Cutting rawl plugs down to size

TELLIT01

Assuming this is a first floor bedroom in a house of conventional construction, can't you get into the attic to check what you are hitting.  If you can only drill 3/4 the length of a rawlplug you certainly haven't drilled right through a joist and hit something above that level.

Jeepers_Creepers

maurice28 said:

I've screwed a hole for the rawl plug for the hook to screw into, but can't drill all the way into the ceiling as about halfway I hit something too hard for the drill to go through (using a masonry drill bit) and I didn't want to push too hard in case it drills through something it really shouldn't.

The hole is about deep enough for three quarters of the rawl plug and I can screw the hook in that way - it holds but it isn't in the whole way. I just wondered, is it possible/advisable to cut a rawl plug so it is shorter to fit the hole and if so, is it best to cut from the top/nose of the plug, or the bottom?

What sort of drill bit did you use to start with - a normal 'jobber'? Did you then change over to the masonry bit when the going got tough, or did you start off with the masonry?

The standard 'jobber' should have gone through the plasterboard with ease, and if you then hit a timber joist, it would continue through that too with very little effort - it's what they are designed for.

A masonry bit - even tho' it can be hammered through concrete quite easily - is actually rubbish at going through timber as it's blunt!

So, if you started off with the masonry bit thinking it was the best choice (soz - it wasn't), then there's a good chance (fingers crossed) that you have simply gone through the plaster layer (peasy - even a screwdriver will do it...) with no issue, but then you've struck a timber joist, which the masonry bit will actually struggle with, especially if you are not 'hammering' it in.

Can you recall - did you have the hammer action going on your dill? If so, when the drill bit stuck the hard surface, what sound did it make? Was it a muffled noise - brrrrrrr - or hard and grating - grrrrr?! (I'm trying to work out if you hit timber (muffled) or metal/ stone (hard).

If you did hit 'timber', then if the screw of your hook is long enough, you should be able to screw it straight in there, and that's by far your best form of purchase.

Anyhoo, if you don't want to do any more exploring and/or deeper drilling - probably a good idea - then the best way to sort what you have is to fill that hole and start again. A simpler way could be to cut the plug down to size first, and then bed it in the hole with a blob of filler - smooth it all off level. Once set, screw.

Or, since it's a lightweight canopy (ah, I recall putting these up too once upon a time... :-( ), you could almost certainly get away with using a self-adhesive hook - one of these peel-and-stick. It should be strong enough - until someone accidentally pulls on the canopy...

Interesting comments about which end of the plug to cut! If you look at the plug, the top end is usually larger so allow the screw to get in there quickly and make purchase. Then the bottom end is more solid and is designed to splay out more, and that does most of the actually 'holding'. So the answer to your Q is - it depends on how long the plug is compared to the depth of the hole :-) Ie, you don't want to cut off ALL of either end, but you want to retain a bit of both.

Ideally, you want some of the wider top bit, and definitely a fair amount of the bottom solid bit. Measure the hole depth properly, and set this against the plug - see how much needs trimming off each end :-) To cut, place it on a wooden block or similar, and bring a craft (Stanley) knife down on it, held in both hands. Make sure your hands and thighs are nowhere in the vicinity (you know what I mean...). Ie, think through were the blade will go if the plug or block slips. Or, best way - use side0cutters like wire strippers - that'll make easy meat of it.

Next Q - how long is the hook's screw thread compared to the hole...?