A handrail can prevent deadly bathroom falls.
Bathroom handrails (also know as "Grab Bars") are anchored railings installed in bathrooms to protect against falls. In the event that someone in the bathroom loses balance, they can catch the railing on their way down and avoid a potentially deadly or bone-breaking impact. This is especially important for the elderly, who can be severely injured or even killed by bathroom falls caused by slippery surfaces or momentary losses of balance. They must be installed in appropriate locations and be solidly anchored to provide useful fall protection.
Instructions
1. Place your grab bars. The location of a bathroom handrail determines its usefulness. Generally, a long bar should be attached vertically near the edge of the tub to help get in and out safely. A bar mounted at an angle with the low end about 6 inches above the tub will help the user lower themselves into the water safely, while a horizontal bar three feet above the bottom of the tub is a useful handrail to use while showering.
2. Locate the studs behind the wall you will be installing the handrail on. If the wall is concrete or masonry, you don't need to do this, but rails installed on hollow walls need to be drilled into studs to ensure that they can bear the load of a fall. To do this, either knock on the wall, listening for solid-sounding points, or use a stud finder (a small electronic device that beeps when it passes over a stud). If the wall is plastered or tiled, this may be difficult; in those cases you can try looking from the other side of the wall, or opening the bathtub drain's access hatch and checking with a flashlight.
3. Confirm the location of your studs by hammering a nail through the wall. If the wall is tiled, drill through the grout instead; this can always be patched later.
4. Hold the handrail against the wall and pencil in marks for each hole on the mounting flange. Not all of them need to be through a stud. If there are three screws per flange, one will often be off the stud, but the two that are secured in wood will have sufficient strength.
5. Drill through the wall tiles with a 1/4 inch tile and masonry bit, then change to a 5/32 inch wood bit. Use this to drill a pilot hole in the stud for your screw. If the wall is concrete, use a masonry bit to drill a 1/4 inch diameter hole in the concrete, then hammer in a plastic anchor.
6. Hammer plastic anchors into any holes drilled that missed the stud.
7. Spread silicone caulking or tub-and-tile sealant over the back of the rail mounting flanges, then press them to the wall with their holes aligned over the holes you drilled.
8. Pass screws through the holes on the flanges and into the wall holes. Tighten them down with a drill or screwdriver.
9. Test the handrail by pulling on it with all your strength. Have a friend there to catch you if the rail pops off unexpectedly.
Tags: bathroom falls, concrete masonry, holes drilled, through wall, wall concrete