TS-04Choose the right fixing for your wallThis run usually sits on a timber stud wall, so drive a 4x40mm wood screw into the centre of each stud through a 2mm pilot hole. If a fixing lands on a metal stud instead, never use a wood screw or plastic plug — they strip straight through 0.5mm steel — use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a rated toggle anchor. Where a hole falls on bare plasterboard between studs, use a toggle rated for at least double your expected shelf load; on solid brick or block, drill 6mm holes to 40mm depth and use a matching plug with a 5x50mm screw. Through dot-and-dab, use a screw long enough to pass through the dab and at least 30mm into the masonry behind, and on lath and plaster, locate the horizontal laths with a pilot hole and fix into the stud behind them, since plaster alone will crumble.