HANGING & WALL MOUNTING

Put up a pegboard on a timber stud wall

Mount a pegboard on spacer battens so hooks sit clear of the wall, fixed securely whatever your wall is made of.

PB-01Plan your layoutHold the pegboard sheet up where you want it and get someone to check it looks level, or prop it on a bit of scrap wood. Mark the four corners lightly in pencil. Decide roughly where the heaviest hooks will go, as this affects where your spacer battens need to sit.
1 each · Pegboard sheet (1220x610mm)
1 each · Pencil
1 each · Tape measure
PB-02Check for cables and pipes before you drillSweep the whole marked area with a cable and pipe detector, but still treat the wall as if something is there — detectors miss cables that are deep, in metal conduit, behind metal-backed plasterboard, or outside the normal safe zones, and a metal stud frame confuses cheap detectors even more. Find your stopcock now (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns freely, so you can shut the water off fast if you hit a pipe. If you have any doubt at all, switch off the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before drilling.
1 each · Cable and pipe detector
PB-03Work out what's behind the wallTap along the wall — a dull thud means solid brick or block, a hollow sound means stud wall or dot-and-dab. Run a magnet or stud detector along the marked area to find a line of screw heads: evenly spaced hits usually mean timber studs, and a magnet sticking flat to a metal upright means metal studs. Drill one small 3mm pilot hole in a spot you'll cover with a spacer batten: pale wood dust means timber, fine grey swarf means steel, and powdery brick dust with no resistance change over 15-20mm might mean lath and plaster or dot-and-dab. Metal stud partitions are common in flats, new builds, and anything refitted since the 1990s, so don't assume timber just because it's a stud wall.
1 each · Magnet or stud detector
1 each · Drill with 3mm bit
PB-04Fix spacer battens into a timber or metal stud wallPegboard needs a gap behind it for hooks, so fix thin timber battens vertically over each stud line first, then screw the board to the battens. Into a timber stud, drill a 2mm pilot hole in the centre of the stud and drive a 4x40mm wood screw through the batten into it. Into a metal stud, use self-drilling metal-stud screws or a toggle fixing rated for hollow steel — never a plastic wall plug and never an ordinary wood screw, as both strip straight through 0.5mm steel. If a fixing point falls between studs on plasterboard rather than on the stud itself, use a toggle or hollow-wall anchor rated for the pegboard's loaded weight, not just the board on its own.
3 each · Timber batten 25x25mm x 2.4m
1 pack · Wood screws 4x40mm (pack)
1 pack · Self-drilling metal stud screws (pack)
1 pack · Hollow-wall toggle fixings (pack)
PB-05Fix spacer battens into masonry, dot-and-dab or lath and plasterInto solid brick or block, drill with a 6mm masonry bit to 45mm depth, blow out the dust, insert a red wall plug and drive in a 6x50mm screw. Into dot-and-dab plasterboard, drill through the plasterboard and dab gap into the masonry behind — expect around 25-50mm of air gap — and use a screw and plug long enough to still get 30mm of grip into the brick, typically 60-75mm overall. Into lath and plaster, don't rely on the laths themselves, as they're thin and crack easily; use the stud detector to find a solid timber joist or stud behind and screw into that, or fit a plasterboard-rated toggle for light loads only if there's no timber to hit.
1 each · Masonry drill bit 6mm
1 pack · Red wall plugs (pack)
1 pack · Wood screws 6x75mm (pack)
PB-06Fix the pegboard to the battensHold the pegboard against the fixed battens and check it's level before driving any screws. Screw through the pegboard into each batten at roughly 300mm intervals, working from one side across. Don't overtighten — pegboard is thin and the screw head can pull straight through if you go too far.
1 pack · Pegboard screws 3.5x25mm (pack)
1 each · Spirit level
PB-07Fit hooks and accessoriesPush the pegboard hooks into the holes at your planned positions and give each one a firm tug to check it's seated properly. Hang your heaviest items first and check nothing bows or pulls the board away from the battens. If something does pull away, that fixing point needs a stronger anchor or a batten moved onto a stud, not just a tighter hook.
1 pack · Pegboard hook set
PB-08Tidy upVacuum up brick, wood or plaster dust from the floor and skirting. Wipe down the wall and pegboard with a damp cloth to remove any remaining dust. Bag up offcuts and packaging for disposal.
1 each · Dust sheet
1 each · Damp cloth

Some links may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Save this as a project

Back to all guides