Paintings, photo frames, blinds, shelves, towel racks, wall lights and curtain rods… When it comes to hanging a decorative accessory on the wall or ceiling, the first thing to consider is the question : what type of ankle would be best? Here are some pointers…
The need to choose the right ankle
People who are already used to using this fastener know very well that many criteria come into play in its choice. What’s more, with the wide variety of models on the market, you get lost very quickly, especially if you don’t know anything about it.
The use of an unsuitable peg can have unfortunate and disastrous consequences such as unhooking the table, for example. In some cases, the support may even crack. Two essential criteria will thus have to be taken into consideration when purchasing dowels, namely the material of the wall and the weight of the load that the dowels will have to support.
Universal dowels
As one of the models most used by DIYers and professionals, universal dowels are generally equipped with collars and support a maximum weight of fifty kilos. Once inserted into the hole, these unfold and cling securely to the walls of the opening. Available in both plastic and metal depending on the model, universal plugs are especially suitable for solid walls, to name only concrete, solid brick, alveolar slabs, or even natural stone. Be careful though, because these models are strongly not recommended for particularly porous aerated concrete, as well as Placoplâtre.
Molly pegs or plac pegs
As with the universal dowels, the Molly type dowels also require the use of a drill. However, these often metallic models are mainly intended for hollow supports. Concrete block, hollow bricks, placo, slabs… The installation of this fixing is very easy. Indeed, for an optimized anchoring, the dowel is introduced with a screw in the hole. All you have to do is remove the screw with pliers essentially intended for this purpose and you’re done. The Mollys can support a load of up to fifty kilos, except for the nylon models.
chemical anchors
Whether the walls are hollow or solid, chemical anchors can also be used. Their particularities? These dowels are made up of hardener and resin which are injected into the cylinder inserted into the hole using a syringe or gun. Subsequently, the hook will be introduced into the imprint. Wait a few hours for everything to dry before hanging a picture or a wall clock on it. Here, care must be taken to respect the drying time if you want to obtain a solid support. This type of anchor with chemical sealing is mainly used to fix very heavy loads.
Special pegs
The pegs to hit as their names suggest will set with the help of hammer blows. Due to its time savings since drilling a hole is not mandatory, this model is recommended if you have a series of trinkets to hang on the wall or ceiling.
Otherwise, to fix a heavy object approaching the hundred kilos, nothing beats pegs bolts. The latter operate on the same principle as the universal ones, except that bolts take the place of conventional screws.
Otherwise, mainly manufactured for ceilings, tipping models are variants of Molly.
Finally, people who do not have drills will direct their choice towards self-drilling dowels for hollow walls, otherwise self-drilling for other media types.