Description
Board thickness sets plug length, and the LTX 160mm polystyrene fixing plug sits at the point where a wall already carrying 20 mm of plaster still takes a 100 mm board on the same drill cycle as the rest of the elevation. Renders World stocks it in the LTX-10 family alongside the base tracks, discs and cutters in the wider insulation fixing accessories range.
Where the 160mm Sleeve Fits in a UK EWI Build-Up
The LTX 160mm polystyrene fixing plug is a hammer-in anchor with a 10 mm sleeve and 30 mm anchorage depth, assessed under ETA-16/0509, and it secures boards up to 120 mm on new-build masonry. The pack is listed as LTX 160mm polystyrene fixing plug 200pcs, and one box holds 200 fasteners.
Plug length is arithmetic, not preference. The manufacturer sheet sets it as Ld = tfix + ttol + heff — board thickness, plus sub-crusts (adhesive and any existing plaster), plus embedment in the masonry — which is why the same 160 mm sleeve covers two different board thicknesses depending on what sits behind the board.
- New build, surface-mounted: boards to 120 mm, with a 10 mm adhesive layer included in the figure; 100 mm where the substrate is autoclaved aerated concrete.
- New build, immersed with a cutter: boards to 140 mm, or 120 mm in aerated concrete.
- Existing walls, surface-mounted: boards to 100 mm over 10 mm adhesive plus 20 mm of old plaster — the case that matches the stocked 100 mm graphite board directly.
- Existing walls, immersed: boards to 120 mm on the same 30 mm allowance for adhesive and plaster.
Why Installers Reach for This Length
The value here is a matched length rather than a longer one. Running the correct sleeve keeps the expansion zone inside the structural masonry, which is where the assessed pull-out figures were established, and it keeps one drill bit and one depth stop across an elevation.
- Matched to the 100 mm retrofit board: 100 mm of graphite EPS insulation boards over 20 mm of sound plaster lands exactly on this sleeve's certified row, with no step up to the next length.
- No metal path through the build-up: the polyethylene body and glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide pin give a point thermal transmittance of 0.001 W/K surface-mounted and 0.000 W/K immersed, so the insulation layer performs as calculated at every fixing.
- Assessed across the full UK substrate spread: ETA-16/0509 covers use categories A to E — concrete, solid clay and calcium silicate brick, hollow and perforated units, lightweight aggregate concrete and aerated concrete.
- Collar built to hold the board and key the basecoat: a 60 mm collar with a stiffness of 0.50 kN/mm, moulded with adhesive pockets that give the reinforcing mortar something to grip.
- Predictable ordering: £32.00 per 200-piece box as displayed in August 2026, in stock, which works out at 200 ÷ £32.00 = £0.16 per fixing.
Technical Specifications From the Klimas LTX-10 Sheet
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Product code | LTX-10160, marked LTX10160(200) |
| Sleeve diameter (dk) | 10 mm |
| Overall length (Lk) | 160 mm |
| Collar diameter (Dk) | 60 mm |
| Anchorage depth (heff) | 30 mm; 50 mm in aerated concrete |
| Hole depth (h0) | 40 mm; 60 mm in aerated concrete |
| Collar stiffness (S) | 0.50 kN/mm |
| Point thermal transmittance (χ) | 0.001 W/K surface, 0.000 W/K immersed |
| Body / pin material | Polyethylene / polyamide with glass fibre |
| Insulation scope | EPS polystyrene |
| Assessment | ETA-16/0509 |
| Pack | 200 pieces, 3 kg |
Characteristic Pull-Out Resistance by Substrate
Pull-out is a substrate property, not a plug property, and it moves by a factor of nearly two across the assessed categories. The sheet applies a partial safety factor of γM = 2.0 in the absence of national regulations, so the design value is half the characteristic figure: 0.75 ÷ 2.0 = 0.375 kN on good concrete, and 0.40 ÷ 2.0 = 0.20 kN on Porotherm 25.
| Substrate | Minimum density | Characteristic pull-out |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete C12/15 | ≥ 2.25 kg/dm³ | 0.50 kN |
| Concrete C20/25 – C50/60 | ≥ 2.30 kg/dm³ | 0.75 kN |
| Solid clay brick | ≥ 2.00 kg/dm³ | 0.75 kN |
| Calcium silicate solid brick | ≥ 2.00 kg/dm³ | 0.60 kN |
| Calcium silicate hollow block | ≥ 1.60 kg/dm³ | 0.60 kN |
| Vertically perforated clay brick | ≥ 1.20 kg/dm³ | 0.60 kN |
| Porotherm 25 | ≥ 0.80 kg/dm³ | 0.40 kN |
| Lightweight aggregate concrete | ≥ 0.88 kg/dm³ | 0.60 kN |
| Aerated concrete AAC2 | ≥ 0.35 kg/dm³ | 0.50 kN |
| Aerated concrete AAC7 | ≥ 0.65 kg/dm³ | 0.60 kN |
Three geometric limits sit alongside those figures and are easy to miss on a narrow pier or a reveal: minimum substrate thickness 100 mm, minimum spacing between fixings 100 mm, and minimum edge distance 100 mm.
How to Install It: Drilling, Driving and Density
The plug follows the adhesive, not the other way round. Fix the board with adhesive first and let it cure as the adhesive manufacturer directs, then drill the 10 mm hole to at least 40 mm into the masonry, seat the body until the collar is faced with the board, and drive the pin in one continuous action — the sheet is explicit that a pin should not be driven twice.
- Hole preparation: in solid materials, drill at least 10 mm deeper than the anchorage depth and clear the dust with four back-and-forth passes at reduced speed.
- Drill mode: rotation only in hollow units and aerated concrete, which is what preserves the certified pull-out in those categories; impact mode is for concrete and solid brick.
- Fixing density up to 15 m: minimum 6 per m² in the field and 8 per m² in corner zones.
- Fixing density above 15 m: minimum 8 per m² in the field and 10 per m² in corner zones. The sheet states plainly that these recommendations do not replace a thermal insulation design.
Immersed Mounting and the Accessories It Needs
Recessing the collar buys 20 mm of board thickness and takes the point transmittance to 0.000 W/K. The manufacturer names two accessories for it: the WK-FT plastic cutter at ∅66.7 mm with a 90 mm thrust collar, and the KS/KSG polystyrene disc at ∅67 × 17 mm. The cutters and caps held in the fixing range are separate items, and no document read here states their diameters — worth confirming those two figures before committing a large order.
For layout across a whole elevation, the fixing pattern and spacing method sets out how the field and corner densities are applied, and the step-by-step fixings installation guide covers substrate identification and drive technique.
Choosing Between the 140mm, 160mm and 200mm Sleeves
Body, collar, pin material and assessment are identical across the LTX-10 range; only the sleeve length changes. One point catches buyers out: the graphite façade boards Renders World stocks step from 100 mm to 150 mm, and a 150 mm board needs the 200 mm sleeve, not the 180 mm one.
| Sleeve | New build, surface-mounted | Existing wall, surface-mounted |
|---|---|---|
| LTX 140mm plug, 200 pack | 100 mm board | 80 mm board |
| LTX 160mm plug (this product) | 120 mm board | 100 mm board |
| LTX 180mm plug, 200 pack | 140 mm board | 120 mm board |
| LTX 200mm plug, 200 pack | 160 mm board | 140 mm board |
Every figure in that table assumes a 10 mm adhesive layer, and the existing-wall column assumes a further 20 mm of old plaster. Measure the plaster before ordering: 30 mm of render and dubbing out on a solid wall moves the whole elevation up one sleeve.
Is This the Right Plug for Your Board Thickness?
- 100 mm EPS on a plastered solid wall: the matched length, surface-mounted, with the collar covered by the basecoat and mesh.
- 120 mm EPS on bare new-build masonry: also within range surface-mounted, provided the substrate is not aerated concrete, where the row drops to 100 mm.
- Aerated concrete or thin-webbed hollow units: workable, with the deeper 50 mm embedment, a 60 mm hole and rotation-only drilling; pull-out sits at 0.50–0.60 kN, so the fixing count comes from the designer rather than the minimum.
- Mineral wool slabs: the current manufacturer catalogue scopes this fastener to EPS polystyrene, so specify the fixing for a wool build-up from the system designer. Rockwool mineral wool insulation slabs are stocked for the board layer itself.
FAQ: Coverage, Substrates and Ordering
How much wall does one box of 200 cover?
At the minimum field density, 200 ÷ 6 per m² = 33 m²; at the corner density, 200 ÷ 8 per m² = 25 m². A realistic elevation mixes both, so 25–33 m² per box is the working range below 15 m, falling to 200 ÷ 10 = 20 m² where corner zones above 15 m are being fixed at 10 per m².
What does that make the fixing layer cost per square metre?
At £32.00 per 200-piece box, August 2026, each fixing is £32.00 ÷ 200 = £0.16. At 6 per m² that is £0.96/m², and at 8 per m² it is £1.28/m². That covers the plugs only — adhesive, mesh, caps and labour sit outside the figure.
Which board thickness does 160 mm actually secure?
120 mm on new-build masonry surface-mounted, 140 mm immersed with a cutter, 100 mm on a wall with 20 mm of existing plaster, and 120 mm immersed on that same wall. The plug length calculation method shows how those rows are reached from board thickness, sub-crusts and embedment.
How does it behave on Porotherm and perforated brick?
Characteristic pull-out is 0.60 kN in vertically perforated clay brick and 0.40 kN in Porotherm 25, against 0.75 kN in solid clay brick. Rotation-only drilling keeps the internal webs intact, which is what holds those figures, and the design value on Porotherm is 0.40 ÷ 2.0 = 0.20 kN per fixing before any project factor is applied.
Is it approved for XPS as well as EPS?
The two manufacturer documents differ here, and the stricter one governs. The current LTX-10 catalogue page scopes the fastener to EPS polystyrene; an earlier product data sheet, updated April 2018, lists both EPS and XPS. Renders World publishes the narrower scope, so treat EPS as the assessed application and refer an XPS build-up back to the system designer.
Technical Documentation