Many of these bathrooms have been modernised with a wall-hung WC and its cistern hidden inside a built-out wall. That wall is not what it looks like: it is a light frame with a tank inside it, and treating it as solid masonry is a mistake we are called to correct fairly often.
What is actually inside that wall
A concealed cistern sits in a metal frame behind a board, usually with only a thin layer of tile and backing over it.
So a fixing into it does not meet masonry — it meets a void, a board or occasionally the cistern itself.
Drilling into a concealed cistern is a genuinely bad day: the tank has to come out, which means the wall and the tiling come off. So we establish where that framework sits before drilling anything, and we would rather move a fixing than test it.
Fixing near a built-out wall
Where an enclosure has to land on or beside that wall, the load has to reach the frame inside it or the masonry beyond, not the board.
That means locating the studs of the frame and fixing to them, or moving the panel so the weight goes into a real wall.
A glass panel is heavy, and a fixing into a board carrying a panel is a failure waiting for a date. It is a design decision at survey rather than an extra, and it usually costs nothing beyond a slightly different layout.
The ledge on top, which is not structural either
A built-out cistern wall usually leaves a ledge along the top, and it is treated as a shelf and occasionally as something to fix to.
It is board over a frame, and it will not carry a glass panel or a grab rail.
So we use it for nothing structural and design around it. Where somebody wants the glass to land on that ledge, we explain why it cannot, and find a layout that puts the load somewhere it can actually go.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
