My Shelf Fell Off My Wall

[tamaris]

After 14 years, too much weight, all the crockery broke. Plasterboard, nothing behind it, a sudden? Wall. It only had 3 large plastic screws in it. I'm wondering which would be the best way to fix it ?

[DTCwordfan]

buy a new house?

[choux]

That is something you could have done without I am sure. :(
Are you talking about DIY for yourself, tamaris? Do you have any experience?

[choux]

It might help if we put out a shout for The Builder - consider it done :)

[tamaris]

I have noone to help, my handyman is being handy elsewhere :)

[LadyCG]

DT, that made me laugh!

[Canary42]

You can get special plasterboard fittings.

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[bhg481]

Nothing wrong with fixing to plasterboard so long as you use the right fixings. I moved from a concrete house to a plasterboard house 40 years ago; a board carrying coat hooks which had come away from the concrete wall is still fixed firmly to the plasterboard in this house.

[Canary42]

An alternative is to locate where any wooden battens are sited behind the plasterboard and screw through the plasterboard into them with ordinary screws. That does restrict you a bit as to where you can fix stuff.

[tamaris]

No can't do that as I have 3 shelves one under each other

[Old_Geezer]

If you have that drywall rubbish, at least find the framework behind it and if you screw into the wall, make sure you screw onto that.

Better still, pull all the dodgy walls down, use bricks & mortar, and proper plastering to get a decent wall to screw into.

(Can't stand those plasterboard ones. It's like they had no proper skilled plasterers available so took the option to nail up an already flat surface instead in the hope that'd do :-( )

[The Builder]

Ter dah..................... ( © Prof. Pedant, Porton Down.)

Only just seen this. Plasterboard on timber stud wall?

Uprights are usually 400mm apart. You'll probably find 2 or 3 within the area between your shelves.
Cut a timber batten (25mm x 50mm) the length of the shelf.
Drill a few small holes to locate upright studs.
Screw batten to uprights.
"Hook" the shelf unit over the batten.
Screw shelf to batten from above.

[Canary42]

Good technique from The Builder which I have used in the past (timber batten on front) - it gives you complete flexibility/visibility as to where you can screw.

[Khandro]

Or, Rawlplug spring toggles, see on here third from left;

https://www.rawlplug.com/en/products/lightweight-fixings/plasterboard-fixings

They will take a lot of weight; you make a larger hole & push them through they spring then open inside the cavity.

[Barsel]

I've just had a floating shelf put up on a plasterboard wall.
The man said he won't use the screws and rawl plugs that came with the shelf, and said he would use his own plasterboard screws, or plasterboard rawl plugs, or both. ( Something like that!)
Anyway, he did ask me not to put anything too heavy on it. ( typical bloke)

[Khandro]

Barsel ; He should've used spring toggle bolts. See above.

[Barsel]

Khandro, he may well have done, but didn't show me what he was using as I wouldn't have a clue what he would be talking about.

[Khandro]

^^ I think if he had used toggle bolts he wouldn't have needed to tell you not to put anything heavy on it.

[Khandro]

'Rawlplug - M5 x 50 mm Spring toggles are ideal for fixing to cavity walls and ceilings of low structural strength e.g. lathe and plaster. The toggle spreads the load over a wide area for extra security making these ideal for double thickness plasterboard and large fixtures. Safe working load of 20kg in Plasterboard.'

20kgs is about 25 bottles of wine !