Fitting a bath screen. Fixings and general help

[johnagall]

I'm not the best DIYer but I'm going to fit a bath screen as it seems fairly straight forward.

To fit the screen I will have to drill through the wall tiles. Any general advice on doing this without messing up?

Will I be ok to use whatever fixings were sent with the kit?

I think the tiles are fixed to something hollow behind (Plasterboard maybe?) will I need to get some fixings that will hold on plasterboard? The screen seems quite heavy

 

[Burnerman]

Stick a layer of masking tape over the entire area where the holes will be.
After careful marking out, use your drill at a slow speed with a masonry bit...no hammer. This will gently cut through the tile glaze.
Drill one size smaller than needs be (5mm instead of 6 for example) and then drill the correct size for the wall plugs.
Drill your holes and post back what happens....maybe the drill will go into fresh air, maybe not.
Stand by with stainless steel screws.
Personally I chuck the supplied screws and plugs in the bin, and reach for the Fischer stuff.
John

 

[johnagall]

Thanks for swift response pal.

I'm not averse to getting the right gear for the job I just don't want to cock it up. Worse case is it going to be something like toggle fixings?

I'll probably get on with this tomorrow and keep you posted.

Thanks

 

[johnagall]

Ok I had a bit of a delay so just gt round to marking up this work today.

Luckily my nervousness (as opposed to common sense) made me try drilling a test tile first. My masonry bit is poor and luckily I haven't done any damage to the bathroom wall, just the test tile.

Tomorrow I am going to head to tool station so I was going to try the following tile bit as opposed to a masonry bit http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Tile+and+Glass+Drill+Bit/p92360

Any thoughts on this?

Secondly as I'll be at the shop I thought it might be best to get any fixings that might be needed as opposed to making two trips. So if my 8mm bit goes through into fresh air then which fixings shall I use to secure the bar to the wall?

 

[PaulJR]

The tile drills will work OK, but TBH if your tiles are glazed ceramic "normal" tiles the masonry bit used as per the first reply will be fine.

If you find that the wall is hollow - ie stud/board then I really like these http://apps.fischer.de/poc/default....HK-$MPG-G7-$MZG-PD-$MUG-F154&ekat=$EKAT-HK-EN you will need some s/s screws. I have hung TV's on these things before now ( and it's still on the wall)

If it's poor masonry - poor quality blocks or similar then you should still be OK with decent wall plugs, I also tend to use Fischer stuff. Assuming your tiles are sound you will get a lot of anchorage where the plug fits into the tile. Of course if your tiles or plaster aren't sound, you run the risk of it all starting to move.

If the wall isn't good and you are really worried then a resin anchor system will pretty much do anything, but it is overkill really. You will need the sleeves to ensure the resin doesn't just disappear down a crack, and you will need to use the socket type unless your fixing can accept a stud protruding. If you decide you need to go down this route, contact Fischer's tech people, they will sort the list of bits you need, you can get this stuff as small as M5/M6, but again, it's probably over kill. A bit like using a nuke to demolish a garden shed.

I would have thought that decent quality wall plugs properly inserted will be fine in a masonry wall.

 

[johnagall]

Couple of close shaves now and my inexperience is showing. Went and picked up the bits I needed from the list I had written and drilled a test hole on an old tile.

I thought to myself 'that looks big' and upon checking realised that the required holes were listed as 4mm as opposed to 8mm. Luckily this school boy error didn't cost me too much as I only ruined a test tile. Jumped back in the car and did the 35 minute round trip again without being mad as it was a lesson that could have been very costly.

Drilled my holes and had to enlarge them to 6mm to take the plugs. As suspected I drilled into fresh air but got the right plugs and its a a very clean cut through and things looked tidy.

Plugs in, silicone beaded to the back of the upright and now it is up and solid as a rock.

I know this is a simple job for the more experienced but it's been a good challenge for a newbie like me and I'm really enjoying getting things done and want to tackle some harder tasks as I learn more.

Thanks for all your help. I'll post up the finished job.

 

[johnagall]

And here's the end result

 

[oilboffin]

I would also just in the tile drill larger so the tile won't crack when the screws are tightened up