Bath Basics: Installing A Shower Rod

By Bruce W. Maki, Editor

Start:

The first step is to determine the placement of the shower rod.  I figured that the rod should be directly over the center of the front "wall" of the bath tub. That way an inner & outer curtain arrangement would drape okay.

 

In this case the rod is a steel tube with a plastic covering. The white end cap was discarded.

 

The hardware kit has two rings that attach to the wall, and screws.

The plastic cover slipped easily over the metal tube.

 

I positioned the ring an inch above the one-piece bath tub unit, and used my stud finder to see if there was any framing to secure the bracket to. There were no studs close to the desired location. Next I used a hack saw to cut the rod to 1/4" shorter than the wall-to-wall distance.

With the rod cut to length it stayed in place by itself because the ring brackets held the tube so firmly. I marked the holes.

 

I drilled holes in the drywall that would be large enough for plastic drywall anchors.

The plastic anchors need to fit the hole tightly.

The anchors are set in with a light tap of the hammer.

The rod and brackets are placed back on the wall and the screws are driven in.

Shower rods are a pretty straightforward installation, unless the walls are covered with ceramic tile. In that case a carbide drill bit would be needed to penetrate the hard tile.

Copyright © 1999-2007  HammerZone.com

Written July 19, 1999
Revised (formatting) May 19, 2003
Revised (photos) October 19, 2007