4 ms·

I would love to build more devices but the thought of installation always bothers me. I always hate having to hang things on a wall. It requires either finding

by agentgt 10y ago

I would love to build more devices but the thought of installation always bothers me. I always hate having to hang things on a wall. It requires either finding a stud that is close by or using a crappy dry wall screw or molly screw. I'm particularly unlucky because I live in an ancient house so studs are never ever close by and all the walls are plaster so that means 1 inch hole with a molly screw (with chips of plaster and dust and follow up vacuum job... god forbid you ever take the thing down because now you have to patch the hole back up). There has to be better solutions to attach things to the wall (and yeah I have done the whole velcro command strip thing as well).

icebraining 10y ago
You don't expand on the problems you had with the strips, but that's my go-to option and except for the occasional loss of paint on removal, they work fine. Have you tried the non-velco versions? They might be more appropriate for your needs.
- agentgt 10y ago
  The humidity seems to be the killer to the strips. They work for a while and then eventually fail.
  - cr0sh 10y ago
    Have you tried 3M Command Adhesive hooks? As long as you clean the surface with rubbing alcohol, they can hold a lot of weight (a couple of the medium-sized ones would suffice for this cat feeder, I think).
    - pimlottc 10y ago
      Seconded on 3M Command Adhesives, and if humidity is a problem, there are water-resistant ones meant for the bath that work quite well.
cr0sh 10y ago
If you had real drywall, an alternative to a toggle or molly screw would be to drywall anchors; there are two types. One type is fairly common (and might be able to be used with plaster - maybe) which has a plastic insert you install into a drilled hole, then when you thread the screw into it, it expands to wedge itself in the hole. IIRC, the largest of these can hold about 30-50 lbs in drywall (probably less in plaster). The second type uses a large threaded insert; the hole you drill for this is typically larger than the screw which threads into it, but the anchor can hold much more weight (up to 150 lbs per anchor in drywall). I don't think they can be used in plaster, though, as they are meant to thread into the drywall. I've used both successfully for a number of projects in my house; I have an entire wall (about 12 x 8 feet) of bookshelves (using shelving standards and melamine shelving) held up by the threaded anchors (hundreds of pounds of books). I have used the expanding anchors for heavy items like large pictures and mirrors, among other items. The major downside with any of these anchors, though, just like molly or toggle bolts they leave larger holes which need to be filled if you move the item. Hence, you typically only use them for items which will rarely, if ever, be moved.
- jaclaz 10y ago
  For drywall, for lighter weights, let's say pictures, mirrors, not book shelves, there are actually self-drilling and self-threading anchors, you don't need a drill, only a power screwdriver, there are both metal and nylon ones: http://www.colfert.com/Public/img/catalogo/products/zoom/img_205201011526.jpg http://www.colfert.com/Public/img/catalogo/products/zoom/img... https://admin.abc.sm/upload/1115/catalogodinamico/prodotti/HZ.jpg https://admin.abc.sm/upload/1115/catalogodinamico/prodotti/H...
emcq 10y ago
I bet you could find a used speaker stand that would provide a nice object to attach to.

by agentgt 10y ago

icebraining 10y ago

You don't expand on the problems you had with the strips, but that's my go-to option and except for the occasional loss of paint on removal, they work fine. Have you tried the non-velco versions? They might be more appropriate for your needs.

agentgt 10y ago
The humidity seems to be the killer to the strips. They work for a while and then eventually fail.
- cr0sh 10y ago
  Have you tried 3M Command Adhesive hooks? As long as you clean the surface with rubbing alcohol, they can hold a lot of weight (a couple of the medium-sized ones would suffice for this cat feeder, I think).
  - pimlottc 10y ago
    Seconded on 3M Command Adhesives, and if humidity is a problem, there are water-resistant ones meant for the bath that work quite well.

cr0sh 10y ago

If you had real drywall, an alternative to a toggle or molly screw would be to drywall anchors; there are two types. One type is fairly common (and might be able to be used with plaster - maybe) which has a plastic insert you install into a drilled hole, then when you thread the screw into it, it expands to wedge itself in the hole. IIRC, the largest of these can hold about 30-50 lbs in drywall (probably less in plaster). The second type uses a large threaded insert; the hole you drill for this is typically larger than the screw which threads into it, but the anchor can hold much more weight (up to 150 lbs per anchor in drywall). I don't think they can be used in plaster, though, as they are meant to thread into the drywall. I've used both successfully for a number of projects in my house; I have an entire wall (about 12 x 8 feet) of bookshelves (using shelving standards and melamine shelving) held up by the threaded anchors (hundreds of pounds of books). I have used the expanding anchors for heavy items like large pictures and mirrors, among other items. The major downside with any of these anchors, though, just like molly or toggle bolts they leave larger holes which need to be filled if you move the item. Hence, you typically only use them for items which will rarely, if ever, be moved.

jaclaz 10y ago
For drywall, for lighter weights, let's say pictures, mirrors, not book shelves, there are actually self-drilling and self-threading anchors, you don't need a drill, only a power screwdriver, there are both metal and nylon ones: http://www.colfert.com/Public/img/catalogo/products/zoom/img_205201011526.jpg http://www.colfert.com/Public/img/catalogo/products/zoom/img... https://admin.abc.sm/upload/1115/catalogodinamico/prodotti/HZ.jpg https://admin.abc.sm/upload/1115/catalogodinamico/prodotti/H...

emcq 10y ago

I bet you could find a used speaker stand that would provide a nice object to attach to.