How to Install a Wall Anchor
When you hang artwork or photographs on a wall, it's almost always a good idea to use a wall anchor. These handy fasteners support your pictures and paintings, protecting them from falling off of the wall and minimizing damage to your drywall. Knowing how to install wall anchors properly is just as important as using them in the first place--a botched job can have results as bad as never installing them at all. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Simple Anchors
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Investigate your options in wall anchors. Expansion anchors are often plastic, and they're designed for bearing light loads such as pictures and paintings. Threaded drywall anchors are stronger and used for slightly heavier objects. Threaded drywall toggles are stronger still; they have a brace that drops out of the screw body once inside the wall, forming a tight brace against the inside of the drywall.
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Select your anchor. If the item you're mounting came with anchors or specifies a certain type, use those.
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Mark the spot where you want the anchor to go into the wall. Use a pencil and draw a small dot.
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Punch a hole in the wall at the spot, using an awl and, if necessary, a hammer.
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Insert the anchor. If you're using an expansion anchor, simply press it into the wall. For threaded anchors and threaded drywall toggles, use a screwdriver.
Special Anchors
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Select the most appropriate special anchor. There are winged plastic anchors, molly bolts and toggle bolts. Winged plastic anchors are cheaper than metal anchors but stronger than plastic ones. Molly bolts bear heavy loads, and toggle bolts can bear more than 100 lbs. (provided the drywall is up to the task.)
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Mark the spot where you want the anchor to go into the wall.
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Drill a starter hole into the desired spot. This will make it easier to screw the anchor into the wall or get it in place.
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Prepare the anchor. For winged plastic anchors, push the wings down toward the center of the anchor. For toggle bolts, thread the screw through the toggle (the spring-loaded metal wings).
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Insert the anchor. For winged plastic anchors, push the anchor into the wall using the special tool that came with the anchor set. For molly bolts, simply tap them into the hole and tighten with a standard-head screwdriver. For toggle bolts, push the toggle into the wall until the wings expand on the other side. Pull back immediately (so the springs don't fall off) and begin tightening.
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