Easy Process Of Installing A Grab Bar In A Fiberglass Shower
It is not easy to install a grab bar on molded fiberglass showers, they have space betwixt the shower itself and the wall frame. The gap that is originated betwixt shower and frame makes it unsafe for securing or fixing grab bars directly to the fiberglass. The material is thin as well as un-supportive of the weight displacement from as soon as a person pulls on the bar in the event of a fall. Grab bar mounting brackets designed particularly for fiberglass installation have discs that safely allocate the weight of a person as well as keeps the fiberglass away from cracking. By securing the brackets to wall studs using bolts, you are making sure that the grab bar will not take off from the tub or shower wall when in use. You can purchase grab bars in two sets, which will help you to install a vertical grab bar in a one-piece tub as well as shower for standing assistance and a horizontal grab bar in order to assist people rise up or sit down in the bath tub.
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
Steps
- Locate A Stud On The Shower Wall: First of all, discover the exact place or position of a stud on the shower wall close by the shower head with the help of a stud finder. Locate the midpoint of the stud 33 inches up from the floor before marking it using a long piece of low tack painter's tape. This marking will indicate the position from where the vertical grab bar will be installed.
- Find An Adjacent Stud On The Wall: Now, track down an adjacent stud on the wall. Position a piece of low tack painter's tape through the wall, with the ends aligned with the midpoints of the two adjacent studs, in the location where the grab bar can be easily reached when you are sitting in the tub.
- Hold First Grab Bar Up Against Vertical Piece Of Tape: Take hold of the first grab bar up in opposition to the vertical piece of tape. Median the mounting flanges of the grab bar on the stud's central point. Discover around the perimeter of the mounting flanges in order to mark their position. Perform the same process with the second grab bar as well as the horizontal tape that spans betwixt two studs.
- Find Out The Center Of The Traced Circles: Locate the center of the traced circles before marking them with a dot. Make a 1/8 inch hole on the dots using a drill. Place, fit, or push a nail into each hole in order to confirm that it is over a stud. Trim a 2-inch hole in the fiberglass shower wall on the traced circles with the help of a 2-inch hole saw.
- Calculate The Length Of The Space: Calculate the length of the space betwixt the stud and the top surface of the shower wall. Trim the grab bar mounting spacers to that length with the help of a utility knife. Make a pilot hole using a 3/16 inch drill bit into each stud. Center the pilot holes on the stud as well as the 2-inch hole in the shower wall.
- Insert Lag Bolt & Washer Into The Mounting Spacers: Place, fit, or push the lag bolt as well as a washer into the mounting spacers. Push the mounting spacer lag bolt assembly into the pilot hole. Drive the bolt into the stud with the help of a socket wrench as long as it is hand tight. Move a bead of silicon caulk smoothly around the perimeter of each hole in the shower wall.
- Secure The Grab Bar To The Shower Wall: Position the mounting bracket but make sure the disc side of the bracket should be positioning towards you onto the mounting spacer. Fasten the mounting bracket, using screws, onto the threaded shaft of the spacer as long as the back of the mounting bracket disc touches the shower wall. Line up the screw holes in a straight line on the grab bar mounting flanges with the holes on the mounting brackets. Insert screws through the holes with the help of a screwdriver as long as they are hand tight to attach or fix the grab bar to the shower wall. Secure the other grab bar exactly the same way.