Plasterboard fixtures

[johna]

I want to install some towel rails and towel racks in the bathroom and am not able to mount them directly to studs.
So what is the best plasterboard fixture that will give me some descent strength when fiting these items

[Gumby]

Hi John,

I've given up n those small plastic wall plugs you get with most towel rails, they just don't hold in plaster. I replace them with spring toggles. The only problem with them is that you need to make a fairly large whole to get the toggle through but as long as it's covered by the rail itself, it's OK. I haven't had problems with them coming loose.

There's also those large plastic plaster screws with the wide thread. I had a go at them but they made a hell of a mess of the plaster going in and weren't really successful.

regards,

[simon c]

One option that I've tried is to use a decorative wooden plate behind the object. You screw the plate onto the studs or using spring toggles and then srew the fitting to the plate. It's useful for small items which would normally allow the spring toggles to show.

[johna]

yea i looked at the spring loaded toggles but the hole might be too big to be covered, as the towel rails are of the slim type and don't have the big cover over the ends

[Gumby]

I suppose a bit of trial and error is in order. Maybe the small size toggles would be OK, they don't have to be large ones to make a secure fix. You could buy a couple and try them out on a bit of scrap in the workshop and see if the rail covers hide the hole.

[Barry_White]

If you try the Gravity Toggles rather than the Spring Toggles they actually require a slightly smaller hole.

The metal wall mates will actually support 20kgs each. I am not sure if the metal ones are still available and replaced by the plastic ones.

Here is a pic of the metal one.

[Little Al]

Hi Johna! Are you any good at plastering and painting? I do all my fixtures that are off framework by cutting a vertical slot in the wallboard about 50mm high by 12mm wide. Cut out a backing board - I use aluminium sheet from damaged road signs (free here from main roads dept) - at least 200mm long by 50mm wide. Drill this board with two small holes central to it's length and near each long edge. Insert thin wire through one hole, across the board and out of the other hole. Now put dobs of "Blue glue" or contact cement on the face of the board where the wire comes out. Allow plenty of wire, insert the board through the slot into the cavity behind the wall and then pull up tight on the wire. This will draw the board up to your slot on the other side of the wall, and when the glue is set you can use any self tapping screws to safely and strongly hold your rails. Plaster the slot and paint before final assembly - easy as the board acts as a backing for the plaster too! Hope that helps, have fun!

[johna]

Little Al, love your idea but damn too much work just to hang up a couple of rails.

Gumby, i looked at the smaller ones ( the smallest one they have requires a 10mm hole) the problem with them is the screw head isn't big enough and goes through the mounting part.
The next size up which requires a 12mm hole was just a little too big unfortunately.

Barry thats what i ended up getting, the metal ones were still available at bunning so i got some of them and they have worked a treat. Lets see if they hold for a while or if the rail will start to sag over time.
If it does start to sag i will definately do as little al suggested which will give me a good excuse to get off my lazy back side and paint the bathroom, it actualy can do with a coat of paint.

Thank you all for your suggestions

[Wildman]

I have found the wall mates to be complete rubbish for anything other than hanging pictures, especially when in modern paper backed board, they cant handle any bending moment and are only any good in pure shear, ie pictures on hooks. I like Al's idea for minimal repair work, I have taken to gluing a piece of plywood behind the board, the higher the load the bigger the piece of ply (my towel rails are on 50x200x12mm ply and are rock solid, but my repair holes are significantly bigger, usually 50mmx100mm or thereabouts.