A grab bar is one of the smallest, least expensive changes you can make to a bathroom, and one of the most important. Most falls at home happen in the bathroom, and a well-placed bar gives you something solid to hold when stepping in and out of the shower, sitting down, or standing up.
Here is what grab bar installation costs in Northern Virginia, and how to make sure the bars you install will actually hold. The numbers come from 50 grab bar installations we have done across the area.
The cost to install a bathroom grab bar
| Installation | Typical range in our recent projects |
|---|---|
| One grab bar, installed | $150 – $325 |
| Three grab bars (beside the toilet, at the shower entry, and inside the shower) | $450 – $750 |
Across our last 10 grab bar visits in Fairfax County, the average total was $410 for two to three bars, including the bars themselves.
The cost to install a grab bar in a shower
The cost to install a grab bar in a shower depends mostly on what is behind the tile. A bar must be anchored into solid wood or a backing made for grab bars. Drywall or tile alone will not hold the weight of a person catching a fall.
We see three situations:
- There is a stud in the right place. The simplest and least expensive case. We drill through the tile carefully and screw into the stud.
- There is no stud, but the wall is sound. We use heavy-duty anchors rated for grab bars, which grip the back of the wall. These are a good option when a stud is not where the bar needs to go.
- We are remodeling anyway. We add solid blocking inside the wall before tiling, so bars can go anywhere, now or in the future. This is the best approach, and it costs very little during a remodel.
Never use a suction-cup grab bar as your only support. They are fine as a steadying hand, but they can release without warning.
Where to put grab bars
The most useful spots, in order of how often our clients use them:
- Beside the toilet, horizontal, about 33 to 36 inches above the floor.
- At the shower or tub entry, vertical, to hold while stepping over the edge.
- Inside the shower, horizontal, along the back or side wall.
- Near a shower seat, to help with sitting and standing.
Angled grab bar placement
Angled grab bars are mounted at roughly a 30 to 45 degree angle. They are especially helpful for moving from sitting to standing, because your hand can slide up the bar as you rise. The two places they work best are:
- On the back wall of a tub, starting low near the faucet end and rising toward the middle, to help when getting up from a bath.
- Beside the toilet, where some people find an angled bar more natural to push up from than a horizontal one.
The right angle depends on the person’s height and grip, so we usually hold the bar in place and have the person who will use it try it before we drill.
Grab bars that do not look clinical
Grab bars now come in finishes to match your faucet, from matte black to brushed brass, and some double as towel bars or shelves. Our clients are often surprised at how well they blend in.
More than grab bars
If you are adding grab bars because someone in your home needs more support, it may be worth looking at other changes too, like a curbless shower, a comfort-height toilet, or slip-resistant flooring. See our accessible bathrooms page for what is possible, or our shower remodeling page for low-entry showers.
Grab bar installation is a quick visit. Contact us to schedule one, or to talk about a larger accessible remodel.