Fix a screw into a wall-plug

Question

The mirror in the bathroom is held by two hooks, that are screwed into the wall through wall-plugs. One of the hooks has become loose, and can easily turn around, and is thus not holding the mirror anymore. (So the wall-plug is not spinning in the wall, it is the screw itself which does.)

If I tighten the screw more, then it becomes fixed, but then the hook is too near to the mirror and cannot be hanged anymore. The other hook is very solid, even at the right distance.

I have already tried gluing the screw to the wall-plug with Loctite, but it still keeps moving.

I have already seen this related question, but I do not think it is relevant for two reasons:

• If I want, I can tighten the screw, but then (as said above), it is too near to the wall.
• If at all possible, I would like to avoid drilling another hole, I would rather try some other solution to glue the screw to the wall-plug.

Answer 1

Might not be the answer you're looking for, but (as was the answer to that other question) you could pull it out and get a new plug. You might not need to redrill if you're careful or get a plug that'll hook into whatever hole is left.

Also, I know it could just be preference, but have you tried Gorilla Glue?

Answer 2

It sounds like a longer screw of the same diameter would solve your problem.

If that doesn't work try a slightly larger diameter screw.

You can help stop this problem from happening again by adding a spacer between the hook and the wall. The spacer can be of any material. It should look like a thick washer. The thickness should be whatever is now the distance between the hook and the wall. The diameter should be about four times the thickness. The hole should be only large enough for the screw. This will allow the screw to hold the hook tightly and prevent it from wiggling and working the screw loose again.

Once you know the dimensions of the spacer, a hardware or DIY store can help you find it.

Answer 3

Glue by itself is rarely the right answer when a screw isn't holding.

It sounds like you've stripped out the threads in the anchor. As others have said, switching to a thicker screw would solve that, by cutting new threads. A longer screw MIGHT reach an undamaged part of the anchor but is a less reliable solution.

(The other classic solution is to partly fill the hole to force cutting new threads... but it's hard to make that approach work with plastic or metal.)

Note that the most common cause of threads getting stripped is overtightening the screw or bolt.

Answer 4

A small tub of filler from a local DIY chain could do the trick - put the filler in the hole and then push the plug back in.

Answer 5

If I understand the issue correctly, you could insert a shim (the 'paper' end of a matchbook match works for me) into the hole, then screw in the screw. This will work similar to filling the hole with glue or using a larger diameter screw but in a less destructive measure.