How to repair shower wall hole to mount shower head rail?

jonno.antonio

I have a shower head rail that the wall anchors have become loose and pulled out of the wall. I want to know how I can repair the hole and if I can use the same location for mounting the shower rail again?

Is there a filler that I can the redrill to insert an anchor? I suspect that I will need to drill a bigger size than previous as the first installer didn't use an anchor and drilled then screwed directly into the wall. If I need a bigger hole, do I need to use a specific drill bit so as not to damage the wall tiles?

TIA

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jonno.antonio. It's a pleasure to have you join us and many thanks for your question on fixing a shower rail.

Ideally, it would be best to move the mounting position slightly up, down, left or right so you can drill into fresh material rather than trying to reuse the damaged holes. If possible, reposition it so the shower rail cover plates still conceal the original holes. I’d recommend filling the old holes with a wet area silicone to help prevent any water ingress behind the tiles.

You could potentially reuse the existing holes if the shower rail brackets can accommodate larger fixings, but that really depends on the size of the bracket holes and whether they are designed to suit larger anchors.

Another option would be to drill the holes larger and use https://www.bunnings.com.au/ramset-3-16-x-50mm-round-head-toggle-spring-4-pack_p2265622 , which grip onto the rear side of the wall lining. However, enlarging the existing holes in tiles can be quite challenging, as there is always a risk of cracking the tile. If you do go down that path, a carbide spade-style tile drill bit would probably be the safest option, as they tend to grind through the material rather than aggressively cutting it. The downside is that if the bit catches unexpectedly, it can still crack the tile.

Personally, I think filling the existing holes and shifting the mounting position slightly into fresh material would probably be the safer and more reliable solution long term.

Let me tag some of our members, @richard-sydney, @KYLIEDEMPSEY, @Simon4, @stanley44 and @luigilovesbacon to see if they have any advice.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell