[Closed] What's the point of yellow rawlplugs?

Yellow plugs are brilliant for fixing cable clips to a brick wall. You can't just hammer the tack in, so drill out and fit a yellow plug, holds the nail perfectly.

Also, the likes of smoke alarms, small picture frames etc only need a yellow one.

small holes. small screws.

They're cheap and easy to use and quite sufficient for loads of things you'd want to fasten to walls. I wouldn't mount a 65" TV with them but they're fine for most shelving.

Also, the likes of smoke alarms, small picture frames etc only need a yellow one.

Come on - this is STW - you need an SDS Drill and resin anchors for that

Surely anything that needs to be attached securely to a wall needs something a bit more burly than these things?

Not if it's a very small thing.

Things come in different sizes and sometimes aren't fixed to walls.

Such as a numerals or threshold strips.

I'm 'blessed' with an old house with lime plaster walls of limited integrity. I need a bit of depth so red is my goto, often upgrading to brown! 😂 Even for light objects.

And don't get me started on slotted screws. Horrible things.

Wholeheartedly agree with you on red and brown plugs, I come from steelworks engineering background so everything has to be strong - if you can't stand on a shelf it's too weak!
Have to disagree with you on the slotted screw heads though, provided you use the correct size screwdriver and screw them in manually so you don't damage the slot you can get them out again without any bother even more so if you apply a lubricant when you put them in. In the event of difficulty getting them out make sure the slot is clean by removing any paint (try that with a pozi, philips or torx head) and apply plenty of downwards pressure and try tightening the untightening the screw. Failing that hit the screwdriver with a hammer to make you feel better!

British industrial might, indeed the British Empire, was built with the humble slotted screw. As was the OP's house apparently.

Slot screws are brilliant when you want to whip them out 20years down the line good luck with a mangled pozi drive with three layers of paint.

They absolutely need a well fitting screwdriver though.

Yellow ones are quite useful for finding all the other Rawl plugs... They stand out better... Also things like rwall mounted routers, heating controls, toilet roll holders surface mounted back boxes, fire alarms. Very small brackets for hanging little plant holders etc.

Cable clips in straight out genius though, that's getting done next time.

Very useful if you're fixing into something very hard (concrete lintels being a good example) and you don't want to get the SDS out and only a 5mm drill will make a deep enough hole with your hammer drill. Then again I use 5mm Fischer Duopower these days and they're not yellow.

But it's the same time/effort to put in a big plug as it is a small one. And beyond a point you're trying to drill holes smaller than the granules in the brick so the resulting hole ends up bigger than the plug.

Unless the thing you're hanging up has visible screws you can't replace I think just about everything in our house is put up with 8mm Fischer duo plugs or those massive self tapping screw in aluminium ones for plasterboard.

You know that annoying neighbour who keeps asking to borrow some screw / nails / rawl plugs etc?

Always give them the yellow rawl plugs and previously used, slightly worn posidrive screws that are also slightly too big for yellow rawl plugs

Old Victorian/Edwardian bricks are very hard and smooth, you could easily fit say a drainpipe with small fixings but you definitely need a rawlplug so - small one. And it is easier to drill a small hole than a bigger one.

Everything in my house though is held up with 100-150mm frame fixings drilled deep into the walls, because they are made of Thermalite blocks with dabbed plasterboard on the inside. They need to be that long because the plasterboard does very little and you have to get through it and the air gap and deep into the blocks to get support.

I’m ‘blessed’ with an old house with lime plaster walls of limited integrity

later today in Ambrose's house.. 🙂

Small cavities on dot/dab usually too shallow for any plugs and screws bigger than yellow which means getting the big guns out and making a mess.

I wonder why square holes in screws never caught on? Can't remember what they're called. Maybe it's a Canadian thing? Saw them on Ave's YouTube channel if anyone watches that?

EDIT:

Robertson Screw

Did someone mention slotted screws? Devils own work they are i mean really……..😡

There is a specific grey wall plug available for cable clips, have a ebay search for "cable clip nail plug". Very useful little things.
But very rare I use yellow plugs. Fixings supplied with almost anything are discarded for a minimum 2" #8 screw. And thats into good block walls.

I wonder why square holes in screws never caught on?

Because screws that lock to the screwdriver are generally bad it's better for the head to cam out to save over tightening. You can drag a Robertson screw right through a piece of pine of you aren't careful. Also imagine them filled with paint!

The bigger question is why are you using Rawl plugs when the infinitly superior Fischer plugs exist?

The main problem with the yellow plugs is I never have a masonry bit that size, I always seem to have several for the Red plugs (7mm?) And one to suit brown never a tiny one for the yellow plugs

My plaster is 60's lime rich crap applied on bonus (ie as fast as possible with as little effort as necessary) laid on top of the hardest, most brittle brick known to man (Dalry if anyone knows it). As such trying to fit any rawlplug is a waste of time as whilst the plaster can be drilled using a bit between your fingers as soon as you hit brick the damn thing wanders everywhere and basically shatters a hole.

later today in Ambrose’s house.. 🙂

That's not even funny. Been there, done that.

The bigger question is why are you using Rawl plugs when the infinitly superior Fischer plugs exist?

Because they come free. Always a great reason. But yes, Fischer plugs are vastly superior.

Robertson screws are everywhere in Canada. I tried to find some Phillips screws recently for some reason and they only seem common for plasterboard type screws.

But it’s the same time/effort to put in a big plug as it is a small one

But small things only have small holes in them for use with small screws - the size of the plug is about the size of screw you're using, not the size of hole you're drilling

Yellow plugs are brilliant for fixing cable clips to a brick wall.

Neat thing I've seen recently is using a cable tie as a plug - drill your hole - fold the cable tie and poke it in leaving the ratchety end just proud of the wall - then drive a screw in and it acts like a rawl plug and grips the screw leaving with you a  tie fixed to the wall ready to zip the cable in to

Because they come free.

I think 90% of the reason people think DIY is difficult is because they use the fixings that come free in the packet - I'm presuming the people who are complaining about slotted screws didn't go the the shop and buy them. Slotted screws have their limitations but shit free slotted screws that came in the packet with your roller blinds are  shit because they're shit, not because they're slotted.

I think 90% of the reason people think DIY is difficult is because they use the fixings that come free in the packet

I think 100% of that statement is entirely true. They're fine under very specific conditions but not any likely to be found in an average home.

Fischer all the way here - only discovered them 18 months ago.
We have a newish house where everything is plasterboard.
Normal plugs just don't work so I used to use those metal expansion fittings that needed a setting tool - royal PITA.
I do occasionally use the yellow plugs - but only if what I'm putting up is really light and needs the world's smallest screws lol

Oh and posidrive/Philips screws for me.

I've sort of decided that the plugs match trails a bit. Maybe.

Yellow- not a difficult situation. Green trail.

Red- offers up the potential for a bit of thought if you are not paying attention. Blue trail.

Brown- experience suggests that this could be a possibly difficult/ harmful/ expensive thing. Red trail

Blue- the big guns. In my case, take it slow and steady but I'll get there (hopefully without too much damage) eventually. Black trail.

Resin fixings, expansion bolts- OMG! Scary stuff!

[i]for fixing cable clips to a brick wall[/i]

You should be using Pin Plugs (grey).

[i]I never have a masonry bit that size, I always seem to have several for the Red plugs (7mm?)[/i]

5.5mm is the sweet spot, plug needs a gentle knock to get it in and no chance of it spinning with the screw. If the bricks are good you might need to give it a second go with the drill but better than trying to cut half a plug to tighten up the fit!

I’m ‘blessed’ with an old house with lime plaster walls of limited integrity. I need a bit of depth so red is my goto, often upgrading to brown! 😂 Even for light objects.

Lime plaster over granite here, putting anything up is a mission.

.

In my flat the plaster varies in thickness but is usually over and inch thick.  a yellow plug will only be gripping the plaster thus useless.  Everything goes on Brown plugs to allow some grip into the brick / stone