wall plugs not staying in

[Blunda]

Hello

I am putting up batons on a wall to put plasterboard on. I have screwed in the top and bottoms of these battens without too much problem. but now it has come to put screws in the rest of the baton but the wall plugs are not staying in, i guess it must be crumbly bricks as I am using the exact same bit and wall plugs that I used to screw the top and bottom in. Can anyone suggest how I get the wallplugs to stay in place?

Thanks

edit: I am hammering the wall plugs through the wood and would rather not have to unscrew the baton to get behind it if i can help it.

 

[Diyisfun]

The holes maybe to big.
If you are having problems, I would try & remove the batten & then insert the plug, If the plug is lose then thats the problem, if the brickwork is crumbling. you can try longer plugs or a different fixing method.

 

[Blunda]

It is down to crumbling brickwork as some go in fine and others dont, the same bit and wall plugs have been used for all. What other different fixing methods are there? I have found a product called wet n fix which looks to be a disk of plaster which you wet and put on the wall plug this then drys and holds the plug in, but it says its for only light weight fixings. Would this do the trick? or would the batons and plasterboard be too heavy?

 

[gday2uk]

I have used wet and fix to hold 30kg rads on the wall, so it's a pretty good product. But I don't think it'll work if you push them through the timber. Assuming you have used a 5.5,6,7mm drill for the plugs you can get M6 or M8 frame fixings that hammer through the wood but you will have to countersink the heads in. Other than that the easiest way by far is to removed the timber, wedge the plugs in with match sticks and re-attach timber. You could even just unscrew one end and move it out the way?

 

[regsmyth]

Are your bricks so "crumbly" that they break up when you do up the screw, or is it just really loose when you drill the hole? Are they damp? Are you fixing into them through render? Are you sure you're not drilling into the mortar?
Either way, if it's really bad you'll have problems, but try longer screws and deeper holes. Or a smaller drill bit or fatter screws.. You can sometimes get two plugs into the same hole, one after another. It's nearly always best to hammer the plug into the bottom of the hole first.
If you've got time and the bricks aren't damp, you could try putting the plugs in with a load of gripperfiller or similar and leave it overnight or longer. Never tried it myself though!
Also, frame fixings can be better than just screws and plugs, but cost more, and make sure the holes are properly deep enough and cleaned out.
You could always use chemical resin and fix threaded studs in, but you probably don't want to go there.

 

[gday2uk]

Thinking about it why don't you just leave the two fixings you have and use Sticks Like Sh*t or similar in between and leave overnight. Sorted.

 

[Blunda]

Theres a DPM between the batons and the all so I don't think Adhesive will help. I might get a load of matchsticks to fill around the hole. Any other views about wet n fix? im just worried if I do use it the batons wont hold once I put the plasterboard on, or am I worrying about nothing?

 

[gday2uk]

Wet and fix may help, you can always use 2 or 3 to make the packing thicker. I know a chippy who uses match sticks when he hasn't got any plugs on him, says "that's how it was done in my day"!!

I don't know your circumstances but could you not have used foil backed plbrd?

 

[big-all]

cut another plug in half push into the other plug hammer home using the screw as nessisery this will only work if the hole has slightly enlarged

if you have used a brown plug try and insert a red plug into the centre and hammer home on the screw this works well when the plug is fully behind the batton

other causes for plugs not gripping are wrong size/length screws/ plugs

also if the screw goes between plug and hole to the side

 

[IJWS15]

One solution

Piece of food about 3/8" round and 10" long and stanley knife.

Taper end of piece of wood over 2-3", Hammer into hole until firm, cut off flush with brick, drill pilot hole if you wish, move on to next hole.

Method I use with crumbly brick and large holes - slow but works every time as long as you hammer the wooden plug in firmly and don't drill a large pilot hole.

Alternately frame fixings and deeper hole

 

[JohnD]

I was amazed at what good results I got like this:

drill the hole into your crumbly wall. Verify that it is plenty deep enough for your plug and the screw.

Blow out the dust or wash it out with a squirt of water

Put the nozzle of a "NoMoreNails" or similar right to the bottom of the hole (so there is no air bubble) and withdraw the nozzle as you fill it.

Push in the plasplug, verifying that it is centred.

Leave it overnight to harden.

The plug will then be firmly gripped, and there will be no crumbling when you drive the screw into it.

this is the best new DIY tip I had in many years.