Bathroom Fittings

[LSainsbury]

Hi,

We've bought one of those pole / shelf type things from Homebase to put up in the en-suite shower.

The top fixing screws into the ceiling to secure it. Apart from the bleedin' obvious - is there anything to watch out for? The ceilings are plasterboard (along with the walls) and I believe metal studding.

I assume theres's going to be metal studding on the corners - I've got some proper plasterboard fixings to secure it with - so any tips before I go drilling small holes??

[Peter_]

Be careful and do not let the missus near it.

Spoiler: 

[Raistlin]

You might not want to push it as far into the corner as you will need to in order to pick up the wooden stud work.

I would drill a small pilot hole and then push something long and thin through it into the loft space (something like a nitting needle for example) and then go into the loft and see if you can find it. THen you can see what's up there in the place you're going to mount the pole.

You might decide it's worth fixing a baton between two studs so that you can screw the pole into something firmer than just the ceiling. If you've got decent plasterboard fixings then you should be ok though.

[Rob]

It is unusual in domestic property to have metal (steel) as the framing behind the plasterboard. That is most possible in only the lat 10 or less years.

You will always have a challenge securing through the plasterboard into the frame (timber stud or steel). It is never easy to identify exactly where these are and in turn to fix through them. Youd could make a lot of pilot holes. A batten may be a nice idea to spread the load. Realistically get good quality plasterboard fixings for somethin that only need support it's own weight, then drill and fix.

[LSainsbury]

Thanks for the tips - it's similar to this one.

I won't be holding much weight - couple of shampoo bottles, shower gels etc.
The shelves are pure 90 degress so it will butt up to the corner quite nicely.

I'd already thought abot making a small hole and poking something through but the above space has been boarded over. They are all screwed down and I think they interlock so I can't get them up wiout major hassle.

---------- Post added at 08:17 ---------- Previous post was at 08:16 ----------

Originally Posted by Rob

It is unusual in domestic property to have metal (steel) as the framing behind the plasterboard. That is most possible in only the lat 10 or less years.

I think ours has - in fact - yes it has - at least in some of the walls I've put fixings into I've hit the studding.

[martyh]

Metal stud work is becoming more popular in new houses but does pose issues when fixing to walls .In your case with this unit it is designed to sit in the corner so you will definately hit stud work .Plasterboard fixings will not do you any good in this instance .Select a screw to be used ,the screws supplied should be fine and pre drill with a steel drill bit that is slightly smaller than the screw allowing the screw to self tap into the metal stud work .

Hope this helps


I use these screws for drilling directly into metal studwork without having the need to pre drill ,they can be purchased at just about any supplier ,use a cordless drill with a PZ 2 bit in set on fast and they will go through no problem

[joglynne]

Although you don't expect to put much weight on it I think that you do have to fix it securely as it people will reach out to the nearest seeming support if they slip. I don't know what the diameter of the pole is but maybe you could consider securing the top to the wall with something like this,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Replacement-Wa...item800f69ad28

[LSainsbury]

Hi,

Well I attempted to put this up yesterday - I managed to get three nice metal drywall fixings into the ceiling no problem. Screwed the T-Support into position - success!

Put the first pole into the T-Piece and found that it was coming out at an angle - not going straight down!

So - remove the T-Piece again and I put 4 washers on the front two screws (above the T-Piece) and screwed it up again - success! It's now straight so put the rest of the pole / shelves into position and screwed the last one nice and tight into the rubber foot thing so it won't move. Job done!!

So - found out something else about our house - the ceilings are not level!

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

So - found out something else about our house - the ceilings are not level!

Isn't it just a pain in the chuff when that happens. I put up one of those big, heavy mirrors from Ikea above the fireplace in the living room. Dropped a plumb line down flush with the ceiling to mark out the holes for the mounting brackets and two of us manhandled the mirror onto the mounts when they were fitted.

Now this sounds great on paper but not when we found out that the ceiling and floor are nowhere near parallel

[Osem]

Yes it's a common but unsafe assumption to make that walls/ceilings are level and walls plumb/square in any house. Before I hang large mirrors or fit shelves etc. I always set out a line first and then measure up/down from each end of it to compare the distances between the ceiling above and things like mantlepieces or built in furniture below. If these aren't true at least I can then easily work out by how much I might need to adjust my line in order to compensate for what's out. I've often found that eyeing things in works very well, however.

When it comes to levels be careful however. We have a very nice built in leaded light cupboard in our lounge for which I made some large internal shelves many years ago. I spent ages making sure each one was level but when finished couldn't understand why all the shelves appeared to slope down to one side. At first I thought the frame may be out but it wasn't so I then turned to my new 3' long spirit level for an explanation. It had a number of bubbles to facilitate the setting of several different gradients and, to my horror, I discovered that, due to some very unclear markings, I'd been using the wrong one!!

[heero_yuy]

It's also worth checking the level is accurate as a knock can put it out: Set it on a firm surface and make it level with a shim or two, then turn it 180 degrees and check the bubble is still centred. Only takes a moment and can prevent domestic strife.

[Osem]

Good tip