Help selecting screw and plug type

[john2k]

Hi all,

I need some guidance on selecting a screw and wall plug for a specific situation. I only need two fixings to attach a cross bar for a shower screen to an external block wall.

The challenge is that the wall build-up where the bar attaches is quite thick before reaching the actual blocks. Here’s the breakdown:

• 10mm tile
• Tile adhesive (thickness varies, hard to know exactly)
• 20mm XPS foam-backed QBoard, installed with dot-and-dab tile adhesive per QBoard’s technical advice and mechanically fixed as well

Altogether, I’d estimate there’s roughly 45–50mm of material before the screws would reach the block itself.

I need:

1. A screw long enough to reach the block and get a solid grip.
2. A wall plug suitable for the block, starting approximately 50mm inside.

I already have frame-fixing screws, but I don’t think they’ll work as they’re designed to be hammered in, and their wall plugs have a large flange plus they are thick.

Any suggestions for screws and wall plugs that are readily available from Toolstation or Screwfix would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

 

[opps]

Can't you use 6mm red nylon plugs (with no collar) and use a suitably long 5mm screw to hammer them into the blockwork (before then screwing in the screw)? If you are concerned that you might hammer to plugs too deep, you can push another in to meet the end of the last one.

BTW, I am assuming that you will be hitting brick rather than thermalite blocks.

 

[foxhole]

Frame fixings have little pullout strength , just use long wall plugs .

 

[chirpychippy]

You'll need a 100mm screw and a brown rawl plug, a 7mm tile drill bit and 7mm sds bit.

Mark 110mm on the sds bit with masking tape, drill 7mm hole in tile with tile bit. Drill up to masking tape with sds. Tap the plug into the hole, put screw through the bracket and into rawl plug then hammer the screw and plug into blockwork and tighten.

The only issue I can see is the head of a 100mm screw is 10mm wide and may foul any cover cap that is used to hide the screw head.