WM-04Fix the valve bracket to the wall safelyBefore drilling, scan the wall with a cable and pipe detector - then still expect something to be there and prove otherwise, since detectors miss deep cables, armoured cable and anything behind metal-backed plasterboard. Turn the water off at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry water, and isolate the circuit at the consumer unit first if you're at all unsure what's behind the surface. Work out what's behind the plaster: a magnet or stud detector will pick up a line of screw heads over a stud, tapping sounds hollow between studs and solid over one, and a small pilot hole brings out pale timber dust for a wood stud or fine grey swarf for a metal one. On solid brick or block, drill a 6mm hole 40mm deep, fit a wall plug and drive in a 40mm screw. On plasterboard over timber studs, screw straight into the centre of the stud with a 40mm woodscrew, no plug needed. On plasterboard over metal studs, use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a hollow-wall toggle - never a plastic plug or wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel. On dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a fixing long enough to cross the 30-50mm dab gap and bite into the masonry behind, as a standard 40mm screw usually won't reach. On lath and plaster, find a timber lath or the joist behind it and drill a pilot hole first so the old plaster doesn't crack. This bracket is light, but if you're ever fixing something heavier or something that pulls sideways on a metal stud, fit a timber noggin between the studs or fix through to the masonry behind instead.