Small Fasteners and Hanging Hardware

The small-fastener aisle at WBC is the wall of Midwest Fastener packs: anchors, sheet metal screws, nails, tacks and picture hangers, packed in project-sized amounts with the details printed on the back of the card. The way to shop it is to start from what you’re fastening into. Drywall, metal, wood trim and masonry each want something different, and the right pick saves you a second trip and a bigger hole to patch.

Hanging on drywall: pick the anchor by the weight

Drywall alone won’t hold a screw under any real load. An anchor spreads the load over more of the wall. If you can hit a stud, a screw into the stud beats any anchor; when you can’t, go by weight and check the rating on the card.

• Plastic expansion anchors with screws (#6/#8 and #8/#10, plus ribbed anchors from #6/#8 to #14/#16): the cheap, everyday anchor. Drill the hole the card calls for, tap the anchor in flush and drive the screw; it expands the anchor as it tightens. They’re for light loads, like a small mirror, a picture, a curtain rod bracket. Drill the hole too big and it’ll spin and never grip.
• E-Z self-drilling anchors (#6 and #8, in plastic or zinc): screw straight into the drywall with a screwdriver or drill, no hole first, then drive the screw. A step up in hold from plastic expansion anchors, and quick to put in.
• Plastic toggle anchors (for 3/8 to 1/2 inch and 5/8 to 3/4 inch walls): wings open behind the drywall when the screw goes in. Buy the size that matches your wall thickness; half-inch drywall is the usual.
• Toggle bolts (3/16-24 and 1/4-20, 2-1/2 inches long, in 2-packs and 10-packs): the spring-wing toggle for the heavy stuff on a hollow wall, like shelves and big mirrors. Drill a hole big enough for the folded wings, push them through, and pull back on the bolt while you tighten so the wings bite. If you take the bolt out, the wings drop inside the wall, so get it right the first time.

Whatever the card says the anchor holds, it holds less in crumbling old plaster or thin paneling. A bigger anchor won’t fix a weak wall; find the framing behind it.

Fastening into masonry

Plastic anchors work in solid walls as well as hollow ones: in brick or block, drill the hole the card calls for with a masonry bit and tap them in. For more grip, lead wood-screw anchors (#6-8 in 3/4 and 1-1/2 inch, and #10-14 in 1 inch) set in a drilled hole and expand around a wood screw. Heavy loads in solid concrete call for a concrete anchor such as a sleeve anchor, a different aisle.

Fastening metal: sheet metal screws and self-drilling screws

Sheet metal screws cut their own threads as they go in, which is why they hold in thin metal. “Self-tapping” means they tap their own threads, not that they drill their own hole: drill a pilot hole sized for the screw first, especially in thicker metal.

• Pan head sits on top of the surface. Use it for fastening sheet metal, ductwork, flashing and brackets where a raised head is fine.
• Flat head countersinks flush, for a smooth surface where the head can’t stick up.
• Stainless steel for anything outside or wet: gutters, a stock tank fitting, an outbuilding door. A plain steel screw rusts and streaks. WBC carries stainless pan and flat heads from #4 up to #14 and from 3/8 up to 3 inches.
• Self-drilling stainless screws (#8 to #14, pan and hex heads) have a drill-bit point, so they drill and fasten in one step. They’re the ones for sheet metal work and metal framing, when you don’t want to stop for a pilot hole.

Screw size goes number then length: #8 x 1 is a #8 screw, 1 inch long. A bigger number is a thicker screw.

Wood and trim: nails, brads, pins and tacks

• Panel nails come colored to match paneling (black, white, oak, dark oak and cherry, in 1 and 1-5/8 inch), so the heads disappear.
• Wire brads (16 and 18 gauge) leave smaller holes than finish nails. Use them for small trim, molding and picture frames; a nail set sinks the head and a dab of filler hides it. Gauge works backward: the higher the number, the thinner the nail.
• Wire nails (18 and 19 gauge, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inch) for small wood jobs where you want a little more bite.
• Escutcheon pins are small round-head pins for fastening thin trim, nameplates and hardware.
• Copper weatherstrip nails and copper tacks won’t rust, for weatherstripping and outdoor fastening. Double-point tacks come in 3/8 and 1/2 inch.
• Push pins for the corkboard.

Pictures and mirrors

Start with the weight of the piece and what’s on its back.

• Brass picture hangers come rated: 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 pounds. Buy the rating above the weight of what you’re hanging. The angled nail goes through the hanger into the wall. On a wide or heavy frame, use two hangers, but the ratings don’t add up: two 20-pound hangers don’t make a 40-pound hanger.
• Sawtooth hangers (small and large) go on the center of a frame’s top rail with the teeth pointing down. On a wood frame, the kind fastened with screws holds better than one hammered on. Hang it on a nail with a head, not a brad; the head keeps the frame from sliding off. Most sawtooth hangers are made for lighter pieces, so check the rating, and a frame wider than 24 inches hangs better on two or three of them.
• Seven-strand braided picture wire runs between two hangers on the back of the frame for pieces that hang from a wire.

Over a bed or a couch, give the hanger a margin. Heavy mirrors belong on toggle bolts or in a stud.

Wire and assortments

Galvanized utility wire (19, 22 and 32 gauge) and black annealed wire handle tying, hanging and fence repair. For a workshop or junk drawer, there’s a 1,100-piece household nail and tack assortment, a 235-piece nut and washer assortment, a 150-piece nylon lock nut assortment and a 200-piece spring assortment.

The Pick

For a picture, a brass hanger rated above its weight. For a shelf or mirror on drywall without a stud, a toggle bolt. For lighter loads on drywall, E-Z self-drilling anchors. Light fixtures and ceiling fans are a different job: they mount to an electrical box made for them. For metal outside, stainless sheet metal screws, or self-drilling screws when you don’t want to stop for a pilot hole. For paneling, the matching colored panel nails.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anchor should I use in drywall?

For light loads, plastic expansion anchors or E-Z self-drilling anchors. For shelves and heavy mirrors, toggle bolts. Check the rating on the card, and use a stud when you can.

Do sheet metal screws need a pilot hole?

Ordinary pointed sheet metal screws do; drill one sized for the screw. Self-drilling screws have a drill point and don’t.

What’s the difference between pan head and flat head screws?

A pan head sits on top of the surface; a flat head countersinks flush with it.

Can I hang a picture on two hangers to hold more weight?

Two hangers keep a frame level and spread the load, but their ratings don’t add together. Buy hangers each rated for the full weight.

What nail do I hang a sawtooth hanger on?

A nail with a head, not a brad. The head keeps the frame from slipping off.