On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 09:21:30 +0000, John Hearns wrote:

I've been advised to buy a drill bit specific to this task -
what should I ask for, and what is different about these bits?

Shape, they are pear or tear drop shaped rather than fluted twist
drill.

Also, what sort of wall anchors are recommended? The tiles are on
the side of a shower stall, which is probably made of plasterboard
underneath.

As this is for a grab rail the last thing you want is for the fixings
to rip through the plasterboard when someone does grab it with all
their weight... Try and find the studs that support the plasterboard
and fix into those with brass or stainless steel woodscrews (the rust
problem, which may or may not have occurred to me without the other
posting).

If you can't find the studs or they are really in the wrong place I
guess you are stuck with plastic, and brass/stainless screws. The
metallic fixing shown in the other posting is very good and solid as
it spreads the load over the plasterboard nicely but would probably
rust overtime in a shower.

They can be a bit of a begger to set on tiles as well, the little tang
on the top flange would normally dig into the plasterboard and stop
the fixing rotating while you set it. It can't do this into a tile, if
you simply remove it you can't hold the flange to stop it rotating...
I found that you need to flatten it a bit and cut a notch in the edge
of the hole to take it.

Plastic fixings such as Screwfix ref 69602 are quite good, if you have
the depth behind the board. The shank has to match fairly closely the
thickness of the board (and tiles) though, there are three shank
lengths available Screwfix only stock 2 and don't tell you the shank
length... 79612 I've not used but might be OK, if it doesn't stress
the back of the board to much.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail