How to Hang Anything on Any Wall: Anchors, Studs, and Fasteners Explained

Most things that fall off walls fall because the wrong fastener went into the wrong wall. A nail that holds a light frame will pull straight out under a loaded shelf. An anchor rated for plaster does nothing useful in brick. Once you understand the three variables, wall type, whether you hit a stud, and the weight you're hanging, picking the right hardware gets simple. Here's the whole picture.

Know your wall first

Before you pick a fastener, figure out what you're drilling into. Knock on it and pay attention.

• Drywall is the most common interior wall. It sounds hollow, and a pushpin presses in easily. The board itself holds almost no weight on its own, so anything beyond a light frame needs either a stud behind it or a proper anchor.
• Plaster and lath shows up in older homes. It's harder and more brittle than drywall, sounds more solid, and can crack if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Drill slowly and use anchors made for plaster.
• Brick, concrete, and block are solid the whole way through. A pushpin won't dent them. These need a masonry bit and masonry anchors, and they'll hold serious weight once you've got the right hardware in.

Find the studs

Behind drywall and plaster sits a frame of vertical wood studs, and a stud is the strongest thing you can anchor into. Hit one and you can often skip anchors entirely, since a screw driven into solid wood holds far more than any hollow-wall anchor.

A few ways to find them:

• Use an electronic stud finder. Slide it across the wall and it signals when it crosses the denser wood. It's the fastest and most reliable method.
• Measure from a corner or outlet. Studs usually sit 16 inches apart, center to center, sometimes 24. Electrical boxes are typically fastened to the side of a stud, which gives you a starting point.
• Tap and listen. A hollow sound means space between studs; a solid, duller sound means you're over one. It's rough, so confirm before you commit.

When you find a stud, drill a pilot hole slightly thinner than your screw and drive the screw straight in. For heavy items like a TV mount or a long shelf, hitting studs is the goal, not a nice-to-have.

When there's no stud: pick the right anchor

Studs land where they land, and your picture usually wants to go somewhere else. That's what anchors are for. They grip the wall material itself, and the right one depends on weight.

Light loads, up to about 10 to 20 pounds

Small frames, light decor, a smoke detector. A plastic expansion anchor works well. You drill a hole, tap the anchor in, and the screw spreads it against the inside of the drywall. Self-drilling threaded anchors are even easier, since they screw straight into drywall with a screwdriver and skip the pre-drilled hole. Both are cheap and fine for anything light.

Medium loads, roughly 20 to 50 pounds

A loaded shelf, a heavier mirror, a coat rack that'll catch wet jackets. Step up to a self-drilling metal anchor or a molly bolt. A molly bolt has a metal sleeve that splays out behind the drywall as you tighten it, spreading the load across a wider area so it grips hard and doesn't pull through.

Heavy loads, 50 pounds and up

Big mirrors, heavy cabinets, anything you really don't want coming down. A toggle bolt is the strongest hollow-wall anchor you can buy. Spring-loaded metal wings fold flat to pass through a drilled hole, then snap open behind the wall and clamp against a broad span of drywall when you tighten. For real weight on a hollow wall, this is the one. Even so, anchoring into a stud beats any anchor when you can manage it.

Hanging on masonry

Brick and concrete play by their own rules. You'll need a masonry bit and usually a hammer drill, which chips through the hard surface as it spins. Drill your hole, tap in a sleeve or plastic masonry anchor, and drive the screw, which expands the anchor tight against the stone. Sleeve anchors and concrete screws hold a lot of weight. A standard drywall anchor in brick holds nothing, so match the hardware to the material.

A quick way to decide

• Is it heavy or important? Find a stud and screw into it. Nothing beats solid wood.
• No stud where you need it, light item? A plastic or self-drilling anchor is plenty.
• No stud, medium weight? Reach for a molly bolt or metal anchor.
• No stud, heavy item? Use a toggle bolt.
• Brick or concrete? Masonry bit and a masonry anchor, every time.

Check the packaging too. Anchors list a weight rating right on the box, and it pays to leave yourself a margin rather than hang a 45-pound shelf on a 50-pound anchor. Match the fastener to the wall and the weight, drill a clean hole, and the thing stays where you put it.