GR-06Choose the right fixing for what you've foundInto solid timber studs behind lath and plaster, use long wood screws (60-75mm) that pass through the plaster and lath and bite at least 30mm into the stud. If you meet solid brick or block instead, drill to the size stated on the wall plug packet, fit the plug fully, then screw in. If the wall is plasterboard on metal studs, never use a wood screw or plastic plug — a self-drilling metal-stud fixing is the only thing that will hold, and even then a metal stud alone will not carry a grab rail safely; you need a timber noggin or pattress fitted between the studs, or a through-fixing to masonry. On dot-and-dab plasterboard, a standard plasterboard fixing is not enough for a load-bearing rail — use a fixing long enough to pass through the board, the adhesive dab gap (often 20-40mm), and into the masonry behind.
RULESKNOW THE RULES
There's no specific Building Regulation covering grab rail fixings in an existing home, but the fixing must be strong enough to take a person's full weight and sudden pulling force — this is a genuine safety issue, not just good practice.