DIY Dilemma

[sb67]

Got a little challenge to overcome! 

Whilst putting up a toilet roll holder in the bathroom I drilled my hole in the tile and was expecting to go through the tile and into the wall behind. Not the case, there is a big void with a gap of arond 1-2 cm between the back of the tile and brickwork. I'm   now left with a hole in the tile and I'm not sure how to proceed. I'm reluctant to drill any more holes and not sure if I could use the existing one with a hollow wall fixing behind the tile.

Bit of a long shot but I just wondered if this has happened to anybody else and how they overcame it, it has got me flummoxed 

Steve.

 

[BlackRat]

No probs, I used a hollow wall plug, the grey expanding ones.

 

Its hardly load bearing and I used normal plugs to hold a mirror up just slightly higher up.

 

Both been up over 10 years.

[AndrewC]

Is the tile actually not stuck to anything at that point, or is there tile, wallboard, then void, then brick? If the latter, as Mr BlackRat says, hollow wall plug. If the former and there is no surface behind the tile, you may want to consider removing the tile and filling the bit of void as it can't be that big since the tile does need to be stuck to something. You could always open the hole in the tile slightly, then drill a 6mm into the brick behind, insert a rawl plug into the brick and use that to mount the roll holder. 

[hayfield]

If you are lucky enough to have an independant tool shop in the area go in and ask advice, we have one in our village, they (may/should) have a large range of cavity fixings which are specially designed for this type of wall. I had to get some decent ones to hold a large mirror on to a stud wall so needed heavy duty ones

[chris p bacon]

There are a myriad of fixings available to overcome your problem. A toilet roll holder only needs a lightweight fixing (unless you're a sheet snatcher) so a simple expanding plug that fits between the wallboard and brick would be fine.

There are also some lightweight screws and collars that would do, you'd need 70mm to get into the brickwork.

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-duopower-wall-plugs-6-x-30mm-100-pack/1030p

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-plasterboard-plugs-hdf-10-x-100-pack/58219

 

 

[teaky]

I encounter this problem almost every time I want to fix anything to the wall.  Our house is traditional brick and block cavity wall construction but it is lined with plasterboard  This means that unless you are luck enough to drill directly into a solid lump of adhesive there is almost always a gap just large enough to get your fingers into.  As a result I have a collection of screws from various shelves, curtain poles etc. which have not been used because I have substituted longer ones.

 

This is what works for me.  Drill a deeper hole into the solid brick or block.  Put a wall plug onto the end of a screw or thin screwdriver.  Push the plug into the brick/block firmly enough for the plug to bite.  Remove the screw/screwdriver.  Put screw through whatever you are fixing.  Tap it lightly with the heel of your hand or a hammer so that it helps push the wall plug slightly deeper without expanding it.  Screw firmly into place.

Edited August 13, 2019 by teaky

[Dave John]

It is entirely reasonable to assume that the screws which are supplied with any fitting will be far too short and made of monkey metal..... 

[Grovenor]

Quote

Screw firmly into place.

But not too firmly or the plasterboard cracks.

Rgds

[peanuts]

see you forgot the first rule of DIY Dont Involve Yourself 

[sb67]

Thanks for your help guys. It doesn't seem like all is lost. 

 

 

11 hours ago, AndrewC said:

Is the tile actually not stuck to anything at that point, or is there tile, wallboard, then void, then brick? If the latter, as Mr BlackRat says, hollow wall plug. If the former and there is no surface behind the tile, you may want to consider removing the tile and filling the bit of void as it can't be that big since the tile does need to be stuck to something. You could always open the hole in the tile slightly, then drill a 6mm into the brick behind, insert a rawl plug into the brick and use that to mount the roll holder. 

The tile is not fixed to anything at that point, but is stuck on pretty good and is quite thick so I might get a longer drill bit and drill a smaller hole into the brick behind and fix to that. Would it be essential to fill that void behind the tile.

Steve

 

 

 

[teaky]

28 minutes ago, sb67 said:

Thanks for your help guys. It doesn't seem like all is lost. 

 

 

The tile is not fixed to anything at that point, but is stuck on pretty good and is quite thick so I might get a longer drill bit and drill a smaller hole into the brick behind and fix to that. Would it be essential to fill that void behind the tile.

Steve

Difficult to say with certainty Steve without seeing the fitting, but as long as the load is spread enough you should be OK.  I suppose the nearest thing I have fitted would be curtain poles with 40mm diameter bases to the brackets and by the time the brackets were being pressed against the wall the screws were gripping the plugged holes very tightly.  In my case the plasterboard is taking very little, if any, load.

 

(Our toilet roll holders are all on internal hollow partion walls, so that is more along the lines of what Black Rat and Chris P Bacon suggested in terms of fixings.)

[Edwin_m]

You could also get some kind of semi-liquid filler in a tube that fits a sealant gun.  Squeeze a good amount in to the hole, wait for it to dry and re-drill.  You may even get away with pushing the plug in while it is still wet, but wait for it to dry before inserting the screw! 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Edwin_m

[jcm@gwr]

16 hours ago, Dave John said:

It is entirely reasonable to assume that the screws which are supplied with any fitting will be far too short and made of monkey metal..... 

 

With respect to this, the Chinese should be commended

for the development of steel coloured cheese, which they 

use for all the screws supplied for fixing bathroom fittings.

[hayfield]

Next time use a concrete screw, the type double glazing fitters us as no raw plugs are required. However their heads may be too large to fit into the holder neatly

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

With respect to this, the Chinese should be commended

for the development of steel coloured cheese, which they 

use for all the screws supplied for fixing bathroom fittings.

Agreed, the whole idea, for you to work out for yourself, that what is included in the packet, is just rubbish. Then you go down to the nearest hardware shop to buy better ones.

The replacement ones, are of course made in a different part of the same factory, but more expensive. 

Edited August 14, 2019 by kevinlms

[AndrewC]

14 hours ago, sb67 said:

Thanks for your help guys. It doesn't seem like all is lost. 

 

 

The tile is not fixed to anything at that point, but is stuck on pretty good and is quite thick so I might get a longer drill bit and drill a smaller hole into the brick behind and fix to that. Would it be essential to fill that void behind the tile.

Steve

 

 

 

If there is a fair bit of space you can inject grout or a filling adhesive into the hole to stabilise things a bit. Your biggest risk is over tightening the screw and cracking the tile otherwise. My replacement builder used a grout bag that is similar to a piping bag for baking filled with wallboard adhesive when he filled some voids around the door frames. 

[tomparryharry]

Sometimes a spring-loaded wall fixing is the solution. As Dave Bacon suggests, unless you're a 'gripper', it should work just fine. once you are going for the 'final fix' try adding some adhesive to the back of the roll holder, to give it that little more help.

 

Ian.

[BoD]

The type of fixing needed will depend on whether or not you have an Andrex puppy.

[jcm@gwr]

10 hours ago, BoD said:

The type of fixing needed will depend on whether or not you have an Andrex puppy.

 

or a Koala!

[Oldddudders]

If all else fails, the standard antidote to DIY is GALMI - Get A Little Man In.