Studs in interior walls in our homes
 

One of the fasteners to my master closet wire closet system has come loose from the dry wall and it is located at the end of the run of wire shelving. It is the type of fastener that does not have a head that a screw driver would go into. It is a smooth head so I'm not even sure how those fasteners work.

I would like to do a simple repair by using a long screw with a large head to hold up the wire shelving. I did this type of repair on a shelf in our NJ home and it was still going strong when we sold the house. I want to screw the screw into the stud but I'm not sure how to do that if the stud is metal. I could make this repair easily enough if it were a wood stud behind the wall.

Anyone know what type of studs our homes have in the interior walls? Our home is in Mallory Square and was build in 2007.

Our home built 6 years ago has wood studs. If the bracket that has failed is not on a stud you might want to use one of several hollow wall anchors that are available. To use a hollow wall anchor you most likely need to move the bracket out of the way. Really not that hard.

Good luck.

Take a photo with your phone and go to ACE hardware and they will get you what you need and tell you the best way to fix it.

Home warranty may be able to determine what kind of studs you have.

What you have is a wire shelving clip (nail) which is basically pressed into place, which expands a hollow wall anchor into place. These commonly fail. In fact, they should no longer be used. The head which you are looking at is basically a nail. If you’d like to message me I can give you details on removing and replacing it. This is an easy repair.

Yes, it is just a nail. The builder uses them because they are faster to install then plastic anchors. Pull it out, drill a small hole, and tap in a small plastic expansion anchor. Then, insert a screw that is designed to fit the plastic anchor. There is no reason to locate a stud.

These anchors are actually quite effective and have a decent weight rating. ClosetMaid still uses them. To remove the anchor, use needle nose pliers or a putty knife to pull out only the nail itself. Once removed you can pull out the plastic anchor carefully. The anchor expands in the wall like any drywall anchor so be careful to not damage the drywall when you pull it out. These are large so you'll end up replacing with a very large drywall anchor.

OP, first if you have metal studs, you cannot use plastic anchors. Now the easiest way to determine the studs, use a small (1/16 inch) drill bit, drill into the area where the stud is, if it stops under light pressure, you have a metal stud, if it continues in slowly, you have wood, if it stops and goes in suddenly you have metal. As noted above there are special devices for metals studs, but I have successfully used the 1/16 inch bit to make a small hole, and then used a sheet metal screw large than the hole, do NOT over tighten. I had to redo all of the metal shelving in our house as i wanted it a heights different than what the builder installed and wanted a second layer of shelving. That was several years ago everything is still standing.

Grab a bag of the metal shelving clips I've attached a photo of (Home Depot or Lowes) Don't bother with the plastic push-in clips the installer used. They are junk. If you're going into a stud, simply use the screws from the package. You won't be using the plastic wall anchors. It doesn't matter if you have metal or wood studs, as the screws work fine in either. There is no need to pre-drill.

If you are placing them where there is no stud, pre-drill a 1/4" hole, and insert two wall anchors.

Regarding what type of wall studs your home has, wood or metal (your home might have both), the easiest way to find out which you are dealing with, is to use the magnets I've attached a photo of (available from Amazon). I use them all the time, and there is absolutely no need to pre-drill holes, open up the wall, etc, to find out what type of studs you have. The magnets are quick and easy to use. When it finds a stud which is wood, you'll be able to tell, as its attaching itself only to the drywall screw locations. If it's a metal stud, the magnet will attach the entire vertical length of the stud.

Hope this helps.

Ebensburg

Enen with a metal stud you can use screws. The one you had was hammered in so it is probably a wooden stud.

I have installed a lot of heavy duty shelving using drywall anchors. Trying to locate studs makes the job much more difficult and it is usually not necessary. If you use the proper dywall anchors with the proper spacing, the shelving will hold a huge amount of weight.

Go to Ace or Lowes
and get a toggle bolt. Very easy to install and permanent.

Many thanks to all who have helped me with your knowledge.

Locate Stud
 

A strong magnet will help you locate the stud.
First tap the wall, just like you would do in NJ, to locate where the stud is located.
Then, using your magnet, go up and down the stud.
If the magnet is attracted about every 12 inches, you have wood studs; you are detecting the Sheetrock screws.
If the magnet is attracted along the entire length, you have metal (steel) studs at that location.
It is not uncommon to find one wall with wood studs and the next with steel studs.
Armed with this information, head to ACE Hardware.
Cheers.