Bathtub Grab Bars damage Bathrooms

Grab bars in residential bathrooms have become more mainstream and accepted in recent years and are not just for the disabled or elderly as it once was. This addition to your home might be a help to someone in your family regardless of age or physical condition.

Along with the disabled and the elderly, families with young children and even pregnant mothers will benefit from the added security of being more capable of safely enter and exit a bathtub or shower. We all know slip and fall on a wet bathing area is not fun and can be dangerous.

The first point here is to make sure we have the correct bar. Being that this is a moist environment, most bars are stainless steel, but there are other options as moisture resistant powder coat paint, brass and even different ways that do not seem very traditional stainless institutional composition curve , stainless steel, although the most functional and clean up of the best.

ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant with the bars are the only ones to use and are available almost anywhere and are fairly easy to install, when following the instructions provided there are no shortcuts to ensure proper installation. When installed correctly, which are rated to withstand 500 lbs. throw.

Most bars come in various sizes from 12 to 48 inches for the straights, which are right angles, and even those that can be customized if you have an unusual or specific installation situation. Diameters are 1 1 / 2 (commercial) and 1 1 / 4 inch to 1 1 / 2 inch clearance between the bar and the surface. The inch diameter 1 1 / 4 is enough for any residential use.

Some are collapsible safety bars in the role, in particular for use around baths, which then gives you the option to use either, depending on the needs that the bar or not, and are little more than temporary facilities clamp The side of a bathtub to help enter and exit.

The most important rule to follow in a permanent installation is that any security support bar must be connected to a wooden wall stud or a pre-placed blocks of the inner wall of 2 x 6 or 8. The common wall anchors or bolts are not acceptable and Molly could only be a problem and / or, worse, an injury later.

Having said all that, I know a wall anchor out there that meets and is called Mount Alternator, personally I have never used any of these, but they are supposed to be acceptable for mounting bars support when there is no wall stud is available in the necessary position. This is one option to consider if necessary, but the best way possible at all is the use of blocks as a first option.

Many bars are installed at an angle to match the bolts, as well as horizontal and vertical, and still allows the user versatility.

If you're in a remodel situation and removed the old tub or shower, and the walls are open, then that would be the time to put in place pre-2x blocking between the beams for precise positioning of the bars later just a little planning ahead for the placement is made for proper installation, safe to complete the project. Just be sure to write down the measurements to locate the blocks below for ease of installation.

So many of repair and specialty items are available to us now than it used to be, with a little guidance and the right tools, there is much we can do ourselves.