Can a masonry drill bit be used on plasterboard??

dumpallhere

I am thinking of using hollow wall anchors to fix IKEA PAX (~90Kgs) and TRYSIL (~122 kg) wardrobes to the wall.

The drill bit set I have has HSS / Wood / Masonry drill bits from 3mm upto 6.5mm only. If I use M4 or M5 anchors, I will need 8mm or 10mm holes. So wanted to check if I can buy masonry drill bits and use them on plasterboard as well? Or should I buy HSS bits instead for plasterboard?

Also, I have read the general advice that it is better to drill a smaller hole than the required diameter. So, what size drill bit should I use for M4 (8mm) and M5 (10mm) anchor?


TIA.

fordfocus-chav-car

You do not need any drill new drill bits.
Just use a screw driver to make the hole a bit larger.

jcb208

Masonry drill will be most suitable for the job

southcoastrgi

I hope you are just holding them against the wall & not hanging them off of it

HSS bits are for metal & plastic

mttylad

It would be better if you can find a joist to screw into.

dumpallhere

southcoastrgi wrote: »

I hope you are just holding them against the wall

Yes . The wardrobes stand firmly on the floor ~1cm off the wall (skirting).

Avoriaz

I assume that you are attaching the wardrobes to the wall with right angle brackets at the top to prevent them toppling forward.

Find out where the studs are and use them instead of just the plasterboard. Use wood screws sufficiently long enough to go well into the joists. You won't need a rawlplug or anchor. Just drill through the plaster with a masonry bit and drill a small pilot hole for the wood screw with a wood bit. Don't drill the stud so wide that the screw doesn't grip. It should take a reasonable amount of effort to screw in the screws.

Make sure there are no pipes or cables there.

Unless the wardrobes are very narrow, you should be able to find at least two joists to use.

If the wardrobe comes with brackets already in place that don't line up with studs then reposition them or get new ones.

The brackets won't be easily visible so they don't have to be equally spaced or look elegant.

googler

If the wardrobe is sitting on carpet, and you want a fitting to stop it toppling, use a flexible one such as the braided one supplied with the Ikea stuff.

If you use a solid metal bracket fixed to only the plasterboard, when you fill the wardrobe, it will settle into the carpet, and move relative to the fixing point, and it will probably rupture the plasterboard around it. If you fix it to a joist or batten, it will strain against the fitting.

This is based on previous personal experience with Ikea bookshelves and a lot of LPs.

You have to leave some play or flexibility if the unit is on carpet or other flooring which can be compressed under the extra weight of the wardrobe contents.

keystone

I'm really struggling to work out why several posters are advising you to fix the robe to the ceiling or the floor. Ideally you'll be fixing it to the wall.

Whats behind the plasterboard? If its a stud wall then yes you should find some timber to fix to. If its a brick/block wall with plasterboard D&D'd to it then drill right through the board into the brick/block and use a long fixing.

Cheers

dumpallhere

Apologies for the late response ...

Maybe some have suggested fixing to ceiling / joist because I wasn't clear in the opening post that the wardrobe doesn't go up to the ceiling ... there is about 25cm-30cm gap between the top of the wardrobe and the room ceiling.

The PAX wardrobe was to be placed in a 105cm wide space between a door and room/wall corner. Being 100cm wide wardrobe there was no margin to move the wardrobe to a position where I could fix it to a stud. On the other side of the wall is the en-suite shower (no plumbing or wires), so the wall is definitely plasterboard on both sides. Surprisingly, I could not find a stud in this 105cm of plasterboard wall!!

The wardrobe has two pre-fabricated holes inside on either sides for wall fixing. Right now, it is supported on one side only by a wall anchor as I have managed to destroy 8mm dia of plasterbarod at the back of the other prefabricated hole trying to fix a wall anchor using a screwdriver :eek: (and not the setting tool).

Likewise, the TRYSIL wardrobe also was to be fixed in a tight place with very little margin to position the wardrobe so as to fix it to a stud. This one is fixed to the wall using a L-bracket (provided) and a wall anchor.

I used a 7mm masonry drill bit and M4 x 40 hollow wall anchors.

Thanks all.