New girl completly confused - NEED HELP!

[Astrid198]

Hi, I'm new to this whole remodeling thing, so I really need alot of help. Basically this is the situation - my towel rod, or towel bar, whichever one you perfer, has its ends built into the wall - by that, I mean that, the ends are literally part of the wall, they are made of what I believe is tile, or sometype of cement which is painted white to accent the decor of the bathroom. Now on the insides of the ends are two carved in spaces, in which the actual bar is suppose to be placed - thus creating the towel bar, or towel rack. Now, a couple weeks ago, the bar broke - it slipped out of the carved in spaces, and just broke - that is the rod broke. All that's on the wall now, are two white protruding ends, waiting for a rod so it can become a towel rod again. I have no clue what to do - I've contacted, and shopped around at certain stores - Home Depot, etc, but they only seem to sell the contemporary towel bars that have the ends included - what I need is an actual bar that I can put back into the tile ends jutting out of the wall - I just basically need a replacement for the simple bar that broke a couple days ago. Again, I'm not familiar with any of this, so I don't know what the standard proceedure is for a situation like this. I was thinking of just breaking down the tile ends, and then just getting a brand new towel rod with ends. That's fine with me, but then again I've never bashed a hole into the wall before, so I would definatly need some advise. I'm just really confused as to what to do, and all suggestions are welcomed. Thanks, A.

[master plumber mark]

you can call a tile guy if you so wish..

if you dont have issues about how the

new bar will look you can simply get some PVC

pipe in probably 3/4 and if it fits into the old slot ok

all you got to do it cut it to size then find someone

strong enough to bend it and put it into place

[Cass]

You can go to L***S or the other big box store and they sell towell bars that work on a compressed spring deal. The towell bar end springs in/compresses so the bar will fit into place then when it is lined up you release the tension and the springs push the ends into the holders.

The only problrm you may have is if the towell bar you broke was a costume size and none of what they have will fit. Take the broken one with you and get help at the store.

[jimbo]

The spring loaded replacement bars come long, and you can cut the non-spring end so they will fit anywhere./

[Bob NH]

I have done a couple of these as follows:

You can carefully remove ONE of the protruding things, without breaking it. Usually you work it back and forth after tapping it with a piece of wood (NOT a metal hammer). If you check, one of them may be a little loose; that is the place to start.

Then you get a plastic bar that you can cut to the correct length. Be sure to make it long enough to be supported, but still a little loose when in place. You want a little end-to-end looseness when it is installed.

Clean up the part by removing all the old plaster that held it in, and remove all of the loose stuff in the hole.

Then you get some plaster of paris. You are going to put some plaster of paris in the hole and a liberal amount (much excess) on the fitting. You may need to stuff some paper or something tightly BEHIND the hole as backup. Wet the edges of the hole before you start the assembly process.

The idea is that you want P of P to squish out to grab the back of the hole when you put the part in place.

Mix the P of P so that it squishes through your fingers but holds its shape. Use cold water to retard the setting a bit. A glass or stainless mixing bowl is easy to clean up, which you will do immediately after you set the part. Mix it by hand; not a mixer.

Then, with the new rod in place, and lots of excess plaster of paris, mash the fitting into the hole and hold it in place. P of P sets up fast.

Make a nice fillet around the part with your finger while holding it in place with the other hand. After about 3 minutes you can let go and stay away from it for at least 4 hours.

[Cookie]

Just wondering if you are checking here, how did your project go? I hope it went ok, for you.

[Astrid198]

Yeah, I'm actually planning on running through some of the ideas with the maintnance and supor of the building I live in. However, you and everyone else gave me such good advise, I think it should turn out. Oh - the other thing is that I'm planning on putting bathroom curtains/shades on my window(I'm not really clear on the correct term, but there the ones usually made with some type of linen or cotten and they form nicely at the top then fall to the sides, and you can tie them back with ribbions) - not blinds, but the curtains - the thing however, is that at the top of the window, there aren't any grooves, or already in place 'latches' for the curtains (this is my first time redecorating to ths degree so forgive me if I appear rather ridiculous on my terms) anyway, I think you understand what I'm saying. In the mainroom there are latches and hooks above the window, already there, clearly implying the addition of curtains. I'm determined to have curtains in the bathroom, and I know there must be a way to put the latch or the little hooks or whatever the term (you understand - hahahhaaa) on the top of the window. If you or anyone could help me out on some ideas, that would be great. Thanks again, A.

[Mikey]

I'm afraid curtains aren't my forte. Could you post a picture of the grooves and latches you're talking about? Or maybe Cookie can interpret for you . Shouldn't be to hard to install whatever fixtures the curtains require.

[Verdeboy]

The only thing you should need is a curtain rod and a curtain. Check out this link and see if they have what you need:

http://curtainrods.com/cgi-bin/store...n.htm&cart_id=

[Bob NH]

You just need a standard curtain rod. Single if you just want a curtain. Double if you want a curtain with a separate valance.

You can get them at WalMart or KMart.

You don't need a traverse rod unless you want drapes to open and close with a pull cord; not the usual thing for a bathroom.

They will come with little metal brackets that they hook onto. They usually come with nails, which are useless if you are going into plaster walls. I find that small sheet metal screws, like #6 or even #4, about 3/4" long are much better.

You will want tools such as at least a hammer, maybe a drill and screwdriver if you need screws to hold it up, and something to stand on while you work.

Alternatively, ask some guy for advice on what to do and he will probably offer to do it for you. If he doesn't offer to help or to do it, ask someone else for advice on what to do.