Bob emailed us about a rack in his closet that is falling off the wall. It was attached using drywall anchors but it was pulling out of the wall so we brought over some toggle bolts and made it almost strong enough to hang on! Each toggle bolt that we used can support up to 70 lbs.
We purchased:
(4) 3″ toggle bolts
We brought with us:
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Pliers
We recommend:
Electric screwdriver
Step 1
Take the rack off the wall. Bob’s rack was attached using four screws that were screwed into drywall wall anchors. We unscrewed the screws but one of them pulled out of the wall with the wall anchor attached so we held the anchor with a plier in order to spin the screw to remove it.
Step 2
Drill. Your toggle bolts are going to require a hole noticeably larger than your old drywall anchors – the reason is the toggle end of the bolt flips open inside the wall. The toggle folds as you push it through the hole in the wall (which is why you need a bigger hole) and then opens up inside the wall to brace itself against the back of the wall to hold the bolt (the screw) in place. Choose an appropriate size drill bit that is about the same size as the toggle when it’s folded together and flat.
Step 3
Put the toggle bolt (the screw) through the hole in the rack and screw the bolt into the toggle.
Step 4
Shove the toggle through the hole in the wall far enough so that the toggle opens up on the back side of the wall. Tug on it to make sure the toggle opened.
Step 5
Screw the bolt (the screw) tight. You’ll need to put some tension on the screw as you turn it otherwise the other end of the bolt inside the wall will just spin as you turn the screwdriver and it’ll never get tight. Add tension by pulling on the rack which will pull on the bolt (the screw) head. Tighten the bolt until it pulls the rack tight against the wall. Repeat for as many holes as you have in your rack.
You just got results at home!
If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!