What is the dowel-nail used for? Fasteners dowel nail

The modern dowel-nail replaced wooden dowels, which often split into pieces, dried out and did not adhere well to the load-bearing surface. Composite fasteners with a spacer sleeve significantly speed up most installation work, providing the most reliable fastening of furniture and other products.

What are dowels for?

On the market you can find dozens of types of fasteners, which differ in size, materials, and scope of application. The most popular dowels are: universal dowels, expansion dowels, spiral dowels, frame dowels, insulating dowels, heavy-duty dowels, nail dowels and others. Each of them is designed for specific purposes and has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at the key differences and come to a conclusion in what situations certain types of fasteners are used.

Tips for choosing

A dowel-nail consists of two elements: a dowel, which is inserted into a hole in the wall, and a nail, which is driven or screwed into the dowel if there is a thread on the rod. The cap has a slot, usually for a Phillips screwdriver. Dowels made of polypropylene are suitable for installation in heated rooms, while dowels made of nylon are able to withstand sub-zero temperatures, so they can be used even outdoors.

You can use a dowel-nail for concrete, brick and foam concrete, it all depends on the design of the dowel. Based on this principle, the following types are distinguished.

Spacer - fixed due to the expansion of the sleeve in the hole, its relief surface limits the movement of the dowel.
Universal - fastened in the hole due to the knot that is formed when twisted.

When buying dowel nails, pay attention to their size . The diameter can be from 5 to 8 mm - the larger it is, the heavier objects the fastener can support. The most common dowel nails for fastening plasterboard profile frames into concrete are size 6x40.

The length of the nail can be from 40 to 120 mm - the longer it is, the more securely it will hold the suspended structure. Also consider the amount of fasteners in the package and make your choice based on the amount of work to be done. If you need to display one shelf and several paintings, a package of 6 to 10 pieces is enough. When you need to fasten many items, it is better to take items with a reserve, for example, 100 - 150 pieces.

What is a dowel-nail

A dowel-nail is a special product used to perform fastening work. It consists of two elements - a special nail and the dowel itself, and is used for mounting objects to concrete, brick, stone, and other solid, dense materials. There are also types of the described fasteners designed to work with chipboards and drywall.

The design of the dowel-nail is very simple. It is made in the form of a cylindrical rod, which consists of a spacer part (it expands during installation and allows for reliable fastening) and a nail that is familiar to everyone.

In some cases, the fastener we are interested in may be additionally equipped with a special cuff that acts as a limiter that does not allow the fastener to fall into the hole made. The shape of this cuff can be different, for example, cylindrical or hidden.

Also, modern industry produces dowel fasteners with a thread applied to the nail and a slot, which is located on the head of the product. This element can be mounted using a screwdriver. Working with it is quite simple, since the process of inserting a nail into a dowel is made easier due to the presence of a “smoothed” thread in the product. Let us add that the top of the thread of this mounting device is directed towards the head. Purely externally, the dowel-thread is no different from the standard thrust thread.

Most often, dowels are made from polyethylene, polypropylene or polyamide. But the dowel-nail itself is made from steel alloys with a zinc coating. To be fair, we note that there are many fasteners of the described type on the market without additional coating. Standard dowel diameters are 5, 6, 8 and 10 millimeters, and their length ranges from 30 to 160 millimeters.

Types of fasteners

Construction stores offer a wide range of dowels. Photos of products clearly demonstrate the diversity of their designs, materials of manufacture and purpose.

The most common product is the universal polypropylene dowel. It has a traditional design in the form of a sleeve, into the cavity of which a self-tapping screw is screwed. This element is suitable for concrete, brick and stone foundations. The design of the product is equipped with special spacers, with the help of which the element is securely fixed in the hole.

To perform complex external work, a spacer construction dowel with a locking edge is used, which eliminates the possibility of fasteners falling into the hole.

Nylon dowels are equipped with fastening antennae, thanks to which the products are securely fixed in the holes. They can be used on any surface.

Drywall dowels are used for mounting them into porous concrete and sheets of gypsum fiber and plasterboard. They can be made of plastic or metal. The last option is called dowel molly. Before hammering in a dowel of this type, there is no need to first prepare the hole, since its tip has the appearance of a sharpened drill.

Dowel for plasterboard walls

Facade dowels are made of polypropylene or nylon. They have directional antennae for secure fixation at the base. Such fasteners can be used for any surface. They are produced without sides, which eliminates the possibility of shedding or cracking of the facing plaster.

The frame dowel is intended for installation of door and window frames, cladding through layers of thermal insulation and plaster. The products are made of metal. They are often called thermal insulation dowels, which can be of two types: for working with hard and soft materials.

Types of dowels with special design

Dowel nails are made of polypropylene, nylon or stainless steel. Thanks to the presence of knurling in the form of reverse cones, reliable retention of the product in the base is ensured. They are widely used for quick and extensive installation of skirting boards, sheathing, windows, timber, metal profiles, cable ducts, plywood to concrete, brick or stone surfaces.

Helpful advice! When deciding whether to hammer or tighten a dowel-nail, preference is given to the first installation option.

Butterfly dowel for hollow structures

The butterfly dowel is characterized by increased wear resistance and the ability to withstand high loads even in hollow surfaces. Such products are made of metal.

The adjusting dowel is used to install the sheathing under the sheathing. It has a special design containing a certain element that allows you to adjust the position of the product relative to the surface to which it is attached.

Helpful advice! To carry out large volumes of installation work, it is advisable to use dowels-screws designed for mounting guns.

The dowel-clamp has the shape of a loop with characteristic tendrils for fastening along the edges of the product. Such elements are designed for mounting electrical wiring to the base. The wire is inserted into the clamp, and its edges, in turn, are inserted into holes previously created in the wall and fixed with tendrils.

A special type of fastening element is an umbrella dowel, which is designed for installing thermal insulation made of polystyrene or mineral wool. This product has a wide round cap that holds the insulation. They produce plastic and metal dowels.

An umbrella dowel is often used to hang ceiling chandeliers

Helpful advice! The best option for loose foundations would be liquid dowels, or chemical anchors, which provide a strong and reliable connection and are at the same time able to withstand heavy loads.

The Molly umbrella dowel is a nail with metal arms that provide reliable fastening of structures to hollow surfaces with uniform load distribution.

Helpful advice! To attach the chandelier to a suspended ceiling, you should use Molly umbrella dowels.

Weight and dimensions

Products are produced in very different sizes, given how different the purpose may be. The parameters are marked with 2 numbers: the first indicates the diameter, the second indicates the length in mm.

The parameters vary from 5*23 to 10*160. The load that the product can withstand must be indicated.
The weight of the product for different sizes and materials, of course, is different, but since the fastener itself is still small, the weight is indicated not as 1, but as 1000 nails.

As an example, the table shows dimensional data for a dowel-nail with a polypropylene spacer body.

Designation	Hole diameter, mm	Nail diameter, mm	Dowel length, mm	Nail length, mm	Min. depth for through installation	Max. thickness of attached material	Weight 1000 shi, kg
6*40	6.00	40	4	42	50	10	3,3
6*60	6.00	60	4	62	70	30	4,89
6*80	6	80	4	82	90	50	7,28
8*60	8	60	5	62	70	20	8,5
8*80	8	80	5	82	90	40	11,02
8*100	8	100	5	102	110	60	13,78
8*120	8	120	5	122	130	80	16,53
8*140	8	140	5	142	115	100	19,3
10*100	10	100	7	102	150	50	15,32

The dimensions and weight of the product for a construction and assembly gun vary within smaller limits.

Designation	Weight 1000 pcs, kg
4,5*30	5,1
4,5*40	6,45
4,5*50	7,7
4,5*60	8,84

Next, the technical characteristics of dowel-nails will be considered.

Drywall dowels

The fragility and other features of gypsum plasterboard require the use of special types of dowels. Due to the great popularity of drywall, several fastening options have been developed. This:

butterfly;
"Molly";
Driva;
Dowel nail.

The “butterfly” option is used when it is necessary to attach a not too heavy part or thing, for example, a painting, to a plasterboard wall. The bushing has the appearance of a cylinder with deep slots on the sides. When screwing the screw, the back part is attracted, and the side parts are deformed and pressed against the back part of the gypsum board. The fixation is reliable, but not designed for too heavy loads.

A variety of “butterfly” is the “molly” dowel. This is a drywall anchor made entirely of metal. In addition to gypsum board, it can be used on any sheet material - MDF, chipboard, OSB, etc.

The second most popular dowel is the Driva type. It screws into a pre-drilled hole and is securely focused by the flared threads to form a strong socket for driving the screw. Holds parts weighing up to 30 kg, made of steel or polymer.

Step-by-step instruction.

1. Before driving a nail, check whether it is in “working” condition: there are no kinks or bends, or rust. If any, measures should be taken to eliminate these shortcomings.

The bent nail must be leveled with hammer blows, and the rust must be removed so that it does not subsequently spoil the surface into which the nail is planned to be hammered.

Next, you need to choose the right hammer.

If your nail is up to 4 cm long, then choose a hammer weighing 250 g. Larger nails require a tool that is twice as heavy as the previous one. Five hundred gram hammers are considered universal, due to which they are widely distributed in relevant stores.

There are hammers weighing 1 kg. Such assistants are good for driving nails and dowels longer than 8 cm. We also note that with the help of a correctly selected hammer, the nail will penetrate dried wood better and faster (if, for example, this is what we are talking about).

3. Now you can begin the process itself.

If you are right-handed (for a left-handed person the actions will be similar, just with the other hand), then take the nail in your left hand and place its sharp end perpendicular to the work surface.
Take a hammer in your right hand.

Using the hammer, apply gentle blows to the head of the nail so that it penetrates a quarter of its length into the desired surface. Please note that your movements and, accordingly, the movement of the hammer should be carried out along a trajectory, the end of which should be a continuation of the nail.

“Curved” blows will lead to damage not only to the nail but, possibly, to the material as well. Apply confident, strong blows (and perhaps even a blow) to the head of the nail until it is completely “sunk” into the material.

The key here is confidence and accuracy.

How to drive a dowel nail into drywall, ceramic or tiles

When installing drywall, you should take into account in advance the weight of the load that is attached to it. In cases where the weight of the load is quite high, it is impossible to use a dowel fastener, since it will simply destroy a fairly light plasterboard surface. In other situations (light load weight), driving a dowel-nail is a very simple procedure:

a hole of the required cross-section is made in the drywall;
the fastener is inserted all the way into the hole (in this case, you should not hit the fastening element with a hammer with all your strength, but only lightly tap);
The screw is tightened manually or using a screwdriver.

When working with tiles made of tiles or ceramics, installation of fasteners is also simple, but the work should be done with extreme caution, given its high fragility. The fastening diagram is as follows:

a marker marks the point of entry of the fastener into the tile (this can be either a seam or the surface of the material);
Lightly tapping a metal screw using a self-tapping screw makes a hole on the surface of the enamel (up to 0.5 millimeters), and only after that use an impact drill, which drills through the tile (ceramics) to its entire thickness.

Do not forget that you will also need to make a hole under the tile in accordance with the instructions for brick or concrete (they are outlined above), and then install the fastening device into the tile and brick or concrete surface.

How to strengthen the fastening?

If you determine that the connection is not secure enough and the base is quite loose, measures to strengthen the connection may be necessary. To do this, you can take electrical tape and screw it onto the dowel. After this, you can safely attach large items. On the Internet you can find recommendations for using cellophane for these purposes. However, immediately exclude this option, since in this case you will not have to count on fixing large loads.

If you intend to install large structures, you can use a plaster bandage. Be sure to wet it with water for a strong bond. Seals are especially useful if you accidentally end up with a hole that is too large. Additional sealants can be wooden blocks or matches. They are inserted into the hole for the dowels.

The use of dowel fastenings when working with brickwork and concrete

To install fasteners into brick, you need to do the following:

Choose a suitable location for the fastening material (most often this is the central part of the brick).
Take an impact drill and start drilling. This must be done with care in order to avoid the appearance of cracks and chips on the brick. After approximately 1 cm of masonry has been drilled, the drilling speed can be increased.
Use a vacuum cleaner to blow out small brick chips from the hole and drive in the fasteners.

To install fasteners in concrete, you must follow the following recommendations:

Mark the hole using a hammer and punch.
Punch a hole of the required depth using a hammer drill. The brand of the drill must match the brand of the fastener. In addition, the length of the dowel must be 5 - 6 mm less than the depth of the hole being drilled.
Remove any dust with a vacuum cleaner and deepen the dowel using a hammer.
All that's left is to hammer in the nail. It is recommended not to hammer it in completely. Leave 2 - 3 mm from the cap free for hanging.

Actions with the cord

This measure can indeed ensure high-quality fasteners.

However, if you need to stretch the cord between the corners (for example, for construction and repair needs), you can do it this way:

Tie nails and other wire scraps to the nylon thread.
Insert them into the mortar joint (with a soft mortar, immersion will occur without a pick or other tools).
In winter, a pick may be needed (as is the case if the solution was yesterday).
There is no need to hammer the parts too deep, because they need to be constantly pulled out.

In this case, you need to ensure that the rod can support the tensioned cord itself. It is important to pay attention to ensure that the element does not sit too firmly inside.

To do this, it will be enough to loosen it a little in its nest.

General recommendations for driving a comb nail into brick

Another option for 100% quality work is choosing comb options. This material consists of copper elements with sharper edges (this allows you to easily enter any material).

To accomplish your plan, you need to prepare those tools that can help you hammer in a nail, and in the future you won’t have to worry about the thing hanging on the wall. To do this you will need the following preparations:

roulette;
the comb nails themselves;
drill;
3 mm drill for concrete;
hammer;
pencil.

The work algorithm will be as follows:

Measure the brick itself.
Measure the very place where the nail should go.
Mark the front of the work with a pencil, making a bold dot
Put the drill into operation.

The process of driving a dowel

During construction and repair, the dowel with a self-tapping screw or dowel-nail is most in demand; they can be fastened in different materials. In order to properly fix them in the wall, ensuring high-quality fastening, certain conditions must be observed. Only at first glance it seems that driving dowels into the wall is very simple. In order not to damage the material, you must follow the rule that the dowel body should not protrude beyond the edge of the wall surface.

A hole is being drilled

A hole is made in the wall with a hammer drill, and the diameter of the drill must match the cross-sectional size of the dowel sleeve. It is important that the depth of the hole is 0.5 cm greater than the length of the dowel.
After the hole is made, it must be cleaned with a long object at hand. To get rid of dust, the hole can be blown out with air or, for example, cleaned with a vacuum cleaner.
Then you need to insert the dowel body into the hole and hammer it in until the edge of the part coincides with the surface of the wall.
After this, the self-tapping screw is screwed into the plastic base almost all the way. In the version with a nail, the latter is driven in with a hammer. The core, after entering the body of the outer shell of the part, will have a bursting effect on the base in the hole, and it will be almost impossible to pull out the dowel. To install the dowel efficiently, you need to follow all the necessary rules.

Dowel in hole

It is necessary to take into account that the core needs to be twisted, and not driven in with a hammer. Otherwise, the bushing may rupture and lose its fastening properties. This statement is only suitable for dowels whose core is a self-tapping screw. The nail must be driven in with a hammer until it stops.

general description

Drywall is widely used as a leveling material to create structures with various geometries. However, the material has a significant drawback - fragility. It is justified by the low strength of the gypsum core in conditions of damaged cardboard reinforcement. Because of this, difficulties may arise with fastening or hanging certain objects, equipment, and household appliances on thin sheets.

Traditional self-tapping screws are not suitable here due to the small contact area of the rod with gypsum board. Under load, it easily pushes through cardboard and plaster. The same happens when using long hardware, which will be additionally immersed in the rough base. The situation can be changed using special fasteners. Its action is aimed at compacting the area with the hole and increasing the contact area of the fastener relative to the core or reinforcing shell.

Regular dowel-nail Source zabor.bz

Types of dowel-nails

Depending on the conditions, builders have to use different tools. For example, attaching an object to a concrete or plasterboard wall has a significant difference. In some cases, the reinforced strength of the rod is important, in other places - thermal conductivity and moisture resistance. Even a seemingly simple driven dowel-nail has several varieties, which differ not only in size and material, but also in the method of installation.

Common types of dowel nails:

Dowel-nail for manual installation
.

Dowel-nail for a gun
- installation is carried out using an automatic device, which greatly speeds up the progress of work. It does not have a spacer part. The nail is made of the strongest steel (hardness 53-56 HRC, bending no more than 0.1 mm).

Acoustic dowel-nail
- in the manufacture of fasteners, not metal is used, but plastic and fiberglass, which prevents corrosion or the passage of cold. Consumables of this type are used for installation of thermal insulation, sound insulation, cable ducts, and decoration.

Dowel-nail “umbrella”
– has a wide head and a long body, used for fixing thermal insulation.

Plastic dowel nails

A cup made of synthetic material has a spacer and non-spacer surface. The plastic dowel-nail is equipped with a cuff that prevents the fastener from falling into the surface. The presence of toothed elements prevents the product from scrolling in the hole. We list the common types of plastic fasteners:

Universal dowel
- used together with wood and chipboard screws, screw-screws, suitable for hollow and solid materials.

Expansion dowel S
- nylon fasteners have a double-sided expansion. The absence of a stop edge allows you to hide the dowel inside the plaster.

MS Expansion Dowel
– Suitable for use with standard bolts or threaded rods.

Dowels for aerated concrete GB
– the presence of spiral ribs allows for a very strong fit in soft materials.

Dowels for mounting TV/TVV steps
– have a good surface geometry to prevent creaking and vibration. TV brand fasteners have a small spacer for installation in a steel profile.

Metal dowel nails

The use of a steel spacer sleeve increases the cost of the estimate, but allows you to increase the design load. A metal dowel-nail for foam blocks, brick structures or concrete structures is installed in the same way as plastic fasteners. We list the advantages and disadvantages of this product:

High load-bearing capacity.
Metal does not stretch over time.
The galvanized or stainless steel sleeve is resistant to corrosion.
Large selection of fasteners.
Easy installation.
The cost of dowel-nails made of metal is higher.
It must be taken into account that steel fasteners can create more stress, so it is better to place them further from the edge.

How to properly attach a profile to the wall

Before attaching a metal profile to the wall, you should have a set of tools and materials:

Profile – guide profile is mainly galvanized. This gives reliability to the created structure. The calculation is made using an online calculator or on your own. Material must be taken in reserve.

Dowel and nails for fastening the profile - for a solid wall measuring 6/40. If the base is wood, then 25mm self-tapping screws are applicable.

Drill with 6mm drill bit. and a screwdriver. Before using electrical tools, it is necessary to calculate the load on the electrical wiring.

Scissors for cutting metal. When installing a guide profile, it is sometimes necessary to make an incision on a metal product or cut it off.

Installation of the guide profile

To install the guide profile, a prepared surface with ready-made markings is required. How to fix the profile to the wall? Installation is carried out in the following algorithm:

First of all, the guide profile is applied to the marking (the line can pass both from the inside and from the outside - depending on the nuances that arise)
Next on the profile you need to mark the places for future fasteners. Basically, you need to retreat up to 15 cm from the edge of the profile. Maximum, the second fastener is located at 25 cm. from the first and so on - every 25cm.
If there are no holes in the profile, they are made independently. Even if there are these places marked by the factory, according to the craftsmen, one should be made exactly in the middle between the holes for the strength of the structure.
The diameter of the drill should be 6 mm and its length 50 mm. if the drill is longer, you should mark a boundary on it; this can be easily done with electrical tape or tape.
A plastic dowel is inserted into the hole made both in the base and in the profile. It is hammered into place with a hammer. This should be done carefully, as deformation may occur during installation. Then the plastic part will become unusable.
After installing the first plastic part of the dowel, a threaded nail is installed using a screwdriver. The deeper the nail enters the component, the more it opens, fixing all the fasteners with special tendrils.
If the profile is longer than required, it is cut off with metal scissors.
If you need to sharpen the profile, then you can use special extensions.
You should retreat 15 cm from each end to the border of the profiles and fix the guide dowel with nails.

The screwdriver should not be set at high speed, so as not to drive the nail into the plane more than it should be, thereby bending the profile.

The guide profile is an integral part of the entire metal structure for plasterboard, so its fixation must be strong and of high quality.

Fastening a profile to the ceiling or fixing a wall frame under gypsum boards are similar in technology.

Video:

Gun for installing dowel-nails

Previous methods of installing hardware differ in that the nail is driven into the dowel. There is a more convenient fastening option, which is done using a construction gun. This is called “targeting” the structure to the surface.

In this case, non-standard fasteners are used. A special washer is placed on the nail, ensuring a secure fit of the hardware in the base. Installation with a gun differs in that after shooting the fastening structure, the washer moves towards the head of the dowel-nail and is securely fastened.

This option is suitable for installing metal structures on dense, solid foundations (stone, concrete, brick, carbon steel and much more). Often, a mounting gun is used to securely install canopies on balconies. The product is manufactured according to a standard with lengths from 30 to 80 mm, while the cross-section varies from 3.7 to 4.5 mm. Additionally, a zinc coating is provided, which provides resistance to corrosion.

Dowel fastener. Types of products

These products are divided into categories according to:

fastening method

The design features, as well as the base material, are taken into account. If the base is of high density, which causes certain difficulties in the process of fastening various elements, you should use dowels for brick or concrete

To work with such surfaces, you can choose: Expansion dowel. Depending on the manufacturer, the product may differ in shape, as well as in the number of teeth, ailerons, and spikes. Universal fastener. In solid materials it manifests itself in the same way as the spacer type, but in hollow materials it shows different qualities. Facade dowel and frame. The products are designed for fastening into dense bases, even if they are classified as slotted. Nail type. Designed for mass quick installation. Most often requires the use of a mounting gun. If the work will be carried out with loose or hollow materials, then in these cases it is better to choose a universal option, frame (can be used when installed in a foam concrete base during the installation of plastic door and window structures), driven (for aerated concrete), as well as screw-on, panel and sheet dowel.

type of installation

In this case, it is not the method of immersing nails into dowels that is taken into account, but the installation of the dowel itself. Today there are two methods: Pre-installation

The fasteners are fixed into the base. The attached element fits as tightly as possible to the “body”. The largest percentage of types of dowels work exactly according to the mentioned principle (universal, nail, spacer). Through installation. Before fastening into the base, the fastener must pass through a void area or a certain layer of intermediate material. To carry out this process, a product with an elongated non-expanding part is used. We are talking about frame, facade, and roofing dowels. In addition, there are models of fasteners for insulation. They can be either spacer or non-spacer. They are distinguished by the presence of a rather large cap (diameter - from 45 to 90 mm), which allows them to hold loose material, as well as soft ones.

material. Most often, dowel fasteners are made using plastic. This is explained by the fact that the level of installation strength is determined by the ease, as well as the force of deformation. Plastic is endowed with elasticity and viscosity, which allows it to deform more easily than other materials. At the same time, the plastic does not lose its characteristics. Thus, today there are dowels made from the following materials:
Polypropylene. It has high hardness and wear resistance, but cannot be used at very low temperatures. But it performs well at high temperatures (deformation is observed at +140 °C or more).
Nylon or polyamide. Products made from this material are endowed with a high level of rigidity and strength. They are resistant to mechanical stress and vibration processes, and are durable. A nylon dowel is recognized as a more reliable fastener, but it is not recommended to use it in frosty or humid weather.