DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

This seemed a good idea at the the time when I bought the door however now have concerns

I was originally thinking of using the metal spiral fixings to fix the door but I will have to go through the tiles so this cant be feasible - any views on what wold take the load would be greatly appreciated

Best bet here for a guarenteed fixing is to use an adhesive called Gripfil and stick a timber batten to the tiles. Paint the batten with primer, undercoat and gloss on all sides. Gripfil and the application gun necessary, can be found in our adhesives project. Seems like a lot of work but unless you hit a batten, fixing inything through ceramic tiles is not easy. Many people use Butterly ties but these involve making a large hole on the tiles and board to start with which can allow the fitting (In this case your door) to drop. Also a butter=fly tie needs to be tightened a lot and this means effectively crushing the inside face of the plasterboard. Once this is crushed it has no strength which is why butterflt ties nearly always fail in plasterboard.

Being a carpenter Im often asked by plumbers to fix the shower doors in work. (they think just because its a door and frame carpenters should do it!!)I disagree with the doctor on using any timber in or around a shower area. Offer the frame of the door to the tiles and mark the screw locations with a permenant marker. Drill the holes and squirt white silicone on the back of the frame. using an 5.5mm drill masonry and red rawl plugs should be enough for a good fixing. The silicone does all the work. Hope this helps. Leo