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The most common reason a shelf or a TV bracket falls off the wall is the wrong fixing, not a weak wall. Every wall type needs a different anchor. Get the pair right — the fixing and the wall — and it will hold for years.

What you'll need

Everything here is stocked across our branches.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Work out what the wall is made of

    Tap it and drill a test hole in a hidden spot. Timber/stud feels solid and gives timber shavings; plasterboard is hollow behind a thin board; concrete or block is hard all through and gives grey dust. The wall decides the fixing.

  2. 2

    Into timber or a stud: use a wood screw

    Screw straight into solid timber or a wall stud with a wood screw of the right length — no plug needed. Find studs with a stud finder or by tapping; fixing into the stud, not just the board, is what carries weight.

  3. 3

    Into plasterboard (hollow wall): use a proper cavity anchor

    For light items a plastic plug may do, but for anything with weight use a metal toggle or a self-drilling plasterboard anchor rated for the load. A bare screw into plasterboard will always pull out.

  4. 4

    Into concrete or block: drill and plug, or use a masonry anchor

    Drill with a masonry bit (hammer drill for concrete), insert the matching wall plug or use a sleeve/expansion anchor, then drive the screw. Match the drill bit size to the plug — too big a hole and it spins.

  5. 5

    Outdoors or wet areas: use corrosion-resistant fixings

    In PNG's humidity and salt air, plain steel screws rust and stain fast. Use stainless or hot-dip galvanised fixings outside, in bathrooms and anywhere near the coast.

Tips for the PNG climate

  • Match the anchor to the wall AND to the weight. A heavy mirror or TV needs a rated anchor, not the plug that came in the box.
  • Outdoors and in wet rooms, always stainless or galvanised — ordinary screws bleed rust stains down the wall within months here.
  • Drill the plug hole the exact size on the packet. Too large and the plug just spins; too small and you crack the wall.
  • Not sure what your wall is or what will hold your load? Bring a photo and the weight to the branch and staff will match the fixing.

Common questions

My screws keep pulling out of the wall — why?
Almost always the wrong anchor for the wall type, or no anchor in a hollow/masonry wall. Identify the wall, then use the matching plug or anchor rated for the weight.
What holds a TV bracket safely?
Fix into the timber studs, or use masonry anchors rated for the load in a concrete/block wall. Never hang a TV on plasterboard with plastic plugs alone.
Which screws for outdoors in PNG?
Stainless steel or hot-dip galvanised, always — plain steel rusts quickly in the humidity and salt air. The branch stocks corrosion-resistant fixings.

Ready to start?

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