Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Then you’ll be able to drive the screw deeper into the 120mm wood, you might even get the head a good inch into it. This will give you enough screw in the wall and still a good hold on the wood. I tried filling the hole with polyfilla (although from Googling, I see that this was a bad idea?), and then drilling through that the next day but I'm still having the same problems. Plugs should be set into the masonary so to fix a 22mm timber use a 3&1/2 inch screw x 10s head , use a 6.5mm drill bit with brown plugs if walls crumbly. If you use the point of the V as the position of where we want to drill the hole, it is much clearer. Masonry surfaces are hard if they are in good condition. To get through most masonry surfaces you will need to own or hire a powerful electric drill with a hammer action. DIY Doctor does not suggest you buy one less than 500W.
You can now use the masonry bit to drill right through the timber and the wall (don’t forget to alter your depth marker on your drill bit to take account of the depth of the batten). Why? Because the way a wall plug works and holds in place is by expanding in a radially outwards fashion. Simply put, when you put a screw into a plastic wall plug (or an old fashioned wooden plug for that matter) it acts as a wedge, pushing the two halves of the plug apart and filling the hole very tightly. Friction then takes care of holding everything in place for all eternity; handy stuff friction… and it’s free!
How to hang your things on plaster walls
Push the wall plug into the timber, turn the screw in a couple of turns and tap it through with a hammer. You will feel the plug slip through the timber into the wall and when you do it is time to screw the screw in. Using just a dot or a line can result (after an interruptive phone call or a sudden rush to the toilet,) in forgetting just where the dot is or which end of the line you were going to drill to. Using a 6mm masonry bit, drill a hole to the correct depth. Push in the wall plug and screw the timber up tight to the line. Make sure if you are fixing Battens on a wall that they are straight and regularly spaced at 400mm apart ( see our Battening a Wall project for more information)
This creates a really tight-fitting hold on the screw providing that your wall is made of solid masonry or concrete. Take the batten down and make sure you can see your mark, make the mark more visible by marking a V with the point of the V on the screw mark (see above for an explanation).
MSE News
Set the batten on the wall and make sure it is vertical using a spirit level. Mark around the batten with a pencil
NOTE: Using wall plugs in wall or floor tiles – Wall plugs expand against the material they are placed into so that they grip the screw. Therefore in this example we have – 43mm of screw in the wall plus 10mm allowance = a hole 53mm deep.Martin Lewis: What the Autumn Statement means for you – including wages, benefits, pensions, ISAs, national insurance and more
Great Deal 
New Comment