# Forum Home Renovation Laundry  Clever Closet with plasterboard screws

## NathanaelBC

I want to mount two 250 x 600 mm MDF shelves on vertical tracks above the laundry sink but there are no studs so my options are:   install using plasterboard screwsrun the vertical tracks all the way to the sink and floor; orremove a section of wall and install supports behind the plaster then replace the plaster and screw into that 
First option is easiest and cleaner but Clever Closet provide no guidance on the max load of using their screws - which are similar to the below Ramset pack with the nylon screw that goes into the wall then the zinc screw that goes through the rail and into the nylon outer screw embedded in the plaster:   
Given that Clever Closet provide their own such screws they expect that some shelving can be supported just on plaster screws. I don't like it, but it's only for maybe 5kg of chemicals, cleaners etc per shelf so maybe 15kg all up incl shelf hardware and there would be six screws into the plaster, three per vertical. 
There is no mention of installing shelving in plaster on their website in their installation guides or FAQ. 
Thoughts?

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## Bloss

Another way is to install a couple of battens wide enough to run over the nearest studs - or across the full wall width like a picture rail then attach the vertical tracks to them. More to the point  do you reality need vertical adjustment in a laundry? And why 600mm - if you used 900mm shelves then you'd likely pick up a stud at either end and one in the middle (assuming 450mm/18" centres). Wall mates used well can carry pretty good loads - and at 250mm wide the leverage shouldn't be too great to tear them out so long as you use enough and not too close together. See here for loads Buildex®. One of the worlds leading manufacturers and suppliers of self-drilling screws and fasteners. There are other wall anchors too with varying load ratings e.g.: Ramset Australia

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## NathanaelBC

Yeah that's what the guy who installed our clothesdryer did, bridged battens with a beam and then fastened the hooks to that. 
600mm because that's all I have room for between wall and dryer. 
As far as I can tell there aren't studs in the corner otherwise this would be fairly straightforward. Can I assume there is wood behind the edges of the plaster and I just can't sense them?

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## phild01

Your holes could be too far out from the corner to detect the stud.

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## NathanaelBC

Ah those are existing holes drilled by previous occupants - I'm just finding studs by banging on the wall; have got a cheap electronic stud finder but it's not coping with this external wall.

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## FrodoOne

> I'm just finding studs by banging on the wall; have got a cheap electronic stud finder but it's not coping with this external wall.

  See http://www.renovateforum.com/f216/ne...r-easy-109822/ re Franklin Stud finder

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## davegol

most likely there is a stud between the one behind the dryer, and the corner. 
Best way to find it is to get a thin (1mm) nail and bang it in at 1cm intervals 45cm from the stud behind the dryer until you find it. 
Do the same into the corner (slightly angled into the corner) and you'll likely find another stud
Patching up a 1mm pin hole in plaster is very easy.

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## NathanaelBC

Thanks everyone, with the help of the new stud finder and davegol's suggestion of just sticking a nail in the wall I found about 1.5" of stud I could use in the corner so ditched the ready-to-hang option and just made my own from pine and brackets, with a bar bridging studs across the top and then hanging the verticals off that with half-lap joints.

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## Bloss

Great solution - looks good. Of course if you are like me and like simplicity and saving energy you just use a 1mm-2mm bit in a cordless drill to do the hunting rather than all that effort of using  hammer . . .  :Wink:

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