topic Re: Shower grab bar in Wellness

Shower grab bar

lilypadfrog — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 17:39:25 GMT

I have a very small shower in my bathroom. No tub. The shower is approx 32" square. I need some kind of grab bar. The walls seem to be a fiberglass or plastic so am not sure a bar could be drilled through. Does anyone know if those suction cup bars actually work? It would be needed for light support not to bear my weight. I know I need to remodel but cant right now.

Re: Shower grab bar

millieshops — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 17:55:00 GMT

@lilypadfrogI have a friend who uses one. She says it holds well, but occasionally they do remove it, clean the wall and resuction it on.

Most important is that it's absolutely not guaranteed safe as a real grab bar. For that, you need someone to drill through your wall. I know that was done for my sister - small fiberglass shower.

I had a "real" bar drilled through the ceramic tile in my tub, but I wanted more guarantee - as if there's ever one of those!

Re: Shower grab bar

Jannygaz — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 17:56:02 GMT

I have a couple of the suction ones in my shower. They are fine for a little balance if needed. They would not work if you really needed to hang on during a shower or bath to lift yourself.

Re: Shower grab bar

kaydee50 — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 17:57:36 GMT

We had grab bars professionally installed in both our bathrooms. One of the best things we have ever done. Personally, I do not trust anything suction. Never seems to hold securely.

Re: Shower grab bar

roeroe1005 — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 17:59:17 GMT

I don't have a tub in my bathroom, just a large shower. My shower is fiberglass also. I have 2 grab bars, one on side I get in, one on the far wall. They may move occassionally, but can be adjusted very easily.

I got mine at Bed, Bath. Well worth it.

Re: Shower grab bar

K9buddy — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:01:08 GMT

I would have one installed professionally.

Re: Shower grab bar

lilypadfrog — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:02:40 GMT

Thanks. I just need some balance since I cant put full weight on my right foot yet. Full weight on left but can only toe tap on right due to recent surgery. Is there a particular brand I should get?

Re: Shower grab bar

Kachina624 — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:13:18 GMT

No, the suction bars do not offer dependable support. They can be dangerous if you depend on them and they fail. I threw mine away

Re: Shower grab bar

chlema — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:21:58 GMT

I had a suction grab bar in addition to my installed bar. I found the suction bar only good for slight balance adjustment whereas the fixed bar was much safer. Suction bar is now in the trash since it kept falling off the wall.

Re: Shower grab bar

SilleeMee — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:27:43 GMT

Get it professionally installed. But before you do that go to the store where they sell the bars and make sure its one that you can actually grasp without any problems. They make them in different sizes...how big around they are, not just the length and how far away from the wall they come.

Re: Shower grab bar

lilypadfrog — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:31:25 GMT

I guess I need to get a few bids on installing the real grab bars, maybe even remodeling the shower.

Re: Shower grab bar

RedTop — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:36:30 GMT

@lilypadfrog,

Support bars MUST be anchored into a wall stud to provide the stability we are looking for in the tub or shower. They are not properly installed otherwise. Suction cups are not capable of being a safety measure.

Re: Shower grab bar

gardenman — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:44:46 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@lilypadfrog,

Support bars MUST be anchored into a wall stud to provide the stability we are looking for in the tub or shower. They are not properly installed otherwise. Suction cups are not capable of being a safety measure.

Not necessarily into a stud, but into something solid. When I redid our bathroom I knew where I wanted grab bars and added blocking between the studs to provide a solid mounting surface. Studs are an inch and a half wide and the mounting screws are often farther apart than that. That typically means only one screw can be in a stud. By putting solid blocking between the studs where a bar is to go you can make the bars incredibly solid and stable. I'm not a big fan of hollow wall anchors for grab bars. If you're going to add blocking, it's typically easier to do it from the room adjacent to the bathroom where it's a simple drywall repair rather than dealing with tiles or bathroom wall surfaces.

Re: Shower grab bar

sann — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:45:27 GMT

@kaydee50 wrote:
We had grab bars professionally installed in both our bathrooms. One of the best things we have ever done. Personally, I do not trust anything suction. Never seems to hold securely.

I agree too many things could go wrong.

Re: Shower grab bar

Abrowneyegirl — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:59:23 GMT

@lilypadfrog wrote:
I guess I need to get a few bids on installing the real grab bars, maybe even remodeling the shower.

Have the installer pick out the bar. They will know how far apart the studs are thus directing you to the proper bar. The stud spread will often differ between interior walls and exterior walls and local building codes.

After the bar(s) are installed they will seal around the plates so it will be water tight.

Re: Shower grab bar

qualitygal — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 19:59:04 GMT

I agree to say, get it done professionally. It would be worth the time and money for your safety.

Re: Shower grab bar

namaste000 — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 20:17:12 GMT

We recently installed 2 bars in our bathtub - one on the short side (placed on a diagonal) where the knobs and shower are and one on the long side (placed horizontally).

We thought we wanted longer bars, but the installer explained to us that people who get longer bars often complain about banging into them while showering. The bar section of our bars are each 12".

Re: Shower grab bar

sunsetbeach — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 22:35:08 GMT

I wanted something to steady me when I stepped into my fiberglass tub/shower. I bought the Moen LR2308W Home Care 12" Suction Balance Assist Bathroom Safety Hand Grip, 1-Bar, Glacier from Amazon. It's $14.98 currently and it works beautifully. I wouldn't use it to pull myself up, but to hold onto to step into the tub and to hold onto when I wash my legs and stand on one leg, its great. In order for it to stay, the walls have to be clean and they should be a flat surface, I initially had it in one spot that had a slight curve and it wouldn't stick. I've had it for several months with no problem at all.

Re: Shower grab bar

house_cat — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 22:45:35 GMT

We just recently had our bathrooms renovated and added brushed nickel grab bars on either side of the tub/shower. Our contractor explained how he anchored them into the wood beams, so I feel very confident that they are safe for my husband who has balance issues.

Until this reno, we had the suction type. They worked well for balance but most definitely NOT stable enough to support an adult person's weight. Every once in a while they would pop free of the wall on one side, rendering them pretty much useless.

If you need them to support your weight or if you THINK you might in the future, I urge you to have permanent ones installed by a professional.

Re: Shower grab bar

lilypadfrog — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 23:15:24 GMT

Good information everyone. Thank you so much!