I recently put up wire shelving in my pantry, and spent forever figuring out what type of drywall anchor I should use. I even found several types that I didn't even know existed. It might be good to have a reference page for drywall anchors. So, what type of anchors have you used, and for what projects?
Drywall – What are the different types of drywall anchors, and what are the advantages of each
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Suitablilty of fasteners for supporting bracketry in concrete depends mostly on the weight.
- light duty 0-10lbs: Screws with concrete threads, no anchors needed (EG Tapcon and Spax)
- medium duty: 10-50lbs: anchors of plastic or lead,
- heavy duty: 50+ : sleeve and wedge anchors
There are overlaps between light and medium duty , based on screw size and depth of penetration. Follow package directions closely. Drill the exact size hole and depth called for, the fastener retention depends on it!
Drywall anchors depend on making the hole a little bigger as they are inserted. This is a good thing, because drilled sheetrock holes may have chunks missing and the gypsum is not necessarily compacted. Inserting the anchor compresses the surrounding gypsum and makes it stronger.
Tile is, of course, not flexible or malleable, so you'll have to drill a slightly larger hole through it. To get maximum holding power, use two bits. The smaller one all the way through, followed by the larger one just through the tile with minimum drywall contact. Without knowing which kind of anchor and its size, I can't tell you what size bits to use. I would experiment by trying 1/64 inch larger increments until the anchor slides through normally.
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Best Answer
I almost always use the self-drilling stud solver type anchors. I find that they are tough enough to hang just about anything.
Aside from those, the only other anchors I've found that I like are the toggle-bolt type, which are more useful if you need to hang something from the ceiling.