I was tring to hang a mirror in my bathroom but my detector revealed
metal running vertically. Tried a different wall - same story. Tried
putting up some shelving and a pattern began to emerge - I think the
partition walls have metal "studs" or framework.
Looking under the shower tray I can see the metal coming down at the
base of the plaster board at intervals.

I was surprised - is this common in dometic buildings? (this is a brand
new house by a relatively good quality builder). My main question is
whether it is safe to drill into these for support when fixinng
mirrors, shelves etc or is there a danger that they are also conduits
for pipes and or cables. I'm not sure if I would trust the voltage
setting on my detector to find wires behind metal.

Thanks,
AA

AA wrote:

I was tring to hang a mirror in my bathroom but my detector revealed
metal running vertically. Tried a different wall - same story. Tried
putting up some shelving and a pattern began to emerge - I think the
partition walls have metal "studs" or framework.
Looking under the shower tray I can see the metal coming down at the
base of the plaster board at intervals.

I was surprised - is this common in dometic buildings? (this is a brand

yes

new house by a relatively good quality builder). My main question is
whether it is safe to drill into these for support when fixinng

Some screws dont need a predrilled hole for this, just screw striaght
in.


NT

AA wrote:

I was surprised - is this common in dometic buildings?

Reasonably so I think, although I've never come across it or used it
personally.
(this is a brand
new house by a relatively good quality builder). My main question is
whether it is safe to drill into these for support when fixinng
mirrors, shelves etc or is there a danger that they are also conduits
for pipes and or cables.

Difficult one: they *should* be just metal studs, and there *shouldn't*
be any cables in there buried in there unmarked, outwith the specified
permitted zones. But I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable drilling
into them blindly.

I'm not sure if
I would trust the voltage
setting on my detector to find wires behind metal.

No, neither would I!

Can you attach your mirror to the wall using plasterboard fixings (if
it's not massively heavy) or mirror adhesive? Sounds a lot less iffy to me.

David

It is increasingy common as a quick way of creating internal
partitions, never used it myself, but has a good reputation.
Self tapping screws will go in with no pre drilling required, or used
plasterboard screws.
Since its a new build all electrics should run vertically to all
sockets and switches, but check the room on the other side of the wall
too!!!
Calum Sabey
(NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)