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Drywall anchors or also known as wall anchors are used to hold the fastener steady. It distributes the pressure and the load of the weight to the wider areas where it is attached for it not to crumble easily. Simply put, it is a tool that prevents nails or screws to detach and allows a more efficient way of holding weight for construction materials that need it.
For example, while drywall anchors prove to be useful in terms of being a construction material, it doesn’t do much in terms of fastener retention. Because of its composition, drywalls don’t have the sufficient material for a fastener to latch on to, thus screws and such would fall off by only a few pounds and can be removed easily.
Moreover, you have to locate a stud to properly hang heavy objects such as tv wall mounts or mirrors. This is because walls aren’t really strong enough to handle heavy weights and would need the help of studs to handle it. By having an anchor, you can easily put up things without having to rely on studs. Anchors will also save you the trouble of trying to find one and align your fasteners with it.
Contents
- 1 How much weight can drywall anchors hold?
- 2 Expansion Anchors
- 3 Hollow-wall anchors
- 4 Threaded Drywall Anchors
- 5 Threaded Drywall Toggles
- 6 Winged Plastic Anchors
- 7 Molly Bolts
- 8 Traditional Toggle Bolts
- 9 SnapToggles
- 10 How much weight can multiple drywall anchors hold?
- 11 Installing a drywall anchor into a wall stud
- 12 Conclusion
How much weight can drywall anchors hold?
Different types of drywall anchors can hold from around 10 pounds to 100 pounds depending on the size and type that you pick. Here are the basics:
Expansion Anchors
Plastic expansion anchors can hold up to 10 pounds and it’s not the strongest among the other anchors. True to its name, expansion anchors expand when a screw or any other fastener is inserted inside them.
Usually, they are used with hard and solid materials such as wood, concrete, or even metal. That’s because expansion anchors are only as strong as the material which is inserted upon. That means expansion anchors in drywalls aren’t as strong as you would expect in a concrete wall.
Hollow-wall anchors
The maximum holding hold is about 50 pounds. These anchors are meant to be put inside hollow walls instead of solid materials.
The way it works is it spreads within the hollow part of the wall so they can’t be easily pulled backed through the hole you put it in. Of course, the strength of this anchor is based on how wide the spread is.
Threaded Drywall Anchors
It can hold around 25 to 75 pounds, depending on the size. The shape of these anchors looks like spirals along the side and a point at the end.
To install it, you have to preferably use an awl and make a small hole which should be the size of the point in the drywall. After that, you screw the anchor inside until it is flat against the surface.
It is supposed to be self-starting so it should be easy to install. Don’t be alarmed if it gets distorted or buckles, this is normal and to be expected with the type of anchor.
Threaded Drywall Toggles
Threaded Drywall Toggles can hold up to 40 pounds if installed properly. This is similar to the previous anchor, it is basically a threaded drywall anchor but with the strength of a toggle.
By installing the anchor into the wall, it will trigger the perpendicular arms to swing-out. You have to then pull the toggle towards the inside of the wall until it is flat against it.
Winged Plastic Anchors
Winged plastic anchors are stronger than plastic expansion anchors by more than a double, supporting around 25 to 35 pounds. It’s a balance between having a higher price but a higher quality, though it won’t be as strong as a winged metal anchor.
To install it, you have to first drill a hole that is appropriate to the size of the anchor, then fold the wings towards each other and push the anchor through the wall. Here’s the crucial part, you need a special pointed tool, which is usually supplied along with the anchor, and push the center of the wings out for it to expand.
The anchor will not work properly until this step is finished, even though it may feel strong enough pre-expanded. A small screwdriver will do the job if the special tool isn’t available.
Molly Bolts
Molly Bolts are sleeve-type hollow wall anchors. It combines the ease of installation of a plastic expansion anchor but with a bit more strength. A large one can hold up to 50 pounds of weight. By attaching a molly bolt, you will be adding a permanent screw thread so even if you install and take it down countless times, it won’t lose any of its strength. There are different types of molly bolts with varied purposes, such as:
- Thin-purposed Mollys – Should be used for thin materials and can be utilized for hanging door towels and other proportional functions.
- Drive Mollys – Has a mix of metal and a plastic point and can supposedly be driven into the wall with a hammer.
- Original-style – Has all the basic functions of a molly bolt. The bigger the size, the more strength it has.
Traditional Toggle Bolts
Traditional Toggle Bolts have the usual toggle and a machine bolt. It is measured in two ways, first is through the diameter of the machine screw and the length of it. The larger the diameter, the more weight it can support. This is due to the proportional toggle wings for big-sized ones.
It can hold up a lot of weight, from 30 pounds to even over 50 or 100 pounds. Though this still depends on the strength of the wall itself, a weak wall may not be able to support the weight even though the anchor itself can.
Moreover, having adequate thickness aids in the overall strength of the anchor so proportionally matching a wall to an anchor is advised.
SnapToggles
The toggle in this one is more of a solid threaded bar which is held into place by a plastic sleeve. This plastic sleeve stays in place even after installation. Unlike other winged toggles, this one requires a smaller hole which can be useful for drilling into hard materials.
Due to the smaller hole and the solidness of its toggle bar, it is quite resilient and resistant to ripping than other toggles. In a ½ inch wall, it can support up to 80 pounds, making it a good choice for hanging objects that are at the heavy end of the spectrum.
How much weight can multiple drywall anchors hold?
While it seems like adding drywall anchors together can add up its supporting strength, this is not the case. If one drywall anchor can hold up to 50 pounds and you put two of them near each other, it will only be able to support less than that.
This is because drywall anchors depend on the walls and having a hole so close to another one will weaken both of them. So, make sure to put adequate gaps in between these holds to get the most out of your anchors.
Installing a drywall anchor into a wall stud
One of the things you can do to elevate the holding power of your anchor is to drive it into a wall stud. While one of the perks of an anchor is that you don’t have to find a stud to properly hang something, it is good to try and locate one to strengthen your anchor.
If you’ve bought the highest one available and it’s struggling against the weight of the object, you can utilize the stud so it may have adequate support to hold on to the item.
Conclusion
While all drywall anchors are great for holding up objects, you still need to choose one specific to your needs. If you’re only looking to hold up a small picture frame, you wouldn’t need a snap toggle as it would be unnecessary since you only need to support a few pounds.
Some anchors are also produced for specific purposes such as easy installation for thin walls or those that depend on the type of materials used for the walls.
To get the most out of your money, read the packaging carefully and remember not to buy anchors that are inappropriate to what you need. It also depends on the thickness of your walls so keep that in mind whenever you try to shop for ones.
If all of these extra procedures are quite a hassle to you, it’s actually better to suffer now than later. If you don’t use either studs or anchors to hold up your stuff then it’s guaranteed to eventually break as the screws themselves cannot handle supporting anything if it’s installed on drywall. This is especially true since a brittle material such as drywall can only hold around 5 to 10 pounds without an anchor.
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