Are you using the right drywall anchor?

We all know you can’t just hang everything from drywall. Sure, you can put a small screw into your wall and hang something less than 5 lbs but it’s only a matter of time till that thing pulls out of your wall and leaves an ugly blemish on your beautiful walls. This is where the drywall anchor comes in …. But which one should you use and how much can you hang from which anchor? This article will give you a little insight into the application of common anchors as well as the good and the bad from someone who uses these anchors all the time. 

“Self Drilling” Drywall Anchor

Huge Handyman Rating – Trash

Why? 

These anchors have some curb appeal. Don’t need to pre-drill? Rated up to 75 lbs? Seems perfect. Think again. Some harder drywall makes the predrilling function of these obsolete. Even worse – what if you’re trying to make this perfectly level with another anchor on the wall? This thing makes a big ol hole in your wall that you have to patch up if you didn’t nail it on the positioning. And if it pulls out? Now you need a proper drywall patch. Stay away from these!

Application Trick – If you use one of the other anchors in this article and you miss your mark, you can predrill a small hole next to the one you make then use these anchors as an anchor of last resort and use the size of the anchor to fill the hole you’ve created with the first drilling. 

Metal Self Drilling Anchors

Huge Handyman Rating – What’s Worse Than Trash?

Why? All those things I listed above – plus the fact this only is rated for up to 50lbs. These things are terrible to work with, unforgiving, and will lead to a headache. If you buy something that includes these in the box, just go buy something else. 

Application Trick – These make a great addition to the bottom of any trash can, dumpster, or refuse receptacle.

Toggle Bolt

Huge Handyman Rating – Game Changer For Certain Applications, Not Ideal for Most

Why? Toggle bolts feature a superior weight rating and have a longer bolt if you need to secure something thicker to the wall. We’ve used these to secure header boards for barn doors, and add additional strength to closet shelving brackets just to name a few applications. These essentially pinch the drywall from both sides instead of depending on resistance from broken pieces of plastic. If you can’t find two studs for a TV, these are a great supplemental option. There are some drawbacks. The main thing is you have to drill a very large hold for the toggle to fit through. This means you need to be certain of your spot. Also, some toggle bolts can be tricky to catch. For example the “pull toggles” that are attached to a plastic track, the plastic can sometimes break and then fall off in your wall so you need to put another in the hole. This can be annoying if you are using it a lot. For example, we used these to install cabinets into metal studs. It was really the only way to do it because metal studs are not strong enough for screws like in a typical cabinet installation. Although strong, the toggle bolts we used kept breaking off so we had to buy a lot of extra to get them to work. A minor annoyance, but worth noting. 

Application Trick – If you have a closet shelving track that doesn’t reach your studs on the ends, use a toggle bolt to give it that extra support so your shelving doesn’t sag. 

This is a link to our recommended toggle bolt 

Hillman 1/4 in. Pull Toggle (6-Pack) 377610 (homedepot.com)

Molly Bolt Anchor

Huge Handyman Rating – Too Fancy

Why? You basically have to drill a larger than necessary hole and sometimes these malfunction. They function similar to a toggle bolt without the weight rating. It’s not even worth looking up what rating these do have because you should just use something else

Application Trick – If you have a bunch of drywall anchors and need to throw one, potentially these might have the most accurate flight path

Contractor Anchors

Huge Handyman Rating – Dope! 

Why? Where do I start?? Firstly, you don’t need to make a large hole and these are easy to actually get in the wall. Unlike other expansion anchors, you can hammer these in without really worrying about it expanding before going in the hole. You can use them in every application possible and they are strong! If it’s a hollow surface, it folds and knots behind the wall and if it’s on a solid surface, just gives that extra resistance a screw can’t do on its own. Best of all, the package contains the perfect size drill bit so you don’t have to worry about going too big. These are the best anchors on the market.

Application tip – Use multiple for extra strength! I had a hanging pot rack and could hook it into a stud. With everything, it probably weighed 100 lbs. I used one of these bad boys in all the holes for the screws and never had any issues. I was hanging multiple cast iron pans, pot lids, and other heavy cooking items and not one anchor point budged. 

If you’re more of a video person, check out this video on the different anchors. There are a lot out there! Thanks for reading.

Which Drywall Anchor is Best? Let's find out! - YouTube