Ceiling cant support light

[hazey4]

Been setting up my first grow at my new house which is pretty old. Cant get any screws or nails at all to stay in the ceiling can just pull them out by hand it pretty much just turns to dust. Tried nailing a 2x4 into it with roofing nails but it just fell out. Wondering if there is any way I could get it to stay in there?

 

[Haps]

Here is an alternative. Find two of the wall studs, across the room from each other. Put an eye screw into each stud, and run a dog cable or old extension cord between them to hang your light from. Simple and cheap, got one here done that way.
H

 

[PharmaCan]

Or you can locate the ceiling joists then nail/screw a piece of plywood into the joist and hang the lights from there. ...or put eye-hooks into the ceiling joists. Give the roofing nails back to the roofer and get yourself some 2.5"-3" drywall/deck screws. Nailing is going to cause more damage than you want. Screws leave a small hole to patch.

PC

 

[Guest 16149]

What I did in a room that I did not wanna poke holes in the ceiling or walls is get 2 2x4 to the height you want, build legs as support on the bottom of them (like a X on the bottom) then put a long 2X4 across the top of the two boards, you can hang your light mover or light onto the long 2 x 4. Hope that helps

 

[Whatever]

There's gotta be some supports running across that ceiling. I used 2 x 2's held into the ceiling with some lag bolts cause the direction the 2 x 4's ran didn't work for exactly where I needed to place those lights so the 2 x 2's went perpendicular into the 2 x 4's and hung the lights from the 2 x 2's. I tested the system by putting some chains with hooks into the eyebolts I screwed into the 2 x 2's then did a pullup or two. Hope you get the picture. Something is holding that ceiling in place...lol. Another thing I did once cause the place I was in was so old I ran a small chain through the ceiling and over the support cause the wood was really old but no problem holding up a hood setup.

Blaner's suggestion is a good one IMO and will work great.

 

[mrred]

buy a stud finder

 

[asher1er]

What I did in a room that I did not wanna poke holes in the ceiling or walls is get 2 2x4 to the height you want, build legs as support on the bottom of them (like a X on the bottom) then put a long 2X4 across the top of the two boards, you can hang your light mover or light onto the long 2 x 4. Hope that helps

what he said...

something else is if your lights arent to heavy or your wall to wall distance isnt to far, you can find the wall studs and screw in(if you dont mind making holes on the wall) a 2x8 plant from the floor upto whatever height you want to hang your lights from... then lay a 2x4 going across the room which has its end resting on the 2x8's you screwed to the wall

 

[Shcrews]

I have a shity ceiling too and screws wont stay in it...

i took 2-foot long 1x4's and screwed them into the ceiling where it had support beams above it.. then hhung the lights from the 1x4s you might have to go in your attic and look where they are or get a stud finder

if you put up extra boards you can also unhook and move your lights around, kind of a getto light mover teknique but it works

 

[EuroToker]

depends on how heavy your lights are, but you know those spring loaded drywall anchors that spread out into a big T once past the Sheetrock, definably try those.

Either that or find the wall studs, I don't hang anything from the ceiling in my rooms, I just install wood beams to run the length of the room and mount them high up on the wall.

Another thing I've done in an apartment which i didn't want to damage was... I built a-frame supports on either side and ran a long piece of wood across, kind of like a tall saw horse. If you're not holding too much weight up there, Just lights and shades, you can use that cheap 2x2 lumber they sell at home depot for around 3-4 bucks for a 3 meter piece

The handy thing about my big sawhorse light support was, I was able to run strings across and create makeshift support net instead of using stakes to prop up the plants.

PS. the photo is just in case you're from some place that doesn't use the term sawhorse, so you'd know what i mean, the measurements are useless unless you're building an actual sawhorse

 

[VenturaHwy]

You need to locate your ceiling joists like a few have said already. Pound a nail every 3/4 inch or so until you hit something solid. Find out which direction the joists run first. Then screw up a 2 by 4 board long enough for any thing you may want to hang from it. The stud finder may help also.

The joists should be 16 or 24 inches apart, look in your attic.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I wouldnt use anchors into the drywall. I have used some and they work real well, especially the big threaded ones.

BUT if that hot, electrically active hood falls onto your wet medium, that could be an issue.

Do like everyone else said, find the rafters/studs/joists etc and attach to those.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

If in a closet...just raise and support the clothes rack pole...

 

[hazey4]

I ended up tying a rope from a eye screw in the top of a window to an eye screw top of the door. It can hold quite a bit of weight and is easy to adjust by just moving the knot on the hook should work for this grow at least. Wish I had a camera so I could take some pics getting ready to move my plants under the hps tonight.

 

[Guest]

Build a stand outta metal pipe and pipe fittings...