\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Maximum working load for 3/8 in. This causes the bolt to anchor in the drywall. This way would actually work if you are going to mount a 2x4 over the hole, so you don't have any repair work, but it is tedious to fill that hole with a small cup, or stuffing it by hand. It needs a slightly bigger hole for the legs to go through, but when expanded inside the wall (as pictured, its got a spring) then there's a heap of holding area. Drywall anchors are really designed for drywall - they need the paper cladding to hold everything together. Continuing to rotate them could strip the threads or damage the wall. Please visit my disclosures page for more information. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Getting the right size toggle bolt is critical. Or is there an easy way to expand the holes in the tile? Wall anchors work great for drywall and plaster walls, and theyre best if your shelves weigh 25 pounds (11kg) or less. If you have to move them at a later date, you will need an entire new set of toggles for the bolts. Mark the distances using the measuring tape, level, and pencil. Toggle bolts are wall anchors made for hollow walls, such as drywall and plaster. Attach Toggle Bolt to Item With the bolt detached from the pair of wings, slide the bolt through the hole in the item. The wings, once fully opened, greatly expand the surface area making contact with the back of the hollow wall. If it has wood behind it that prevents use of an anchor, use the dowel and cut it flush to the drywall surface. Required fields are marked *. Once it is engaged, to remove the bolt from the wall, the toggle is lost into the cavity. To install: Bore a hole in the wall large enough to accommodate the toggle. You can't drive screws directly into drywall and expect them to hold anything. This means you have to be exactly sure where the component and bolts will go. Once the wing clears the wall it will open up and you can screw the bolt into place. Both over and under-sized bolts are going to keep spinning. Also purchase extra: Two toggle bolts is better than one. Once the bolt is free, the pair of wings will drop inside the wall. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. The butterfly toggle is pinched and inserted into the hollow drywall, where it opens up. I made a mock-up of a wall from a scrap piece of drywall and 2x4 lumber to show you how a toggle bolt works on both sides. You can get them from any hardware shop. With all the bolts through the component, bring the toggles close to the holes in the wall, this can be quite fiddly, but close the toggles enough so they go through the holes. Keep in mind that weight capacity refers to the strength of the fastener, not the wall. P.S. Snaptoggles are more expensive than regular toggles but . How do you check behind the wall without X-ray vision? Some of them are self drilling/tapping (these are commonly referred to as simply "self-tapping" in the US). Looked at different toggle bolts and the next size down looked really tiny and flimsy. The point loads on the screw thread will always weaken the plasterboard, and the fixing will inevitably pull loose after not very long. Second, double-check the package. In your case, if you have good wood behind the plaster, but you have drilled too large a hole for the screw, just use a long enough anchor to fit an inch or more into the wood and thread in the screw. From this point, you cant get the toggles back if they have engaged. Your other option is to plate the area under the curtain rail with some solid wood as reinforcement. Make sure you mark your starter hole locations carefully so you don't turn your wall into Swiss cheese. If the particular hole in question try inserting an anchor first. Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. This spreads the load over a larger surface area so the drywall doesn't crumble. Insert the needle through the drill hole and through the center hole of the butterfly with the L-shape vertically up. Use a drill bit with that diameter. Besides the already mentioned answers, there are many different options available to you: Drill an 8mm hole in the bracket and use a 7 mm screw into the 6mm hole. I'm Vineta, otherwise known as The Handyman's Daughter! If you don't maintain this tension, the wings will turn with the bolt, and the bolt won't tighten. Otherwise, the wings will just spin freely behind the wall, and you wont be able to tighten it down. You want the screw to slightly protrude out the back of the component. Ryaan Tuttle. This means the fixing isnt as strong as it should be. With the component in position, slowly tighten the bolts until they provide a bit of resistance back. Try wiggling the bolt in place with the help of a socket wrench. Almost all of your kitchen wall cabinets are installed with just a few screws in the studs! @JPhi1618, general-use drywall joint compound is as hard as drywall itself, when properly applied. Here are the ways you can remove the spinning bolt: If the bolt and nut are spinning together, its time to crack the bad nut. Double check everything, if these markings dont lineup you will have to repeat this step. Thank you, Anika! #3 from the left or #3 from the right? Screw that to the studs where they cross, and then you can hang the curtain rail hooks whereever you need them. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. If you need to reposition shelves, patch the drywall or. 3. Slide the plastic tabs in opposite directions until the bar is parallel to the tabs. Set the screws from the molly bolts in a small cup or bowl so you dont lose them. I advise you to always follow manufacturer instructions, take appropriate safety precautions and hire a professional when in doubt. You'll have to patch up these holes, which may be a bit of a pain to do with the textured walls, but it's doable. However, studs arent always in the right spot. Although they are described as "self-tapping", I prefer to give them a small pilot hole for alignment and then proceed to then drill all of the necessary anchors at once after preparing a surface. Use wall anchors that can support the full weight of your shelf and the items youre putting on it, or else you could damage your walls. If a wall stud doesnt line up with where you want to hang a shelf, you can easily add new hardware for more stability. is the diameter of the bolt. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. The anchor is corrosion resistant, and a pre-drilled hole is required. Toggle bolts are one of the strongest cavity wall fixings you can get. All this effort gives rise to the question- does a spinning bolt even need to be tightened in the first place? LaCie 1BIG DOCK STORAGE DRIVE. For this you can use wall drilling anchors as shown in the images below. Polyfilla), leave it to fully harden, and then redrill the hole to the correct size. Installing Wing-Style Toggle Bolts Once you've made the hole, fit the threaded bolt through the item you are hanging, then thread the bolt into the toggle wings so the spring side is facing the item. The forward engine mount bolt won't fit. Putting your toggle bolt on the drywall is simple. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Is a copyright claim diminished by an owner's refusal to publish? The steering arms attach to the back of the spindle and give the outer tie rod end a place to attach. Turn the screw back as far as possible so that you get some play between the wall and the suspended object. You only have one chance to use a toggle bolt. You can learn more about how to use a stud finder here. It could also be side sliding of the nut or bolt as it relates to the joint. Check the manual that came with the shelf you bought to see if theres any additional work you need to finish. If you have two mounting spots and can't screw into a stud at either location, two toggle bolts will help support the load. Use a toggle bolt when you cant drill into a stud, and you need a strong wall anchor to mount something that weighs more than 40 pounds. To establish the diameter, look for technical specifications about the amount of weight each bolt can hold. Over the past few years, I've back for a number of different repairs and have always been very pleased with the service, prices, turnaround time, etc. You will need to purchase new toggle nuts if you want to reuse the bolt. Tighten the screws until you feel resistance. Toggle bolts. Not pictured are the super-cheap tube ones that come with many cheap goods like smoke detectors. turns out, the toggle bolts don't fit in the 1/2" hole. 14 offroad 4x4. Read my disclosure for more info. The pictured one is probably for half to 3/4 inch depth. GAF vs. CertainTeed: Which Shingles Brand to Choose? You don't require a bunch of fancy tools to install toggle bolts. A blunt drill bit will bore a hole that is too small for the bolt you have. The shelf has 4 holes. 606. The toggle The butterfly-shaped nut whose size also determines the strength. Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it. Be honest! With the bolt detached from the pair of wings, slide the bolt through the hole in the item. Toggle bolts are available in many sizes. I have drilled a hole on wall bigger than the screw size. If you're lucky enough to have a wood stud behind the drywall, it's just a matter of driving a screw or nail long enough to sink into the stud. In fact, toggle bolts are specifically meant for locations where you are unable to find a stud and need a heavy-duty anchor. The larger the wings and bolt, the more weight it can hold. 10mm thick would be a minimum IMO. Step 5: Insert Bolts into Component and Through the Wall. Just pull the bolt outward to rest the toggle on the drywall and start tightening. Purchases made through these links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. 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