How to Mount a Shelf on a Tile Wall

The gold standard for hanging something on a tile wall is to catch a stud with each mounting screw. Now, the voice of reality: If only it were that easy. The fact is you almost always have to use a hollow wall anchor with these installations. Bathrooms are relatively small ?spaces, and there's not much leeway for positioning a shelf, wall cabinet, or towel bar. You have to put these items in a practical location and where they look best. By the way, we're not talking about mounting objects to walls that see constant water exposure. You risk ?creating a leak through the wall. And though some hollow wall fasteners are rated for grab-bar installation, your best bet there is to mount to a stud or solid-wood blocking mounted between the studs.
For all other applications, here's what to do. First, stick a couple of pieces of painter's masking tape on the tiles to mark the desired location of the mounting holes. The tape reduces the likelihood of the tile bit moving off the location (known as ?walking). Using a felt-tip pen and a level, mark the exact position of the mounting holes on the tape, and double-check the position of whatever you're mounting by holding it in place.

Next, bore the holes using a high-quality glass-and-tile bit (see "Choosing a Tile Bit," below). Ease into the hole. Start slowly as the bit cuts into the glazed surface; pick up speed as you cut through the tile. Bore all the way through the substrate to which the tile is mounted. Note that there are some substrates that will require you to switch to a masonry bit after you've drilled through the tile. Some older types of plaster and lath are all but impossible to drill through with anything other than a masonry bit. Wipe the tile bit clean, and bore the next mounting hole. Peel away the tape, and wipe up any tile dust before it gets tracked all over the house. It's murderously abrasive and can easily scratch a wood floor.

Chosing a Tile Bit

The spear-point glass-and-tile bit (top) is fine for most jobs, such as tile over ?-inch drywall. A set of four costs $12 to $14. Bosch?s new glass-and-tile bit (bottom; about $17 for a four-piece set) is more robustly built to resist breakage and wear when drilling through tile and into plaster and lath.The traditional spear-point bit lacks any means to clear debris from the drill hole. Bosch?s new bits have a small flute that ejects debris from the hole better than the spear-point.

Now tap the appropriate hollow anchor into the wall. My preferred anchor is made by Toggler (toggler.com). The AF5 anchor (shown in the photo on the previous page) is made of polypropylene plastic that expands around the fastener and the back of the wall surface as the screw is driven into it, almost as if you had molded the screw in place with a high-strength plastic. Each AF5 supports up to 79 pounds when used on tile mounted to ?-inch drywall. That should be more than sufficient for a shelf or small cabinet. If not, you can always move up to the company's unique toggle-bolt anchor, a product that's far easier to use than the standard variation. Depending on size, one of those can carry up to 300 pounds, but the mounting hole they require ranges from ? to ? inch, as opposed to 3/16 inch for the AF5.

"Whatever you do, bore the right-size hole for the anchor, and that's whatever the manufacturer recommends," New York carpenter Bob ?Lucchesi says. And he should know. He is the building carpenter in the Hearst Tower, where PM is located, and has installed thousands of wall anchors all over New York City. "Even a slightly different hole size from what the manufacturer recommends can cause the anchor to pull loose."

Finally, drive home your mounting screws. Torque down the screws firmly, but don't overtighten or you'll risk stripping out the wall anchor?and that means starting all over again.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/interior/how-to-mount-a-shelf-on-a-tile-wall-15179965?src=rss

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