How to Attach a Grab Bar to a One Piece Tub and Shower Enclosure | Home Guides

bathing safety devices." title="Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images" />

Grab bars are bathing safety devices.

One-piece tubs and shower enclosures consist of a single gel-coated fiberglass shell. Grab bar mounting brackets made specifically for fiberglass installation have discs that safely distribute the weight of a person and prevent the fiberglass from cracking. By attaching the brackets to wall studs with bolts, you ensure that the grab bar will not pull out from the tub or shower wall when in use. Grab bars can be purchased in sets of two, which allow you to install a vertical grab bar in a one-piece tub and shower for standing assistance and a horizontal grab bar to help people rise up or sit down in the bath tub.

1

Locate a stud on the shower wall near the shower head with a stud finder. Find the center of the stud 33 inches up from the floor and mark it with a long piece of low tack painter's tape. This is where the vertical grab bar will be installed.

2

Locate an adjacent stud on the wall. Place a piece of low tack painter's tape across the wall, with the ends lined up with the centers of the two adjacent studs, in the location where the grab bar can be easily reached while sitting in the tub.

3

Hold the first grab bar up against the vertical piece of tape. Center the mounting flanges of the grab bar on the stud's center-line. Trace around the perimeter of the mounting flanges to mark their position. Do the same with the second grab bar and the horizontal tape that spans between two studs.

4

Find the center of the traced circles and mark them with a dot.

5

Drill a 1/8 inch hole on the dots. Insert a nail into each hole to confirm that it is over a stud.

6

Cut a 2-inch hole in the fiberglass shower wall on the traced circles with a 2-inch hole saw.

7

Measure the length of the space between the stud and the top surface of the shower wall. Cut the grab bar mounting spacers to that length with a utility knife.

8

Drill a pilot hole with a 3/16 inch drill bit into each stud. Center the pilot holes on the stud and the 2-inch hole in the shower wall.

9

Insert the lag bolt and washer into the mounting spacers. Insert the mounting spacer lag bolt assembly into the pilot hole. Drive the bolt into the stud with a socket wrench until its hand tight.

10

Run a bead of silicon caulk around the perimeter of each hole in the shower wall.

11

Place the mounting bracket with the disc side of the bracket facing you onto the mounting spacer. Screw the mounting bracket onto the threaded shaft of the spacer until the back of the mounting bracket disc touches the shower wall.

12

Align the screw holes on the grab bar mounting flanges with the holes on the mounting brackets. Drive screws through the holes with a screwdriver until they are hand tight to secure the grab bar to the shower wall. Attach the other grab bar the same way.

Things You Will Need

• Stud finder
• Low tack painters tape
• Pencil
• Drill
• 1/8 inch drill bit
• 2-inch hole saw
• Utility knife
• 3/16 inch drill bit
• Fiberglass grab bar anchoring system kit
• Socket wrench
• Silicon caulk
• Screwdriver

Warning

• Grab bar mounting brackets must be attached to wall studs. Failure to do so may result in the grab bar pulling out of the shower wall during use, which can cause you to fall.