The Choice Of A Reliable Dowel For Fastening To Drywall Sheet

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• What is a dowel
• Types of drywall plugs
• Dowel nail for fastening exactly profiles
• Variants of fasteners in GVL
• Butterfly action for drywall
• Molly screw mounts (MOLLY)
• Dowel DRIVA with drill
• Knauf mounts Hartmut
• Universal Fischer dowel
• Spring anchor for ceiling mounting
• Features of the installation

In renovation work, drywall is often used as the main surface. False ceilings, partitions are made of it, walls are leveled. GKL has many advantages over other finishing materials. But, there is one big drawback - fragility. To get around this drawback, many enterprises produce fasteners - dowels for drywall structures. Thanks to such fasteners, you can hang a large picture on a gypsum board wall and a shelf.

What is a dowel

If necessary, fix a heavy picture on a plasterboard wall, attach a TV to the partition, hang a chandelier, you will need special fasteners with which the surface will not deform, and the object is in its place, while performing its functions. These fasteners are dowels.

Another purpose of the dowels is to fix plasterboard elements during installation. Fastening the components of the frame under the drywall is quick and efficient.

The dowel for plasterboard has various shapes in appearance. Depending on the purpose, it is made of materials capable of performing functions without defect.

How to distinguish between dowels by purpose? How is fastener fixing done?

Types of drywall plugs

This fastener is used in many repair and construction works. For drywall, there are some types that will create anchoring strength, while the surface remains pristine.

Dowel nail for fastening exactly profiles

The most popular construction dowel, a nail for attaching profiles and hangers to a concrete wall, consists of 2 parts. The first part: the tip - contains 2 sections, it is made of plastic. The second part is the nail that can be carved. For installation of the frame for drywall, dowel-nails with sizes 6/40, 6/60 are used. These fasteners are applicable to fix the guide profile to the wall. However, for fastening the suspensions, it is required to use a metal anchor, since a large load falls on the suspension, which the nylon dowel cannot withstand due to its technical characteristics.

Dowel action

The antennae are located on the plastic part. They spread out to the sides when a nail enters the tip. The antennae are fixed in a concrete (brick) wall, while firmly holding the mass of the object being hung. The main basis for the use of fasteners is to fix the profiles to the rough base during the installation of the frame under the drywall.

These dowel-nails for drywall have 2 types - a regular and a restrictive collar, which does not allow the metal nail to "fall through" inside.

Impact screw 6 * 40 mushroom head	100, 200
Impact screw 6 * 60 mushroom head	100
Impact screw 6 * 60 countersunk head	100
Impact screw 6 * 80 countersunk head	100
Impact screw 8 * 60 countersunk head	100
Impact screw 8 * 80 countersunk head	50
Impact screw 8 * 100 countersunk head	50
Impact screw 8 * 120 countersunk head	50

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Variants of fasteners in GVL

Next, we will consider the most popular options and what can be screwed into a plasterboard sheet to securely attach various decorative elements.

The easiest option is to find the guide profile with a magnet and screw a steel screw into it with a screwdriver. If this cannot be done, then it is necessary to resort to the help of special fasteners in the drywall sheet.

The most common in works related to drywall is the butterfly dowel. In appearance, it has a butterfly with spread wings. The main material for the manufacture of fasteners is polypropylene. And also metal products are on sale.

Butterfly action for drywall

Initially, a hole of the desired size is made with a drill. There you need to insert the plastic part of the dowel. For this, the side elements are pressed against the center, the dowel is driven in with a hammer. This should be done carefully. Then a screw is screwed into this part. At the moment of mounting the self-tapping screw, the polypropylene part opens on the back of the plasterboard surface (as if the wings are spread out to the sides). They rest against the gypsum board, thereby rigid fixation and distribution of the suspended weight over the surface occurs, there is no point load.

The butterfly dowel has a distinctive feature - it is possible to dismantle fasteners from a plasterboard surface.

The butterfly comes in various sizes. Their selection depends on the weight of the item:

Size 8/28. We will use this dowel to fix a lightweight structure. Self-tapping screws for the butterfly must be purchased separately. For this size, a 3.5 / 35mm screw is most suitable. The coating of the screw is completely unimportant. The hole for the dowel is made with an 8 mm drill. The inserted fasteners have a latch that will not allow the butterfly to completely "fall through" inside

• Size 10/50. There are 2 strips inside the wings of this dowel, which give additional strength when fixed to the base from the back side. This butterfly is capable of supporting a weight of 24 kg. For butterfly size 10 * 50, you should purchase 3.5 / 55mm self-tapping screws. A hole for this butterfly is required with a diameter of 10mm.

  

Molly screw mounts (MOLLY)

The MOLLY dowel for drywall is used when it is required to fix a heavy object on the surface. It is perhaps the most reliable mount.

By its structure, Molly differs from plastic dowels by a completely metal frame. The material is galvanized or stainless steel. The dowel consists of a sleeve and a screw. The second part is sometimes selected independently, depending on the assigned functions - it may have an ending in the form of a head, a ring, or a hook.

The sleeve has slots through the entire element, this creates a spacer part. There is a thread for a screw in the center of the sleeve. Pay attention to this when purchasing a separate screw.

The screw included in the kit has a support washer, which is a kind of limiter - without it, the fasteners scroll in the spacer part.

Molly mount

For the installation of the molly dowel, a special expanding device is required.

1. It is required to make a hole in the plane with a size matched to the size of the dowel from 8 to 13 mm.
2. Next, a bushing (collet) is inserted into the hole. It is driven in until the teeth on it rest against the surface.
3. After that, the screw is screwed in.
4. Pull the screw out with special pliers. In this action, the end of the collet is attracted to the surface from the rear side, the spacer part is triggered and fixed.

There are different weight categories depending on Molly's size. Basically, rolling is from 25 to 75 kg. up to 30kg can be hung on a plasterboard surface using this dowel. weight.

The dowel is shown in more detail in the photo

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Dowel DRIVA with drill

The dowel is made from 2 types of material: plastic and metal.

Plastic dowels are slightly cheaper than metal ones. For their production, polyethylene or nylon Mark TT 22 is used. This fastener can withstand up to 25 kg. weight.

Metal drive is made from duralumin. It is not as popular as a nylon product for one reason - pricing. This dowel carries 35kg. weight.

The dowel (both types) has a retainer, as well as an acute-angled screw thread.

To fix the fasteners, a 6mm hole must be made. but, if the thickness of the gypsum board is 12.5 or less, then the hole is not needed. The dowel is screwed in there with a screwdriver to the fixing head. A self-tapping screw should be screwed into this dowel.

The length of the nylon dowel is 23mm, the metal dowel is 44mm.

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Knauf mounts Hartmut

This dowel has 4 components:

1. the anchor bar is a kind of galvanized U-shaped plate;
2. there are 2 guide tendrils made of plastic;
3. locking insert, plastic;
4. screw M5-60.

KNAUF Hartmut is capable of supporting 55kg. in most cases this dowel is designed for heavy objects on a drywall wall. This is a TV with a large diagonal, in the kitchen there is a shelf with dishes, in the bathroom there is a cabinet for bath accessories.

To install the dowel in the GVL wall, a corresponding hole is made. The plate is inserted into this gap using tendrils. When the U-shaped part has entered the hole, the antennae break off. A screw is screwed inside.

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Universal Fischer dowel

This plug consists of a plastic cylinder and contains a sleeve. The blades are located on the side, as well as a powerful limit switch. A thread for a screw is cut inside the dowel. Dowel dimensions: length - 27mm, diameter 12.5mm.

To install Fischer drywall, a hole is made with a diameter that matches the sleeve of 12 mm. Fischer is inserted into the hole made and secured with a 6 * 50 corkscrew screw. When screwing in the screw almost to the end, pressure begins on the tapered part of the sleeve. Ultimately, under the current pressure on the screw, the sleeve is opened in different directions by blades, which are pressed against the back side of the gypsum board sheet.

For light to medium loads, the UX universal plug is suitable. This unique shape allows it to be used for fixing in drywall and other building materials.

When attached to a standard sheet of gypsum board 12.5mm. fastened, for example, a plate with a thickness of 8mm. at the same time, from the back of the drywall, the screw went out to a length of 27mm. this indicates that there should be a 30mm empty space under the plasterboard sheet.

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Weight supported by the dowel - 16kg.

Spring anchor for ceiling mounting

This type of fastener is designed for light weight. It consists of several components:

• base - screw with a hook;
• spacer component - 2 slats;
• lath retainer spring.

A hole is required. Insert a dowel with pressure blades into it. As soon as the planks have gone beyond the boundaries of the plasterboard structure, the spring is triggered and the planks are straightened, thereby fixing on the other side of the plasterboard.

This dowel is mainly intended for hanging decorative items and chandeliers.

If you need to hang a heavier object, we recommend using a special metal anchor and fixing it directly to the concrete.

Features of the installation

Since drywall sheets are fragile in nature, care is required in working with electrical tools, as well as knowledge of the correct attachment of the dowel.

1. You do not need to use a hammer drill to create a hole in the plasterboard structure.

   

2. If the plasterboard surface is finished with ceramic tiles, it is required to make a hole with a diameter equal to the dowel. In this case, a drill with a special tip (victorious) is used.
3. Before installing the dowel, you need to familiarize yourself with its technical characteristics. Each fastener corresponds to a certain endurance in weight. If the object weighs more than the element is able to withstand, then, most likely, a drywall hole may appear in the wall or ceiling.
4. Metal dowels are more expensive than plastic, nylon. But they have a long service life, and also do not deform when inserted into the surface. What often happens with plastic fasteners.
5. In order for the practicality of mounting the dowel to be visible, it should be fixed in the profile. The frame element is easy to find with a conventional magnet.

When choosing and purchasing a dowel, you should pay attention to all the small details, its technical characteristics, the material from which it is made.

In addition, we recommend watching a video on choosing the best drywall fasteners.

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