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The time I tried to hang a shelf and ended up in the drywall void
I was in my laundry room yesterday, drilling into plaster for a simple utility shelf, and the drill bit just vanished through the wall like it was butter. Turns out I hit a massive gap behind the old lath, so now I'm fishing a toggle bolt through a three-inch hollow space while balancing on a step stool. Has anyone else discovered a hidden void in their house mid-project?
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tyler_white4216d ago
That old lath and plaster stuff is tricky. If you've got that much gap behind it, grab a length of stiff wire or a coat hanger to hook the toggle bolt and guide it through.
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mason.mark16d ago
@tyler_white42 makes a good point about the wire trick, but here's something nobody's brought up yet. That three inch void might not be a mistake - it could be a leftover chase from old knob and tube wiring or even a old coal chute that got sealed over. Houses built before 1940 had all sorts of weird cavities for things that don't exist anymore. Before you start fishing for hardware, slide a flashlight into that gap and see if there's any crumbling insulation or old wires hiding back there. Could save you from drilling into something that'll spark or start a slow leak. Drywall voids are either nothing serious or a sign you should stop and check the whole wall before you go any further.
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