drill goes the same depth every time and then frees up. To the original questioner: When there is plywood sheeting behind the sheet rock (I won’t fasten a wall cabinet to sheeting either) I take a drill with a 1/4" drill bit and hunt for studs. ![]() The lath I have seen during a demolition seems like it was 1/2" thick by 1" wide if that. I did mess with plaster once in the 70's and it seems to me I had to use a carbide masonry drill. Isn't there usually chicken wire in the plaster? It seems like that would interfere with the stud finder. They do have stud finders that can penetrate the plaster walls and reliably find the studs - don't expect them to be 16" on center. You can also hunt for the studs with a screw where the cabinets will be hung, then put the cabinets up and the extra holes will be hidden behind the cabinets. The base of the plaster will be a split lath and there is a 90% chance of screwing into it. If the plaster is in good to excellent condition you can literally screw it anywhere. But thinking about it, I can just cut a section away behind the cabinet to figure out what's back there. My concern was being able to find them behind the plaster. I believe they still used wood stud framing 100 years ago. (Cabinet and Millwork Installation Forum) I am going to be installing some upper cabinets on plaster walls in a 100 year old home.
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