Loose shower rail attached to the ceiling (1 Viewer)

[paddymcc]

The shower rail on our new to us Hymer 525 (2006 model) is pulling away from the ceiling at one end. They are screwed up to the ceiling with small 25mm screws and two are loose. Was thinking of squirting some silicone sealant in the hole and the popping in a rawlplug ( perhaps with a bit of clingfilm round it to stop the centre filling up? ) , the letting it set before putting in a slightly longer screw. Any thoughts? and what length screw would definitely not come out the other side?
Thanks Paddy

 

[rosalan]

Very positive thoughts. You say it is new, in which case Dr Hymers boys should make a free and professional job of re-fixing it to the ceiling. You should not need to get your hands dirty.

 

[dave newell]

Very positive thoughts. You say it is new, in which case Dr Hymers boys should make a free and professional job of re-fixing it to the ceiling. You should not need to get your hands dirty.

" new to us (2006 model) "

D.

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[paddymcc]

Thanks guys and well read Dave it's 11yrs old. The shower screen is a double semi circular job that hangs from the ceiling. Quite surprised at the short length of the screws. I may try to fit a caster at the bottom to support the weight.
Paddy

 

[tonyidle]

If the fixing is circular turn it a few degrees & refix. Clean it & ceiling before refixing & use Sikaflex to help it stay there. If you can't rotate it use Sikaflex anyway & prop it in place until set..

 

[Minxy]

Instead of the rawlplug see if you can get a slightly wider screw of the same length - a longer one isn't likely to improve it as there's probably nothing other than the ceiling board there anyway ... just ensure the screw head will pass through the rail ... been there ... got the t-shirt! .

Before you screw it up put some sikaflex/sealant between the rail and ceiling, then screw tight up and clean off any excess that's squished out, leave to set for 24 hours at least - should do the trick nicely and never come off again!

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[two]

I'd resist the idea of a longer screw ~ the other end may appear where it shouldn't!
There may be good reasons for the previous one being short, one of which may be that the material beyond the inner skin has no substance to bite into.
If gluing, I'd cut away any lining material to get to the inner skin of the motorhome, otherwise you'll be attaching to the lining and relying on any (lightweight) adhesive that was used to fix it.

 

[paddymcc]

Thanks for your ideas. Abit wary of sitaflex -as I understand it there is then no option of removing the rail at a later date cos it sticks so well. But realistically I guess I won't ever need to. ..
Just need to do a good job. ( would be an emoji here but they don't seem to add to posts when I try).

 

[pappajohn]

In desperation you could use a 'screw-it' plasterboard fixing.
Once the thread is started, remove and break off the pointed end making it about 3/4" long and use a shorter screw.

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[Theonlysue]

Thats what i used on my hymer.
Just ensure its the same length as original.

 

[SIFTA SAM]

Thanks guys and well read Dave it's 11yrs old. The shower screen is a double semi circular job that hangs from the ceiling. Quite surprised at the short length of the screws. I may try to fit a caster at the bottom to support the weight.
Paddy

My solution to the problem, after fixing the rail, was to remove the two 'heavy' unsupported plastic screens and replace them with two shower curtains. More floor space is also made available in the shower area.

 

[autorouter]

The shower rail on our new to us Hymer 525 (2006 model) is pulling away from the ceiling at one end. They are screwed up to the ceiling with small 25mm screws and two are loose.

I learned this method from another Funster but can't remember who it was. So here's a long pedantic rerun of his short snappy description. I've used it many times to repair damaged hinge screw holes on kitchen units and wardrobes.

The ceiling will be made of a thin skin (about 5 mm) of a wood product (plywood, chipboard or MDF), then a layer of PU foam insulation, then a skin of thin aluminium. The wood product is wood layers, wood chippings or wood fibres held together with glue. This can be repaired by the following method.

You need to obtain some wood fibres, preferably not mixed with anything else. The easiest source of this is plain toilet roll. It disintegrates in water because there's no extra resins or fillers to hold the fibres together like in other papers.

For glue use standard PVA wood glue (white glue). Even better, use the waterproof variety.

Mix a small quantity of toilet roll paper with a few drops of PVA glue. Wet the oversized screw hole with PVA. Apply the paper/glue paste with a pallette knife or scraper, forcing it into the hole. Leave to set for 24 hours.

When the glue is dry, drill a small pilot hole in the position of the original hole. The original screw can be screwed in and will be about as strong as the original.

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[dpsuk999]

That was me here are a few pics:

 

[paddymcc]

Thanks everyone- I think I will try the loo paper and PVA first and then resort to sikaflex if it doesn't hold. I have now taken the screens off and found that there is a bracket that is meant to support the rail on one side (the one next to the sink in my van) which has holes for 2 screws but none were fitted (shame on you Hymer!). The bracket on the other side has a rivet. I think I can fix at least one screw into the bracket.

 

[SIFTA SAM]

Thanks everyone- I think I will try the loo paper and PVA first and then resort to sikaflex if it doesn't hold. I have now taken the screens off and found that there is a bracket that is meant to support the rail on one side (the one next to the sink in my van) which has holes for 2 screws but none were fitted (shame on you Hymer!). The bracket on the other side has a rivet. I think I can fix at least one screw into the bracket.

I drilled the rail and fitted an additional horizontal screw through the rail and into the forward shower room wall just where the rail touches it. Thus giving the rail three spaced decent anchor points.

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