Fixing through plasterboard

[bathtub tom]

I've bought this house that was previously owned by a (deceased) builder. He built a new garage and converted the old one into an office and shed. I want to convert the ofice into a workshop. It is lined with plasterboard and I'm trying to get a strong fixing onto it. I've probed the plasterboard and the surface is around 50mm from the brick behind, so I initially thought it was a stud wall. I can't find any studs. I tried a metal detector, but that indicates the whole wall is metal (foil?). I tried a stud detector, but that fails too, perhaps because of the metal. I've tried a magnet - nothing. I'm beginning to wonder if there's something like celotex bonded to the brick, with the plasterboard bonded to that. How can I get a secure fixing without crushing the plasterboard and whatever's under it?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Plasterboard fixings are only as strong as the board, you're right in thinking about fixing through it to something else.

I'd expect the gap to be much narrower if it was dot and dab, in which case you can drill a wide hole and use something solid to pack off the wall behind, e.g. thick washers or similar. But at 50mm it's likely that you have some sort of frame, it could be metal or wood.

The foil will be confusing the stud finder. Buy a neodynium magnet and slide it around. It will stick to any nails of screws that attach the board to whatever is beneath. Mark them with pencil, you should start to see a pattern emerging showing where the studs are.

 

[^woody^]

Search for fixings for dry lined walls. There are several types available eg Rigifix and Dryline Pro

 

[Tigercubrider]

you can also cut a steel pipe into 50mm short spacers (or whatever) and screw to the brick.