Fixing a shower rail to a tiled wall

Soldato
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Hi!

I've got a vertical shower rail which holds the shower head, which is fixed to the tiled wall using two long screws. One at the top of the rail, one at the bottom. The top rail screw is fine, but the screw at the bottom comes loose, allowing the rail to move far too much, and possibly allow ingress to get behind the tiles.

I've previously taken the (rusty) screw out, and replaced it with a new screw. It's ****** long, presumably because it screws into a piece of baton, as it's a false wall constructed from timber and plasterboard. The new screw is now rusty, and tightening the screw doesn't really work, as it pushes the rail against the wall for a short time, but then comes loose again.

I've read about things like no more nails, but it sounds like it might be a messy solution to the problem.

Should I buy some sort of adhesive that I can apply to a fresh screw, screw in, then cover the screw with a silicone grease to protect it? Any other ideas?

I'm not great at DIY, and was trying to avoid damaging / cracking / gluing tiles.

Cheers for reading!

K
 
Soldato
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Fill the hole with no nails type grip fill adhesive and before it's set put the screen ¾ of th way in then dob some silicone around th screw before tightening it right up should sort you out.
 
Soldato
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Fill the hole with no nails type grip fill adhesive and before it's set put the screen ¾ of th way in then dob some silicone around th screw before tightening it right up should sort you out.

Thanks mate, will give this a go tonight.
 
Soldato
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Fill the hole with no nails type grip fill adhesive and before it's set put the screen ¾ of th way in then dob some silicone around th screw before tightening it right up should sort you out.

I wouldn't recommend this, it won't last as a decent fix.

If the screw is pulling loose then the timber it's fastened into is no good for that screw anymore.

You either need to put a larger threaded screw in or drill out a suitably sized hole and put a plug in.
 
Soldato
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I wouldn't recommend this, it won't last as a decent fix.

If the screw is pulling loose then the timber it's fastened into is no good for that screw anymore.

You either need to put a larger threaded screw in or drill out a suitably sized hole and put a plug in.

The screw I'm using is the largest screw I could find in Wickes! :eek:
 
Soldato
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I vote plug, just make sure you tap it in below the level of time, otherwise you run the risk of cracking a time. You may need to move the hole, is your rail adjustable in length?
 
Soldato
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I vote plug, just make sure you tap it in below the level of time, otherwise you run the risk of cracking a time. You may need to move the hole, is your rail adjustable in length?
Nope, it's one fixed length. I've got a hole in a tile at each end, and I definitely don't want to make any more holes in tiles, want to use the existing ones. In fact, I'll take a couple of pictures tonight just so people can see what I'm dealing with!

I know I sound like the end of a bell, but I'm not particularly DIY-savvy, and really don't want a broken shower tile, or a fix implemented that fails after about 2 weeks.
 
Associate
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Im aware that theres builders resin that could be injected into the hole (with a suitable rawl plug for fixing new screws etc..) and once left overnight wont budge - seen it used on wall hung basin fixing studs.
 
Associate
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Rawl plug gets my vote. You can probably then use the same screw or size down a touch (replace with stainless if you can so it doesn't rust).

I'd probably also recommend dabbing some silicone into the hole before the plug and then even in with the screw to try and stop water getting through. Though this is a bit botch jobby.
 
Soldato
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How big is the hole? Spray some expanding foam in the hole and then plug it with a brown plug. Wait an hour or two and then hand screw it up. When it gets tight leave it and don't over tighten. You are not going to be hanging off the rail so you just need to locate it with a half decent fixing. That will do it.

A pic of the hole and would help as well as something to scale off
 
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Soldato
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Thanks guys, I will take a picture and show you, as I think you're right. Context might help!
 
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