Fixing wall unit

tony3619

Hello 

Long story short...I have a floor to ceiling wardrobe that I need to fix to the wall. 

I know the wall has plastic pipework running behind it and I'm worried abour drilling into it. 

Could I fix 3 sections of wood to the wall using no nails and drill into this instead?

The idea being if this is done in 3 different areas it unlikely to fail in all 3? 

donemedosh

I take it that it is a stud wall (and plasterboard) the wardrobe is being fixed to. If so you can tap the wall with your knuckle when the tone sounds solid this is where the wood studs are. you can then screw to these. Or if you know where you want to put the holes make a small hole with a thin screwdriver then use a drill bit to make the right size hole by hand or use a brace. This way if you hit the pipe you will not damage it.

tacpot12

In my experience, NoNails might as well be called NoGlue! I've never had it stick well to anything. I wouldn't trust it to stop a wardrobe from falling over.

You really need to find the studs and fix something to them, or if it is a dot and dabbed wall, you need to find the pipes. Making a small hole with a small screwdriver, and then feeling around inside the wall with a bent peice of wire might be one way to go. If it is a stud wall, you should be able to find the studs easily using a stud finder and/or a metal detector to find the screws securing the plasterboard to the studs. 

If it is a stud wall, I would actually take the plasterboard off, put metal capping over the pipes (so I can find them again in future) and mark the plasterboard with the location of the pipes as extra measure and fix into the studs which you will know the location of due to the metal screws you used to refit the plasterboard. 

If it is dot and dabbed plasterboard on a brick wall, I would cut 150mm x 75mm sections of the plasterboard out with a Stanley knife at the points where I want to fix the wardrobe. You will either find the pipes, a clear space or a dab of adhesive. I would just move long the wall until I find the clear space I need, then fit a wooden batten to the wall. The batten can be made a long as is needed to fill the hole you end up making. I have used offcuts of PVC waste pipe as spacers in the past to cope with uneven brick walls. You can easily cut exactly the thickness you need with a handsaw. (I find an old blunt saw much better for cutting PVC pipe). 

FreeBear

donemedosh said: Or if you know where you want to put the holes make a small hole with a thin screwdriver then use a drill bit to make the right size hole by hand or use a brace. This way if you hit the pipe you will not damage it.

Plastic pipe will offer little resistance to a frill bit, even in a hand brace.

NoNails (or any other grab adhesive) should work as long as the paint doesn't peel off the wall and the plaster is in good condition. Another alternative to tacpot12's suggestion is to drill up through the ceiling and fix the batten to the joists above. But that would depend on how close to the ceiling the wardrobe is..

grumbler

FreeBear said:

donemedosh said: Or if you know where you want to put the holes make a small hole with a thin screwdriver then use a drill bit to make the right size hole by hand or use a brace. This way if you hit the pipe you will not damage it.

Plastic pipe will offer little resistance to a frill bit, even in a hand brace.

But before drilling you'll be able to feel it through the hole made, e.g., like suggested.

47Revisited

If it's a stud wall, just get some strong magnets to find the studs. Should get 3 in a straightish line or as above make a hole with a screwdriver should be able to feel whatevers there.
Wouldn't use no nails. Stixall or sticks like ####..!

tony3619

Thanks for all the replies. 

My original plan was to no nails 6 small sections of wood to the wall the same depth as the skirting board and screw the furniture to the wood and slightly Into the wall but not deep enough to go all the way through the plasterboard. (And not deep enough to hit a pipe or wire)

My thinking was it's unlikely to fail on all 6 areas causing the unit to fall over. Maybe I need to rethink this and just risk screwing in the wall