MG-08Fix the tape strip - method depends on the surfacePeel and stick the steel tape straight onto a sound timber window frame or reveal - no drilling needed. On flat, sound solid brick or block plaster, adhesive alone usually holds; on rough or flaking plaster, add a fixing every 300mm using a 6mm hole 30mm deep, a 5mm wall plug and a 30mm screw. On plasterboard over timber studs, screw into the centre of a stud with a 30mm wood screw wherever you can, and use a light-duty plasterboard anchor between studs. On plasterboard over metal studs, use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or a snap toggle made for hollow metal-stud walls - never a plastic wall plug or ordinary wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel. On dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a 60-75mm fixing long enough to pass through the board and adhesive dabs and bite into the masonry behind. On lath and plaster, tap to find a firm lath, drill a small pilot hole, and use a fine screw rather than forcing in a wall plug, which can crack the plaster.