plasterboard walls

almeria1

the walls in my son's flat I find are plasterboard. Can I fix bathroom cabinets, mirrors etc using the screws,plugs supplied with these items or is there a particular type of fixing I should use ?

phill99

No. The ones supplied are normally rubbish.

Try Rawlplug 'Uno' fixings. They are an excellent plasterboard fixing.

almeria1

ta very much

cyclonebri1

You need to consider the weight of what you are fixing, some items require a simple screw in ally "adaptor", but for heavier items, a shelf say, butterfly type fixings are needed.

lstar337

Or just look for the batten and fix to that.

Kiran

look up hollow wall fixings on screwfix. They are designed for that purpose.

Ebe_Scrooge

Lightweight items will be fine if you use the appropriate fixings, as mentioned above. But for anything remotely heavy you really need to be finding the studs and screwing into them. Otherwise, with the best fixings in the world, the weight is still being borne by the plasterboard which ain't strong stuff.

dodgydl

Personally I like to use snap toggles but they are pretty hard to get hold of (few ebay sellers)
The metal hollow wall anchors also seem to be pretty good.

As previously mentioned, depends what you are putting up and the weight. If you said would I put a small / medium mirror up using these type of fixings going into just the plasterboard then I prob would.
If however I was hanging a £1000+ flat screen or a big kitchen cupboard then I would always try to find the studs.

Tip for finding studs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSUsTfehUKY

Jonesya

Internal plasterboard walls aren't too bad for lightish stuff, as other people have mentioned there's several different types of fittings available. Worth having a look at Toolstation and Screwfix though as the sheds can be pricey for fancy fixings:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Screws+Fixings/Cavity+Fixings/d90/sd1930

I find the most difficult task is fixing heavy objects to the external walls through the plasterboard, mine has 1+ inch gap in some places between the plasterboard and the concrete blockwork which makes it difficult to transfer the load across the brickwork. I end up using heavy brown plugs pushed through into the blockwork, coupled with very long, heavy gauge screws for fixing across the gap.

Any one got any better suggestions for the later case, other than using battens or blocks of wood mounted onto the blockwork ?

cyclonebri1

Jonesya wrote: »

Internal plasterboard walls aren't too bad for lightish stuff, as other people have mentioned there's several different types of fittings available. Worth having a look at Toolstation and Screwfix though as the sheds can be pricey for fancy fixings:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Screws+Fixings/Cavity+Fixings/d90/sd1930

I find the most difficult task is fixing heavy objects to the external walls through the plasterboard, mine has 1+ inch gap in some places between the plasterboard and the concrete blockwork which makes it difficult to transfer the load across the brickwork. I end up using heavy brown plugs pushed through into the blockwork, coupled with very long, heavy gauge screws for fixing across the gap.

Any one got any better suggestions for the later case, other than using battens or blocks of wood mounted onto the blockwork ?

Yes, frame fixers knocked in flush with the plasterboard are a much better way, but don't install them through the item you are fixing.

The void behind dab an d dash drylining is always an issue, but as you realise getting into the blockwork is the secret, frame fixers just stop screw spreading the hole in the board