So, you’ve finished plaster boarding your room and now want to hang some artwork on the walls.
You’ll need the necessary plasterboard fixings to hang a painting or mirror, whether you’re installing a shelf, a wall-mounted TV, or simply hanging a painting or mirror.
Although plasterboard is tough on its own, it’s simply a layer of compressed plaster dust between two sheets of paper, thus a screw (or nail) can cause it to disintegrate. This isn’t ideal.
That’s why plasterboard fixings are important which are installed using plasterboard fasteners, allowing you to relax without worrying that your decorations would fall at any time, harming your wall in the process, which would be even worse.
What are plasterboard fixings?
Plasterboard fixings are inserted into the wall first, and they can hold a screw in place, allowing you to screw an object into the wall through the fixing.
As a result, the area of plasterboard subjected to tension from the object hanging from it grows. giving it a far stronger hold than a single screw could.
How do you use plasterboard fixings?
Different plasterboard fixings function in different ways, as we’ll describe.
However, in general, you need first drill a clearance hole in the wall large enough for the body (but not the head) of the fastening to pass through.
This necessitates the use of the drill bit size specified on the fixing packet.
Before drilling the fixing in place and putting the object into it, make sure there are no pipes or cables in the area of plasterboard you’ve chosen.
And that’s all there is to it!
What fixings can you use on plasterboard?
Plasterboard fasteners come in a variety of styles, each of which is appropriate for particular situations.
For lightweight goods, use plastic or metal screws in fixes, plastic anchor or spring toggles for medium loads, and metal spring toggles for heavier loads, according to a general rule of thumb. The greatest plasterboard fixes and their common applications are listed below.
Self-drive screws
Despite what we just said about drilling, self-drive fittings don’t need to be drilled in place unless you choose a plasterboard site with a timber stud.
These metal screws have a sharp tapered head that can produce its own hole and are used for lightweight things.
This allows you to use a screwdriver to attach them directly into the plasterboard before adding a short screw to secure the object.
Wall plugs
Wall plugs are low-cost, simple-to-use fasteners that are best suited to lighter objects. Drilling is required for them, and the hole should be slightly smaller than the plug to guarantee proper fit. The plasterboard plug is a similar product that is often shorter and wider.
Wall Anchors
Plastic toggles are quite similar to wall anchors, except wall anchors are composed of metal rather than plastic. As a result, they can support a greater amount of weight and are more suited to heavier things, such as radiators.
Spring toggles
Spring toggles work in the same way that plastic toggles and wall anchors do for hanging shelves. They are, however, composed of metal and have a slightly different toggle form. Unlike toggles, which return to their original triangle shape, this flattens vertically against the plasterboard.
Rubber Anchor nut
When it comes to design, sometimes less is more. An anchor nut is simply a rubber-coated cylindrical nut that fits easily into the clearance hole you’ve drilled for it. These can withstand a lot of weight and are corrosion-resistant.
