HOW TO MOUNT A HEAVY SINK ON PLASTERBOARD WALL

[jiggs]

I had a "friend of a friend" fit my new B&Q Toronto bathroom suite and am concerned that the sink is not correctly mounted. I don't believe that it would stay up without the pedestal to take the weight.

The wall it is mounted on is an internal wall which is just (i believe) triple thickness plasterboard.

Aside form the fact that the tips of the 2 screws are sticking out of the bedroom wall behind, I am worried that when we use the sink, it'll eventually come away from the wall.

Is there a tool, a kit or something which use generally used to mount a sink to a partition wall. I feel confident enough to give it a go now, with the right equipment...

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[hi-spec plumbing heating]

if the basin not sink is designed to have a pedestal then you must use it.
as for the basin fixings common sense on a refit is to install noggins in the wall to secure to.
or use the right plasterboard rawplugs. which will hold it. unless you want to hang on it.

 

[Balenza]

A good gorge of silicone is all it needed.

 

[skenk]

Is the wall really just 3 sheets of plasterboard? doesn't sound right what is the plasterboard fixed to? normally a plasterboard wall will be 1 sheet with a void behind (where upright studs, normally 400mm apart are) and another sheet on the other side. You can find out by taking out 1 of the screws and seeing how long it is (seeing as you can see the end of the screw in the next room). Plasterboard is usually 12.5mm thick although other thicknesses are available. If it is just 3 sheets, well i guess a normal wall plug will give some hold. If not you could fit a noggin (horizontal bit of wood screwed between 2 studs) but this is messy because you have to take out a bit of plasterboard to fit it and then repair the hole after. You can also just use cavity wall fixings (plasterboard plugs or toggle fixings or hollow wall anchors) Either way the pedestal is designed to take the weight. Another solution would be to get longer screws and have them screw into a piece of wood on the bedroom side although this will look terrible in the bedroom unless there is furniture in the way or you can disguise it as a shelf or somesuch. Also if the wall behind the basin (not sink cos thats for a kitchen) is tiled this will give more hold than just a plasterboard wall providing the plugs are in right. If you're not sure if it's properly secured at the moment then give it a good tug and see if it comes away!

 

[kevnurse]

Working on the assumption that you only have 3 sheets of plasterboard as a wall:

The pedestal will take the weight. To prevent the handbasin from falling away from the wall you have no choice but to fit a batten on the other side of the wall and use bolts and nuts, with washers, using the plasterboard as a sandwich between the basin and the batten. Screwing into the batten through the plasterboard will require at least a 50mm thick piece of wood to provide the required grip on only 2 screws. Using nuts and bolts will require only 18mm ply. How you hide the batten and the hardware is another problem.

Plasterboard alone will not hold any form of screw or rawlplug without wings behind the board.

Would I be right in guessing that this is a new en suite bathroom being squeezed into a bedroom?