It is very common to find plaster treatments in kitchen walls because plaster is a great insulator, is more durable than drywall, and simply because it is beautiful to look at.

However, plaster walls in kitchens present a very specific problem, they make hanging kitchen cabinets a tad tricky because plaster can be fragile and does not provide the extra support for hanging heavy kitchen cabinet pieces directly. So, 

How Do You Hang Kitchen Cabinets On Plaster Walls?

Hanging kitchen cabinets on plaster walls is quite easy, as it simply requires that you fix your cabinets to the wall’s underlying studs, This will provide the cabinets with the necessary support that the plaster by itself cannot provide.

How To Hang Kitchen Cabinets On Plaster Walls

The first step requires that you determine the approximate load that you will place on your plaster walls. This will determine the actual requirements for your project. 

Next, you will need to confirm the exact thickness of your plaster walls. While the most common plaster walls, or plasterboard, come in 13 to 15-millimeter thickness, you must figure this out before you start hanging your kitchen cabinets on the plaster walls.

Plaster on a kitchen wall

Finally, you must use a stud finder tool to locate and mark the location of your studs. This information will tell you exactly where you will drill your holes and secure your cabinets.

Now that you know how heavy your cabinet load will be, the thickness of your plasterboard, as well as the location of your studs, you can begin the process of hanging your cabinets on your plaster walls.

Step-by-Step

  1. Using a carpenter’s level tool, make precise markings corresponding to the dimensions of the cabinet units to be installed. These lines have to be exact if you want good results, so make sure that you measure twice.
  2. Now use a drill to make holes down the backside of the cabinets, spaced out so that they align with the studs inside the wall. You will use these holes as a guideline to easily make the corresponding holes in the wall.
  3. At this point, you should get help to lift the cabinet and align it so that all the markings match exactly. You may also use a furniture jack if it’s available, but a strong friend or family member should suffice.
  4. After all the necessary holes have been drilled in both the cabinets and the studs underneath the plaster walls, you may proceed to use wood screws to screw the cabinet to the wall.

If you made all of your measurements and markings correctly, your newly mounted kitchen cabinet should be flush and level.

cabinets installed onto plaster walls

Pro-Tip: Use spring toggles or a hollow wall anchor to secure your cabinets if you want to make sure that your plaster boards will be able to hold the force of the load. A single spring toggle can hold up to 100 pounds of cabinet weight on plasterboard that is 13 mm thick.

If You Don’t Have Studs?

If your kitchen does not come with studs behind the walls, you should not try to install cabinets directly onto plaster walls. Doing so is setting yourself up for disaster.