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E-Z Anchors, self drilling, great for hardware. Mark and drive. piece of cake. Get the metal ones though, the plastic ones bend over and don’t penetrate well.
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... they do work in cases where almost nothing else will do and, if you spray lubricate the wings with WD-40 or silicone lube before pushing them into the wall, they will spring out at least twice as effectively. You won't believe the difference.
Jeff Clarke
*Drill a small hole near the end of one of the wings, tie a string to it, and let the string hang out of the hole when you install it. You'll be able to retrieve the wing if/when you want to remove whatever you used it on. Saved my bacon more than once when I had to remove the shelf, bookcase, etc to make some change I hadn't seen before installing the toggle bolt.
*Remove it and don't lose it. Hilti has a product called the Toggler. There is a slide fastener attatched to the wing which keeps it in place in the center of the hole when the bolt or screw is removed. An excellent product. Can use it in many thicknesses of wall.
*Luka,Your Hoosier roots are showing. If Indiana is in a recession and in denial about it, it is because so many people are spending so much time drilling small holes in toggle bolt wings to avoid spending, what? 40 cents? Less? for another toggle! God damn, I thoughti Iwas a cheap bastard!Dear reader, if you wonder what I am referencing with the recession comment...Rich Beckman
*ROFLOLYou caught me !! heheheActualy it was living with the recession in Indiana that taught me to figure out a few of those type tips. Now I do it not because it'll save me a few cents but because it'll save me a trip,(lost time) to the store for another If I only have enough for what I need.I've been out here for 18 years now, so I have no idea what it would be like to live there now. So I'll have to rely on you to give us all an accurate description of life in Marion Indiana.: )
*I quit using toggle bolts in favor of "Zip -Its" { those extreme threaded self=drilling widgets) ten years ago. Just recently ran across a hybrid toggle/zipit fastener. I'm sold for life.
*I'm all for blocking......S.
*E-Z Anchors, self drilling, great for hardware. Mark and drive. piece of cake. Get the metal ones though, the plastic ones bend over and don't penetrate well.
*Luka,Check out the dog thread I linked to above.Rich Beckman
*Did so about 5 minutes ago. Very cool !! I actualy copied and pasted to keep it. Thanks.: )
*Ditto. McFeelys.com sells Togglers (anyone got a cheaper source?). The toggle is a solid piece of metal that you rotate inside the wall with two plastic strips attached to it. No hinge/spring to jam, break, or put uneven stress on the wall. If you remove the screw the toggle stays out. It's easier to maneuver into a shallow wall or one with obstructions. Also, it uses a much less oversize hole.The problem is finding cute solutions locally in a hurry. I used to use those molly things that squash as you drive the screw in?
*The metal ones even work in our cement plaster / wire lath walls. I have yet to find a stud finder that will, however.
*Agreed, but a lot of our work is with existing, and historic structures. Some of the studs are boards with the bark still on them. In one (1740's) the interior partitions are solid board-on-board with lath and plaster - nothing hollow - it's like having blocking everywhere.
*Hope Im not hijacking your thread Jeff, but I,m curious how much weight you feel comfortable hanging from these things in a drywall ceiling? 1/2" drywall hung from joists that are 16"o.c. It seems "we" want to add some light fixtures.........wedge
*EZ-anchors package says "no" to overhead use. Probably strong enough pullout resistance for a parakeet; their strength appears to be in shear only. Try Togglers, above.
*Andrew, There is also a product called EZ toggle
*If they are at all heavy, there is an 'old work' bracket usually used for ceiling fan boxes that goes up a hole cut out between the ceiling joints that expands into place and can hang some decent weight - I recall that it has a hex-shaped bar that you turn from below.Better that than hanging fixtures from rock ...
*Yeah, I was planning to use one of those old work brackets, but I kinda hoped I could hang a "mini pendant" fixture without one. I guess it's better to do it right the first time to make sure she can hang whatever she sees fit. Thanks.wedge
*I used one of the old work boxes for a ceiling fan, it works just fine, and though it's a little expensive it saves time. Installing it from beneath I remember having to open the hole a little bigger and patch it, though. Don't go berserk expanding it and flex the joists apart, though. They also make simpler boxes that screw to the side of the joist if you have one near enough.Still prefer the old-fashioned "wood anchor" and avoid gimmick anchors if I can. I remember some work i did for a quadraplegic fellow when I was in high school: among other disasters I mounted a heavy speaker with toggle bolts -- at his direction, mind you -- that pulled free while we went for some materials. Nice BIG holes in the drywall, many many years before I knew how to patch such things, and a parakeet with near heart failure. Don't recall being invited back... I like the solid-wood wall mentioned -- why don't they do that more often? (At least in bathrooms it would be nice ... good tornado and artillery protection, too...)
*Another (cheaper) alternative if you can find a joist and that's an ok location for your light you can use a RACO #7120 fan box that fits over the joist and fastens to it directly.
*Forgot to mention. This is between 1st and 2nd floors. Finish flooring isn't in yet though. Any problems cutting out say a 16 inch wide strip of subfloor and working from above? It sounds too easy to be right.
*That might be ok, if the length of the piece you cut out is center to center on the joists. It'll be a little tuff getting the thing cut directly on the joists without also gougeing the joists too much, but it can be done with a properly set circular saw. Cut a new piece to replace what you take out, so you don't have those kerf gaps all around. It should be plenty solid enough once the flooring is put over the subfloor. Oh, but this applies only if the floor is substantial itself, and not just a piece of linoleum. LOL Also, if the flooring is small pieces like tonge-n-groove hardwood, try to make sure none of the seams fall parallel to and on top of the seams of the hole you cut.
*Sounds like the ticket Luka. The hole just happens to fall in the corner of a spare bedroom. Very little traffic (I think) and carpeted floor. But the plot thickens! As of yesterday I was informed that we are not only planning a second fixture but a pot rack as well. I'm thinking some scraps of 4x4 I have been too cheap to get rid of should be just right for blocking........BTW Sorry to hear about the migranes. My wife is trying some stuff in an inhaler called imatrex(?) Seems to take them from debilitating to just bad.