Hammered dowels, rawlplugs, metal dowels – which to choose for various fastening systems?
Various fastenings are extremely important both during house building work or repair works at a flat. It is not surprising as, sometimes, even several hundred fastenings are needed, using plugs, screws, bolts and anchors of various lengths and made of different materials. This article is dedicated to plugs, as it is worthwhile to have a closer look at them and see which type of plug is used for a given fastening type for a particular project whether it is commercial use or in the home while building or remodeling.
Rawlplugs Brand
How to choose a dowel and how to fix it?
A number of persons, especially those who begin their adventure with DIY, have difficulties with finding a proper dowel for a given fastening. Rawlplug broadly describes hammered dowels, rawlplugs and metal dowels, as well as their intended applications. It is then worthwhile to get familiar with their types before we start our planned repair works.
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As an example of how dowels are used to assemble furniture
Every material requires a different type of dowel to be used, but before we decide to buy a specific type of dowel it is good to first ask a salesman in the shop about the maximum load capacity of a given dowel or plug. Standard plugs, also called universal plugs, are usually made of plastic and differ among one another only by length and colour. A characteristic feature of all plugs is the expansion of their rear part, which may consist of 2, 3 or 4 elements, while we screw in a threaded bolt. Every bolt is first inserted into a hole, and then we screw in a bolt by means of a screwdriver – the head of the screw so we may have a hook so we use pliers during the assembling activity.
What are hammered dowels characterized by?
Hammered dowels are also called fast assembly bolts. They are made of plastic and have a flange at their front part. Their assembly involves the insertion of a dowel with a screw, partially screwed in, into an already drilled hole. When the inserted dowel meets resistance, it is hammered down together with the screw. If everything is well selected and done, the dowel should reach the bottom of the hole. Hammered dowels are most often used in materials such as concrete, natural stone, lightweight concrete blocks, aerated concrete, plasterboard panels and perforated sand-lime bricks. Hammered dowels are used to fasten profiles to walls, skirting boards, foils, metal sheets, beams, cable and pipe brackets, as well as wooden and metal substructures.
Rawlplugs
Plastic rawlplugs are used for construction materials such as concrete, bricks and timber. They can also be used as fastening systems in solid and small-hole elements. A fastening screw makes the rawlplug expand and swell in the course of screwing in. The expansion process creates anchoring humps on the plug walls between empty spaces. It is worth taking into account whether the rawlplug is not rotating in the hole or if the applied core is not too thick. A rawlplug can be used to fix a wall (e.g. a ceiling) to clay blocks or solid bricks.
What are metal dowels used for?
Examples of Rawlplugs
Metal dowels are used to fasten the clips of suspended ceilings. They are made of metal only and have a fully threaded hook on the front of the clip. A fastening element of a suspended ceiling is hung on the hook. After a hole is drilled a dowel is inserted into it. When the metal dowel is pushed into the hole, its wings are expanded and we can then fasten the cap with the washer in the dowel. A metal dowel can also be used to fix walls. The working principle is the same here, except there is no expanding tip with wings. There is a U-shaped piece of the metal sheet instead. After the dowel is inserted into the hole gravity pulls the sheet piece which, while falling down, catches hold of the wall of the hole.