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I put up a handrail on the stairs some months ago to assist a relative climbing the stairs - he uses crutches so needs to lift his whole weight on the handrails (80kg). One side is over the bannisters and is rock solid. The handrail I added is starting to look a little weak.

I used a wooden batton and attached the handrail to that. The batton is attached using raw plugs. Some of the screws are pulling out of the wall - but others are still firmly attached. Question - Is there any fixing I can use that can go through the batton and the wall without taking the batton off (as I don't want to weaken the remaining fixings - just add more)

Thansk Slim

Slim,
Yes you need to buy some hammersrews ( a plug and screw together). You simply drill thru the lot ( batten + wall) insert hammerscrew and belt with hammer, just make sure you use correct size drill bit for the size you get. I suggest 8mm for more strength. Hope this helps.

Regards

Steve

Alright mate
Im taking it is a solid wall and not a timber wall and you have got lucky with a few screws by locating the studs.
You can still use normal plugs. Drill straight though both using a 6mm for red plug or 7mm for brown plug. Push plug in hole as far a you can. Tap plug with hammer until it is flush with batton. Put screw in with fingers and turn once then tap hammer. You will feel the plug stop at certain depth notmally so screw head is about 20-25mm from batton then screw in. Use gauge 8 screws for red plugs or 10 gauge screws for brown plugs. Hope this and previous reply helped

Here's a great video explaining how to use Hammerscrews (Hammer Fixing or Frame Fixings):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NIUfORnK8g

If you need to buy them, you can get them here:

https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/DIY-superst ... xings.html