Choosing size for masonry drilling

neilmcl

My guess is that's a 5mm pan head screw, do you know the length?

If it is 5mm then 6mm wall plugs and a 6mm drill bit. Get the Fischer brand, don't bother with anything else.

On a general point it really annoys me when manufacturers of products bundle fixings without telling you the size of them and simply say use the appropriate drill bit. It would be really helpful to do so if you told us the size of the fixings in the first place.

FreshlyCutFlowers

Norman_Castle said:

Is there a screw size gauge with your plugs?

Doesn't look like it. These were recommended at screwfix. 

The screw is 1 and a quarter inch including the head, or just over 3 cm from under the head to screw tip. There was no mention of size radius or length on the package it their website unfortunately.

Really appreciate all the help. Feeling a bit useless for being blocked by something as basic as this but hopefully I'll learn for next time..! 

grumbler

That's what you need - just measure it approximately with a ruler.

If the screw is 5mm, then, IMO, you need at least 6mm drill bit and red plugs. 7mm and brown will do too.

Section62

FreshlyCutFlowers said:

Doesn't look like it. These were recommended at screwfix.

The screw is 1 and a quarter inch including the head, or just over 3 cm from under the head to screw tip. There was no mention of size radius or length on the package it their website unfortunately.

Really appreciate all the help. Feeling a bit useless for being blocked by something as basic as this but hopefully I'll learn for next time..! 

If the drill bit in the picture is 5.5mm then the thread diameter is about 5mm - which in old terms would be a 10 gauge.

For that size you need to use the brown (7mm) plugs.

You could probably force a 10 gauge screw into a red plug, but you risk cracking the wall, or more likely with the low-quality screws provided with stuff, shear the screw head off leaving the threaded part stuck in the wall.

As per FreeBear's post, pilot with a 3mm drill, then drill to size.  Personally I would use a drill 0.5mm smaller than the 'official' size, so 6.5mm for a brown plug.

Provided you take care with the drilling (i.e. pilot, then enlarge) the cheap unbranded plugs from either Toolstation or Screwfix work absolutely fine in almost all situations.  The magic fairy dust and 'wings' offered by the brands simply aren't necessary if you have the patience to do the drilling properly. https://www.toolstation.com/wall-plug/p76808

Again, personal taste, but I think the 30mm brown rawlplug ones you've got are a bit on the short side to be useful.  You want the plug to expand and 'bite' into the wall, not the plaster finish.  You can overcome the shortness by doing as FreeBear suggests and drill deeper and tap the plug into the hole so it ends up about 10mm below the surface.

As a rule, I tend to put the screws that come with stuff into a box marked "might be useful one day" and instead use screws of a known quality (i.e. ones that don't shear or have soft heads).  In this case that is a problem as the supplied screws are panhead, which implies the gate is designed to use them rather than countersunk, and buying a box of reasonable quality panhead screws for just one job isn't very MSE.

Can you post pictures of the parts of the gate where the screws will be going, or a link to the suppliers website? If it is suitable for using countersunk screws then investing in a box of 8 x 1 1/2" (as per southcoastrg's post) could save you later annoyance and frustration.

Norman_Castle

Yellow uno drill 5mm, screws 3-4.5mm. Red uno drill 6mm, screws 3.5-5mm. Information taken from euro hanger card supplied with my uno plugs. No idea about the brown plugs, is it written on the back of the pack?

I'd use a red plug, if that doesn't work you can enlarge the hole if necessary and use brown.

FreeBear

Norman_Castle said: Yellow uno drill 5mm, screws 3-4.5mm. Red uno drill 6mm, screws 3.5-5mm. Information taken from euro hanger card supplied with my uno plugs. No idea about the brown plugs, is it written on the back of the pack?

Brown - 4-6mm screw, 7mm hole.

neilmcl

FreshlyCutFlowers said:

Norman_Castle said:

Is there a screw size gauge with your plugs?

Doesn't look like it. These were recommended at screwfix. 

The screw is 1 and a quarter inch including the head, or just over 3 cm from under the head to screw tip. There was no mention of size radius or length on the package it their website unfortunately.

Really appreciate all the help. Feeling a bit useless for being blocked by something as basic as this but hopefully I'll learn for next time..! 

As mentioned, the screw looks like 5mm x 30mm so you'll need to use the brown plugs with a 7mm drill bit.

FreshlyCutFlowers

Section62 said:

Can you post pictures of the parts of the gate where the screws will be going, or a link to the suppliers website? If it is suitable for using countersunk screws then investing in a box of 8 x 1 1/2" (as per southcoastrg's post) could save you later annoyance and frustration.

a screw goes in 4 of these oval holes 
https://www.babydan.com/products/safety-gates/safety-gates-for-top-of-stairs/babydan-flex-xl-black

I have some other things to screw as well but the baby gate is my main worry as I want to be confident in it being secure, otherwise I'll always worry.
Wouldn't mind buying some screws as they can be used elsewhere in the house too! 

theoretica

When uncertain it is often worth finding a scrap and trying out drill, screws etc in it.  I don't imagine you have a spare plastered wall, but maybe you have a brick or something.  Hold it firm before drilling into it and always eye protection.

neilmcl

FreshlyCutFlowers said:

Section62 said:

Can you post pictures of the parts of the gate where the screws will be going, or a link to the suppliers website? If it is suitable for using countersunk screws then investing in a box of 8 x 1 1/2" (as per southcoastrg's post) could save you later annoyance and frustration.

a screw goes in 4 of these oval holes 
https://www.babydan.com/products/safety-gates/safety-gates-for-top-of-stairs/babydan-flex-xl-black

I have some other things to screw as well but the baby gate is my main worry as I want to be confident in it being secure, otherwise I'll always worry.
Wouldn't mind buying some screws as they can be used elsewhere in the house too! 

I can see the use for pan head screws with this. As mentioned the brown plugs with a 7mm drill will be perfectly adequate. As far as buying more screws for other things around the house, well that all depends what you're going to be using them for and the depth you're needing to drill. I can get away with most internal hanging with 30mm screws and red plugs.

As I mentioned earlier I'd always go with Fischer plugs, particularly their new Duopower ones which can be used in pretty much any application. The issue I have with those Uno plugs and similar is the lip at the head of the plug which means it'll be difficult to have the plug slightly below the wall surface if needed.