PSA: I used drywall anchors vs toggle bolts for a shelf and one almost killed me

Put up a 6 foot shelf in my laundry room last Saturday using those plastic drywall anchors (you know, the blue ones). By Tuesday morning the whole thing came crashing down at 3am - scared the crap out of me and my cat. Swapped them out for toggle bolts yesterday and that shelf isn't going anywhere now, even with 40 pounds of detergent on it. Why do they even sell those plastic anchors for anything heavier than a picture frame? Has anyone else had a shelf fail like this or am I just unlucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_abby10d ago

Did you pre-drill the holes for the plastic anchors or just screw them straight into the drywall? I've seen people skip that step and the anchors just spin instead of gripping, which is basically a death sentence for any shelf over a couple pounds. Also curious what kind of drywall you've got - that super thin stuff in older houses is basically cardboard and those plastic anchors might as well be toothpicks in it.

emery60310d ago

Honestly, I gotta push back a little here @the_abby. I've been hanging shelves for years and I almost never pre-drill for those plastic anchors, and honestly it's never been an issue for me. The trick is to use a sharp drywall screw and just drive it through the anchor slowly, let the threads bite into the wall. If you're getting spinning, you're probably using the wrong anchor type or you're cranking too fast. And that thin drywall thing? I've put heavy bookshelves up on 1/2 inch stuff using toggle bolts instead of those flimsy plastic ones, and they hold just fine. Pre-drilling can actually make the hole too loose if you're not careful, which is worse than just going in raw. But hey, different methods for different folks I guess.