How do i get these screws out of the tiled wall?

[karinas]

 

Hi team

How can I remove these screws (possibly wall anchors) from the tiled wall? 
This is in a shower and there was previously a soap holder there which broke. 
I cannot make them budge with a screw driver. I have tried using a drill but it also doesn’t move them - when I drill one of them, the other one also moves and the drill slips/skips. As it is a wet area I assume it has rusted/corroded behind the tiles. 

any ideas on how to can get these out without damaging the tiles?

 

[karinas]

These are the screws I took out of another wall in the same bathroom (these were outside the shower so not rusty). Assuming they could be the same thing. These were easy to remove as not rusted. No plug that I could see in the wall - just a washer. 

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @karinas,

If a screwdriver and drill aren’t able to move the screws, it’s likely they’ve seized due to rust or corrosion behind the tiles, especially in a wet area like a shower. At this point, I’d suggest using a pair of locking pliers, such as Vise-Grips, to grip the exposed part of the screw. Make sure to clamp onto the actual screw head rather than the small brass finial, as that brass piece may just spin freely and won’t help with removal. Once the pliers are locked on tightly, try turning the screw out. 

Locking pliers give you much more torque than a screwdriver or drill, which can often break the screw free from the rust. If the screw won’t budge and ends up snapping off, that’s still progress. You should then be able to remove the washer and finial, and use a rotary tool like a Dremel or a metal file to carefully cut the remaining screw shaft flush with the tile. Just take care not to damage the tile surface in the process. Once it’s flush, you can decide whether to cover it, patch it, or mount a new fitting over the area. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[karinas]

Hi Mitchell 

thanks for your reply. 
unfortunately the screw head is very much inside the finial and I can’t grab just the screw head. 
The screw head does move with the finial when I move the finial but it doesn’t actually unscrew out of the wall at all. It moves a little bit in an anticlockwise direction but gets to a point where it stops and if I release my grip, it springs back to the position it was originally in (like how elastic springs back, and when I do turn it, it feels like there is something elastic causing resistance). 

[MitchellMc]

Can you force it past the point where it stops, potentially snapping it, @karinas? That's the only thing I can think of that might get us further. Alternatively, you could cut the end of the head/finial off, which should allow you to slide the finial off and then cut through the screw thread close to the wall. Ideally it would be best to try and back the screw out.

Any chance you might be able to capture a slightly higher quality image for us? The original is quite fuzzy.

Mitchell

[karinas]

 

[MitchellMc]

Thanks for that, @karinas.

I'd cut the head off just behind where the brass section slims with a hacksaw. Slip the brass section off, exposing the screw thread. Clamp on a set of Vice Grips and give it a real good turn anti-clockwise. It's either going to snap the screw or turn it in the fitting allowing it to back out.

Let me tag @Dave-1 and @Noyade for their thoughts.

Mitchell

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @karinas 

@MitchellMc  has you on the right track, and your description of how it turns up to a point and then wants to snap back reminds me of trying to screw into a wall that has insulation within it. The screw gets wrapped around the insulation and it acts like an elastic band, sounds eerily like your description.

@MitchellMc suggestion of hacksawing the screw off is also how I would go, but I wouldnt be trying to remove it, I would be then using a centerpop or a Pin tool Craftright 3 Piece Nail Set Punch to push it into the wall, If there is insulation trying to pull it out with the shaft wrapped around will still be problematic plus the butterfly part of the screw may still be attached (Just a guess, with the springiness I dont expect the screw to be into solid wood)

Just a note of caution with the centrepop around tiles, make sure the centerpop is only on the shaft of the bolt/screw.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @karinas 

Basically what @MitchellMc is suggesting is to use this hand-held vice grips on there outer rings and then use a hacksaw to cut through the middle section. Its not going to be easy going buy worth the effort. Hopefully once cut through your can use something like a centre punch to push the internal remaining bolt in to the wall cavity .

Nailbag

[Noyade]

@MitchellMc 

@Nailbag 

@Dave-1 

The above gentlemen are a hell of a lot smarter than me @karinas. 

It took me a while to figure out we're talking about expansion toggles.

Being somewhat lazy - I'd go with a pair of bolt-cutters - and cut that middle section of brass. The remaining brass and washer will just come away. Using a pin punch push the remaining bolt into the wall cavity.

Please let us know how you get on.

Cheers.