What to pack loose rawl plug holes with?

Scam

Scam

Scam

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
19,685
Location
London
Having loads of fun (not) mounting the telly and soundbar this weekend. As usual it takes approximately three threads on here, a last minute dash to Wickes (new drill bit) and the whole weekend :o

The telly mount plate is a vertical bar type thing, with four 10x80mm screws/plugs provided. All kosher as far as weight allowance goes, but as usual drilling through our Victorian brick walls was more problematic than I hoped. Fortunately the top two holes are nice and neat, no issues there. But for the bottom two I hit some sort of concrete and the drill went walkabout a bit. So the plugs are pretty loose particularly around the “entrance”. I wrapped a couple wet-n-fix things around them and they don’t actually move much (I think it’s tighter further in, and at least I have 80mm to play with). But just wondering what I should pack in the entrance holes (ooer). Match sticks? No more nails?

Am I stupid for not being too worried? My GCSE physics tells me the top screws will be taking most of the weight and “pulling” on the screws whereas these bottom ones will be pushing against the wall right? I also put another 10mm plug in a centre hole the mount had so I’ll have an extra screw there.

Total load is like 18kg all in.
 
Last edited:
Snip another Rawl plug up and pack it out. They work under tension so you just need it to bite.
 
In the past I've used that instant plaster/filler stuff you get in a tube. Means it will be a pain to remove plugs at a later date though.
 
Last edited:
sigma said:
In the past I've used that instant plaster/filler stuff you get in a tube. Means it will be a pain to remove plugs at a later date though.
Click to expand...
Yeah I’ve got some No more Nails, thinking maybe put some of that in with the matchsticks? But would you let it set overnight before putting the screws in/mounting the thing? Or would that be too hard to do once set? Unsure if the plug needs to be able to twist or not.. Jm a little dosed up on Day Nurse so not ideal for this :p
 
Scam said:
You mean lengthways to make matchsticks? Or widthways to make cylinders?
Click to expand...
Lengthways to make matchsticks. You don't need any glue or any other nonsense; just pad the plug out. Or drill bigger and put a bigger plug, and then put a smaller plug inside of it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
dlockers said:
Lengthways to make matchsticks. You don't need any glue or any other nonsense; just pad the plug out. Or drill bigger and put a bigger plug, and then put a smaller plug inside of it.
Click to expand...
This is my vote - when the hole gets butchered and gets too big, use a bigger plug that fits well. I wouldn't assume no more nails can take the same types of forces as a plug in a masonry hole.

Also, standard advice - consider not using the plugs and screws that came with the mount. They're generally pants.
 
In addition to packing out with slithers of wood or matchsticks as mentioned above which is my main approach, if a hole gets far too big for padding out then I use any of the two part chemical metal fillers/chemical anchor resins.

These set like stone and can be drilled as required and set in 15 mins, they just need to be pushed/injected well into the hole and a larger hole is actually better for them. For example I had some very heavyweight fixings to put into old cinder block that was too soft for good fixing so I drilled much larger holes, filled with resin and then drilled the correct size for the plugs.
 
Scam said:
Yeah I’ve got some No more Nails, thinking maybe put some of that in with the matchsticks? But would you let it set overnight before putting the screws in/mounting the thing? Or would that be too hard to do once set? Unsure if the plug needs to be able to twist or not.. Jm a little dosed up on Day Nurse so not ideal for this :p
Click to expand...

Yea I just wodge a load of that no nails paste it, let it dry overnight with the plug and screw in it.

With the TV bracket if you can do it with just the weight of the bracket then put the TV on it the next day.

You wana try and get as much of the dust out of the holes as possible, blow it hard, then use wet screwed up kitchen roll or similar so the surface is as dust free as possible.
 
I usually pack any dodgy holes with no nails. Probably the wrong thing, but it's always worked for me.

I've found that when drilling brick walls, I get better results if I start the hole without using hammer action on the drill. Get the first half inch in of the drill bit in, then use the hammer action.
 
LuckyBenski said:
Also, standard advice - consider not using the plugs and screws that came with the mount. They're generally pants.
Click to expand...
I read that a few times but honestly these bolts look pretty good. 10x80mm long. Any longer and I’d be going into next door potentially! (No idea how thick our walls are but I’m assuming two bricks). They’re certainly the biggest plugs I’ve ever seen, but then again as you can tell my diy skills/experience is minimal :p
darael said:
I've found that when drilling brick walls, I get better results if I start the hole without using hammer action on the drill.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Our drill isn’t a hammer drill. Probably why my hands are killing me now after drilling all those :o

The plugs were already in when I posted the OP. Seems like the wet’n fix things have done a decent job as the two loose ones don’t want to move anymore. So I covered a few matchsticks in No More Nails and shoved those around the plug to dry overnight. In one of them it was only the first cm or so that is extra wide - as I couldn’t get the matches all the way in. So that’s good at least.

Hey it’s only £1600 worth of telly and soundbar :( *checks insurance policy*

How does one know if their wall might not just crumble under the weight?
 
Last edited:
Scam said:
I read that a few times but honestly these bolts look pretty good. 10x80mm long.
Click to expand...
It's mainly the plugs not the bolts. The plastic things you get in the kits are usually garbage compared to Fischer or something decent. Your TV may fall off if you have used the wrong plugs.
Scam said:
Yeah. Our drill isn’t a hammer drill. Probably why my hands are killing me now after drilling all those :o
Click to expand...
TV definitely going to fall off if you haven't used a hammer drill. A hammer drill pushes the debris forwards rather than pulls it out. The weight of a brick drilled with a hammer drill is the same as a brick without a hole.

Scam said:
ISo I covered a few matchsticks in No More Nails and shoved those around the plug to dry overnight. In one of them it was only the first cm or so that is extra wide - as I couldn’t get the matches all the way in. So that’s good at least.

Hey it’s only £1600 worth of telly and soundbar :( *checks insurance policy*

How does one know if their wall might not just crumble under the weight?
Click to expand...
It'll be fine if you used safety matches, if not, RIP.

Scam said:
How does one know if their wall might not just crumble under the weight?
Click to expand...
The same reason your wall doesn't crumble under the weight of your roof, anti-mavity core.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Scam said:
Yeah. Our drill isn’t a hammer drill.
Click to expand...
you're sure it doesn't have a slide to enable hammer action - my mains black&decker 500 odd watt drill is about 25 years old and has it ..
Think you might over-heat carbide tipped drills if you dont use hammer action to make progress.

I thought you said, that at depth of hole, plug still fits well, and the additional splints were just to enable initial bite and stop plug spinning
 
jpaul said:
you're sure it doesn't have a slide to enable hammer action - my mains black&decker 500 odd watt drill is about 25 years old and has it ..
Click to expand...
These things are an unfair comparison, they were basically made out of granite lol.
 
jpaul said:
you're sure it doesn't have a slide to enable hammer action - my mains black&decker 500 odd watt drill is about 25 years old and has it ..
Click to expand...
Hilariously it’s my other half’s drill :D It has a drill icon and then 0-20 torque speed to choose from.
jpaul said:
I thought you said, that at depth of hole, plug still fits well, and the additional splints were just to enable initial bite and stop plug spinning
Click to expand...
The plugs fit perfectly. Just the bottom two holes are a bit wide at the opening because the drill went walkabout through the plaster. I definitely brought out a lot of brick in all holes though.
 
You need a hammer drill. Drilling masonry is always a pain with some risk but doing it without a half decent hammer drill is just going to be painful. As the owner of at least 4 walls you owe it to yourself :D

Make sure there isn't just a hammer icon further round past the drill icon.
 
LuckyBenski said:
You need a hammer drill. Drilling masonry is always a pain with some risk but doing it without a half decent hammer drill is just going to be painful. As the owner of at least 4 walls you owe it to yourself :D

Make sure there isn't just a hammer icon further round past the drill icon.
Click to expand...
Konami code a regular drill and it'll do hammer apparently
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom