How to Install a Towel Bar Securely
Have you ever reached for a towel and realized that the towel bar was barely secured to the wall? Installing a New Towel Bar Securely is a fairly simple DIY task if you know how to anchor the brackets.
As part of my little laundry room refresh, I decided to replace the dated brass towel bar that had started to come loose.
Install a Towel Bar Securely Materials:
(Contains some affiliate links)
- Towel Bar (SyleSelections 18″ Chrome Towel Bar)
- Level
- Painter’s Tape
- Drill
- Drill Bit
- Screwdriver
- Small Flat Head Screwdriver
or Mini Hex Wrench
Optional:
- Scissors to cut out template
- TOGGLER Drywall Anchors
if not mounting on studs
Install a Towel Bar Securely Preparation:
Begin by removing the old towel bar if you have one already installed. Look underneath for a tiny set screw. Usually you will need a small flat head screwdriver or allen wrench to remove it.
Once the mounting bracket is removed, you will see the mounting plate which can be removed by unscrewing the screws. Patch any holes in the wall and touch up the paint before installing the new towel bar.
Mounting Instructions:
Find the template that came with your new towel bar. Sometimes it is on the instruction sheet, and sometimes you have to cut it off the product box.
Hold the template up and line up the bracket locations with studs. If you can’t line it up with two studs, you can use a good wall anchor. Don’t use the anchors that came with the towel bar. (Here’s why you should never use those freebie wall anchors.)
Tape the template in place and level it. Make any adjustments necessary to get the template perfectly level.
Pre-drill holes through the template brackets.
Attach the mounting plate by driving screws into the pre-drilled holes. If you are using anchors, drive the anchor in first, then attach the bracket with screws.
Remove the towel bar mounting brackets from the product box. Loosen the set screw until it retracts completely.
Position the first mounting bracket over the mounting plate and tighten the set screw.
Insert the towel bar into the first bracket.
Retract the set screw on the second mounting bracket. Feed the second bracket onto the towel bar and fit it over the mounting plate.
Tighten the set screw.
Hang your towel and admire your handy work!
Now you have a beautiful new towel bar that is installed securely to the wall.
Stay tuned, I have one more little update in the laundry room.
Pin for later!
surpose you need to secure on the tiled wall what do you do. do you follow the same steps
It would be best to secure into studs in a tile wall situation. Or use tile bar meant for inside the show, which is often mortared in with the tile (not on top of the tile.)
THANK YOU! Literally have this exact towel rack and the bar/one of the mounts came off. I didn’t install it originally and had no idea how to fix it! You literally helped avoid calling my apartment maintenance guys.
Here in Canada, I am able to buy many second hand items from the Restore operated by Habitat for Humanity. I actually volunteered with them once, not to build a house but to strip houses of useful items. Windsor, Ontario, had to demolish a swath of houses in order to build an expressway (purportedly for a new border crossing). Many of the houses were new; some had never been lived in. We salvaged lighting and plumbing – fixtures and hardware, cabinets, heating vents, curtain rods and anything else that could be reused.
I just moved to a new city into a house almost as old as yours. I am installing 2 towel bars and a toilet paper holder in the bathroom. I purchased all at a Restore. They look similar but there are 2 different types of brackets, neither of which look like yours. I had to make my own templates. You might want to show how that can be done.
I am surprised that the brackets cannot be purchased separately. It would seem easy enough to find ones that fit a particular bar.
HI there… I need to purchase 2 sets of the same wall mounting brackets you used here (shown above). Can you tell me where I can find them? My local Home Depot or Lowe’s don’t seem to have them or I am not looking in the right place in the store. Asked for help… but employees had NO idea. Told me to buy new towel bars.
Can you assist me with finding these brackets online?
Deirdre, I’m afraid mounting brackets are made specific to the towel bar you are installing, therefore they are sold with the towel bar.
I bought my towel bar mounting posts separately at Home Depot. Aisle 15, bay 8 for $3.98 😊 hope this helps
I had to measure with a string, & beat my anchors into the wall with a hairbrush, I had a drill– thank goodness. Bar is up and looks fabulous. Sturdy, too! Girl power!
My towel bar won’t fit on the brackets it came with. Any idea why? Troubleshooting tips please????
I’m not sure, I’d take it back and try another one.
My 22″ double towel bar pulled loose from the drywall after two years. Toggle type wall anchors were used. We don’t want to secure a length of board to the wall and then attach the bar to the board as a friend suggested. Is there an alternative to cutting out a section of drywall, installing horizontal boards between the studs, replacing the drywall, then screwing the mounting plates directly into the boards?
thanks for instructions, but ONE thing that would’ve helped immensely would be a picture of the anchor you refer to. Toggles, anchors, lots of terms but no distinctions between them explained or pics. thanks! mk
Mary Kay, so sorry for that. The brand is called Toggler. But, here’s a good article about using good anchors: https://prettyhandygirl.com/use-good-wall-anchors/ And there’s a picture there for you ;-).
Thanks for the tutorial! This will be perfect for some DIY projects in my bathroom!