alt Hacker News> Because drywall is a dense and uniform mixture, hanging anything off the wall (from pictures to heavier items like shelves, TVs, or even cabinetry) is a trivial exercise, either a simple nail for a small frame, plaster anchors for medium loads, or toggle bolts for the real heavy hitters.
yikes
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That's inaccurate for standard thickness drywall sheet, which is usually a 20kg maximum parallel load (e.g. vertical for a wall) regardless of fixing method. Orthogonal load is even less. You might be able to attach a TV or cabinet but it would definitely not be safe, any additional weight or dynamic load would quite likely rip it off the wall with no warning.
The recommended approach for anything with moderate weight or above is to anchor to the studs and never rely on the drywall itself for retention.
Very yikes.
Also wrong:
> By eschewing the lath lattices, buildings now have way more room in wall cavities for improved insulation and conduits
The cavities are exactly the same size, plaster+lath, or drywall.
Most residential construction won't use conduit anywhere, and commercial construction would never bury a conduit inside a wall, regardless of wall covering.
These are weird things to get wrong.