Drywall is a commonly used wall in home interiors. Many of you have this wall inside your homes or workplace. These walls are good for aesthetic purposes but are not ideal for providing strength and protection.
If you need to hang light fixtures, paintings, shelves, or mirrors on this wall, you need a great anchor for drywall. I am going to discuss one of the most widely used anchors with you in this article.
Its name is the Butterfly Anchor. I will tell you its importance, uses, and how to install it on the wall. This guide will help you in using this fastener for different home projects.
What is a Butterfly Anchor?
The Butterfly Anchor is also known as a toggle anchor or toggle bolt. It is an amazing anchor for hanging objects on hollow walls. This is because it is made of metal and is one of the strongest anchors for drywall.
You may be wondering why they are called butterfly anchors. Well, this anchor has a unique design. It has wings on one side that remain open after the installation of the anchor.
These wings spread inside the wall after installation. You need to fold the wings to push the toggle bolt in the hole. These wings will open when they reach the other part of the wall.
Due to these wings, the weight of the object spreads through the surface, making the object stable. The weight doesn’t remain in one place like it would with typical anchors and screws.
There are different sizes of these anchors. You should know about these sizes before buying the one for your next project.
Different Sizes of Butterfly Anchor
There are various diameters they come in. These are:
- ⅛ inch
- 3/16 inch
- ¼ inch
- 5/16 inch
- ⅜ inch
- ½ inch
The diameter of a toggle anchor and the thickness of the wallboard tell you how much weight your anchor can endure.
For example, ⅛ inch has the smallest diameter so it can’t hold much weight. On ⅜ inch wallboard, it can endure 30 pounds of weight. But on a ¾ inch wallboard, it can endure almost 55 pounds of weight.
Similar to it, an ½ inch bolt can endure almost 65 pounds of weight on ⅜ inch wallboard. But on a ¾ inch wallboard, it can have an object of almost 100 pounds.
The toggle bolts are also of different lengths. You need to choose a bolt that is long enough to go through the wall and the object itself.
This has taught you about the length and diameter of the toggle bolt. Now, we are going to discuss the different uses of a toggle bolt.
Different Uses of the Butterfly Anchor
We are going to discuss a few uses of a toggle bolt. These bolts are famous for various purposes.
Fixing Ceiling Fans
You can use this anchor to provide extra support to your ceiling fans. They are heavy so there are chances that they can fall off. But, this fastener will prevent it. All you need is a Screwdriver or a Drill.
Hanging Wall Decorations
There are various heavy wall decorations you need to hang on your drywall. This can include big pictures, heavy mirrors, clocks, or shelves. The anchor can secure them to the wall.
We need to put a lot of objects on shelves. So, it makes them a lot heavier. That’s why we recommend you use different toggle bolts in installing them. This will ensure that they are secured.
Installing Light Fixtures
If you want to install a light fixture on your hollow wall, you can easily secure it through this anchor.
Hanging Cabinets
Your kitchen cabinets also have different objects in them. This makes them heavy and increases their risk of falling down.
So, you can use these anchors along with wall studs to hang the cabinets. This will reduce the risk of their falling.
Securing LCD
Nowadays, mounting LCDs on the wall is a common custom. But, the LCD and its mount are heavy. So, you can use different toggle bolts to mount your TV on the wall.
Hanging Bathroom Accessories
In bathrooms, you need to mount the towel bar, mirror, hooks, and shelves on the wall. The shelves contain your bathroom accessories and the towel bar is also heavy. So, using a butterfly anchor in their hanging will be a wise decision.
Hanging Curtain Rods
You can use the butterfly anchor to hang your curtain rods too. The metal anchor will be ideal for holding the rod and the weight of the curtain.
Securing Furniture to Wall
You can use this anchor to secure the furniture with the wall. It is a best practice in those areas where earthquakes occur frequently. These earthquakes can cause heavy furniture to fall, resulting in accidents.
So, you can use the toggle anchor to secure different furniture items to the wall. Commonly, you can secure dressers or bookshelves.
Hanging Signs
Hanging heavy and large signages is a great hustle. You need to make sure that they remain secured to the wall for a long time. So, you can use toggle anchors to hang them.
So, these are a few uses of toggle anchors. Now, we are going to see how to install this anchor in the wall.
How to Install a Butterfly Anchor
You don’t need time or any practice to install this anchor. You just need to know a few steps to perform this task easily.
1. Finding the Right Butterfly Anchor
The first thing is to find the appropriate toggle bolt for your project. There are various anchors in the market, and all of them have different specifications.
Their diameter, sizes, and materials differ. You can find metal toggle anchors on the market. Metal is stronger than plastic.
Also, you should know these aspects before choosing your anchor:
- Weight of the fixture
- Length and thickness of your drywall
You should keep this information in your mind while buying this anchor.
2. Mark the Point
I suggest you mark the installation point on the wall. For this, take a pencil and draw a mark. This will help you in avoiding any mistakes while installing.
3. Drill a Hole
We are ready to drill the hole now. You can pre-drill the hole or use the actual anchor to drill the hole. The manual of your anchor will tell you which type of hole is better for your project.
If you pre-drilling your hole, you should make sure that the bit’s diameter is similar to your anchor’s. Moreover, your hole should be slightly large in the dense material. Otherwise, it should be of the fastener’s diameter.
In terms of length, the hole should always be slightly deeper.
4. Install the Anchor
Now, you need to install the butterfly anchor. For this, fold the wings of the anchor. Then, hammer the anchor in.
When you hear the snap of wings, you should stop hammering the anchor. It means that the wings have spread out on the other side of the wall. So, the bolt is secured now.
You can slightly pull the bolt to ensure that it is in the position. In the end, use a screwdriver to tighten your bolt.
5. Install the Object
After tightening the bolt, you can hang the object on it.
That’s it! This is the popular method of installing the toggle anchor. But, in different cases, this method can get slightly different. So, you should consult the manual to know the difference.
Let’s suppose you need to mount your TV on the wall. You may need to take off the wings and screw from the bolt, put it across the mount, and then fix the wings and secure the screw. The method is different because the TV is a heavy object.
So, you should read the anchor’s manual to know the exact method of using it in your project.
How to Remove the Butterfly Anchor?
If you need to make any changes to your project, you may need to remove the toggle bolt. Good news! You can remove it without any difficulty.
- You need to locate the screw or bolt you tightened.
- Now, you should loosen it. For this, you can use different tools. These are a wrench, drill bit, or a screwdriver. Take any of them to turn the screw in an anti-clockwise direction.
- Keep turning the screw until the wings fold down on the other side. If they are not folding down, you can exert pressure on the bolt with your hand while turning it.
- Now the wings retracted and the screw came out. So, you can gently pull on the toggle bolt from the front side.
In this way, the toggle bolt will come out from the wall without causing any damage.
It can happen to you that the anchor’s wings don’t close. So, you should cut them. If you don’t want to do this, then you should fold the wings through any method.
Importance of The Butterfly Anchor
Now, I am going to discuss a few important points of toggle bolt.
- This fastener is budget-friendly. That’s why a lot of homeowners prefer it for DIY projects.
- You have seen that installing and removing this anchor is not a difficult task. Any person can do it easily.
- They are versatile. It means you can use them in different projects.
Frequently Asked Questions (Butterfly Anchor)
How much weight can a butterfly anchor hold on drywall?
It can vary due to the material of the toggle bolt. For example, a plastic one can bear 20 pounds only. But, the metal anchor can hold up to 100 pounds.
