The porcelain towel-bar fixtures that are available around here have attractive ceramic brackets, but the towel bars are hollow, flimsy 1-in. square plastic tubes. To make the bars as sturdy as their brackets, I fill them with plaster of Paris.
First I plug one end of a bar with a lump of plumber’s putty. Then, with the bar braced and standing, I fill the tube to within about 1 in. of the top with a thick slurry of plaster. When the plaster hardens, the bar has a solid, rigid feel that is in keeping with ceramic fixtures.
Dennis LaMonica, Panama, NY
