Screws and screws with masonry anchors for heavy items are your best choice for hanging things on plaster walls without picture rail.
How to hang a picture on lath and plaster wall.
After moving into a new home you might realize that the walls are made of plaster and not drywall.
If no stud lines up with where you want to hang the item install a toggle.
For lighter items simply screwing into the plaster with a 1 1 4 drywall screw is usually enough to get the job done.
Then hammer a wall anchor into the hole until it s flush with the plaster.
Even so it is possible hang numerous pictures throughout the house.
If you try to hammer in a nail to hang a picture the nail might actually bend in half.
One foolproof method to hang heavy mirrors or picture frames is to use a molly bolt.
This hollow wall anchor will allow you to hang your frame anywhere without having to find a stud.
Here are the basic tool you ll need.
Picture hangers with a piece of double sided tape should suffice for pictures without frames that are very light and more moderately weighted pictures without frames might be able to hang directly on an adhesive square instead of a hook.
Still a plaster hook is probably best.
This will allow you to use a picture rail system instead of penetrating the plaster with individual screws or nails.
The photo to the left is from the louvre in paris so this is not exactly new technology.
Using molly bolts is really simple.
Next drill a hole into the mark using a 3 16 drill bit before removing the piece of tape.
To hang a picture on a plaster wall make a pencil mark where you want to hang the picture then cover the mark with a small piece of painter s tape.
With proper technique hanging pictures on a lath and plaster wall isn t a problem.
The ideal solution for hanging pictures on plaster is to use a picture hanging system like the all in one click rail cable hanging kit.
If you re hanging a heavy picture or a mirror drill where there is a stud and use a screw long enough to fasten into it.
If the pictures are small and equipped with a wire on the back use a small picture hook and nail.