Handicap handle on fiberglass shower enclosure
unTreatedwood
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
One of my good friends just had very serious surgery on his neck and back. He needs to have a handicapped eligilble handle installed in his bath/shower enclosure. I told him I would help him as a friend, but did not realize at the time it was going into fiberglass. Being a newer house, I thought it would be tiled.
Now I have never put a handle in a situation where it had to connect to the underlying studs through a fiberglass sheet that would probably crack the second we try to drill!! does anyone have any suggestions? He needs it close to shoulder height given his surgery and problem. (On the other side of the wall is another fiberglass enclosure for the second shower on the floor!)
Any suggestions? Thanks.
Replies
Take a look at Moen
you right wing devil.
They have bars and a supposedly foolproof anchoring system. I believe it comes boxed separately. Look for the grab bar and then the revolutionary anchoring system.
I think it might work for you. Clamps it to the fibreglass. If youi think it'll hold it, then use it.
Otherwise-open the wall behind (if you can) and silicone blocks to the fibreglas.
Best of luck.
I was all set to cut into the back.....until I found out the OTHER bathroom is on the other side. Great floor plan, eh? So that is not going to happen that way!!
Right wing? how about fair and definitely UNbalanced!! (untreated as well....)
Good to have you back
You know, a little yin/yang..............
Something from the lunatic fringe.............
Gives balance in life.
thanks.
Use these:
http://www.adaptiveaccess.com/solidmount.php
Locate the studs behind the fiberglass, drill the fiberglass, attach the mounts to the studs, attach the bar to the mounts. They work great, and when I have used them I thought the waterproofing was just fine.
Cal, I have used Moen SecureMount anchors to attach bars to tile/CBU walls between studs. I don't think they would go tight enough to clamp to a FG shower wall, and they would put all the load on the FG.
Yessir David
I also have used them a couple times in hollow walls, never in fibreglas shower walls. I'm not sure they wouldn't work, but remember (I think) Moen sending me info when they first came out that they in fact could be used in that application. That's why I suggested he take a look, read up on it and come to his own conclusion. I've never used those you linked to but they seem to be the ticket. Mama mia, heart in your throat with a 2'' hole saw, no?
And contrary to popular thinking, I did not try to railroad the right winger...............
Honest.
I've used the better original (Wingits -- http://www.wingits.com/Grab-Bar-Fasteners-_c_8.html ) of the Moen knock-off a couple of times to mount shower rods in fiberglass. The main problems I ran into were with clearance on the backside. In one case (out of four bars total) I ran into wood and had to mount one end of the bar to that, in another case I ran into a stiffener on the back of the fiberglass and had to cock the back end of the anchor at an odd angle to make it work. Also had trouble on one in that the fiberglass wasn't perfectly flat where I mounted and I had to play a few games to get the bars screwed on to where they'd flex the glass flat that last 1/32nd of an inch.
So try to know what's behind. When using the Moens (or the originals) always drill a small hole first and feel for wood in the way (if you can't just look behind the unit).
This looks like it may be the only alternative here. But the thought of cutting a 2" hole into this shower with no possiblity of retreat if it doesnt work right...yikes. But Im guessing that it may be the only solution. Great post. Thanks!!
You have to be
absolutely sure there is framing where you drill the hole. You can be off-center a little bit, maybe as much as 1/4", but any more and it will become a major headache. I always put blue tape across the wall above the shower, and then blue tape across the shower wall where the bar goes, and then mark layout on both. Use a stud finder above to locate the studs, then plumb down. Double and triple check the centers with your tape. Then drill the holes.
You could possibly use something like a Wing-it but it will not perform to ADA specs in a FG shower stall wall. I know the Moen mounts will not grab the +/- 1/8" thickness of FG, they go down to maybe 1/2".
If not you, then who...?
Last time I checked the WingIts (what's now referred to as the "commercial version") would definitely meet ADA specs in fiberglass (and worked fine in FG when I used them). Maybe the new cheaper plastic ones don't, though.
Most shower stalls I've seen
are so flimsy that I'd hate to attach a grab bar to them. It'd be easy for someone to crack the thing if they gave the bar a yank. It's also hard to see how Wingits could advertise that their mounts meet a given standard when the shower enclosures vary quite a bit in design, strength, material, etc.
Most fiberglass enclosures are pretty strong. Even if the glass should crack, it's doubtful that the bar anchor could pull out.
Now, ABS is another matter.
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Remember
A little humility goes a long way................
at least until you drill that 2 inch hole...................