Glueing a toilet roll holder to a tiled bathroom wall

[Another Dave]

Basically as per title. Brand new smooth tiles. I've seen toilet roll holders which come with glue-on fittings but is there a way to glue an ordinary holder?

Another Dave

[The Natural Philosopher]

MMm. mirror glue might well work

silcone will work up to a point, but be slightly flexible. Specialised epoxies work as do some specialised superglues.

Personally I invested in a 6mm diamond core drill and used rawlplugs...

[leenowell]

Or one of these

I use mine all the time. Put a bit of masking tape where you want to drill the hole. Mark the masking tape and away you go. Tape not only helps you mark the hole but also stops the bit jumping around.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No need for tape

[Robin]

See

And make sure any wall plug goes right through the tile. Else the expansion when the screw is fitted can crack the tile. Easier with a lipless plug; but, if those not to hand, application of craft knife or side cutters can deliver one - often with [much] blood ;)

[Chris Hogg]

porcelain is ceramic. ITYM earthenware or porcelain. Wall tiles are usually earthenware; soft, porous, easily scored and snapped and easily drilled IME. Porcelain tiles are fired to a higher temperature, are vitreous, much less porous or not porous at all, usually used for floor tiles as they're stronger and hard wearing, usually need a diamond saw to cut them and more difficult to drill, requiring some care or they'll break.

Like others have said, drill the tiles with a spear-headed glass/tile bit and use plugs. Take it slowly, and spray with water from a trigger spray bottle as you go.

[Clive Arthur]

If your holder has a large surface area - ours was a wooden base probably 3"x 5" or so, and if you can devise some way of holding it firmly in place for several hours, then silicone sealant will work perfectly.

Otherwise, drill.

Cheers

[Richard]

I was going to attach one to the wall, but got this instead:

[alan_m]

I haven't had much success with stick on bathroom accessories except this toilet roll holder. Mine cane with a 3M branded thin foam double sided sticky pad which covers the total areas of the wall mounting. Make sure the tile is perfectly clean and don't position over a grout line.

My toilet roll holder has been firmly stuck to a tile since the end of 2015.

or

My installation

If gluing to tiles make sure that the item has a substantial flat surface to mate to the tile. Consider using thin double sided foam tape designed for fitting trim to cars.

I've found the follpwing tape to be quite good for other projects

(no association with the seller)

[Malcolm Race]

I have cemented on towel rails in the en-suite onto plasterboard.. When the time came to tile the room I managed tolever off the rails. Ithen smoothed them down and used Sticks Like Sh*t or something similar and about 3 years later they are still non the wall (I did try using it to glue two tile offcute - glazed surfaces together as a trial- and found it almost impossible to lever them apart)

Malcolm

[John Rumm]

Have a look at "plumbers gold" from TS. Its a hybrid silicone / modified silane polymer. It sticks even better and is a bit "stiffer" when set.

[Another Dave]

I'm currently using something which looks very similar I bought from Aldi at £9.99.

I've been living the life of a displaced person for two weeks while the bathroom was being done, I'm £4000 poorer and it looks so nice I don't want to spoil the tiles if at all possible. The tiler who put in the bathroom has offered to come back and fit anything I choose.

Another Dave

[Tricky Dicky]

I stuck a porcelain toilet roll holder to the side of a melamine vanity unit with silicone sealant and it stayed there until we changed the bathroom 15 years later.

Richard

[Brian Gaff]

I'd have thought a contact adhesive was as good as anything. Brian

[Thomas Prufer]

If you go this route, use a spacer so there will be a thin pad of silicone between tile and base. Four bits of matchstick, snip of string, whatever, just to there's a pad of glue there. .

This allows you to get a wire (or long knife, cutter blade, ...) between base and tile and remove the holder eventually. If the base is siliconed tight against the tile, you will have to gnaw it off the wall, as you can't reach the middle

Also, double-sided sticky foam tape as used by glaziers will work.

Thomas Prufer