Bathroom hardware mounting template
Pick towel bar, robe hook or grab bar, and this lays out the mounting height and screw spacing. Print the strip below at true size to mark the wall instead of eyeballing it — and read the note on a grab bar before you drill one.
48" to centerline is typical; the spread is the screw-to-screw spec on the box, not the bar's overall length.
From the hardware's own spec
Mounting height, from the floor
48"
Check what's behind the wall
This lays out the spacing, not what each mark lands on. A stud holds real weight; drywall anchors rated for the hardware's weight are the fallback where one isn't there.
The layout in numbers
- Screws16" apart, centered
- 2
Marking strip, at true size
Print at 100%, check the ruler, then hold it level at 48" from the floor.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Hold this level at 48" from the floor and mark the ticks. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Hold this level at 48" from the floor and mark the ticks. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Hold this level at 48" from the floor and mark the ticks. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Printing this properly
In the print dialog, set the scale to 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”. Measure the printed ruler with a tape before you trust the spacing.
About mounting bathroom hardware
- How high should a towel bar be mounted?
- 48" to the centerline is the common convention, though it's worth checking against what's below it — over a vanity backsplash or beside a specific fixture can push that up or down a few inches.
- Does a grab bar really need blocking?
- Yes. A grab bar is rated for somebody's full weight applied suddenly, which drywall alone — even with the best rated anchor — is not built for. Blocking is solid wood or a mounting plate fastened to the studs behind the wall board, installed before the wall is closed up wherever a bar is planned, or added by opening the wall where it wasn't.
- What height does a grab bar go at?
- 33" to 36" to the top of the bar is the ADA range most codes and fixtures reference. Where a specific code applies — a rental, a licensed care facility — check its own requirement rather than assuming ADA covers it; residential remodels for personal use aren't usually bound by ADA at all, which is why the field is editable rather than fixed.
- Why is the screw spread not the same as the bar's length?
- A bar's overall length includes its end caps or flanges, which add a bit past where the actual mounting screws sit. Use the screw-to-screw spacing printed on the box or template that came with the hardware, not a tape measurement of the whole bar.