Help me get the hookup

March 11, 2022 5:46 AM

Impossible or not: I’d like to mount a heavy-duty hook inside the shower, probably on the surround, that will hold a heavy bath chair. Is this possible or should I look for other storage options?

We just got this bath chair for my son:
Showerbuddy bath lyft

It folds in half into a thick rectangle about 2’ x 1’ or a little bigger. We have a shower with tub, and what I’m assuming is a fiberglass or some kind of plastic (?) surround, probably installed in 2008-2010. The shower and bathroom is small. We have little to zero storage space and I would like to figure out a place to hang this thing up while my husband and I use the shower. Of course it’s possible to take the chair to another room and let it drop dry on a towel, but it would be less work if I could just hang it up and let it drip into the tub. The back wall of the shower (wall you face if you’re standing in the tub with your back to the faucet) has enough space for this.

We are fine with installing a permanent hook but I’m having difficulty searching, maybe wrong terms, maybe because this is at best a dubious proposition! Any suggestions or advice? Space is at such a premium that the only other option would be to do something over/on the door of the tiny linen closet, which has already been pressed into service as towel hanger. I’m reasonably handy with a drill, hardware, and directions.

posted by pepper bird to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

I live in a very small apartment and I’ve come up with lots of creative storage solutions, so I feel your pain! I kind of love the challenge.

It would help to know the weight of the chair — 5lbs is a very different situation from 20lbs.

If the shower wall plastic is smooth enough, a heavy-duty suction cup might be an option.

If you could post a picture of the shower wall that might help as well!
posted by mekily at 6:27 AM on March 11, 2022

Follow-up: I see from your link that the weight of the chair is 25lbs.
posted by mekily at 6:34 AM on March 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

I think the key to any solution will be making sure the hooks are set into the wall studs. They make hooks that screw into the wall for hanging ladders, I would think they would work.
posted by tman99 at 6:50 AM on March 11, 2022

You should talk to somebody local who installs grab bars in showers for people with impaired mobility, and probably have it installed by a professional.
posted by mhoye at 6:53 AM on March 11, 2022 [20 favorites]

I'd personally not like to have my wet feet and/or shins be the only thing between a 25lb deadweight and wherever it wants to drop and slide to after a hook mounted on a slick plastic wall has let go.

I'd be finding the ceiling joists and designing something based on three sturdy screw eyes screwed through the ceiling plaster and at least an inch and a half into the joists, three lengths of 5mm nylon cord, snap hooks to attach cords to two of the corners and the centre of one side of the folded-flat lift, and another eye to run all three cords through on their way to a wall mounted cleat fixed securely into a stud. That way, I could snap on the hooks and hoist my heavy 2’ x 1’ rectangle straight up from its tub spot to hang flat just below the ceiling, secured well enough not to have to worry about it coming down. And I'd be doing the hoisting while standing on a dry bathroom floor near the cleat, not in a slippery wet tub in the natural fall path of the thing being hoisted.
posted by flabdablet at 6:55 AM on March 11, 2022 [4 favorites]

You'll definitely want to be securing the hook(s) into the wall or ceiling framing. One thing to look out for is that fiberglass (and similar) tub surrounds are often molded into a shape that projects out from the wall, so there's empty, hollow space behind the surface of the surround -- leaving up to a couple of inches of void before you hit the wall stud. If the tub surround does not go all the way up to the ceiling, you might have better luck fastening the hook/hanger hardware to the wall above the tub surround, making sure to locate the wall studs. Otherwise, I'd be looking for hanger hardware that can be secured to the ceiling -- again, making sure to fasten it to the framing.
posted by fikri at 7:29 AM on March 11, 2022 [2 favorites]

If your tub is fiberglass it would be a simple matter to epoxy a stainless hook to the surface.

1. acquire a stainless hook with large flat mounting surface
2. rough up desired mounting location approximately an inch larger all around than the size of the base of the hook. Bring the epoxy over the hook base on the edges and into the screw holes so there is mechanical bite in addition to the chemical bond.
3. use an epoxy like original JB Weld to stick the hook to the surround applying liberally and covering past the roughed up area. JB Weld is a little runny for vertical application when first mixed (something like honey) so you need to smooth it back (use Popsicle sticks) for a couple minutes until it starts to harden. If you outline the area with masking tape you can get a nice clean edge by removing the tape once the JB weld is firm but before full cure (about 10-15 minutes after mixing)
4. use masking tape to hold hook in place once bedded in the JB Weld and then leave tape in place for 24 hours

It wouldn't hurt to do a couple test runs on a piece of wood or something just to get a feel for how the JB Weld behaves. Just mix up enough to stick a quarter onto a piece of 2x4 or something and give it a try.
posted by Mitheral at 7:31 AM on March 11, 2022

At 25 pounds this is not something you'd rely on simple glue or sucker hooks. I would not rely on simple tension rods or such either.

I would test the bathroom ceiling, as I'm thinking some sort of hook or block and tackle system off the ceiling beam, similar to how you'd hang a bicycle, but more like hooking up a hammock. So you can basically pull two ropes and it'd be lifted toward the ceiling, or at least toward one wall where it'd say folded up.
posted by kschang at 8:09 AM on March 11, 2022

Two ropes would be enough if its final resting position is going to be vertical, but it seemed to me that this would mean it would need to be stored against a wall in order not to be in the way, and having a 25lb object wanting to swing some distance toward the wall as it was hoisted could get a bit too wrecking-ball for comfort.

That's why I'd design with three ropes, which would let it be hoisted straight up while remaining stably horizontal, ending up stowed in a spot just under the ceiling that's probably not already being used.
posted by flabdablet at 9:23 AM on March 11, 2022 [2 favorites]

Are you able to lift the chair or do you actually need the pulley situations? My first idea is a. if you can lift it and b. you have wall or ceiling space where you can access a stud or a joist, to get a couple of bicycle hooks (or similar, J hook etc, maybe a flatter scoop for this) - they usually hold a lot of weight each so 2 would be plenty for 25 lbs.
posted by brilliantine at 10:25 AM on March 11, 2022

No to suction cups, bathrooms have way too much unavoidable film on the walls and tiles and everywhere that they will never be reliable, and this thing ain't cheap. I'd screw a 50lb garage hook into a stud in the ceiling or wall and call it a day.
posted by rhizome at 10:49 AM on March 11, 2022

Yeah, the real question is what is behind the surround. Assuming you have a "normal" US house, it is wooden studs with some sort of mold/moisture resistant board on top. If you can find the studs, you can anchor in any old kind of hook to one and you're good. As others have suggested, the ceiling might be easier -- even if you don't want to anchor to a joist, you can get ceiling hooks with toggle bolts that hold up to 60 pounds with only drywall.
posted by goingonit at 11:45 AM on March 11, 2022

I don't want to belabour this but I need to point out that your safety margins here aren't limited to the weight of the chair, but the weight of the chair plus the weight of the person hanging it who slips on a wet floor at just the wrong moment. Please ask a professional to help you with this, there is a lot of well-meaning but bad advice in this thread.
posted by mhoye at 8:15 PM on March 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers.

Here are a couple pics of the shower/tub and the space above it:
Pic 1
Pic 2

Not sure what is going on above the shower/tub, or in that tiny strip above the surround. I do know from experience that it is a fun, random game to find studs in our house. I appreciate that to do it safely, this is something I’ll probably have to give to someone experienced or save for a bathroom remodel (we will eventually be remodeling for accessibility so this is definitely something can can be addressed then).
posted by pepper bird at 7:33 PM on March 14, 2022

Best answer: That lowered ceiling above the tub makes all my ideas completely unworkable. I would certainly not trust it to be weight bearing even if it wasn't so uselessly low. Can't really see how you can achieve what you want to without that remodel.
posted by flabdablet at 10:07 PM on March 14, 2022 [2 favorites]