Handheld shower bar bracket attachment

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BrokenShower

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We have an Ondine handheld shower bar which holds the handheld shower, mirror, soap dish and accessories basket. Unfortunately the bottom bracket which holds the whole thing up broke today and the entire thing came crashing down. It appears that there was a screw or nail which held the bottom bracket to the ceramic tile - this "screw" is completely rusted and broken off. I don't know if it was a screw or what it was, it's now just a rusty nub of something stuck in the ceramic tile.

My online searches show that Ondine went out of business. Of course, the plumber who installed it when the house was built did not leave the installation instructions behind so we have no idea how this thing gets attached to the wall.

I am attaching some pictures in the hope that it might help someone figure out how to get the bracket back on the wall.

It looks to me like the broken bracket should come apart somehow so that we can screw it to the wall but I can't figure out how to get it apart. It feels a little wiggly like it should come apart.

I am guessing that we will need to somehow remove that rusty nub, but how?

Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Inside of Broken Bracket.jpg
Rusty Nub.jpg
 

Jadnashua

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Two things happened...the through hole in the tile wasn't big enough - you can see the cracks radiating from the bolt hole. And, they didn't use a brass or stainless steel screw or bolt. There are some poltices you can try to remove some of the rust stains, but if they are hidden by the bar, that may not be worth it. It looks like you could get a pair of Vicegrips (TM) or locking pliers on that and screw it out, then find a SS equivalent. Otherwise, you'd need to carefully drill a hole in that bolt and use an easy-out or other type of screw extractor. SOmetimes, you can cut a notch in it and use a screwdriver to remove it, but that can be tough, and a flat-blade screwdriver doesn't have the greatest grip on things like that.

When iron rusts, it grows in size. This is one reason why rebar in concrete, if there's a problem and water gets inside, the rebar rusts, grows, expands, and shatters more of the concrete. That might be the reason why the cracks in the tile, but regardless, you need to get that old, rusting one out and use something that won't rust. I'd also use some silicon or other quality sealant in the hole prior to screwing in the new bolt.
 
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