Correctly remove cavity dowels - one mistake and the wall is broken

Created: 2022-12-10, 3:08 p.m

Repairing and hammering at home is fun.

But you should know how it works. (Iconic image) © Christin Klose/dpa-tmn

Anyone removing a dowel from their drywall should be careful.

Mostly they are cavity dowels.

Removing it is a bit tricky.

If you act too harshly, you can break a lot.

Munich - Do-it-yourselfers or craftsmen who want to hang up a shelf should usually work with the classic expansion dowel.

Drill a hole in the wall, push in the dowel, screw in the screw - done.

When the screw is screwed in, the dowel spreads open.

With a kind of barb he presses himself sideways against the wall.

The screw and dowel are firmly in the wall, the shelf can be hung up.

It is different with drywall.

The dowels work differently and - in contrast to the normal dowels - cannot be removed as easily.

Dowels, screws, and everything else you need for DIY can be found at hardware stores like Obi.

Insert and remove cavity dowels correctly - then the wall stays tidy

If the normal dowel and its screw become superfluous at some point, the combo can be easily removed.

Unscrew the screw, tension of the dowel loosens.

It can then be easily pulled out with pliers.

The mechanism is different for cavity dowels.

And so the removal also works differently.

With drywall, there is a cavity behind the plasterboard.

A normal expansion anchor could not anchor itself.

He would just slip out again.

This is where the so-called cavity dowel comes into play.

There are different variants here.

It usually works like this: drill a hole, insert a dowel and screw in the screw.

When screwing in, the thread forms a kind of anchor in the cavity behind the wall.

The load of a suspended object is distributed over a larger area.

The drill hole does not break out and is more stable.

Properly removing a cavity anchor from the wall

If one day in the future you no longer need screws and dowels and want to get them out of the wall, you shouldn't twist and pull.

The dowel would be out of the wall.

But the unsightly result would be a burglary in the drywall.

First the anchor mechanism is to be deactivated.

Not really difficult once you know how it works:

• unscrew the screw.

• A screw with the same diameter in the hole, but a good two centimeters longer.

• Turn until it protrudes about two centimeters from the dowel.

• Next, hit the screw head with a hammer.

  This will straighten the strands and disable the anchor mechanism.

• With a pair of pliers, the screw and dowel can be pulled out of the drill hole with a slight turning movement.

Cavity plugs removed, wall broken - Plan B can also work

If the topic of removing the dowel is difficult and a larger hole in the wall is unavoidable as a result, you can also leave it stuck in the wall, advises DIY store giant Obi.

“If the dowel sticks out of the hole a little, you grab the cutter knife.

Before filling, cut the dowel so that it no longer protrudes.” Alternatively, it can also be carefully sunk further into the wall with a hammer.

Then fill the hole including the dowel with filler and level.

Then paint the wall and the dowel should no longer be visible.