On Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 8:44:04 AM UTC-5, mikehava wrote:
So i removed my old hollywood-style bathroom light fixture in preparation
to put in a new one. However, decided not to go with the new one and
tried to reinstall the hollywood light fixture with no success. There is
no junction box in the middle where you expect the fixture to be mounted
and the wires are just fed through a hole in the wall. Thus, to attach
the fixture to the wall, there were two holes drilled near the ends of the
fixture and two 3" machine screws to screw in. The problem is that there
appears to be nothing inside the wall to attach the machine screws into.
No nut, no nothing, just air. I stuck a scewdriver in the holes that is 4
inches longer than the screws and still hit nothing but air. I am 100%
positive that the screws were attached to something as it took me quite a
while to unscrew them to the fixture off but now i'm stumped. Anyone have
any ideas what on earth these are supposed to attach to so the fixture is
secure? Thanks.

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My favorite drywall anchor for "heavy loads" is SNAPTOGGLE® because you don't lose the metal inside the wall when you remove the screw. The anchors are available at Lowe's Depot. I bought them in 50 count boxes at the supply house because I was hanging big screen TV monitors in retail stores to display video advertising. A video on the manufacturer's site shows how the anchors are installed. A light fixture isn't usually heavy enough to need that heavy duty of an anchor and the same manufacturer sells some lighter duty anchors for lighter loads. ^_^

http://www.toggler.com/products/snaptoggle/overview.php

http://www.toggler.com/index.php

Even British handymen like them. 8-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAIUublenMw

Here's an anchor I've used a lot of for medium loads I attached to drywall. The anchors stay in place if you remove the screw and install quickly. These anchors or some version are available at Lowe's Depot. ^_^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsMzar3ask0

[8~{} Uncle Drywall Monster