AB-04Fix a level batten to support the first rowCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, not just in the marked safe zones, and a detector can miss anything deep, in metal conduit, or behind metal-backed board — assume something is there until you've checked and proven otherwise. Find your stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns, and isolate the circuit at the consumer unit and the water at the stopcock if there's any real doubt before drilling. Fix a straight softwood batten one tile-height up from the floor or worktop, checked level: in solid brick or block, drill a 6mm hole and use a wall plug with a 40mm screw; into a timber stud, drive a wood screw into the centre of each marked stud; into a metal stud, use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or toggle-type hollow-wall anchor, never a plain wall plug or wood screw, which will strip straight through 0.5mm steel; through dot-and-dab, use a fixing long enough (typically 75–100mm) to reach the solid masonry behind the dabs; into lath and plaster, locate a solid timber stud behind the laths where possible rather than fixing into the old plaster itself.