Heavy Mirror General problems, solutions, information and advice on fixing to walls of all kinds

[Quinlad]

Apologies for the level of detail here and the number of questions, but I'm clueless when it comes to DIY.

I'm in a flat that was built about 7 months ago. In the Information Pack, it advised us not to hang objects from the walls that weighed over 11kg. We have a mirror 160cm-wide that weighs 18kg.

As it fixes to the wall in two places (with a hook at each end) does mean that we're essentially hanging two 9 kg objects, 160 cm apart?

I was advised to locate the wall studs and fix one end of the mirror to that, as it would hold better. Is this correct?

I bought en electric detector thing and found vertical and horizontal studs. We drilled through a vertical one and it seemed to be metal rather than wood. Is that right? And is it still a good idea to fix the mirror here?

We were advised to use hollow wall anchors. But when we tried to screw them in, they kept spinning. They teeth of the anchor wouldn't bite in the plaster so the anchor wouldn't lock in place.

Please can you advise on what we should do.

Thank you!

[chris_on_tour2002]

yes, effectively each fixing will bear a load of 9kg, a third fixing would mean a load of 6 kg per fixing PROVIDED that the mirror has been hung proficiently with equal loads to both fixings (good use of a spirit level here). fixing directly into a stud would certainly make for a more secure fixing (metal or wood). if you can be bothered or are overly concerned it is possible to cut out a section of the plasterboard and add another stud or a noggin spanning the length of the mirror and beyond, meaning that you could fix the mirror securely exactly where you wanted. but this does mean a patch up job and probably reskimming.

with regard to the spinning anchors, check that :

a) the toggles have passed right through the hole - sometimes they don't, if the void behind the plasterboard is narrow they can hit the blockwork or plasterboard wall behind before they have passed all the way through

b) that you have drilled the holes correctly and that they are not too big.

once the toggles have opened try pulling the fixing out tightly whilst turning the screw - a possible solution is to hold the fixing with a pair of bullnose pliers. this will allow the screw to turn inside the fixing and pull the toggles out. once they have bitten you can remove the pliers and fully tighten. or wedge a couple of matchsticks in the hole to stop it turning again this will enable the screw to turn and pull the toggles in (bearing in mind that i dont know what type of anchors you are using).

alternatively go to the fixing to plasterboard project on the website and look for the Easy Driva and the Redi driver fixings/:

there are numerous types of fixings for cavity out there, if no luck with one type then just try another eventually you will find one that works. if you have a blockwork wall behind the plasterboard just use a normal solid wall fixing with a longer screw.

good luck!

[Quinlad]

Thanks Chris.

We went with Redidrivers and the mirror's up.

Cheers!