# Wood for Shower Grab Bar



## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I have to install grab bars in our home showers. Practically all of the ones I have seen are metal. But, if practical, I would like to make them out of wood. What wood(s) if any would be suitable?


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## Billy Hill (Apr 24, 2015)

I'm not going to pretend to know the answer, but I'll venture a guess as to why use metal and not plastic... getting the wood sealed in such a hostile (wet) environment could prove difficult. 

That being said, I'm getting ready to make a toilet paper roll holder for the bathroom, and what ever wood is suggested for your grab bars will be on my list of choices.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Toilet paper roll holder*



Billy Hill said:


> I'm not going to pretend to know the answer, but I'll venture a guess as to why use metal and not plastic... getting the wood sealed in such a hostile (wet) environment could prove difficult.
> 
> That being said, I'm getting ready to make a toilet paper roll holder for the bathroom, and what ever wood is suggested for your grab bars will be on my list of choices.


I had a Lucite toilet paper roll holder that broke. I made a replacement out of cedar....easy to work and smells nice which is a bonus for the location. You could probably use whatever wood you wanted for your project as it won't be, or shouldn't be, getting wet.


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## Billy Hill (Apr 24, 2015)

JIMMIEM said:


> I had a Lucite toilet paper roll holder that broke. I made a replacement out of cedar....easy to work and smells nice which is a bonus for the location. You could probably use whatever wood you wanted for your project as it won't be, or shouldn't be, getting wet.



Thanks Jimmiem. Did you use anything special to coat the cedar?

Got me curios so I started looking around, cypress, redwood and cedar are all good choices, but Teak may be the right one because of the added strength...



> Teak has all of the attributes one could wish for in a wood used for outdoor furnishings. It resists decay, repels water, doesn’t shrink or swell, ages well, and is incredibly strong.
> 
> Teak’s secret lies in its tight grain and natural oils. Teak oil is all that is necessary to maintain the wood’s beautiful golden luster.
> 
> Once plagued by sustainability issues, due to the misinformation that old growth teak was the most desirable, most teak furniture in the western world now comes from carefully managed plantations. The superiority of teak wood for creating outdoor furniture is reflected in its high price tag.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I didn't put any finish on the cedar. Just sanded it smooth. The big strength issue comes when they get attached to drywall or tile without hitting a stud and those flimsy plastic drywall 'anchors' are used. I've had to fix several for friends and I have used mollys or toggles....slight overkill but won't have to do over.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

IMHO You will not be happy with wood in the long run,use the metal, SS prefered ,or brass if you like to polish. Wood is even a higher maintenance and gets rough with time, looks shabby quickly,and even gives a few splinters in the ole arse when you bend down. Doesn't feel good to soft wet hands either. Even with epoxy finish the water has a way of getting underneath and causing unsightly black spots and eventually bubbling up the finish, When I was a youngster we had cedar bathtub and many a splinter had to be pick out of my little butt after my monthly bath.LOL

Herb


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

In addition to what Herb said, grab bars actually have Code standards. They need to be able to withstand a _large_ person's weight if they fall, and grab it.
A 'grab bar' isn't a towel bar; strength and structurally sound mounting are crucial. 
I wish I had $10 for every towel bar I've had to replace (for clients) because some jackass installer put them in using those ridiculous plastic screw anchors into drywall (rather than the studs). People _do_ use them for balance, in the bathroom. I know that _our_ towel bar assembly is woefully inadequate...it's come apart just by leaning on it; should never have made it past CSA...oh, right! That's a different thread. 

When I gut a bathroom, I put horizontal blocking into the walls everywhere anyone could conceivably want to put a handrail/towel bar/whatever. Problem solved.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Grab Bars*



DaninVan said:


> In addition to what Herb said, grab bars actually have Code standards. They need to be able to withstand a _large_ person's weight if they fall, and grab it.
> A 'grab bar' isn't a towel bar; strength and structurally sound mounting are crucial.
> I wish I had $10 for every towel bar I've had to replace (for clients) because some jackass installer put them in using those ridiculous plastic screw anchors into drywall (rather than the studs). People _do_ use them for balance, in the bathroom. I know that _our_ towel bar assembly is woefully inadequate...it's come apart just by leaning on it; should never have made it past CSA...oh, right! That's a different thread.
> 
> When I gut a bathroom, I put horizontal blocking into the walls everywhere anyone could conceivably want to put a handrail/towel bar/whatever. Problem solved.


It would really be nice if all builders put in the horizontal blocking when a house is being built......seems like a quick and easy no-brainer.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Grab Bar*



Herb Stoops said:


> IMHO You will not be happy with wood in the long run,use the metal, SS prefered ,or brass if you like to polish. Wood is even a higher maintenance and gets rough with time, looks shabby quickly,and even gives a few splinters in the ole arse when you bend down. Doesn't feel good to soft wet hands either. Even with epoxy finish the water has a way of getting underneath and causing unsightly black spots and eventually bubbling up the finish, When I was a youngster we had cedar bathtub and many a splinter had to be pick out of my little butt after my monthly bath.LOL
> 
> Herb


OK. You have convinced me.....I will use metal. Bet you wish you had that cedar tub today.....make a nice ornament or planter.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> It would really be nice if all builders put in the horizontal blocking when a house is being built......seems like a quick and easy no-brainer.


takes labor, time and material...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"takes labor, time and material..."
Way more better to upgrade to the latest greatest gimcrack gizmo in the kitchen.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Or heated toilet seats.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

go w/ bronze or faux wood...

https://www.thebathoutlet.com/Grab-Bars/?bing_ads=true


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Or remote controlled doggy door.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Bronze heated toilet seat?! Like in Ancient Rome?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> Bronze heated toilet seat?! Like in Ancient Rome?


what!!! no padding for the tender tushes....


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## Billy Hill (Apr 24, 2015)

LMAO! 

Left turn, meet thread.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

!...are you suggesting _someone_ here is a loose screw?


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## Billy Hill (Apr 24, 2015)

Not until you said something about it. 

Brilliant!


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## rpludwig (Nov 22, 2011)

if going wood, teak, finish with spar varnish....been used for decades and holds up well on wood boats, fwiw...


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Wood For Shower Grab Bar*



rpludwig said:


> if going wood, teak, finish with spar varnish....been used for decades and holds up well on wood boats, fwiw...


I assume you are referring to the shower grab bar and not the toilet seat?


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## jec (Sep 12, 2006)

Locus wood will withstand years and years of
exposure to water and it is about as heavy as steel. It is used as fence posts and lasts 50 years or more.


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## ngk20000 (Jan 3, 2011)

Two of the most weather (water) resistant woods here in the midwest are Osage Orange (hedgeapple) and black locust. Farmers desire their fence posts to be of these two species because of their outdoor, all-weather longevity. Do you know of any other fence posts which will last 50 years and more? Leave plain or finish with marine polyurethane.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

you guys aren't remembering all the splintering those woods will do after exposure to a shower environment...


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