Rogues Gallery

Some dish installers use a fixing set that comprises a coach bolt and a plastic wall plug. Although these fixings work by friction alone they are quite capable of supporting a Sky mini-dish if used properly, but I wouldn’t recommend their use for anything much bigger. Apart from the question of pull-out strength, these fixings work by exerting an expansion force in the hole. This means that the security of the fixing depends entirely on the ability of the brick or stone to resist cracking. Anchor bolts are much more expensive than the coach bolt and plastic plug, but they work by pulling a wedge into the hole from the rear, so only a small fraction of the fixing force tries to split the brick. Modern bricks are often quite soft and will almost inevitably split when someone fits a coach bolt near the edge.  

Someone with the email address attercliffe@gmx.net. sent this in. I can’t get this address to work, so I’ll have to say “Thanks!” here instead.

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