How to attach a steel angle to a stud framed tiled wall?

[southpolemonkey]

Hi all,

I'm trying to attach slotted metal angel to tile, the wall behind is stud wall. What would be the best way to attach them?

Thanks

[EricL]

Hello @southpolemonkey 

In order to drill through the tile, I suggest using a tile drill bit and spraying the drill point with water to prevent overheating and cracking while drilling. When you have drilled through the tile, please make sure to continue drilling past the plasterboard. This will allow the screw fixing to go all the way through.

I recommend having a look at the Tox M6 Flip Toggle Bolt or the Ramset 8 x 50mm Universal Anchor - 4 Pack to hold the metal slotted angle in place.

Let me call on our experienced members @TedBear and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[southpolemonkey]

Thanks @EricL 

I'm planning to install a solid timber benchtop about 1700mm L * 600mm W. Is there better way to locate stub behine tile than using a stub finder? I have one and it does not seem doing very well in locating. 

From Tox M6 Flip Toggle Bolt rating chart, M5/M6 provides 20kg per bolt, I can get the number of bolts I need after weighting the benchtop.

[EricL]

Hello @southpolemonkey 

Unfortunately, regular stud finders don't work well on tiled surfaces. I suggest looking carefully at your tiled wall and see if the tiles reach up all the way to the ceiling. If the tiles don't go all the way up, I suggest using your stud finder in that area and locate the studs there. Once you find the studs, put a pencil mark on their location and track downwards to where you want to anchor your benchtop.

However, if the wall is fully covered in tiles, you'll need to use an Ultra deep scanner which is a bit of an investment if you are only using it once. You'll need to order it from the special orders desk. Will you be putting legs at the front to support the benchtop? 

The TOX toggles do come in a larger gauge, but I suggest checking with your local store to see if it is in stock.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[TedBear]

Hi @southpolemonkey    ... don't forget to also consider the weight of items that will go on top of the benchtop when calculating the support required.

If the benchtop is using legs too, then that changes everything, you won't be loading it as much at the wall side.

[southpolemonkey]

Hi @EricL 

It's a full tile wall unfortunately but I think using couple of Tox Spagat Plus M6 would provide far more enough weight than I need.

@TedBear  thanks for mentioning that. I use a 2200x600 bench top about 24kg, I need 1700mm so comes down to 18.5kg. With weight of items adding on top, 5kg is a reasonable amount for laundry stuff, I think the overall weight is safe to rely on these dry wall anchors.

I will get a 14mm tile drill bit to start this project.

Thanks for the ideas from both of you.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @southpolemonkey, 

Two of the Tox fixings would likely do the job, but since you'll have the drill out, I recommend using four fixings. You'll then have approximately 80kg of holding force and no chance of the bracket failing. 

Remember your PPE when drilling into tile, including safety glasses and a face mask. Also, when drilling tile, slow is the way to go. Keep the water lubrication up to the bit and slowly grind away the tile material. If you go fast, you'll just burn the drill bit out.

Keep us updated on your project, and please reach out again if you have further questions.

Mitchell

[JoeAzza]

Hi @southpolemonkey is the wall adjoining another room, if it is then you could use you stud finder on the opposite side to locate the studs, then you can measure the distance from a corner and transfer the measurements to the tiled side. If on an outside wall and weatherboard, you could remove some weatherboards and locate the studs or install your own timber bracing to allow insulation of the anglers steel.

[southpolemonkey]

Hi all,

thanks for the advice, I'd like to share the progress of my laundry makeover project.

I ended up locating the stub next to the power outlet and calculated the rest stubs, I used 3 hex head screws to attach the steel angle

 to the stub and they are quite strong. For the right side wall, I used two tox wall plugs as it was tricky to find stubs but they are strong enough.

I kept my existing basin and cut out the tabletop to fit its shape. That process is a bit challenging and I will need more practice using a jigsaw to cut the curve. As you can see, the details aren't very smooth but I'm happy this time  

The timber I used is a 26mm beech panel and I finished with two layers of Feast & Watson wipe-on poly.  I added a built-in drying rack in the middle of the build and I think it looks quite neat in a tight space.

The cutout of basin requires more practice, cutting the curve with jigsaw is not easy for me.Built in drying rack

[MitchellMc]

Wonderful work, @southpolemonkey! Your laundry looks sensational. 

I'd imagine not purchasing a new sink and keeping the existing plumbing and electrical make this a relatively budget makeover. Would you mind sharing the approximate cost of the project so our members have a better idea of what they could achieve on a budget?

Many thanks for sharing, and I look forward to your next project.

Mitchell