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trying to put up a shelf...

vshah

vshah

Lifer
so i'm trying to put a shelf up in my room. The wall i want it on is the "outside" wall of the house. Its clearly not hollow (very solid sound when i knock it). what sort of screws/drills/nails etc should i use? i tried drilling one hole...it went in about 3/8 of an inch and then would go no further.

any ideas?

thanks,
Vivan
 
Pilot hole FTW!

You need to let us know what this wall is made of. Is it concrete, cinder block, plaster, brick? If you are drilling into masonry, you need masonry anchors. If you are drilling into wood, you need wood screws.....
 
if the drill hits what feels like metal then you are probably drilling close to a wire run and they put up metal thingys on the studs to prevent drilling into the wires.

might need to find a higher or lower hole
 
There should be studs if you hit something solid. Sounds like you went through the sheetrock and hit one. Stick a small screw through the hole and try to drill it in, if it doesn't, back it out and look at the threads to see if there is any brick or mortar dust on it.
 
He mentioned it only went in 3/8". I would guess he hasn't quite gotten to the masonry, if the house is brick. 😉
 
the house is brick on the outside. There are no studs or ac voltages in the wall according to my stud finder. I just tried a small nail in the hole i made and the thing bent after it hit whatever is back there...
 
Where the walls originally plaster? I'd try in another spot to the left or right, and use the shelf to hide the current hole, or patch it and try a new location.
 
not sure about the plaster...rented house, just moved in...
there were about 3 layers of paint under the current one though 😱
 
They probably stuck up drywall over old plaster, which is going to be hard as cement. You'll need a masonry drill and masonry anchors, most likely.
 
Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
They probably stuck up drywall over old plaster, which is going to be hard as cement. You'll need a masonry drill and masonry anchors, most likely.
Click to expand...

yep
Click to expand...


shucks. back to home depot we go 🙁
 
Since you seem to know nothing about the wall, drill another hole. Move both sideways a few inches and vertically a few inches. Drill again (use a small drill bit to minimize work later to patch). Are you still having problems? If so, get a masonry bit, drill a deep hole just barely smaller than a piece of wood dowel. Hammer in the wood dowel. Now, you have solid wood to put a wood screw into. It is a simple and cheap little trick that lets you hang anything anywhere.
 
The other possibility is you may be hitting a pipe, copper or iron, possibly old drain pipe if the house is old. Be careful. Try a little further down the wall before you try drilling in.
 
i've tried 4 different spots on the wall...the problem is the same. The depth does vary though. I was able to get almost 1" easily in one spot near the baseboard...
 
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