The Claw was designed for wire suspended frames, like big paintings and especially mirrors. Considering for what they are designed for, it's the best amongst the anchors for pictures, especially when it's reduced wall damage is taken into consideration. The screw in anchors have a love/hate relationship with me: easy to put in and just as easy to strip out the hole.
You need to have a hanger on the screw, when it's not fully in, it's not doing its job and you're giving the force a lever arm over whatever it could do. The test in indeed inconclusive. Also, on the "pull" test, you could've done it flat on the table with a see-saw type implement hanging over the table. At a known ratio on the arm, you'd balance the weights until it would pull out. Mostly because if you stop during the test (IE if you don't pull uniformly) it's not gonna give you right results either. But it was fun watching you drop stuff on the ground!
Jerking on it also is giving a lot more force than that crappy or even most scales are going to be able to react fast enough to see. I'll stick to Project Farm for data like this.
@@boots7859 Yeah, Project Farm understands testing methodology, the scientific method, and what to avoid during testing. He always addresses the potential flaws ahead of time and forms the tests to eliminate as many unknown, uncontrollable factors as possible. The random dude in this video CLEARLY doesn't understand the scientific method and he tainted the viewers opinion with a negative remark about a product before the testing and results. His tests are completely invalid for so many reasons I won't even bother listing them here, (unless someone asks for them). This dude took SO LONG to realize his scale had switched to metric... YIKES.
Heres a tip, once you get 5mm from hammering in your plug, out a screw in it and hammer it in flush without marring up your plaster. Also when removing undo the screw until it just holds and use some pliers to pull it out 👊🏼
@@sociopathmercenary if you can after a few days, well it was never mentioned in my move out walk through. I had filled them about a week before and it was never brought up
I like your video, it was super useful for me, a guy who has never hung anything super heavy on drywall. Its definitely as strong as I need it. That said, what a lot of other people have said is that your pulling is causing things to fail prematurely. When you pull and jerk with your pull, you're creating a dynamic force and the anchors or drywall will fail much earlier with dynamic loads.
This is a great video! Early in the video, I put my engineering mind on hold and watched it for entertainment (with some useful information thrown in). Then I read the comments for even more laughs. You said your tests were not scientific, but the comments are full of suggestions/criticism of your techniques.
Your thorough testing provides valuable insights into the performance and reliability of each type of anchor, helping viewers make informed decisions for their own projects.
I found out about the Claw anchors when I bought my new house. They get pricey, but I think they are much easier to get aligned than anything else. And when I had to pull one out, it was way less damage than using a nail or screw with anchor. As far as holding power goes, I wouldn't hang anything more than 10 pounds or so, ESPECIALLY anything that might be pulled, without anchoring into a stud. At heavier weights, you're relying on the drywall to hold up. It might hold for awhile, but eventually the drywall can start to fatigue under stress and give out.
Those anchors have different engineering objectives. Im glad you mentioned Some are designed to hold in sheer, some in tension. Once you introduce an angle it’s no longer “as rated” And I’m confident the marketing exaggeration dependent found the strongest drywall for testing
First off I love this video, thanks for testing these. I don't know if this has been mentioned but I've used the screw in types, I don't know which ones you used but the ones I used have two different ratings depending on how thick the drywall is.
I'm surprised to not see met Molly expanding Wall Anchors. You don't have it in USA ? (we use that a lot in France) From what I know it's really strong.
I use the winged anchors and you have to actually tighten the screw to fully deploy the wings. They do get very strong if tightened fully but very weak if not tight.
The hook shaped ones found on Amazon as a "Super Hooks Picture Hanger"...best for renters...NO TOOLS, totally reusable, and they leave a VERY small hole when removed. They also hold a LOT of weight for their size. Would have loved to have seen them compared to these others.
I've watched a number of these informal tests but they are always interesting to see. You didn't seem to have many problems with installation but I have had lots of problems with the plastic anchors.. They seem to require holes exactly the right diameter or they just squash as you try to drive them in. Also some anchors with wings require exact wall thickness, if you have skim coated some drywall and it became thicker they might not work. So reliability of installation becomes a factor and I've ruled out some anchor types because of that. If you are installing something like a towel bar that requires the holes in exact locations, and an anchor can't be installed properly, you may not be able to move over and install another one. There are a lot more anchor types on the market. For mounting flat things like pictures there are various anchors with nails that have high load ratings. Then there are the old metal "moly bolts" and the old style toggle bolts. The moly bolts work but are tricky to install. I've never liked toggle bolts because they require a large hole for installation. There are some new anchors including a plastic anchor similar to a toggle bolt where you put the plastic part in first then pull its strings out to set it. There is a metal form of toggle bolt that as you put the screw in it flips out a toggle wing behind the wall. These are relatively easy to install and should have high capacity because of the big metal wing behind the wall, but they are expensive. So a more comprehensive test would require at least 9 or 10 different products.
My biggest complaint towards any of these is the marketing. Unless you're in a stud, the anchors will only ever be as strong as the drywall they're in, (just like it was mentioned in the video. Wall anchors do too much damage, and require more work to repair because of the much larger holes they require so I tend not to use them. I use small finishing nails, or picture hangers because they put the nails at an upward angle which ads a bit more strength to them. It's the same principal behind driving fasteners in wood. It gives the fastener more material to sink into.
This is actually not for simple pictures. Any parent should know this to properly secure Dressers shelves and anything that could tip over when a child climbs on it.
I like finishing nails for picture frames myself, even for some pretty large ones like mirrors that have two hanging points, they do great. My wife hangs smaller picture frames (up to 8x11 photo frames) on thumbtacks which is by far the easiest and least damaging option of any.
We have a 6’x2’ heavy art piece. The top is about 3/4” further away from the wall as the bottom. I am sure there is outward pressure on the hangers. Maybe this?
An example would be if you mounted a TV in the wall. Once the mount is loaded, it will tend to want to rotate around it's lower screws, putting a pulling out force on the top screws. In fact, there would be very little shear load on the top fasteners in that situation.
Enjoyed the video. For light to medium duty, I've liked the ones that look like a dime size disk with a finish nail driven at a slight angle through the center. Easy to push in, leave only a brad size hole when removed, hold a good amount of weight, and are very cheap. Also they come in a variety of sizes and strengths.
One type I didn't see here that is possibly the most impressive I've seen is a toggle bolt. This is, functionally, a bolt with a spring loaded clamp on the other end. You need to make a much bigger hole to fit this spring mechanism, but once you get it in, it spreads wide and makes a sizable platform against the interior surface of the drywall (or anything else hollow that you want to mount to securely. Once you get that spring mechanism engaged, it stays put and you can just screw in the bolt like a normal screw. I used one of these to put up a coat rack and it's stood up to all sorts of abuse over the years. The downside is, I'm not sure if I'm ever getting that coat rack down again. (Which is honestly fine, anything wall mounted with preset holes that aren't 16 inch spaced is not a thing I need to bring with me when I move.) Much like what you said, there's a limit of strength at which you're just looking at the failure of the drywall and your only solution is to involve more drywall - this is the solution that involves the most drywall.
This confuses horizontal strength (can you pull it out) against perpendicular strength (what can hang on it). Especially as most fittings are screwed in tight so the force is barely rotational but primarily perpendicular. Or do we normally try to pull paintings from the way, rather than down the wall? Most
To hold up a 25 pound cabinet plus contents, I use QTY:4 @ 50 pound-rated fixtments. seems to work well. (Based on your test, 308 pounds of vertical load would fail. that's a very comfortable "cushion".)
I have used The Beast and have had mixed success with them. They tend to strip as you did on your first try. That is very frustrating if the hole has to be at that precise location. Then you have to switch to a toggle type anchor because the hole is too big for other anchors.
I have great success with the yellow 20lb anchors. They’re my go to for anything that isn’t picture frames. They leave small holes compared to most others and they hold firm if installed correctly (pre drill hole, don’t over tighten the screw). For picture frames I use finishing nails at an angle. My wife often just uses thumbtacks and they work great for small pictures. People way over think hanging things.
I love the edge claws for pictures. The day glow yellow hammer in anchors for medium loads. Anything serious gets the zip tie type... Although I try to never hang anything with any weight without at least one or two studs
I think the end result is: use whatever you have on hand, or is easiest to install. I've usually used the screw in ones as they are just easy to install.
The triple grip anchors with the wings work best if you partially install the screw, set the anchor in the hole, then hammer on the screw head to sink the anchor into place. If you hammer just the plastic anchor into the wall, the wedge collapses and that weakens the wings, sometimes even completely breaking them off.
Should do the same test but into hollow block / cinderblocks. I had some shelves fall down over christmas which were attached using wall plugs. So I replaced them with dynabolts, now they're never moving... i hope.
the screw in ones work best for mounting shelves. put one in a shelf bracket and then put the weight on them trust me that will get you some good numbers. they are made for mounting no hanging.
Screw Anchor is all I use and will ever use. You are correct that the provided screw is short. I never use them. I always use a long wood screw. It also opens the back more. I have tested many and these are the only ones I never have to worry about. They always work and are easy to install. I just need a drill and that's it. Takes a couple seconds to install. Others will sometimes wallow out the hole, tear up the back and all sorts of stuff. I never like them. I refuse to use a basic anchor. They are just trash. So many bend and or will push through the hole even with the correct drill bit size.
Loved it when the scales went to KG - It then made more sense :D . Any chance to could provide metric numbers as well? So the rest of the world can understand the measures? //I'm saying this with a jest 😆 - but some mm, cm, m, g and kg would be great!
This was a great video, but mayhap you also try a French cleat system that also uses drywall anchors to secure? How much weight a single anchor will take is irrelevant. It comes down to how many anchors you need to hang whatever through it's length, width, and weight. One anchor that is rated to 5 lbs may be sufficient if you're going to put them along an 8ft length every 5-6 inches. That's plenty of holding power. I placed a 2.5ft x 7ft art piece that I made on my sister's wall. Required drywall anchors because it was only made of 1/4 ply, so as light as it was, it didn't require stud attachment. We centered the piece on the wall and the two main hangers didn't hit studs. Could we have moved them? No. To hit studs that weren't required would have made the piece off-center. The hanging mechanism with the French cleats required 2 hangers and having measured center, this meant that neither hanger would have met a stud. And didn't need to. We were able to use the most basic drywall anchors to set the French cleats on the wall. It's all about weight distribution (which requires load and area distribution of weight ... and it came out that the cheapest winged drywall anchors would work perfectly well). The 3x7 ft. art piece has been on the wall for 5 years without issue. So, using drywall anchors is about using them in the right place for the right application. This 3x7 ft art piece was very light, so it only had to be balanced by two French cleat hangers. A heavier piece would have to be calculated differently, but always by weight distribution. What hangers do you need to make the whole thing stable along it's length? That's the hard part to calculate, especially if you're not a math person. Didn't think you'd ever use the math you learned in school? For the most part, no, but if you want to know what will keep an art piece on the wall without tearing out the wall ... then, that's where you didn't think you'd ever use the math you learned. I love that you gave a demo of different anchors, but different anchors of lesser weight can be used to hang large pieces. It's all about geometry and physics, which most folks don't understand. What I will offer is that if you're using drywall anchors to hang something, use something that takes more weight than you need. We all remove and replace things, so plan for that. if you consistently use an anchor that will accommodate much more weight than you'll think you'd ever need, then that means you can hang something heavier in that space later and it's not going to be a problem. Clear as mud? Yeah, home improvement, decor, remodeling ... all requires the basics of algebra, geometry and mechanical physics that we all slept through and failed. Only to have to learn it later.
Very nice, I'm just about to install heavy heaters on my drywalls I have been looking for a strong anchor for a long time, I came across a company called Rapid they made a kit with a tool that you install the anchor it made of metal and it got quite a big wings, I wish you would test these out
Those sound like toggle bolt style, which are more expensive because they do infact work very well. Really though, for anything of real weight or import, like heaters, find a stud.
Find a stud, and if the mounting holes don't line up to two studs, mount some plywood up first then mount to that. May not be fantastically pretty, but it should keep it from ever falling off
OK, I am going to say, for attaching to a wall, EZ Anchors rock. I had a shelf with angle-supports (underneath, attached with EZAs) which had a lot of magazines on it, attached to the wall. *The SHEET ROCK separated from the wall, not the EZAs.* Seriously -- I went into the closet where the shelving was, and the sheet rock was bowed out like 4-6 inches from the wall. The EZAs were holding on just fine. I re-nailed the sheet rock to the wall, added another set of several angle supports to spread the weight better, and the problem was fixed.
The "tension', or pull out strength, is dependent on the drywall and is not the way these anchors are intended to be used. For a tension load you'd need to have a backer board behind the drywall to spread out the force.
My house has some weird things, but 1 nice thing is that the wall in the living room has 3/4" plywood behind the drywall so it doesn't need anchors to mount a TV, etc.
You should haave tested the Gorilla Wall Hangers, I found them about 10 years ago, and as a renter have used them on every apartment and have had no problem hanging a 46x30 wood framed picture with glass. They go in easily and remove mostly easy, and only leave a minimal hole.
The second pull test that felt lighter, most likely came out with less force because it was closer to the center of the drywall which means that drywall itself, flexed a little more than it did in the rigid area of the board. As such, it caused the anchor wing to slip through the hole prematurely and thus, caused the whole thing to fail more quickly than. It should have. Had all holes been placed in, say, a 1'X1' square and the anchor centered and then each one tested, I bet it would have lasted longer than the first
Is it appropriate to test these failure points in the same sheet of drywall? It may be minimal, but couldn't the first hole cause a little compromise for the next hole made only a few inches away?
Interesting video ... liked your progression although the results did not surprise me. I was a little disappointed you didn't also use a traditional toggle bolt in this comparison
You should have spaced the studs at 16 on center. Those look wider than that and cause flex when you are pulling making the drywall weaker. Most homes are framed on the 16 on center spacing so that is the most common.
For a test like this you could use a ratchet strap (or some other kind of winch, ideally with a ratchet) where you can apply an increasing load, much easier and much less risk of damaging you, your floor, or your weights. Though if you had to use weights, put them in a container (there's an excuse for some quick woodworking), and you can add a safety line so things get caught before hitting the floor.
I like that you realize the carabineros causing issues. I think using some of that steel plumbers strapping with a bunch of holes would been better. You could’ve put the screws in all the way and gotten better results in my opinion.
For accurate testing, you need to pull the anchors downward, not toward yourself. Pulling them toward you yanks them out instead of allowing the anchors to transfer the weight down to the wall. The direction of the applied force is also important because of gravity.
Personally, I like using the screw in anchors, but the ones that are made of metal, not plastic. Some of them have a tip that can go into a stud if you didn’t detect it and just use a screw into stud. I always use at least 2x the rating for what I want to hang. So if it is a 10lb. framed picture, I’d use at least a 20lb. or higher. Even better if it has two anchors, would have potentially 40lb. rating for a 10lb. hang. Obviously the best is drive a decent shear rated screw into a stud, but not always an option depending on where you want to hang something.
I've had those screw-in ones pull out on a toilet paper holder, extremely unhappy with their performance. To be fair, I do suspect bad drywall to be a factor there as well, but it was multiple places in the home
The screw in ("wall mate" in australia) are not supposed to be split by the screw. You're taking away it's holding power every time you drive that screw in and split it apart.
Zip toggles are the best to use. Simple, quick, and reliable. Everything else is pretty awful, with the exception of the metal anchors you "screw" into the wall, but only for light loads.
Was this 1/2 or 5/8 Sheetrock? Nevermind you just answered. The difference in substrate makes a difference as well, if you notice most anchors have a rating depending on the substrate.
Another greaet video. Personally I really like the screw in kind. I find them easier to remove and just as easy as any of the others to patch. I find the "standard" drill and hammer kind anonying because I never seem to get the hole drilled the right size, often harder to remove, and of course generating way more dust in the process. With the screw in you could of course use a longer screw with the screw in kind if you knew you were going to screw it in all that way to get the wings fully out.
Interesting, but helps me not at all. My home was built in 1900, and the walls are lath and plaster. If I try to screw in an anchor, the plaster around the hole crumbles. If I hammer, the plaster keys break off. My stud finder doesn't help, as it reads the laths, not the structure. Some previous owner removed the picture molding, so I don't even have that to run hooks and wires. I'm not enough of a finish carpenter to install new moldings.
Def not an expert, but if the holes are an issue I'd probably go with toggle bolts. The zip toggles in particular are very popular these days (I think due to ease of use.) Anyways, that spreads the load on the back of the plaster instead of using the plaster in the holes. As for finding studs, I'd go watch project farm's video on stud finders or invest in a strong rare earth magnet. Another idea is I know there are some stud finders that do metal scanning and the lath is nailed into the studs (zircon, one of the two stud finders I use, has a blog about this.) That and learn (and document if you need to,) the distance between the studs in your various rooms. Once you know that you're good to go in most cases once you can find one reference stud.
@@snuggie12 Thanks for the suggestions! I tried toggle bolts, they aren't long enough to go all the way through the plaster and lath. And they need huge holes drilled. I have found a few studs in my walls, they're not a standard width apart. This is one time I miss my previous home that I had an addition built on to ... I photographed every wall before the plasterboard went on, so I knew where every stud, pipe and wire was. I had no luck with my strong magnet, but I can keep trying. Again, thanks!
Watching those fail, how many of those were the anchor failing, and how many were the drywall itself failing? You might rerun the tests (second video?) with 5/8" drywall, and compare to the 1/2" numbers. I'm betting you see the same anchors hold more weight in the thicker drywall. Except for those metal surface hooks. Those things will just knife through the drywall every time.
The Claw was designed for wire suspended frames, like big paintings and especially mirrors. Considering for what they are designed for, it's the best amongst the anchors for pictures, especially when it's reduced wall damage is taken into consideration. The screw in anchors have a love/hate relationship with me: easy to put in and just as easy to strip out the hole.
You need to have a hanger on the screw, when it's not fully in, it's not doing its job and you're giving the force a lever arm over whatever it could do. The test in indeed inconclusive. Also, on the "pull" test, you could've done it flat on the table with a see-saw type implement hanging over the table. At a known ratio on the arm, you'd balance the weights until it would pull out. Mostly because if you stop during the test (IE if you don't pull uniformly) it's not gonna give you right results either.
But it was fun watching you drop stuff on the ground!
Jerking on it also is giving a lot more force than that crappy or even most scales are going to be able to react fast enough to see.
I'll stick to Project Farm for data like this.
@@boots7859 Yeah, Project Farm understands testing methodology, the scientific method, and what to avoid during testing. He always addresses the potential flaws ahead of time and forms the tests to eliminate as many unknown, uncontrollable factors as possible.
The random dude in this video CLEARLY doesn't understand the scientific method and he tainted the viewers opinion with a negative remark about a product before the testing and results. His tests are completely invalid for so many reasons I won't even bother listing them here, (unless someone asks for them). This dude took SO LONG to realize his scale had switched to metric... YIKES.
The failure modes in most cases suggest the drywall fails before the anchor does in almost all cases.
Project Farm did a massive test for wall anchors
Only guy I trust
I was gonna say. He's not very scientific either, but he does a good enough job that we trust it.
Thank you for commenting this. Why is this guy just pulling. Guess I would watch this if I was trying to hang something from the ceiling?
@@andrewfelsinger8332 He's not? Did you watch the video or stop halfway through? Well, saying "Guess I would watch this if ...." kinda gives it away.
Project Farm already performed REAL testing of many more anchors. Check that video out. This "testing" is almost COMPLETELY USELESS!!!
Heres a tip, once you get 5mm from hammering in your plug, out a screw in it and hammer it in flush without marring up your plaster. Also when removing undo the screw until it just holds and use some pliers to pull it out 👊🏼
Most of the packaging has directions to put the screw fully driven then back out to where you need it.
Apartment dweller, here. The 3M claws and wire nails minimize damage and get me my deposit back. 👍
Toothpaste to fill holes when you leave, when it dries you can't see it unless you know where they were
But you can smell it
@@sociopathmercenary if you can after a few days, well it was never mentioned in my move out walk through. I had filled them about a week before and it was never brought up
@@legionofanonaggressively poor much?
I like your video, it was super useful for me, a guy who has never hung anything super heavy on drywall.
Its definitely as strong as I need it.
That said, what a lot of other people have said is that your pulling is causing things to fail prematurely.
When you pull and jerk with your pull, you're creating a dynamic force and the anchors or drywall will fail much earlier with dynamic loads.
This is a great video! Early in the video, I put my engineering mind on hold and watched it for entertainment (with some useful information thrown in). Then I read the comments for even more laughs. You said your tests were not scientific, but the comments are full of suggestions/criticism of your techniques.
Your thorough testing provides valuable insights into the performance and reliability of each type of anchor, helping viewers make informed decisions for their own projects.
I found out about the Claw anchors when I bought my new house. They get pricey, but I think they are much easier to get aligned than anything else. And when I had to pull one out, it was way less damage than using a nail or screw with anchor.
As far as holding power goes, I wouldn't hang anything more than 10 pounds or so, ESPECIALLY anything that might be pulled, without anchoring into a stud. At heavier weights, you're relying on the drywall to hold up. It might hold for awhile, but eventually the drywall can start to fatigue under stress and give out.
Those anchors have different engineering objectives. Im glad you mentioned Some are designed to hold in sheer, some in tension. Once you introduce an angle it’s no longer “as rated”
And I’m confident the marketing exaggeration dependent found the strongest drywall for testing
Interesting. I'm thinking maybe should used a piece of Allstrap, would've worked nice for shear factor and allow the screws to get tight
First off I love this video, thanks for testing these. I don't know if this has been mentioned but I've used the screw in types, I don't know which ones you used but the ones I used have two different ratings depending on how thick the drywall is.
I'm surprised to not see met Molly expanding Wall Anchors. You don't have it in USA ? (we use that a lot in France) From what I know it's really strong.
We have them
Also should have used metal zipits
I use the winged anchors and you have to actually tighten the screw to fully deploy the wings. They do get very strong if tightened fully but very weak if not tight.
The hook shaped ones found on Amazon as a "Super Hooks Picture Hanger"...best for renters...NO TOOLS, totally reusable, and they leave a VERY small hole when removed. They also hold a LOT of weight for their size. Would have loved to have seen them compared to these others.
The name brand is "Monkey Hooks"...rated up to 50 pounds on the "gorilla" grade ones.
I've watched a number of these informal tests but they are always interesting to see.
You didn't seem to have many problems with installation but I have had lots of problems with the plastic anchors.. They seem to require holes exactly the right diameter or they just squash as you try to drive them in. Also some anchors with wings require exact wall thickness, if you have skim coated some drywall and it became thicker they might not work. So reliability of installation becomes a factor and I've ruled out some anchor types because of that. If you are installing something like a towel bar that requires the holes in exact locations, and an anchor can't be installed properly, you may not be able to move over and install another one.
There are a lot more anchor types on the market. For mounting flat things like pictures there are various anchors with nails that have high load ratings. Then there are the old metal "moly bolts" and the old style toggle bolts. The moly bolts work but are tricky to install. I've never liked toggle bolts because they require a large hole for installation. There are some new anchors including a plastic anchor similar to a toggle bolt where you put the plastic part in first then pull its strings out to set it. There is a metal form of toggle bolt that as you put the screw in it flips out a toggle wing behind the wall. These are relatively easy to install and should have high capacity because of the big metal wing behind the wall, but they are expensive. So a more comprehensive test would require at least 9 or 10 different products.
My biggest complaint towards any of these is the marketing. Unless you're in a stud, the anchors will only ever be as strong as the drywall they're in, (just like it was mentioned in the video. Wall anchors do too much damage, and require more work to repair because of the much larger holes they require so I tend not to use them. I use small finishing nails, or picture hangers because they put the nails at an upward angle which ads a bit more strength to them. It's the same principal behind driving fasteners in wood. It gives the fastener more material to sink into.
If you're in a stud, there's no need for a drywall anchor.
This is actually not for simple pictures. Any parent should know this to properly secure Dressers shelves and anything that could tip over when a child climbs on it.
I like finishing nails for picture frames myself, even for some pretty large ones like mirrors that have two hanging points, they do great.
My wife hangs smaller picture frames (up to 8x11 photo frames) on thumbtacks which is by far the easiest and least damaging option of any.
Could anyone help me with the understanding of the pull out test? What scenario is some pulling these out horizontally?
Ceiling mounted TV or mirror above your bed.
@@freakerss nice one 😊
99.9% is going to pull in a downward motion not straight out.... not much being mounted to the ceiling using these....
We have a 6’x2’ heavy art piece. The top is about 3/4” further away from the wall as the bottom. I am sure there is outward pressure on the hangers. Maybe this?
An example would be if you mounted a TV in the wall. Once the mount is loaded, it will tend to want to rotate around it's lower screws, putting a pulling out force on the top screws. In fact, there would be very little shear load on the top fasteners in that situation.
Enjoyed the video.
For light to medium duty, I've liked the ones that look like a dime size disk with a finish nail driven at a slight angle through the center. Easy to push in, leave only a brad size hole when removed, hold a good amount of weight, and are very cheap. Also they come in a variety of sizes and strengths.
One type I didn't see here that is possibly the most impressive I've seen is a toggle bolt. This is, functionally, a bolt with a spring loaded clamp on the other end. You need to make a much bigger hole to fit this spring mechanism, but once you get it in, it spreads wide and makes a sizable platform against the interior surface of the drywall (or anything else hollow that you want to mount to securely. Once you get that spring mechanism engaged, it stays put and you can just screw in the bolt like a normal screw. I used one of these to put up a coat rack and it's stood up to all sorts of abuse over the years. The downside is, I'm not sure if I'm ever getting that coat rack down again. (Which is honestly fine, anything wall mounted with preset holes that aren't 16 inch spaced is not a thing I need to bring with me when I move.)
Much like what you said, there's a limit of strength at which you're just looking at the failure of the drywall and your only solution is to involve more drywall - this is the solution that involves the most drywall.
try the GeeFix Plasterboard Cavity Wall Fixings - very strong. It's available in the UK, I'm not sure about US.
This confuses horizontal strength (can you pull it out) against perpendicular strength (what can hang on it).
Especially as most fittings are screwed in tight so the force is barely rotational but primarily perpendicular.
Or do we normally try to pull paintings from the way, rather than down the wall?
Most
To hold up a 25 pound cabinet plus contents, I use QTY:4 @ 50 pound-rated fixtments. seems to work well.
(Based on your test, 308 pounds of vertical load would fail. that's a very comfortable "cushion".)
I have used The Beast and have had mixed success with them. They tend to strip as you did on your first try. That is very frustrating if the hole has to be at that precise location. Then you have to switch to a toggle type anchor because the hole is too big for other anchors.
I have great success with the yellow 20lb anchors. They’re my go to for anything that isn’t picture frames. They leave small holes compared to most others and they hold firm if installed correctly (pre drill hole, don’t over tighten the screw).
For picture frames I use finishing nails at an angle. My wife often just uses thumbtacks and they work great for small pictures. People way over think hanging things.
It was nice meeting you at Lowe’s today.
Thanks for being a celebrity for a minute.
Do you have any suggestions on how to hang things (a framed corkboard) on a hollow core door?
The Velcro strips work awesome are super quick to install and remove with zero damage
I love the edge claws for pictures.
The day glow yellow hammer in anchors for medium loads.
Anything serious gets the zip tie type... Although I try to never hang anything with any weight without at least one or two studs
Zip toggles for everything. hahaha
And if I do the big screw ins, always metal.
I think the end result is: use whatever you have on hand, or is easiest to install.
I've usually used the screw in ones as they are just easy to install.
☝️🤓 FYI: The screw-in anchors are also available in a more durable metal version.
The triple grip anchors with the wings work best if you partially install the screw, set the anchor in the hole, then hammer on the screw head to sink the anchor into place. If you hammer just the plastic anchor into the wall, the wedge collapses and that weakens the wings, sometimes even completely breaking them off.
Are your wall studs 16-inch apart? I think the holding rate depending upon the studs too.
I used The Claw for a wall with a pocket door inside. Only negative is that the top of The Claw extends above the picture.
Should do the same test but into hollow block / cinderblocks. I had some shelves fall down over christmas which were attached using wall plugs. So I replaced them with dynabolts, now they're never moving... i hope.
the screw in ones work best for mounting shelves. put one in a shelf bracket and then put the weight on them trust me that will get you some good numbers. they are made for mounting no hanging.
Screw Anchor is all I use and will ever use.
You are correct that the provided screw is short. I never use them. I always use a long wood screw. It also opens the back more.
I have tested many and these are the only ones I never have to worry about. They always work and are easy to install. I just need a drill and that's it. Takes a couple seconds to install.
Others will sometimes wallow out the hole, tear up the back and all sorts of stuff. I never like them. I refuse to use a basic anchor. They are just trash. So many bend and or will push through the hole even with the correct drill bit size.
There is absolutely no debate on norm being the goat
My favorite are the Toggler Hollow Wall Anchors
If I'm not going into a stud, these are the only ones I use. Advertised at 265lbs in drywall, and I'm pretty confident that that's accurate.
This style is my go-to for thick plaster walls.
Loved it when the scales went to KG - It then made more sense :D .
Any chance to could provide metric numbers as well? So the rest of the world can understand the measures?
//I'm saying this with a jest 😆 - but some mm, cm, m, g and kg would be great!
for the weight test, shouldn't you be pulling down not out??
This was a great video, but mayhap you also try a French cleat system that also uses drywall anchors to secure?
How much weight a single anchor will take is irrelevant.
It comes down to how many anchors you need to hang whatever through it's length, width, and weight.
One anchor that is rated to 5 lbs may be sufficient if you're going to put them along an 8ft length every 5-6 inches. That's plenty of holding power.
I placed a 2.5ft x 7ft art piece that I made on my sister's wall. Required drywall anchors because it was only made of 1/4 ply, so as light as it was, it didn't require stud attachment.
We centered the piece on the wall and the two main hangers didn't hit studs. Could we have moved them? No. To hit studs that weren't required would have made the piece off-center.
The hanging mechanism with the French cleats required 2 hangers and having measured center, this meant that neither hanger would have met a stud. And didn't need to.
We were able to use the most basic drywall anchors to set the French cleats on the wall. It's all about weight distribution (which requires load and area distribution of weight ... and it came out that the cheapest winged drywall anchors would work perfectly well). The 3x7 ft. art piece has been on the wall for 5 years without issue.
So, using drywall anchors is about using them in the right place for the right application.
This 3x7 ft art piece was very light, so it only had to be balanced by two French cleat hangers.
A heavier piece would have to be calculated differently, but always by weight distribution. What hangers do you need to make the whole thing stable along it's length?
That's the hard part to calculate, especially if you're not a math person.
Didn't think you'd ever use the math you learned in school? For the most part, no, but if you want to know what will keep an art piece on the wall without tearing out the wall ... then, that's where you didn't think you'd ever use the math you learned.
I love that you gave a demo of different anchors, but different anchors of lesser weight can be used to hang large pieces. It's all about geometry and physics, which most folks don't understand.
What I will offer is that if you're using drywall anchors to hang something, use something that takes more weight than you need. We all remove and replace things, so plan for that. if you consistently use an anchor that will accommodate much more weight than you'll think you'd ever need, then that means you can hang something heavier in that space later and it's not going to be a problem.
Clear as mud?
Yeah, home improvement, decor, remodeling ... all requires the basics of algebra, geometry and mechanical physics that we all slept through and failed.
Only to have to learn it later.
Very nice, I'm just about to install heavy heaters on my drywalls I have been looking for a strong anchor for a long time, I came across a company called Rapid they made a kit with a tool that you install the anchor it made of metal and it got quite a big wings, I wish you would test these out
Those sound like toggle bolt style, which are more expensive because they do infact work very well. Really though, for anything of real weight or import, like heaters, find a stud.
Find a stud, and if the mounting holes don't line up to two studs, mount some plywood up first then mount to that. May not be fantastically pretty, but it should keep it from ever falling off
The zip style drywall anchors will almost definitely hold. I've used these to hold one side of a cabinet when I could only hit one stud.
When you don't use them correctly, it doesn't perform as specified. Who knew
OK, I am going to say, for attaching to a wall, EZ Anchors rock. I had a shelf with angle-supports (underneath, attached with EZAs) which had a lot of magazines on it, attached to the wall. *The SHEET ROCK separated from the wall, not the EZAs.* Seriously -- I went into the closet where the shelving was, and the sheet rock was bowed out like 4-6 inches from the wall. The EZAs were holding on just fine.
I re-nailed the sheet rock to the wall, added another set of several angle supports to spread the weight better, and the problem was fixed.
What do you suggest for mounting a stabilizer bar next to a shower where there's no stud available to screw into?
I think a toggle bolt style would probably be the best option. Only downside is it takes a larger hole. It's super strong though
I am an electrician. I use the zipits a lot. They don't fail when holding control panels to the wall. I don't think use used them correctly.
The "tension', or pull out strength, is dependent on the drywall and is not the way these anchors are intended to be used. For a tension load you'd need to have a backer board behind the drywall to spread out the force.
Fantastic testing, Brad! Really interesting results! 😊
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I mean, as a renter I don't put holes in my walls. If it can't be held up with some soft velcro adhesive or command hooks - it doesn't go on my walls.
Charlie diyte did an evaluation of about 40 different models of anchor for vertical loads. Personally I use Molly bolts with a setting tool
Great video. I would try not to drop that scale, eventually it'll prob screw up the calibration.
Looking for ones to hold shelves and dressers to the wall to prevent tipover. No one seems to cover it well...
My house has some weird things, but 1 nice thing is that the wall in the living room has 3/4" plywood behind the drywall so it doesn't need anchors to mount a TV, etc.
I've had great luck with the ez anchors. I've used probably 50+ hanging things throughout my house.
You should haave tested the Gorilla Wall Hangers, I found them about 10 years ago, and as a renter have used them on every apartment and have had no problem hanging a 46x30 wood framed picture with glass. They go in easily and remove mostly easy, and only leave a minimal hole.
Love the claw yes it cost more but sometimes installing the anchors are a pain even with the right bit size hammering them in etc
The second pull test that felt lighter, most likely came out with less force because it was closer to the center of the drywall which means that drywall itself, flexed a little more than it did in the rigid area of the board. As such, it caused the anchor wing to slip through the hole prematurely and thus, caused the whole thing to fail more quickly than. It should have. Had all holes been placed in, say, a 1'X1' square and the anchor centered and then each one tested, I bet it would have lasted longer than the first
Is it appropriate to test these failure points in the same sheet of drywall? It may be minimal, but couldn't the first hole cause a little compromise for the next hole made only a few inches away?
The whole test was compromised.
Where’d you get the beast drywall anchors from? Not seeing them online
The screw in kind normally come with much longer screws
Interesting video ... liked your progression although the results did not surprise me. I was a little disappointed you didn't also use a traditional toggle bolt in this comparison
You should have spaced the studs at 16 on center. Those look wider than that and cause flex when you are pulling making the drywall weaker. Most homes are framed on the 16 on center spacing so that is the most common.
Interesting experiment, Brad. I've been (and still am) partial to the screw in type. They've served me well.
Bill
For a test like this you could use a ratchet strap (or some other kind of winch, ideally with a ratchet) where you can apply an increasing load, much easier and much less risk of damaging you, your floor, or your weights. Though if you had to use weights, put them in a container (there's an excuse for some quick woodworking), and you can add a safety line so things get caught before hitting the floor.
I like that you realize the carabineros causing issues. I think using some of that steel plumbers strapping with a bunch of holes would been better. You could’ve put the screws in all the way and gotten better results in my opinion.
Why'd you completely ignore all the toggle bolt anchor options? They're super easy to use and hold way more weight.
5:06 that's not how wall anchors are rated. They're rated for shear (hanging something on the wall), not straight pull out.
The metal anchor fittings are goated
For accurate testing, you need to pull the anchors downward, not toward yourself. Pulling them toward you yanks them out instead of allowing the anchors to transfer the weight down to the wall. The direction of the applied force is also important because of gravity.
Did you even watch the video?
When will the next episode of the shed build be out
14:12 probably due to being dropped. The strain gauge in there probably doesn’t like that
extensive and convincing experiment.
Personally, I like using the screw in anchors, but the ones that are made of metal, not plastic. Some of them have a tip that can go into a stud if you didn’t detect it and just use a screw into stud. I always use at least 2x the rating for what I want to hang. So if it is a 10lb. framed picture, I’d use at least a 20lb. or higher. Even better if it has two anchors, would have potentially 40lb. rating for a 10lb. hang. Obviously the best is drive a decent shear rated screw into a stud, but not always an option depending on where you want to hang something.
I wonder how close command strips come to their rated weights?
My experience has been ±10%, so I try to never put more than 80% their rated weight on one.
NORM THE GOAT!!! 🔨 🐐
Since drywall flexes as you pull it outwards, and that flex will weaken the anchor’s hold, the anchors closer to a stud will have a slight advantage.
I've had those screw-in ones pull out on a toilet paper holder, extremely unhappy with their performance. To be fair, I do suspect bad drywall to be a factor there as well, but it was multiple places in the home
The screw in ("wall mate" in australia) are not supposed to be split by the screw. You're taking away it's holding power every time you drive that screw in and split it apart.
Zip toggles are the best to use. Simple, quick, and reliable. Everything else is pretty awful, with the exception of the metal anchors you "screw" into the wall, but only for light loads.
Additionally, hitting a stud is best, zip toggles are also great for metal studs.
Man if he had a signed picture from Richard Karn, then that would have been a great comedy bit. But Norm Abram is an awesome flex too.
Was this 1/2 or 5/8 Sheetrock? Nevermind you just answered. The difference in substrate makes a difference as well, if you notice most anchors have a rating depending on the substrate.
Another greaet video. Personally I really like the screw in kind. I find them easier to remove and just as easy as any of the others to patch. I find the "standard" drill and hammer kind anonying because I never seem to get the hole drilled the right size, often harder to remove, and of course generating way more dust in the process. With the screw in you could of course use a longer screw with the screw in kind if you knew you were going to screw it in all that way to get the wings fully out.
I love the basic anchors. I just learned a lot from reading the comments. I absolutely hate the screw in anchors. They never work for me.
Metal Toggles need to be tested too. Bigger hole to drill, but do they compete better than their plastic counterparts?
When will we see some more content about progress at the new property?
Should've tested the screw in one with the paracord to see if it did better
Hi Brad-Merch question-would love a couple of your shirts in a hooded sweatshirt. Any plans on offering sweatshirts in the future? Thx.
The way that meter is pulling, it's pulling outwards instead of down, is causing the failures. That big hook is causing the outwards pull.
Spring toggles are the best in my opinion
Tighten the screw all the way down to set the wings/lugs etc then back the screw out for a better test
Interesting, but helps me not at all.
My home was built in 1900, and the walls are lath and plaster. If I try to screw in an anchor, the plaster around the hole crumbles. If I hammer, the plaster keys break off. My stud finder doesn't help, as it reads the laths, not the structure.
Some previous owner removed the picture molding, so I don't even have that to run hooks and wires. I'm not enough of a finish carpenter to install new moldings.
Def not an expert, but if the holes are an issue I'd probably go with toggle bolts. The zip toggles in particular are very popular these days (I think due to ease of use.) Anyways, that spreads the load on the back of the plaster instead of using the plaster in the holes.
As for finding studs, I'd go watch project farm's video on stud finders or invest in a strong rare earth magnet. Another idea is I know there are some stud finders that do metal scanning and the lath is nailed into the studs (zircon, one of the two stud finders I use, has a blog about this.) That and learn (and document if you need to,) the distance between the studs in your various rooms. Once you know that you're good to go in most cases once you can find one reference stud.
@@snuggie12 Thanks for the suggestions!
I tried toggle bolts, they aren't long enough to go all the way through the plaster and lath. And they need huge holes drilled.
I have found a few studs in my walls, they're not a standard width apart.
This is one time I miss my previous home that I had an addition built on to ... I photographed every wall before the plasterboard went on, so I knew where every stud, pipe and wire was.
I had no luck with my strong magnet, but I can keep trying.
Again, thanks!
How about a 3d printed one?
Watching those fail, how many of those were the anchor failing, and how many were the drywall itself failing?
You might rerun the tests (second video?) with 5/8" drywall, and compare to the 1/2" numbers. I'm betting you see the same anchors hold more weight in the thicker drywall.
Except for those metal surface hooks. Those things will just knife through the drywall every time.
Could u make a video in a real hall because the drywall gives away before the plugs
What if you used an eye hole screw so you can fully screw it in, but have something to attach too.
On all the sheer tests, you should add the weight of the scale and tackle used.
if you care about your air sealing/tightness, many do not want to drill holes so the 3M hangers are one such solution.