Fit a pulley clothes airer to a plasterboard ceiling

Fit a ceiling pulley airer safely, choosing the right ceiling fixing and wall cleat fixing for your home.

PA-01Plan the position and check the loadPick a spot with enough headroom below the airer when it's lowered, and enough clear ceiling above it when raised. A loaded airer full of wet washing can weigh 15-20kg, so it must fix into solid structure, not just the plasterboard skin. Check the run of your joists first so you know which way to plan the bracket spacings.

PA-02Gather your tools and materialsLay everything out before you go up the ladder. You'll need the pulley airer kit, a cable and pipe detector, a stud detector, a cordless drill with a pilot bit and a masonry bit, and a dust sheet for the floor below.

1 each · 3-bar pulley clothes airer kit (with ceiling brackets, pulleys and cord)

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1 each · Dust sheet

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PA-03Work out what your ceiling is made ofRun a stud detector or magnet across the ceiling in a line to find joists, or listen for the change from a hollow sound to a solid thud. Drill a small pilot hole at your first mark: fine pale dust is timber, grey dust and grit is concrete or brick, and fine metal swarf means a metal furring channel. Timber joist ceilings are the most common in houses; metal furring channels turn up in flats and suspended ceilings from the 1990s onwards; lath and plaster is common in houses built before about 1930; solid concrete soffits appear in some flats and basements.

PA-04Sweep for cables and pipes before you drillCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a ceiling, not just in obvious straight lines, so sweep the whole marked area with your detector. Detectors miss cables that are deep, in metal conduit, or behind metal-backed plasterboard, and a metal furring channel will confuse a cheap detector further, so treat the result as a guide, not a guarantee. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns before you start. If you have any doubt at all, turn off the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before drilling, and know that you can shut the water off at the stopcock in seconds if you nick a pipe.

PA-05Mark and drill the ceiling fixing pointsMark each bracket position on the joist or channel centre line, spaced to match your airer kit's spread (usually around 600-700mm apart). On a timber joist, drill a 3mm pilot hole to stop the screw splitting the wood. On a metal furring channel, mark the flat face of the channel where you found swarf. On lath and plaster, locate the joist behind the laths first and mark that, not the lath itself. On solid concrete, drill with an 8mm masonry bit to a depth of 55mm.

1 each · 3mm pilot drill bit

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1 each · 8mm masonry drill bit

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PA-06Fit the ceiling brackets with the right fixingInto a timber joist, drive a 50mm zinc wood screw through the bracket straight into the pilot hole. Into a metal furring channel, use self-drilling metal-stud screws made for the job, never an ordinary wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel; if your bracket lands between channels instead of on one, use a spring toggle rated for the airer's loaded weight. Into lath and plaster, screw through the plaster and lath into the joist behind with a 50mm screw, never relying on the lath alone to hold. Into solid concrete, tap in an 8mm red masonry plug and drive a 55mm screw through the bracket into it.

6 each · 50mm zinc-plated wood screws

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6 each · Self-drilling metal-stud screws

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4 each · Spring toggle fixings (rated for airer weight)

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6 each · 8mm red masonry plugs with 55mm screws

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PA-07Fit the pulley wheels and thread the cordScrew a pulley wheel to each ceiling bracket, following the airer kit's instructions. Thread the cord through all the pulleys in the sequence shown in the kit, keeping it taut but not overtight as you go. Slot the airer bars into the brackets once all pulleys and cord are threaded.

PA-08Fit the wall cleat to tie off the cordThe cleat takes a steady pull, not a swinging or leaning load, so a standard fixing for your wall type is normally enough. Into a timber stud, use a 40mm wood screw driven into the centre of the stud. Into a metal stud, use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor, never a plastic wall plug, which will spin uselessly in thin steel. Into dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a fixing long enough to pass through the plasterboard and adhesive dabs and bite into the masonry behind, typically 60-75mm. Into solid brick or block, drill a 7mm hole, fit a plug, and use a 50mm screw.

1 each · 40mm wood screw

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1 each · Metal-stud toggle anchor

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1 each · Long fixing for dot-and-dab (60-75mm)

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1 each · 7mm wall plug with 50mm screw

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1 each · Cleat hook (usually supplied with airer kit)

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PA-09Test the airer and tidy upRaise and lower the airer a few times empty to check the cord runs smoothly and the cleat holds it firmly at height. Load it with a normal wash and check nothing sags or pulls loose after a few minutes. Sweep up any dust or plaster debris from the floor and wipe down the ladder before you put it away.

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