A toggle bolt works by anchoring itself to the back of the drywall, so when you put outward force on the bolt, the entire sheet of drywall resists it, not just the crumbly core. The same process is used in installing Threaded Anchor screws, Plastic drywall anchors and molly bolts. Make sure to position your shelf (or whatever you’re mounting) up to where you want it and then drive in the screw. With that all out of the way, let’s get started! Known as “molly bolts” or simply “mollies,” these metal sleeve-type hollow wall … This is where drywall anchors can save the day. From there, fold down the toggle and feed it through the hole you drilled in the wall (as pictured above). Be sure to check that out for all of the details. Pull the bolt back until the wings catch the wall. Installing a Toggle Bolt Drywall Anchor. However, this isn’t always possible, especially if there’s an exact location you want something hung and there’s not a stud behind it. They come with much larger threads than screws do, allowing them to really bite into the drywall and create a pretty nice hold. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Then pull the wings of your toggle bolt to the bolt body and push the entire piece through the hole. We slowly twisted the turnbuckle and watched as the tension increased until the anchor buckled. Before we get started, though, there are a few tools you’ll need, most of which you probably already have: RELATED: The Basic Tools Every DIYer Should Own. For one thing, you’ll have to drill a hole that allows for the toggles to pass through. Before we get started, though, there are a few tools you’ll need, most of which you … Make sure to push the bolt head all the way through the drywall before you release the wings. TOGGLER 100-Pack Assorted Length 1/4-in dia Toggle Bolt Drywall Anchor (Screws Included) Item #790483. We wrote a pretty thorough article on how to install drywall anchors. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. How to Install Drywall Anchors to Hang Heavy Stuff on Your Walls, How to Run the Intel Version of a Universal Mac App on an M1 Mac, How to Create Random (Fake) Datasets in Microsoft Excel, How to Connect Google Pay to Your Bank or Credit Card to Track Spending, How to Turn Tablet Mode On and Off on Windows 10, How to Translate Web Pages in Safari on Mac, © 2020 LifeSavvy Media. You’ll need to pull gently on the bolt as you’re screwing it in to prevent the toggle from spinning around with the bolt. Now we’re getting into the really strong drywall anchors, and these are ones that you can use on pretty much any material—not just drywall. Toggle anchors or toggle bolts look like normal screws but with a butterfly toggle … A 3/8″ toggle can safely manage a weight of over 50 lbs. Then, you screw into the anchor, so everything stays in place. It's limited by the strength of the drywall itself, which will probably break before the bolt fails. Pictured above is what the other side looks like, and you’ll notice that the toggle is pressed firmly against the drywall to hold the bolt in place. ! All of these installations gave excellent results. … Unfortunately, if you were to just drive a screw into drywall, the brittleness of the drywall material wouldn’t allow the threads of the screw to fully bite into the drywall, making the holding strength of the screw pretty weak overall. Plastic hollow wall plug anchors require that you first drill a pilot hole. TOGGLER 100-Pack Assorted Length 3/16-in dia Toggle Bolt Drywall Anchor … Plastic Hollow Wall Plug. However, I think they’re a bit easier to install. Also, the longer the bolt, the thicker the material that can be hung or the thicker the wall it can be used in! After that, gently hammer the anchor into the wall. How to Install Drywall Anchors. You may need a second pair of hands to help you with this. Hammer the anchor in until it’s flush with the wall. Types of Drywall Anchors. In most cases, the wallboard will fail before the toggle bolt anchor does. RELATED: How to Mount Your TV to the Wall. Next, unscrew the screw that’s pre-installed onto the molly bolt until it’s completely out. Insert the bracket in the bolt and thread the toggle onto its end. Compare; Find My Store. Sometimes the tip will break off entirely, sometimes not. Subscribe Now:http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ehowatHomeChannelWatch More:http://www.youtube.com/ehowatHomeChannelInstalling toggle drywall anchors is a great way to not worry about where your studs are. These are the first anchors I have ever found that can actually anchor ADA grab bars. Install A Toggle Bolt Anchor. I’ve used these now with 5/8 standard and green board drywall, tile with both thin set on drywall and tile with mastic on concrete backer board. Model #24200. They’re not the best type to use, since they’re not able to hold a whole lot of weight (maybe 10 to 20 pounds at most), but they’re great for heavier picture frames and small shelves. Install toggle drywall anchors with help from a foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video clip.Expert: Joshua ClementFilmmaker: Nathanael RittichierSeries Description: You can save a great deal of money by installing drywall and performing other basic types of maintenance on your own. Next, take your screw and drive it into the anchor, stopping when it feels snug. As you can see, the anchor expanded quite a bit in order to create a snug fit for the screw. Of course, there are a few things to be aware of before getting started. In most cases, this hole will be large enough for the head of the screw to fall through, so these are really only good for mounting shelves or other items where they can act as a washer of sorts and stop the screw from going all the way through. TOGGLER plastic toggle anchors provide vibration-proof anchoring of light to medium loads in hollow walls & ceilings but also hold securely when they encounter an unexpected solid, such as a wooden stud, or when performing as wedge anchors in materials with thicknesses above their normal wall grip range. The two types of toggle bolts are the wing style and the strap style, which features a solid support bar that makes it easier to install. Sometimes called Zip-Its, threaded anchors are kind of like larger screws. Ideally, you want to hang heavy things from your walls by using the studs as the anchor. Screw toggle bolts down tight for a no-slip fit. Mounting without studs: Attach your brackets to the TV. Drill a hole where you want your object to hang. The larger the bolt diameter, the larger and stronger the toggle since larger bolts mean beefier toggle wings. An anchor may exhibit strength when installed on a drywall but become very weak and ineffective on concrete. All of these drywall anchors achieve the same basic result. When you’re ready to mount or hang something, re-install the screw by driving it back in. Meaning, it must have a bracket that works with a toggle and is able to cover the hole it makes in the wall. Anchors will sometimes list the holding strength maximum on the packaging, but if not, it’s best to play it safe and go with a stronger anchor (like the ones discussed below) if you’re unsure. Depending on what you’re hanging or mounting, you may want to use a specific kind of drywall anchor, and there are several to choose from. The DrillerToggle® provides the holding power of a Toggle Bolt with the ease of installation of a WallDriller®. His work has been published by iFixit, Lifehacker, Digital Trends, Slashgear, and GottaBeMobile. Insert the anchor. Toggle bolts, which also consist of a bolt that screws into a sleeve, are the strongest drywall anchors.. Then hammer it in until it sits flush with the wall. Mark the wall with a … From there, begin screwing down the bolt. As with the expansion anchor, drive it in until it sits flush with the drywall. hole in the wall and insert the sleeve and anchor. Fold the toggle back, and insert it through the wall hole until you feel the wings have opened on the other side of the wall. How to Install Toggle Drywall Anchors : Drywall Help - YouTube The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. Toggle Anchors. The toggle action supplies extra holding power in drywall, while its self-drilling tip eliminates all the extra hassles and messes of installing a regular toggle anchor. MOLLY BOLTS. You want the anchor to go in fairly smoothly with a bit of resistance, but you don’t want to be fighting with it to get it to go in. To install one of these, drill a hole with the same diameter as the molly bolt. The key to using toggle bolts is to ensure that the wallboard is strong enough to handle the weight. You’ll also want to make sure that you feed the toggle bolt onto the item you’re mounting first by unscrewing the toggle from the screw, feeding the screw through the shelf mounting hole, and then screwing the toggle back on. Putting your toggle bolt on the drywall is simple. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. You’ll feel a little resistance at first, but that’s just the molly bolt mechanism slowly tightening down. Note: Toggle bolts should only be used to hang heavy objects suitable for this type of anchor. How to Install a Ceiling Toggle Bolt. As you can see, this molly bolt is too big for my 1/2-inch drywall, as those four little wings should be pressed up against the wall in order to create that strong hold. Get Sheetrock tips with help from a foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video series. Once inside the wall, the toggle will spring back open. A drywall anchor goes between the screw and the drywall, biting into the drywall much more effectively than a screw would. Before making any holes in your wall, make … This is what the anchor looks like on the other side. The anchor, also known as a toggle bolt, allows you to hang heavy objects on the wall without the support of a stud behind the wall. If you can't catch the stud when you're hanging at TV use toggle bolts for a tv mount. To use a toggle bolt you need to drill a hole large enough for the toggle to go through while folded up. Anchors are some of the easiest ways to hang anything in the walls without a stud. Then, take your power drill and drive the threaded anchor into the drywall just like you would with a normal screw. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. Drill a 1 1/4-in. These types of anchors are the most common, and when you think of drywall anchors, you probably think of these. They’re called expansion anchors because when you drive in the a screw, they expand and push against the drywall in order to bite into it. Make absolutely sure you get a drill bit set and not just one or two drill bits. In other words, a drywall anchor can be used anywhere in the wall. This is where you’ll find out of the hole you drilled is either too big or too small. The sleeve has wings that expand and anchor to the back of the drywall. Some molly bolts have teeth on the head that dig into the drywall, so make sure that you hammer it in all the way so that these teeth can do their job. drywall, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Here are the different types of drywall anchors, and how to use each one. 267. on 1/2" drywall... a 3/8" toggle over 50 lbs. They’re small little plastic anchors that are fairly basic, and you’ll see them included in most shelf kits that you can buy at the store. Toggle bolts are pretty much the strongest wall anchors you can buy, but they’re vastly different when it comes to installing them. Drill a hole in the wall for each anchor. Start by drilling a hole about the size of the tip of the threaded anchor.