Hi,

In our upstairs bath we have the kind of towel rods that are held into
the sheet rock by two screws. They keep breaking because people ,
myself included, keep leaning on them accidentaly and they pull right
out of the wall and then there is nothing left to put them back into
because the sheet rock gets pulled out.

Is there anything more heavy duty I can use so this won't keep
happening? Our downstairs bath has the towel rods cemented to the tile
but our upstairs bath doesn't have tile on the walls so that's not an
option and the walls aren't in good enough shape to tile.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Steve

In our upstairs bath we have the kind of towel rods that are held into
the sheet rock by two screws. They keep breaking because people ,
myself included, keep leaning on them accidentally and they pull right
out of the wall and then there is nothing left to put them back into
because the sheet rock gets pulled out.

Is there anything more heavy duty I can use so this won't keep
happening? Our downstairs bath has the towel rods cemented to the tile
but our upstairs bath doesn't have tile on the walls so that's not an
option and the walls aren't in good enough shape to tile.
------------
You want to attach the base of the towel holder to the wall either
using spreading anchor, as seen he
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...ove/fastnrwall

or better yet, by screwing the towel rod base directly into the studs
behind the wall.

Perhaps toggle bolts to make it a little more secure; or moving the rods
to match up with studs.

Just a thought!


--
tomco2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=55835

Don't mount anything to drywall or any similiarly flimsy item.

Some houses have 3/8 inch sheetrock, which makes those towel rods more
easy to fail.

Open up a hole (where the screws pulled out) large enough to fit a foot long
piece of 1 x 2" wood. Tie a string to the middle and spread some hot melt
glue on it. Push it through the hole and pull back on the string to seat the
hot melt. If you cannot get it in position fast enough to use hot melt, use
regular glue but arrang something to put tension on the string for 15
minutes or so untill the glue takes a set. Use drywall filler to patch the
hole. Drill a small hole for the screw so it doesn't push the wood off the
back of the drywall when you re-install the towel rods.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

In our upstairs bath we have the kind of towel rods that are held into
the sheet rock by two screws. They keep breaking because people ,
myself included, keep leaning on them accidentaly and they pull right
out of the wall and then there is nothing left to put them back into
because the sheet rock gets pulled out.

Is there anything more heavy duty I can use so this won't keep
happening? Our downstairs bath has the towel rods cemented to the tile
but our upstairs bath doesn't have tile on the walls so that's not an
option and the walls aren't in good enough shape to tile.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Steve

In our upstairs bath we have the kind of towel rods that are held into
the sheet rock by two screws. They keep breaking because people ,
myself included, keep leaning on them accidentaly and they pull right
out of the wall and then there is nothing left to put them back into
because the sheet rock gets pulled out.

Is there anything more heavy duty I can use so this won't keep
happening? Our downstairs bath has the towel rods cemented to the tile
but our upstairs bath doesn't have tile on the walls so that's not an
option and the walls aren't in good enough shape to tile.

I relocate such rods so the ends line up with studs. First, use a stud
finder to locate studs, use fine nails to confirm their location, then find
a towel rod that may be cut so the brackets will exactly bridge the studs,
usually 16 inch centers. Also, select brackets that have narrow-set screws,
so you don't miss the stud altogether when you mount it. Over time, towel
brackets on sheetrock will fail, and I tend to use spreading screw-in wall
anchors only for lighter duty stuff, like pictures and whatnot shelves. If
you put the towel rods on studs, you can practically do chin-ups on
them......

wrote:
Hi,

In our upstairs bath we have the kind of towel rods that are held into
the sheet rock by two screws. They keep breaking because people ,
myself included, keep leaning on them accidentaly and they pull right
out of the wall and then there is nothing left to put them back into
because the sheet rock gets pulled out.

Is there anything more heavy duty I can use so this won't keep
happening? Our downstairs bath has the towel rods cemented to the tile
but our upstairs bath doesn't have tile on the walls so that's not an
option and the walls aren't in good enough shape to tile.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Steve


I had the same problem in a house constructed of cardboard ) Screwing
into the studs is best. I finally nailed a board across the short space
I had for rods, and screwed the rods onto the board. I think the kids
were doing chin-ups on the towel rods. Once, they knocked a door out of
the frame because it was held in only by finishing nails through the
trim ) It had no nails through the frame )

Open up a hole (where the screws pulled out) large enough to fit a foot
long
piece of 1 x 2" wood. Tie a string to the middle and spread some hot melt
glue on it. Push it through the hole and pull back on the string to seat
the
hot melt. If you cannot get it in position fast enough to use hot melt,
use
regular glue but arrang something to put tension on the string for 15
minutes or so untill the glue takes a set. Use drywall filler to patch the
hole. Drill a small hole for the screw so it doesn't push the wood off the
back of the drywall when you re-install the towel rods.

While this is a novel idea, nothing replaces anchoring it right into the
studs. I'm not sure I'd use hot glue for this. I'd much prefer using
Liquid Nails or some other construction adhesive. They're better formulated
for handling the wood/drywall bond. A good layer of liquid nails seems like
it'd be a lot better than possibly unevenly-cooled glue. Putting wood
behind the drywall will help in that it spreads the load across a greater
area. This will mean that WHEN it fails next time it'll end up pulling out
a MUCH LARGER chunk of drywall with it. At which point you'll be able to
use the big hole to the right way by properly anchoring a 2x4 to the nearby
studs and screwing the bar into that instead.

If the bathroom's due for a paint job then consider just opening the wall
and putting in a proper anchoring point for it. Yes, it's traumatic for
some to open a wall but it's probably a helluva lot less stress than fixing
the danged towel bar over and over again.

Either that or find the actual studs and get a towel bar that fits their
location.