What's behind my plasterboard?

FreeBear

Additional bit of advice - Look to see where sockets & light switches are. Project an imaginary line vertically and horizontally, and do not drill within ~150mm of this line.
Do not trust an app on your phone to detect cables, and be mindful that even stud & cable detectors do not always give a positive reading.

TroubledTarts

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82036569#Comment_82036569

Yes we have used them on very heavy mirrors and I mean heavy black metal framed mirrors from the white company on internal plasterboard walls.

twopenny

Thanks TT 🙂 .

Redesign of walls coming up

Hebrews12

Excuse my ignorance on this, but when hanging something like a guitar onto a wall that has plasterboard on it, are you anchoring it to the actual plasterboard or are you looking to go all the way through the cavity to try and anchor it into whatever's behind?

stuart45

It depends on what type of wall you have. If it's timber framed you either fix to a stud or the plasterboard. If it's a block wall with dot and dab you fix to the block.

Hebrews12

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039622#Comment_82039622

Thank you. How can I find this out?

stuart45

If it's a timber framed house you should be able to tell looking in the roof space at the gable end and seeing if it's block or timber.

However, if it's a partition wall it still could be studwork.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039544#Comment_82039544

Depends what's behind it… ours is hanging just on the plasterboard but then ours are mainly acoustic and the two electric are under 3kg.

Elsewhere, we have dot and dab mounts so the thing goes into the block work behind the plasterboard but it's carrying much heavier weight.

If you are talking a stud work rather than dot and dab then you are more restricted unless studs happen to be where you want to put the mounting points.