Fit a fold-out wall drying rack to a dot-and-dab plasterboard wall

Fit a fold-out drying rack to dot-and-dab plasterboard by anchoring through the void into solid masonry, not just the board.

WDR-01Plan the height and positionPick a height of around 1400-1600mm from the floor so loaded arms sit at a useful level. Check the arms have room to fold out fully without hitting a window sill, radiator or door. Check your rack's fixing centres (usually 500-600mm between brackets) and check its stated maximum load, since wet washing is heavier than it looks.

1 each · Tape measure

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

1 each · Pencil

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

1 each · Fold-out wall drying rack

Buy:B&QAmazon

WDR-02Confirm you actually have dot-and-dabKnock across the marked area. A hollow, slightly springy sound with no regular pattern usually means dot-and-dab: plasterboard fixed to the wall with blobs of adhesive, leaving gaps of roughly 10-40mm behind the board. If you hit something solid and regular every 400-600mm at a consistent shallow depth, that's a timber or metal stud wall instead, and you need stud fixings, not dot-and-dab ones. If the wall sounds solid everywhere with no give at all, it's solid masonry with a skim finish, and you can fix straight into it without bridging a void.

1 each · Stud and cable detector

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

WDR-03Check for cables and pipes, and know your isolation pointsRun the detector over the whole marked area before drilling. Detectors miss cables that are deep, in conduit, or outside the normal safe zones, so still treat every hole as if something could be there. Find your stopcock now, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns freely. If you have any doubt about what's behind the wall, isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before drilling, and know you can shut the water off at the stopcock straight away if you hit a pipe.

WDR-04Mark and level the fixing pointsHold the rack's brackets against the wall at your chosen height and mark each screw hole with a pencil. Use a spirit level to make sure the two brackets are exactly level with each other, not just level on their own. Double-check the spacing matches the rack's fixing centres before you drill anything.

1 each · Spirit level

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

WDR-05Drill through the board, the void, and into the masonryDrill slowly through the plasterboard (about 12.5mm) and keep going through the dab gap behind it, which can be anywhere from 10mm to 40mm. You'll feel resistance change again when you hit the brick or block behind. Switch to a masonry bit sized for your fixing (typically 8mm for a frame fixing) and drill on into the masonry to the depth stated on the fixing packet, usually 50-60mm, plus a few extra mm for dust.

1 each · Drill with hammer action

Buy:Tooled UpMachine MartB&QAmazon

1 each · 8mm masonry drill bit

Buy:Tooled UpMachine MartB&QAmazon

1 each · Dust sheet

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

WDR-06Fit long fixings that bridge the voidA wall drying rack pulls away from the wall every time it's loaded with wet washing, so plasterboard alone will never hold it. Use long masonry frame fixings, or dot-and-dab specific fixings, long enough to pass through the board, span the void, and grip at least 40-50mm into solid brick or block. Never rely on a plug that only expands inside the plasterboard skim.

6 each · Long masonry frame fixings (75-100mm)

Buy:Travis PerkinsB&QAmazon

WDR-07Fix the brackets to the wallPush each fixing through its hole and drive it home with a screwdriver or drill until the bracket sits flat and tight against the wall. Do not overtighten, as this can crush the plasterboard skim behind the bracket. Recheck with the spirit level once both brackets are up.

1 each · Screwdriver or drill driver

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

WDR-08Attach the arms and test under loadClip or bolt the fold-out arms onto the fixed brackets following the rack's instructions. Fold the arms out fully and hang a light, damp towel on each one, checking the brackets stay tight with no movement or cracking sound from the wall. If anything flexes or the fixings feel loose, stop and refit with fresh holes rather than trusting a failing fixing.

WDR-09Clean up and finishVacuum masonry and plasterboard dust from the floor and skirting, and wipe the wall down with a damp cloth. Bag up any offcuts and dust for normal household waste. Give the rack a final fold in and out to check it moves freely before you leave the job.

1 each · Vacuum cleaner

Buy:Tooled UpMachine MartB&QAmazon

1 each · Cloth

Buy:Tooled UpB&QAmazon

Travis Perkins, Tooled Up and Machine Mart links are affiliate links: if you buy after clicking, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. B&Q and Amazon links are plain searches and earn us nothing.

Save this as a project

Back to all guides

Related guides