On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:52:27 AM UTC+1, DaveyWavey wrote:
On 12/06/2013 08:57, harry wrote:
On Jun 12, 12:14 am, DaveyWavey wrote:

My property is a flat, in the UK, built somewhere around 2000. Most of

I initially assumed it would be a plasterboard stud wall, the same as
the rest. But I got nowhere fast when trying to drive a plasterboard
screw into it -- it went about 1/2in, then hit something hard, and would
go in no further (and made a bit of a mess of the wall).

I investigated the wall's construction by taking the cover off a power
outlet in that wall and having a look. From what I can tell, the wall is
constructed of:

a) a thin layer of what I assume must be plaster
b) behind that, a 1/2in layer of something that resembles plasterboard
(and is soft enough to screw into easily enough)
c) behind that, a 1/2in layer of something that *looks* the same as the
plasterboard, but is much harder (and cannot easily be screwed into)
d) behind that, there appears to be a gap/cavity

So, what I can't work out is: what the hell is layer (c)? And, more
importantly, what sort of fixings can/should I use to fix shelves to
this wall?


Thanks for the advice.
I have used (or attempted to use) a variety of hollow fixings before in
the past, but I don't think any that I've seen before would handle the
depth of this double-layer of board.
I'm tempted to try to use some long masonry screws, assuming that the
'hard' board can grip them sufficiently well.

It might be a cement composition board. Whatever it is it has to be cuttable & drillable. A masonry bit would probably be needed. if its on a metal frame your wall might be very shallow.


NT