Filling in a screw hole in the hall and re-drilling it

[tristan888]

Hi all,

One of the sides of my towel rail came off the wall the other day when I pulled the towel off it. The screw along with its wall plug have come right out of the wall and if pushed back in has no grip. I will have to fill in the hole and then re-drill it. What is the best way to do this? What substance will I need to use to fill in the hole?

Thanks

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lynda, moderator

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[JohnD]

Is the wall made of brick or block, or is it plasterboard?

 

[tristan888]

The wall is made of plasterboard

 

[JohnD]

Sadly, plasterboard is not as strong as bricks I once pulled a radiator off a wall by trying to hold myself up in it. Depending on the amount of damage to the holes, there is a chance you can get some plasterboard plugs in a large size that will fit the existing holes, and use a slightly larger screw (plugs are available in a small range of sizes) or you can look for a metal plasterboard fixing in your local DIY shop (buy several spares in case you drop them through the hole).

This is a metal fixing for plasterboard

and this is a heavy-duty one

This is a plastic "plug" specially for plasterboard

these are ordinary plastic plugs which will often do the job but are better in solid walls. I would guess it was one of these that failed when the rail came off.

If that doesn't work, drill a new set of holes and put the towel rail in a different place, with the screws a few inches away from the old ones. Buy some plugs specifically designed for plasterboard (although ordinary red or brown ones will often do the job, you don't want this happening again) and make sure you use the drill size recommended, and the maximum screw size recommended.


Alternatively: tap the wall carefully to identify where the wooden studs are that hold the plasterboard up. If you can drill into those you can use ordinary wood screws which will be very much stronger.

 

[tristan888]

Thanks very much for the guidelines. I think the side pieces of the rail have also been glued to the wall because some of the paint that came off the wall behind the side piece is stuck to it. Would super glue be a suitable glue to use?

 

[JohnD]

I don't think you ought to use glue. The screws ought to hold it. Maybe someone put glue on last time the screws pulled out.

Those heavy duty metal fittings are intended for holding up kitchen wall cupboards.

 

[tjhome]

I have used those metal fixings for plasterboard and found them to be very effective, however due to re-arranging the room I have a number of visible screw housings because of this. Therefore what is the best way to remove them without stripping out half the plasterboard ?

 

[Reynardine]

To make good,

drill out the old hole with a larger drill and remove remains of old rawlplug.

Then at surface level use something like this to make a larger recess where the hole used to be

then fill the hole with plaster level to rest of surface, allow to dry, sand smooth and paint