new kitchen wall cabinets in metal stub partition wall

[Billyqureshi]

hi

i live in a brand new house which has mainly blockwork load bearing internal walls but a few non load bearing metal stud walls too. one of these happens to be the wall connecting the kitchen to the downstairs toilet / store room.
this wall already has the kitchen sink and white goods against it (and so i assume will probably have plumbing and wiring to sockets running accross / down the wall. the lower floor is concrete so i dont think the wires will be coming from the ground).

anyway. i want to add some wall cabinets to this wall. theyre about 1.5 m wide and will just be about 40cm tall and only 30-40 cm deep.

i have done my research and have sort of concluded that the best way to do it is to get a track and use toggle bolts to attach into the vertical metal studs.

the concerns i have are:

1. drilling 10mm holes or bigger into the metal studs avoiding wires / pipes
is it uk building regs to put nail / screw plates on studs when wires / pipes traverse them?
how will i know if i hit stud or a protective plate?
is it wise to put the stud fixings right at the top of the wall in the hope of hitting the top plate of the frame?

2. what sort of drill bit do i need to get through the studs?

3. will one track with 1 fixing into each stud i hit (i guess i could hit 2 or 3) be enough? or do i need to also fix into plasterboard with hollow wall or drywall anchors in addition to the stud fixings?

would really appreciate peoples tuppence worth. im not a pro , just an enthusiastic DIYer with a little experience.
4. from what i gather these studs are flimsy bits of steel, will they take the weight?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

1. drilling 10mm holes or bigger into the metal studs avoiding wires / pipes
is it uk building regs to put nail / screw plates on studs when wires / pipes traverse them?

With regards to electrical cable they are supposed to be either mechanically protected, placed at a depth to prevent mechanical damaged or installed in permitted safe zones. //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:walls
With regards to pipework, there are no such zones, so that could be a challenge!

how will i know if i hit stud or a protective plate?

The gauge of any protective plate would not allow they screws used for metal stud to penetrate then.

is it wise to put the stud fixings right at the top of the wall in the hope of hitting the top plate of the frame?

Do intend to surface mount this stud work? Then fix wall units to it.
I would personally do a little investigation into the wall, it wall mean cutting sections out and fitting internal studwork within the void, but is normally a better solution.

2. what sort of drill bit do i need to get through the studs?

Metal stud would require a hss bit.

3. will one track with 1 fixing into each stud i hit (i guess i could hit 2 or 3) be enough? or do i need to also fix into plasterboard with hollow wall or drywall anchors in addition to the stud fixings?

The spacing of the studs should be around 400mm, I would consider two screws at each stud though, with a at least a 50mm batten.

would really appreciate peoples tuppence worth. im not a pro , just an enthusiastic DIYer with a little experience.

Well I have tossed my couple of pennies in

4. from what i gather these studs are flimsy bits of steel, will they take the weight?

They should be well structured to deal with wall units.

 

[foxhole]

Don't know how you came to your crazy conclusion, but you can just fix track directly to vertical stud-work with self tapping screws [intended for this purpose]

 

[Billyqureshi]

Prentice boy, thank you for your reply. Very useful.

Foxhole, I have looked at using these screws but the internet consensus seems to be that they have little load bearing ability and can the threads can lose grip very easily and be pulled out of the hole.

 

[foxhole]

You can't get a much stronger fix than metal into metal.