Which wall plug

[slider]

Need to hand a mirror on an external wall (plasterboard dot n dabbed onto blockwork). Mirror is fairly heavy, approx 17 kgs. What type of wall plug would you recommend to hang the mirror.

TIA

[NT]

Screw into the blocks behind the PB, so long screws and standard plastic wallplugs. I try to avoid hanging things on PB, as it just isnt very strong.

NT

[The Medway Handyman]

As above, but with Rawlplug 'Uno' plugs (brown). Brilliant things.

[Andy Dingley]

Agreed, those are really good. Don't spin in the holes when being installed, expansion from the tip first, just where you need it.

Only risk I've had with these is that they're very soft polyethylene (?) and there's some risk of pulling the screw from the plug. If you're really loading the big ones I still prefer the pale grey Fischer nylon plugs.

[The Medway Handyman]

That might be something to do with the type of screw. I use SF Quicksilver, but Ive noticed that SF Turbo Gold don't grip well in plugs - prolly cos the cut into them too much.

[js.b1]

Fischer SX are very forgiving - 4 way expansion to grip.

SX6 cover just about everything, SX8 & SX10 for 8 & 10mm respectively. SX seem to go "very flush" in most materials without difficulty and hold the "opening" better than UX.

Bizarrely Screwfix does not do SX, just polythene which in some bricks just pull out - perhaps that is the idea :-)

A reminder: when drilling a wall, do not clear the hole out with a drill bit in your fingers (cables).

[pcb1962]

I use the Fischer grey plugs from SF for everything and have yet to have one rotate or pull out in any material. Probably helps that I always drill on the tight side, sometimes need a good whack with the hammer to get them in flush. I'll look out for the SX when I need some more.

[The Medway Handyman]

Uno plugs work in everything, block, brick, plasterboard etc. Do the SX & SF ones do that?

[Andy Dingley]

On 9 Nov, 19:31, "The Medway Handyman"

They'll grip, but I do find they're more prone than softer plugs to bursting a block if it's made of crap.

[Tim W]

Andy Dingley wibbled on Monday 09 November 2009 14:38

Agreed on both counts. The UNOs are quite nice general purpose plugs in a good range of sizes.

For anything more demanding, it's pretty much guaranteed that Fischer have a well developed solution.

These are very good IME for demanding high load fixings:

$MART-HK-$MKAT-HK-$MPG-G1-$MZG-F1-1&ekat=$EKAT-HK-EN(Fischer SX)

I also find Fischer frame fixings are second to none too.

[Tim W]

js.b1 wibbled on Monday 09 November 2009 18:42

Agreed - I noticed that too - that they go nice and flush.

[Tim W]

The Medway Handyman wibbled on Monday 09 November 2009 19:31

You want the UX plugs for that:

$MART-HK-$MKAT-HK-$MPG-G1-$MZG-F451-2&ekat=$EKAT-HK-EN

[fred]

In article , Tim W writes

from the surface gives them an extra gripping point as long as you get the hole just right.

I've got a lot of thick old plaster over brick on my walls so prefer a long plug like the Fischers to reach through and fix to the brick rather than ash filled plaster. UNOs are a bit short for that kind of job.

[John]

I'm with Dave on this - Use the old fashioned screws as the root diameter is more tapered than the modern screws. You want the 'wedging' action from a screw and not a thread cutting action from a modern, more parallel screw.

[pcb1962]

I tend to use these in plasterboard where there's going to be any load:

're rock solid so long as you never need to remove the shelf or whatever, because if you attempt to undo a screw that's been done up tight the plug will unscrew instead. I usually smother them in pva before screwing them in, which seems to help a bit.

[Frank Erskine]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:08 +0000, Tim W had this to say:

What's the matter with matchsticks? All this stuff about Uno, SX, SF and UX - ain't it all just sales blurb?

Whatever happened to personal ingenuity regarding fixing methods? This _is_ supposed to be a d-i-y newsgroup innit.

[Dave Liquorice]

least you have just have neat clean hole in the board and the load spread over a reasonable area on the back of it. Those screw in types you just have the little bits of plaster in the thread itself holding them in.

[Tim W]

Frank Erskine wibbled on Tuesday 10 November 2009 00:48

Just saying...

Personally, I mine my own asbestos to make putty plugs

;->

[Andy Dingley]

No. Matchsticks have two problems: they're slow to fit and also while they work fine in solid brick, they're poor in crumbly or perforated materials. Even the good old asbestos Rawlputty (fine stuff!) doesn't work on a cellular block with deliberate holes moulded into it.

If you're a DIYer, you're mostly going to be plugging holes in the same house, with only a couple of different wall constructions to worry about. Find a plug that works and it'll probably work for everything. If you work on different sites though, you'll see the advantages of a dedicated plug (and that probably means Fischer) once you encounter an office building with some bizarre construction made of stacked Toblerone bars or something. Then you go anywhere commercial (or housing association!) and fixings start having to be metallic and fireproof. Read the Fischer pages, as pictures are clearer that text.

I _mostly_ use cheap parallel polyethylene plugs with an anti-rotation barb. These are copies of the original Fischer S plug from the '70s. At present I'm using Tesco own-brand, because you can't beat 25p for

400! Low grade plastics or tapered plugs though are reasons to run away.

Just what is the point in tapered wallplugs? Likewise trying to use traditional tapered woodscrews in them? All your expansion, if any, is going to be at the useless shallow end.

For Fischer plugs I mostly use the simple S, just because it's a tougher plastic version of everyday cheap plugs. The SX are good in funny moulded blocks with holes in. The UX replace the old squashy rubber tubes for clamping to the back of things and are the closest thing to a truly universal wallplug. The FUs I haven't used, as every simple two-part expander I've used like that has been weak and risky for tearing one leg off. Although Fischer's are probably better than most, I still wouldn't trust that approach.

[The Medway Handyman]

Have you tried the Rawlplug Uno? A universal plug, but a fraction of the cost of Fischer.