Nail plug and base

[fritzki]

Hi,

I have old walls made of some kind of soft concrete (the apartment was built in the 40s). I'm trying to put up moldings with spike plugs, but it's not going very well. The nail and plastic head stick out 3mm from the molding. Is it supposed to look like this? No matter how hard I hit with the hammer, they don't go in more than that. What alternatives do I have?

Thanks,

Lisa

 

[JOW]

The same thing happened to me in an apartment, I ended up replacing the nail plug with a regular plug and wood screw... a small dab of filler and one final coat of paint on the trim afterwards. Masked about 1-2mm up on the trim and painted happily, no paint streaks on the floor... That millimeter you never see later... since it's only the final coat left...

 

[Stefan N]

http://www.gunneboindustries.com/sv-se/Fastening/Produkter/Spik/Lattbetongspik/Listspik/

 

[1337]

Drill deeper? If it's soft concrete, when I list I use the nails Stefan links to. They usually grip better than nail plugs.

 

[fritzki]

Thank you for your responses. d^_^b

I'm a bit afraid of using nails because the wall is very soft. I think it might not hold well enough. The floor is also a bit uneven in the corners, so I will need to press the molding there to make it reach the floor.

It also feels like it's much easier to damage the baseboards if I hit them with a hammer.

Are there any other types of screws you can recommend? I might be able to use screws just in the corners.

What do you think?

/Lisa

 

[mr_bygg]

We used the same type of nails that Stefan N suggests when we renovated our condominium, and it worked perfectly. I had the same doubts as you, but my father-in-law, who is a carpenter, convinced me that it would work, so I conceded, and it worked

 

[Milkshaken]

If you are unsure if it will hold with porous materials, I usually hit more slowly; instead of one hit per second, it becomes one hit every other second. This reduces the vibrations that occur inside the hole. Try it.

 

[JOW]

Fritzki: you can use a punch or a drift punch for the last blow... a center punch might work too, but there's a risk of slipping off...