anchors for hanging on plaster walls

[Gary Audette]

My daughter lives in a pre-1940's building in New York City. I am attemting to mount storage shelves. I am having trouble using the various wall anchors. First, it seems that there is concrete behind the plaster so I have used a 3/8" concrete bit to penetrate the concrete. I have used both the soft metal anchors and the screw in type and neither of them hold. The plaster seems to crumble as soon as I exert pressure for the last few turns.
I have not attempted to drill further into the concrete to see if there is open space to use a wing type anchor. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Gary

[Snoonyb]

Try Tapcons, they come with a 3/16 masonry bit and are available in several lengths.
Anchor into the concrete.

[Gary Audette]

Anchors for hanging on plaster walls

Thanks very much, I will look for Tapcons right away

[leone184]

plaster

It sounds to me like you are finding a different color plaster, and not concrete when you are drilling. Real plaster is usually 2 different products- a gray plaster (which might look like cement) that is troweled over the lathe, then a finishing plaster over that to give you a nice smooth wall. I don't know of any anchors that will attach to either one in a reliable fashion. If you were drilling into actual concrete you would know it, besides you would have to be using masonry bits.
The only reliable and safe thing you can do is find the studs, and attach the shelves to them. I know this is hard to do on plaster walls, and most stud-finders don't work well on that type of wall. If you do find a stud, you may be able to find others by measuring about 16 1/2 inches on either side of it. Use a finishing nail and drive a couple of test holes. If you strike solid wood, it will be obvious.

Hope this helps