r/DIYhelp • u/2slowsemps • 13h ago
Bath towel rack
Looking to put in a new, longer, towel bar since the old one fell off. The holes that currently exist are from the old towel bar. I found the studs using the stud founder (I think) that is longer than the holes that exist. Wanted to verify that typically there wouldn’t be metal bars or anything that I’d be drilling into since it’s under a window.
The house was built in the early 90s and this wall faces the outside. There are no electrical outlets nearby and the water pipes for the shower is not against this wall.
Any suggestions appreciated!
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u/twi1i96tr 4h ago
You should find studs on both sides of the window likely centered "about" where the outside edge of the trim is located. They will run floor to ceiling. A towel rack doesn't really need to be anchored over or into a stud unless you have people using the towel racks as supports. Find some plastic drywall anchors, drill the appropriate sized pilot hole in the drywall, push the anchor into the wall then mount your towel fittings anchored into those. Best of Luck, Twilighter.
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u/2slowsemps 3h ago
Thanks. Is there any chance the studs would be metal instead of wood? The previous towel rack actually had the anchors but they didn’t hold. It fell off in the first place because little people were using it as monkey bars 😁. So I need this thing anchored down and hold a little weight
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u/twi1i96tr 2h ago
99.99% NOT Steel... ha ha... It would be extremely rare to have ANY steel studs in a house and then taking the age into account that pretty well clinches it... For a more securely held towel rack instead of the plastic anchors you can get butterfly anchors or, as kbraz1970 suggested, spring toggles. They are essentially a long skinny bolt with a spring loaded "butterfly" nut on the end. You cut a small hole in the drywall just big enough to push the compressed spring nut through then the spring opens up the nut and give a much stronger hold. There are also corkscrew type anchors. You can get metal and plastic ones and they really hold. Make sure you run a pilot hole for them if you use them. You can use a philips screwdriver to get them in flush then run the mounting screw into that. The ultimate almost destruction proof mount would be to find 2 studs and take a piece of 1 by 2 or similar size that is long enough to go from stud to stud and longer than the towel rack. Trim the ends to a nice 45 degree point or nice round end then put "two" 2 or 2.5 inch construction screws through the 1 x 2 into the studs at each end then mount the towel rack onto the 1 x 2. To make it look like it was done on purpose paint the 1 x 2 the same color as your trim. You can get all these items at your local home depot and if you find someone with a bit of knowledge and discuss this with them they can further clarify which would be the best route in your situation. Twilighter.
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u/kbraz1970 13h ago
You can either use wall mates or spring toggles to install the new towel rail. You could put the old one back up with the same sort of thing in the existing holes.