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When you secure a unit to a plaster wall using multiple anchors, how do you determine how much the unit can hold? For example, if I hang something, like a shelving unit, with four anchors that can each hold 50 lbs., does that mean the unit can support 200 lbs.?

Are you talking about using a Wall mount?

If so, it should come with all necessary hardware to hang it and reflect how much it can hold using said mount? For example the one I linked holds 165lbs.

Edit: I use a Sanus one thats rated for 360lbs. My 52" is no where near that weight.

FireGryphon wrote:

When you secure a unit to a plaster wall using multiple anchors, how do you determine how much the unit can hold? For example, if I hang something, like a shelving unit, with four anchors that can each hold 50 lbs., does that mean the unit can support 200 lbs.?

Only if you like living on the edge and the weight is distributed perfectly evenly.

Did you really mean plaster, or did you mean drywall?

For best strength, you really need to use some long wood screws and attach to the studs (assuming you have wood studs and not metal).

just brew it! wrote:

Only if you like living on the edge and the weight is distributed perfectly evenly.

Did you really mean plaster, or did you mean drywall?

For best strength, you really need to use some long wood screws and attach to the studs (assuming you have wood studs and not metal).

I meant plaster. That's what's the walls are made of here. Plaster walls are more common than I thought, too -- almost every apartment I've been in has them, and my friend just purchased a house that has all plaster walls.

Tanker: I'm talking about a shelving unit that I saw in a furniture store. It comes with four large bolts you need to screw into the wall, but the buyer has to supply his own anchors, and the salespeople were less than helpful when I asked about hanging details.

Is this a floor standing unit (with the bolts just to keep it from tipping), or are the bolts supporting the entire weight of the unit?

For anything that will bear substantial weight you really need to screw into the studs. At the very least, you ought to make sure your anchors are long enough to go all the way through the plaster into the lath. I would not trust plaster + anchors alone -- especially if the plaster is fairly old -- with anything heavy.

Nevermind, I thought this thread was about having coffee with Brian Williams.

just brew it! wrote:

Is this a floor standing unit (with the bolts just to keep it from tipping), or are the bolts supporting the entire weight of the unit?

For anything that will bear substantial weight you really need to screw into the studs. At the very least, you ought to make sure your anchors are long enough to go all the way through the plaster into the lath. I would not trust plaster + anchors alone -- especially if the plaster is fairly old -- with anything heavy.

Yes, the unit is supported completely by the anchors in the wall. I know this is pushing the limits, but I wanted to get an idea if anchors' support weight adds up when you use more than one.

FireGryphon wrote:

but I wanted to get an idea if anchors' support weight adds up when you use more than one.

They add up, but for safety expect diminishing returns for each new anchor close to another one.

Since I think you are mounting a heavy TV..I could be totally wrong.

You could mount a router-ed edge piece of wood just about as wide as the TV to the wall using 8 or more anchors along with some builders glue then mount the TV mount to the piece of wood.
If it is some sorta shelf system the same idea can apply.

Personally, the only way I'd wall-mount a TV is if I could bed the mount into the studs. Since no one uses 5/8" fire-rated sheetrock in residential construction, I simply don't trust mollys/toggles/inserts to hold anything larger than a framed picture (and I'm not talking Baroque gilded frames).

Since he's got plaster, I figure he's probably OK if he can at least get some toggle bolts through the lath.But yeah, studs would be best.

just brew it! wrote:

Since he's got plaster, I figure he's probably OK if he can at least get some toggle bolts through the lath.But yeah, studs would be best.

Well, when the wall failure comes it won't be a few holes like pulled-out molly bolts. No, this failure, should it occur, will be epic.