DIY Question

[Hans Tucker]

Any Home Handy guru's out there come across a good method or product to fix loose rawl plugs without having to drill new holes.

[Dennis]

Depends on what load the screws are carrying, but I used to insert a couple of (spent) matchsticks to pack the hole before re-inserting the screw. This only works if the surrounding material is still intact.

Cheers

Dennis

[mithrandir]

I do something similar, but squirt some glue - usually PVA - down the hole before inserting the matchsticks.

[BlackWidow]

Yep... I have a old home with sandstone walls. Often the raw plug will spin in the hole as the surrounding sandstone falls apart. Hence a loose raw plug.

I use Cynoacrylate (spelling may be out) like super glue but must be thin ( runny). I purchase mine from a model or hobby shop. Ask for Cyno thin. I squirt this into the hole and it penetrates the stone and makes the surrounding area hard. Then apply a small amount to the plug and re- insert it.. Always worked for me and have had nothing fall off the wall...

[Hans Tucker]

Thanks all for the suggestions but I missed an important point in my original question. The rawl plugs have been used in plaster board, not brick, to mount a towel rail.

[BlackWidow]

Ann... Rawplugs are not really for plasterboard. You really need to use plasterboard fixings like the large plastic coach screw fixing with a centre hole.. Or one of the many metal or plastic butterfly fixings....

Time to visit Bunnings. :thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

I wouldn't use rawl plugs in plasterboard. Look for something like "cavity wall plasterboard expanding anchor" or "spring wall toggle screw". I prefer the expanding anchors. Smaller hole and can't get lost inside the wall.

[GTB_an_Owl]

if there is a gap behind the plasterboard you can use "butterfly bolts" Hans

geoff

[Hans Tucker]

Thanks again for the added suggestion. The person (previous owner of the house or builder) who installed the Towel Rails used Rawl Plugs and I am trying to fix their stuff up. I always thought that Rawl Plugs were only for use on brick and from some of the responses I may have been correct to think their use in plasterboard was a bad idea. Either way I was looking at options to salvage the existing holes without drilling additional ones.

[GeoffW1]

I like these

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDc1WDcyMg==/$(KGrHqR,!hoE5)ZzzrBKBOfI8U7fMQ~~60 _3.JPG

You can select a size to suit the hole you already have.

Cheers

[mswhin63]

I have heaps of these and they are great :thumbsup:

[space oddity]

Boring old paper works. Being essentially thin wood, it does not compress much, so just tease out plug with a screw, wrap the paper shim around it and reinsert.

[tlgerdes]

If it is in plaster board then any sort of plaster gap filler will do the trick. Take the plug out, apply a generous coating of filler to the plug and insert it back in the hole, wait till it dries, then give it a light sand to remove the excess.

[BlackWidow]

Yep thems are the ones I was trying to explain.... Damm good them are! The butterfly types might be a little stronger for a towel rail.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12-OF-HOLLOW-WALL-ANCHOR-PLASTERBOARD-FIXINGS-M6-X-72MM-/260640173554?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Nai ls_Fixing_MJ&hash=item3caf5d6df2&_uhb=1



Or he could just throw the towl on the floor :rofl:


Mardy