Novices here... clearly.
We're renovating our bathroom in an old home that has lath and plaster walls. Removed the old vanity along with pieces of the wall, redid much of the plumbing that was behind the sink and put up new drywall, re-textured the wall, painted etc. Walls are now looking great but we haven't been able to find a vanity that we like/fits in the small space. Decided to go with a pedestal sink instead but realized that we don't have that piece of 2X6 or the like in the wall to mount the sink too. Other than we should've used a pro from the beginning (or tearing out the wall and installing the piece of wood to mount)... is there a way we can safely mount our sink to the wall?
Thanks in advance!



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Toggle bolts and silicone are your friend..good luck

? have you thought of having a custom vanity 'made to order' at a millwork shop ?

may not cost much more than a high end pedestal sink !


if you still want the pedestal:

mark the wall where the mount holes will be

using a hole saw drill 1.5" holes

take a 1/2 x 1 x 5 piece of lath - attach a fish-line to the middle - insert it into the hole and fish it down behind the drywall (it will drop down then you can pull it up and center it with the line) holding it in place by pulling the line - attach it with 1.24" drywall screws

you now have a piece of PERMANENT backing wood instead of replacing toggles every time

ps. make the wood 'dunnage' as long as you can - up to 12"


you can now add rube golberg to your credentials (all his stuff actually worked well)



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

I am not sure that a piece of lath would not split when the anchor screw goes in to it.

I assume this is an interior wall?

If so may be you can open the wall up on the other side of the wall without disturbing your finished bathroom walls. Put in your wood blocking between the studs and patch the drywall.

hj,

lath was used in the figurative sense of the word

since the OP did a bath remodel I assumed some knowledge

if the lath 'may' split, drill a pilot hole after marking for bolt

DOH



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

"laths" are the POOREST quality of wood there is. Even with a pilot hole the stress of screwing a screw in may split it, unless it is longer than they probably have room to install it.

they would be able to install a 'strip' about 1" wide x 4-6" long to act as a 'toggle'

they could use pine, maple, cedar, oak, mahogany, ANY wood

read how in my post above

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Thank you ALL for your time and input! We loved the idea of the "lathe" to essentially create a giant toggle distributing the weight of the sink across the length of the wood strip rather than across the length of the small metal toggles. You WOULD NOT BELIEVE our luck however.... the husband drove a nail today where the sink would be mounted just to be sure there wasn't wood there by some crazy off chance and there was! He couldn't believe his own luck so he actually cut away a small piece of wall behind where the sink would be mounted anyway (out of sight) to verify and was able to see a 2X6 positioned perfectly between two studs. And no, there was no pedestal or lavatory mounted there previously. It was a freestanding cheap vanity, stuck there for ages. I'm sure none of you have ever been so lucky! We certainly haven't in the course of remodeling this entire bathroom it's been nothing but one surprise (and not the good kind) after another. We were pleased to find a happy surprise behind the wall today. Thanks again for your time and advice.
Best,
Rachel



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most pedestal (and other) sinks are a 'standard' height

once upon a time, in a land far far ago:

things were built to allow for 'futures'

as a 'good' wall will have horizontal bracing ANYWAY in a bath it would be placed at sink level

as I said, far far ago



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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so...far far ago, would you have bracing up near the top for those old chain yanking toilet tanks?



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yes ... but that was before my time

even though I'm older than dirt

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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Ha! I don't think our house is that old. Built in '50 I believe. Good to know behind these old walls is good craftsmanship. Thanks again - in addition to being super informative it's fun to read your industry-specific banter. I love people who love their work.



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I retired to Myrtle Beach 10 years ago into a 1992 'stick built' subdivision from a 1957 ranch home in Newburgh.

Took me 5+ years to bring my new home up to par.

EVERYTHING needed repair, yet nothing was actually broken or different from original.



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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