Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!

--
http://www.petersparrots.com
http://www.insanevideoclips.com
http://www.petersphotos.com

How come abbreviated is such a long word?

Peter Hucker wrote:
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


There's no secret.

however you should use the correct drill bit for the size of each different
Rawl plug and try not to wobble the drill whilst going into the wall, if the
hole becomes larger than the rawl plug then fill it with polyfilla and push
the Rawl plug in and wait for the PF to harden before screwing a screw in.

the hole size needs to so tight that you have to use small hammer to tap the
Rawl plug home. :-)

HTH

Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up falling
down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!

--
If the wall material is crumbly and you end up with an oversize hole a trick
that I use is to vacuum out the dust from the hole, fill the hole with a
quantity of hot melt glue, and then push the plug into that. Let the glue
set and bingo - a very strong fixing.

Henry

In article , "Peter Hucker"
says...
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


If the plaster's dodgy you need to screw into the masonry behind it.
If it's plaster and lath you need to screw into the framing.

"ben" wrote
however you should use the correct drill bit for the size of each
different
Rawl plug and try not to wobble the drill whilst going into the wall, if
the
hole becomes larger than the rawl plug then fill it with polyfilla and
push
the Rawl plug in and wait for the PF to harden before screwing a screw in.

the hole size needs to so tight that you have to use small hammer to tap
the
Rawl plug home. :-)


I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with different screw
sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never found - even with a Google
search - a table showing the relationships. Does anybody have one, please?

Barbara

Listed here
http://www.artex-rawlplug.com/pdf/Plastic%20Plugs.pdf

"Gel" wrote in message
ups.com...
Listed here
http://www.artex-rawlplug.com/pdf/Plastic%20Plugs.pdf

Amazing how many people wobble the drill!

Henry wrote:
If the wall material is crumbly and you end up with an oversize hole a
trick that I use is to vacuum out the dust from the hole, fill the hole
with a quantity of hot melt glue, and then push the plug into that. Let
the glue set and bingo - a very strong fixing.

That sounds very dodgy, because HMG is soft and will creep under
mechanical load. It might not happen if the screws are pulled up tight,
so that friction prevents the bracket from sliding down the wall, but
still...


Coming back to the OP's problem, the main possibilities seem to be:

1. You may be habitually using fixings that are too small or short for
the load. Remember that the plug needs to go some way into brick or hard
blockwork, and the screw needs to go far enough in to expand the plug
and force it to grip. The plaster is no help at all - think of it as
unwanted 'packing', that the screw and plug have to reach through before
they can do their job.

2. There may be something drastically wrong with your drilling
technique, eg you're letting the drill move around so that the holes are
always conical. Alternatively, your hammer drill may be under-powered,
which always tempts you towards problem 1.

3. Maybe you're habitually using a drill bit that is too large for the
plug. As already pointed out, the plug should be a tight enough fit to
need a light tap with the hammer to get it in. Then the screw expands
the plug and makes it grip.

4. You're using those undersized, highly tapered plugs that come with
things you've bought. Don't - they're invariably useless!

If it's either of the last two, get your own red and brown plugs, and a
set of the right-sized masonry bits. This information is moulded on the
plastic tabs to which the plugs are attached. Note that each size of
plug can need more than one size of bit, depending on the diameter of
the screw.


--
Ian White

Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Peter Hucker"
says...
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


[snip]
If it's plaster and lath you need to screw into the framing.

I assume you mean studding? not very satisfactory if he's hanging something
in the middle of a wall and there is studding either side of the center.

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 03:40:03 +0100,
wrote:

I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with
different screw sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never
found - even with a Google search - a table showing the
relationships. Does anybody have one, please?

The ones I have have the screw and drill sizes moulded into the
plastic strip that you break an individual plug from... Indeed the
hole(s) are a drill size guide as well.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:37:45 +0100, Peter Hucker wrote:

Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!

DON'T SHOUT!

Make sure that a significant length of the plug is in the substrate
not the plaster. Plaster does not have any strength. The plugs and
screws generally supplied with stuff are not long enough. With 1/2" of
plaster you need at least 1 1/4" screws/plugs.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article , "ben"
says...
Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Peter Hucker"
says...
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


[snip]
If it's plaster and lath you need to screw into the framing.

I assume you mean studding?

Same difference. Kinda.

not very satisfactory if he's hanging something
in the middle of a wall and there is studding either side of the center.

What do you suggest?

Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "ben"
says...
Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Peter Hucker"
says...
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS
PLEASE!


[snip]
If it's plaster and lath you need to screw into the framing.

I assume you mean studding?

Same difference. Kinda.

not very satisfactory if he's hanging something
in the middle of a wall and there is studding either side of the
center.

What do you suggest?

Smallest butterfly bolts he can find.

"Peter Hucker" wrote in message
news
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up falling
down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!

Depends if your walls are plasterboard or solid brick/block. Solid
brick/block you need rawlplugs and drill bit of the right size - roughly
yellow for small loads 5mm drill, red for medium 6mm drill, brown for heavy
7mm drill. As mentioned, you should need to tap the plug in with a hammer -
if not it ain't gonna hold!

Plasterboard needs a specific fixing - check you local DIY store. Wickes
have multi purpose brick/plasterboard plugs - but I've never tried them.

Dave

That sounds very dodgy,

No actually it's not.

HTH

Henry

In article ,
wrote:
I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with different
screw sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never found - even with
a Google search - a table showing the relationships. Does anybody have
one, please?

They're marked on the 'frame' the plugs come attached to. You use the
correct sized drill for each colour of plug, and then each plug accepts a
range of screw sizes.

--
*The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Peter Hucker wrote:
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!

fixings that come with things are almost always far too small.

How come abbreviated is such a long word?

dno

NT

Peter Hucker wrote:
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


I always find Plasplugs good, everything else is a disaster.

Phil

"P.R.Brady" wrote in message
...
Peter Hucker wrote:
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


I always find Plasplugs good, everything else is a disaster.


Agreed, they always seem to work where others have failed. The only other
thing I used to like was Philplug. You drilled the hole, put a chunk of
this white fluffy stuff in the palm of your hand, wetted it (uncouth types
like me spat on it), mixed and rolled it into a cigar shape then stuffed it
into the hole using the tool provided which also had a point at the other
end to make a pilot hole. Followed up with the screw and it always held
beautifully. I haven't seen it for years, I believe there was some
asbestos in the mix which got it banned, although I would have thought that
some other ingredient could have been found.

--
Keith Willcocks
(If you can't laugh at life, it ain't worth living!)

"Keith Willcocks" wrote in message
...

"P.R.Brady" wrote in message
...
Peter Hucker wrote:
Whenever I use these blasted things, whatever I've hung up ends up
falling down, pulling with it half a tonne of plaster. TIPS PLEASE!


I always find Plasplugs good, everything else is a disaster.


Agreed, they always seem to work where others have failed. The only
other thing I used to like was Philplug. You drilled the hole, put a
chunk of this white fluffy stuff in the palm of your hand, wetted it
(uncouth types like me spat on it), mixed and rolled it into a cigar
shape then stuffed it into the hole using the tool provided which also had
a point at the other end to make a pilot hole. Followed up with the
screw and it always held beautifully. I haven't seen it for years, I
believe there was some asbestos in the mix which got it banned, although I
would have thought that some other ingredient could have been found.

--
Keith Willcocks
(If you can't laugh at life, it ain't worth living!)


I think that the old fashioned wood screws were better as they were more
tapered than the new super efficient ones. The new ones tend to cut a thread
into the plug - the old screws used to force the plug apart to make it
tighter.

Any observations on this theory?

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:
I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with different
screw sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never found - even with
a Google search - a table showing the relationships. Does anybody have
one, please?

They're marked on the 'frame' the plugs come attached to. You use the
correct sized drill for each colour of plug, and then each plug accepts a
range of screw sizes.

Thanks, but they are not on the ones I "inherited" from my Dad. If they
were I wouldn't be asking.

Barbara

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 03:40:03 +0100, Barbara wrote:

"ben" wrote
however you should use the correct drill bit for the size of each
different
Rawl plug and try not to wobble the drill whilst going into the wall, if
the
hole becomes larger than the rawl plug then fill it with polyfilla and
push
the Rawl plug in and wait for the PF to harden before screwing a screw in.

the hole size needs to so tight that you have to use small hammer to tap
the
Rawl plug home. :-)


I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with different screw
sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never found - even with a Google
search - a table showing the relationships. Does anybody have one, please?

This depends on the manufacturer.
Some just use one colour (often grey or brown) for their whole range.
Often the size is marked on the plug.

If they are colour coded then yellow one tend to be 5mm
red ones 6mm, brown ones 7 , orange ones 8 and green ones 10.

The 6mm is by far the most common and will be right for most
'fixing up' applications.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

In article ,
wrote:
They're marked on the 'frame' the plugs come attached to. You use the
correct sized drill for each colour of plug, and then each plug
accepts a range of screw sizes.

Thanks, but they are not on the ones I "inherited" from my Dad. If they
were I wouldn't be asking.

Then I wouldn't guarantee they stick to the colour convention.

If you're not sure, simply buy some new ones which are so marked. They're
not exactly expensive. Compared to whatever falling off the wall and
bringing half the plaster down with it.

--
*A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 18 Jul 2005 06:44:28 -0700, wrote:

fixings that come with things are almost always far too small.

Although they can work if you drill far enough, ram the tiny plug right
into the bottom of the hole and use a long enough screws. I'd agree
that you almost always need to replace the screws though,

wrote:
"ben" wrote

however you should use the correct drill bit for the size of each
different
Rawl plug and try not to wobble the drill whilst going into the wall, if
the
hole becomes larger than the rawl plug then fill it with polyfilla and
push
the Rawl plug in and wait for the PF to harden before screwing a screw in.

the hole size needs to so tight that you have to use small hammer to tap
the
Rawl plug home. :-)



I understand that different coloured Rawlplugs are used with different screw
sizes and different drill sizes, but I've never found - even with a Google
search - a table showing the relationships. Does anybody have one, please?

Barbara


Hi when you buy raw plugs, they come in a plastic strip, on the side of
the strip there is a size guide for the screws & drill size, = to the
size of the plugs you have bought, ok dead easy drill away !!