ᐅ Installing Ikea Metod wall cabinets on old building walls without causing damage

Hello everyone, I am planning to install Ikea Metod wall cabinets soon in my old apartment, which has very thin and rather crumbly walls – probably made of old plaster on brick. My biggest concern is that the usual wall plugs and screws might damage the wall and the cabinet may not hold securely. Does anyone have experience or tips on how to properly and safely mount these wall cabinets on such old walls while minimizing damage? I want to avoid the walls cracking or the fixtures coming loose. Maybe there are special wall plugs, mounting systems, or methods that have proven effective. I would appreciate any advice.

For crumbly old walls, I recommend heavy-duty anchors with a wide expansion range, such as chemical anchors. Pre-drill with a small diameter, then slowly inject the resin and insert the screw. This way, the loads are better distributed and the wall is protected.

Alternatively, you can screw a mounting board in front of the wall, such as a thick OSB board, attaching it to more stable parts of the wall. Then mount the wall cabinets onto this board. This way, you avoid point loads on the wall.

As a supplement: In older walls, the material is often porous and has limited load-bearing capacity. Therefore, the following procedure is recommended:
- Thoroughly inspect the wall before installation to determine the material type, if necessary using a drill test
- Chemical anchors (injection mortar) are recommended for brick walls with thin plaster
- For wall cabinets like Ikea Metod, the maximum load per fastening point must be considered (approximately 15-20 kg (33-44 lbs))
- Using multiple fastening points helps distribute the load
- Alternatively, a substructure made of wooden battens or metal profiles can be used
- For heavily damaged walls, renovation or reinforcement may be advisable before installation

edisondan schrieb:
Chemical anchors (injection mortar) are recommended for bricks with thin plaster

Interesting, I would like to know the exact procedure for using such chemical anchors. Do I need special equipment for this, or is a standard drill with the appropriate drill bit sufficient? Can the resin be applied with a simple cartridge gun? How long does the curing process take before the wall cabinets can be loaded?

Great question! I also installed my Metod using chemical anchors in an old building wall, and it worked well! It’s important to clean the drilled hole immediately after drilling, preferably with a manual air blower or by blowing it out, to remove any debris. You apply the resin with a cartridge gun; no special tools are needed. Curing time varies depending on the product, usually about 10-15 minutes before it can bear load, and fully cured in around 30 minutes. After that, it holds extremely securely! Really impressive, considering how crumbly the plaster was.