Which Wall Anchor for Which Wall? A Guide for Cat Furniture

Why the anchor has to suit the wall

There's no wall anchor that holds equally well in every wall. Your wall decides which type of anchor you need: concrete calls for something different from drywall, hollow brick for something different from old plaster. Once you know that, you've already answered the most important question for a secure cat wall.

Our wall furniture usually comes with standard wall anchors and screws. They're a good start, but not a solution for every wall. Exactly what's included is listed in the assembly instructions for each product. How to proceed step by step afterwards is explained in our article mount your cat wall step by step.

And why does this matter so much with cats? Because a cat doesn't just lie there like a pile of books. It pushes off, lands with momentum and uses its wall every day. The anchor has to cope with that for the long haul.

Which wall do you have?

Three simple tests will help:

• Knock test: If the wall sounds hollow, it's usually drywall. A dull sound points to solid masonry.
• Drill dust: A small test hole reveals the material. Red means brick, gray and very fine means concrete, white and sandy means sand-lime brick, white and slightly sticky means drywall.
• Resistance when drilling: Concrete is very hard. If the resistance suddenly drops at a certain depth, you're drilling into hollow brick. Aerated concrete is noticeably easy to drill.

That's also how the anchor guide from fischer (in German) describes it. The next section shows you which anchor suits your wall.

Six walls, six solutions

Here are the six most common types of wall with the right kind of anchor. The fischer products mentioned are examples – comparable anchors from other manufacturers work just as well, provided they're approved for your wall.

• Concrete: very hard and very load-bearing. Expansion anchors hold well here, for example the fischer S. You can drill in hammer mode.
• Solid brick and sand-lime brick: solid blocks, also highly load-bearing. Expansion or universal anchors are a good choice. Here, too, you usually drill in hammer mode.
• Hollow brick: the brick contains cavities. Long universal anchors such as fischer DuoPower or UX get a better grip because they sit deeper in the wall. Drill without hammer mode so the webs inside the brick don't break. For heavy loads, fischer recommends injection mortar with an anchor sleeve.
• Aerated concrete: soft and porous – not every anchor holds in it. Use anchors that are specifically designed for aerated concrete, for example the fischer GB aerated concrete anchor. Drill without hammer mode and choose the drill bit diameter exactly as stated on the package.
• Drywall: thin panels with a cavity behind them. You'll need hollow-wall or toggle anchors such as fischer DuoTec. Even better: screw into the studs – more on that in the next section.
• Older buildings: often mixed masonry, crumbly plaster or unknown material. Injection mortar or liquid anchors that fill cavities and give the anchor a grip often help here. Always make a test hole.

How much an anchor can carry is stated on the package or in the manufacturer's load table. That figure is more reliable than any rule of thumb.

Drywall and types of anchor at a glance

Drywall: ideally into the studs

You can mount our wall furniture in drywall with hollow-wall anchors. If possible, though, we recommend attaching it to the studs. That way the screw sits in the load-bearing frame of the wall and not just in the board.

How to find the studs: a detector shows you where they run. When you knock, the wall sounds less hollow over a stud. The studs are often spaced 62.5 cm apart because drywall is installed in that grid – but always check this on your own wall. With wood studs, you screw into the wood. Metal studs need their own fastening solutions; ask at a hardware store for advice.

The most important types of anchor

• Expansion anchors: spread out in the drill hole – for solid walls such as concrete.
• Universal anchors: expand or knot depending on the material – for many walls, including hollow brick.
• Hollow-wall and toggle anchors: open up behind the board – for drywall.
• Aerated concrete anchors: grip in soft, porous stone.
• Injection mortar and liquid anchors: fill cavities – for hollow blocks, older buildings and heavy loads.

The key points

First identify your wall, then choose the right anchor and check the load rating. If in doubt, a hardware store can help. How the mounting works afterwards is explained in our article mount your cat wall step by step – for example for the STEPS cat stairs, a cat wall set or our SWING wall-mounted cat hammock.