rawl plugs and wall fixings

[gissle]

I often have a disaster when using rawl plugs.

Trying to find the right sized drill bit seems to be the first problem.

Then even with the right sized bit, often a little movement means that the hole is made too large for the plug.

I got a really decent power drill, not a chordless which don't seem powerful enough.

This seems to have sorted my problem out, but you have to be certain that the hole is dead straight

 

[JohnD]

A tip I found on here which is amazingly helpful if you have crumbly walls and loose plugs:

Drill and clean the hole

Put in the plug and discover that it is loose.

Take a tube of "NoMoreNails" or similar with a long nozzle on it (I use the cheap own-brand water-based ones for this job).

Push the nozzle deep into the hole and squeeze as you withdraw it, so the hole is filled from the bottom and does not have a bubble of air at the end

You now have a hole of suitable depth, filled with NoMoreNails.

Poke your plastic wallplug into the hole, so that the outer end is slightly below the surface of the plaster, and wipe off the excess with a damp sponge (with practice, you will learn to stop squeezing before you fully withdraw the nozzle, so that you waste less) the plug is now completely encased in NoMoreNails and there is no air gap.

(You may find it easier to push the plug in if you insert a screw into the plug and give it a turn or two, then you can use the screw as a handle and it prevents you losing the hole in the plug under excess NoMoreNails

If the plug was really loose, leave it overnight to harden. If it was a good enough fit not to spin in the hole, you can now fix your bracket or whatever and drive in the screw without leaving it to set. If the plug starts to turn, stop screwing and leave it overnight to set.

The tip was posted by gazza2 on this site not long ago. I have seen professional injection kits using resins that are more expensive

I have been DIYing since long before you were born, and have only recently heard this successful this way of dealing with loose wallplugs. I know no other way that works as well.

 

[cajar]

I haven't tried the nomorenails solution but often when a wall is crumbly I have got a good fixing by wrapping the rawl plug in 3 or 4 turns of electrical tape before inserting and this has always solved the problem and may be a little less expensive than nomorenails.

 

[gissle]

Thanks guys, both useful tips those!

 

[mattylad]

I use cocktail sticks, break them in half and then they can be inserted until the hole is full, finally tapping the last bits in with a hammer.

Sometimes I prefer this to rawlplugs and having to wait for nonails to dry.

 

[Sam Gangee]

I start with a piece of 10mm dia wood dowel about 30cm long and whittle the end till it's a tight fit in the hole. I tap it in then use a hacksaw blade with a masking tape "handle" to saw the dowel off, flush. I drill a 3mm pilot hole for the screw, apply silicone grease to the screw thread and insert it.

 

[wingcoax]

I usually use brown rawlplugs which need a 7mm drill. I drill with a 6mm then try a plug, if too tight open out to 7mm and fit plug. Never needed to add extras.

 

[conny]

I use cocktail sticks, break them in half and then they can be inserted until the hole is full, finally tapping the last bits in with a hammer.

Sometimes I prefer this to rawlplugs and having to wait for nonails to dry.

I used to use 'spent' matches but for a long time now have used the wingcoax method.
The smaller hole ensures the correct size hole will be nice and tight as it 'shaves' off the wall of the smaller hole rather than boring another one.

 

[xr4x4]

Not holding the drill steady and wobbling about will make the hole bigger.

 

[wrathkeg]

in my experience the drill bit is really important too, and maybe even more so than the drill itself. i have always had excellent results with dewalt extreme 2 masonry bits. these days i am much more careful not to burn out drill bits, and that seems to help a lot too (less strain when drilling, and therefore less wobbling). also, i find the fischer heavy duty plugs (you can get them in Wickes) make a tighter fit in the hole when there has been a bit of wobble, and hold the screw nicely.

 

[ladylola]

Does anybody still cut wooden pads to fit into the joints in brickwork?
I still use this method occasionally, it's great for when something needs pinning rather than screwing .
I've tried to find a youtube video but there doesn't seem to be anything like it, but the process is to cut a piece of timber about 4" long , then with the timber held with the end grain upwards and the smaller side towards you shape it with an axe. Take of the front edge, i.e. the edge away from you then turn the timber through 180*repeat the operation. This should leave you with a piece of timber that looks twisted and it's this twist that forces it tight when you hammer the wood into the joint. Hope that's clear.

 

[maltaron]

Long time since I heard anyone using that method, used to be the best way to fix door frames and skirtings, also did you use cut nails into breeze bricks for skirtings.

 

[ladylola]

No not really done that always seems a bit on the rough side although I've come across it many times, not saying I've never done it on the odd occasion was time was tight though . Once I took a 2 ft lenght of skirting off a wall and it had 28 nails in it to hold it there

 

[maltaron]

It was quite common in the late fifties/early sixties when we were throwing up houses like there was no tomorrow (generally known as cottage bumping). The bricklayers put breeze bricks at about 3ft spacing all round the walls at skirting level.

 

[steveuk]

i spent the first 6 months of my apprentership cutting timber wedges with my trusty estwing axe, and had more than 1 flung back at me
but to the op i normally start with a 6mm drill and only enlarge the hole to 7mm (for brown plugs) if the wall is solid