[Closed] Rawl plug "interset" plasterboard fixings disaster

You've got to tap them firmly into the board so those little teeth on the back of the "head" of it settle home and bite a bit. if it still fails you could try bonding the shaft into the hole I suppose, few dabs of glue, tap itin, let it set, then screw.

It looks like it needs a tap in / forwards pressure to make the teeth dig into the plasterboard. Might be easier with an electric screwdriver.

I used a few of these myslef yesterday. Pushed fixing into hole, tap it in gently so the little grips bite into the plasterboard and then screw in the threaded bolt. Only had one (out of around 15) that did't seem to want to tighten up, but it didt spin the whole fixing round tho. No special technique for it so not much help. Make sure you use the right length ones for the application. If it's too long the legs will squash up but not grip the plasterboard.

With an extra washer to stop it spinning and or a small flat bladed screwdriver braced into the space they formed the "teeth" from on the head.

Don't think the teeth are big enough to allow them to be put up the way they recommend. The setting tool looks ace though

Use a washer under the screw, push the fixing in hard then push hard / do a quick 3/4 turn to get it started.

If you are doing a lot of them you can buy a setting tool that does all the hard work in an instant (basically just a fancy pair of pliers)

I saw the setting tool, but couldn't see / find out quite what it does. Maybe that's the answer? Anyone have any info on these things?

I've got a feeling that putting the bolt through something (like a metal bar or a bit of wood with a hole in it) before tightening would stop the rotational force from the screw head being applied straight into the plug outer itself. Hard to explain, but I think that might help...

yep, the ones I use (from homebase I think) have a special tool that's used to pull the metal legs up so they bend and hold onto the plasterboard from behind.

out of curioisity - anyone know how much weight a bit of plasterboard can support (roughly)? If I used 4 of these things to attach a tortec bike hook to the wall, would it support a lightweight road bike?

I'd only mount heavy loads via the timber supports or cross braces personally.

They're easy enough to find.

depends on thickness and type of plasterboard. Might be better to mount it on a sheet of wood first with more fixings to spread the load, then fix the bike hook to the wood

In the past, with the tricky ones, I've held the rim with a pair of grips and just the screw tension to wind the legs up behind the board. Eventually, the teeth get pulled into the board anyway. It scratched up the rim a bit but who cares, it was then covered by whatever it was I was putting up!

> If I used 4 of these things to attach a tortec bike hook to the wall, would it support a lightweight road bike? <

Nae bother got 2000 x 750mm double radiators hanging off 9mm plasterboard using 4 of them:-)

When you sheet a wall with ply to reinforce it you do so first then install the platerboard. The dead load on the stud / plasterboard is not the issue its the ability of the plasterboard to resist the pullout force of the fixings. Rawl, Fischer etc provide all this data on their website if you want to get really anal but you arent going to have a problem with a couple of fixings and a bike under 20lbs. You'd be astonished what loads folk put on fixings / stud wall with spur shelving 😉

If I used 4 of these things to attach a tortec bike hook to the wall, would it support a lightweight road bike?

They can take the weight of a small child climbing up a rather full bookcase, so I'm guessing that youre safe!

Ta OCR and HB, but HB if i end up with little bits of carbon fibre all over the floor i know where you live 🙂

It's possible to set them with the claw on a claw hammer rather than needing the special tool.

if you're making holes with it, then I'd say that your plasterboard maybe to thin for it.

[url= http://www.rawlplug.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=34 ]These[/url] are very good too.

What are you trying to hang up?

I've used the same ones as Travis ^^^^^ and used the plastic version too
So far so good, did find drilling a small pilot hole worked to get them started

As last two posts - the plastic ones can snap sometimes but they are very good.

If I used 4 of these things to attach a tortec bike hook to the wall, would it support a lightweight road bike?

They've been used throughout my house to hold radiators on the plaster board. I've also used them when I've moved radiators. They do come in different lengths, the longer the length, the larger the load they will hold as they spread it over a larger area.

They will happily hold a double radiator full of water if installed properly. Plasterboad is a lot stronger than people think, it's the compression type fitting (which expand sideways) that are poor in plasterboard.

No more nail the ****er in place, insert screw and you'd be able to hang all sorts off it

Push in firmly till teeth grip.
Use your battery screw driver to pull up fixing (press hard and check screw head; it's usually Philips not Pozi).
Unscrew bolt right out, re-insert through whatever it is you are attaching and screw back up.
For wall cabinets a better bet is a piece of 12/15mm ply the right length to fit in recess at rear of cabinet that is fixed into the nearest timber stud so that the top of the cabinet can rest on it. Fix through rear of cabinet into ply.

if i end up with little bits of carbon fibre all over the floor i know where you live

I've ordered "the tool", so I'll let you know how I get on with that, but I like the claw hammer idea (something to protect the plaster from being marked by the hammer might be in order though).

Thanks for all your input 🙂

The tools are pretty useful, makes using these things alot easier.

I can confirm that the tool is fantastic - 7 quid well spent (the one I bought was made by silver line, and came from Amazon, of all places...)