Help with hanging bathroom units

[Braddy07]

Hi All

First time post, hopefully someone in the know can help me out.

Currently in the process of having my fully bathroom renovated.
It's been tiled and grouted the issue now is the plumber doing it has said the cabinets are too heavy to hang on the plastered/tiled wall.
Theres a mirrored cabinet to go over the sink at 10kgs and then a slimline wall cabinet to go over the end of the bath on the opposite wall at 13kgs.

I believe there are battens in the wallframe behind the plasterboards.
I really don't want to return the cabinets as really need the storage.

What are my options here, any way I can get these fitted in the places I want?

I was also thinking that the 2 bedrooms that are on either side of the bathroom are unused and will need decorating in the future.
Can I cut into the bathroom walls from behind from within these 2 rooms then install like extra noggings/battens or a sheet of plywood on the frame so I can then fit the units from bathroom side then patch the bedroom walls up?

Thanks in advance

 

[JohnD]

do you know where the studs and noggins are?

If you are using adjustable hanging brackets, as common on kitchen cabinets,

then you can use hanging rail,

which spreads the load, and can be screwed into studs even if they are not where the hanger has to go. It is available in 1, 2 and 3 metre lengths so you can cut it so size to span between studs and it will bridge between them. It has numerous screwholes. You can paint it to match the wall, but it will usually be hidden behind the cabinets.

BTW you mention a cupboard over the basin.

What will happen is that you, or any woman you allow into the bathroom, will one day drop a glass bottle or jar into the basin, and it will crack. Put glass shelves to each side of the basin, if you want, and a wall mirror above it. Not a cupboard.

 

[Braddy07]

Thanks Johnd.

I think that's the issue the plumber doesn't know where they are, I'll ask him to see if he can locate them.

So would the rail solution be able to take the weights of the units I just want to be double sure so it doesn't end up pulling the tiles and wall away.

Also we had a mirrored cabinet over the sink previously on the original plasterboard and never dropped anything in the basin, it will just be housing small toiletries like razor blades etc nothing big or made of glass so we should be ok on that front.

 

[JohnD]

The rail will take the weight, as long as it is screwed through the plaster into two or more wall studs.

It's a bit late to look for them now. Perhaps you can access the other side of the wall, or take off the skirting, or look from above.

 

[Braddy07]

Thanks Johnd

Also what type of fixings would i use on the rail to mount them and the units?

Yeah the 2 bedrooms that are on either side of the bathroom are unused and will be decorated in the future the internal walls in both room are plasterboard battens and then the bathroom plasterboard so pretty thin, might be option to cut a slice out of those walls to see where the battens are or attach some noggings where the cabinets would go then patch it all back up.

 

[JohnD]

Steel screws.

 

[Braddy07]

Brill thanks for all your help JohnD

 

[foxhole]

A tiled plasterboard is much stronger than plain plasterboard which alone would easly hold the cabinets.

 

[Braddy07]

You think the plumbers just being lazy trying to fob me off?
He did original give a timescale of a week as he was starting another job but it's going into the second week and he's still to plumb the shower and bath in and some other little jobs along with the kitchen ceiling.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Yeah the 2 bedrooms that are on either side of the bathroom are unused and will be decorated in the future the internal walls in both room are plasterboard battens and then the bathroom plasterboard so pretty thin, might be option to cut a slice out of those walls to see where the battens are or attach some noggings where the cabinets would go then patch it all back up.

If thinking to use those rails above, you need to make sure of the locations of the studs behind the plasterboard, to be sure you can hide the rail behind your cabinets - yet still manage two fixings. If there is just plasterboard higher than the tiles, you should be able to find their locations by sound - tapping a finger on the plasterboard - the sound will change over a stud. Another way is to use a neomibian (sp?) magnet. It would be attracted to the nail/screw heads and the heads will be where the stud is - should be a vertical row of them.

 

[Braddy07]

The tiles are floor to ceiling, might give the magnet thing a try then hopefully it should go through the tiles or maybe a stud detector

 

[foxhole]

The tiles are floor to ceiling, might give the magnet thing a try then hopefully it should go through the tiles or maybe a stud detector

Totally unnecessary.

 

[Braddy07]

Totally unnecessary.

So you reckon just fix to existing tiles and it should hold?

 

[foxhole]

So you reckon just fix to existing tiles and it should hold?

Yes

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I would be doubtful of that. I would anticipate the tiles being ripped off the wall.