How To Remove A Hollow Wall Anchor - The Family Handyman

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How To Remove a Hollow Wall Anchor in 2 Minutes Or Less

Total Time:5 minutesComplexity:BeginnerCost:Nothing if you have the tools

By Ryan Van Bibber

Family Handyman's Editorial Process

Updated on Jul. 30, 2024

How to get anchors out once they're in.

Time

5 minutes

Complexity

Beginner

Cost

Nothing if you have the tools

Introduction

Remove unwanted hollow wall anchors without wrecking your wall. Punching them through does minimal damage and simplifies wall patching.

Hollow Wall Anchors: What You Need to Know

The great thing about hollow wall anchors is that they provide a cheap, fast method for attaching heavy stuff to drywall. There are at least a half dozen wall anchor devices; each works on a slightly different principle. What happens when you want to change the location of a family photo or a mirror? Some plastic, cone-shaped, expanding anchors can be pulled out from the front of the wall. But the T-nut head wall anchor shown here can’t be pulled out intact, because its four expanded flanges lock up against the backside of the wall. What’s the trick to remove it?

First, remove the threaded bolt that attaches your accessory to the wall anchor. Now, grab the T-nut head firmly with needle-nose pliers, then bend and pull the collar back and forth until the head snaps off. Finally, use a nail to push the anchor body into the wall cavity, then patch the hole and apply some touch-up paint.

Tools Required

• Needle-nose pliers

Materials Required

• Drywall/patching compound
• Nail

Project step-by-step (2)

Step 1

Snap off the collar

• Grab, bend and snap the collar of a T-nut head wall anchor with needle-nose pliers to remove it.
  • To minimize wall damage, avoid digging the nose of the pliers too wide of the collar.

Step 2

Push the anchor through the wall

• Push the anchor body into the wall cavity with a nail.
• Repair the drywall with patching compound and then paint the spot.