Plasterboard on brick wall: How can I attach plasterboard to a brick wall?
mounting – Anchoring shelves on hollow wall backed by brick
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I’m working on hanging an Ikea Lisabo shelf. Earlier, I put one on a wall without much trouble using snap toggles, which are great. However, this second shelf, on a different wall, is giving me trouble.
The wall seems to be drywall, or possibly plaster, over plywood, followed by a small air gap, and then brick. The picture below shows a hole I drilled, illuminated by a flashlight. Unfortunately, the air gap between the plywood and then brick is insufficient to snap snap toggles into place; they require 1⅞” inch clearance in which to rotate flat after being inserted into the hole. I bought 3/16″ standard spring-loaded toggle bolts, hoping they would require less clearance. I was able to get one of the two required toggles to open in the air gap, but the other won’t — it appears that the distance between the plywood and the brick wall isn’t uniform, and there’s not enough clearance on the left hole.
Now I’m wondering what to do next. Two ideas I’ve considered:
- Put some type of mounts into the brick behind the hollow wall. I’ve never mounted anything to brick or cement, so I’m not really sure whether this would work. I’m also worried that the approximately 2″ of distance between the brick wall and the shelf could severely reduce the shelf’s capacity, because the screw or bolt will be unsupported for that length.
- Drive large-ish wood screws through the drywall/plaster and into the wood behind, making sure they’re short enough that they don’t strike the bricks. My two concerns here are whether two wood screws would be strong enough, and also whether the wood backing is thick enough to provide adequate support.
I don’t think it’s simply plaster laths, as it seems too thick for that, but I’m not certain.
I don’t think it’s simply plaster laths, as it seems too thick for that, but I’m not certain.How should I proceed in mounting the shelves?
Regarding duplicates
I made an attempt to find duplicate questions before asking this one, but none seem quite to match my situation. Here are a few close ones, though:
- Fixing TV on concrete behind drywall
This is perhaps closest. It doesn’t offer a conclusive answer about how big a gap between the brick and the drywall is too big, though. - How can I fix a cabinet to plasterboard with brick wall behind?
- What is up with this wall, and what is the right way to hang something on it?
- mounting
- brick
4
I ended up buying a half-inch masonry bit and drilling into the brick behind the holes far enough so that I had sufficient clearance to deploy the snap toggles.
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How to add rawlplug on brick after going through plasterboard?
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#1
I have walls with plasterboard, insulation and then the brick (or breeze blocks).
I want to drill through and put screws into the solid wall.
But then I need a rawlplug where the screw goes into the solid wall?
How do I put a rawlplug into the solid wall?
… without making a massive hole on the plasterboard side?
If I don’t use a rawlplug, then overtime the screw hold will be lost?
Really confused what to do.
Some sort of plasterboard anchor isn’t an option.
+ How much do I drill in to give a solid connection?
28mm? This is the smaller size I’ve seen on screwfix.
Thanks.
Bodgedbuild
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#2
I use solder, the thick solder used for plumbing. I push it in the hole until it bottoms out and pull it back out, cut it so it will sit a few mil short of the surface and then just run a long enough screw to go past the plasterboard and deep enough into the brick.
mattylad
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#3
screw the screw into the plug a little bit then push it into the hole.
Or use longer screws and plugs that are the whole length of the screw.
Harry Bloomfield
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#4
OM2 said:
+ How much do I drill in to give a solid connection?
28mm? This is the smaller size I’ve seen on screwfix.Click to expand…
I would drill into the wall around 1.5″ or 35mm, so the full length of a normal red plug would go into the brick, push the plug in attached / screwed to the screw, give the screw a tap with a hammer, to get the plug deep into the hole, then screw it in normally.
Your screw needs to be almost – 35mm + face of brick to face of PB + what ever the thickness of the thing you are fixing.
CBW
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#5
You can get screws which don’t need rawl plugs. Depending of course what you’re securing.
JobAndKnock
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#6
OM2 said:
I have walls with plasterboard, insulation and then the brick (or breeze blocks).
I want to drill through and put screws into the solid wall.
But then I need a rawlplug where the screw goes into the solid wall?Click to expand…
Drill through with a long masonry bit until you hit the masonry wall. 7mm drill bit for a brown plug and #10 or #12 (5.0 or 6.0mm) screws. You will feel this change in material when you get to the masonry. Note how far into the wall the bit has gone at this point. Then drill an extra 50 to 70mm into the masonry. As @mattylad says a masonry plug can be fitted onto the end of the screw and pushed gently into position until you locate the plug in the masonry. Knock the plug in fully with a hammer then tighten up with a driver. You really need to aim at getting at least 50mm of screw into the wall, which in extremes can mean using really long screws (we sometimes use screws up to 250mm long). Don’t skimp this
OM2 said:
If I don’t use a rawlplug, then overtime the screw hold will be lost?
Click to expand.
..Without a masonry plug you simply won’t have a connection. It absolutely need to go in.
An alternative might be to use concrete screws which generally need a 6.5mm (or in softer masonry a 6mm) drill but and fix directly into the masonry. There are, however, some caveats with them – they don’t always work well in poorer, old brickwork(which they can split), they don’t always work well.in softer blockwork, they aren’t available in the same lengths that conventional woodscrews are and they generally need an impact driver to set them
foxhole
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#7
I suggest you identify the wall construction, securing varies by type especially if there is any chance its thermalite.
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#8
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I’m a little confused what to do.
General advice is:
– Drill into the wall and then into the outside wall.
– Then drill bigger hole on the main wall.
– Screw the screw onto the rawlplug.
– Tap the screw into the wall and then screw.
– Importantly, the screw needs to go into the solid wall 50mm?
In front of the wall will be a piece of wood that will be 35mm.
So I need to add this onto the measurements.
The total screw length needs to be 180 – 200mm I guess.
This means it’s going to be a big fat screw?
This in turn means that the rawlplug needs to be bigger and fatter?
Have I missed anything?
Can someone show me what I need to buy for the screws and rawlplugs?
The intended purpose: shelving
I wanted to make something like this:
The back wall will have the solid wall 10cm (I guess) behind the plaster board.
Right and left though will be plasterboard with nothing solid behind.
To add to the complexity, I have tiling on all the walls.
I’ve been struggling to think how I should fix this part, since using plasterboard anchors won’t fit the bill because of the thickness of the tiling.
I posted on another thread about this.
Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks.
bernardgreen
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#9
This might be over kill for your project but it does provide a secure fixing for a batten or a bracket. It prevents cracking of the plaster board if the insulation squeezes under the pressure of the batten onto the plasterboard.
Drill a hole the diameter of the spacer as far as the brick.
Drill a hole for the wall plug ( blue )
Push the spacer into the hole
Put the batten or bracket in place and screw into the wall plug
The spacer can be any shape provided it will be hidden behind the batten.
foxhole
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#10
You can use a 6mm hole thru all and 6mm plug, long screw does not mean thicker , they are available thin enough to fit a 6mm plug.
If you are fixing batten to wall you can leave out spacers .
Last edited:
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#11
@bernardgreen how would I get the spacer the size you mention in between the plasterboard and the wall!?
So confused.
I like the concept.
@foxhole dumb question… what do you mean by baton? (I even googled before replying, all I find are fighting weapons! LOL).
6mm plug? But all rawlplugs have a lip right? + the top part being bigger so it won’t slide through?
Can you show me the plug you mean?
Thanks.
foxhole
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#12
A batten is generally a strip of timber.
No lip
https://www.toolstation.com/fischer…MI5d6m2L2A8AIVBWHmCh3-RAm1EAQYAyABEgK-VPD_BwE
Harry Bloomfield
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#13
OM2 said:
@bernardgreen how would I get the spacer the size you mention in between the plasterboard and the wall!?
So confused.Click to expand…
I like the concept.Drill a hole in a bit of round dowel and cut it off to the length needed for the spacer. A piece of wooden brush handle would do instead.
Or find a bit of timber the correct thickness and use a hole saw to cut a disk out of it.
bernardgreen
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#14
OM2 said:
how would I get the spacer the size you mention in between the plasterboard and the wall
Click to expand…
The plaster board (shown in yellow) has a hole cut in it.
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#15
@foxhole – awesome
I’ll get that.
Can you also give me a link to the long screws I’d need.
That’s the other thing… the screws seem to be super expensive.
Like a pack of 50 for £25 or something.
EDIT: the length of the rawlplug you gave a link to… I guess it’s only 30mm?
Others mentioned I needed to drill 50mm – 70mm into the solid wall.
@Harry Bloomfield I’m still confused how one would put the spaces in and have them stay there!
What I want to do surely can’t be really unique? It must have been done a million times before.
Are there any videos online I can see?
Thanks.
@bernardgreen Just seen your next reply. That’s a massive hole!
I’ll need to make 10 such holes. Seems a lot? Given the choice, I would avoid.
Among other things, it would mean drilling massive holes into tiles.
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Partition wall materials – brick wall or drywall?
Contents
- Which partition is better to choose brick or drywall partition?
- Plasterboard partitions
- Brick partitions
Which partition is better to choose brick or plasterboard partitions?
Which is more preferable: brickwork or plasterboard partition? The dilemma of brickwork and drywall partitions has been around for a long time.
Partitions between rooms can be made of the same materials as the outer walls. Their choice is quite wide. Most often it is ceramic, silicate brick, blocks of the same materials, aerated concrete, expanded clay blocks.
Brick walls are resistant to moisture, have good fire protection properties, and excellent sound insulation due to their weight.
Gypsum board partitions
Gypsum board partitions are framed walls lined with gypsum boards. They are used not only in frame structures, but also in masonry. This is a fairly lightweight material. Its biggest advantages are the relatively quick installation and the fact that installation work is carried out equally quickly at any time of the year.
It should be noted that there is also a kind of intermediate solution – gypsum blocks. Such blocks are glued together, they do not need to be plastered, they, according to the manufacturers, are strong enough to withstand medium-weight hanging objects.
Drywall construction is less durable than a brick wall.
Reliability is important in one practical aspect. Attaching heavier items like a flat screen TV to a solid brick wall is no problem – you can drill a hole just about anywhere.
In a drywall wall, you will not normally use these methods. True, if you know for sure that you want to attach an object in a certain place, this issue can be resolved by preparing a special, more durable design.
On the other hand, this “softness” of construction has an unexpected advantage – if you plan to make major repairs and redesign your home in the future, for example.
Installation of both types of partitions can be evaluated individually, depending on your capabilities – if you do not hire a worker, but decide to install them yourself, both methods can be both difficult and easy.
It is generally accepted that masonry is a highly skilled job, but it should not be assumed that without skill you will perfectly install the frame for the HA slab and its layers. Of course, laying a partition requires a wider range of skills – it will have to be plastered, which, as is sometimes claimed, is a separate art.
Brick partition
Brick walls have slightly better airborne sound insulation properties due to their weight alone. True, this criterion is a little more relevant when it comes to those boundaries that border on a roommate that you yourself do not set.
Since the thickness of the wall is not the only criterion, it is very important to isolate other cavities for sound propagation. So if there’s a visible gap under your door, it won’t make much of a difference what material the walls are made of or how massive they are – the sound will travel where it’s easiest for it to travel.
It is also worth remembering that it is the additional gypsum structures that are used to significantly reduce the emitted sound.
Because drywall installation is a dry construction, installation is faster. Installation of masonry walls is complicated in time by the fact that it needs moisture.
Let the wall dry well before doing any other work, because we don’t want moisture to build up here.
For this reason, internal partitions are best faced with bricks in the warm season so that the wall can be dried quickly.
Another aspect to consider is the finish. The brick wall is not very smooth due to the difference in seams and bricks, therefore it requires additional plaster, after which the finishing layer is applied. Prefabricated panel structures are smooth and do not need to be leveled. This solution saves materials.
Price. It is argued that building a simple partition wall without any finishing is usually a bit cheaper than installing a drywall structure. Of course, this depends on the materials used – when comparing expensive bricks or blocks, the argument of cheapness can easily deviate towards masonry walls.
Brick or drywall partition?
Comparison of aerated concrete, brick and drywall construction
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Articles
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Comparison of construction with aerated concrete, brick and drywall
Partitions in an apartment or cottage are made of brick, aerated concrete or drywall.
In this article, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of popular materials and try to answer the following questions:
- which option is cheaper;
- what to build faster;
- which wall is stronger;
- which material is more practical to use;
- what are the fundamental differences in the structure;
- what are the restrictions for mounting;
- how to choose the right option.
Aerated concrete is laid on a rigid support. Therefore, it is not suitable for wooden floors. In rooms with high requirements for sound insulation, drywall with a sound-absorbing membrane or glass-magnesium sheet material with similar characteristics is installed. The choice depends on the special requirements and architectural features of the building.
Brick
The material is durable and versatile in use and costs less than drywall, but together with installation costs it will cost more than aerated concrete.
The wall withstands the installation of suspended structures. But in the process of drilling, it is necessary to bypass the seams and joints of the blocks, which do not differ in particular endurance to external loads. It is difficult to lay a channel for wiring in brick walls, to drill holes for sockets, switches, plumbing communications.
Half brick wall does not meet soundproofing standards.
Material delivery, site preparation, mortar preparation and wall installation are time consuming. Laying aerated concrete blocks or installing drywall is easier and faster.
Unprofessional laying with significant deviations in the plane requires significant costs for finishing and leveling the walls. Otherwise, wallpaper and plinth only emphasize the wave and surface drops.
Bricks are not laid on wooden floors due to the large mass of the structure.
The standard thickness of half-brick partitions is 120 mm. The plaster solution increases the thickness of the walls up to 140 mm.
Aerated concrete
A gas block wall is cheaper than the materials presented in this list. We are talking about high-quality high-quality materials, excluding the foam block or cinder block, which do not differ in reliability, durability and practicality.
The processing of the material is comparable to a wooden surface. Laying wiring, in-house systems and communications is easy with standard tools.
For the installation of suspended structures, you need to use special fasteners, the cost of which does not exceed 1.5 rubles per piece. The method is comparable to installing dowels in a brick partition and does not require special skills from the performer.
Many people confuse aerated concrete with foam concrete, claiming the low strength of the block structure. In fact, the strength class of the material varies from B1.0 to B1.5. Autoclaved aerated concrete corresponds to category B2.5 with a density index of at least D 500.
The thickness of the joints in an aerated concrete wall is 2 mm, provided that they are mounted on a special adhesive.
A smooth and uniform surface does not require special finishing costs. Mounting hinged structures on a wall of blocks is much easier.
A 150 mm thick aerated concrete partition can withstand the load of a filled boiler weighing 130 kg plus 100 kg additional weight.
Aerated concrete does not support fire propagation. This material is the most fireproof of all on the list.
Aerated concrete is not suitable for laying on wooden floors. The standard wall thickness including plaster is 104 mm.
Gypsum board with fiberglass soundproofing
The material is characterized by a high rate of installation and maximum performance in sound insulation. Drywall is used for the construction of structures with special acoustic requirements. For residential properties, this figure is much lower. Cloths with membrane filling are used for the construction of hotel complexes. The technology allows you to significantly reduce the thickness of the walls while complying with industry standards.
A similar technology involves laying brick partitions with a layer of noise insulator. The thickness of such structures significantly reduces the useful area of \u200b\u200bthe room. The cost of installation increases several times. Therefore, this method is rarely used.
All communications and systems are placed inside the plasterboard walls. For repairs or extensions, a section of the wall can be dismantled and reinstalled after completion of work.
The strength of the walls is significantly inferior to aerated concrete or brickwork. For attaching hinged structures, special anchors are used, the cost of which is higher than standard models. The design withstands a kitchen set or shelf, but can be broken during furniture transportation or installation work. Finishing work does not take much time and material costs. Drywall is not recommended for installation in rooms with high humidity.
The cost of the material is higher than that of brick or aerated concrete.