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Fixing systems for walls

Introduction
The term "anchor" is used to define a system that has the task of fixing an element to a support such as a wall. This article provides a general overview of anchoring systems according to the different types of wall.

The walls
Our homes, offices, hotels and any other building are places with confined spaces divided by wall. These physical divisions are not all the same because their characteristics depend on the function they have to perform: functional, structural, aesthetic or other.
Depending on the construction method, the walls can be "solid", i.e. composed of compact volumes entirely load-bearing, or "skeleton" made up of pillars and other solid elements, with light infills between one pillar and the other.
The development of construction methods in recent decades has seen the emergence of a technique for the assembly of walls that is defined as "drywall". This technique involves the use of a metal grid to which panels in "plasterboard" or wood fibre plywood are anchored by means of screws.

Anchors
Anchors are distinguished according to their principle of operation, the material that constitutes the anchor or the basic support of the installation. In general they can be divided into two types: mechanical and chemical; mechanical anchors resist by exploiting the friction between materials. Chemical anchors resist by exploiting the bond created between a synthetic resin, the base material and the anchor bar. Please note that the wall fixing of "grab bars" must be carried out by competent and qualified personnel, who are responsible for choosing the most suitable fixing elements according to the wall on which the product is to be installed.

Safety precautions
All anchors must be used with care and with due consideration of the manufacturer's instructions in order to obtain maximum performance. The execution and cleaning of the hole, the depth of the hole, the distance between several anchors, the distances from the edges are the most important aspects for a proper installation.

A number of factors should be considered in order to correctly choose an anchor:

  1. Define the type of object and its weight;
  2. Identify whether the stress to which the object to be fixed will be subjected is static or variable;
  3. Evaluate whether the fixing will be exposed to the weather, i.e. outside or inside a building;
  4. Identify the type of support, the state of conservation and whether it is new or old.

      The functionality of the anchorage is ensured first of all by tightening; an excessive tightening stresses the threaded parts by raising the expansion pressure on the support material. From this point of view the thickness and depth of the anchorage are fundamental.
      Installation techniques are also important, and depending on requirements can be classified as flush or through-fit, remote, oblique or central pull, radial pull by elastic sliding.

dry-walls fasteners
Y96SES56 techno-polymer light wall anchors

Traditional anchors
Fixings with nylon plugs can be used in concrete, solid and perforated masonry, plasterboard.
They consist of a bushing with expanding sections, coupled with a steel screw. For approved systems, each dowel is associated with a special screw, in order to obtain the maximum tightness of the anchorage. Due to the sensitivity of the plastic material to temperature, it is normally necessary that the temperature does not fall below 0°C during assembly.

Wingits® lightweight wall anchors
"Wingits" is probably the strongest fastening system for lightweight walls, such as plasterboard, available on the market today. This anchorage is designed in a completely different way from other similar ones for the same purpose. The particular conformation guarantees a solid hold over time without any risk of release with loss of resistance to load, does not require specific preparations and can be installed quickly.
One of the most frequent problems encountered when installing a product on drywall, is the fragility of the wall itself. On this type of walls, if there is no reinforcement inside, right where the product has to be installed, there are not many solutions unless the installation is waived. Unfortunately sometimes you cannot avoid installing a grab bar or a mirror, then you are forced to adopt special solutions that for light walls are very limited, excluding traditional chemical and mechanical ones.

Chemical anchors
A chemical anchorage has a different field of application than the mechanical one; its effectiveness is guaranteed exclusively by the resin's adhesion force to the support and consequently to the seal of the resin itself.
The resins are also different in composition: they range from polyester solutions, to epoxy resins, or even vinylester.

dry-walls fasteners