Basic DIY question re screws into a wall

Masomnia

This is pretty basic, but we have a glass shower screen which is attached to the wall via some screws thusly:



My question is basically enough if I unscrew it and take it off, is it simply a matter of screwing it back on afterwards?

Will I need to replace anything that holds screws in place? Those plastic plug things? Will I be damaging plaster or anything? Sorry if I'm using too much jargon.

I know this is newbie stuff, so thank you for bearing with me

daveyjp

The plugs should stay in place when you remove the screws.

If you want you can remove them and replace with new ones. Take down the screen, screw the screw back into the plug about half way then pull with pliers. The plug should come out and you can fit a new one, but generally a new one isn't needed.

[Deleted User]

Masomnia wrote: »

is it simply a matter of screwing it back on afterwards?

Ideally, but there are no guarantees, it will depend on what your walls are like, and how competently it was fixed. You may find that the plugs turn in the hole when you try to remove the screws. This can happen if they're plated screws that have gone rusty, or if the wall is soft breeze block, of if the plugs were put into low density plaster rather than into the brick.

Sometimes you can retrieve the situation by drilling an oversize hole and fitting an oversize plug. If the fitting doesn't have room for an oversize screw you can fill the plugs with matchsticks and use the same screws. Failing that, you would have to make the hole much larger, then fill it and re-drill. Sometimes a better alternative can moving the fitting to another part of the wall.

The other option for repair is to drill the hole deeper and use a longer screw. If you do this, you will have to make sure that the plug is only in the new bottom section, otherwise the plug will turn in the hole again as the screw grips the unsupported top part of the plug. With plugs recessed that deep it can sometimes be difficult to find the centre of the plug with the screw though, which risks the screw going down the side of the plug.

nickcc

If you follow the tip re using pliers to remove the wall plug and find it too difficult to pull out the plug you can use a claw hammer and piece of wood and lever the wall plug out using the head of the screw, the wood goes between the claw and the wall.

[Deleted User]

nickcc wrote: »

If you follow the tip re using pliers to remove the wall plug and find it too difficult to pull out the plug you can use a claw hammer and piece of wood and lever the wall plug out using the head of the screw, the wood goes between the claw and the wall.

Be very careful you're not pulling the tile or plaster off the wall. Another way is just to drill it out, but you can sometimes end up with a slightly oversize hole doing that.