Wall unknown - hang a pot rack?

[arconaut]

Hi everyone,

We've moved into a 1925 colonial house in Northern NJ and I'd like to re-hang the iron pot-rack we had up in our old house. I think the walls are plaster over lathe, which explains why my stud-finder gives odd results. However, the inspector told us the house was "balloon construction", that it was 2x4 studs with brick in-between and I presume he meant that was the exterior walls, not interior - but I don't know this for sure.

How should I proceed? Can I safely measure from the edge of a doorframe 16 inches, drill and hope that I hit a stud? Should I try to find an industrial stud finder (to rent, I hope)? If I find studs, should I mount the pot rack directly to them, or should I mount an oak board to the wall and mount the pot rack to that? Is drilling holes in the wall the only way to know if it is brick or lathe under the plaster?

Thanks so much!

[LazyPup]

Here is a silly little trick I devised years ago for use in older lathe and plaster walls.

Generally there is no insulation in the walls so the cavity behind the lathe and between the studs is void. Take a piece of stiff wire like an old coat hanger about 34" long. 15" from one end make a 90 deg bend, measure 4" and make a second 90 deg bend so it is shaped like a U.

Hold both the points together and cut them off exactly even length.

At any point in the wall that will be concealed behind what you intend to hang drill a small hole so you can insert one end of the wire into the wall. Continue inserting the wire until one long arm of the wire is completely in the cavity and the wire is hanging by the four inch cross section between the arms. Now gently swing the exposed wire in and arc and the wire inside the wall is following the arc parallel to the wire your turning. When the wire inside the wall hits a stud make a light pencil mark at the point of the wire on the outside, then swing in the opposite direction and mark where it hits. You now have a good reference for where the inside edges of the stud is. Run a line vertically with a string and weight or a level and you will know where the studs are on the line where you want to hang something.