Depth and type of masonry fixings in a dodgy wall

[hippertronics]

I need to attach some studs of varying depths to a plastered brick wall to build a frame that is square with the rest of the kitchen to attach wall cabinets and splash-backs. The wall is the party wall in a victorian back-extension with very poor looking bricks and a thick base coat (at least 25mm) under the skim coat. It's a shame the builder didn't get it square before this point but such is life.

I was planning to use M10 coach screws through the studs at 400mm spacing and try and get about 80mm of protrusion into the wall with 70mm plugs but I am a little worried that there might not be enough plug in the wall to grip properly to the crumbly bricks.

Can anyone give me any hints and tips and product suggestions?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

How thin/thick will the studs be?

 

[hippertronics]

4" at one end tapering to nothing at the other - 3.3m wall length. Two 4x2, two 3x2, two 2x2 and then dab/dot the cement board at the 'narrow' end. There are a load of pipes behind the plaster there which complicates things a little. Above the splash-back I'll screw a sheet of ply to the frame and then hang the wall cabinets from that.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Better to build a full height ladder frame (i.e. a frame withva sole plate and a header) in one or two sections, fixed to the floor and ceiling and with some additional blocks SDS fixed the the walls. These blocks are installed abutting the uprights and are screwed to them.

It is far easier to plumb up a frame than to plumb and align a series of studs. Faster, too. Your frame(s) could be made up of 2 x 2in CLS on 400mm centres. I'd use 12mm ply patress between the joists (onto ripped down 2 x 1in slate lath) for the cupboards and overboard the whole wall with 12mm PB

 

[oldbutnotdead]

You'll probably do better by fixing 2 x2 to the wall at all positions then fixing your 3 x 2 and 4 x 2 to those 2 x 2s.
Or fix a 2 x 2 to the ceiling as a header, drop your 2 x 2s off that to ground (on a floor plate) then use heavy angle brackets to fix them to the wall.
Plan A you'd want 6 x 125 screws for batten to wall.
Plan B 6 x 80 screws. Brown plugs, M7 or M8 holes, if you hit a perp (soft lime mortar) try again somewhere else.

 

[hippertronics]

Thanks for these replies, food for thought. I can’t fix a frame to the floor as there are pipes running there. Ceiling might be possible, will need to locate the joists.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I can’t fix a frame to the floor as there are pipes running there. Ceiling might be possible, will need to locate the joists.

Half of this very tight toilet wall was framed floor to ceiling, the rest was carried on blocks fixed flat to the wall and screwed to the shortened frame which stops just above pipework. Note the waste pipe going off to the left - there was 5 ft of pipework there with a 9ft high wall above it which couldn't run down to the floor level because the low level kwaste pipe got in the way

Note that the framing had to be installed in 4 separate pieces, screwed together to form a single wall frame, because of access issues to this room. The weight is almost all carried by the wall at the right hand end of the framing, NOT the ceiling, but the plasterboard skin helps. A thin skin of plywood over the entire wall, say 6mm, would greatly increase the load carrying capacity of the framework. Sorry not the best image, but hopefully shows it can be done

BTW 7mm holes, brown plugs and 5.0 x 100mm screws were used to fix the blocks onto the wall, mostly two per block. Frames made up with 400mm centres where possible

 

[blup]

Ladder frame as said plus plastic plugs and wood-screws with plastic spacers to adjust distance from wall to get all straight. Work out where the bulge in the wall is and measure from there. Laser and string line will help in setting out and keeping all level

Blup