Anchor for mounting on composite door.

[William Ham]

Hello All,

I'm new here. I'm mounting a blind on an exterior hollow composite door. I've done this many times but this door seems a little weaker than typical so I stripped out one screw even though I was being careful. I was using a number 8 Tek screw.

I'm considering a very short Molly. However, if it fails it will be problematic to extract.

My other choice is E-Z Ancor hollow door anchors. These are zink screw-in type. I know that these are good for hollow wood doors but I don't know about composite. Anybody have experience with this?

Better suggestions are welcome as is any advice you may have.

Thank you in advance,
William

[Sam Murdoch]

The blind will be on the inside right? Is it a little thing or a 3' x 6' type of blind? I ask because if the weight is not substantial you might be able to get away with a heavy duty double stick tape (like carpet tape). Even for a blind that will be pulled up and down regularly the tape could work very well. I like E-Z anchors but I think that even these will be wiggled loose eventually if only set at 2 points. Maybe a combo tape/anchor is the right way but I would mock up the tape idea first. You might be happily surprised.

[William Ham]

Hello,

Yes, this will be mounted on the inside. It is a heavy type of blind. It will require a strong mounting solution. Typically I mount with three #8 Tek screws per bracket. In this case I need a better anchoring solution because of the weakness of the door material.

Thanks,
William

[Bill Graham]

Try a regular sheet metal screw. The Teks are designed to self-drill and tap metal, you're probably losing strength from an overly large pilot hole(self-drilled) in the thin door skin. If you need a pilot hole make it a small one.

HTH,
Bill

[William Ham]

Bill,

I agree. Problem is that I've already used the Teks as this typically works well for me. Now I have existing #8 holes. They are actually holding well with the exception of one that stripped. It was the very last one that I placed. That one makes me have less confidence in the others. That is why I would like to use an anchoring solution.

Thanks,
William

[Rick Potter]

I would drill out the hole you have for a plastic moly, and sheet metal screw. The type with the small flange work best for me, I don't care for the flush mount. Too easy to lose.

Rick Potter

[William Ham]

I think that I am going to use a short Molly applied with a Molly setting tool. I believe that this will give me the most strength with the best chance for success. I really don't have much confidence in the screw-in anchors and there will be a very large hole left if they fail.

I'm still open to any suggestions.

Thanks

[Sam Murdoch]

Rivets? Just wondering out loud - or add a glued on backer board that can then support the screws of any kind?