Most of the homes around Cranbourne and Clyde are built with plasterboard internal walls on timber or steel frames, with brick veneer outside. Hanging anything securely depends on choosing the right fixing for the wall and the load. Here is a practical guide.

First, find out what the wall is

• Plasterboard: sounds hollow when knocked, except over studs. Most internal walls in modern homes.
• Brick or block: solid and hard to drill, with red or grey dust. External walls inside some older homes, garages and outside walls.
• Render: a cement finish over brick or block.
• Tile: usually over plasterboard or fibre cement sheet in wet areas.
• Steel studs: common in some new homes. A magnet sticks to the screw heads.

Fixing into studs

Studs are the strongest fixing point in a framed wall. Timber studs are usually spaced around 450 or 600 millimetres apart. A stud finder, or a small test hole hidden behind where the item will go, helps locate them. Heavy items like TV brackets, wall cabinets, grab rails and heavy shelving should be fixed into studs or noggins wherever possible.

Plasterboard anchors

• Plastic expansion plugs: only for very light items. They often pull out of plasterboard.
• Self-drilling plasterboard anchors: good for light to medium items such as small frames, hooks and light shelves.
• Spring toggles and butterfly toggles: spread behind the board and hold more weight. Good for curtain rods and medium shelves.
• Metal hollow wall anchors: expand behind the board and are stronger again.
• Strap toggles: among the strongest plasterboard fixings for heavier items.

Always check the manufacturer’s rated load, and remember the rating assumes a direct pull-out. Shelves and brackets that lever away from the wall put much more force on fixings.

Brick, block and concrete

Use a masonry drill bit and a suitable plug or sleeve anchor. Drill into the brick rather than the mortar joint where possible. For heavy loads, sleeve anchors or chemical anchors give a strong hold.

Tiles

Drill tiles with a tile bit at low speed, without hammer action, and use masking tape to stop the bit wandering. Keep fixings away from tile edges to avoid cracking. Behind the tile, choose a fixing suited to the substrate: a stud, a plasterboard anchor or a masonry plug.

Steel studs

Steel studs need self-drilling screws or toggles designed for metal. Standard wood screws will not hold properly.

Hidden services

Before drilling, think about what may be behind the wall. Pipes and cables often run vertically above and below power points and switches, and horizontally between them. A detector helps, but care is still needed. Never drill near the line of a power point, switch or tap without checking.

When to get help

For TVs on full-motion arms, heavy mirrors, grab rails, overhead storage and anything hanging above a bed or seating, the fixing really matters. If in doubt, ask a handyman to do it, or at least to check the wall first.