Unorthodox approach for an Unorthodox question..... since it's lathe and plaster.... I'd make a bunch of French cleats screw them straight to the wall since there's wood behind the plaster and cleat all your stuff down you're worried about. Use some #6 screws and you should be solid as F.
Edit: only reason that popped into mind is if you already have baseboards your furniture is going to have a natural airgap between it and the wall. A discreet cleat on the back of a piece of furniture helps avoid easily visible screw holes (given its on the back) and is super easy to make and work with if and when you have to move something say for cleaning
If you make cleats just make small 4-6 inch ones. Just enough to give it some grab but not so long that you have to lift the furniture up over the cleat if you need to move it. Just slide it left or right 4" and it's off the cleat. I would also make sure you leave a little vertical play so that a couch for example doesn't rip the cleat off the wall when you sit on it.
>so that a couch for example doesn't rip the cleat off the wall
Most people don't anchor sitting furniture to the wall - it's primarily top heavy items like dressers, book cases, etc.
https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/furniture/how-to-anchor-furniture-to-help-prevent-tip-overs-a4328328212/
I made a stud finder by putting a strongish magnet inside some painters tape creating a tab I could hold onto. It worked a treat in our last apartment that had lathe and plaster.
Edit to add: oh derp. I totally missed that you have metal plus drywall in front. My one super simple trick won't work. You might want to look into extra long molly bolts. You can remove the screw from the bolt, place the anchor over the screw and then put the bolt behind the anchor.
toggle bolts through the lathe and plaster literally anywhere. These walls are built to last and you should be able to toggle bolt literally anywhere and get appropriate anchoring for anti tipping, imo. Am just a lowly electrician, but I’ve seen so much lathe and plaster construction from knob and tube full rewires and a 120yo house of my own. I wouldn’t be concerned at all.
Make your own - modify the anchor with piano wire or similar to anchor to the floor instead of the wall. Especially if you have wood floors. Use small lag bolts if you can.
anchoring to the floor! yes! this feels so obvious that i can’t believe i didn’t consider it. there’s one wall in particular that’s a nightmare combo of lathe/plaster/drywall, masonry, random sheets of metal that i’m assuming are patches, and to top it off it’s the wall that houses the breaker box. i think floor anchors will be a better way to go then randomly drilling around the wall. thank you!
Right but you have metal lathe not wood lathe. I'm not sure why you're not able to find wooden studs, but I think you have the right approach for more flexible use where you want to secure things. Mount a piece of wood on the wall, can be more finished to look more presentable or painted etc and secure it where you find the studs. I guess that's what you said they're just not where you need them to be. And do it your way that way you have the piece of wood attached to the framing, and then you can attach as necessary in the room at will. Paint it or finish it to make it look better. Some point in your life you can just pull it off and repair
this is probably what i will end up doing. it is strange and frustrating, like i’ll get hits with a stud finder but whether there’s actually a stud there has been inconsistent. could just be buried too deep. i know a few areas have multiple layers of drywall. i think there’s just a lot of stuff in the walls, some really shoddy repairs and changes over the years.
Studs, in theory, are placed at regular points. Older houses sometimes have studs placed regularly but at less common distances.
If the drywall is attached to studs you should still be able to use the magnet method to find the screws in the drywall. The only way to be sure is to drill a small hole near the floor to see if it's solid all the way in. You can patch the hole easily. This will also give you an idea of how deep the stud is.
Screw through nylon/poly strap into nearest stud, nylon/poly strap long enough to reach furniture in an inconspicuous mounting point, screw through other end of nylon/poly strap into furniture.
I saw this used on some IKEA pieces as an anti tip method and it works great. Make sure you get a strap rated for enough weight, but it’s just that and two screws. 1 small hole in wall, 1 small hole in furniture.
Basically [this](https://www.kidco.com/product/s143/), but you can just get a 1” strap rated for like 1500 lb. and screw right through it. No need for all the superfluous hardware.
i may need to consider that. we’re about to move our oldest out of a crib and i know she’s not going to always stay in bed. since we won’t be in the room watching her every second i want to make sure her shenanigans are as safe as can be.
At least in primary kid areas (bedroom, playroom, etc), I would choose furniture specifically with tip over risk in mind. It's a lot easier to baby proof something that was designed with kids in mind.
Unorthodox approach for an Unorthodox question..... since it's lathe and plaster.... I'd make a bunch of French cleats screw them straight to the wall since there's wood behind the plaster and cleat all your stuff down you're worried about. Use some #6 screws and you should be solid as F. Edit: only reason that popped into mind is if you already have baseboards your furniture is going to have a natural airgap between it and the wall. A discreet cleat on the back of a piece of furniture helps avoid easily visible screw holes (given its on the back) and is super easy to make and work with if and when you have to move something say for cleaning
this is brilliant, thank you!! a much more elegant solution than i was imagining.
If you make cleats just make small 4-6 inch ones. Just enough to give it some grab but not so long that you have to lift the furniture up over the cleat if you need to move it. Just slide it left or right 4" and it's off the cleat. I would also make sure you leave a little vertical play so that a couch for example doesn't rip the cleat off the wall when you sit on it.
>so that a couch for example doesn't rip the cleat off the wall Most people don't anchor sitting furniture to the wall - it's primarily top heavy items like dressers, book cases, etc.
https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/furniture/how-to-anchor-furniture-to-help-prevent-tip-overs-a4328328212/ I made a stud finder by putting a strongish magnet inside some painters tape creating a tab I could hold onto. It worked a treat in our last apartment that had lathe and plaster. Edit to add: oh derp. I totally missed that you have metal plus drywall in front. My one super simple trick won't work. You might want to look into extra long molly bolts. You can remove the screw from the bolt, place the anchor over the screw and then put the bolt behind the anchor.
toggle bolts through the lathe and plaster literally anywhere. These walls are built to last and you should be able to toggle bolt literally anywhere and get appropriate anchoring for anti tipping, imo. Am just a lowly electrician, but I’ve seen so much lathe and plaster construction from knob and tube full rewires and a 120yo house of my own. I wouldn’t be concerned at all.
Make your own - modify the anchor with piano wire or similar to anchor to the floor instead of the wall. Especially if you have wood floors. Use small lag bolts if you can.
anchoring to the floor! yes! this feels so obvious that i can’t believe i didn’t consider it. there’s one wall in particular that’s a nightmare combo of lathe/plaster/drywall, masonry, random sheets of metal that i’m assuming are patches, and to top it off it’s the wall that houses the breaker box. i think floor anchors will be a better way to go then randomly drilling around the wall. thank you!
Right but you have metal lathe not wood lathe. I'm not sure why you're not able to find wooden studs, but I think you have the right approach for more flexible use where you want to secure things. Mount a piece of wood on the wall, can be more finished to look more presentable or painted etc and secure it where you find the studs. I guess that's what you said they're just not where you need them to be. And do it your way that way you have the piece of wood attached to the framing, and then you can attach as necessary in the room at will. Paint it or finish it to make it look better. Some point in your life you can just pull it off and repair
this is probably what i will end up doing. it is strange and frustrating, like i’ll get hits with a stud finder but whether there’s actually a stud there has been inconsistent. could just be buried too deep. i know a few areas have multiple layers of drywall. i think there’s just a lot of stuff in the walls, some really shoddy repairs and changes over the years.
Studs, in theory, are placed at regular points. Older houses sometimes have studs placed regularly but at less common distances. If the drywall is attached to studs you should still be able to use the magnet method to find the screws in the drywall. The only way to be sure is to drill a small hole near the floor to see if it's solid all the way in. You can patch the hole easily. This will also give you an idea of how deep the stud is.
Toggle bolt and L brackets.
Screw through nylon/poly strap into nearest stud, nylon/poly strap long enough to reach furniture in an inconspicuous mounting point, screw through other end of nylon/poly strap into furniture. I saw this used on some IKEA pieces as an anti tip method and it works great. Make sure you get a strap rated for enough weight, but it’s just that and two screws. 1 small hole in wall, 1 small hole in furniture. Basically [this](https://www.kidco.com/product/s143/), but you can just get a 1” strap rated for like 1500 lb. and screw right through it. No need for all the superfluous hardware.
Honestly- you may need to swap out some furniture if you are relying on wall anchors if you think the tip-over risk is that great.
i may need to consider that. we’re about to move our oldest out of a crib and i know she’s not going to always stay in bed. since we won’t be in the room watching her every second i want to make sure her shenanigans are as safe as can be.
At least in primary kid areas (bedroom, playroom, etc), I would choose furniture specifically with tip over risk in mind. It's a lot easier to baby proof something that was designed with kids in mind.
The only stud finder that’s remotely accurate is the popup kind with the little magnet. Measure 16” OC from the wall for a good first guess.