How To Install A Grab Bar In A Fiberglass Shower Stall

Learn how to attach something that must be rock solid a grab bar to something that is thin and flexible the wall of a fiberglass tub shower unit.

How to install a grab bar in a fiberglass shower stall.

In this q a herrick kimball a remodeler and kitchen contractor explains the tricky task of installing a grab bar on fiberglass in this case a fiberglass shower. Installing grab bars in fiberglass showers since there is no waterproof board in back of the fiberglass and if there is no convenient stud i don t think the fiberglass can take the strain. Locate a stud stand near the shower and measure the height of 33 inches from the floor. We ll show you the best way to install them.

In your bathtub or shower grab bars provide extra security for that first slippery step. Make your bathroom safer and more versatile by adding grab bars. You have to locate the center of the stud and use the low tack painters tape to mark the targeted place. Molded fiberglass showers are not the easiest place to install a grab bar they have space between the shower itself and the wall frame.

Gather these tools to install a grab bar with a wingits grab bar system. Find the studs near your proposed grab bar location using a stud sensor or one of the techniques. Grab bar mounting brackets made specifically for fiberglass installation have discs that safely distribute the. Find a stud there.

One piece tubs and shower enclosures consist of a single gel coated fiberglass shell. The solid mount installs through a 2 hole drilled into the fiberglass with a mounting assembly that attaches directly to the stud leaving a surface to which standard grab bars can be attached. The solid mount system allows the installation of grab bars into existing fiberglass shower walls. The directions that follow are for installing a grab bar on a tile shower wall.

The method i chose in this application was the solid mount anchoring system. Step by step process step 1. The gap created between shower and frame makes it not safe for attaching grab bars directly to the fiberglass the material is thin and un supportive of the weight displacement from when a person pulls on the bar in the event of a fall.