I have an antique mirror that weight about 20 lb. I have always had the hook nailed into a stud, but in my new apt, i cannot find a stud. The stud finder I bought is worthless. Everywhere it says there is a stud, a 2" nail sinks right through. My question is, do i really need to find a stud for a 20 lb. mirror? The hook I have is good for 30 lb, but I am not sure if that requires a stud or not. I do not want to have to spend lots of money to hang this mirror.

 

It's best to find a stud, use a hammer and softly tap the wall, you will hear where a stud is.The 30 lb hook and wire only tells you that is how much weight it will hold, not what the sheetrock will hold.

 

thanks. i decided to not hang the mirror, as i cannnot find a stud along this wall at all. quite disturbing, actually. i even have a 2.5' strip of nail holes one inch apart, where the nail sank through each time. who knows how this apartment was built, but it appears that there is no stud.

 

There are a variety of hanging devices made that would allow you to hang this mirror without a stud.Your situation is common and you should not give up.There are picture hangars made that,even without any anchoring device,will hold far more than 20 lbs.In addition there are quite a number of drywall hanging anchors such as plastic anchors,"molly bolts" and others that are all easily installed and used.Many do not require anything more than a screwdriver and/or hammer to use.Go to your near by hardware or home improvement store to see these.It's a simple job with simple solutions.