GS-07Mark and drill your fixing pointsCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a kitchen wall, especially near a hob or sink. Use a cable and pipe detector, but still assume something is there until you've proved otherwise — detectors miss cables that are deep, in metal conduit, behind metal-backed plasterboard, or outside the usual safe zones, and a metal stud frame can confuse a cheap detector further. Before drilling, find your stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns. If you're at all unsure, turn off the relevant circuit at the consumer unit and the water off at the stopcock before you drill. Solid brick or block: drill a 6mm hole 40-50mm deep, fit a matching wall plug, then the screw and cap from your fixing kit. Plasterboard on timber studs: find the centre of the stud, drill a 3mm pilot hole, and use a wood screw biting at least 25mm into the timber. Plasterboard on metal studs: never use a wood screw or a plastic plug — it strips straight through 0.5mm steel; use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing instead. Dot-and-dab plasterboard: use a long fixing, typically 60-75mm, reaching through the board and the dab void into the solid masonry behind, with a plug rated for that masonry. Lath and plaster: this is fragile — fix into the timber joist or batten behind the laths where you can, otherwise use a hollow-wall fixing rated for lath and plaster, not a standard plasterboard toggle.