What Size Screws Should I Use For 24 In Grab Bar

Shower Bar: How to Install Bathroom Take hold of Bars

Updated: Dec. 14, 2021

You'll beloved the added safety and convenience of shower bars—and y'all tin can install them in a few hours.

shower-bars-shower-grab-bars Family unit Handyman

Make your bath safer and more versatile by adding grab bars. In your bathtub or shower, catch bars provide actress security for that first slippery stride. We'll show you the all-time mode to install them.

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Video: How to Install a Bathroom Grab Bar

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Your shower grab bars will exist rock-solid if you ballast them to studs

Photo 1: Mark the stud locations for grab bars

Find the studs well-nigh your proposed take hold of bar location using a stud sensor or one of the techniques mentioned in the story. Make a light pencil mark at the middle of each stud.

Photo 2: Mark the sides of the studs for catch bars

Find the edges of the studs by probing with a cease blast. Make a series of holes in an inconspicuous location, like directly above the tile, and mark both edges of the studs.

Photo iii: Transfer the stud locations to the tile

Extend the stud marks down to the grab bar location with a level. Place a strip of i-1/2 in. masking tape on the tile to signal the studs.

Photo four: Place the catch bar over the studs

Position the grab bar (run across "Positioning Your Shower Grab Bars.") so that at least two of the spiral holes align with the studs. Then mark each hole with a grease pencil.

Photo 5: Drill into the studs

Drill a i/8-in. pigsty with a drinking glass-and-tile bit at the mark closest to the eye of each stud to confirm the stud location. If you lot hit solid woods, drill the remaining holes. If non, poke a piece of bent wire through the pigsty and probe until you feel the stud. Reposition the grab bar and mark the holes

Take hold of bars aren't merely safety devices for hospitals and public restrooms. In your ain home, a strategically placed and solidly anchored take hold of bar tin mean the difference between a relaxing bath and a trip to the emergency room. Catch bars are an example of universal design. What is universal design? Notice out here.

In your bathtub or shower, take hold of bars provide extra security for that start slippery step. In this article, nosotros'll show y'all where to position grab confined and how to anchor them so they're stone-solid. Plus, they're a solid habitation improvement investment that pays off.

If yous've mounted towel bars or other hardware effectually the firm, you'll have no trouble installing grab confined or a bathtub handrail. It shouldn't take more than a few hours.

You'll only demand a hammer, a level, a drill and a few special drill bits. A stud sensor is optional. Your grab bars will be rock-solid if yous anchor them to the studs.

If you're mounting your grab bars to standard wood-framed walls, first y'all'll accept to precisely locate the vertical framing members called studs (Photos 1 and ii). Nigh catch bars have iii screw holes in each mounting flange, but you lot'll only exist able to anchor two of the 3 screws into a typical 1-1/ii in. broad stud. Use a plastic anchor for the third screw. As long as these screws penetrate at least an inch into sound woods, the catch bar will come across or exceed the 250-lb. load rating required by the regime for public buildings. More than of import, it volition be plenty stiff to support you even in a fall.

We'll evidence you how to mount take hold of bars to fiberglass tubs and showers, hollow walls and physical. Studs are easy to detect in walls with only a single layer of drywall over the framing. Rap on the wall with your knuckle until the sound changes from hollow to a boring thud, or use a stud sensor (Photo 1). Thicker wall coverings like plaster present a greater challenge. Hither are a few tips for installing take hold of bars:

Remove the access hatch behind the tub drain and peer behind the tub with a flashlight to look for studs.
Become to the room or cupboard behind the long tub wall and look for clues to stud locations like nails in the baseboard. Then mensurate from a reference point yous tin identify when you get back into the bath.

When y'all've located what you believe to be the middle of the studs, confirm the stud locations and find both edges by probing with a nail (Photo ii). If wall tile extends to the ceiling, drill i/8-in. holes with a glass-and-tile or masonry flake in a horizontal grout line instead. Patch the holes later with matching grout or caulk.

Marking the studs and grab bar mounting holes (Photo iv). Then drill a 1/eight-in. pigsty at one of the marks located over a stud. If you miss the stud, adjust the grab bar location accordingly and drill new holes. In most cases, the unused hole volition be covered by the mounting plate on the grab bar.

Positioning Your Rubber Catch Confined

Even a solidly anchored grab bar is useless if it'due south in the wrong identify. What location is all-time depends on the particular situation. If you lot're installing the confined for a person with a inability or injury, have this person assist you decide which location will exist nigh helpful. Here are tips for making your domicile safer for older folks.

A concrete therapist or an occupational therapist also can help with this conclusion. For solid anchoring, stud locations are critical too. (Later we'll tell you what to exercise if studs aren't available.)

Hither are guidelines for placing the bars:

Place an 18-in. to 24-in. long bar vertically at the tub edge (Photograph viii) to assist in getting in and out of the tub. The lesser of the bar should be 32 to 38 in. above the flooring. Position the bar so information technology can exist anchored to a wall stud.
Mount a bar at an bending between two wall studs on the long back wall of the tub (Photo 7). The bottom of the bar should be about 6 to 10 in. above the height of the tub. For studs 16 in. autonomously, a 24-in. long bar provides a overnice angle. A person can use this grab bar to help lower himself and get up again.
If this bar will be used primarily by a person sitting in a bath chair, raise the bottom to about 18 in. above the tub.
Mount a bar horizontally most 36 in. to 38 in. above the bottom of the tub equally a user-friendly handhold while showering.

Fastening the shower bar

Photo six: Caulk the mounting flange

Caulk the dorsum of the shower bar mounting flange with tub-and-tile agglutinative or silicone caulk.

Photograph vii: Attach the grab to the wall

Screw the catch bar to the wall with the No. 10 or 12 stainless steel pan head screws supplied with the take hold of bar. They should penetrate the stud at to the lowest degree 1 in.

Complete the grab bar installation as shown in Photos six and 7. Use a 1/4-in. glass-and-tile or masonry chip to enlarge the holes. Then apply a five/32-in. wood scrap to drill pilot holes into the stud. This will brand driving the screws easier.

Insert a plastic ballast in the holes in the tile that miss the stud Then spiral the shower bar to the wall with No. 10 or 12 stainless steel pan head screws. Brand certain the screws penetrate the studs at least one in. In near cases, 2-in. screws are long plenty.

If you lot simply tin't anchor the shower bar to a stud, you have a few options. The best alternative is to secure forest blocking between the studs. Nonetheless, this requires opening a small hole in the wall and patching it after the blocking is screwed into place. If possible, work from the backside of the tub wall, where you're not hindered by ceramic tile or other tub finishes. If you're lucky, you'll accept a cupboard or storage area where the wall patch doesn't have to be perfect.

Equally a terminal resort, utilise toggle bolts or WingIts to mount the shower bar to the hollow part of the wall. The plaster, mortar or tile backer must be dry out and solid and at least five/8 in. thick.

Special Anchor for Fiberglass Enclosures

The Solid Mount solves the fiberglass shower problem. Fiberglass tub and shower enclosures present a unique challenge. You lot must mountain the shower bar to a stud, but the space between the stud and fiberglass must too be filled with something or the fiberglass will bend as you tighten the mounting screws.

Special Toggle Bolt for Hollow Walls

Toggler brand toggle bolts work great for hollow walls or steel studs. If y'all merely can't mount your grab bar to a stud or solid wood backing, then these Toggler brand 1/four-in. toggle bolts are the matter to use. Follow the instructions on the package to mount the toggle. Then use a 2-in. x 1/four-in. x No. 20 stainless steel machine screw to attach the take hold of bar to the toggle anchor. Use the same method to mount grab bars to steel studs.

Yous're not done until you yank-test grab bars

Photo viii: Pull on the shower bar to see if it'due south secure

Attach a vertical grab bar nigh the tub edge, following the procedures shown in Photos ane – vii. The lesser of the shower bar should exist about 32 in. to 38 in. above the flooring. Yank both grab bars to exam for a potent connection.

Y'all're not done until you yank-test. Give the shower bars a good solid yank to test their holding power (Photo eight). With a helper standing past in instance the bar comes loose, pull with all your strength. Now's the time to make sure the shower bar volition hold upwardly when information technology'south really needed.

While you're at it, consider installing take hold of bars in other key locations. A vertical or angled bar mounted on the wall to the side of the toilet or a vertical bar installed on the side wall in forepart of the toilet helps getting upwardly or down. The good nosotros talked to recommended mounting a vertical bar abreast the entry door from an attached garage.

Ordinarily there isn't a handrail, and negotiating two or three steps with a bag of groceries under your arm is a lot easier and safer with a grab bar to hang on to. Look effectually and yous'll find other spots where catch bars would make everyday tasks safer and easier.

The Best Way to Anchor Grab Bars to Physical

Plastic plug anchors agree screws tight in masonry or concrete. Ballast grab confined to concrete, physical block or brick with ane/4-in. x 1-ane/ii in. plastic plug anchors and No. 12 stainless steel pan head screws.

Drill a 1/4-in. hole with a masonry bit (you may need a hammer drill for concrete or hard brick). Push the sleeve into the hole and drive in the spiral.

Buying Safe Grab Bars

Catch bars are specially manufactured to hold at least 250 lbs. when properly secured. Towel bars and other light-duty bars are not potent enough.

Most shower bars are stainless steel to resist corrosion, just y'all can also find them with a painted finish in a variety of colors. We purchased our ane-1/2 in. dia. white take hold of confined at a home center. The 18-in. bar price about $thirty; the 24-in. bar nearly $twoscore. Thinner confined are available, merely a standard 1-1/ii in. dia. shower bar similar we're using is but correct for most people'southward grip. Some bars characteristic added texture to reduce slipping. Here are a few guidelines for selecting catch bars:

Buy an xviii-in. or longer bar to mount vertically at the tub edge.
Before you buy a bar to mountain at an angle or horizontally on the long tub wall (Photos one and 2), locate the studs. Then buy a bar that reaches from 1 stud to the other, usually 32 in. long for a horizontal bar and 24 in. long for an angled bar.
Buy standard ane-1/2 in. dia. take hold of confined for most situations. Thinner bars look more than similar towel bars and may not be stiff enough for heavy use.
Avoid take hold of bars that leave more than a ane-1/2 in. infinite between the bar and the wall unless there is a specific reason for using i. A person's arm could slip into the extra-broad space and become trapped or break during a fall.
Ask a concrete therapist or an occupational therapist to help select the right confined if yous're installing the take hold of bars for a person with special needs.

Home centers proceed a variety of shower bars in stock, but specialty suppliers offer the most consummate selection. We've listed a few sources at the stop of this commodity, or cheque your browser with "Medical Equipment and Supplies" search.

For the hereafter, larn how to caulk a shower.

Required Tools for this Grab Bar Installation Project

Have the necessary tools for this DIY shower bar project lined upward before yous beginning—you'll save time and frustration.

Tile drill bit, Masonry fleck to fit the anchor size

Required Materials for this Take hold of Bar Installation Project

Avert terminal-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's a list.

Originally Published: April eighteen, 2019