Installing a Safety Bar in Your Bathroom

Safety bars or grab bars aren’t just safety devices for hospitals and nursing homes. Installing a safety bar in your bathroom, shower or bathtub, can mean the difference between a relaxing bath and a trip to the emergency room. Most accidents in the home are due to slippage in showers or bathtubs. By installing a safety bar in your bathroom you can provide an extra measure of security for that first slippery step. I will show you how to install a safety bar in your bathroom shower or bathtub and how to anchor it rock-solid.

Select a good quality safety bar for your bathroom shower or bathtub. There are many to choose from at any bathroom supply store or home improvement supply center. I recommend that you do not purchase a plastic safety bar. The best is a stainless steel bar that can withstand 250 pounds of grab pull without it becoming loose from the wall. Stainless steel will not tarnish or corrode from the wet atmosphere of the shower and will hold up for years. Installing the safety bar in your shower or bathtub is an easy DIY project that will add safety and security to your home.  

When selecting a safety bar select a single bar at least 18 to 24 inches long and 1-1/2 inch in diameter. The location should be 30 to 36 inches above the floor. Position the bar so it can be anchored to wall studs at an angle between two studs on the long back wall of the shower or tub. For a bathtub installation, the bottom of the bar should be about 6 to 10 inches above the top of the tub.  This will enable a person to use the safety bar to help lower oneself in and out of the bathtub.  For a shower, mount the safety bar horizontally about 36 to 38 inches above the bottom of the shower as a convenient handhold while showering.

If you can’t anchor the safety bar to a stud, install wood blocking between the studs. However, 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 shower or bathtub wall where you are not hindered by ceramic tile or other tub finishes.  As a last resort use toggle bolts to mount the safety bar to the hollow part of the wall. The plaster, mortar or tile backer must be dry and solid and at least 5/8 in. thick to support the safety bar. Installing a safety bar will only take approximately an hour or less and requires regular tools that are found in a handyman’s workshop. You will only need a hammer, a level, a drill and a few special drill bits if you are mounting the safety bar on a tile wall. A stud finder is optional.

How to mount the safety bar:

1. The safety bar must be mounted rock-solid to the studs. First you’ll have to precisely locate the vertical studs in the wall. Most safety bars have three screw holes in each mounting flange, but you’ll only be able to anchor two of the three screws into a typical 1-1/2 in. wide stud. Use a plastic anchor for the third screw. As long as these screws penetrate at least an inch into the stud the safety bar will meet or exceed the 250-lb. load rating.

2. To find the studs in walls rap on the wall with your knuckle until the sound changes from hollow to a dull thud, or use a stud sensor. If your finished wall covering is plaster finding the studs will be more difficult. Go to the room or closet behind the shower or tub wall and look for clues to stud locations like nails in the baseboard. Then measure from a reference point you can identify when you go back into the bathroom.

3. Once you locate the studs drill 1/8-in. holes with a glass-and-tile or masonry bit in a horizontal grout line. Patch the holes later with matching grout or caulk.

4. Mark the studs and the safety bar mounting holes. Then drill a 1/8-in. hole at one of the marks located over a stud. If you miss the stud, adjust the safety bar location accordingly and drill new holes. In most cases, the unused hole will be covered by the mounting plate on the safety bar.

5. Complete the installation by using a 1/4-in. glass-and-tile or masonry bit to enlarge the holes. Then use a 5/32-in. wood bit to drill pilot holes into the stud. This will make installing the mounting screws easier.

6. For a walk in shower, mount the safety bar horizontally about 36 in. to 38 in. above the bottom of the shower as a convenient handhold while showering.

7. If you cannot anchor the safety bar to a stud install wood blocking between the studs. However, 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 shower or bathtub wall where you are not hindered by ceramic tile or other tub finishes.  As a last resort use toggle bolts to mount the safety bar to the hollow part of the wall. The plaster, mortar or tile backer must be dry and solid and at least 5/8 in. thick to support the safety bar.

After you have completed the installation give the safety bars a good solid yank to test the holding power. You may want to consider installing safety bar 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 front of the toilet helps getting up or down.