My towel rack that is mounted in the shower fell off. We did not put it on; it was there in 2007 when we got the house.
Anyway, I posted on reddit about how to get it back up and there were two main answers:
Premixed Grout
Liquid Nails(is this just another silicone adhesive?)
I’m wondering what you all think is the best answer.
All of the above will work. I would use silicone adhesive or liquid nails to attach it, then grout around it, but silicone caulk will be fine to go around it also. There are some bar mounts with one or more holes to drive screws through for a very secure hold. Then you caulk over the exposed screw heads. But there has to be something besides tile board to screw into, and likely there aren’t studs where you need them.
Are liquid nails just a brand name of silicone adhesive?
It’s a brand name for several different kinds of adhesive. I think the most common form is a urethane adhesive. They may make one that’s silicone.
For caulking purposes (not as adhesive) I prefer vinyl caulk because it can be smoothed more easily and leaves a cleaner surface than silicone.
Don’t forget to clean any old adhesive or mastic or grout leftover from the original installation.
Neither – it should be mounted with strong screws into a solid 2x4 in the wall.
If it’s inside the shower, it should be capable of being used as a grab bar when someone slips. That will happen eventually (either by accident of as you age), and it’s even more dangerous if it breaks off the wall in that situation.
Silicone adhesive.
Don’t try to shoehorn a towel bar into a grab bar. That’s dangerous. If one is needed buy one specially for that purpose.
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It probably should have been put in with thin set mortar and then grouted around. Don’t use grout to hold it in that’s not what is designed for. For a quick fix you can probably just glue it in with the silicone and caulk around it, it should last for years.
I am trying to find GE Iron Grip silicone adhesive, but is is super hard to find around me.
Yes, grab bars are typically mounted vertically, positioned where there is a stud for solid anchoring with good screws. As mentioned above, anything that penetrates into the wall should be properly caulked or else you will get water damage to the board behind and then you have holes in the tile with no solid backing for screws to grip - which means the water damage will get worse…
From your photos - I would clean out what’s in the hole and use a lot of silicone to stick the thing back in. it looks like that brownish spot on the bottom is a screw. Is it necessary for towels? Silicone alone should do the job - unless the board behind has already been water-damaged. We have two Plexiglas corner shelves in our shower, and all they did was silicone them onto the tile. (Being n a corner gives them stability)
Frankly I don’t see grout as having any adhesive strength, but IANAPlumber.