I had posted an entry entitled Upgrades to My Growing Area with an update about the trouble I was having getting the grow light to stay fixed onto the wall. I first tried the 3M Command adhesive strip two separate times. I tried thoroughly cleaning the area with alcohol, scraping the paint off the wall, and letting it cure for a longer period of time than indicated, but nothing worked. The lamp was simply too heavy for the adhesive although it was guaranteed to hold 5 lbs and both the lamp and bulb together weighed about 2 lbs in total. The real issue was leverage. The extending arm of the lamp was making it unevenly heavy.
Because we have plaster walls and my landlord doesn't want any permanent holes in the walls, I cannot use anchors because that would require me to drill holes and would give me away. These people hear everything. After asking many friends for ideas, I decided to use 1" screws and two small brackets to support the weight of the lamp. I had to get them in the wall with a bit of good 'ole 'elbow grease'. As I was screwing the hardware into the wall, I noticed the screws were not really gripping onto anything solidly. I then decided to bring in the big guns.
The next day, I got myself a small bottle of Gorilla Glue. I had never tried this brand or type of glue, but when I read about how it was so good at filling holes, which is exactly what I needed. The fact that it was supposed to be a really strong adhesive once it cured made it just perfect for what I wanted it to do. I not only applied glue to the back of the brackets, but to the holes inside the wall. The glue filled in the holes beautifully and the brackets, which were clamped down by the screws, are sturdy enough to actually hold. I am happy to state that with my new reconfiguration of the brackets, the aid of the new adhesive, and allowing it to cure for about 48 hours, which is about double the time recommended, it finally worked!
I will now have to pick up a small can of paint to retouch where the previous adhesive strip peeled off the pigment.
Now, this is the finished product:
The grow lamp is simply meant to supplement the sunlight on either cloudy days or during the hours the sunlight is more muted. Therefore, it's not that important that the bulb itself is right next to the plants. I am just so happy that it is finally staying on the wall...yay!!!
Update
The lamp has been up for 2 weeks now and the bracket and screws are still firmly into the wall. I can finally cross this off my list as a success.
Because we have plaster walls and my landlord doesn't want any permanent holes in the walls, I cannot use anchors because that would require me to drill holes and would give me away. These people hear everything. After asking many friends for ideas, I decided to use 1" screws and two small brackets to support the weight of the lamp. I had to get them in the wall with a bit of good 'ole 'elbow grease'. As I was screwing the hardware into the wall, I noticed the screws were not really gripping onto anything solidly. I then decided to bring in the big guns.
The next day, I got myself a small bottle of Gorilla Glue. I had never tried this brand or type of glue, but when I read about how it was so good at filling holes, which is exactly what I needed. The fact that it was supposed to be a really strong adhesive once it cured made it just perfect for what I wanted it to do. I not only applied glue to the back of the brackets, but to the holes inside the wall. The glue filled in the holes beautifully and the brackets, which were clamped down by the screws, are sturdy enough to actually hold. I am happy to state that with my new reconfiguration of the brackets, the aid of the new adhesive, and allowing it to cure for about 48 hours, which is about double the time recommended, it finally worked!
 |
| I used a couple of zip ties to stabilize the lamp |
I will now have to pick up a small can of paint to retouch where the previous adhesive strip peeled off the pigment.
Now, this is the finished product:
The grow lamp is simply meant to supplement the sunlight on either cloudy days or during the hours the sunlight is more muted. Therefore, it's not that important that the bulb itself is right next to the plants. I am just so happy that it is finally staying on the wall...yay!!!
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Update
The lamp has been up for 2 weeks now and the bracket and screws are still firmly into the wall. I can finally cross this off my list as a success.
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