Grab Bars for Middle Bathroom Shower

With Linda's Mother moved into the guest bedroom and using the central bathroom, we figured it would be prudent to install grab bars to help with getting in and out of the bathtub.

I bought a 24 inch and two 12 inch bars, from Amazon, and installed one of the smaller ones.

I want to install the other at the other end of the tub and the longer one against the wall in the bathtub/shower.  But I am unsure where the studs are behind the tile.  My stud finder does not seem to work reliably in finding a stud behind the tile, grout, and tile-board.  So I am waiting to install the other two until I can get a better stud sensor, or we replace the tile (and I can see where the studs are behind the tile before they put the new tile on).

4 February 2016

Was reminded that falls are the most common problem for older people, and most falls are at home.  So I went ahead and installed the second, longer grab bar.

I marked where the studs were, as best as I could tell, and then positioned the bar where I wanted it.  That should give me three holes for each end in the stud; the installation document says we need at least two.

Using a masonry bit to drill thru the tile.  First use a hammer and a point to make a dent where I want the hole, then drill.  It seems that the glaze on top of the tile is hard, but once I am thru that, it drills easily -- red clay dust.  Of the 6 holes, 5 of them hit the stud.  The inside one on the left misses the stud just a bit.  So we have two solid screws on the left and three on the right.

From there it is fairly easy.  Use clear silicone caulk on the holes to seal them from the water.  Put in the 5 screws. Put the covers over the screws.

Clean up the dust from the drilling.

This may seem to be high, but normal use now is with a bath seat, and it is not too high for standing from a bath seat.