How to screw into walls of new build

[LeahJ1]

I live in a new build. The walls are shocking.
We put wall plugs in to screw in to put curtain hooks in and they crumbled and fell out of the wall. We’ve tried all sorts and have holes dotted around the home. We’ve used command strips to put up pictures but some of them have fallen off.

How could I go about attempting to put things in the wall? How do I know what wall plugs to use, what screws to use.

 

[Wayners]

Timber or metal frame in wall?

I find the screws in timber or the metal work with magnet . They are good fixings locations

Other option is plasterboard plugs

 

[LeahJ1]

It’s timber framed walls

 

[JohnD]

Then you have go find, and drill into, the timber studs. You need woodscrews, not wallplugs, for this.

 

[Wayners]

Get a magnet as shown on YouTube

 

[LeahJ1]

So when I type in to screwfix wood screws these ones come up, should they be okay?

 

[LeahJ1]

Also, the curtain hooks that the wall has crumbled should I be using a woodscrew there too? it’s next to patio doors

 

[robinbanks]

Let's talk a bit about how the walls in your home are constructed. They aren't shocking; they're the reason (unless the builders made an ass job of it) that your heating bill isn't as sky high as your mate in his solid walled, mouldy Victorian house

The wall is made of vertical wooden struts (studs), probably 4x2 or just slightly less that are clad on one side with a wood panel and clad on the other side with plasterboard. The studs are probably 400 or 600mm apart and may appear in multiples side by side around areas that need extra strength because they are carrying something vital to the structure, like a steel beam

Plasterboard is a sandwich of gypsum between two sheets of paper, and is probably 12.5 mm thick. It's a cost effective, smooth wall surface but it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, strong or able to resist being crushed.

You generally need to use special fixings to attach anything more supportive than a picture hook to plasterboard and you cannot use wall plugs (tubes of plastic that expand when a screw is driven into them) because the plaster is just crushed and turns into powder.

You especially cannot use the screws and wall plugs that come with most curtain rails because they're utter garbage and should be binned.

I'd go as far to say you shouldn't mount a curtain pole in plasterboard at all, especially if it's a heavy curtain. If you have a light weight curtain you could look at fixings called "hollow wall anchors"

Easyfix Hollow Wall Anchors 8-16mm M5 x 52mm 10 Pack - Screwfix

You drill a large hole and push the fixing through. You then should really use a setting tool, which looks like a gun, that simultaneously pulls on the screw and pushes on the plug, deforming the plug and splaying the legs out. The legs bend until they contact the back of the plasterboard, and the head of the plug is in contact with the front of the plasterboard, so the plug is gripping it front and back and spreading any load out over a larger area. Once the plug legs are splayed the screw can be removed completely and passed through e.g. a bracket to fix the bracket to the wall etc.

If you don't have a setting tool you can wind the screw to splay the plug but it's easy to over-splay them, so go easy. Same applies for when screwing the screw in to fix the bracket; don't overtighten the screw as it will splay the legs further and reduce the hold

-

If you're not mounting to the plasterboard, you should look to fix through the he plasterboard and into the studs in the wall. There isn't a guarantee that they are well placed for where you will want the brackets to be, though in a timber frame they should run up the sides of the windows. You can find them by rubbing a magnet over the wall; the plasterboard is screwed to the studs so picking up plasterboard screws in the wall using a strong magnet will tell you where the s res are, and consequently where the studs are. Try to find a few screws as sometimes the plasterers can wind a screw in the wrong place or they can hit very near the edge of the stud. Finding a few should let you take an average

If you find that the studs aren't where you want them to be, consider screwing a piece of wood to the wall, driving screws into the studs to fix the wood, and then fix the curtain hangers to the wood

 

[Eccles]

robinbanks is 100% right with his advice, I would only add that one can purchase a "multi-purpose detector" quite cheaply which will show you where studs, pipes and cavities are. I got mine from Lidl years ago and would not be without it, seems to be quite a few on offer on ebay.

 

[Fred Blogs]

Let's talk a bit about how the walls in your home are constructed. They aren't shocking; they're the reason (unless the builders made an ass job of it) that your heating bill isn't as sky high as your mate in his solid walled, mouldy Victorian house

The wall is made of vertical wooden struts (studs), probably 4x2 or just slightly less that are clad on one side with a wood panel and clad on the other side with plasterboard. The studs are probably 400 or 600mm apart and may appear in multiples side by side around areas that need extra strength because they are carrying something vital to the structure, like a steel beam

Plasterboard is a sandwich of gypsum between two sheets of paper, and is probably 12.5 mm thick. It's a cost effective, smooth wall surface but it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, strong or able to resist being crushed.

You generally need to use special fixings to attach anything more supportive than a picture hook to plasterboard and you cannot use wall plugs (tubes of plastic that expabd when a screw is driven into them) because the plaster is just crushed and turns into powder.

You especially cannot use the screws and wall plugs that come with most curtain rails because they're utter garbage and should be binned.

I'd go as far to say you shouldn't mount a curtain pole in plasterboard at all, especially if it's a heavy curtain. If you have a light weight curtain you could look at fixings called "hollow wall anchors"

Easyfix Hollow Wall Anchors 8-16mm M5 x 52mm 10 Pack - Screwfix

You drill a large hole and push it though. You then should really use a setting tool, which looks like a gun, that pulls on the screw, deforming the plug and splaying the legs out. The legs bend until they contact the back of the plasterboard, gripping it front and back and spreading any load out over a larger area. Once splayed the screw can be removed completely and reinserted to fix a bracket etc. If you don't have a setting tool you can wind the screw to splay the plug but it's easy to over-splay them, so go easy. Same applies for when screwing the screw in to fix the bracket; don't overtighten

-

If you're not mounting to the plasterboard, you should look to fix through the he plasterboard and into the studs in the wall. There isn't a guarantee that they are well placed, though in a timber frame they should run up the sides of the windows. You can find them by rubbing a magnet over the wall; the plasterboard is screwed to the studs so picking up plasterboard screws in the wall using a strong magnet

If you find that the studs aren't where you want them to be, consider screwing a piece of wood to the wall, driving screws into the studs, and then fix the curtain hangers to the wood

Well that's the biggest load of cobblers I have read on this forum for a long time and that's saying something. New builds are rubbish end of. They are put up in a couple of weeks and the materials are so weak that it is a wonder to me that they don't fall down or rot away within a year or two. Give me a well built brick and block older property well insulated etc any day over any new build. The reason stuff falls off the walls and every word that is said by the neighbours is heard is because of the appalling materials and build qualities of new builds.

 

[LeahJ1]

So if I’m screwing into the stud walls should I use the hollow wall anchors or the wood screws?

 

[Exedon]

So if I’m screwing into the stud walls should I use the hollow wall anchors or the wood screws?

If you hit timber wood screw otherwise plaster board anchor.

 

[foxhole]

So if I’m screwing into the stud walls should I use the hollow wall anchors or the wood screws?

There are a number of fixings available for plasterboard, which you use depends on what you find behind the plasterboard, a thin screwdriver can be pushed thru the board where you wish to fix, if it hits fresh air then there are many types of fixing and depending on what you are fitting (and it’s weight) effects the type of fixing required.
Just a few of the fittings available.

 

[Eccles]

True and I have used them but they will not take a lot of weight such as a radiator which should be fixed to the timber studs.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

SIPs houses don't have any studs, hollow wall anchors all the way for those. Traditional timber frame houses aren't so common anymore.