I have an almost 90 year old house and am trying to replace an old vanity with a small american standard (colony) pedastal sink. Mounting the sink to a board spanned between two studs is not an option because 1) there are no studs (only thin strips of wood (lath) and ~1/2" of plaster, and 2) tearing out the wall would make a HUGE mess.
Any recommendations. On a separate thread one person suggested caulking the back of the sink to the wall, and essentially allowing it to rest on the pedastal. This sounds sketchy but might have to do.
Using screws to hold a piece of plywood to the lath will work. You're not going to be climbing on, or yanking on the sink, are you? When my house was built back in '84, we had a pedestal sink installed in the master bathroom. Behind the sink, the wall was studded with 2x6s and the gap between studs in that area was 2' because of the vent stack, drain, and plumbing. Since we couldn't screw into a stud in the location, the plywood was held to the sheetrock wall with a number of screw anchors (4 or 6. I forgot). The sink stayed up for about 10 years, until we redid the bathroom and replaced it with a small vanity sink. It was my wife's idea to have a pedestal sink originally, but it wasn't too long for her to find out she made a mistake. She soon learned that there was not enough space on the sink to put things down, like a soap dish or dispenser, toothpaste tube, etc., when using the sink. We had to lay those things down on the toilet tank top next to the sink. You also lose the storage space under the sink for towels, wash cloths, extra soap, toilet cleaning tools, plunger, etc.
No! Don't rely on something like caulk. The modern pedestal sinks need solid anchoring to the wall; you can't depend on the pedestal to keep it from being yanked out.
If the other side of the wall could be opened (such as in a B/R), consider making an opening just big enough to put a horiz brace in that the basin could be screwed into.
Another possibility is toggle bolts. I wouldn't do this with drywall, but old wood lath will probably offer just enough support. Get BIG toggles w/ 1/4-20 threads. Get a length of 1/4-20 threaded rod and cut pieces off.
Carefully mark the wall where the mounts need to be. Drill the smallest hole that will let the toggle slip in. Put the pre-cut threaded rod on the toggle and push in. Slip the basin over the rod and attach with the 1/4-20 nut. Use a flat washer AND a thick rubber washer to provide a bit of flex.
The pedestal needs to be anchored too. Best to screw to floor, but this can be caulked in place.
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