UKC

Hoping someone has good advice:

Im fitting a new electric shower. The shower is on ok, but I have a problem fitting the slider rail. I drilled through the tiles, and into a cavity. The drill has gone as far in as it will go without hitting anything solid.

So I tried a cavity fixing, unfortunately the screw provided isnt long enough to fit through the slider rail. So I am a little stuck, what would the good folk of UKC world do?

Its a pity the existing cabling and plumbing wasn't fitted to the adjacent solid external wall, I would have no problems then.

Is there a reason why "get a longer screw" isn't the answer? Genuine question, not intended to be patronising.

Ive tried the longest screws I could find, they are approx 4 inches long, but even poking one of them into the hole I made still isnt hitting anything solid

Sorry, that wasn't clear, I meant a longer screw to use with the cavity fixing. I've had to do this with some badly designed curtain rails.

Rawlplugs and a longer screw... adjust type of rawlplug depending how bombproof you want it.

 I was wondering about that, may need a trip to screwfix during the week to see what will work with the fixings.

I hate plasterboard walls, why cant people just plaster onto brickwork anymore. It would be so much easier

Ive tried the longest screws I could find, they are just not long enough

Use a good strong waterproof glue instead?

I'd go for strong waterproof glue as well I think 

On second thoughts, what about these?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-self-drill-plasterboard-fixings-metal-32...

Edit: I've found them to be pretty good. I took the sliding doors to bits in my spare room and saved them from the timber, and the few I had were perfect when I was putting a tool board up in my porch. I couldn't get a '5 star fix' with mine, but that might have been down to me. 

These wouldnt work with tiles. I have tried them before anyway, with some shelving. All fell of the wall in the night with nothing on the shelfs. They just pulled straight out the plasterboard.

I'll research some suitable adhesive, maybe this will be the best solution if I cannot find any longer screws to use 

Ah I see. I find plaster board annoying too. It can tend to be too fragile and not deep enough, in my home at least.

This are useless if you have tiles on top. You want a cavity wall plug like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-hollow-wall-anchors-m6-x-52mm-20-pack/6... if you want it to be bomb proof or the plastic equivalents. Adjust screw type and length so that you get good bite when flush with the fitting. (Often need to be longer to bring the rawlplug tight against the back of the wall)

Phew! For a moment I thought this was going to be about a trip to the dentist.......

That's exactly what I've tried BUT the supllied screw isn't long enough to go through the shower rail and still bite on the fixing. Looks like I will need to source a longer screw that will work with them.

These ??

https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-spring-toggles-6-x-80mm-20-pack/1936x

They also come in 72mm.  

My immediate reaction upon reading the thread title was “is it safe?” 

I used these....

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-high-performance-universal-plugs-ux8-8-x...

Am I the only one to think this was a dentistry thread?

These with longer bolts?

No but you might be the first not to have bothered reading through previous replies prior to posting

Some expanding foam into cavity, bad stuff but it does solve issues other tech cant. 

Can't you use the metal plug and screw it tight without the shower rail in place first. That pulls the back towards the front, meaning when you then unscrew it, and then fit the rail that the supplied screw should be long enough?

^ This, set the board anchor first using a screw and washer then fit the rail to it. Or buy a longer screw, they'll be standard metric pattern, just measure the diameter and order the right length (Ebay is handy for small orders).

jk

Squirt a really big load of expanding foam into the hole so its wedged right across the cavity, allow it to set, then drive a big screw into that.  

I'd be cautious doing this as over an area expanding foam can exert a fair bit of force and could pop the board off the wall if there's not enough space for it to expand, especially if the foam in the hole sets first plugging the hole.

What size are the tiles and how thick are they? When I sorted my bathroom i had a similar issue with plasterboard walls but 10 mm thick 30X60cm large format porcelain tiles are so sturdy that i effectively just fixed to the tiles using these https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-plasterboard-plugs-hdf-10-x-100-pack/582....

Such large tiles are never coming off the boarding and if the boarding comes away from the battens beneath I've got bigger problems.

Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought it would be about DIY dentistry? 

Several of these hold up our (very heavy) glass shower screen.  Been on for years and have never budged.

Expanding foam is mostly air and not structural - it's no good for screwing into.

The tiles will pull off instead of the glue.

Wow that's one heavy showerhead

you've obviously never slipped over in the shower and tried to stop yourself falling.

I've decided not to use a shower screen as I will.just have the same problem again, will find a nice curtain instead. My wife will be home at the weekend so will get it all finished this week