How to attach coat/hatrack to wall ???

dferber

Simple project, but not sure how to mount this coat/hat rack I bought at Ikea. Made of wood, it measures 48" long and is 10" high and weighs about 20 pounds. Loaded with coats, etc, it will be much heavier. It has 4 predrilled holes in the back of the unit to mount it to the wall, but of course they do not match up with the studs on the wall. Walls are plaster. I don't think mollies will hold it, but am not sure. Would I be better off mounting a piece of 10" x 48" wood to the wall into the studs and then attaching this unit to the wood??? Would appreciate any opinions. (I should have my user name changed to "Dumb In Detroit")

Bonus

As i read your post I had "why not mount a 10"x 48" piece of wood to the wall first?" in my head. Then I read it in your post. So that makes two of us. You could use a slightly larger piece and rout the edge to give a nice detail too.

Double A

Try to get as many of the screws that go into the original holes into studs.

Do not use a molly bolt for plaster, unless its plaster over blue board. If its plaster and lathe wall, use a toggle bolt instead. Place these in the holes that do not line up with a stud in the wall.

dferber

Hm. One vote for each method. I did mean toggle. I went to Lowe's and bought a board and wood screws but also found toggles that state they are for plaster walls. Still not sure what I will try. Problem with the toggle bolts is that I will have to insert them into the holes in the unit before I insert them into the wall. That may be challenging doing it by myself. So, I have all supplies to try both methods. Still undecided. If I have calculated correctly, I will be able to only get one hole to line up with a stud (If I choose that method).