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How to Install a Towel Bar

Home/Resources/Bathroom/Installing a Towel Bar
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Written & researched by Priya Anand DIY & Tools Editor
Updated August 2026
Wide view of a person's hands fitting a new shower head in a tiled bathroom, in warm late-afternoon light

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Installing a towel bar is a quick, beginner-level job you can finish in about 30 minutes, but the trick is anchoring it so it will not rip out when a wet towel is yanked off it. A towel bar costs $15 to $60. You need a drill, a level and the right anchors, plus a tile bit if the wall is tiled. Nothing electrical, structural or plumbing is involved, so no permit or pro is required. The one thing that separates a bar that lasts from one that falls off is using rated anchors or catching a stud, not the throwaway plastic cones.

How to Install a Towel Bar — The Home Depot

Step-by-step: a towel bar that stays put

  1. Set the height and location. Aim for about 48 inches to the center of the bar for adults, 36 for kids, and pick a spot where a hanging towel clears the floor and does not block a door or the toilet.
  2. Level and mark both mounting posts. Hold the bar (or its template) against the wall, level it, and mark the screw holes for both end brackets.
  3. Find the studs. Run a stud finder across the marks. Screw directly into any stud you can reach; use rated anchors everywhere else.
  4. Drill the holes. For drywall, drill the anchor's specified diameter. For tile, tape over the mark, use a carbide or diamond tile bit at low speed with light pressure and a drop of water, then a masonry bit for the wall behind. Aim for grout lines where you can.
  5. Set heavy-duty anchors. Install snap-toggle or strap-toggle anchors where there is no stud, seated flush and tight. These, not the box cones, are what keep the bar on the wall.
  6. Fasten the mounting brackets. Screw each bracket to its anchors or stud until it sits flat and does not spin. Re-level between the two posts.
  7. Slide on the bar and lock the set screws. Fit the bar into the brackets, then tighten the hidden hex set screw under each post with the included Allen key so the ends cannot lift off.
  8. Load-test it. Give the bar a firm downward tug before you trust a wet towel to it. A little movement means an anchor did not fully set; address it now.
Three-quarter view of a person's hands fitting a new shower head in a tiled bathroom, in soft overcast light

Tools and materials

You need a drill/driver, a level, a pencil, a stud finder, heavy-duty toggle anchors, and the Allen key that comes with the bar. Add a carbide or diamond tile bit and painter's tape for tiled walls. Since a towel bar usually goes in during a wider bathroom spruce-up, it commonly rides along with the other easy fixture jobs in this hub; while the drill is out, see our shower head roundup for the upgrade owners most often bundle in, and a bidet attachment is the other popular no-plumber addition.

Golden-hour view of a person's hands fitting a new shower head in a tiled bathroom

Mistakes to avoid

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More from this hub: Bathroom · Installing a toilet paper holder · Installing a grab bar · Replacing a bathroom mirror · Best shower heads · How we rank

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

How high should a towel bar be mounted?

Mount a towel bar about 48 inches above the finished floor to the center of the bar for adults, which lets a folded bath towel hang without dragging the floor. In a kids' bathroom, drop it to around 36 inches so children can reach. A hand towel ring near the sink sits lower, roughly 20 inches above the vanity top or 50 inches off the floor. The exact height is a comfort call, so hang a towel at the proposed spot and eyeball it before drilling. The 48-inch figure is the standard starting point most installers use.

How do you install a towel bar so it does not pull out of drywall?

The failure mode is a light anchor in soft drywall giving way when someone tugs a towel or leans on the bar. Fix it by getting at least one post into a stud, or by using a heavy-duty anchor such as a snap-toggle or strap-toggle rated well above the expected load rather than the flimsy plastic cones in the box. Towel bars see real yanking force, so treat them like a grab bar's little cousin: rated anchors, snug screws, and a mounting plate held flat to the wall. Two posts sharing the load also helps.

Can you install a towel bar on tile?

Yes. Mark the mounting holes, place painter's tape over each spot so the bit does not skate, and drill with a carbide or diamond tile bit at low speed with light pressure, keeping the tip cool with a drop of water. Once through the tile, set a plastic or toggle anchor in the wall behind. Try to position holes in the grout lines where practical, because grout drills more forgivingly than glazed tile and a future hole is easier to patch. Never use hammer-drill impact on the tile face, which cracks it.

Why does my towel bar keep coming loose?

Usually one of two things: the hidden set screw under the mounting post has backed off, or the wall anchor has stripped out. First, lift or slide the bar's end post off its bracket, find the tiny hex set screw on the underside, and tighten it with the supplied Allen key. If the whole bracket wobbles, the anchor has failed; remove it and install a larger or better anchor, or relocate to catch a stud. A drop of removable thread locker on the set screw keeps it from vibrating loose again.

What is the difference between a towel bar and a towel ring?

A towel bar is a horizontal rail, typically 18 or 24 inches long, meant to hang a full bath towel spread out so it dries. A towel ring is a smaller loop mounted near the sink for a hand towel. They install the same way, with two mounting posts for a bar and one bracket for a ring, but the ring's single point means anchoring it into solid backing matters even more since all the pull is concentrated. Choose the bar for bath towels by the shower or tub and the ring for hand towels at the vanity.