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Towel rods in plaster wall vs. tile

16 years ago

Here's my question, and thanks in advance for any guidance:

Our bathroom is half-tiled over plaster/lath walls (circa 1920) The previous owners had screwed a board into the wall and put up hooks for towels etc. I removed the board (ugly) and the hooks (towels never dried), fixed the wall and repainted. Now I'm going to install 2 double towel bars. Is it better to install the towel bars in the tile (drilling through the tile/grout/plaster) or will it be sufficient to go through the plaster? I'm asking because I've never drilled through tile before and I'm not looking forward to cracking the tiles...

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Comment (1)

erinmn
16 years ago
I'm no expert, but maybe the experience of a "commoner" might be helpful as well! ;-) My bathroom is the same setup as yours, and dates to 1923 so I have the horsehair plaster over lathe construction. I installed my towelbar into the plaster and it's held up well. If you don't have a handy stud around (can I spare another wink?) then I'd recommend using something like molly bolts to install the towel bar just in case someone grabs at it or something.

I've also installed TP holders in the tile and would recommend you get a special tile/glass bit to do that. It's horribly slow-going (seriously, it took me about 30 minutes PER HOLE) but the spade-looking bit didn't crack anything. I tapped a little hole into the tile first with an awl, but then it's just slow and steady with your drill. For my money, I'd rather work with the plaster... good luck!
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