BM-05Mark, drill and fix the mounting pointsCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, so use a cable and pipe detector and still treat the wall as live until proven otherwise — detectors miss deep cables, cables in metal conduit, and anything hidden behind metal-backed plasterboard or a metal stud frame. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns freely before you start. If in any doubt, isolate the electrics at the consumer unit before drilling, and make sure the water is off at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry water. For solid brick or block, drill with a 7mm masonry bit to 45mm deep and use a wall plug with a 40mm screw. For plasterboard on timber studs, drill a pilot hole and drive a wood screw straight into the centre of the stud, not into the plasterboard alone. For plasterboard on metal studs, use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor — never a plain wall plug or wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel. For dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a fixing long enough (typically 60-75mm) to pass through the board and adhesive blobs and bite into the masonry behind. For lath and plaster, fix through into the timber stud or joist wherever you can, as fixing into the laths alone risks cracking the plaster. A bar mixer gets pulled and twisted every time the taps are used, so a plasterboard toggle alone often isn't strong enough — fix into a stud, a timber noggin fitted between studs, or through to the masonry behind wherever possible.