Method and device for repairing fasteners attached to plaster board

A method and device for repairing fasteners attached to plaster board, where the plaster board has become loose around the fasteners. The method is particularly useful to repair loosened threaded fasteners affixed to plaster board which have worked loose due to the brittleness and chalkiness of the plaster board. The device consists of a syringe or like implement to which is attached a specialized needle. A bonding agent is pushed by the syringe through openings in the needle and into the plaster board after the needle is inserted into the plaster board in the immediate proximity of the fasteners.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field 
This invention relates to an improved method for repairing fasteners 
attached to plaster board or other structural materials. Fixtures attached 
by fasteners to plaster board tend to loosen over time and this invention 
provides a method by which a specialized needle is used to inject a 
bonding agent into the plaster board in close proximity to the screws or 
other mounting means used to support the now loosened fixture, thus 
overcoming the looseness and restoring support strength to the fixture. 
2. Background 
Plaster board or dry wall is heavily favored as a wall covering for 
interior walls of homes and offices. The relative case of installation and 
its relative low cost enhances its use, particularly on inside walls of 
structures such as between rooms. The plaster board is applied over 
timbers or sometimes over metal frames which are spaced apart at certain 
intervals ranging from one to three feet. 
In the final finishing of the building structure various fixtures are 
attached directly to the plaster board, as it is not always convenient to 
make such attachments to the underlying wall timbers which are spaced 
apart. Such fixtures range from towel and tissue racks in bathrooms to 
curtain supports over windows and other like devices. A well known method 
for affixing such fixtures to the plaster board walls is to use threaded 
fasteners such as screws. Many individuals will attach various fixtures by 
using standard wood screws or machine screws. If the fixture is subjected 
to stress at the junction between the threaded fastener and the plaster 
board, such as is common for towel racks, curtain rod supports and the 
like, the brittle, chalky nature of the plaster board will cause a 
loosening of the plaster board in and about the mounting screw thread, 
with a resultant loosening of the fixture. This loosening is particularly 
pronounced when installations are done with a minimum of care. There exist 
specially designed screws for use with plaster board, however, these 
special screws may also work loose over time. 
This invention provides a means to overcome such fastening deficiencies and 
to repair such loose fastenings in an expeditious manner. The invention is 
particularly useful to repair plaster board covered with decorative wall 
paper, as the repair is made without the need to repaper the surface with 
new decorative wall paper. 
Existing repair methods include removing the fixture and fasteners from 
their original location and reaffixing the fixture to an undamaged section 
of wall. This process requires the repainting or repapering of the old 
location. Existing patents describe means or tools to inject a bonding 
compound into cracks in concrete such as Holmwell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,486 
and Tabei et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,965. Another inventor describes a 
means for inserting a fixing agent to better anchor a fastener to be 
installed in masonry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,715 to Fischer, and another 
discusses a method for installing an anchoring member, U.S. Pat. No. 
4,120,128 to Pauls. None of these patents, however, addresses the problem 
overcome by this invention which is the repair of loosened fasteners 
attached to plaster board. This invention provides a method for repairing 
and refastening loosened fasteners by inserting a bonding agent at the 
loosened point even when there is no surface crack or other surface 
opening or damage. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The repair method consists of using a special needle through which a 
bonding agent may be injected directly into the area between the mounting 
screw and the plaster board. The bonding agent fills the interstices 
between cracks or fissures in the plaster board and the fastener, and is 
allowed to harden, thus stabilizing the fastener and preventing further 
loosening of the fastener from the plaster board wall. The fastener is 
then well suited to securely hold the fixture, such as a towel rack or 
hook, in place. 
The needle utilized is specially designed to be thin and thus can penetrate 
the plaster board by manual insertion without the need for power tools. 
The point is sharp and solid, with holes or openings on the sides of the 
needle. The needle is connected to a container in which the bonding agent 
may be stored and a compression device by means of which the liquid 
bonding agent may be pushed from the storage reservoir through the needle 
openings into the plaster board at the fastener point. A readily available 
syringe may be used. To ensure proper fixation, the needle may be inserted 
at more than one point about the fastener's periphery. 
A better understanding of the invention and its objects and advantages will 
become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed 
description, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein 
there is shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the 
invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for 
carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable 
of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from 
the invention. Accordingly, the description should be regarded as 
illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The drawings illustrate both the problem the invention seeks to overcome 
and the solution. FIGS. 1 and 3-5 show a section of plaster board wall 10. 
The outer surface of the plaster board wall 10 is covered with a wall 
covering 11 such as wallpaper. A typical mounting plate 12 is shown 
secured to the plaster board wall 10. The mounting plate 12 has opposed 
flanges 13 for securely receiving a fixture bracket 15. In this case, the 
fixture bracket 15 is shown to support a hook 14 for holding a towel, robe 
or other article. The mounting plate 12 is fastened directly to the 
plaster board wall 10 with a number of threaded flat-head screws 16, which 
are tightened flush against the mounting plate 12. 
FIGS. 1 and 4 show in cross section a loosened area 18 surrounding the 
screws 16. These loosened areas 18 cause the mounting plate 12 and its 
associated fixture, such as hook 14, to become unstable. Several spaces or 
interstices 20 are evident in the loosened areas 18 and a number of cracks 
or fractures 22 can be seen surrounding the mounting plate 12. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the fixture bracket 15 is removed and a bonding agent 
is injected around the periphery of the mounting plate 12 into the plaster 
board wall 10 by means of a syringe 24, which syringe 24 is equipped with 
a specialized needle 26. Readily available syringes may be used if they 
are fitted with the specialized needle 26 as further described. The 
bonding agent 28 is loaded into the syringe reservoir 30, and after the 
needle 26 is inserted into the plaster board wall 10 the bonding agent 28 
is forced out of the syringe reservoir 30 and into the plaster board wall 
10 by the plunger 32. 
The specialized needle 26 consists of a thin hollow cylinder with an 
occluded tip 34 and contains a plurality of openings 36 along its length 
and periphery as outlined in the cross-section of such needle shown in 
FIG. 2. The end opposite the occluded tip 34 is attached to the syringe 24 
and allows the bonding agent 28 to pass from the syringe reservoir 30 into 
the needle 26. Although the needle tip 34 shown is a pointed conical tip, 
an inclined flattened tip may also be used. The needle should be a fairly 
thin needle in order to be readily insertable into the plaster board. As 
shown in FIG. 1, the needle 26 is inserted through the wall covering 11 
and outer surface of the plaster board wall 10 into the loosened areas 18 
and the bonding agent 28 is forced in. Small amounts of bonding agent 
usually suffice to cure the looseness; such amounts are typically less 
than 4 cc. When necessary, the needle 26 may be inserted at more than one 
point around the fastener's periphery to ensure bonding agent penetration. 
An occluded tip 34 is recommended to ease penetration of the needle 26 
into the plaster board wall 10 and to prevent plaster from blocking the 
needle passageway. It also allows for better distribution of the bonding 
agent 28 which otherwise might be injected through the opposite side of 
the plaster board. 
FIG. 3 shows a typical hook fixture 14 mounted to the plaster board wall 10 
by means of a mounting plate 12 and four threaded screws 16. Fractures or 
cracks are visible around the periphery of the mounting plate 12 
indicating a weakened mount. FIG. 4 shows such a fixture where there are 
two loosened areas 18 around the threaded screws 16. In such a 
circumstance, the fixture 14 is too loose and wobbly for use. If used, the 
fixture 14 might pull away from, or pull completely out of, the plaster 
board wall 10. FIG. 5 shows the result after injection of the bonding 
agent 28 whereby the fasteners 16 are solidly attached to the plaster 
board wall 10 again. In a ceramic style hook fixture, the outside ceramic 
fixture is slipped over a metal mounting which is the part attached to the 
plaster board. 
This repair method allows for repair without the removal and relocation of 
the underlying metal support fixture or mounting plate. 
Many different bonding agents may be used with the new method and 
specialized needle. The inventor has found that LOCTITE WELDBOND.RTM. 
bonding agent diluted to three parts water and one part bonding agent 
works well. After insertion into the plaster board wall at the fastener 
area, the bonding agent should be allowed sufficient time to set up. 
This method of repairing loosened fixtures mounted on plaster board is 
particularly effective where the fixture is mounted to plaster board wall 
covered by decorative wall coverings. Another advantage of the invention 
is that the repair may be done without moving the fixture to a new 
location with resultant need to repair the wall covering and in fact can 
be done with a minimum of unsightly repair damage. Typically the small pin 
prick made by the insertion of the specialized needle will not be visible 
to the casual observer, as the fixture bracket 15 will hide the 
penetration points. If desired, the wall covering near the fixture 
fastener to be repaired may be partially removed to allow insertion of 
bonding agent by means of the specialized needle without actually 
penetrating through the decorative wall covering. 
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of 
particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details 
of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from 
the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the 
invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes 
of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached 
claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each 
element thereof is entitled.