I need to hang a towel rack on a wall with no studs where the rack needs to go. I’ve used plenty of drywall anchors of all sorts, but in this application the rack is a swing-arm style and will have pretty significant lateral forces on it. I could open the sheetrock and put some blocking in there so that I’m attaching screws directly to that, but that’s making a much bigger project of it.
So I’m wondering whether people have experiences with drywall anchors in this situation and whether they’ve found they hold up well to dynamic lateral forces.
The good news is it is only 10", so the lateral force won’t be too bad as long as no one is in a habit of pulling down on it. (like a young grandchild).
The plastic winged anchors are far better for something like this than the simple cone ones. Search for Toggler Wall Anchor or Hollow Wall Anchor. Make sure you buy the right size for your sheetrock and they’re easy to install.
I was going to suggest toggle bolts, myself. Those are pretty darned sturdy. The trick with installing them is that, once they’re in and expanded on the other side, make sore to pull back on what you’re screwing in, in order to maintain friction between the bolt and the drywall, otherwise you’ll just have a spinning toggle on the other side. (Though these Snaptoggles, which I’ve never used before, look even easier to get in and won’t spin on you. I’ll have to look into those for future projects, though it seems they won’t sit quite as flush as regular toggles.) The standard ones I use are rated for about 100lbs.
I’ve heard people complain about them but I have no idea why unless they weren’t properly installed. If you try to anchor in thin, low grade drywall don’t blame the fastener.
However, to hold up a swing arm towel rack when you don’t want to open up the drywall then attach a board to the wall across studs with screws and attach the towel rack to that.
My thought was that if the anchors don’t hold, then I’ll have holes to repair, and at that point I’ll put some blocking in there. If they do hold, then I’m ahead of the game.
Molly bolts aren’t better than the various winged anchors. They pull loose much easier.
Zip style are good and easy but not a stronger anchor. The various wing style anchors are distributing the pull across more area. They are better for this type of application.
How about this: how do you do a drywall anchor when there is no space behind the drywall (only solid something behind it)?
I am trying to mount a magnetic knife holder strip in half-inch drywall and unsure how to proceed other than just driving screws directly into the drywall which certainly won’t hold will it?
I’m not sure what is behind the drywall–I rent an apartment and don’t want to go drilling around too much.
As for studs… I’ve never had much luck trying to locate them and the knife holder has screw-holes at set spacing so I couldn’t necessarily line up with the studs anyway.
Do you have a friend/relative you can borrow a stud finder from? Even screwing into one stud will make a huge difference.
For an apartment, anchors of any sort might be an issue with your deposit. Not sure.
How long is the magnetic knife holder strip? How heavy are the knives? A good quality 10" strip of double-sided or mounting tape can hold 10-15 pounds.
I would expect this type to be more than adequate for your need:
There will be SOME void space behind your drywall, and these would hold a few knives without issue. Follow the instructions and you’ll be fine
If the drywall is truly butted up against concrete (poured or block) these will still work, though you’d need a drill bit for masonry. Still easy enough.
Stick with an anchor roughly 1/2 inch in length and you’ll be fine.
Instead of drilling and anchors, have you considered Command strips? The video on this page shows a magnetic strip being held by these strips, although it’s kitchen tools rather than knives on the strip.
Personally, I’ve always preferred mollys. I’m not a fan of the push in plastic screw anchors but they work ok too. As long as they’re acting in shear and not tension I don’t think it matters that much.
But they’re rarely in shear. Maybe a hook that something hangs on would be, A load on anything that extends away from the wall is trying to pull the fastener through the wall, at an angle. That’s what breaks down drywall. With toggle bolts of any kind they do need the tabs aligned vertically to provide the most area at a distance from the hole to resist that angular force.
