I finally stopped fighting with old plaster walls on every retrofit job

For like five years, I would get so mad trying to mount motion sensors on these old plaster walls in houses from the 1920s. I'd drill a hole, hit lath, the whole thing would crack, and I'd have to patch it up and start over. My boss in Boston would just laugh and say 'that's the job, kid.' The thing that got me was watching a guy from a different company do a whole house in half a day. He wasn't using a drill at all for the sensors. He was using this heavy duty double sided tape, the 3M VHB kind, and a heat gun to warm the wall first. He said the tape holds better than screws in old plaster if you prep it right. I tried it on the next job and it was a total game changer. No more cracks, no more dust, and the customer was way happier. Has anyone else found a better way to deal with that kind of wall without making a mess?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly7131mo ago

VHB tape changed my life too.

adam_adams1mo ago

What kind of projects have you used it for? I started with it to hang a heavy mirror and now I use it for everything. It really does feel like a game changer when you find something that just works and holds.

zarakim1mo ago

See, that's where I'm different from you, adam_adams. I tried that tape for a shelf and it was a total letdown. It held for maybe a week before the whole thing came crashing down (scared my cat half to death). I get the appeal of a quick fix, but for anything with real weight, I just don't trust it. I'm back to using anchors and screws for anything important. It takes more time, but I never have to worry about it.