Paint Cracking when using self-drive plasterboard fixings

jon.london

My house has just been painted and now I need to put things up like paintings and picture frames, some of which need to go on plasterboard

I've been using self-drive plasterboard fixings for some lighter items which work great but the problem is the paint is cracking when screwing the fixings into the plasterboard...

Is there a way I can stop this happening or any fixings for light items I can use which won't make the paint crack?

Ebe_Scrooge

For lightweight items I just use these : http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-plastic-plasterboard-plugs-pack-of-100/254345_BQ.prd


Drill an appropriately-sized hole, pop in a plug and screw into that. For anything with a bit of weight to it I never trust any type of plasterboard fixing, I always screw through into the studs behind. But for lightweight items these are fine.

marc81

For light items you could try Command strips? No mess that way.

jon.london

The items I am hanging are a bit too heavy for Command Strips, but they could come in handy for other jobs

Yes, I should have used the plasterboard plugs for the couple of items I've already hung up - Didn't foresee the cracking of paint with the self drive fixings!! Makes for annoying touch up work which could have been avoided - Oh well, lesson learned!!

martinsurrey

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

For anything with a bit of weight to it I never trust any type of plasterboard fixing, I always screw through into the studs behind.

Great fixings

these are the bees knees.

They need massive holes and the more time you spend making sure they are attached correctly the better they are, but I can hang on 2 of them without worry (and have done).

Ebe_Scrooge

martinsurrey wrote: »

Great fixings

these are the bees knees.

Thanks, they look pretty sturdy for sure.


My worry, though, is always this : Whatever fixings you use, the weight is still being taken by the plasterboard itself. And plasterboard is a pretty weak material. I appreciate that the correct fixings will spread the weight over a large area, but even so ....


Probably just me being paranoid !


But thanks for your post - my house is timber-framed so every wall is plasterboard, hence I'm always interested in finding decent fixings :T

lstar337

marc81 wrote: »

For light items you could try Command strips? No mess that way.

I wouldn't say 'no mess'. If the paint is thin or weak then command strips will still pull it off.

This happened 3 times in our new build because the paint is so thin and rubbish.

martinsurrey

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Probably just me being paranoid !

Paranoid, but not unreasonably so!

they are good, but as you say its still plasterboard, as long as you don't skimp and don't attempt to do gymnastics on the resulting hanging (they work best with vertical load, close to the wall), they are fine.

I've put 50kg mirrors up on 2 of the smaller ones and years later, not a wobble or crack.

Head_The_Ball

jon.london wrote: »

My house has just been painted and now I need to put things up like paintings and picture frames, some of which need to go on plasterboard

I've been using self-drive plasterboard fixings for some lighter items which work great but the problem is the paint is cracking when screwing the fixings into the plasterboard......

Our 2004 built house is stud and plasterboard.

I hang light weight pictures using panel pins or small nails gently hammered in at about 35 degrees (perpendicular to the wall).

I use one nail for a very light picture, and two pins for something a bit heavier. I only drill and use a plasterboard fitting for quite heavy items.

Just one nail will support quite a lot of weight and there is no damage to the wall other than a nail sized hole.

We have a lot of pictures on the walls and in six years nothing has ever fallen off.

Jlabriola

I used a product recently there, I will check the name and get back to you