FD-06Choose the right fixing for your wallFor dot-and-dab, you need a fixing long enough to pass through the plasterboard, cross the air gap, and bite at least 40mm into the solid masonry behind — typically a 75-90mm masonry screw with a plastic sleeve, or a resin anchor for extra load. For timber studs, use a wood screw driven into the centre of the stud. For metal studs, use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor — never a plain plastic wall plug and never an ordinary wood screw, which will strip straight through 0.5mm steel. For solid brick or block with no board, use a plastic plug and screw sized to the fixing (check the packet for drill size). For lath and plaster, locate the timber joists behind the laths rather than trusting the plaster alone, as plaster crumbles under load.