Can I hang something where there’s a duct in the ceiling?

January 1, 2023 5:52 AM

I’d like to hang this contraption in my kids room. Mainly to hold teddy bears (nothing heavy). The issue is that the best place for it is right under this protrusion from the ceiling which I suspect is for some sort of duct. This was the hook type thing I was going to use. Can I drill a little bit into that ceiling? I don’t think I could get away with a sticker adhesive to hang it…
posted by cacofonie to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

Kids + hanging thing that holds stuff + time = more weight than you're estimating, probably? But you know your kids :)

In any case, I strongly recommend a longer/bigger hook and finding a ceiling stud (beam?) to hang that from. I've had success using a regular stud finder to find a good place to put hooks in.

You'll want a hook with the _screw threaded part_ (that goes through the wall) at least 1", I think, if the surface is 1/2" drywall (which seems likely).
posted by amtho at 6:07 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

The first time the kid puts even the slightest amount of weight on that hook--lets say just trying to cram a squishimal into a hole--it's going to rip right out of the drywall. I think it's less a problem of what's under the protrusion and more a problem of what's realistic to expect from a tiny ass screw like that.

I would use something like this. I know they're meant for hanging things on a vertical wall, but if you take some pliers on the hanging hook end you should be able to make it work.

At some point a child, maybe not yours, maybe a friend they have over, IS going to grab onto this thing and take a Tarzan style swinging leap. Just prepare yourself for that. Emotionally.
posted by phunniemee at 6:23 AM on January 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I guess my question is whether there’s a chance there’s a duct or something being that and if so can you still hang stuff from it or drill into it?
posted by cacofonie at 6:24 AM on January 1, 2023

What's above the ceiling of this room? Do you have ducts elsewhere in your house (forced air heating/cooling)? Another possibility is that there is some plumbing hiding up there. Can you inspect from above?

I'd assume that there's something in there that I would not want to drill into, so I'd be very careful. I'd definitely want to screw the hook into a solid beam or other framing so I'd probably avoid that area altogether unless I was pretty sure I understood the structure underneath.
posted by sriracha at 6:32 AM on January 1, 2023

It's drywall, you don't need to be drilling into anything. A screw or a counterweight hook will go right into it like butter. If you're careful and stop the second you feel any resistance change, it's very unlikely you'll damage anything on the other side.

Yes there's probably something above the ceiling there. So don't drill into it.
posted by phunniemee at 6:39 AM on January 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Is there an attic or something over that so that you could actually _look_ at what's above it? Otherwise, yeah, possibly not a good idea. I suppose you could find someone with a tiny fiberoptic camera, make a tiny hole in the ceiling next to it, and look that way -- but the thing you're hanging says to me "hoping for an easy solution" (reasonable, I'm not dinging you on this), so this may not be the route you're looking for.

Maybe look into shelf brackets for the adjacent wall (still put them on studs, though!), but make them small enough that nobody will try to climb them. Probably.
posted by amtho at 6:49 AM on January 1, 2023

This seems like a lot of complication that can be fixed with an adhesive hook. Just skip the whole problem. A medium Command hook holds 3lbs and you can mount it on the ceiling abdjust wrap silly putty or blue-tack or tape around the end of the hook to keep the storage hanger from slipping off.

It will not be kid-proof but I'd rather have it fall off a plastic hook when a kid stuffs in too many Squishies than yank out of the drywall when a kid tries to use it as a swing. YMMV.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:21 AM on January 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

They probably used studs to build the framing for that soffit. See for instance here. You'd want to be carful because you're probably right that there is a vent in there, but to amtho's point you may be able to screw the hook into one of those studs if you can find it. If you're not comfortable finding studs (I never can), or if the studs aren't where you want the hook, it may be better to go with a hook with a spring toggle like this, and just be really careful when making the hole to insert it in that you don't go too deep and stop if there is any resistance at all.
posted by willnot at 8:22 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ingredients:
- two pieces of plywood, about 4" square, 3/4" thick or so
- velcro tape
- a hook that screws into, but not through, the plywood.

Fix one piece of plywood to whatever is covering the duct, using a strong adhesive. Screw the hook into the other piece. Now fix some pieces of velcro to both plywood pieces, so that the hook piece sticks to the ceiling piece with sufficient force that it will hold the Teddy Bear Storage Tube fully loaded with teddy bears, but will rip loose once your/a kid goes Tarzan on it. The amount of velcro may need some experimenting.
posted by Stoneshop at 8:24 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

For me the question is what is the size of the screw on the hook, and is it taller than average drywall? If it not, I think that you are going to be just fine. If it is taller, than you do risk piercing what is in the soffit- but that is only a big issue if you pierce a pipe carrying water or gas, and unless you have pex, then you are most likely going to know that you hit a pipe before you can pierce it. The way the hook you have pictured works is that you screw it in with out pre-drilling. I have used that type of hook successfully on drywall ceilings. I had something similar when my kids were little, and no one ever tried to hand from it. Good luck!
posted by momochan at 9:12 AM on January 1, 2023

There is likely something up in the soffit, it doesn't look like it's there for decorative purposes. But you can probably safely drill into its framing, if that will work for where you want it to hang. Which would also be better for any impulsive horseplay.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:21 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I was looking at the curtains. Maybe hand a rod between there, and the door frame's top edge, and hang your storage thing from the rod instead? You have the make the hanging material breakable as you don't want to bring the curtains with it if your kids lean on it.

Finally, why not just hang it on the back of the door?
posted by kschang at 12:41 PM on January 1, 2023

We can't know what's in that bump-out, but it was framed with 2x material. So if you screw that hook in about one inch from the edge, you're going to hit solid wood. That hanger should be fine.

I really like the little animals on top of the door casing!
posted by Marky at 2:31 PM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

My limited experience is that kids assume things are built to playground standards and I'd be concerned about one of their friends testing it's weight bearing capacity. Not being able to inspect the framing, I'd be worried about it at least partly giving way. I'd use the screw you've shown and just put it in the drywall, so it could pull free without bringing anything heavy down with it.
posted by brachiopod at 2:58 PM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Well, what is above it? You can definitely figure this out. Photo from the other side of the wall? Photo from the space above? Photo from the hall? Is it a stair landing? The photo someone posted of an example of a drywall and framing surround of a duct is likely what you have going on here but it is hard to say and the consequences versus the likelihood that the hanging mechanism is suitable at all makes this hard to gauge. I like the command hook idea.
posted by amanda at 3:31 PM on January 1, 2023

These days, there are command hooks that support up to 15 pounds. (For these hooks to work optimally, one does need to clean the surface first, then not put any weight on the hook for 24 hours after installation). I have been pleasantly surprised how much weight smaller command hooks can carry.
posted by oceano at 6:08 PM on January 1, 2023