When doing any type of fastenings especially to walls and ceilings, there is a lot to be taken into consideration. Therefore, when fastening between studs or joists, you’ll have to either provide the necessary framing by bridging the gaps with cross members or, for hanging relatively light shelving and other lightweight fastening jobs, use special hollow-wall fasteners.
Hollow-wall fasteners
When fastening directly to studs or joists is out of the question, select a fastener that will umbrella out or expand once pushed into the wall or ceiling. Three types of hollow-wall fasteners listed below:
Spreading anchors
These are applied in two ways: one is carefully driven into the wall; the other is pushed into a hole. Once inserted, they both work in the same way-turn the screw clockwise until fairly tight (permanently anchoring the sleeve), remove the screw, push it through a hole in the cabinet or fixture you’re hanging and screw it snugly back into the sleeve. If abandoned, the sleeve must be set slightly below the wall’s surface and the hole then filled.
Toggle bolts
This bolt requires drilling a hole large enough to push the wings through, so they’re meant for permanently fastening fixtures that will hide the holes. Insert the screw through the cabinet or fixture first, spin the wings part way on, squeeze them together and push them through the wall’s hole. Once inside the wall, the wings spring open. Then tighten the bolt (don’t over tighten). If for some reason you need to remove the bolt, the wings will fall inside the wall. (A gravity-action toggle bolt is basically the same, but when pushed through a wall’s hole, the sleeve drops into position.)
Neoprene anchors
Although not as strong as the other two fasteners, are versatile enough to use in both hollow and masonry walls. They require a relatively small hole and are removable. Drill a hole (slightly deeper than the sleeve’s length in masonry), insert the sleeve, position the cabinet or fixture, push the screw through it into the sleeve and tighten while holding the fixture against the sleeve to keep it from turning.
Masonry fasteners
Fiber, neoprene, vinyl and lead anchors receive screws and bolts in masonry. (Lead anchors are the strongest.) Another type of masonry fastener is the stud anchor. This does not receive a screw or bolt-instead, it leaves a threaded shaft protruding from the wall, to which you add a nut.
When using a masonry fastener, simple drill the hole at the same diameter as the anchor and slightly deeper than its length. A carbide bit in a one half inch electric drill is best; drilling with a hammer and star drill takes considerably more patience. If you use a star drill, mark the exact center of the hole and hold the drill firmly while making the first five or six hammer taps. Once the hole begins to form, loosen your grip and let the drill tip dance a little as you strike. Use hundreds of light taps rather than dozens of crushing blows. Always wear eye protection when drilling masonry.
Once the hole is drilled, push in the anchor shield and insert the screw or bolt through the cabinet or fixture, screwing it into the anchor. If an anchor eventually works loose, discard it and use another.
Spreading stud anchors are very simple to install. Push the entire device through a hole in the cabinet or fixture and then into a hole in the masonry. As you tighten down the nut, the anchor expands in the wall.
Follow these steps to fastening on walls and ceilings and your job will be a lot easier for you.
Sources:
Smith, Carroll (1990), Carroll Smith’s Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, ISBN 0879384069, http://books.google.com/books?id=A81HmmRCN7YC .
