knight.xena•8d agoProlific Poster

Built a floating shelf last weekend and realized I've been using the wrong anchors for 20 years

My old shelf in the living room kept pulling off the wall, so I tried those toggle bolts instead of plastic anchors and it's rock solid now. Anyone else find out way late that they were using the wrong hardware for drywall?

3 comments

3 Comments

cora4008d ago

Read a Reddit thread a while back where a contractor said even toggle bolts fail if you tighten them too much and crush the drywall. Took me a few stripped holes to figure out what he meant.

the_skyler8d ago

Used to swear by plastic anchors for everything honestly... thought toggle bolts were overkill for most stuff around the house. But after my own shelf kept sagging and pulling out, I finally tried them and yeah, I get it now. The weight distribution is just way better and they don't crush the drywall as easy as those plastic ones do when you overtighten them. Cora's right about that too, I've definitely mangled a few holes by cranking down too hard on toggles. Jason's got a point about plastic anchors still being fine for lighter stuff if you do it right... but for anything with real weight, I'm converted.

jason_robinson8d ago

Toggle bolts are great for heavy stuff but I've had plastic anchors hold up fine for shelves for years. The key is using the right size anchor for the weight and making sure you pre drill the hole properly. A lot of people skip that part and then blame the anchor lol.