Bodged up plasterboard fixings when trying to put up a shelf

NorthernKitty

Am close to tears (and tipping 'over the edge' if you get my drift) as non-stop frustration with DIY , broken stuff, etc in my new house and I need someone to help me think straight, please!

I have been trying to put up an Ikea shelf (2 wooden brackets) and have spent hours (I have dyscalculia so I mean hours!) measuring and getting drill holes in correct places. I have then tried to use 4 of the metal expanding-at-the-back Rawlplug Interset hollow wall fixings.  The ones that you screw in first, which draws the metal umbrella spokes out and grips the back of the plasterboard. 2 have worked fine, one for each bracket, but with 2, the 'teeth' in the outer metal circle that is supposed to stay outside the wall has suddenly gone clunk through the plasterboard, and when using a screwdriver, it just drives the whole thing into the wall deeper and deeper, as if it is countersunk, so can't get the screw out again to put up the bracket. 

I have finally managed to fish the two out again, but is there any way to make them grip the sides of the now enlarged holes? Polyfilla? That wet fix bandage stuff for normal rawlplugs (that I ordered off Amazon today as bodged up putting up a bracket for a bookcase with a hammerdrill this morning!)? Just use normal plastic rawlplugs in those holes? Can't re-site it anywhere else!

I have nobody to ask and if I could afford a handyman I wouldn't have tried to DIY in the first place! 
Thanks!

grumbler

Is it an internal stud wall?

NorthernKitty

Internal wall that is plasterboard not masonry, don't know technical terms, sorry!

Bradden

I'm not a fan of these plugs there are better products available nowaday. They are really designed to be used with a tool which holds them in place.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-hollow-wall-anchor-setting-tool-kit/903kk



For light use I use plasterboard plugs eg.g Fischer Duopower



Heavy duty.. gripits and corefix are good.

https://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-nails-fixings/anchors/cat840108

NorthernKitty

Thanks, I only bought what the advisor in B&Q told me to. They didn't tell me to get a machine to do it! I got heavy duty ones as the shelves are for cardboard storage boxes, not decorations. Don't currently have money to buy any others for this, my boiler's just died!
Anyone if I can fill up the holes and use the same ones or not?

grumbler

If you have some flexibility with the brackets and/or shelf position, it's worth locating at lest one stud. Normally they are about 60 cm apart. In this case fill  the old holes and paint them over with a piece of sponge.

jonnydeppiwish!

As @grumbler said, find the stud work and wood screw into that. Should be 60com apart, use a fine screwdriver to put through the plasterboard to the wood stud. To find the first studs, tap the wall and listen for a solid tap rather than a hollow sound. Try it a few times first so you can identify the difference in tap.

barbuda

Hi,
For each hole;
Make the hole a little bigger, get a strip of wood and slide it inside the plasterboard, so that it overlaps the hole.
Screw through the plasterboard into the wood on each side of the hole.(may need a pilot drill to make it easier).
Make good the hole in the plasterboard and hide the screws with polyfilla.
Repeat for the other hole.
(Could glue the strips of wood to the inside of the plasterboard if you find that easier).
Fit bracket with screws now going into the wood that is behind the plasterboard and polyfilla.

ThisIsWeird

NKitty, how critical is the positioning of the brackets? Could they go up or down an inch or so?
And, can they move sideways by any amount? On this point first - as said above, if you can land at least one bracket on a vertical timber studs, then jobbie jobbed for that fellow. How long is the shelf - you you fit all bracelets to studs?!
On the first point - if it's possible to move the brackets up or down an inch (or if you are happy to drill fresh holes in the brackets themselves), then your best bet, I think, will be to drill fresh holes for these anchors, either higher or lower than the existing. Then fit them properly
Ok, I totally agree - these fixings are a sod to fit neatly. So, a couple of tips (if you don't want to buy the tool);
1) Use a sharp drill, ideally a wood bit, to make the hole in the p'board. You want this hole to be crisp and neat, with the paper layer cut cleanly and not frayed. You then drill through slowly - holding the drill back from bursting through - and get a nice clean cut at the back too.
2) Make the hole as snug as possible. This will likely be a half, or even a full, mm less than recommended; you want the fixing to be snug and need a firm push to get it through. Ease it in with a slight wiggle.
3) And, most importantly, before you insert the fixing, hold it with pliers or similar, and actually get it 'started'. Ie, turn the screw fully in until it goes home, then hold the fixing body firmly as you turn the screw a half to one turn to actually just begin to expand the fixing. 
You will find that these fixings are a sod to get going, whilst their sides are straight. But, as soon as you begin to 'activate' them, and they expand  even fractionally, they become hugely easier.
So, 'activate', then press it through with a wiggle ( 'cos it's a tight hole), but don't turn it. Press it firmly home, so's the tangs bed in.
You are almost there...
You now need to continue screwing in properly to expand the fitting. Hopefully this will happen without any drama, but if the fitting insists on trying to turn, use you pliers flat against the wall to try and just catch the top of the fitting - it'll hopefully be just enough to hold it.

If one of your brackets has already been fitted successfully, so you obviously don't want to move it up/down to match the other one that you are refixing, then only reposition the failed one. Yes, the brackets would be at different heights, but just drill fresh holes through the repositioned bracket to match the new fixings holes.

NorthernKitty

Hi, thanks all, am trying to process all your  information!  Head filled with cotton wool! Somewhere I have one of those magnetic stud detectors so for other walls I will definitely use that and try and attach it to that. Thanks. 
Not sure if I can make new holes in brackets as they have metal things to hook the screws onto (don't know technical terms) and they are shaped.
 Also don't know if I could reposition the shelf (the fixings on the 80cm shelf were 70cm apart as that's what Ikea instructions said, and either side of above electric sockets) as no idea how to remove the two fixings that worked successfully! Could cry as just painted the new house before moving in and now I'm bodging it up cm by cm! 

FreeBear

NorthernKitty said:  Also don't know if I could reposition the shelf (the fixings on the 80cm shelf were 70cm apart as that's what Ikea instructions said, and either side of above electric sockets) as no idea how to remove the two fixings that worked successfully! Could cry as just painted the new house before moving in and now I'm bodging it up cm by cm!

A word of caution when drilling holes in a wall near any sockets or light switches - The wiring should go vertically  (and sometimes horizontally) up & down from the fitting. Be careful when drilling your holes.

For shelves that are likely to take any weight (such as boxes filled with papers), I prefer to use free standing shelving units rather than something fixed to a wall. They can take much greater weight, and they don't need holes drilled.

If it is any consolation, I have been decorating *this place.. Was doing the hallway during the summer. Prepping the ceiling, heard a loud thud in the dining room. A large section of plaster had fallen down as a result of the work I was doing on the other side of the wall. Nutz. Another repair to do.