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Choosing the correct fastener or fixing is important and can dramatically improve the ease of the job at hand. With today's modern Adhesives the DIY enthusiast can save valuable time and increase the outcome of a successful project with ease.

Thousands of different fixings and fasteners exist, some are excellent and some are not advised for use by DIY enthusiasts.

In Red you will see the type of fixing or fastener and in Blue you will see my opinion.

 GRAB ADHESIVES  EXCELLENT 

There are literally hundreds of different makes of grab adhesives. These normally come in tubes which fit directly into a cartridge gun (similar to silicone). Whilst I will not recommend a particular brand as I am not being paid to do so I will tell you to steer well clear of the "solvent free" versions, these are normally nowhere near as good as their counterparts which include a solvent. Most of these adhesives can be used for gap filling as well as an adhesive, most are instant grab and offer some degree of slump resistance. These adhesives offer distinct advantages to screws or nails as there is no "making good" after fastening, you simply apply the adhesive push into place and wait for it to go off, with nails or screws you have to spend time trying to conceal the head of the nail or screw which can be difficult. Always support the item you are gluing with nails or a baton beneath until the adhesive has set properly!

Grab Adhesives are perfect for dado rail, skirting boards, architectural mouldings, panelling, splash backs and a thousand other uses! A friend of mine recently fastened the brackets of a radiator to a wall using just a grab adhesive!

This Stainless steel splash back was fixed to the wall using grab adhesive!

MASONRY NAILS  POOR

Masonry nails are one of the products that I often wonder why they sell! In my opinion these little monsters are about as useful as a chocolate tea pot, I have tried on several occasions to use them but always with no success. You have absolutely no chance at all of getting a masonry nail to penetrate a hard brick or piece of stone! With a little luck you might be able to make one stick in the mortar between the joints of the brick or stone if you are lucky! My advice would be to choose a far more reliable fastener!

MASONRY SCREWS EXCELLENT

These little beauties can save loads of time and money and offer a easy reliable way of fastening to masonry. As long as you have a drill/driver to drive the masonry screw home after drilling a pilot hole you will love these fixings. There is no expansion force so they can be used close to the edge without fear of cracking the masonry.  Masonry screws actually cut a thread into the material as they are being screwed, they can easily be removed and used again! I once fastened plasterboard to a flat wall with these just by holding the plasterboard flat against the wall and drilling the correct size hole for the masonry screw right through the plasterboard and into the masonry, then it is simply a matter of screwing the screw in with a drill/driver. A longer than normal masonry bit is required as you have to drill deep enough into the masonry or else the the screw will crack the masonry in half!

SHIELD ANCHORS     NUT TYPE   EXCELLENT                           

                                 BOLT TYPE POOR

Shield anchors are very heavy duty fixings, these are often used in industry and can be used in concrete, brick or stone. There are two different types- one which has a nut and the other a bolt. It is of vital importance to drill the correct size hole as if it is too big the whole anchor will spin in the hole and it will not work!

These are used to fasten objects to the floor in most cases but can be used on walls and concrete ceilings etc.

The Nut type is preferred as if the anchor spins in the hole you can grip the stud above the nut and hold it until the anchor has spread sufficiently to grip the hole.

NUT TYPE SHIELD ANCHOR               BOLT TYPE SHIELD ANCHOR

The bolt type often spins in the hole and is very difficult to tighten although it is sometimes possible by levering the bolt upwards whilst turning it.

Wall Plug   Excellent

Wall plugs are the most commonly used type of fixing device, they are simple to use and give good results with a simple wood screw. There are several different sizes of wall plug all of which are different colours to match the different Hole size and screw size.

Yellow is the smallest and requires a 5mm drill and 6-8 size screw

Red is the next size up and requires a 6mm drill and screw size 8-10

Brown which is probably the commonest size requires a 7mm drill and a screw size of 10-14

Blue are huge and require a drill size of 10mm and a screw of 14-18

Problems can be had if the plug spins in the hole, this is often caused by the drill being too big, if it happens pull out the plug and put the next size plug in.

Easi driver  Good

Easi drivers can be Nylon or metal and are used to fasten to Plasterboard, they work ok on partition walls but are not so good on a brick wall that has been dry lined as the easi driver hits the brick behind. If you are fastening to a dry Lined wall use wall plugs.

The advantage of these is that you don't need a drill as you just screw it into the plasterboard and then with the screw provided screw directly into the easi driver.

Spring Toggle   Good

Spring toggles and gravity toggles work in much the same way, these are excellent at spreading a load and can hold a fair amount of weight. These are good for holding radiator brackets etc. The toggle comes complete with a machine screw which when tightened grips really well. The only bad point of these is when you come to remove the screw the toggle is normally lost! Perhaps it would be a good idea to put some instant grab adhesive on the part of the toggle that touches the wall then on removal of the screw the toggle will stay in place

Cavity fixing Good

Cavity fixings are pretty useful as long as the screw is not over tightened, I have used these with my cordless drill and set the torque incorrectly and pulled the whole thing back through the Plasterboard, these are a good cheap way of fixing to plasterboard.

Plasterboard Screw  Good

Wood Screws          Normal wood screws poor

                    Turbogolds or Ultra turbo screws are excellent

Wood screws are manufactured by hundreds of different firms from around the world and some designs are very old. Brass screws for instance always come with a slotted head which makes driving them extremely difficult with a drill/driver. Fortunately there is an answer, the Turbogold from Screwfix comes in either standard Turbogold

Prodrive®, double hardened, Yellow Zinc Plated, deep thread, rifled shank.

	Prodrive® Head Trouble-free driving, reduced cam-out & compatible with Pozidriv"
	Self Countersinking For a flush finish even in MDF & laminate boards
	Double Hardened Zinc Plated with yellow passivate for corrosion resistance & toughness
	Unique Rifled Shank For easier driving & reduced splitting. Allows screws to be used closer to the edge. Fully threaded under 80mm

	Prodrive® Head Reduces cam-out. Compatible with Pozidriv"
	Self Countersinking Gives a flush finish, even in MDF & laminates
	Stainless Steel For effective resistance to rust
	Unique Rifled Shank Easier driving & reduced splitting. Allows screws to be used closer to the edge. Fully threaded under 80mm.
	Razor Sharp Tip Allows fast accurate drilling