Had a whole cabinet fall off the wall yesterday

I was dead set against using toggle bolts for anything. Thought they were overkill and just stuck with plastic anchors like I always did. Put up a kitchen cabinet in my own house last week, loaded it with plates, and the whole thing ripped out of the drywall around 6pm. Spent my whole Saturday patching holes and putting in toggle bolts instead. Any of you guys run into this with drywall vs studs?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray35619d ago

Spent the better part of a Saturday last year doing the exact same thing with a wall mounted bookshelf. Loaded it up with hardcovers and watched it slowly pull away from the wall over a week. I was stubborn about toggle bolts too, thought they were just for heavy mirrors or something. Once I finally caved and put them in on the second try, that shelf has been rock solid for a year now. Honestly, I think the key is making sure you drill a clean hole that's the right size for the toggle. If you try to force it in a too small hole you just end up shredding the drywall. Your Saturday sounds exactly like mine, but at least now you know those shelves aren't going anywhere.

jennifer83319d ago

Toggle bolts were my final boss too, took me three trips to the hardware store before I caved and got them for a heavy mirror in my hallway. That first hole I drilled was too tight and I mangled the toggle so bad the wings wouldn't even open, had to cut it out and patch the drywall. But once I bought the right bit size and got a clean hole, that mirror hasn't budged in two years. Did you have any trouble getting the wings to open behind the wall, or did they just spin on you?

the_jennifer19d ago

Toggle bolts definitely have their place, but you might have been able to avoid the whole mess if you had hit studs. Drywall alone, even with the best anchors, just can't hold a loaded cabinet long term. Those plastic anchors are fine for a small shelf with some spices, but for a full cabinet with plates you really need to find the studs behind the wall. It takes a little extra time to measure and mark them out, but it saves you from patching holes and buying toggle bolts later. Even toggle bolts, which are great for hollow walls, can fail if the weight is too much over time so studs are always the way to go for anything heavy.