How Do I Use a Heavy Duty Redidriva

[Pablo]

I've got myself some Heavy Duty RediDrivas from screwfix. How do I use them? Do I drill a hole first then screw in the base then the screw?

[BillR]

see the point on one end of the swivel bit? it cuts its own hole. The ones I bought had instructions ...

[stefek.zaba]

You don't have to - the pointed bit on the end will cut its own hole. But I find it handy to drill a pilot hole with a small (5mm say) masonry bit. Firstly, I find a masonry bit more controllable (no hammer action for plasterboard, of course!) than the RediDriva; secondly it lets me be sure what's behind the plasterboard - empty space, in which case the RediDriva is the fixing I want, or a stud, in which case a longish woodscrew straight into the wood is more appropriate. (You can feel the difference right away between the masonry bit going through the plasterboard and coming into free space, versus hitting wood behind - since masonry bits aren't sharp enough to go through wood easily). Don't push hard on your drill if you do this - you don't want to tear big pieces of plaster away from the back of the plasterboard as the drill comes through, since you want the plasterboard as intact as possible to hold the RediDriva.

HTH, Stefek