Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

JerseyWiseguy t1_j9eo71c wrote

One thing you ought to first look into is what kind of ceiling you have. If it's an old Victorian-era home in the UK, it may very well have plaster over wood lath. If that's the case, you could still mount the top support, if you can locate a joist. However, the repeated uneven pressure on the mount (from swinging around on the pole) could cause the plaster and/or latch to crack and break. And if so, that would be quite a bit more work to patch up.

In addition, if the ceiling has old plaster and wood lath, simply knocking on the ceiling probably isn't going to find a ceiling joist for you. Neither will most stud finders, as the entire ceiling will have wood behind it. So, unless you can access the ceiling from above (such as from an attic), or there's a ceiling light you can temporarily remove to try to inspect inside the ceiling, you may have a tough time locating a suitable joist, without drilling a lot of test holes.

23

whattothewhonow t1_j9exfmw wrote

Best way to find a stud or joint behind lathe is a strong neodymium magnet. One scavenged from an old hard drive works well as they have a strong pull at the edge, allowing you to be more precise in locating the nails

Make a pencil mark where ever it sticks in the area you want to mount something, and the stud/joist will be indicated by a straight row of marks while any painted over or broken off nail in the gaps will be an outlier.

6

Dave_Whitinsky t1_j9f0w31 wrote

If its lath and lime I would even venture to advise against messing about with it. Not all contractors work with it and ones that do charge extra, your landlord or management company can and will deduct that price out of your deposit if they find out.

6

BourbonNeatt t1_j9f43z5 wrote

They sell stud finders with magnets on Amazon. Only way I’ve been able to find studs in my wood/lathe house.

But, yeah…..this sounds like a bad idea, have a feeling the plaster will start to crack.

4