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I'd like to mount a 14"x14" in-wall media box between two studs in a rock lath wall. To be clear, the wall is NOT lath and plaster, but panels of some kind of sheet rock that have been plastered over. I've looked behind the wall and all of the plaster keys seem to be in good shape.

My plan is to:

  1. Tape off the wall where I plan to cut
  2. Score the outline with a razor
  3. Use an oscillating multitool with a suitable blade
  4. Go slow and hope for the best

Will the structural integrity of the rest of the wall's plaster be affected by cutting an opening in the wall this large? Are there any additional precautions I should be taking?

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The studs provide the structural strength of the wall. Cutting between 2 studs should not compromise anything on the other sides of the studs.

Will the structural integrity of the plaster be affected? No plaster/ drywall is not structural.

Other precautions would be to determine if there are any wires, pipes, ducts or anything in the wall cavity before you cut the hole. Possibly cut a small hole first to verify there is nothing to be concerned with.

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  • Just to add, depending on the design of the media box, it may be worth putting blocking at the top and bottom of the opening you cut, just to support the drywall.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Aug 4 at 13:20
  • Maybe structural integrity wasn't the best way to phrase it, but I thought that plaster walls somewhat depended on the plaster around it to adhere to the wall in a way drywall doesn't. Is that not the case?
    – Bryan Coxwell
    Commented Aug 4 at 13:34
  • Plaster should stick to itself . You say you looked and the keys are good, but you also say the wall is not plaster and lath, but sheet rock that is plastered over, so there should be no keys visible...so we are guessing at what your wall is. However my original answer still stands as to how to proceed.
    – RMDman
    Commented Aug 4 at 13:44
  • Thanks, I've accepted your answer. For what it's worth, while I don't have a picture of the backside of my wall handy, this link](misspreservation.com/2012/04/19/…) describes what I have. The rock lath behind the plaster looks like drywall, but has holes in it that the plaster spills into, creating keys.
    – Bryan Coxwell
    Commented Aug 4 at 15:18
  • @Bryan Coxwell, The article and your explanation just above gives better understanding of what you have. It still is not an issue to cut a hole between studs.
    – RMDman
    Commented Aug 4 at 15:47

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