Rant: Stop using drywall anchors for heavy shelves

My wife's pottery shelf crashed down after 3 months because those cheap plastic anchors just gave out. Swapped to toggle bolts for $6 at Home Depot and now I can hang on it without worry. How many of you actually check the weight rating before drilling?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.hayden1mo ago

Swapped to toggle bolts too and never looked back.

jennyp191mo ago

ellis.hayden said "swapped to toggle bolts too and never looked back." Yeah I did the same after my wife's bookshelf took out a chunk of drywall. But here's the thing - I actually had a shelf fail because I used the wrong size toggle bolt for the thickness of the drywall. The wings didn't open up fully behind the board so it pulled through anyway. Now I always drill a test hole first to see what the gap is behind the drywall. Some walls have fire blocking or furring strips back there and you gotta adjust. Toggles are great but you still gotta match them to the wall.

hayden46628d ago

Yeah my buddy swore by toggle bolts until he had the exact same problem you're talking about. He said the wings just folded up and pulled through because he didn't check the gap first. It's wild how much drywall can vary house to house.