3 ms·

Not all plugs are created equal. I've found loads are total garbage. The only brand I have found that reliably works into brick and plaster are Fischer plugs.

Not all plugs are created equal. I've found loads are total garbage. The only brand I have found that reliably works into brick and plaster are Fischer plugs. If I buy something that already comes with plugs, they go straight into the bin and I use my own screws and matching plugs. Fischer has a lot of technical information freely and publicly available on their website for their screws too (e.g. https://fiproductmedia.azureedge.net/media/Certification%20Documents/DOP%20Documents/fischer/ZD_DOP_POWER-FAST-II-1_F_SEN_AIP_V1.pdf https://fiproductmedia.azureedge.net/media/Certification%20D...). This is pleasing when you are mounting something that needs to take a lot of weight (shelves, large mirrors etc) and you want piece of mind. Highly recommended - I've basically chucked everything else out and now have 3 different sized Fischer plugs and a variety of matching screws (pan head, counter sunk etc) to meet all my needs. I am not a pro - just a DIYer who has had multiple failures in the past from cheap-ass plugs and screws who initially blamed themselves. Turns out you CAN blame the tools (well - fixings in this case) since quality fixings solved my problems.

parhamn 5y ago
Are you in the US? There is usually a stud every 16 inches or so here, which obviates the need for too many anchors. Excluding small picture frames, I can't think of a use case where I'd rely on an anchor (you usually bridge studs for anything smaller but heavy).
- mattlondon 5y ago
  No studs in walls made of bricks! The whole thing is solid all the way along so just put things where you want. I think that is fairly common in Europe, although I know that timber construction is getting more common in the past decade or two.
- butwhywhyoh 5y ago
  Are there studs in your brick wall? Interesting.
  - parhamn 5y ago
    My bad! Assumed the discussion was mostly around drywall anchors.
  - bin_bash 5y ago
    HN can be a bit West Coast oriented where there are virtually no bricks due to earthquakes
    - mattlondon 5y ago
      Bricks are used a lot in earthquake zones in Europe, e.g. Italy (earthquake-rated bricks anyway, not common London bricks etc). I think the timber frame construction is more of a cultural thing than an earthquake protection thing.
      - bin_bash 5y ago
        It's absolutely an earthquake thing. You're not even allowed to use bricks for construction in California (or even own an existing brick building in some cases) unless you pay tons of money to reinforce it with steel. See https://blog.jumpstartinsurance.com/charming-brick-buildings-part-1/ https://blog.jumpstartinsurance.com/charming-brick-buildings...
- hedgehog 5y ago
  There's also a lot of lath and plaster which tends to have no standard spacing and smaller studs.
- dillondoyle 5y ago
  My condo is in a 110 year old building. Some of the walls are thick brick with crumbling dry plaster on top. I tried to hang a pretty heavy frame on one of those walls & made a huge mess. Had to have a pro come out to do it!! HN is sometimes a gem with random relevant content.
Gravityloss 5y ago
Sormat is fine too.
cptskippy 5y ago
Which plug are you referring to? They have an Expansion plug S which is hot garbage.
- mattlondon 5y ago
  8mm: Expansion plug SX 6mm: Universal plug UX 5mm (35mm deep): DuoPower I tend to stick to the 8mm and 6mm ones, but sometimes I need "short" plugs for e.g. hanging things in hollow panel doors so I have the 5mm 35mm deep for those as things like that tend to have more delicately sized holes for smaller screws. I prefer to use the 6mm plugs for day-to-day stuff. The 8mm Expansion plug SX can take some really chunky screws - like 5mm or 6mm diameter so I have no doubt about heavy shelves or big mirrors etc.
mysticllama 5y ago
great advice, and i would even generalize this to suggest that you should toss any fasteners that come bundled with low cost products (obviously there are exceptions with specialty fasteners and such). you can get a package of drywall screws or drywall anchors (into which you can drill screws) of decent quality at any hardware store. i have saved a lot of blood, sweat, and tears by not dealing with stripped screws, flimsy drywall anchors that shred, etc.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  x100. With emphasis Any fixture that comes from China these days seems to have pot-metal screws, which will pop a head at the slightest torque. Or just because they feel like it. Just buy a box of drywall screws, and two assorted (different length / size) packs of exterior screws and machine screws, preferably ones that comes in a nice divided box, and pull from there.
car 5y ago
A bit of an aside, but Fischer also makes wonderful toys under the fischertechnik brand. https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/ https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/

parhamn 5y ago

Are you in the US? There is usually a stud every 16 inches or so here, which obviates the need for too many anchors. Excluding small picture frames, I can't think of a use case where I'd rely on an anchor (you usually bridge studs for anything smaller but heavy).

mattlondon 5y ago
No studs in walls made of bricks! The whole thing is solid all the way along so just put things where you want. I think that is fairly common in Europe, although I know that timber construction is getting more common in the past decade or two.
butwhywhyoh 5y ago
Are there studs in your brick wall? Interesting.
- parhamn 5y ago
  My bad! Assumed the discussion was mostly around drywall anchors.
- bin_bash 5y ago
  HN can be a bit West Coast oriented where there are virtually no bricks due to earthquakes
  - mattlondon 5y ago
    Bricks are used a lot in earthquake zones in Europe, e.g. Italy (earthquake-rated bricks anyway, not common London bricks etc). I think the timber frame construction is more of a cultural thing than an earthquake protection thing.
    - bin_bash 5y ago
      It's absolutely an earthquake thing. You're not even allowed to use bricks for construction in California (or even own an existing brick building in some cases) unless you pay tons of money to reinforce it with steel. See https://blog.jumpstartinsurance.com/charming-brick-buildings-part-1/ https://blog.jumpstartinsurance.com/charming-brick-buildings...
hedgehog 5y ago
There's also a lot of lath and plaster which tends to have no standard spacing and smaller studs.
dillondoyle 5y ago
My condo is in a 110 year old building. Some of the walls are thick brick with crumbling dry plaster on top. I tried to hang a pretty heavy frame on one of those walls & made a huge mess. Had to have a pro come out to do it!! HN is sometimes a gem with random relevant content.

Gravityloss 5y ago

Sormat is fine too.

cptskippy 5y ago

Which plug are you referring to? They have an Expansion plug S which is hot garbage.

mattlondon 5y ago
8mm: Expansion plug SX 6mm: Universal plug UX 5mm (35mm deep): DuoPower I tend to stick to the 8mm and 6mm ones, but sometimes I need "short" plugs for e.g. hanging things in hollow panel doors so I have the 5mm 35mm deep for those as things like that tend to have more delicately sized holes for smaller screws. I prefer to use the 6mm plugs for day-to-day stuff. The 8mm Expansion plug SX can take some really chunky screws - like 5mm or 6mm diameter so I have no doubt about heavy shelves or big mirrors etc.

mysticllama 5y ago

great advice, and i would even generalize this to suggest that you should toss any fasteners that come bundled with low cost products (obviously there are exceptions with specialty fasteners and such). you can get a package of drywall screws or drywall anchors (into which you can drill screws) of decent quality at any hardware store. i have saved a lot of blood, sweat, and tears by not dealing with stripped screws, flimsy drywall anchors that shred, etc.

ethbr0 5y ago
x100. With emphasis Any fixture that comes from China these days seems to have pot-metal screws, which will pop a head at the slightest torque. Or just because they feel like it. Just buy a box of drywall screws, and two assorted (different length / size) packs of exterior screws and machine screws, preferably ones that comes in a nice divided box, and pull from there.

car 5y ago

A bit of an aside, but Fischer also makes wonderful toys under the fischertechnik brand. https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/ https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/