Moen Home Care Bathroom Safety 18 Inch Stainless Steel Handicap Grab Bar for Bathtub and Shower, Elderly Assistance Product with Concealed Screws, Polished Brass, R8918

These are high-quality grab bars. I spent a lot of time looking at various brands, and in particular how they mount. The mounting plates of these bars are welded to the bar, so you can attach them solidly with the supplied screws, and then slide the covers into place. The mounting plates have holes alternating with curved slots all the way around, for more mounting options. Some other brands I looked at appeared to only have four holes, 90 degrees apart.The instructions for these Moen bars recommend using three screws at each end (six screws are supplied with each bar), two on the top side of the mount and one underneath. I mounted two of the 24" bars vertically, offsetting the top center screw hole maybe 1/4" from where my studfinder showed the center of the stud to be. That allowed me to put a second screw through the slot just below and to one side of the first screw, and a third screw in the bottom slot just to the same side of the bar as the second screw (not much clearance to get a screwdriver in there, but it worked) . I repeated that on the other end, and all six screws hit the stud. VERY secure mount.The peened surface on the middle portion of the bar provides a secure hand grip. I wish they sold a 16" version, to be able to install it horizontally with 16"-center studs. As it is, the 18" version would have to be installed at a slant. I used a 4mm ceramic/glass drill bit to drill through the tile, then a 1/8" regular bit (as specified in Moen's instructions) to drill a pilot hole into the stud.

Beautifully made, just the right size.

Very nice. Sturdy.

This looks really nice, and I like that the middle part of it has a slight texture to improve grip. You will want to determine where your studs are before you buy anything. Mine were 16 inches apart, so I got the 18 inch version so I could mount it at an angle. I also had to get a special drill bit to go through the rock or faux marble or who knows what I have.Also, as others said, the screws are just *slightly* too big for the hole it calls for. So after drilling (wetting the bit every 20 seconds to keep from overheating), I then kind of leaned the drill bit into the walls of the hole with a tiny bit of pressure, to carve out another millimeter or so. After that the screws fit in great.I highly recommend putting some silicone caulk in the holes to make them water-tight. What I did was left the screws half-way out, then put caulk all over the screw's threads and the hole, then screwed them in all the way. That way caulk got all around the screws, providing a water-proof seal. After drying, I then used the rest of the caulk tube to go over the screws again, just to make sure it was good and water-proof.Anyway, I've been using this grab bar for a while now, and it's great. No rust or anything like that, and it absolutely can hold my weight.

Easy to install. Solidly made & supports very well.

Moen engineering, material quality, and assembly are unsurpassed. This grab bar is well-designed, attractive, solid and functional. The engineers did a great job, as always, in designing the grab bar to allow for a quality installation. I purchased the 18" and the 24" grab bars. The cost of the two Moen bars combined was less than one grab bar found at our local Home Depot store. Yet, the Moen bars are of much higher quality.When you watch the online videos at Amazon's site, you will view an installation video showing installation using Moen's Home Securemount brackets. Note that these are NOT included with the grab bars. These must be purchased separately and are $10 each. If you need to use these, the cost of the grab bar installation doubles.The online installation videos might lead you to believe that the average homeowner could easily install these. This is somewhat misleading. If you are installing over hollow drywall, it will be fairly easy to determine where your studs are and whether you need to use the Moen Securemount brackets. However, quality homes are not constructed in this manner. A quality built shower stall will feature concrete board nailed to studs and, if finished with tile, the tile will be applied with a masonry bonding material. I have a quality high-tech stud finder, and it was not able to detect studs. In this situation, I purchased the Securemount brackets for both grab bars. After drilling the 1-1/4" center holes, I found that studding was perfect for the small bracket and I did not need to use (could not use) the Securemount brackets. Instead, I had to drill 3, 3/16 holes per end and use the supplied wood screws for a very strong and secure installation. Even though I did not use the 1-1/4" hole for mounting purposes, the holes were required as examination holes to determine how the studding ran.On the second grab bar I also drilled the 2 center 1-1/4" holes, and this time the wall behind was hollow (actually an outside wall, it contained insulation). I was able to use the Moen Securemount brackets on this grab bar which turned out to be fairly easy to use, although one must be very careful to get the distances fairly precise.I purchased a 1-1/4" RemGrit hole saw from Menards to attempt the borings. Big mistake. This hole saw is worthless in attempting to bore through the high quality tile used in our shower. The hole saw dulled rapidly and could only make a shallow cut on the tile before becoming junk. I purchased a diamond tipped Milwaukee tools hole saw and arbor from our local Home Depot. Milwaukee is like Moen, great quality and professional grade. The Milwaukee saw quickly bored through tile without effort. Had I to do it all over again, I would have purchased the Milwaukee arbor and saw from Amazon when I purchased the grab bars.While the Moen installation videos show this to be a fairly easy installation, the reality is that for most well-constructed homes, the installation would be beyond the skill and tool sets of the average homeowner. When done correctly, you will end up with a really high quality job well-done. Moen has never disappointed me.

I just love the stability and security this bar gives me to aid in stepping in/out over my tub to shower, especially after a pedicure or using conditioner when my feet and tub are very slippery. It is VERY strong and secure if installed properly. I couldn't be happier.

It is very nice and works great