Plugs  Take more time  Must find correct drill bit  Must pre-drill hole  Messy Raised head causes objects to lose contact with wall surface and wobble  Hangs less weight

Ancors  Save time  No need to find drill bit  No pre-drilling necessary  No mess Cleaner flush mount objects lie flat on wall,  Increasing stability  Stronger hanging power

Drywall or plaster test
Many homeowners and professionals alike aren’t sure whether they have drywall or a plaster wall construction in a project until they drill a hole or pound a nail. A simple solution to determine your wall type is to look for an edge of your wall, like along the base boards, inside a door jamb or inside a wall vent. If using a wall vent, you will need to remove the air vent faceplate, which is usually held by a screw. Observe the edge of the vent hole. If cut fairly clean, you should be able to observe the material type.

Drywall is characterized by face paper in front and in back of a center of gypsum (chalky) material. The face or backing paper can be torn. Plaster, a crumbly powder-like substance, will usually be a layer in front of a carrier material such as 1/8'' or 1/4'' wood slats or a wire mesh.

Measuring thickness of drywall
An easy way to determine the thickness of the drywall you have is to seek out an air vent in your wall. Remove the air vent faceplate, which is usually held by a screw. Observe the drywall edge of the vent hole. If cut fairly clean, you should be able to measure the thickness with a ruler.

Self drilling anchors are convenient to use regardless of physical form since they speed up an installation as compared to anchors that required a pre-drilled hole with a specific drill bit. To a professional or a Do-It-Yourselfer, time savings mean a lot! There are situations, however, where a certain type of installation method might be preferred.

In many cases a screw-in anchor might seem the easiest, since a screwdriver will not only handle drilling the anchor into the wall, but also the screw-into the anchor. This provides the simplicity of using just one tool.

In other situations, an installer may prefer using a hammer or may have physical limitations due to wrist strength or arthritis that may make screwing a larger anchor body into the wall very difficult, if not impossible. In this case, a hammer-in anchor is the right choice. Hammer motion requires little wrist strength and range of motion and therefore is the anchor choice for minimum installation effort.

Understanding the various load forces that affect an anchor in the wall can help you hang items with more confidence.
 
Shear
Shear refers to the vertical force created by an object pulling down on an anchor in the wall.
 
Tensile (Pull Out)
Tensile strength refers to either the horizontal force placed on an anchor by pulling directly out from the wall or the vertical force placed on an anchor by pulling directly down from the ceiling.
 
Cantilever
Cantilever strength refers to the “out and down” force placed on an anchor by an object that sticks out from the wall surface.

Spacing
Anchor spacing should be a minimum of 2' apart for proper performance.

 
Drywall on block or concrete
To use E-Z Ancor® fasteners in drywall installations mounted over cinder block or concrete (such as basements or residences in southern coastal areas) if the opening behind the drywall is narrow (3/4), you can snip 1/2 off the drilling end and still install the anchor. Although this is not optimal, the anchor will retain the strength to create its own hole.
 
Screwdriver fit
When installing anchors that have a recess in the head for use with a Phillips screwdriver, ensure that the screwdriver fits snuggly and firmly into the recess and does not wobble excessively. Excessive wobbling, or any instability when turning screws or anchors, makes the installation much more difficult.
 
Using multiple anchors
The anchor’s load performance is determined by the anchor’s ability to hold the immediate surrounding drywall surface in a 1' diameter. As such, using more than one anchor doesn’t mean the load performance can be multiplied by the number of anchors used. Although there is some minor increased holding power gained from “load sharing” between anchors, the amount is negligible.
 
Working vs. static load
Installations involving a “working or moving load,” rather than a “static load,” need to be considered differently when evaluating appropriate anchor strength. A towel bar or a clothing rack are examples of working load applications versus a picture frame, mirror or thermostat, which are examples of static loads. The movement, vibration or shocks applied to working load applications can cause anchors to fail at lower values.

General
There’s no need to pre-drill a hole unless the drywall is very dense. E-Z Ancor® has a special drilling tip that creates the precise hole necessary for the anchor threads to cut into.
 
Do not punch (stab) the anchor into drywall as a starting procedure prior to installation. This will rupture the drywall below the surface, severely reducing the load performance of the anchor.
 
For dense or tough drywall, or drywall that has been painted heavily or wallpapered, pre-drill a 1/8" pilot hole to enable anchors to cut a clean hole without breaking or tearing the drywall surface around the installation hole. Avoid overdriving the anchor.
 
To prevent mounted items from wobbling on the wall or being otherwise shaky or unstable, ensure that the anchor head is flush with the drywall surface. Having a flush anchor allows the object to rest evenly and firmly against a larger area of the drywall, as opposed to resting solely on the head of an anchor that is raised from the drywall surface. This is a common issue with shelf bracket installations.
 
TOGGLE LOCK™
When installing a TOGGLE LOCK™ fastener, ensure that the arrows stamped on the head are pointing up and down when fully installed. This will ensure that the toggle bar flips vertically, avoiding any possible nearby wood studs that would interfere with the bar swinging out.
 
When using E-Z TOGGLE LOCK™ or any toggle to mount shelf brackets that have a U-shaped channel, it is optimal for the toggle clamp or wings to straddle the bracket channel at a 90-degree angle. You can achieve this with E-Z TOGGLE LOCK™ by ensuring that the stamped arrows on the anchor head point across, as opposed to up and down. When tightening, this will prevent the toggle clamp from pulling forward through the drywall and into the bracket channel recess.
 
STUD SOLVER® 
STUD SOLVER® works great with wood studs, as well as with drywall alone. Wood studs, however, have varying degrees of density, depending on where they were produced. The tighter the grain pattern in the stud, the greater the density. If a STUD SOLVER® fastener breaks or snaps when a stud is encountered, chances are you have a dense stud. In such a case, pre-drill a 1/4" pilot hole and complete the installation.

Overhead applications
Only E-Z Ancor® TOGGLE LOCK™ is recommended for overhead use. The toggle bar provides the extra strength needed for anchoring vertically into the ceiling.
 
Plaster applications
Since plaster has a different composition than drywall, E-Z Ancor® products cannot be used.
 
Metal stud applications
These products are not for use in metal studs.
 
Commercial applications
Many commercial public buildings such as hospitals, libraries, museums, and apartment buildings are constructed using multiple wall facia products. In other words, one could encounter walls with double or triple drywall layering. In such cases, use of a metal anchor, such as STUD SOLVER®, would ensure that the installation holds up to the tough density of the material.

When removing screw-in anchors from drywall, one easy option is to simply countersink the head of the anchor slightly beneath the drywall surface by turning a few extra times. This will now serve as a spackle surface to speed up the patching process.

When removing unwanted, previously installed anchors, such as plastic plugs, E-Z Ancor® fasteners can be used to speed the hole repair process. An E-Z Ancor® TWIST-N-LOCK™ fastener can be installed, leaving the anchor head just below the surface (1/16") of the previous anchor. This becomes an ideal surface on which to apply spackle compound and avoid the usual subsequent coats. For holes approximately 1/4" or less, use TWIST-N-LOCK™ 50. For holes 1/4" to 1/2", use TWIST-N-LOCK™ 75.