I get where you’re coming from, but I’ll admit, I’ve had a few shelves in my old place that have survived decades without ever seeing a stud. The trick, at least in these creaky old walls, has been spreading the load out as much as possible—think wide boards and more brackets than seems reasonable. Sometimes I even use those old-school metal shelf standards that run floor to ceiling. Not pretty, but they’ve held up through more than one “spring cleaning” binge.
I know folks swear by hitting studs every time, but in these plaster-and-lath walls, finding a stud is like hunting for buried treasure... and sometimes you just have to improvise. I’ve used toggle bolts and even wedged little blocks behind the wall when I could reach them. Not exactly textbook, but nothing’s come crashing down yet.
Maybe it’s just luck or maybe these houses were built with sturdier bones. Either way, I’m convinced there’s more than one way to keep your laundry bottles off the floor—sometimes you just have to get creative with what you’ve got.
