How to Install Grab Bars

Grab bars can be used in stairwell or landing areas or in showers and bathrooms for added safety and stability. If you feel uneasy on your feet, you can simply reach out and grab onto a properly installed grab bar to steady yourself. Grab bars are considered a safety item, and as such there may be safety or legal codes that you must conform to. Before installation, check with your local building inspector for any regulations information.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Grab bar
• Stud finder
• 4 3/8-inch lag bolts, 4 inches long
• Drill with a ¼-inch drill bit
• Closed end box wrench that fits the size of your bolt head
• Pencil
• Ruler or yard stick for a straight edge

1. Determine the purpose and height of the grab bar. Grab bar placement is virtually completely dependent on personal preference. It might need to mounted up high for people to grab and allow them to stand up. It may need to be mounted low for someone to sit down with and steady himself. Personal preference will dictate where a grab bar should be installed.

2. Mark your studs. Use your stud finder to find the studs in your wall. Mark several spots up and down along the stud, and then use your straight edge to connect these spots and draw a line up and down each stud.

3. Set up your grab bar. Align your grab bar to your personal preference, but you must make sure the mounting holes on the grab bar correspond to the lines you have marked off as your stud line. There can be no mistake about this because when you mount the grab bar, you must mount it directly to a stud.

4. Drill holes into the stud with your drill and 1/4-inch bit. Remember, they need to go directly into the stud.

5. Bolt the grab bar to the wall. Using your closed end box wrench, push a lag bolt through the mounting hole in your grab bar---and there will be two mounting holes per side---and screw the lag into the stud. Make it tight and firm.

6. Test your grab bar. Make sure it is steady and secure for whoever needs it. Pull on it firmly and make sure there is no wobble or "give." If there is, check to make sure all the bolts are tight.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are able to mount your grab bar directly to a wooden beam or post, you'll want to drill holes directly through it. Therefore, use the ½-inch drill bit and drill completely through the beam and out the other side.
• You may have to have a building inspector certify your work. Schedule an appointment before the grab bar is actually used. If the bar is used before certification and an accident happens, your house insurance will not cover the cost of injuries or damages.