Please help!!

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sjb1990

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So I really need help installing a baby gate. At first I just screwed the screws directly into the dry wall but of course the screws quick came loose and pulled out of the wall. So I picked up some toggle bolts, thinking I could drill through the drywall and anchor the bolts in. Well as I started drilling I hit wood behind the dry wall. I tried to drill to the left of the f*** up hole, at this point I was going to pound in some plastic inserts... Well I drilled the first hole, that was fine until I went to drill the second hole below it and I hit some sort of metal! At this point I have totally effed up my wall and don't know what to do! Can somebody explain how this part of the wall is constructed or give some advice for how I can fix this?

I attached a photo (sorry it is side ways). The top left hole I managed to get the plastic insert in. The top right hole was the one I tried to drill for the toggle bolt but hit wood instead of hollow drywall. The bottom left hole is the one I drilled and hit metal!!

20150127_105519.jpg
 
Welcome to the site.
The wall should be constructed with two studs nailed together if it is a door way or has a beam over the opening or it might have two studs nailed together in an (L) shape.
With a little luck and we have all done it, that metal you hit was likely just a nail holding studs together. With longer screws you should be able to screw thru into solid wood but that still dosn't make them strong as they can bend in the area of the drywall. Your best bet is to install a few feet of 1x3 wood with some 3" wood screws and then attach the gate to that.
 
You have it fairly messed up at this point and you are going to need drywall compound to fix it anyway, so go ahead and take the drywall out of that area to see what’s back there is what I would do. You can cut it out with a utility knife. Over on each corner there is a piece of corner bead made from steel or plastic. Most likely steel. So mark a line over about an inch and a half to start and remove a chunk of the wall down to the lower mount. Once you see what’s back there you can screw a piece of plywood into the opening to solid framing and then mud and paint over that.

When you are dealing with a baby going down the stairs I wouldn’t take any chances.

Oh and welcome. :)
 
If you measure the width it should be about 5 inches wide. It's made up of 3.5 inches of wood stud with 1/2 inch drywall on each side and face. There are metal corners nailed or screwed that overlap the drywall about an inch on the walls and face. The create a nice straight edge and prevent damage to the corners. That's probably the metal you hit.
Your screws need to be long enough to go through your gate bracket, the 1/2 inch of drywall and at least an inch into the stud.
If you try to attach it too close to the edge, you'll just end up drilling into the edge of the drywall.
Use longer screws. Stay in the middle of your doorway. Fill the old holes with a small container of premixed spackle.
 
The wall isn't that bad and the best part is it's only the end of a wall.
Mud the holes, sand the mud, paint the end of the wall.
Start over using instructions from beachguy005.
If you run into resistance, predrill your holes smaller than the screws and you should be just fine.
 
Patch it all up and get the type of baby gate that expands to fit between the walls.
 
Thanks for all your advice guys. I patched the holes and followed beachguy005's instructions. I live in an apartment, so I was trying not to tear into the wall too much. The other problem I encountered was the horrible "carpet baseboards" as I like to call them, carpet that runs about 5" up the wall. I would have loved to get a pressure mounted gate but the doorway is rather large (84") and there aren't many options for large gates. Also, I have twin toddlers who love to grab the gate and shake the living hell out of it, so I feel more confident using hardware to mount it. Thanks again everyone!
 

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