I purchased and installed 2 of these units in the past month. Excellent quality. Both of my installations were able to be made with mounting screws into wood studs behind the tiled wall. The mounting is solid and looks nice. I used a 5/16" diameter tile drill bit to go through the tile. Then I switched to a 5/16" masonary bit to clear the concrete board behind the tiles. A smaller wood bit was the last step to put a pilot hole in the wood stud. No problem but drilling through tile is nerve wracking--you can't press hard with the drill or you risk breaking the tile and must squirt water with a little spray bottle on the rotating bit to cool it down. I have found that the $10 tile bits (from Lowe's) are only good for drilling about 4 holes then they lose their carbide cutting edges and must be replaced.I mounted the unit with #12 x 2 inch stainless steel pan head screws using two screws on each end of the bar. Luckily so far I have hit 4 out of 4 wood studs. Using a stud finder above the tile wall (above where the tile meets the drywall) and projecting the stud lines down with a level carefully and double checking several times before making that first hole. If you are using screws into the wood studs you don't have to buy the 1 1/4" tile hole saw to drill a hole for Moen's anchor system mentioned in the instructions. Their anchor system looks nicely designed but I have not had to go that route yet as I have been successful using the stud finder. Remember tiles are brittle and therefore somewhat fragile---don't over tighten mounting screws or over do the drilling speed or pressure on the bit. Moderate all impulses to muscle it.
This installed easily in my tub/shower fiberglass enclosure. I chose to NOT use the plastic tray since all I needed was a balance support. Since using this for a couple weeks I am almost embarrassed to admit at how much I rely on it already. Growing older is one thing. Losing mobility is another. Losing confidence is literally heartbreaking....So I take this with another notch out of my old pride. But I also do it with a sense of confidence and I suppose that is what this was designed for after all. It does exactly what it is called upon to do. Nothing more, and nothing LESS. Thank you to Moen & to Vine.
Buy Moen LR2356DCH Home Care 16-Inch Grab Bar with Shelf Now
Installing this grab bar was the first and, I hope, the last time I ever have to use a ceramic hole saw. The instructions call for using a tile cutting hole saw to wet cut two 1 1/4" holes in the tile of your shower or bath which took me well over an hour to do as I slowly ground them out. I'm sure more experienced cutters would have made shorter work of this, but it was hard for me as a novice. As it turned out, if I had known the geography of my shower wall, I could have made use of a fire break between the studs to get away with just cutting a 1/4" hole with a tile drill on one end. So I ended up using the enclosed anchor for one end of the bar, and angling up with a long wood screw to secure the other end. What you want to avoid is any situation where you drill a large hole for the included anchor without at least 3 inches of head room, that is a no man's land which will lead to a time consuming repair job.I doubt that anyone frail enough to require a grab bar is going to be able to install this themselves, it was exhausting holding my heavy but long lasting 20V Max Dewalt cordless drill against the wall for so long while keeping the bit wet.
Regardless I tested it with half my body weight (approximately 90 lbs of force) and it flexed just a little so it should hold up to any stress needed for getting up off the shower seat or any gymnastics my monkeys (kids) plan on making use of it. I had thought I might need to put some silicon around the edges, but it seems to be fairly self-sealing in terms of keeping water out of the wall. I'll keep an eye on it.
Mainly, I wanted it as a shelf for my toiletries, and for that it is well designed, my wife can even put her hair clips around the thinner bars holding up the shelf. And I like the ability to take the plastic tray out for cleaning, and that there is room between the shelf and the wall for cleaning the tile.
So, I can recommend this for anyone needing support to get in and out of their shower or bath. It may be too much of a pain to install just for the added shelving, but now that the effort has faded in my memory, I'm very happy with my handiwork and the added convenient place to store my various hygiene products.
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This is a grab bar, and as a grab bar, it does its thing and does it well. It looks nice and build quality seems good. Time will have more to say on this issue ....What is super nice about this particular design is the integration of the shelf. This helps in two distinct ways:
1. The space is used in a practical way
2. Because you use the space, you are training your brain of where to grab and where it is in a spacial orientation way. That way, when and if, you do need to grab the bar in a hurry you know where it is without looking.
So for #2, this is super important and gives you a higher advantage of catching yourself, or at the very least, saving time reaching around for the handle.
It attaches easily. However, if you are not a handy person, have it professionally installed. You don't want this coming out of the wall when you really need it.
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It is a sturdy bar, and a shelf that could hold a few slender bottles of soaps. The mounting instructions are clear, and it can mount to either studs or a hollow wall (e.g., drywall), but note that you will a 1 1/4 carbide/diamond hole saw bit for your drill, e.g. Bosch HDG114 1 1/4" 32mm Diamond Grit Hole Saw and Bosch HDGQA Diamond Hole Saw Mandrel with AutoStart. Also, keep in mind that a hole saw needs to be kept cool by spraying water on it (e.g., a squirt bottle), so the installation goes best if someone can squirt the saw bit while you drill.Save 42% Off
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