How to attach ANYTHING to a Dot & Dab wall
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Dot & dab walls are really common in UK homes built over the last 30 years or so. It's basically where the plasterboard / drywall is glued on to the blockwork with a special adhesive. The glue is applied in dots and dabs approx. 200mm in size - hence the name dot & dab. A lot of people struggle hanging stuff on dot & dab walls - in today's video I'm going to show you how to hang just about anything on dot and dab. From very light things like pictures and mirrors through to really heavy stuff such as giant radiators. Remember to always follow manufacturer recommended loadings for the fixing being used depending on the wall type. I've just covered some common scenarios here. There's a link to the reference article with more information below. Enjoy!
DOT & DAB BEING APPLIED ##
Dot & Dab Drylining by Namis - Whole Room in 16 mins!
• Dot and Dab Plasterboa...
VIDS YOU MIGHT FIND USEFUL ##
#219 - Simple Tips for Wall Plugs / Anchors
• Some Simple DIY Tips f...
#65 - Drill Dust Catcher
• Making a Drill Dust Ca...
#193 - Fischer DuoPower Fixings
• How strong are Fischer...
#151 - Using Wall Bolts / Shield Anchors
• How to fix REALLY HEAV...
#78 - Avoiding Pipes & Cables in Walls
• 8 TIPS to avoid Pipes ...
Once you're finished on UA-cam here's an article with more in-depth information including links to buy these fixings:
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#DIY #Anchors #Fixings
I’m a Canadian visiting my sister in England. I was completely baffled at how to attach, well anything, to dot and dab (dab and dot?) walls. This guys videos are amazing. Well done! And also very funny.
I didn't even know dot and dab was a thing until we messed up putting up some shelves (that I'd always been fine with before). This is super useful, thank you.
I sit and weep every time I put fixings in the wall as they always seem to be the wrong ones. Now subscribed. No more tears™ (which is probably also a good name for a DIY product range for novices).
Thank you so much for this video.
Sick to death of everything I ever attach to the wall being a piggin' nightmare.
I will be duo-powering from here on.
Legend.
What a fantastic video!
As a complete amateur DIY dad, who enjoys watching and learning, I think my confidence in putting up shelves off has grown exponentially.
Thanks.🤓
Just spent £40 on fixings thanks to your video. Subscribed.
Ive only recently come across fixing to dot and dab, some success, some less so. I think I can handle most situations now. Many thanks for this info.
Great video! I'd love to see a companion video on how to fix about ANYTHING to Lath & Plaster walls. :-)
Really useful video, looking forward to seeing the next one when you get out of hospital.
Thoughts appreciated. 😀👍
Videos are first rate,very informative and practical for DIYers, many thanks
Cheers Mark!
Thanks for the great info, I wish I had seen this sooner. I have been dithering for weeks on which fixings to get for my dot and dab walls. I see now those duopower plugs will do just what I need. You've got a new subscriber!
Thanks buddy, i think that i have just done a PhD in fixings now after seeing this video. What would be great is if you add approximate weight range for each of these fixings. Saved it in my favourites for future reference. Great work.
Another belter. Have these walls on new house. Given me some great pointers.
Lobe the fact you did this to your own walls....🤣🤣🤣
Needs must! 😂👍
The corefix were great for me. Really useful video Andy, thanks.
I have also ditched all my rawlplugs and replaced them with duoplugs, I use them so infrequently anyway I may as well have one plug that can do anything
The explanation of each exactly fits how my brain works 👍
Not just very helpful and full of killer tips, but humerus (ish) also. Great stuff.
Great video! Explanation of wall construction in the start helped a lot.
Learned something today - Back to Back Duofix, cheers mate, much obliged.
Great video. Thanks for the info that will help with fixing items to th3 walls of my daughters new house 👍
Very informative, clearly explained. I would add the Rigifix M6 and M8 anchors. Rigifix M8 x 4 pcs holds my Sony 75" TV securely. Just in case of the tectonic shift... Sony recommends for wall mountings to bear 2.5 times of the weight of the TV. Only Rigifix anchors answer this requirement.
Rigifix seem to also have a pan head / washer type head which is ideal for metal brackets instead of countersunk screw head. I've just bought some for fixing a heavy Ikea Godmorgon bathroom cabinet.
Excellent comprehensive video. Thanks
Excellent sir...thank you for explaining the fittings for dot & dab!!! Wow. You just proved a point. Great stuff. New sub.
Wonderful instructions, thanks so much from a complete novice.
Your tutorials are brilliant, my friend. Thank you
Fantastic video. I've been DIYing for years and this has taught me such a lot. The kind of stuff every house owner needs to know. You've got another subscriber 👍
Great video!! Came to find information and I found it here. Top stuff!!
I've never seen dot&dab walls here in the USA, but I'm sure somebody here has done it. It seems like an ingenious way to get a flat surface on walls (especially poured concrete) that are a little irregular. My outside walls have the drywall nailed to wood strips, which are nailed to the blockwork, so anchoring into them is very similar. My neighbor had a kitchen cabinet that didn't go up to the ceiling, so the wall anchors were the only thing holding it and it started separating at the top. I took a look at it and drilled a 5/8" or maybe 3/4" hole all the way into the block, which was hollow, so I used one of those toggle-bolt anchors with flip-out tabs and that has held the cabinet for about 15 years. The only disadvantage I see with them is that the flip-out section will fall into the wall and have to be replaced if anyone wants to remove and replace the cabinet.
I wish I'd known these tips ~10 years ago. I used to struggle so much with fastening onto (what now know was dot & dab) walls!
This has helped me unbelievably! Thanks very much!
Great video, the only video you should watch on the topic.
T Bolt fixings are fantastic for dot and dab
Brilliant video, very helpful! Many thanks.
And there was me thinking you would use those nice spiral fixings....
😂
Ha ha! No. 😂
I use them all the time hanging 32 inch tvs on dot an dab walls
No problems
@@scottmclean4237 I use them to hang joists off render when building houses - no complaints yet!
Came to this video after a massive fail with those spiral things.... 🙈
You can use a wall bolt to hang something on if you get a longer bolt for it & run a nut up the thread, use the nut to tighten the fixing in the wall & the adjust how much you want the bolt to protrude.
Great video as always ! Lots of useful details, tips and tricks! 👍👍
Cheers bud - no worries! 👍👍
Andy, I have a spare room if you need it👍 Gonna get ❄️❄️❄️ when the boss 👀👀 what some blokes done to her wall. 😉
Thank you - appreciated. 😂
That's really informative, thank you! I'm trying to figure out the best fixing to get a fire extinguisher on a dot-dabbed wall. It's 2kg so not a lot of weight, but the mount doesn't look like it'll take a very wide screw.
Very interesting but I don’t think my party wall will be very happy. Great video must save this
Cheers! 👍😀
Great video, I have been trying to find ways to fix things on my dry lined walls and since this is my first time with such walls there is a lot to learn. The issue now is that that core fix product doesnt seem to exist here in Australia.
Is next video how to patch 6 random holes in dot and dab wall ?
Very possibly 😂
I was thinking that lol
Jokes but honestly the amount of random holes in my walls from trying and failing to attach stuff to them I’d concerning.. so a video dedicated to patching up holes effectively, especially when there are several dud holes close together
That little dust catcher is genius...
Thanks for the tips. Your Mrs must be reet pissed with the mess you made of her walls!
I agree with almost everything you have except you need to use either a blow tool pump or a vacuum depending on weather the hole is solid or a cavity to stop the mechanical fastener slipping on the dust in the walls of the hole. FYI I have been proffeshionally trained to test fixings for the last 20 years.
Thanks Andy - very useful information
No worries! 👍👊
I use Rigifix to hang very heavy items on D&D walls, and Gripit (all 4 sizes) for lighter items and from ceiling plasterboard. They work great.
Really helpful video thanks. Been watching your videos today and they are great. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber! Keep up the great content
Cheers mate... these ruddy walls have been driving me mad! The back to back duo plug method is amazingly strong, just what I was looking for!!
good stuff andy i enjoyed your video good tips,
nice work the Core fix product is new to me
One more bit of info before you go drilling holes in dot and dab walls.. .
Modern houses have plastic pipes in the plumbing system, so don't rely on electronic pipe detectors.
I used to ask customers to put their heating on full blast in the morning before I start work in their house.
That way, I could feel the temperature of the wall, where there was plastic pipes carrying hot or cold water, I could feel the temperature difference on the wall
but the electronic pipe detector would fail to warn me of any pipes.
The same goes for plasterboard that is lined with metal foil.. Those electronic cable/pipe detectors will warn you of cables or pipes any position you place them on a wall.
I use a divining rod to detect water pipes behind walls. Never fails.
Yup - defo. Link in the description to my 'finding pipes & cables' vid... I think. 👍👊
Another good tip ;-)
I live in a new build and the plastic pipes have a thin layer of foil within the plastic so that they can be detected. That's what the developer said on one of our site visits anyway 👍
Great tips as usual.
Regarding the big boy rawl bolts for picture hanging. I imagine you could just cut the spacer another 10mm longer so the bolt head and washer protrude the finished wall.
Then it can be cranked up tight. Just a thought.
Thanks for sharing.
Yup - or also use the threaded rod type and put a nut on the end. 👍
Great video mate 👍🏻
Good vid as always - one of the huge plus points that you missed is that dot and dab can look fantastic on even the worst of walls. We renovated an old house and have a mixture of Dot and Dab and solid walls. Yes, the solid walls are great for fixing big heavy stuff onto very quickly and easily, but the dot and dab walls look SO much better. If I did it again, I'd dab the lot.
Hi again Andy, for really heavy items, have a look at "Rigifix" wall anchors. They're like a heavy duty version of the Corefix anchors you mentioned. Much better than Rawlbolts for Dot & dab.
I've used Rigifix to hang heavy (and heavily filled) kitchen wall cabinets ... no issues at all. Great product.
Nicely done once again 👍. Good luck explaining to Mrs Mac.. how about hanging a really really big picture over all the holes... if only you had some wall plugs left 😂🤣😂. Keep up the awesome vids 👍.
Cheers Frank! 😂👍
nice one Andy i am having one of those setting tools ;-) I haven't had much luck with them on cavity wall plasterboard
They're great. Hard to get hold of now for some reason. 👍
Such a helpful video! Brought me to conclude that the core fix screws will be what I need to mount my tv (25kg) to my dot and dab wall. Question: now you've done to that the wall to help us all learn, what do you do to patch it up?
I fancy getting one of those go pro hammers now!
It works great with large format tile
Ahhhh yes this is how my walk is!
I use to install plasma tv's around 10 years ago and some were really heavy, I used the 8mm anchor shield bolts (around 15:35 in your vid) with 10mm nuts as the spacer, as a test I would hang off the bracket!
Great informative video ,great stuff.
Brilliant video
I think you are on something good with the format of this video, with the explanation of the subject in hand. Building methods and what to look out for etc could be good be subjects for other videos
Next video: How to fill plug holes in plasterboard walls! If you're going to get killed for drilling the holes, might as well get two videos out of it! 😂
The cavities in our walls are at about 2 inch, and they spaced the dabs out so much that the wall is basically a trampoline, but that's Barratts for you!
Ha - wow! Yeah seen a few walls like that! 👍😀
@@GosforthHandyman Yep we live in a Barratts home and found that the gap beyound the plaster is 40mm (I guessing breeze next)?
Please can you give us some advise on the plugs to use for a clothes hanger, cheers
Btw really enjoy your vids 👍
I’ll see your Barratts and raise you a Morris Homes piss poor build quality
Great video as usual! Could you do a video on removing all of those types of fittings with as little damage as possible to the wall incase you had to replace the fixing?
Will hopefully sort that at some point! 👍👊
Thanks so much for the upload. I am gradually becoming a DIY professional. How would I have known my wall is a Dot & Dab type if it were not for your video? Thanks again mate.
I suppose you could knock on the wall and see if some parts are hollow or not
Really useful thanks
Good video!
Bloody brilliant
Being exposed mostly to 2x4 framed walls in the US this was interesting. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of room there to run pipes and wires. All the electrical boxes must be slim. Great info.
Normally the cavity behind the drywall is a bit thicker than that - normally at least 15mm, deep enough for pipes - particularly thin on that wall for some reason. Our back boxes are normally 25mm deep. 👍
Backboxes are usually 35mm - 25mm ones are a pain to intall anything other than a lightswitch in - and you just let them into the blockwork to the required depth. Pipes ditto - when I've run 10mm plastic drops to radiators here I''ve run them in flexible conduit chased into the blockwork as then if you have an accident you can pull the pipe out and replace it.
Hi, Andy. Excellent advice from you as always. As a matter of interest, if you have to fasten something permanently to a stone, brick or concrete-block wall have you considered using 7.5mm Masonry Torx screws ? They are cheap to buy and they make them in lengths from 50mm up to 180mm. Just drill a 6mm hole to the required depth and impact-drive the screw straight into the hole. No plastic plug required. The whole process of drilling and screwing takes a matter of seconds and they are rock solid. Only downside is that you can't always get the same 'grip' if you use the same hole twice. But after you've used them I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't use traditional plastic wall plugs again. Ever !
I used some of those doing framing in my garage. They were fantastic. Never considered them for shelves and such like, but I accidentally ordered about 30 packets when one would do so I might start ploughing them into random walls like Andy has done here.
They're great if you can see the blockwork but trouble is on a normal wall if you hit a mortar line or edge of a block you'll need to switch to a different fitting so not really worth the hassle. Fantastic on solid concrete walls though! 👍👊
Hi I really enjoyed your video. I want to embark on my first ever diy project by fixing timber slats to my dot and dab wall. I have thinking I could nail it in but I would be interested in what you would do.
Proper learnt from you! The "ask your dad" method didnt work for me as he has solid walls and i have dot & dab! Got a box of duo powers from screw fix. Putting all sorts on the wall. Manly as chuff mate 👍
Awesome stuff !! 😂👊
Many thanks
very helpful .cheers
Only problem I have with dot and dab is every hole can require a different method of attack, so it can get time consuming when trying to hang multiple items with preset hole distances. I fit a lot of stainless hand basins that need 6 holes each, I've had them where all 6 holes have needed different fixings or combinations of them etc. Not helped because over the plasterboard there's usually white rock so you can't knock to find hollows/solid parts, you only know what's there after the drill has gone in.
Hi Andy, surely, the thickness of what you are attaching to the wall needs to be taken into account when deciding the screw length?
Great video
👍👊
What about just using one 6x50mm duopower? I find a few disadvantages to using the two 30mm plugs. Need to use 70mm screw which means a lot of drilling into the concrete, the first plug doesn't always fit through the plasterboard due to the end bit, and the first plug could get pushed too far into the hole, meaning a gap between the two. The 50mm plug still gives about 30mm in the concrete. Have I got something wrong though? (Excellent video though, I learned a lot thank you).
9:56 Brilliant and so true. 🤣🤣🤣
Know I know what dot and dap is. I'm really liking our stick framing (2x4 or 2x6) in Western Canada.
Good video. May I add another way to fix heavy stuff like radiators, boilers and Spur-type shelving to dot and dab?
It's not fast and a bit messy, but what I do is put a dab where I want the fixing to be by injecting PB adhesive via a used sealant gun cartridge through the fixing hole - one full cartridge is usually enough - and leave the hole not quite filled.
Now comes to the downside of this technique. You have to wait for the whole thing to dry out, which can be a week or so - don't try to rush it. Then re-drill the hole and use a normal plastic plug as you would for a solid wall.
Yup - good tip! Also sometimes just replacing a section of the plasterboard with wood can work depending on what's going on the wall.👍
@@GosforthHandyman Never been tempted to do that here. But I've become rather good at letting in PB patches.
Great video, very helpful. I have been looking for your Thermalite brick dot and dab video that you mentioned that you were planning. If you did produce it please can you post a link to it. Cheers.
The cavity is generally filled with insulation so any water penetrating the bricks can have an easy path to the porous blockwork to enable the water to penetrate through to cause damp on the inside walls. Water penetrating the bricks when insulation is not present just trickles down to the bottom of the outside wall and escape to the outside which is of course below the houses floor level because it was properly built and not slapped together the easy jerrybuilt way right?
I drilled into the wall of my new house expecting it to be like my old one, and oops, it's clearly dot and dab with all of the voids I encountered.
I did a terrible job. I found it hard to drill straight because as soon as the masonary bit got into the blockwork it skipped around a bit and widened the hole in the plastboard. It meant by smaller duopower plug just kept spinning. I might have to give it a go with the next size up and hope for a deeper fix.
Useful info, but did you ever do one on the thermalite / aircrete blocks by any chance?
Hi Andy. Firstly -I've watched a lot of your videos over the past few years as I have been doing an extension and various other DIY. Thanks for all the information. I need to check out your drumming channel at some point too as I am also a keen drummer :)
One of the last parts of my extension is to put up shelves and a bannister. There are two types of wall, dot and dab (where I intend to use corefix) and a stud/Plasterboard. There isn't stud in the right places to fix my bannisters and the void is quite large so I am thinking of using your double plug method. The gap is gap between the wall (stone) and plasterboard is ~50mm. So if I use a 100 or 120mm screw that should do the trick? I was going to use a brown plug fall thenwall and then a duo plug for the plaster. My concern is that inner duo plug will start to open up once the screw has gone through it and then start to spin, is that not an issue with your method? Cheers
Very clear and detailed. Thank you. I want to attach a 20kg Ikea Godmorgon bathroom cabinet to a dot and dab wall with brick behind it. It seems like the corefix fixings would be easiest but Ikea specify using a pan head screw instead of countersunk so that there is a good connection between the screw and the metal wallmount / bracket for the cabinet. I've searched but I can't find any pan head / washer head type screw that Corefix sell. Can @GosforthHandyman give any recommendations?
Good vid. I laughed out at the jokes :D You could do a vid on GripIt fixings some day.
Looking forward to your video on the evil thermalite block fixings. When I did my kitchen I used window anchors with the plastic slug that gets pulled through the sleeve. As Elton would say, its still standing (and hanging).
Yeah - Thermalite can be a real challenge. There's some great fixings out there but they're VERY expensive: ua-cam.com/video/BkdabigrkYw/v-deo.html
@@GosforthHandyman Wow those are pricey which is why videos like yours are incredibly helpful. As I'm a cheap skate I used these ... www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-window-anchors-8-x-100mm-10-pack/16018
@GosforthHandyman Great video as always. If I have 3x3 timber that I want to secure to a dot n dab wall, what should I use? I was thinking of countersinking to shorten the required screw/bolt. Thanks for any advice. I'm pretty clueless.
9:55 the real reason I subscribe to this channel 😂😂
I was wrong - 20:45 answered a question that was building up in my head all the way through 😂😂Great info as always Andy.
😂😂👊
You should make a video about how to patch up the fixings or remove them. I'll tell you to be honest, I haven't a clue how to remove the compression fixing other than guessing to drill the clamp head off with and oversized metal drill bit?
Great video! Do you have another on using chemical resin to support shelving on a dot and dab wall?
Did you ever do a video about light weight blocks
Brilliant video. Just a quick question, should you need to remove the corefix fitting, how would you do it as it has the metal sleeve? Would you screw the screw back in a few turns and lever it out?
Fantastic video. Really useful 😊
Currently renovating my house, how do you fix into lathe & plaster walls?
Dude this is SO USEFUL!
I am occasionally having an issue where I try screwing something into the wall but instead of tightening to the wall, the screw starts pullin* the plasterboard out, do you know why that’s happening?
Oh wait it the screw bottoming out?
More stuff I thought I knew...an' now I know more.
Thank you for this video, it's taught me about dot nd dab, I am a single woman and can't afford a handyman, I'm trying to hang a tv with and arm mechanism to a dot and dab wall, with the anchor plugs shown at the end of the video, where do you suggest I drill INTO? Also can these anchor plugs be used in solid walls? Thank you x
Rawl bolts. They make them big enough to mount heavy machinery as long as they are mounted into masonry :)
They are ideal for solid walls. Use a masonry/concrete drill bit and use the hammer setting on your drill.
I always use dryline plugs they're quite expensive and similar to the corefix but instead of a metal insert they have a rigid body which stops the plaster board from caving in as you finally tighten them also you screw them in like the helter skelter type after you hammer them in . The load they can take is terrific. Added bonus they come with drill bits included and screws.