Installing a panel shower with tiny masonry anchors

Question

I am installing a new panel shower (to replace an old one that broke; path of least resistance to install a new one vs. the more traditional type of shower I am used to).

The panel shower is held up by two brackets. Each bracket is held into the wall by drilling a 1/4" hole and inserting a nylon wall anchor.

I am a little worried about the holding strength of this setup. My prior panel shower was held on by a single bracket with two of these 1/4" nylon wall anchors - and the damn thing rusted and fell off.

Would I not be better off drilling 1/2" holes and using gigantic toggle bolts?

Answer 1

Best: if you know where studs are, and can use one of those for at least one of the brackets, that would be ideal. Use a long galvanized or stainless screw for this.

Better: If you use a good plastic anchor with drill bit and screws correctly sized for it, that will be pretty good. Don't use the anchors or screws that came with the shower. Buy good ones. The anchor should be tight in the hole, but still insert fully. The screw should meet firm resistance and eventually bottom out firmly and stop turning. Tile over cement board will provide good hold for a properly installed anchor. Maybe you won't be able to do chin-ups on the shower panel, so, don't do that.

Bad: Half inch holes and toggle bolts. If you are lucky and get this right, you probably could do chin ups on the shower. That's the one benefit. But I think you're likely to have other problems. Drilling half-inch holes in your tile wall in a wet area is undesirable. The toggle bolt won't naturally resist water so you'll have to seal the hole somehow. You'll have to glue the back of the shower panel to the tile otherwise the toggle will allow some movement laterally. If pipes or blocking or anything else inside the wall prevents the toggle bolt from being inserted and seating properly on the back of the wall, you'll have half inch holes in your tile wall to be patched. That's a PIA in any wall, but inside a shower you should really avoid it.

Answer 2

If you can find a stud to attach the bracket to, that's the ideal. Ditch the wall anchor and drive a screw through the bracket into the stud.

If you cannot put it into a stud, then you'll have to use a wall anchor of some sort. The manufacturer has determined that the screw and anchor provided will last at least as long as the warranty period, so you've got that going for you.

If you'd like, you can certainly upgrade to a galvanized screw, zinc coated screw, or even all the way to stainless steel. You could also upgrade to a beefier wall anchor. Do bear in mind a couple of things:

• This screw is likely going to be out of the spray area and behind other finish materials, so the only moisture it will deal with are an initial dose from some sort of adhesive (to hold tile, wall paper, maybe some drywall mud, something like that), and any water that leaks through.
• I'd still suggest that a plastic anchor would still be a better option than a metal one, since any water that does manage to leak back there won't damage it. However, any water that might leak in this area would damage the wall around the anchor, so it probably wouldn't matter much either way.