Install a Towel Bar in a Bathroom

A poorly installed or placed towel bar can be more a hindrance than a help in your bathroom. Without the appropriate sized towel bar, large bath towels may not dry in time for the next shower. Towel bars that are installed too far from the shower can be a safety hazard. Here are three steps you can use to install your towel bar properly.

Things You'll Need:

• Towel bar
• Carpenters level
• Phillips screwdriver
• Stud finder
• Molly bolts
• Straightedge
• Power drill with speed bits
• Pencil

Step 1: Decide the Best Place to Attach your Towel Bar

You'll want to consider carefully where to mount your towel bar. It should be within easy reach of the shower or bath tub so you won't have to over extend your reach when you're exiting the shower or tub. You also won't want it to hang it above the sink where the towel will dangle into your sink. You won't want it too close to a cabinet door that might be opened when you want your towel. It should also be long enough to accommodate your largest towel to allow it to dry. If a single towel bar won't do the job, install two; a large one near the tub and a smaller one near the sink for a hand towel.

 A standard height for your towel bar is 48 inches up from the floor. This should be low enough for a child to reach it, if necessary.

Step 2: Locate Wall Studs

Attaching your towel bar to drywall with nothing more to secure it than standard screws is asking for trouble. It's only a matter of time until enough pressure is placed on the bar to pull its screws out of the drywall. Your best bet is to drive your screws into a wall stud that are typically spaced 16 inches apart. This means, you will need a bar on which the holding screws are also spaced 16 inches apart. Otherwise, you'll have to use the less secure molly screws at one end of your bar. Even with one end of your bar attached to a wall stud your towel bar might not be as secure as you will want it. If you cannot find a towel bar 16 inches long, you'll need to attach it to at least one wall stud. First, locate a stud into which you can drive screws that hold one end of your bar, using a stud finder which you can purchase at a hardware store or home improvement store.

Step 3: Attach Your Towel Bar to a Wall Stud

Once you have located a wall stud, mark the spot with a pencil. Hold one end of a straight edge against the wall so that the mark you made is at the right end of the straight edge. Now, place your level on the top edge of the straight edge and adjust it up or down until it is level. Then put a pencil mark on wall at the left end and top edge of your straight edge where the stud is located. Next, position your towel bar at this location, so that the screw holes at each end line up with the marks you made on the wall. Now, level the bar, and make a mark on the wall through each of the screw holes on the bar. Finally, use your screwdriver or drill to sink screws.